I'M DONE!! Tell me what you think before I spend $1100 hehe

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daweinah

Member
Jan 15, 2006
41
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Whew, its been a lot of fun getting hyped about finally building a new computer to replace my trusty 5-year old 1.5GHz P4, and I think I'm ready to display what I've put together for you all to pick apart. I'm pushing my budget, and I still have to find a disk drive! If you see any place to save, be sure to mention it!

This PC will be used for gaming, what else?

Case: AeroCool SPIRAL GALAXIES Aluminum ATX Case $85
Power Supply: Fortron AX450-PN ATX12V 450W Power Supply $50

Processor: AMD Opteron 148 Venus 1GHz FSB 1MB L2 Cache Socket 939 Processor - Retail - Retail $223
HS&F: Retail
Thermal Paste: Retail, pick up some AS5 if I need it

Motherboard: EPoX EP-9NPA+Ultra nForce4 Ultra AMD Motherboard - Retail $105

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s $110

Memory: Corsair XMS 2GB (2x1GB) 184-Pin DDR 400 (PC3200) $196 ($236-$40)

Video Card: eVGA 256mb N517-AX 7800GT $314

Disk Drive: NEC Black IDE/ATAPI DVD Burner Model ND-3550A - OEM $39

Speakers: getting from a friend

Sound Card: onboard

TOTAL: even $1200, w/ rush next day delivery


Thanks so much to everyone for your help! I am compltely satisfied with the purchase!
 
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Matt2

Diamond Member
Jul 28, 2001
4,762
0
0
Get a better PSU. You can find god ones for less that $60.

Look for a Fortron 450w
 
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Finns14

Golden Member
Oct 6, 2005
1,731
1
0
Originally posted by: Matt2
Get a better PSU. You can find god ones for less that $60.

Look for a Fortron 450w
Click to expand...


Ehh PSU should be fine also shop around a little more I know you can get some of that stuff cheaper go to pricegrabber and search.
 
YOyoYOhowsDAjello

YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Moderator<br>A/V & Home Theater<br>Elite member
Aug 6, 2001
31,205
45
91
Originally posted by: bountykiller
Hi. Congrats on your new system. This is my first post and just wanted to let you know that if you're concerned about saving a few bucks here and there...there are better deals out there on those items...specifically the cpu http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103535

and I think i saw the same vid card for 303. It was on a build on this forum somewhere. Just an FYI. Good luck.
Click to expand...

Welcome to AT to you too ;)

Good call on the 3200+. That's odd that newegg has two different prices for the same product.
 
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eXx08

Banned
May 28, 2005
2,363
0
0
looks liek a nice rig I go tthat same PSu and I love it very stable. I would say go with a Opteron 165 or 148.
 
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daweinah

Member
Jan 15, 2006
41
0
0
Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Originally posted by: bountykiller
Hi. Congrats on your new system. This is my first post and just wanted to let you know that if you're concerned about saving a few bucks here and there...there are better deals out there on those items...specifically the cpu http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103535

and I think i saw the same vid card for 303. It was on a build on this forum somewhere. Just an FYI. Good luck.
Click to expand...

Welcome to AT to you too ;)

Good call on the 3200+. That's odd that newegg has two different prices for the same product.
Click to expand...

The $160 version is Model #: ADA3200BPBOX, the $175 version is Model #: ADA3200CGBOX.

The difference is that the CG supports E4 stepping, where the BP only supports E3 stepping.

Where did you see the vid card for $303? There are cheaper eVGA 7800GT models, but they are part numbers N515, N516, and N518, which all have lower clock/memory speeds. The N518 is the one that comes with the free eVGA mobo.




 
YOyoYOhowsDAjello

YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Moderator<br>A/V & Home Theater<br>Elite member
Aug 6, 2001
31,205
45
91
Originally posted by: daweinah
Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Originally posted by: bountykiller
Hi. Congrats on your new system. This is my first post and just wanted to let you know that if you're concerned about saving a few bucks here and there...there are better deals out there on those items...specifically the cpu http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103535

and I think i saw the same vid card for 303. It was on a build on this forum somewhere. Just an FYI. Good luck.
Click to expand...

Welcome to AT to you too ;)

Good call on the 3200+. That's odd that newegg has two different prices for the same product.
Click to expand...

The $160 version is Model #: http://www.amdcompare.com/us-en/desktop/details.aspx?opn=ADA3200DAA4BP, the $175 version is Model #: http://www.amdcompare.com/us-en/desktop/details.aspx?opn=ADA3200DKA4CG.

The difference is that the CG supports E4 stepping, where the BP only supports E3 stepping.

Where did you see the vid card for $303? There are cheaper eVGA 7800GT models, but they are part numbers N515, N516, and N518, which all have lower clock/memory speeds. The N518 is the one that comes with the free eVGA mobo.
Click to expand...

Ah, gotcha. I didn't know newegg was dividing up the A64s by stepping now.
 
