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First time custom gaming rig (altered rig plan)

N

naddicott

Senior member
I think all these parts should work together, and I'd like to do some conservative overclocking (not past 2GHZ) if I can manage it with stock cooling & heatsinks. Here's what I'm looking at:

Case - Fong Kai FK320ATX
Additional Fan - Panaflo 92mm 2500 RPM
CD-ROM - Sony OEM 52X drive
HD - Seagate Barracuda IV 40GB
RAM - 2X DDR 256 PC2700 Mushkin
MB - SOYO P4S Dragon Ultra DDR 333
CPU - P4 1.6A
Video - Gainward GF4 Ti4200
OS - Windows XP Pro OEM
[edit - rig plan is altered below]

Monitor - some old 17"er borrowed from a friend until I have cash for something decent.
Keyboard & Mouse - recycled from older systems.

I haven't been shopping around too agressively, but I end up hitting right around the $1k mark with this rig. I'm trying to be cost conscious without compromising on performance. Ideally I'd like to see 120+ fps at 600x800 in Morrowind, Warcraft3, and Neverwinter Nights. If the system can play some of next year's titles, that'd be nice too.

I've tried to have a bias towards quiet components, but I'm not willing to spend the money required for a truly silent PC. Might get the 80GB WD SE instead of the Barracuda, but I don't know if the additional speed will be noticable. I'll be missing the boat on Serial ATA and the upcoming 8mb cache Barracuda V with that motherboard, but I really need a system I can play Neverwinter and Warcraft3 on ASAP.

I'd appreciate any feedback. I've read the FAQs and lurked for the last couple months. Just a 'yeah, those parts should work together' would calm my nerves. Thanks.
 
yeah, those parts should work together 😉

oh and the WD SE is a lot better than barracuda, definitely noticeable... and its quite cheap too IMO
 
Thanks for the reassurance, I think I will go with the WD drive then. Yes, I do know that 'conservative overclocking' is an oxymoron. 😛

What will the biggest source of noise on this system probably be? The stock fan in the PSU that comes with the case? The stock intel heatsink fan? The sony CD-ROM drive? I'm very open to suggestions that would reduce system noise without significantly increasing my total budget or crippling gaming performance.

One more question, will the 1.6A come with a heatsink already attached, and if it's not already attached should I add some Arctic Silver 3 to my purchase? (I don't want to mess with removing the Heatsink if it's already attached)

 
First off welcome to Anandtech. I have learned more in these forums in the last few months then any class can teach and I am sure you will as well.

I have about the same setup and love it. Great for gaming. Ti4200 rocks (I have the 64mb one) and the 1.6a will do 2 ghz easy w/ low teps and stock HS/fan. I have 3 case fans and temps are under 40. I went with a Maxtor 40 gig HD w. Fluid bearings. It is very fast and silent. As for the HS/fan. It is not already installed and you will need to remove the stock thermal pad then apply the AS3. It was my 1st time to do so and it went flawlessly. I even used some AS3 on my Ti4200 🙂. Good luck and feel free to PM me w. specific questions etc. As for noise. That should be very quiet. Mine is nearly silent. I used Panaflo case fans but the stock fan on the P4 is also quiet. My biggest noise source is the rocking Logitech z560's powered by a Turtle Beach SC.
Enjoy,
herb
 
Nice to know this rig (at least approximately) has been put together by someone else already and worked well. I'd like to put in a Santa Cruz at a later date, but for the short term I'll be playing with headphones anyway, so I'm hoping the onboard sound will hold me for a bit.

I probably won't place the order for at least another week (still researching and second guessing each part of the rig - kinda fun), but if I have specific questions while building I won't hesitate to PM you and/or seek help from the tech support forum.

These forums rock. 🙂
 
Sorry about the bump, but my plan has a new iteration:

Case - Fong Kai FK320ATX
Additional Fan - Panaflo 92mm 2500 RPM
DVD-ROM - Lite-On 16X DVD LTD-163 Black
HD - WD SE 80GB 7200RPM 8MB cache
RAM - 1X DDR 512 PC2700 Mushkin
MB - ASUS P4S5333 (SiS 645DX chipset)
CPU - P4 1.6A
Video - Gainward GF4 Ti4200
OS - Windows XP Home Edition OEM
Sound Card - SoundBlaster Live! 5.1 OEM
Arctic Silver 3 thermal compound.
Some cheapo black floppy to fill the gap in the case.
Network interface card (2nd jack so I can use the PC as a software router for my laptop at times).

Main changes are the different Motherboard (saved some $ and uses 645DX chipset instead of the plain 645 in the Soyo), the soundcard (so I'll have zero game compatabitity worries), the cheaper version of Windows XP (giving MS less of my hard earned $), and a DVD-ROM instead of a CD-ROM (48X CD read instead of 52X, but I get DVD replay for only a few more bucks).

Am I getting any better here or is this a step in the wrong direction? Also, does anyone know if the ASUS Motherboard comes with IDE/ATA cables like the soyo does or should I add a couple cables to the cart too? If so, round cables?
 
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