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AtaruMoroboshi18

Senior member
Apr 1, 2005
552
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Alright, I'll be blunt, I'm posting this comp on a variety of different PC forums for review:

MSI K8NNEO2 939 Socket Motherboard
3500+ AMD Processor
XFX GeForce 6800 GT 256MB
2x512MB SuperTalent D400 DDR400 32X8 CL2 RAM
200GB Western Digital HDD
LiteOn 16x DVD RW Drive
Windows XP Pro

Now, after a little bit of asking around, I have been unable to make heads or tails of the SuperTalent RAM, I don't know whether I should stick with it, or go for the Corsair type RAMs. This comp is gonna be a gaming machine as you can see. Does anyone have any reviews of SuperTalent or experience with it? I would like some help cause I'm going to buy this comp for $1670 and it comes with everything except a monitor. Thanks in advance for any help or tips you guys can give me.
 
YOyoYOhowsDAjello

YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Moderator<br>A/V & Home Theater<br>Elite member
Aug 6, 2001
31,204
45
91
Welcome at AT.

I'm not sure on the SuperTalent ram. There are several choices for 2x512mb kits for right around $100 now that are from known good brands.

If you're looking to go a little cheaper, an X800XL would be a nice choice for the videocard. At $100 cheaper and performance close to 6800gt levels, it's a very appealing choice.

You could also save a bit by bumping the CPU down to a 3200+.

Are you planning on doing any overclocking?

What's your case and powersupply situation? A good quality powersupply is a very important component.
 
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ohnnyj

Golden Member
Dec 17, 2004
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I agree with the memory, let it go and get some from a known brand. I highly recommend Corsair, such as their Value Select RAM if you are not looking to overclock. Otherwise you can go for the likes of their high end RAM (3200XL), or OCZ, G. Skill. If you want to have a little more future proofness, you may want to look into an nForce4 chipset board that has PCIe graphics ports as this is what all graphics cards are moving to. And if you aren't going for SLI, then an X800XL would be a fine choice along with the DFI Ultra-D motherboard.

Oh, and BTW, welcome :).
 
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AtaruMoroboshi18

Senior member
Apr 1, 2005
552
1
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Basically, this machine is for STALKER, Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, and other future games that will come out. I have a 480 Watt PS and am not planning on overclocking, I'd rather not risk a new computer, maybe in a couple of months I'll try it out though. I'd also prefer to have a 3500+, because I have the money available to me. I also wish to keep the GeForce since it may be more expensive, but from the things I've been seeing from various websites on it's performance, it really is quite a contender and though another card may have similiar performance it probably won't have it's power, since I could overclock it to an Ultra, but probably won't. Sorry for the lengthy reply, I do this sometimes.

PS I'm not going for the PCIe just yet, I'll wait for it to drop in price before thinking about that.
 
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ribbon13

Diamond Member
Feb 1, 2005
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I dunno much about that board (I reccomend the DFI Ultra-D), but if it allows you to up the volts on the ram, get TwinMOS

This PSU wuld be a good choice if you have a generic that won't handle your system.

I'd also reccomend this card and unlock its 4 extra pipelines.
 
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AtaruMoroboshi18

Senior member
Apr 1, 2005
552
1
81
Originally posted by: ohnnyj
You say you have a 480W PSU, what brand would this be?
Click to expand...

I believe it's called a Coolmax 480W. Not sure though ATM, haven't thought much of the PS.

Oh, and what difference would a different Motherboard make? What does the DFI have over MSI besides the acronym?

I've pretty much leaned towards Nvidia, one reason would be that they have support for PS 3.0.
 
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ohnnyj

Golden Member
Dec 17, 2004
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Originally posted by: AtaruMoroboshi18
Originally posted by: ohnnyj
You say you have a 480W PSU, what brand would this be?
Click to expand...

I believe it's called a Coolmax 480W. Not sure though ATM, haven't thought much of the PS.

Oh, and what difference would a different Motherboard make? What does the DFI have over MSI besides the acronym?
Click to expand...

This scares me everytime. Why is it that everyone thinks the PSU is unimportant. Please, do yourself a huge favor and make sure to get a quality PSU from a company such as Antec, Enermax, OCZ, or my personal fav PC Power and Cooling. The PSU is one of the most important components in the whole system. You will save lot of headaches now and in the future if you invest a little into this most critical piece of hardware.

 
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AtaruMoroboshi18

Senior member
Apr 1, 2005
552
1
81
Quite simply, this is my first custom computer ever, I'm checking around to make sure that I'm getting a good system. I've heard of the PS and it's uses but haven't really thought of it as a meaningful component of a computer. I will have to look into the PSU though, thanks for the heads-up.

Edit: Also, what advantages does PCIe have over AGP currently? What does the X800 type card have over a 6800 GT? And also, what type of FPS would I be getting out of FarCry or HL2 with a lot of the settings on high? What would the score be for my computer on programs like 3DMark 2005?
 
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ohnnyj

Golden Member
Dec 17, 2004
1,239
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Originally posted by: AtaruMoroboshi18
Quite simply, this is my first custom computer ever, I'm checking around to make sure that I'm getting a good system. I've heard of the PS and it's uses but haven't really thought of it as a meaningful component of a computer. I will have to look into the PSU though, thanks for the heads-up.

Edit: Also, what advantages does PCIe have over AGP currently? What does the X800 type card have over a 6800 GT?
Click to expand...

