I'm building a new computer and want your opinions

[Marcusben]

I've done a fair amount of research and know the primary software I will be using (25% medium gaming, 50% MS Office & internet stuff, 25% A/V editing with Adobe Video Collection). I've never messed with overclocking, but I might dabble in some minimal stuff. I already have 2.1 speakers, mouse, keyboard, and a 19.8" CRT Sony Trinitron. That being said, here is what I have so far ($1,300 before shipping):

Antec Performace I P-160WF http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811129144
ATI Radeon X800XL http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814102509
AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819103562
EPoX EP-9NPA+ Ultra ATX AMD Mobo http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813123236
Corsair ValueSelect 1GB http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820145505
Atech Flash Pro 9 Card Reader http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820176813
Alps Floppy Drive http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820176813
Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 250GB http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822148065
NEC IDE DL Burner http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16827152053
Antec Smart Power 2.0 500W http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103937

I want a dual proc b/c I think it will help the video editing stuff. I don't think I need SLI b/c I'm not sure the benefits outweight the costs. I've read that the case and hard drive are quiet, which is important since I will be getting into some audio recording at some point.

Thoughts???? Any bad products in the list, or obvious ways to improve with substantially raising the $$$$? Thanks in advance

 

[Ricemarine]

If you go to silentpcreview.com, P-160 is not even close to quiet... It rattles like crazy. If you want quiet... go for the Silverstone TJ-06, Antec SLK-3000B, or any other case on their recommended list.

If you could, get an ultra-D and some mushkin redline possibly... But if you like your setup, go for it.

 

[nick1985]

Originally posted by: Ricemarine


If you could, get an ultra-D

why? Anandtech gave the epox board a sweet review:


"The Epox 9NPA+ Ultra is the fastest board in the roundup at stock speeds. It was also the highest overclocker at stock speeds, and the second highest overclocker when the bus was overclocked. The Epox is an incredible value whether you are looking for a board that will run fast with stability at stock speeds or a board that will satisfy almost any Athlon 64 enthusiast. The range of overclocking options and the overclocked performance are among the best that we have seen, falling short only in the memory voltage area, which tops out at 3.1V. The feature set is more or less average for Ultra boards, but the overall performance is clearly standout. Based on the standout performance and solid overclocking that we achieved with the Athlon 64, we are pleased to award the AnandTech Gold Editors Choice to the Epox 9NPA+ Ultra motherboard."

It got a gold editors choice just like the DFI board, so why in heck should he switch?

 

[Some1ne]

All good picks, about what I'd expect given that you did "research", presumably at least some of it on these boards.

The DFI thing is really only for if you plan on (heavy) overclocking (the Epox will overclock just fine, it's just not quite as optimized for it as the DFI board is), otherwise there's really no advantage over the Epox (and personally I think the DFI has a disadvantage, with its silly second PCI-E x16 slot). Given that you're getting a 3800+ however, overclocking is definately something that I think you should consider, and you may want to go a step up on the RAM, and get something rated for DDR500 or at least more aggressive timings at DDR400 to give you some extra overclocking headroom.

 

[daftpunkit]

Case is eh, so-so. P180 is ideal for silence, but costs $130ish.

Ram, get 2x1GB (2GB) if you plan to do AV editing, and it future proofs for future gaming. Some nice OCZ or Corsair/Crucial value ram is good with the Epox, but DFI seems to be a bit picky I think towards value ram.

 

[Ricemarine]

DFI bios has more options...

Higher VDIMM, they tend to be good. but not meant for n00bs...
If you want o/cing power. go for it... but I don't mind what you choose... they're both nice.

 

[coomar]

both mobo's are fine

i would get better ram though, preferably 2x1gb

that exact videocard is close to 70 dollars cheaper at tigerdirect fyi

 

[Bona Fide]

Antec Sonata II if you want a quiet case...

 

[w00t]

Originally posted by: nick1985

Originally posted by: Ricemarine


If you could, get an ultra-D

why? Anandtech gave the epox board a sweet review:


"The Epox 9NPA+ Ultra is the fastest board in the roundup at stock speeds. It was also the highest overclocker at stock speeds, and the second highest overclocker when the bus was overclocked. The Epox is an incredible value whether you are looking for a board that will run fast with stability at stock speeds or a board that will satisfy almost any Athlon 64 enthusiast. The range of overclocking options and the overclocked performance are among the best that we have seen, falling short only in the memory voltage area, which tops out at 3.1V. The feature set is more or less average for Ultra boards, but the overall performance is clearly standout. Based on the standout performance and solid overclocking that we achieved with the Athlon 64, we are pleased to award the AnandTech Gold Editors Choice to the Epox 9NPA+ Ultra motherboard."

It got a gold editors choice just like the DFI board, so why in heck should he switch?

Amen, brother

 

[Ricemarine]

Fine lol...

keep the motherboard

but change the freakin case.

 

[w00t]

Originally posted by: Ricemarine
DFI bios has more options...

