K guys, cancelled twice already, Final build specs..

[jc9970]

Hey all,

So after cancelling 2 orders, I believe I have figured out a decent build. Before I make the final purchase, can you guys point out anything that could be changed to improve performance? Thanks a ton in advance.


Opteron 175
ASUS A8N-SLI Premium
Thermalright XP90c with Panaflow fan
CORSAIR XMS 2GB (2 x 1GB) Twinx2048-3200c2pt 2-3-3-6
2 Hitachi Deskstar T7K250 250GB Serial ATA II 7200RPM Hard Drive w/8MB Buffer
eVGA 256-P2-N527-AX Geforce 7800GTX 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16
Antec P180
Antec TruePower 2.0 EPS12V 550W Power Supply
Pioneer DVR-110D 16X Dual Layer DVD±RW Drive




*Please note that I'm going with an SLi setup because i plan to buy another card for christmas *

 

[Wentelteefje]

Looks extremely impressive to me... :Q Shouldn't cause any problems...

Beautiful case: check
Stable and powerful PSU: check
Lots of RAM: check
SLI with 7800GTX's: check
... (I'll quit here before I start crying... )

I honestly don't think there's much that will improve this one's performance... perhaps dual 7800GTX with 512MB?

 

[Diasper]

Looks good to me.

One thing I might recommend is a different motherboard - the newer Asus A8R-MVP.


Anandtech did a review recently and to me it looks like it has everything I'd be concerned with at a lower price point. (passive cooled, excellent OCer, stable (not-finicky like nforce4?), excellent for on-board sound - HD Azalia (update to that on the Sapphire?), nice layout, etc etc. It should be out shortly - next couple of weeks.

Btw how's that RAM at overclocking? With an X2 you'll probably be wanting to run it at DDR500+ at tightest timings possible as dual-core does see some benefit with greater bandwidth.

But yeah, you're build looks great build. You could probably save alot of money and get similiar performance (eg within 10%) but I guess you know that anyway.


[Edit] Just saw you want to run SLI... IMHO not worth it as theyll always be a better single card solution not long after. But in that case I'd recommend the newest Asus A8N32-SLI board (two proper x16 PCI-E lanes + excellent overclocking and stability)

 

[ribbon13]

Opteron 175 is awesome. :thumbsup: Got one testing right now. Xmas present for the GF. Max so far is 2.7GHz (64-bit) on stock HSF+AS5. 32-bit can hit 2.9GHz.

-->> Get the A8N32-SLI or don't get Asus at all. <<--

The Mushkin redline is the best ram, seconded by OCZ EB PC4000, thirded by that Corsair.

Western Digital WD4000KDs are the killer drives to get.

Antec PSUs never touch any machine I work with.

I'd go with a Plextor PX-740A myself.

 

[jc9970]

Originally posted by: Diasper
Looks good to me.

One thing I might recommend is a different motherboard - the newer Asus A8R-MVP.


Anandtech did a review recently and to me it looks like it has everything I'd be concerned with at a lower price point. (passive cooled, excellent OCer, stable (not-finicky like nforce4?), excellent for on-board sound - HD Azalia (update to that on the Sapphire?), nice layout, etc etc. It should be out shortly - next couple of weeks.

Btw how's that RAM at overclocking? With an X2 you'll probably be wanting to run it at DDR500+ at tightest timings possible as dual-core does see some benefit with greater bandwidth.

But yeah, you're build looks great build. You could probably save alot of money and get similiar performance (eg within 10%) but I guess you know that anyway.

Thanks a ton for the replies all,

Could you recommend some good DDR500 memory with good timings?

 

[jc9970]

Originally posted by: ribbon13
Opteron 175 is awesome. :thumbsup: Got one testing right now. Xmas present for the GF. Max so far is 2.7GHz (64-bit) on stock HSF+AS5. 32-bit can hit 2.9GHz.

-->> Get the A8N32-SLI or don't get Asus at all. <<--

The Mushkin redline is the best ram, seconded by OCZ EB PC4000, thirded by that Corsair.

