Custom Computer (Comments/Suggestions)

[Troop]

I was looking into getting this setup.

Case-RAIDMAX Black Aluminum Gaming Case
http://www.newegg.com/app/view...amp;manufactory=BROWSE

Burner-Nec 3520
http://www.newegg.com/app/view...amp;manufactory=BROWSE

Hardrive-160 gig 7200rpm
http://www.newegg.com/app/view...amp;manufactory=BROWSE

Memory-PDP systems duel channel memory kit 1 gig(2x 512)
http://www.newegg.com/app/view...amp;manufactory=BROWSE

Mobo-SOLTEK "SL-K8AN2E-GR" NVIDIA nForce3 250Gb
http://www.newegg.com/app/view...amp;manufactory=BROWSE

Cpu-AMD Athlon 64 3400+
http://www.newegg.com/app/view...amp;manufactory=BROWSE

Graphics-eVGA nVIDIA GeForce 6800GT Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/app/view...amp;manufactory=BROWSE

Floppy-$8

Dvd Rom Drive- $25

Im not going to be overclocking at all so I am trying to get the most out of my money.

I dont really want to get Sli.

Id like to keep the price range around $1100-1300. But no more then that.

Any recommendations or suggestions would be great thanks.

 

[amol]

get 939, its more upgradeable

also, put what youre getting instead of all of the links, its kind of a pain to keep clicking and clicking

 

[Troop]

fixed sorry about that. If i did get socket 939 what is the best bet for mobos

 

[TheGeek]

Originally posted by: Amol
get 939, its more upgradeable

also, put what youre getting instead of all of the links, its kind of a pain to keep clicking and clicking

i concur. BTW the 3400+ is a great CPU. it's waht i have

 

[TheGeek]

i say go for an nforce4 MB

 

[Marktoloba]

i agree with thegeek

 

[Edward Lee]

Originally posted by: Amol
get 939, its more upgradeable

Why is it more upgradable? Can you explain?

So are you saying in 3 years I can use the same motherboard for my new system and all the new parts I get will fit? So if I get a Socket 754 it will be more useless than a Socket 939 in 3 years or so? How so?

Just curious what will be the advantage of the 939 in 3 years or so? I mean I'll probably need to upgrade then.

I have so many more questions but let's just start with these.

 

[ts3433]

You're getting a separate power supply (quality; like an Antec, Enermax, Fortron, or Seasonic) to go along with that generic case, right? If you don't do this, you will probably end up experiencing a lot of instability if the thing doesn't die and take all your components with it first. If you'd like to save money on a case and PSU, skip the superficialities and go for a simple Antec Sonata or Plus1080AMG (if you want, the latter is also available with a window as the PlusView1000AMG). Those cases are well-built Antec stuff with nice Antec PSUs to go with them (a single-fan True380S in the Sonata, True430 in the Performance Plus AMG series).

If you're completely opposed to overclocking (though running 1:1 isn't important on the A64 anyway), drop to value RAM. This Mushkin or this Corsair should do the job well.

I'd stay with the 754 socket if you know you don't need PCIe for a while (boards are supposed to come out for it sometime).

 

[Sniper82]

Originally posted by: Edward Lee

Originally posted by: Amol
get 939, its more upgradeable

Why is it more upgradable? Can you explain?

So are you saying in 3 years I can use the same motherboard for my new system and all the new parts I get will fit? So if I get a Socket 754 it will be more useless than a Socket 939 in 3 years or so? How so?

Just curious what will be the advantage of the 939 in 3 years or so? I mean I'll probably need to upgrade then.

I have so many more questions but let's just start with these.

3 years? Probably not but maybe up to 2 years but no one really knows. But 939 will def be more upgradable. Also I myself would go with a Nforce 4 board aswell because I think PCI-E will take over mostly in the next year or so.

IMO AGP cards will still be released for at least a couple years but I think there will be less of a selection. I mean ATI doesn't have a low budget PCI-E card that competes with 6600GT which IMO sucks

 

[ts3433]

Certainly there will be less of a selection, but I don't see there being a lack of cards sufficient enough to play games at midrange levels for a while. I'm sure a 6800GT could last for quite a while without a major upgrade necessary--by the time the 6800GT has become what the 9700 Pro is today, a bigger system overhaul will probably be in order anyway.

<OT> 1000th post. </OT>

 

[Sniper82]

Originally posted by: ts3433
Certainly there will be less of a selection, but I don't see there being a lack of cards sufficient enough to play games at midrange levels for a while. I'm sure a 6800GT could last for quite a while without a major upgrade necessary--by the time the 6800GT has become what the 9700 Pro is today, a bigger system overhaul will probably be in order anyway.

<OT> 1000th post. </OT>

true

Really though doesn't matter much what you go with but I would go with 939. I got a Nforce 2 board now and plan on upgrading in the next couple weeks and I just can't see myself buying a Nforce 3 board when I can get a Nforce 4 board(non Sli) for not much more. Yes there will be some issues with Nforce 4 boards but hopefully nothing major.

