Just spent 2.5k

[HannibalX]

Retired my old system and just sent my order in to Newegg for the new one. It came out to more than I wanted to spend, oh well. I can't wait for all the parts to get here!! Here is the order list from NE. I am reusing some things from the old system (DVD burner, speakers, etc).

ASUS A8N-SLI Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard
Antec Performance I P180 Silver
2 GENERIC 18" 2-Head Red SATA
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
ZALMAN CNPS7700-CU
MITSUMI Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal USB 2.0 digital card reader with Floppy Drive
Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD4000KD 400GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive
CORSAIR XMS 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 433 (PC 3500)
Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-550 ATX12V 550W Power Supply
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ Toledo 2000MHz
Creative SOUND BLASTER X-Fi Platinum 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card
BFG Tech BFGR79512GTXOCE Geforce 7900GTX 512MB GDDR3

 

[InlineFour]

you pretty much blew your load on the 4800+. also, i would have gone with a cheaper video card and overclocked for the same performance.

EDIT: i hope you have fun building it.

 

[SparkyJJO]

nice! Did you get dual graphics cards? I assume not... but if you plan on getting a second one you may need to upgrade the PSU. I have that exact same PSU, very nice and quiet, but not sure if it has enough amps on the 12V for dual graphics cards, especially with everything else you have in there. For a single card you'll be fine.

 

[honkee]

you should feel sick for buying a 4800 and 7700 cooler

 

[HannibalX]

My buddy has the same CPU and cooler, his idles at about 37c, goes to about 47c under BF2 load - whats wrong witht that?

Just bought one video card, may get another on in a few months once the wife quits buggin me about this new system!

 

[bamacre]

Have fun. But damn.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

wrong cooler. thats old now, the best cooler is now the scythe ninja or tuniq tower? do some research on this.. the most waste of money in that system is probably the raptor, a 16mb cache HD is nearly as fast. if i were you i'd get the x1900xtx, because i'd rather play my games with HDR, SM3.0, AA, AF on at the same time, something the x1900xt(x) is great at. can save some money by not getting such an expensive video card, the sound difference is minimal between that and onboard. not enough to justify $100+

 

[HannibalX]

Originally posted by: LOUISSSSS
wrong cooler. thats old now, the best cooler is now the scythe ninja or tuniq tower? do some research on this.. the most waste of money in that system is probably the raptor, a 16mb cache HD is nearly as fast. if i were you i'd get the x1900xtx, because i'd rather play my games with HDR, SM3.0, AA, AF on at the same time, something the x1900xt(x) is great at. can save some money by not getting such an expensive video card, the sound difference is minimal between that and onboard. not enough to justify $100+

Riiight.

 

[Nocturnal]

Would've opted for the A8N32 over the Premium.

 

[Markbnj]

you should feel sick for buying a 4800 and 7700 cooler

I have a 4400+ with the same cooler, idles at 34c loads to 52c, overclocked to 2.5 ghz.

Should I feel sick, too?

 

[LOUISSSSS]

Originally posted by: Trinitron

Originally posted by: LOUISSSSS
wrong cooler. thats old now, the best cooler is now the scythe ninja or tuniq tower? do some research on this.. the most waste of money in that system is probably the raptor, a 16mb cache HD is nearly as fast. if i were you i'd get the x1900xtx, because i'd rather play my games with HDR, SM3.0, AA, AF on at the same time, something the x1900xt(x) is great at. can save some money by not getting such an expensive video card, the sound difference is minimal between that and onboard. not enough to justify $100+

Riiight.

"right"? what do you mean, my 4800+ idles at 30C and load at 40C.
i play FEAR, COD2, CS:S with everything on max quality with x1900xt

 

[SoundTheSurrender]

What a waste.

 

[TrevorRC]

Originally posted by: LOUISSSSS
wrong cooler. thats old now, the best cooler is now the scythe ninja or tuniq tower? do some research on this.. the most waste of money in that system is probably the raptor, a 16mb cache HD is nearly as fast. if i were you i'd get the x1900xtx, because i'd rather play my games with HDR, SM3.0, AA, AF on at the same time, something the x1900xt(x) is great at. can save some money by not getting such an expensive video card, the sound difference is minimal between that and onboard. not enough to justify $100+

Louisss, realize we all don't listen on a 10 dollar pair of headphones.

