Need advice on parts for new rig

ramirez · May 7, 2005

First off, hello everyone, this is my first post. I've been reading through the forum and everyone on here seems to be real knowledgable(sp?). I hope you can help me out.

I'm finally building a new box from the ground up. I'm currently on a P4 1.7 w/ a GF4 MX 440 (I know, I know..). I've been looking around and am slightly overwhlemed at the amount of choices for parts. Heres what I got so far:

-ASUS A8N-E Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard
-Antec PERFORMANCE TX1088AMG Gray Steel Server Computer Case 480W Power Supply-
-Western Digital Raptor WD360GD 36.7GB 10,000 RPM 8M Cache Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM
-CREATIVE Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS 70SB035000000 8 (7.1) Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail

I chose the A8N-E because I wanted PCI-E and nForce4 but didn't want SLI (pretty sure its' overkill for me). I can't decided on either the Venice or San Diego core. Also not sure about what brand/model or RAM. I plan on 1Gig in dual channel.

Just so you know, I'm not a huger gamer but play occasionally (HL2, Doom3, etc.). I don't do video editing or anything like that, but just want a nice strong system with upgradability down the line.

Thanks for your input!

Chris

imported_Kensai · May 7, 2005

Welcome to the forums.
The picks are okay, but I suggest a San Diego core chip if you can wait a while.
The 36GB Raptors are known to be underperformers compared to the 74GBs. Get a 74GB instead.

xsilver · May 7, 2005

what you have is good
potential problems is:
is 36gb enough for you? the raptors are fast but if you want to save money getting a good 160gb SATA drive wont be too far behind

for a video card a 6600gt /x700 would be a good choice for an average gamer -- wont be blazing fast and saves you money until you find a game that you really like, then upgrade video card again
for ram gskill, ocz, crucial are a good choices -- if you can afford cas 2 stuff that would be good but value ram is also ok if you dont want to spend the money

ramirez · May 7, 2005

The San Diegos are the 939's with 1 meg L2 right? The cheapest one I found was a 3700+ on Monarch for $334. Thats about a hundred more than I want to spend on the processor. I kinda want to try and not spend over $200 for any one part.

Is the San Diego supposed to have a huge performance jump from the Venice. For that matter, is the Venice a big difference from Winnie?

Also what can you guys recommend for a video card?

ramirez · May 7, 2005

xsiler:

I forgot to mention I already have a 200 gig 7200 drive for the bulk. the raptor is for the os and other apps.

imported_Kensai · May 7, 2005

The Venice have a newer better memory controller than the Winchesters and it also offers support for SSE3.
The SD's are supposed to be the top, top end and should overclock fairly well.
If you're not looking to spend that much, a 3000+ Venice is where you want to be.
It all depends on your budget. I'd suggest a 6200 non-TC, a 6600GT or a 6800GT depending on where your budget's at.

ramirez · May 7, 2005

ok how are these choices:

Processor : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103535
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145450

I think I'm gonna get the 6600Gt but theres like 7 different brands. Which one's are reputable?

Silversierra · May 7, 2005

Fisher999 · May 7, 2005

Originally posted by: ramirez
xsiler:

I forgot to mention I already have a 200 gig 7200 drive for the bulk. the raptor is for the os and other apps.

WELCOME TO THE FORUM !!!

Here is an interesting thread at this forum debating the benefits of the Raptors versus ATA-133 or SATA-150 7200RPM 8MB cache drives and the "Maxline III" 16 MB cache Ultra-133 or "DiamondMax" 16MB cache SATA-150 hard drives. There is even some mention of the SSD drives.

As I recall, the general agreement was that the Raptor, because of quick access times, were very fast for loading of the O/S and loading of games and other apps but were not necessarily faster than 16MB 7200RPM drives in situations that tax other types of disc operations.

You may be well set since you have your Raptor for O/S install and the larger capacity drive for storage.

Fisher999 · May 7, 2005

Originally posted by: ramirez
The San Diegos are the 939's with 1 meg L2 right? The cheapest one I found was a 3700+ on Monarch for $334. Thats about a hundred more than I want to spend on the processor. I kinda want to try and not spend over $200 for any one part...