Western Digital WD4000KDs are the killer drives to get.

Antec PSUs never touch any machine I work with.

I'd go with a Plextor PX-740A myself.

Any type of Mushkin redline? Or is there just 1 type?

 

[Diasper]

Crucial Ballistix sticks at least not long ago were generally rated as the highest performing sticks you could get (probably at the largest price too).

However, there are probably others out there now that will perform very well and may offer a better performance/price ratio. Unfortunately, RAM is one of these things that are least well covered while manufacturer's can often end up changing the manufactured modules at the turn of the hat. In short it's far from a clear field.

I remember a while back AMDzone did a review on 2 x 1GB sticks which might be worth searching for. Otherwise, look round for newer reviews else get people's opinions on what's good - one suggestion might be to head over to xtremesystems forums and see what their members are using/recommending as they're probably on the most cutting edge/update when it comes to this sorta things.

Oh yeah i edited my post before as well - Asus A8N32 SLI if you're looking to go SLI at any point. Just remember to buy a sound card too - Audigy 2 ZS is a solid recommendation.

 

[ribbon13]

You want Mushkin 991492

 

[jc9970]

Originally posted by: Diasper
Crucial Ballistix sticks at least not long ago were generally rated as the highest performing sticks you could get (probably at the largest price too).

However, there are probably others out there now that will perform very well and may offer a better performance/price ratio. Unfortunately, RAM is one of these things that are least well covered while manufacturer's can often end up changing the manufactured modules at the turn of the hat. In short it's far from a clear field.

I remember a while back AMDzone did a review on 2 x 1GB sticks which might be worth searching for. Otherwise, look round for newer reviews else get people's opinions on what's good - one suggestion might be to head over to xtremesystems forums and see what their members are using/recommending as they're probably on the most cutting edge/update when it comes to this sorta things.

Oh yeah i edited my post before as well - Asus A8N32 SLI if you're looking to go SLI at any point. Just remember to buy a sound card too - Audigy 2 ZS is a solid recommendation.

Thanks again for the info Diasper,

Question, Is there a huge diff between the A8N32 SLI and the other asus sli boards in terms of performance? What makes the A8N32 much better?

 

[ribbon13]

Yes, the other Asus boards suck. The A8N32-SLI on the other hand pwns all

And Ballistix was dethroned a long time ago. Check this out

 

[Diasper]

The only thing with RAM is that it's an area where you can spend the most for least performance gain. So bearing that in mind I'd say if you could just get mor regular RAM (ie not at a price premium for) that would do DDR470 at decentish timings ie 3-3-3 or less than you should be sorted.

Btw I just read a review on the Mushkin 4000 and it wasn't too impressive - 3-4-4 to hit DDR560. A lower overclock at tighter timings would have been more impressive.


Found some links for you:
AMDZone review
Xtreme forums here

 

[jc9970]

Originally posted by: ribbon13
Yes, the other Asus boards suck. The A8N32-SLI on the other hand pwns all

And Ballistix was dethroned a long time ago. Check this out

Any other good options I can consider besides Asus? I initially didn't want a DFI board because I heard of some compatibility issues with Corsair Memory. And i love corsair. But, I'd be willing to change the memory to one of the brands mentioned above. So basically, Which DFI board would you recommend?

 

[ribbon13]

DDR Speed > Latency timings. Look at the benchmarks for every kit tested. The stick I have reaches DDR580 3-3-3

 

[Diasper]

I wouldn't go for DFI. They tweakers boards but then also tend to be picky as hell. Heck atm my brother's DFI SLI Ultra board is still acting weird no matter what bios/voltages we pump through it.

If you want the best the Asus A8N32 is the only way to go - just add sound card. Other boards tend to have issues unless you look for more mainstream boards.

Not enough ATi based boards are out yet but my recommendation is for the Asus MVP for it's performance/features/cost balance - the DFI crossfire boards are coming out slowly but seem to have issues else using the ATI southbridge and therefore could be better there.

