HELP...Need your opinion

vikingblade · Sep 20, 2005

Hi guys. Its time again to upgrade my Gaming PC. Last time was a couple years ago. Im disabled and in a wheelchair, so, I wont be doing the building myself. Im planning on having it assembled at a local computer shop. Anyways, Ive done alot of research, but I wanted to tap into the collective computer expertise of this forum. Best forum around by the way. Im trying to keep my build at around $900-950 w/shipping. All at one place...NEgg. I already have a decent Huge monitor...Viewsonic P225fb, Speakers, keyboard and Mouse. My parts list are below. I believe I listed everything. Please look it over and give me your opinions, and or suggestions. I dont plan on OC since I want no trouble and desire solid stability. I run games mostly in 1024x768 but may increase if system is capable. I did have a few specific questions too...

EPoX EP-9NPA+Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - $95.00
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor - $146.00
Thermaltake Tsunami - Black Computer Case - $105.00
Maxtor DiamondMax 10 250GB 3.5" Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM - $107.00
Fortron 450W Power Supply - $49.99
CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Dual Channel Kit System Memory - $90.50
NEC ND-3540A - Black IDE DVD Burner Model - $39.90
HIS Hightech Radeon X800XL Video Card - $279.00

Before Shipping = $912.39
W/Shipping = $950.17

Will the Fortron 450 be enough?
Is the Maxtor a good choice? It has 16mb, ATA150 and decent reviews.
Is Corsair RAM Value good enough if not doing OC?
Im having difficulty deciding on a case... So many choices. I really need to keep it under $100 or so, or it blows my budget. The Tsunami looks nice...Dunno. Im also very attracted to the Raidmax Samurai for some sick reason...hehe. Any comments on it?
I think I will go for the BendQ 1640 DVD/RW Drive instead of the NEC but NEgg is out of stock. Is it worth waiting for or even ordering separately from someplace else.
Is the HIS X800XL my best bang for the buck. Is the XT or 7800GT really worth the xtra coin.

Once again, I need your opinions. I know youve gone through this before, please indulge me. Thanks guys. Much appreciated.

mOeeOm · Sep 20, 2005

Originally posted by: vikingblade
Hi guys. Its time again to upgrade my Gaming PC. Last time was a couple years ago. Im disabled and in a wheelchair, so, I wont be doing the building myself. Im planning on having it assembled at a local computer shop. Anyways, Ive done alot of research, but I wanted to tap into the collective computer expertise of this forum. Best forum around by the way. Im trying to keep my build at around $900-950 w/shipping. All at one place...NEgg. I already have a decent Huge monitor...Viewsonic P225fb, Speakers, keyboard and Mouse. My parts list are below. I believe I listed everything. Please look it over and give me your opinions, and or suggestions. I dont plan on OC since I want no trouble and desire solid stability. I run games mostly in 1024x768 but may increase if system is capable. I did have a few specific questions too...

EPoX EP-9NPA+Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - $95.00
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor - $146.00
Thermaltake Tsunami - Black Computer Case - $105.00
Maxtor DiamondMax 10 250GB 3.5" Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM - $107.00
Fortron 450W Power Supply - $49.99
CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Dual Channel Kit System Memory - $90.50
NEC ND-3540A - Black IDE DVD Burner Model - $39.90
HIS Hightech Radeon X800XL Video Card - $279.00

Before Shipping = $912.39
W/Shipping = $950.17

Will the Fortron 450 be enough?
Is the Maxtor a good choice? It has 16mb, ATA150 and decent reviews.
Is Corsair RAM Value good enough if not doing OC?
Im having difficulty deciding on a case... So many choices. I really need to keep it under $100 or so, or it blows my budget. The Tsunami looks nice...Dunno. Im also very attracted to the Raidmax Samurai for some sick reason...hehe. Any comments on it?
I think I will go for the BendQ 1640 DVD/RW Drive instead of the NEC but NEgg is out of stock. Is it worth waiting for or even ordering separately from someplace else.
Is the HIS X800XL my best bang for the buck. Is the XT or 7800GT really worth the xtra coin.

Once again, I need your opinions. I know youve gone through this before, please indulge me. Thanks guys. Much appreciated.