Yes, the "San Diegos" are the 1MB cache chips. Since you don't want to spend $334 for a CPU (the San Diegos pretty much start in that "ballpark") you may want to consider spending $209 for a 3200+ 512KB L2 cache "Venice" core CPU like this one over here at Monarch Systems.

I just ordered one from them along with an Asus A8N-SLI motherboard.

BTW, I like your choice of the Asus A8N-E; that was top on my list but wasnt't availble in Monarch's combos so I went with the A8N-SLI instead.

This is my first order from Monarch, I usually buy from www.newegg.com but some forum members recommended Monarch and they have a HIGH 9.31 out of 10 rating over here at resellerratings.com

Since 2001 I have purchased MOST of my computer components from the OUTSTANDING NewEgg who have an extraordinary 9.46/10 rating over here at resellerratings.com

I've placed 15 orders with NewEgg since late 2000 (some order as large as $1000) and they have provided nothing but fast, reliable and friendly before AND after-the-sale service.

Greg

Fisher999 · May 7, 2005

Originally posted by: ramirez
ok how are these choices:

Processor : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103535
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145450

I think I'm gonna get the 6600Gt but theres like 7 different brands. Which one's are reputable?

I LOVE your CPU choice; it's the same one I suggested in my other post; it's just $10 cheaper at Monarch but I LOVE NewEgg so it may be worth it to spend the $10 extra at NewEgg.

As for your RAM choice, it's not bad but it's rated at 2-3-3-6 timings. I just purchased this Patriot I GB (2 x 512 MB) 2-3-2-5 T1 DDR400 RAM from NewEgg. It has lower latency than the Corsair you selected for almost the same price. I know two forum members who use it and LOVE it !

Other members like this 2-3-3-6 1 GB (2 x 512MB) G.Skill DDR400 RAM over here at NewEgg. It moves quickly at NewEgg. It has gone out of stock twice in the last two weeks but NewEgg has gotten it back in stock almost the very next day after if is depleted because it is so popular. The overclokers like it so it must be a very STABLE RAM !!!

Greg

Fisher999 · May 7, 2005

Originally posted by: xsilver
...for a video card a 6600gt /x700 would be a good choice for an average gamer -- wont be blazing fast and saves you money until you find a game that you really like, then upgrade video card again...

I THINK xsilver must have meant X700 PRO, NOT the x700 he mentioned, because the standard x700, like this ASUS EAX700-X/TD/128M Radeon X700 128MB PCI-E videocard I purchased last week will get it's rear end bit off by the nVidia 6600GT cards !!!

When it comes to the comparison of the nVidia STANDARD nVidia 6600 cards and the STANDARD ATI/Radeon x700 cards you can see in this article over here at Anandtech that the STANDARD radeon x700 blows the doors off the STANDARD nvidia 6600 in ALL the benchmarks performed except DOOM3.

Fisher999 · May 7, 2005

Originally posted by: Silversierra
Budget gaming rig.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813152049
Chaintech Nforce4 Ultra for $85

http://www2.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103535
Venice 3200+ retail $229

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=20-231-012&depa=1
Gskill pc 3200 1gb $102

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811144102
Xplorer case window/lights etc. $65

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=17-103-464&depa=0
Enermax 460w 24pin psu. $82

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814127147
Msi 6600gt $176

Total: $739
+hd, dvd drive, sound card, monitor, speakers, mouse, keyboard, and floppy.
Raptors aren't worth the price IMO.
Audigy 2 values are cheap.

For 6600gt's,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi...xPrice=&SubCategory=48&Submit=Property
I would consider:
Evga, leadtek, asus, msi, bfg.
Check reviews on the brands and also look what's in the bundle to choose.
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2295&p=20
I think I'd choose this now.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814122208
Leadtek reviewed well, extreme(faster than standard), ok package.