 

[ribbon13]

If you're spending the kind of cash it takes to get Opteron 175 and SLI the only board I'd recommend is that Asus. I personally don't like DFI because they worked with OCZ so that thier initial products violated specs just enough to make competitors products not work correct (Case in point Corsair RAM and Seasonic PSUs).

<-- Ex DFI Ultra-D owner.

 

[Diasper]

Originally posted by: ribbon13
DDR Speed > Latency timings. Look at the benchmarks for every kit tested. The stick I have reaches DDR580 3-3-3

Ah nice review. Not sure how I missed that one!

But very interesting results that an FX benefits from the additional bandwidth all the way past DDR500. For dual-cores this should be certainly truer (once software/games come up to properly take advantage of dual-cores ie use them both at full tilt) so I guess it is worth going for RAM that can clock well.

Of course, the only thing to mention is once you add real-world tests with games at proper resolutions/high details etc the difference will be much less significant as Zebo has shown (dig up his old thread in CPU & Overclocking forum). So in that case highly clocking sticks is if you are looking to keep this platform well into the future and want to keep as seemingly future-proof in that you haven't inhibited you performance when proper dual-core software comes out. If you're spending this much money I'm presuming you'll be leaving out M2 socket at the very least?

 

[jc9970]

Originally posted by: ribbon13
You want Mushkin 991492

My god is that sexy memory .... Out of stock though

 

[Burner27]

I'd go with the Plextor PX-716A or PX-716SA. It is a much better drive than the newly release PX-740a. Read the reviews.

 

[ribbon13]

Originally posted by: Diasper
Of course, the only thing to mention is once you add real-world tests with games at proper resolutions/high details etc the difference will be much less significant as Zebo has shown (dig up his old thread in CPU & Overclocking forum). So in that case highly clocking sticks is if you are looking to keep this platform well into the future and want to keep as seemingly future-proof in that you haven't inhibited you performance when proper dual-core software comes out. If you're spending this much money I'm presuming you'll be leaving out M2 socket at the very least?

Socekt M2 won't have much of anything to offer over current socket 939. Given the stagnation of CPU speed an Opteron 175 overclocked to 2.7GHz+ should keep him happily gaming for 3 or 4 years of just graphics card upgrades.

Also you should put two and two together: Zebo's testing didn't include dual-core.

 

[ribbon13]

Originally posted by: jc9970
My god is that sexy memory .... Out of stock though

ETA isn't long. The 2GB kit version can be found here

Originally posted by: Burner127
I'd go with the Plextor PX-716A or PX-716SA. It is a much better drive than the newly release PX-740a. Read the reviews.

Link?

 

[jc9970]

Guys, thanks a ton for all the informative replies. I truly appreciate it.

Another Question, Say I decide to not go SLI, What board would you guys recommend?

 

[ribbon13]

$95 - Epox EP-9NPA+ Ultra

 

[jc9970]

Alright, here we go

Opteron 175
EPoX EP-9NPA+Ultra
Thermalright XP90c with Panaflow fan
2 mushkin eXtreme Performance 1GB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 500 (PC 4000)
2 Hitachi Deskstar T7K250 250GB Serial ATA II 7200RPM Hard Drive w/8MB Buffer
eVGA 256-P2-N527-AX Geforce 7800GTX 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16
Antec P180
Antec TruePower 2.0 EPS12V 550W Power Supply
Pioneer DVR-110D 16X Dual Layer DVD±RW Drive

Better?

 

[ribbon13]

Why 2 Hitachis? If this is a gaming machine, my suggestion has merit

Also the Raptor has a new iteration.

 

[jc9970]

Originally posted by: ribbon13
Why 2 Hitachis? If this is a gaming machine, my suggestion has merit

Also the Raptor has a new iteration.

I've had too many problems with western digital and Maxtor drives.. I usually buy Seagates, but I heard these hitachi drives are great. But i will never in my life buy a Western digital or Maxtor drive again. So when it comes to storage, I'm willing to sacrifice some performance for reliability.