T

Twsmit

Senior member
Nov 30, 2003
925
0
76
Dont use AS5 if your using the stock cooler, there is a thermal pad on the stock heatsink already, it will be a bitch to scrape off.
 
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daweinah

Member
Jan 15, 2006
41
0
0
Originally posted by: Twsmit
Dont use AS5 if your using the stock cooler, there is a thermal pad on the stock heatsink already, it will be a bitch to scrape off.
Click to expand...

It won't be melted on if its brand new will it? If its really a PITA, I won't do it, but I'd like the practice incase I get an aftermarket HS&F later. Plus, it's only 6 bucks. Tell me I don't need a $300 video card to play Doom3 on max settings, however, and I'll be your best friend.
 
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CraigRT

Lifer
Jun 16, 2000
31,440
5
0
Originally posted by: daweinah
Originally posted by: Twsmit
Dont use AS5 if your using the stock cooler, there is a thermal pad on the stock heatsink already, it will be a bitch to scrape off.
Click to expand...

It won't be melted on if its brand new will it? If its really a PITA, I won't do it, but I'd like the practice incase I get an aftermarket HS&F later. Plus, it's only 6 bucks. Tell me I don't need a $300 video card to play Doom3 on max settings, however, and I'll be your best friend.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't do it either. You honestly don't need to practice, it's just thermal paste, you put on a thin (and I do mean thin) layer and you're good to go. I recommend installing the stock CPU cooler with the stock thermal pad.
 
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potato28

Diamond Member
Jun 27, 2005
8,964
0
0
Originally posted by: daweinah
Originally posted by: Twsmit
Dont use AS5 if your using the stock cooler, there is a thermal pad on the stock heatsink already, it will be a bitch to scrape off.
Click to expand...

It won't be melted on if its brand new will it? If its really a PITA, I won't do it, but I'd like the practice incase I get an aftermarket HS&F later. Plus, it's only 6 bucks. Tell me I don't need a $300 video card to play Doom3 on max settings, however, and I'll be your best friend.
Click to expand...

At what resolution? If higher resolutions, that video card will do it. Plus it will last u a few months... or years depending on how cheap u are...
 
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daweinah

Member
Jan 15, 2006
41
0
0
I was just joking, and I'll be damned if my 7800GT doesn't last a few years. I'm running a 128mb 5600 Ultra at the moment, and it gets the job done in WoW, EQ, Doom/HL2 but I have to tweak settings on everything. The first game I bought that I couldn't tweak to run smoothly is the new Ultimate Spider Man game (play as Venom!!). Whenever I'm swinging fast through the buildings, I get too much lag to really enjoy it.
 
bob4432

bob4432

Lifer
Sep 6, 2003
11,727
46
91
go a opteron 144 or 146 instead of the 3200. this will be for when you want to o/c as the opterons usually o/c better than the regular a64s
 
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daweinah

Member
Jan 15, 2006
41
0
0
I'm not too worried about OCing.. is there any other reason to get an Opteron instead of if yoiu plan to OC it? It seems like they are more expensive for a lower clock speed, are they even 64-bit? I don't really understand why the Opterons even exist.

I'll switch to the Fortran PSU.
 
bob4432

bob4432

Lifer
Sep 6, 2003
11,727
46
91
Originally posted by: daweinah
I'm not too worried about OCing.. is there any other reason to get an Opteron instead of if yoiu plan to OC it? It seems like they are more expensive for a lower clock speed, are they even 64-bit? I don't really understand why the Opterons even exist.

I'll switch to the Fortran PSU.
Click to expand...

opterons are "server" cpus, meaning they are the best of the best and of the highest quality standards meant to be in mission critical equipment that will run 24/7/years.

you could say they are all the same, but some are better than others due to silicon etc and other stuff i don't know about.

i think they put them on the market for the price to try to take over or grab more of the server market from intel. we, the "power users" just get a bonus for our desktop machines

and yes they are 64bit

and since the price is very close, the opteron has 2x the cache(not that you will notice it) and may possibly have a better resale value since they seem to be limited compared to a regular a64.
 
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daweinah

Member
Jan 15, 2006
41
0
0
Hmm, so would it be preferable to switch to an Opteron 146, which seems to be the closest to the 3200+?
 
DrMrLordX

DrMrLordX

Lifer
Apr 27, 2000
22,886
12,943
136
deleted, you already explained why you were getting AS5, though I'd stick with the pad anyway *P

Opteron 146 would only be good if you're overclocking.
 
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alimoalem

Diamond Member
Sep 22, 2005
4,025
0
0
opterons are hard to get but if you could come across one, you should get it. don't get the 165 (i think someone recommended it) cause it's too expensive for your budget...maybe a 146.

i'm guessing you've been udating your post throughout the replies cause your PSU and disk drive looks to be covered. if you want to save more and get under the $1000 mark, you could consider getting the corsair value ram instead of xms
 
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