Here's a good hd.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822148039
Seagate 120gb $88

Dvd burner:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827152035
Nec dvd rw $49

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16829102179
Audigy 2 value $54

I absolutely LOVE these recommendations !

May I offer a couple of substitutions though?

The Chaintech Mobo he recommends is very popular at this forum for its perfomance/price ratio but you may want to consider this $124.99 delivered nForce4 Ultra EPoX EP-9NPA+Ultra mobo which is also very popular at this forum. It offers one more PCI-E x1 slot than the Chaintech and more importantly has onboard FIREWIRE support which the Chaintech lacks.

The $135.50 delivered Asus A8N-E mobo that you like, which I agreed I also like, unfortuneately lacks onboard FIREWIRE as well.

Two other motherboards in the price range of the Asus A8N-E that you like but offer the ADDED benefits of onboard FIREWIRE (the MSI has dual firewire capability) AND DUAL SATA RAID and DUAL GIGABIT LAN are:

this $145.50 delivered MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum and the $143.50 delivered GIGABYTE GA-K8N Ultra-9 motherboard.

Another VERY POPULAR nForce4 Ultra motherboard at this forum is this DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 Ultra-D for $128.99 delivered (with the current $9 INSTANT rebate at NewEgg). Note that it does not have any legacy serial or parallel ports (if you need those) and has one MORE PCI-E x16 slot but one LESS standard 32 bit PCI slot than the other boards mentioned. This board is very popular amongst GAMERS and OVERCLOCKERS. Please note that it is known to be very RAM FINICKY so you may want to question forum members who own this board about the memory brand and type that they are using with this board if you were to decide it is your motheboard choice.

As far as RAM is concerned I have already referred to this Patriot 1GB (2 x 512MB) DDR400 2-3-2-5-T1 RAM for $135 delivered. Another poplular RAM is this G.Skill 1 GB (2 x 512 MB) DDR400 2-3-3-6 for $102.32 delivered .

Another less expensive but very popular RAM is this Corsair ValueSelect 1 GB (2 x 512MB) DDR 400 CAS 2.5 RAM for $84.32 delivered. Corsair is a good memory name and their ValueSelect seems to be compatble with a wide range of motherboards.

May I also recommened considering this HIGHLY recommended Power Supply, the $82.95 SeaSonic S12-430 . It is known to be very efficient under low, mid and high loads, very quiet and has great features like a SINGLE 120mm fan, ACTIVE PFC (Power Factor Correction) , DUAL 12V rails and good airflow design.

The $81.99 delivered ENERMAX Whisper II EG465P-VE FMA(24) that was recommended in this thread is a good choice but has DUAL 80mm fans (which means it will be noisier than the SeaSonic), does not have Active PFC and has only a single 12V rail.

I like his $87.99 delivered Seagate 120 GB 7200RPM SATA-150 8MB Cache NCQ hard drive so much I think I'm going to buy one myself for my new system build.

As well as being a reasonably priced well known branded hard drive it aslo has NCQ or Native Command Queueing. This technology is supported by the nVidia nForce4 Ultra chipset and apparently is a way for the hard drive to access data sequentially for shorter access times. I have been informed by forum members, however, that the NCQ technology does not really come into play for desktop users (as it can actually SLOW DOWN performance in some situations) but that it is a valuable technology for servers where heavy-load multiple tasks are being demanded of the server's hard drive(s) at the SAME time.

Thank You Silversierra for your EXCELLENT recommendations in this thread !

Ramirez, I hope myself and silversierra and the others have been of some help to you !

Greg

Fisher999 · May 7, 2005

Originally posted by: Kensai
...If you're not looking to spend that much, a 3000+ Venice is where you want to be...

I could not agree more Kensai !!!

The only other ALTERNATIVE recommendation to your $159 AMD Athlon64 3000+ Socket 939 "Venice" core CPU recommendation would be this $209 AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Socket 939 "Venice" core CPU !

Well said Kensai !

BTW, why did you change your avator to the Cow ???

I liked your old avatar too !!!

Greg

Fisher999 · May 7, 2005

Originally posted by: ramirez
I think I'm gonna get the 6600Gt but theres like 7 different brands. Which one's are reputable?

