design my computer

[mikedev10]

ok guys, it's time (ok, has been for a while) for me to get a new box. been using my lappy and living with it as my job has had me down state 2/3 of the month. however my new project is local, i'm buying a house, and it's about time i started pwning on a box with an acceptable framerate. lappy plays d3 at 2fps, cs: source at something not competitive at all, and with the lowest settings i can muck through hl2 at probably an average of 35 or so.

i used to keep on top of hardware, i have less interest and far less time to do so now. i browsed tom's hardware but didn't really see any of the mega roundups of old, when they used to take like 20 athlon boards and compare them. i don't feel like doing the work and figure somebody here already has the knowledge, so what should i be putting on my Christmas list?

the computer will be for gaming, maybe lanning as well. in that i guess i could even take suggestions for a case. i don't need anything gaudy at all, nice to work on with quality power supply and cooling is all i need there. i'll have a network at home to back stuff up to so that is not an issue either. probably the only thing i have decided on is a wd740 WD hard drive, which is sata150. unless someone can point out something much better. there is a fry's electronics kind of near me so bonus if any of the parts are cheap and available on outpost.com.

processor - i am assuming i wouldn't be taking advantage of anything 64-bit at present, to that end does the best performance for price end up in intel or amd's court? do either overclock like a mofo, while just using standard cooling? what's the best mobo (i have been partial to abit in the past) what's the best ram (corsair, mushkin?) i guess i'm swinging away from 64 unless there is a real demand/advantaging for gaming in the immediate future.

i need:

1. processor $TBD
2. mobo $165? want sata150, performance geared board.
3. video card - i guess 256mb? and pci express? $200-300?
4. heatsink $45?
5. thermal grease $5
6. case $110 just something standard with good airflow and a quality power supply would be great (liked antecs a lot in the past) - open to a mini one for ease of lanning, although i don't have too much time to lan/move the thing these days.
7. 1gb aggressive ram $250?
8? - sound card, gigaNIC $125?


recommendations?

 

[ssvegeta1010]

1. A S939 A64 (3200+ - 3500+)
2. Nforce4 if you can wait
3. between a 6600GT (<200) and a 6800GT (>300)
4. XP-90
5. Arctic Silver 5
6. See #9
7.
2x 512 OCZ PC 3200 2-3-2-5

2x 512 OCZ PC 3700 (for overclocking) 2.5-3-3-8

8. Go for integrated Gigabit NIC and whatever you want for sound (you can get alot for $125)
9. Antec Sonata?

 

[mikedev10]

with all the geek power of anandtech i was hoping for more than 1 reply? thanks though i will look in this direction and at these components.

 

[Malak]

Well... there are reviews abounding out there, you can look stuff up too.

 

[mikedev10]

ok got some questions:

what's the diff between 90nm vs regular 939 athlon64 3500 chips?
is there a sweet spot in athlon64 that overclocks well, using regular hsf ?
is nforce4 out? nforce4 ultra?
does the wd 74gb raptor do 3gb/sec - should i care about that for going to nforce4 ultra?
what does the locked/unlocked hypertransport 1000 do for me on the nforce4 ultra?

 

[ssvegeta1010]

1. The 90nm should run cooler and be better OCers
2. the 3200+ and 3500+s should OC well
3. Nforce 4 is not out yet, at least to my knowledge
4. No, no hard drive can do that much (not even SCSI).
5. I have no idea. Hopefully someone else who replies will know.

 

[DrCool]

MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum nForce4 - $189
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/...jsp?ProductCode=241158 (eta 12/21)
your budget doesn't allow for SLI, so this is your ONLY option

AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Processor Socket 939 Retail (90nm) - $152.90
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/...sp?ProductCode=80699-2
best bang for the buck on this one, you can easily OC this to 3200+ speeds and save $50

ARTIC SILVER 5 Thermal Paste
http://www.newegg.com/app/View...=35-100-007&amp;depa=0 - $7.59
the ultimate thermal grease, no enthusiast should be without.. can often be a make or break in a good OC

CRUCIAL 512MB DDR400
http://www.crucial.com/store/P...CT6464Z40B&amp;cat=RAM - $80.99
High Quality / Consistent / Reliable memory, that's GUARANTEED to work with your motherboard!

Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 160GB Serial ATA 7200RPM 8MB w/NCQ - $112
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/...jsp?ProductCode=101559
take advantage of the nForce4's NCQ support, also the quietest drive at this performance level, if you ears can handle the noise of a 74GB Raptor, you can gain additional performance there..
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/...jsp?ProductCode=101222 - $174

In-Win s508 Mid-Tower (3x 5.25 EX, 2x 3.25 INT, 2x 3.25 EX)
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/vie....hmx?scriteria=BA02611 - $55
Quality Construction / Feature-Packed / Sleek Looking
or if your more concerned with form over functionality, you can substitute the Coolermaster WaveMaster
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/...jsp?ProductCode=141612 - $129.49

Enermax 460w Whisper Power Supply (+12v 33A; +5v 35A; +3.3v 35A)
http://www.directron.com/eg465pfmav13.html - $74.50
Enermax is one of the few QUALITY power supply manufacturers, they've been in the business for many years now, and consistently produce quality units. This power supply provides ample capacity for a power hungry nForce 4 based system

XFX nVIDIA GeForce 6600 Video Card, 128MB DDR, 128-Bit, DVI/TV-Out, PCI-Express
http://www.newegg.com/app/View...=14-150-076&amp;depa=0 - $127.50
XFX has become the defacto standard in Video Cards these days, they consistently outperform the competition, are made of quality components, which consistently deliever. The 6600 can easily handle any current generation game, and should stand-up well for the next couple of months..

NEC 16X Double Layer DVD±RW Drive
http://www.newegg.com/app/view...=27-152-032&amp;DEPA=0 - $63.99
Killer Perfomance, Incredible Price, well recommended

LITE ON 16X-DVD/48X-CDROM INTERNAL EIDE #SOHD-167T (Retail)
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/vie....hmx?scriteria=AA13780 - $23.90
Perfect Drive for performance / reliablity / Cost Effective solution, makes those DVD copy sessions all the more pleasent

SONY 1.44MB Floppy
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/vie....hmx?scriteria=AA00695 - $8.90
No matter what the pundits say, the floppy will have a place in the desktop computer for many years to come.. it is the only 'reliable' method for BIOS flashing / Ghost (imaging) / or any other dos level functions

TOTAL (pre tax and some shipping)
$896.00

 

[mikedev10]

critique this plz:

msi k8t neo-fsr $72 <-- how does this compare with nf3 performance/memory bandwidth?
Athlon 64 3200 90nm 939pin $180
poked around hardcorecooling.us - couldn't decide on HS - where are the HS reviews these days??? $50
duct mod http://www.hardcorecooling.us/...IEWPROD&amp;ProdID=355 $7
arctic silver 5 $6
western digital wd740 sata 150 74gb 8mb cache 10k rpm $172
NEC 16X Double Layer DVD±RW Drive $64
floppy $8
6600 gt 128mb $200
antec sonata case w/380 watt PS $60
OCZ platinum pc3200 CL 2-3-2-5 or OCZ gold pc3700 EL 2.5-3-3-8 (???) $250

 

[mikedev10]

what about heatsink fan - you guys blow out or in?? i have always done out...

 

[Confusednewbie1552]

Dude read the guides and read this thread: http://forums.anandtech.com/me...y=y&amp;keyword1=guide

If you were asking me though I'd say go something that has nforce 4. OCZ PC 4400 RAM, Athlon 3000+ for socket 939 (if there is one) and a 6600GT. Just one thing. During seeks the WDR 74 GB is loud! It's fast has all the space I need and is loud!

 

[Confusednewbie1552]

Originally posted by: mikedev10
what about heatsink fan - you guys blow out or in?? i have always done out...

I'd reccommend this: http://www.newegg.com/app/View...=35-118-114&amp;depa=0

It's silent even on normal and it keeps my 3200 cool =). I haven't overclocked it yet. But I would imagine it could go to 2.6 ghrz.

critique this plz:

msi k8t neo-fsr $72 <-- how does this compare with nf3 performance/memory bandwidth?
Athlon 64 3200 90nm 939pin $180
poked around hardcorecooling.us - couldn't decide on HS - where are the HS reviews these days??? $50
duct mod http://www.hardcorecooling.us/...IEWPROD&amp;ProdID=355 $7
arctic silver 5 $6
western digital wd740 sata 150 74gb 8mb cache 10k rpm $172
NEC 16X Double Layer DVD±RW Drive $64
floppy $8
6600 gt 128mb $200
antec sonata case w/380 watt PS $60
OCZ platinum pc3200 CL 2-3-2-5 or OCZ gold pc3700 EL 2.5-3-3-8 (???) $250

Awesome system, still I think you should go PCI E. If you don't want to then don't get the MSI board. Get the DFI Lanparty (http://www.newegg.com/app/View...13-136-147&amp;depa=0).