Some people [myself included] have decent ears, and use speakers for more than just gaming [placement]. Some people actually like listening to [GASP!].....MUSIC!

And, sorry, we don't like hearing funny sounding noises coming out of our speakers because the onboard sound can't handle it or because the speakers are junk.

That's what YOU would rather do.

Not everyone else in the world.

The raptor will allow SUBSTANTIALLY faster load times.
--Trevor

 

[HannibalX]

Exactly. If the onboard audio is so good why don't hollywood movie makers use it? LOL.

I have the Raptor in my machine at work (I'm an IT guy) and it sold me the first hour I used it. Well worth the money IMO.

To the dissenters - not all of us work for five bucks an hour and are working with a $300.00 budget. Yeah I could have gone the cheapie route and "OVERCLOCKED IT OMFZzzz!!11" but why? I keep systems a min of three years so overclocking never even enters my mind.

 

[KayKay]

4800 x2 probably not the best choice.

BIG MAN getting a 150 raptor

x1900xtx is top of the charts right now for the most part

 

[Cabages]

I say if you have the money, spend it. Unless you are basically just wasting your money.

You probably could have gone with a 7900GT and clocked it to the GTX, but its your money.

Hope you have fun with it. Was your old system pretty old?

 

[honkee]

My point is since hes wasting so much money on a new pc, why not get the best heatsink when its only a couple dollars difference.
I used a 7700 back then with my barton if i recall correctly.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

well alright than, i also got my audigy 2 zs plat. last year for 180, was it worth it? i guesso. i'm using logitech z2300 and bose triports. which is $10?
if u weren't looking to cut costs than ignor that post. its your money get w/e u want with it. i agree with the raptor being faster but, is a few seconds of load from game times really worth the extra money, if it is then fine.

 

[HannibalX]

The old system was an XP3200, Radeon 9800 Pro, SB Live 5.1, etc, etc. Nice for what it was and served me well for three years.

 

[Chris2wire]

DooD, sounds awesome.

Just let the dizzy feeling subside - Trust me you wont even think about price when you're in a trance playing the latest games at the highest resolutions and lovin every moment of it!

For all of those that say "save money, get lower and overclock it" what happened to the relaxing advantage of being able to just plug something in and use it without touching clock speed?

Personally, I think the ease of use is somewhat worth the extra dollars.

 

[EffeX]

Why overclock if you have the money to buy one at stock speeds?

 

[smopoim86]

I think the stock cooler with the 4800 is better than the 7700, my 4800@stock idles around 27, and load around 40

 

[fire400]

Originally posted by: Chris2wire
DooD, sounds awesome.

Just let the dizzy feeling subside - Trust me you wont even think about price when you're in a trance playing the latest games at the highest resolutions and lovin every moment of it!

For all of those that say "save money, get lower and overclock it" what happened to the relaxing advantage of being able to just plug something in and use it without touching clock speed?

Personally, I think the ease of use is somewhat worth the extra dollars.

Worth it if he can squeeze every molecule of technology out of all of the components that he's gotten, personally retail gaming hardware just doesn't appeal to me; when you can find workstation equipment to push way beyond the limits of the latest gaming equipment available.

 

[Throwmeabone]

Originally posted by: LOUISSSSS
wrong cooler. thats old now, the best cooler is now the scythe ninja or tuniq tower? do some research on this.. the most waste of money in that system is probably the raptor, a 16mb cache HD is nearly as fast. if i were you i'd get the x1900xtx, because i'd rather play my games with HDR, SM3.0, AA, AF on at the same time, something the x1900xt(x) is great at. can save some money by not getting such an expensive video card, the sound difference is minimal between that and onboard. not enough to justify $100+

Agree with most of it except the sound. X-Fi defecates on any onboard sound and you WILL notice it.

 

[LittleNemoNES]

weird... My rig cost ~2500 and I got a lot more than that...(sans the headphones)

edit: OHSHIZ! You spent so much money on the processor...

The 7900 GTX cost close to 100 more than an x1900xt...

I don't wanna rain on your parade but you may have jumped the gun on this purchase...