My First Build...Input and Comments Please

[treadhead]

After about 4 months of reading various reviews (mainly here at AnandTech)....I think I have finally finalized my shopping list for my first build.

Here is what I'm looking at:

AMD Athlon Mobile XP 2600+ (just not ready to take the 64 bit plunge...$$$)
DFI NFII Ultra Infinity
Crucial Ballistix 512MB PC3200 (2 sticks for 1GB)
Swiftech MCX462-V heatsink w/ Sanyo Denki 92mmx32mm fan
Seagate 120GB 7200rpm IDE HD
Aerocool AeroPower II+ 550w PSU

As for a video card...I want a eVGA 6800GT, but am holding tight for the price (and availablity) to become alittle more reasonable.

I am wanting to start my hand at OCing, but primarily I 'll be using it for gaming.

Any comments, suggestions, and feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers....:beer:

 

[Manzelle]

Get a different PSU...Antec or Enermax...I'd get an SATA hard drive as well...

 

[Fern]

Welcome to the Forums!

As far as psu's, I use an Enermax, but would also like a Fortron - I hear soo many good things about them from knowlegable peeps. Newegg offers a 530 watt that I hear peeps praising.

Not familiar with that cpu heatsink/fan. Since you're gonna OC, get something with a lot of copper from a company you know will deliver a HS with a real smooth surface. Why lapp it if you don't have to.

Might wanna order some good thermal paste like arctic silver 5 while you're at it (save on shipping maybe).

good Luck and enjoy

Fern

 

[treadhead]

Thanks for the responses....I do have a specific concern about the fan for the heatsink. I've been having a hard time finding a current roundup/review on heatsink fans. As stated before I'm looking at Sanyo Denki 92mmx32mm fan for the heatsink, mainly because Swiftech listed it on their webpage and it appears to be the best performer (noise vs. CFM).

 

[Fern]

That fan may be a good choice, but I don't know.

About a month or so ago I picked up a nice SLK 947U (one of those all-copper jobs) and did a lot of looking at/ asking about fans.

As far as a 92mm, I was discouraged from that size as several peeps noted that the *hub* on those size fans was quite large. The hub apparently has a *dead spot* under it as far as airflow goes, so it may not cool your heatsink as well as an 80mm. Might wanna look into that b4 ordering.

Fern

 

[Sonic587]

I'd check out the thermalright SLK900(A) deal they have going at SVC. On sale for only $20 and holds up to 92MM fans.

http://www.svc.com/

Many praise it as the best clip-on heatsink for sktA ever made. And you might end up saving money.

 

[matman326]

Tom's hardware has a review of a bunch of HSF combos for SKtA

Heatsink Fan Review


Opps this review is way old sorry bout that.....

 

[PizzaDude]

Get an Antec PSU for SURE.

Also, consider the Zalman CNPS 7000A-AlCu heatsink/Fan combo. It's nearly silent(no joke) and it works great, even for overclocking. I have one on my mobile barton setup. See rig in signature.

 

[VIAN]

Not sure about DFI, but NF7-S is usually the one people rave about as the best OCer on the block, not to mention the best quality, from what I've read.

You could cut those Ballistix down to regular sticks, price just isn't worth the performance in that area.

SLK947U is a the best heatsink, I would check that out in comparison.

And the Antec PS that people have mentioned here is good.

 

[Ariste]

Yep, basically what everyone else said. A different PSU from a trusted brand (maybe this one... 550W is overkill for your system), maybe get the NF7-S motherboard. A lot of people use it for overclocking, as VIAN said. As for the HSF, I'd go with either the SLK947U or the Zalman CNPS 7000 A-AlCu. The SLK947U will probably perform a little better, but the Zalman will be nearly silent.

Everything else looks pretty good. Your 6800GT will be bottlenecked by your processor, but if you overclock it it won't be so bad.

Good luck with your build,

 

[Concillian]

Originally posted by: treadhead

(just not ready to take the 64 bit plunge...$$$)

Crucial Ballistix 512MB PC3200 (2 sticks for 1GB)

In my opinion these two lines are contradictory. You're buying super freaky fast memory (and PAYING FOR IT) but you can't afford to step up for an A64?

You can save around $100 by stepping down to slightly higher latency memory (Kingmax PC3500, for example, which I use at 2.5-3-3). That $100 is about the price difference between the AXP and A64

I think just that one change should allow you enough $ in your budget to move up to the A64, which has shown it's superiority over the AXP in several cases, the most recent of which was the Doom3 CPU article on AT, but that was not the first, and certainly won't be the last.

You're components are great if you're wanting to buy stuff to mod the piss out of, unfortunately from a value for the dollar spend standpoint, I just don't see it in what you've presented. You mention $$$ as the reason you don't want to move up to the A64, let me show you that money is not the issue...

Given the dollar values you present:
CPU: $99
MB: $137
mem: $267

total: $503

I would do the following with that money:
Decent nForce3 250 motherboard: ~$150
mem 2x Kingmax PC3500 CL2.5: $170
A64 3000+: $170

total: ~$490

Now overclock THAT. Guaranteed to have better overall performance. You take advantage of the fact that the A64 platform is MUCH less dependent on memory throughput and latency timings than other platforms by stepping down (slightly) in memory performance. You leverage that $$$ for more overall power in the A64 CPU vs. the AXP.

The AXP has it's place, and that place is in BUDGET systems, you basically can't outdo it when you're talking about spending ~$350 on RAM + MB + CPU, but once you start talking in the $500 range, I just think it doesn't make sense to still be talking about an AXP system. You just don't get much for that extra $150... I think it's hard to justify spending so much on "premier" AXP level components (like the DFI board and the ultra low latency RAM) when mediocre A64 level components are the same price and will perform better. Even if they performed the same, the S754 has more life than the SocketA.

Were I in your position I'd either step down the components in the Socket A platform to give better value or spend the same amount on a Socket 754 platform and get more CPU power.

 

[Mik3y]

yes, get a better psu. thats the only thing that's really going to hold you back from a stable and good overclock. wattage doesnt mean much when buying a psu. you have to check out its rails, especially its 12v rail. a quality 430W psu is better then a generic 660W one. just because the company is name brand doesnt mean its good, such as cooler master. they have horrible psu's.

 

[TipsyMcStagger]

pick up an SP-97 heatsink if you can afford it... http://www.svc.com/thsp.html you wont regret it.

 

[Sylvanas]

if you plan to overclock then get the dfi, you can to higher voltages on it over the nf7.

 

[treadhead]

To reply about the 64-bit plunge....I guess it all really comes down to new technology that will be presenting itself in the near future.

Do I want an AMD 64.....HECK YES!!! But currently there are no apps that utilize 64-bit tech (I hear LINUX peeps preppin' to flame). As for motherboard and type of sockect, I just can't see buying a socket 754 when it's pretty obvious that socket 939 is the board to have...and probably in 6 months (even if that) PCIe will be the video card interface of choice.

I get your point about the memory......I guess this is the part that sucks....THERE ARE SOME MANY OPTIONS!!!!

Just when I think I've figured it out....y'all get me thinking again....LOL

SOOOO....If I'm willing to spend apx. $500 on CPU + MOBO + MEM what should I be looking at along the A64 route? (Thank God I haven't started ringing up the charge card yet....HA)

 

[Concillian]

Ask it in a seperate thread. Start a thread with a poll with $500 to spend and listed those two options (AXP + DFI + Ballistix vs. A64 + nForce3 + Kingmax) see what others have to say.

A64 is not about 64 bit, it's about the fact that it's a different (better) architecture. Think of it not as A64 vs AXP, but K8 vs K7.