Yes Fortron is enough. Maxtor is never a good choice. Yes the RAM is good. That is a nice case, stay away from Raidmax Samurai. Yes the XT or 7800GT is worth it, but if newegg still has that deal of mobo + 7800Gt, go for it, if not a 7800GT is well worth it even alone. But ya, x800xl the best bang for the buck. If no overclocking, go for a cheaper mobo and buy a faster processor.

chrisrod01 · Sep 20, 2005

Perfect If you can add another 1 gig to ur ram

mOeeOm · Sep 20, 2005

Originally posted by: chrisrod01
Perfect If you can add another 1 gig to ur ram

1GB good enough, he only needs 2GB if he plans to play BF2 on high, or encoding.

t3h l337 n3wb · Sep 20, 2005

2GB is needed for BF2 and F.E.A.R., but 1GB should be enough for anything else. At this point though, I'd probably shoot for 2GB, since future games will probably need more than 1GB.

Azndude2190 · Sep 20, 2005

Originally posted by: vikingblade
Hi guys. Its time again to upgrade my Gaming PC. Last time was a couple years ago. Im disabled and in a wheelchair, so, I wont be doing the building myself. Im planning on having it assembled at a local computer shop. Anyways, Ive done alot of research, but I wanted to tap into the collective computer expertise of this forum. Best forum around by the way. Im trying to keep my build at around $900-950 w/shipping. All at one place...NEgg. I already have a decent Huge monitor...Viewsonic P225fb, Speakers, keyboard and Mouse. My parts list are below. I believe I listed everything. Please look it over and give me your opinions, and or suggestions. I dont plan on OC since I want no trouble and desire solid stability. I run games mostly in 1024x768 but may increase if system is capable. I did have a few specific questions too...

EPoX EP-9NPA+Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - $95.00
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor - $146.00
Thermaltake Tsunami - Black Computer Case - $105.00
Maxtor DiamondMax 10 250GB 3.5" Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM - $107.00
Fortron 450W Power Supply - $49.99
CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Dual Channel Kit System Memory - $90.50
NEC ND-3540A - Black IDE DVD Burner Model - $39.90
HIS Hightech Radeon X800XL Video Card - $279.00

Before Shipping = $912.39
W/Shipping = $950.17

Will the Fortron 450 be enough?
Is the Maxtor a good choice? It has 16mb, ATA150 and decent reviews.
Is Corsair RAM Value good enough if not doing OC?
Im having difficulty deciding on a case... So many choices. I really need to keep it under $100 or so, or it blows my budget. The Tsunami looks nice...Dunno. Im also very attracted to the Raidmax Samurai for some sick reason...hehe. Any comments on it?
I think I will go for the BendQ 1640 DVD/RW Drive instead of the NEC but NEgg is out of stock. Is it worth waiting for or even ordering separately from someplace else.
Is the HIS X800XL my best bang for the buck. Is the XT or 7800GT really worth the xtra coin.

Once again, I need your opinions. I know youve gone through this before, please indulge me. Thanks guys. Much appreciated.

Never hear of Forton so I wouldnt know but I do recommend any PSU from Antec or Seasonic.Maxtor is a good choice...they've never failed on me and I have 3 hard drives made by them and in your case its 16mb which is even better than the 3 8mb that I have...I have that exact same RAM it works perfect...btw do you plab onocing that 3000?

raildogg · Sep 20, 2005

everything looks great.

might want to get the hitachi 250gb, its sata2, has ncq and runs quieter and cooler than that Maxtor.

that Fortron is more than enough and is one of the better manufacturers out there

Pabster · Sep 20, 2005

I'd drop the Maxtor in favor of a 7200.8 Seagate.

Otherwise it looks like a nice build.

Markfw · Sep 20, 2005

Theres nothing wrong with Maxtor. I have never had one die out of 20 or so. But I had 2 WD's die. I still buy them though. Its all luck of the draw.

raildogg · Sep 20, 2005

Originally posted by: Markfw900
Theres nothing wrong with Maxtor. I have never had one die out of 20 or so. But I had 2 WD's die. I still buy them though. Its all luck of the draw.

i had a Maxtor in my very old computer. it was reliable but after many years it started going south but did not fail. so i replaced it with a Western Digital.

to be honest, after reading many horror stories about Maxtor it gives me pause, and I have had good experiences with WD. but since their Caviars are lacking ncq and not among the speediest drives out there, I think Hitachies, Seagates and Maxtors are a better choice if only slightly.

Pabster · Sep 20, 2005

Originally posted by: Markfw900
Theres nothing wrong with Maxtor. I have never had one die out of 20 or so. But I had 2 WD's die. I still buy them though. Its all luck of the draw.

Maxtor isn't a bad brand, I just like Seagate for the 5-year warranty. And they're pretty close price-wise as well.