Also going with a 6600GT so I will be saving $30-60 by going with the PCI-E version alone.

 

[Edward Lee]

In 2-3 years PCI will still be around, AGP will still be around, PCI-e will be around, IDE will be around, SATA will be around...
When people talk of upgradability, what exactly is upgradable? What will be upgraded when it comes time to upgrade?
If you want to give advice be more specific and don't just pull it out of your butt. Or you'll sound like a retard.

 

[coejus]

If you're the kind of person who upgrades his video card fairly regularly, go with nForce4. If not, just stick with nForce3. It's not worth the price premium.

 

[Troop]

bump. thanks for all your comments and suggestions. Still a bit skeptical on what to get, any other suggestions are appreciated.

 

[stevty2889]

Just don't use the generic PSU coming with that case, if you do your asking for trouble..

 

[jterrell]

Originally posted by: Edward Lee

Originally posted by: Amol
get 939, its more upgradeable

Why is it more upgradable? Can you explain?

So are you saying in 3 years I can use the same motherboard for my new system and all the new parts I get will fit? So if I get a Socket 754 it will be more useless than a Socket 939 in 3 years or so? How so?

Just curious what will be the advantage of the 939 in 3 years or so? I mean I'll probably need to upgrade then.

I have so many more questions but let's just start with these.

It is more upgradeable because s939 offers chips through at least fx55, while s754 dies at 3700.
939 offers dual channel memory. So it is more upgradeable.

As to time frame that depends on the s939 board and the level of upgrade sone chooses. Can you run a s939 board 3 years from now that is more than sufficient? YES! A sli board with two good pci-express cards and an fx-55 and 2 gigs of ram is very likely to produce perfectly acceptable results 3 years form now.

Do you honestly expect a s754 system can compete in 1-3 years with a system that has 2 gigs of dual channel memory, a high end sli set up on pci-express that uses all 16 lanes, sata 2 raid with ncq, gigabit lan and the fx-55 or similar series chips?

I do not think going s754 is stupid but its certianly not smart for the vast majority of folks. If you upgrade every 2 years to an ENTIRELY new pc it makes sense. If not then you are likely shooting yourself in the foot. The mobo, processor, power supply, video card are all going to be close to worthless for high end gaming in 6-9 months on a standard s754 system.

If you can't see the upgrade path for a 939 over a 754 you arent looking because you dont want to see.

The DFI lanparty UT is a great board and offers a great price with a 2800 attached but it is not going to offer good value long term. You get what you pay for.

 

[Edward Lee]

Assume you buy either a socket 754 3000+ or a socket 939 3000+ AMD 64 CPU.

Here's my question:
Don't you think in 2-3 years all that would be usefull from a S939 system would be the case, fans, monitor, hard drive, and maybe the PSU?
Don't you also think 2-3 years from now a S754 would look about the same 2-3 years from now?

Honestly, if you're thinking about upgrading "TODAYS" technology 2-3 years from now I would say the comment about upgradability would be right on the money. But if you're planning to upgrade to tomorrows technology 2-3 years from now, it won't matter which one you choose.

 

[Ike0069]

Originally posted by: stevty2889
Just don't use the generic PSU coming with that case, if you do your asking for trouble..

Yea. Best bet is to buy a case without a PS, then get a good PS. Or you can get an Antec case with a TruePower PS.

If you don't plan to OC, there are many S939 boards that are excellent. No need to go with the most expensive boards if staying at stock speeds.

 

[ComatoseDelirium]

bad PSU with the case, get a psuless case and get a brand name PSU I say stick with the 754, depending if you are going to upgrade in the next 2 years, if your planning to keep this computer longer then 2 years, then go 754, just for price reasons.. for some reason I dont trust the current 939 mobo's, but its up to you.

 

[Troop]

I think im going to get a 3500+ cpu but i am not quite sure wut motherboard to get. I wont be overclocking so what is the best mobo for my situation and for the best price.

 

[Troop]

srry for double post but also if i get the antec sonata do you think that psu could support my 6800gt and 3500+ if not can someone show me a good case that comes with a good psu or jsut a good cheap psu to go with my sonata thankss

 

[mrgoblin]

Originally posted by: Edward Lee

Originally posted by: Amol
get 939, its more upgradeable

Why is it more upgradable? Can you explain?

So are you saying in 3 years I can use the same motherboard for my new system and all the new parts I get will fit? So if I get a Socket 754 it will be more useless than a Socket 939 in 3 years or so? How so?

Just curious what will be the advantage of the 939 in 3 years or so? I mean I'll probably need to upgrade then.

I have so many more questions but let's just start with these.

+1 if that was a sarcasm post. In all seriousness, the 754 is the way to go for three reasons. One AMD will not be pushing the 939 platform into dual core because intel isnt and AMD probably cant. Second its useless to get a 939 cpu hoping to upgrade because AMD will probably not be taking the 939 pin all that high. Lets assume 4400+. If im wrong which I doubt, do you really think you will want to keep ure cpu by the end of 2006 when you can get a cheap dual core as opposed to getting a 4200+? Think about it.