Edit: SOrry for the double post =(

 

[mikedev10]

thanks all... think i'm going with the following:

DFI "LANPARTY UT nF3 250Gb" $105
Athlon 64 3200 90nm 939pin $180
thermalright xp-90 $35
fan $10
arctic silver 5 $6
western digital wd740 sata 150 74gb 8mb cache 10k rpm $172
NEC 16X Double Layer DVD±RW Drive $64
floppy $8
6600 gt 128mb $200
antec sonata case w/380 watt PS $60
OCZ platinum pc3200 CL 2-3-2-5 $250

~$1100

 

[Cow Fly]

The motherboard you selected is for a socket 754 processor while you selected a 939 so they will not be compatible.

If you do not want PCI Express then get either

MSI "K8N Neo2 Platinum" NVIDIA nForce3 ULTRA Chipset Motherboard

or

ASUS "A8V Deluxe" VIA K8T800 Pro Chipset Motherboard

 

[mikedev10]

thanks!

 

[crimson117]

If you're getting a 6600GT you should really get PCI Express so you'll have an easier time upgrading in a year or two.

And I think you're overpaying for RAM; you'd get better performance by getting a gig of cheaper ram and getting a better video card or processor.

EDIT: There are several PCIe 128mb 6600GT's at newegg in your price range.

 

[freakflag]

Try THIS RAM if you want a little overclocking headroom....or....THIS
for a solid budget solution and spend the money you save to move up to THIS .

You won't regret it. BTW...that video card comes with a TRUE lifetime warranty and 24/7 toll free live support. You gotta love these guys .

EDIT: With this post, I just became a diamond member. I am so big pimpin'.

 

[RussianSensation]

ok listen if your primary concern is gaming, you should always consider the videocard first.

Start with 6800Gt for $370. Then start adding all other components to fit your budget.

Aggressive ram is a waste of money period. $45 cooler is a waste of money too because it'd be better to just step up with that money to a faster processor with a stock cooler giving u "free" mhz increase that's guaranteed unlike overclocking which isnt. Besides Winchesters reach 2500mhz easily on stock coolers (assuming they are good overclockers; so it's not cooling that is an issue for A64 overclocking, but quality of the chip itself (unlike the HOT Prescotts)).

Just get A64 3000/3200+ on socket 939 and $100 motherboard (platinum and so on is a waste of money as well since i bet u wont use half the features or u woudlnt be asking for advice if u were an expert in them). Stock cooler should be sufficient enough to reach same overclocking as a custom one unless you are into heavy voltage overclocking. 1 gig is a must. A raptor is more of a luxury item and wont do anything for gaming. You can save money on the hard drive and invest it into a better processor or videocard since real life difference isn't going to be dramatic with the Raptor, unlike the other more important components.

I'd only get a good soundcard if you have good speakers. $100 towards a soundcard is a lot of money that can go a long way to other components. But if you like listening to music and have good gaming speakers, that is certainly a good option. Audigy 2 zs for gaming, m-audio revolution for music.

Gigabit lan? only useful if u have a network of computers with gigabit network cards. Otherwise, useless.
For home use, your internet speed will be identical with 10/100 or 1000 lan card.

Case is an item of personal preference.

PSU - OCZ 420/470/520, Tagan 480, Antec 430/480/550, Seasonic 400, Enermax 475 etc.

 

[freakflag]

Originally posted by: RussianSensation
ok listen if your primary concern is gaming, you should always consider the videocard first.

Start with 6800Gt for $370. Then start adding all other components to fit your budget.

Aggressive ram is a waste of money period. $45 cooler is a waste of money too because it'd be better to just step up with that money to a faster processor with a stock cooler giving u "free" mhz increase that's guaranteed unlike overclocking which isnt. Besides Winchesters reach 2500mhz easily on stock coolers (assuming they are good overclockers; so it's not cooling that is an issue for A64 overclocking, but quality of the chip itself (unlike the HOT Prescotts)).

Just get A64 3000/3200+ on socket 939 and $100 motherboard (platinum and so on is a waste of money as well since i bet u wont use half the features or u woudlnt be asking for advice if u were an expert in them). Stock cooler should be sufficient enough to reach same overclocking as a custom one unless you are into heavy voltage overclocking. 1 gig is a must. A raptor is more of a luxury item and wont do anything for gaming. You can save money on the hard drive and invest it into a better processor or videocard since real life difference isn't going to be dramatic with the Raptor, unlike the other more important components.

I'd only get a good soundcard if you have good speakers. $100 towards a soundcard is a lot of money that can go a long way to other components. But if you like listening to music and have good gaming speakers, that is certainly a good option. Audigy 2 zs for gaming, m-audio revolution for music.

Gigabit lan? only useful if u have a network of computers with gigabit network cards. Otherwise, useless.
For home use, your internet speed will be identical with 10/100 or 1000 lan card.