Either drive will be fine.

vikingblade · Sep 20, 2005

THNX.. So, as far as Harddrives go, what would be best...

HITACHI - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822145048

SEAGATE - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822148065

Will these actually perform better than the Maxtor even though Maxtor has 16mb.

w00t · Sep 20, 2005

looks good except hardrive a samsung or seagate i would suggest.

vikingblade · Sep 21, 2005

Ok guys, so is it Seagate Barracuda or Hitachi Deskstar?

Also, any obvious conflicts... motherboard, harddrive, ram etc...

Any more suggestions on changes besides harddrive?

I really need more case input. I love the look of the Asus Vento http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811173008 and Thermaltake Xaser http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=11-133-154 but both are over $130. Any good advice on Cases under $100? OR anyone care to talk me into the Vento...hehe.

w00t · Sep 21, 2005

Seagate, i was also thinking about hitachi and seagate. seagate has a 5year warranty alot of people belive they are to be the best and they are quiet.

DavidoFoo · Sep 21, 2005

EPoX EP-9NPA+Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor
Thermaltake Tsunami - Black Computer Case
Maxtor DiamondMax 10 250GB 3.5" Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM
Seagate 7200.8 or Hitachi 7k250
Fortron 450W Power Supply - $49.99
CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Dual Channel Kit System Memory - $90.50
NEC ND-3540A - Black IDE DVD Burner Model
BenQ DW1640
HIS Hightech Radeon X800XL Video Card
BBA

DavidoFoo · Sep 21, 2005

Originally posted by: vikingblade
Ok guys, so is it Seagate Barracuda or Hitachi Deskstar?

Also, any obvious conflicts... motherboard, harddrive, ram etc...

Any more suggestions on changes besides harddrive?

I really need more case input. I love the look of the Asus Vento http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811173008 and Thermaltake Xaser http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=11-133-154 but both are over $130. Any good advice on Cases under $100? OR anyone care to talk me into the Vento...hehe.

Antec P180 or Sonata? Seagate for reliability/second to Samsung quietness and Hitachi for speed, although I've heard it is fairly quiet.

KayKay · Sep 21, 2005

everything looks good. i dislike the vento, and this is coming from me, a proud owner of what people consider an ugly case (http://www.tradexinfo.com/image1/eogre/ogresl(240x320).jpg)

Nothing wrong with maxtor, a lot of the negativity i think has carried over from some of the older generation maxtors, where as Im sure their reliability has improved in recent years.

Fortron PSU and Tsunami :thumbsup:

vikingblade · Sep 21, 2005

I almost forgot.... am i gonna need to buy extra cables etc.. or does everything come with what i need?

raildogg · Sep 21, 2005

Originally posted by: vikingblade
I almost forgot.... am i gonna need to buy extra cables etc.. or does everything come with what i need?

the components come with all the cables that you will need. more than enough

i1o0i · Sep 21, 2005

Originally posted by: vikingblade
Hi guys. Its time again to upgrade my Gaming PC. Last time was a couple years ago. Im disabled and in a wheelchair, so, I wont be doing the building myself. Im planning on having it assembled at a local computer shop. Anyways, Ive done alot of research, but I wanted to tap into the collective computer expertise of this forum. Best forum around by the way. Im trying to keep my build at around $900-950 w/shipping. All at one place...NEgg. I already have a decent Huge monitor...Viewsonic P225fb, Speakers, keyboard and Mouse. My parts list are below. I believe I listed everything. Please look it over and give me your opinions, and or suggestions. I dont plan on OC since I want no trouble and desire solid stability. I run games mostly in 1024x768 but may increase if system is capable. I did have a few specific questions too...

EPoX EP-9NPA+Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - $95.00
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor - $146.00
Thermaltake Tsunami - Black Computer Case - $105.00
Maxtor DiamondMax 10 250GB 3.5" Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM - $107.00
Fortron 450W Power Supply - $49.99
CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Dual Channel Kit System Memory - $90.50
NEC ND-3540A - Black IDE DVD Burner Model - $39.90
HIS Hightech Radeon X800XL Video Card - $279.00

Before Shipping = $912.39
W/Shipping = $950.17

Will the Fortron 450 be enough?
Is the Maxtor a good choice? It has 16mb, ATA150 and decent reviews.
Is Corsair RAM Value good enough if not doing OC?
Im having difficulty deciding on a case... So many choices. I really need to keep it under $100 or so, or it blows my budget. The Tsunami looks nice...Dunno. Im also very attracted to the Raidmax Samurai for some sick reason...hehe. Any comments on it?
I think I will go for the BendQ 1640 DVD/RW Drive instead of the NEC but NEgg is out of stock. Is it worth waiting for or even ordering separately from someplace else.
Is the HIS X800XL my best bang for the buck. Is the XT or 7800GT really worth the xtra coin.