Higher VDIMM, they tend to be good. but not meant for n00bs...
If you want o/cing power. go for it... but I don't mind what you choose... they're both nice.

ur a n00b.

 

[d2arcturus]

Both are great boards, although the EPoX is usually cheaper. That itself makes it the winner in my book, plus it will run Corsair RAM just fine unlike the DFI board.

Why are you getting both a card reader and a floppy drive with a card reader?

I also suggest looking at the new WD Caviar SE16 250GB. $10 more than the Seagate with 16MB cache.

 

[Ricemarine]

Originally posted by: w00t

Originally posted by: Ricemarine
DFI bios has more options...

Higher VDIMM, they tend to be good. but not meant for n00bs...
If you want o/cing power. go for it... but I don't mind what you choose... they're both nice.

i'm such a n00b.

fixed.

 

[w00t]

Originally posted by: Ricemarine

Originally posted by: w00t

Originally posted by: Ricemarine
DFI bios has more options...

Higher VDIMM, they tend to be good. but not meant for n00bs...
If you want o/cing power. go for it... but I don't mind what you choose... they're both nice.

ur a n00b.

I am a n00b.

fixed

edit: kk no more we jacking this guys thread dont wanna get banned.

 

[Ricemarine]

Originally posted by: w00t

Originally posted by: Ricemarine

Originally posted by: w00t

Originally posted by: Ricemarine
DFI bios has more options...

Higher VDIMM, they tend to be good. but not meant for n00bs...
If you want o/cing power. go for it... but I don't mind what you choose... they're both nice.

ur a n00b.

I am a n00b.

fixed

edit: kk no more we jacking this guys thread dont wanna get banned.

K. lol
Just hope everything goes well with his pc.

 

[stevty2889]

I'd go with the Antec Sonatta II if you want something that is quiet, and it comes with a 450w PSU, 500w is an overkill for that system, and 2GB of ram will help a good bit with video editing/encoding. I am happy with the DFI lanparty Nf4 ultra myself, and using OCZ ram.

 

[Marcusben]

Thanks for all the responses!

Ricemarine - I figured the P-160 was quiet based on this review: http://www.anandtech.com/casecooling/showdoc.aspx?i=2346&p=9. The forums on silent review have some mixed reviews: http://silentpcreview.pricegrabber.com/....php/masterid=1811841/id_type=masterid

I guess I'm still a little undecided. The first case I looked at seriously was the Sonata II, but I was worried about the door hinge problem, and I liked the temperature gauge and window of the P-160. Hmmm......

I'm pretty set on not getting the DFI. The price bump and time investment aren't worth it to me, especially when I am not OCing that much.

Some1ne & daftpunkit & coomar - I was planning on upgrading to 2GB RAM when I did the video editing (a few months off). I was just going to get a second stick of the same memory. Will Corsair be my bottleneck?

coomar - I'm going to use anadtech's pricing engine to get the best prices (tigerdirect, newegg, zipzoomfly)

d2arcturus - I will look at that other hard drive. Seems a lot of people are also buying the 10,000 RPM Raptor. I just heard Seagate is quiet and reliable. Also, I don't think that card reader can read floppies. I guess I could use a flash card for booting....

stevty2889 - Thanks. I didn't know how much power I would need. I knew the 350s we a little low, but I figured I was safe with Antec. The Sonata II 450W sounds good....

 

[KoolDrew]

That case you chose is not bad at all, but have you considreed the Antec P180? It is really quiet and cools very well. For the price of that X800Xl I would get the 6800GT. The 6800GT is a better card and can be found for the same price. The Corsair VS RAM is fine, but I generally recommend cheap crucial sticks. They overclock well for a reasonable price. As for the PSu I recommend the Fortron AX500-A. Also the Samsung drives are the quietest available.

If you want quiet I also highly suggest checking out SilentPcReview.

 

[Marcusben]

Thanks for the reply. $150 might be a little steep for me & the P180. If I go that high, I might start looking at the Lian Li's. I read that the 6800GT is only better when it comes to Doom3 (http://www.anandtech.com/guides/showdoc.aspx?i=2426&p=5):

"Performance is comparable to the 6800GT in most games (Doom 3 being the exception), and the price is actually under the $299 MSRP that ATI suggested at the X800XL launch."

Thanks again for the help.

Any other opinions?

 

[coomar]

229.00

 

[yourdeardaniel]

nice case http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811112091

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Originally posted by: Marcusben
Thanks for the reply. $150 might be a little steep for me & the P180. If I go that high, I might start looking at the Lian Li's. I read that the 6800GT is only better when it comes to Doom3 (http://www.anandtech.com/guides/showdoc.aspx?i=2426&p=5):

"Performance is comparable to the 6800GT in most games (Doom 3 being the exception), and the price is actually under the $299 MSRP that ATI suggested at the X800XL launch."

Thanks again for the help.

Any other opinions?

Monarch is selling the P180 this weekend for $99 w/free shipping after $20MIR, its a much better case IMO