There is no speed advantage to PCIe, but all new motherboards and graphics cards will eventually be PCIe only. So if bought AGP now, and wanted to keep your video card for the future, you would have to upgrade it as all motherboards will most likely be PCIe by then. To put it simply it is simply the future standard and it is best to maximize your investment by buying into the future, at least somewhat.

The X800XL is roughly equivalent to the 6800GT in terms of performance. The GT will allow you to go with SLI if you get an SLI motherboard, although ATI may come out with their own SLI tech now known as AMR or MVP which the X800XL is suppose to support. If you plan on a single card solution it is probalby your best bet as it is about $100 cheaper than the GT. And this especially holds true if you play Source based games such as HL2 as the ATI cards tend to run faster than the equivalent nVidia models. But if Doom3 is your thing then the GT will be the better purchase.
 
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ribbon13

Diamond Member
Feb 1, 2005
9,343
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If you want a really quiet system I highly reccomend a Seasonic. The XClio I reccomended is made by Channel Well though (Antec), and is a great deal.

What's your display situation? CRT? LCD? 1280x1024 LCD? <-- In that case ATI > nVidia. Hard core pwnage in Half Life 2. A $300 ATi X800 XL beats two $400 6800 Ultras in SLI. Ouch. With AA and AF its a 3fps difference. double ouch.
 
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SlitheryDee

You definitely want to look into a quality PSU. It's whats responsible for supplying your extremely valuable components with reliable and clean power. All the brands mentioned above have extremely good track records. Pay careful attention to the amperage on the 12v rail as that is highly important given your choice of video cards. As for your scores in 3dmark... I couldn't tell you. Look for reviews of your chosen video card to get an idea.
 
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AtaruMoroboshi18

Senior member
Apr 1, 2005
552
1
81
Hm, I'm wondering when a benchmark for PS 3.0 for Splinter Cell 3 or such will come out. I also am wondering which card would have better image quality and still have good performance and frame rates, I'm willing to spend $450 on the card alone, so I want the best possible one I can get.

Also, I have no monitor, but I am thinking of opting for a 17" or a 19" LCD screen. Any recommendations?

BTW: HL2 is a great game that will run on a variety of computers pretty well, including the one I have now. I'm just being cautious about this, since if I get a video card, it needs to be very good, stable, and powerful. No more budget cards for me. I mean, I've had a GeForce 2 MX and a GeForce 4 MX. I KNOW what crap cards feel like...
 
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ArnoldLayne

Member
Feb 25, 2005
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Originally posted by: AtaruMoroboshi18
I would like some help cause I'm going to buy this comp for $1670
Click to expand...

$1670 USD? That's too much for that hardware IMO.

(newegg)
k8n neo4 $152
athlon 3500 retail $300 (approximate, newegg is out)
xfx 6800gt $354
patriot 512mbx2 3200LLK $130
seagate 200gb oem 7200.8 $127
xp pro sp2 oem $142
NEC 3520A DL DVD $52
antec sonata $99

total:$1356

If you want a prebuilt computer you may want to try monarchcomputer.com
and see what you can come up with

 
K

Known Unsoldier

Member
Feb 7, 2005
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Also, Venice core AMD chips are coming out in like, a week? You may want to make sure to hop on that gravy train as well.
 
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AtaruMoroboshi18

Senior member
Apr 1, 2005
552
1
81
I don't trust my computer building prowess. The computer actually costs around $1525 without taxes I believe. I'm getting the computer from a local shop and I like having the ability to take it back to them if anything were to seriously go wrong, such as something breaking or shorting out, etc. I like having that piece of mind. I may be getting a little overcharged, but knowing that the people or persons who built my computer are nearby gives me some good breathing room as I can get them to install things I wouldn't otherwise wish to install myself or get rid of potentially dangerous viruses as well. And if anything goes wrong, I will have a 1 year warranty, I might want to check if I can get a 2 or 3 year though...
 
YOyoYOhowsDAjello

YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Moderator<br>A/V & Home Theater<br>Elite member
Aug 6, 2001
31,204
45
91
With periodic backups and the knowledge of how to reformat a harddrive, my fear of viruses has greatly diminished :)

Building a computer isn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. The only hard part is if something goes wrong hehe.

If you don't have the time to deal with problems, having somebody to help you out when something goes wrong is a good idea.
 
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SlitheryDee

I've learned to stay away from local stores in my area. The cost of your system is high, but what I would be charged by a local store here in Louisiana should be legally considered rape. I was quoted 230.00 on a Geforce FX 5700 a couple months ago, after which I promptly ordered a 6600GT for 192.00 from gameve.com. I can only imagine what they would have charged for a system like the one you're buying. If you think that the extra $300 is worth the peace of mind then go for it, things could be worse, you could live in Louisiana.
 
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AtaruMoroboshi18

Senior member
Apr 1, 2005
552
1
81
Originally posted by: ribbon13
If you live anywhere near Seattle, I'd build it for you.

$450? for a video card? This would be my choice.

If you want a 19" LCD -> L90D+
Click to expand...


I live in Pierce County so I could venture a trip to Seattle. Maybe you could come up with some pretty good specs for about $1700. If they are good compared to what I'm getting, then I could be suaded to part ways from that shop. There's also the fact that having a warranty on an entire system is a very smart thing to do, also some of the higher priced components come with 3-year warranties.

BTW: My PSU is 480W ATX, looks like a no name brand.
 
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