Once again, I need your opinions. I know youve gone through this before, please indulge me. Thanks guys. Much appreciated.

:thumbsup:

Sunrise089 · Sep 21, 2005

People, I don't think you are looking at these choices carefully enough. The originator of the thread is buying a 3000+ and NOT overclocking - this does not seem like a good idea to me. I agree with the first responder. Before changing things like your perfectly acceptable hard drive and PS, upgrade to a faster Athlon. While the A64 3000+ is a great processor, most who choose it will overclock to ~4000+ speeds. If you are not going to do so then I would buy at least a 3500+ Venice. If you can save a bit of $$$ from finding a better MB deal than thats great.

Hope this helps.

vikingblade · Sep 21, 2005

Originally posted by: Sunrise089
People, I don't think you are looking at these choices carefully enough. The originator of the thread is buying a 3000+ and NOT overclocking - this does not seem like a good idea to me. I agree with the first responder. Before changing things like your perfectly acceptable hard drive and PS, upgrade to a faster Athlon. While the A64 3000+ is a great processor, most who choose it will overclock to ~4000+ speeds. If you are not going to do so then I would buy at least a 3500+ Venice. If you can save a bit of $$$ from finding a better MB deal than thats great.

Hope this helps.

will the 3000 really limit my gaming performance? im coming from a athlon xp 2800, ati 9700 pro. i assumed a modern athlon 643000 with a much better graphics card would be a huge improvement.

as stated, i originally didntintend to overclock..didnt think i needed to. however, i really cant afford much more on a processor. does the 3000 overclock well? what is involved...software, additionial fans/cooling? im new to overclocking.

do i need to look at additional cpu cooling... How about these...

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835100007

ZALMAN 120mm 2 Ball Cooling Fan http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835118115

Sunrise089 · Sep 21, 2005

Originally posted by: vikingblade

Originally posted by: Sunrise089
People, I don't think you are looking at these choices carefully enough. The originator of the thread is buying a 3000+ and NOT overclocking - this does not seem like a good idea to me. I agree with the first responder. Before changing things like your perfectly acceptable hard drive and PS, upgrade to a faster Athlon. While the A64 3000+ is a great processor, most who choose it will overclock to ~4000+ speeds. If you are not going to do so then I would buy at least a 3500+ Venice. If you can save a bit of $$$ from finding a better MB deal than thats great.

Hope this helps.

Click to expand...

will the 3000 really limit my gaming performance? im coming from a athlon xp 2800, ati 9700 pro. i assumed a modern athlon 643000 with a much better graphics card would be a huge improvement.

as stated, i originally didntintend to overclock..didnt think i needed to. however, i really cant afford much more on a processor. does the 3000 overclock well? what is involved...software, additionial fans/cooling? im new to overclocking.

do i need to look at additional cpu cooling...

IMHO, you are just probably unnecessarily limiting yourself by your 3000+. You can lookup the CPU scaling articles here on Anandtech to see just what type of a limiting factor the 3000+ would be (mostly dependent on what resolution you use), but my belief is if you can OC the 3000+ and get great results, why not take the time and effort? I know there would be those who say "because overclocking isn't for me" and fair enough, but then you probably shouldn't pair a mid-high priced GPU with a low-mid priced processor. I think for all the wonderful attention sexy new graphics cards receive, most of the time users are not playing games, and video cards help ONLY when they are playing games, so spending nearly double on the video card relative to the processor isn't what I would do.

Back on topic however, you can get around that last provision EASILY by overclocking. Results around this forum show people routinely hitting 2.4ghz and oftentimes hitting 2.6ghz with retail HSF cooled 3000+ chips. To restate those gains, that's taking a 3000+ to the level of a 3800+ at 2.4ghz, and to the level of a 4000+ or better at 2.6ghz, basically for free.

There are lots of others topics on overclocking the A64 on these forums, and lots of other more knowledgeable people, but I think planning on overclocking will make your GPU and CPU exist on a more level playing field. (Or don't overclock, and get the 3500+, that would be a little more $$$, but probably also more than satisfactory.)

vikingblade · Sep 21, 2005

Thanks... ill have to research overclocking a bit.

HELP...Need your opinion

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