Good points here. In fact, unless you're hardcore into your sound the onboard solutions on most of the Nforce based MB's are actually pretty sweet. You could skip the Audigy all together and get the 6800GT.

 

[BOLt]

AMD64 Rig

ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe Motherboard, Model ?A8N-SLI?
$201.99 from http://www.chumbo.com

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Winchester Processor, Model ?DA3200BIBOX?
$179.00 from http://www.monarchcomputer.com

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Paste, Model ?Arctic Silver 5?
$4.99 from http://www.ebay.com

Zalman CPU Cooler, Model ?CNPS7700-ALCU?
$47.48 from http://www.newegg.com

Crucial Ballistix 1GB (512MBx2) DDR PC-3200 RAM, Model ??
$227.46 from http://www.newegg.com

BFG GeForce 6800 GT OC PCI Express Video Card, Model ?BFGR68256GTOCX?
$399.99 from http://www.chumbo.com

Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS PCI Sound Card, Model ?SB0350?
$94.83 from http://www.jr.com

Western Digital Caviar Special Edition 80GB IDE Hard Drive, Model ?WD800JBRTL?
$30.98 ($90.98 - $60) from http://www.bestbuy.com
-and-
Western Digital Caviar Special Edition 80GB IDE Hard Drive, Model ?WD800JBRTL?
$30.98 ($90.98 - $60) from http://www.bestbuy.com

NOTE:
Rebates expire 12/24/05, but you can find similar deals elsewhere.
RAID 0 the WD Caviars for much quieter, much cheaper WD Raptor performance.

Maxtor DiamondMax 10 250GB SATA Hard Drive, Model ?6B250S0?
$175.00 from http://www.zipzoomfly.com

Lite-On DVD-ROM Drive, Model ?SOHD-167T?
~$25 from http://www.newegg.com

NEC Dual Layer DVD±RW Writer, Model ?ND-3500A?
~$60 from http://www.newegg.com

NOTE:
Optical drives can be found elsewhere for a few bucks cheaper at most -- I am still looking for the best deal on these. I post Newegg as the default because of its legenday reliability, efficiency and customer satisfaction.

NEC/Lite-On Floppy Drive, Model "?"
~$10 from (anywhere)

NOTE:
Floppy drive is necessary for enabling RAID drives, and it's a safe bet to spend 10 bucks, just in case.

Antec NeoPower 480W Power Supply, Model ?NeoPower 480?
$112.86 from http://www.pagecomputer.com

Antec Performance One Series ATX Mid-Tower (w/ Side Window Panel) Case, Model ?P160WF?
$130.99 from http://www.newegg.com

NOTE:
A matter of preference. Don't get a case with an included PSU is my only insist on this subject.

Antec 120mm Case Fan, Model ??
~$20 from http://www.newegg.com

Logitech Z-2200 2.1 THX Certified Speakers, Model ??
~$80 (AR) from (major vendor)

NOTE:
Get the retail version of this so that you can capitalize on the $50 rebate. For all intensive purposes, the Logitech Z-2200 2.1 speakers are identical to their next-of-kin, the Z-2300.

[Headphones], Model ???
$30 - $50 from (major vendor)

NOTE:
Get a retail version of whatever you buy just in case the headphones are bad. RMA/return/replacement is always easier with retail versions vs. OEM.

[Keyboard and Mouse], Model "?"
~$30 - $60 from (anywhere)

NOTE:
Matter of preference. Can't go wrong with a Logitech MX510 and a Logitech Elite Keyboard. I've head of some in-game performance issues with the MX700, so be careful and read up on the subject if you plan on getting the MX Duo.


As you can see, there is a lot of brand repitition. I am paranoid about product compatibility and compliancy issues, so forgive this bias. This is a relatively high-end system, and one that I am working on putting together right now. I had a component list handy, so I just pretty much copied and pasted with some additional notes here and there. I am of the mindset that it's better to save money and get the best cost-effective product I can find versus impulse buying or just going for the cheapest deals. I have been researching components for my new computer for over 2 months now, so rest assured, the items are checked and double-checked. Though it seems that you (addressing the thread's creator for lack of a definite audience) and I have much in common in terms of projected usage (i.e. LAN parties, medium-heavy gaming), your needs are invariably different in some aspect to my own. Given this, I offer the list as a guide to pick and choose from. OC'ing potential is high on my list of importance, so if you're into that, all the better. Enough for now, I'll let your weary eyes rest.

Good luck.

 

[BOLt]

As a preface, sorry for the double post!

I forgot to total up the cost of the rig that I just suggested. I added it up and -- oh damnit -- it's about $1900. That's a bit more than I thought it was when I compiled my list, so I am going to go back and revise it to shave off about $200.

*CRAP*