There are LOTS of acceptable BRANDS of videocards but for the nVidia boards I think you will have your best luck with are the Asus, Gigabyte and Leadtek boards.

Greg

Silversierra · May 7, 2005

Man, Fisher999, septuple posting, never seen this phenominon before

"Thank You Silversierra !

I hope I have been of some help to you too !"

Thanks, but what did you help me with?
I've got my system built

.

I have the vnf4ultra, and like it. I don't need firewire. I don't think I've ever really seen too many firewire things. Everything's usb2.0 that I have. Usb is faster than firewire a anyway, 480 vs 400.

I like seagate for the warranty. 5yrs!

Many people like seasonic for their quietness and efficiency. It's a good psu. My pc is loud, but it's because of my 6600gt. I don't figure it's worth building quiet. I tried, but 1 bad apple ruins the barrel as they say. It always seems that something you get will end up being loud even if it's reviewed as quiet.

Fisher999 · May 8, 2005

Originally posted by: Silversierra
Man, Fisher999, septuple posting, never seen this phenominon before

"Thank You Silversierra !

I hope I have been of some help to you too !"

Thanks, but what did you help me with?

Sorry for the confusion Silversierra; when I typed those two lines the "thank you..." was meant for you and the "Hope I have been of some help..." was meant for the OP.

I should have been more clear, my mistake.

Again, sorry !

Greg

Fisher999 · May 8, 2005

bump !

Fisher999 · May 8, 2005

Originally posted by: Silversierra
Man, Fisher999, septuple posting, never seen this phenominon before

Silver:

I have to let you know I take offense to you implying that I "neffed" in this thread. I put a lot of thought and time into my LONG posts. I could give you the names, but I won't, of two women at this forum who have to be neffers. One has only been a member since 03-28-05 and has almost 900 or 24.8 posts/day and another woman has only been a member since 02-01-05 and has over 6000 posts at an average of 71.5 posts per day!!!

My posts are usually quite long, use complete sentences and have links to sites that I've taken time to find component prices or information.

It can hardly be implied that I nef. But those two women I referred to; tell me how one can average 71.5 posts/day WITHOUT neffling ???

And I've seen some of their posts; they're always very SHORT posts with 3 - 4 INCOMPLETE sentences.

I, again, take offense to the implication of being a neffer.

:disgust:

Silversierra · May 8, 2005

No I don't think you're a neffer in any way Fisher999. What you said was useful. I didn't mean that what you said was stupid. I ususally edit in more info if I think of it later, instead of double (or more posting), although sometimes it is easier to just post again.

I too usually write in sentences with acceptable grammar and spelling and appreciate your doing so. It makes communication much clearer, even if it does make the post longer.

I was joking about the septuple posting. I personally don't really care if you post 100 times in a row if it's worthwhile, but since other people seem to think double posting is a crime, I joked about your posting, hence the

. I do not mean to offend, I apologize if you are truly offended. Keep up the good work though, it is appreciated.

Fisher999 · May 8, 2005

Originally posted by: Silversierra
No I don't think you're a neffer in any way Fisher999. What you said was useful... I ususally edit in more info if I think of it later, instead of double (or more posting), although sometimes it is easier to just post again...

I too usually write in sentences with acceptable grammar and spelling and appreciate your doing so. It makes communication much clearer, even if it does make the post longer.

I was joking about the septuple posting.... I do not mean to offend, I apologize if you are truly offended. Keep up the good work though, it is appreciated.

Thank's Silversierra for your post and I apologize for making my accusations in this thread rather than send you a PM. I was exhausted when I typed that post about being offended by your possible implication about my multiple posts. I've begun a new stategy now of trying to read the entire thread before posting and then "cut and pasting" mulitple "quotes" into the SAME post.

No offense was taken and you are an honorable human being to apologize in this thread. I hope you will accept my apology.

I look forward to seeing you around the forum again.

I mean that ! :thumbsup:

Greg

xsilver · May 9, 2005

Originally posted by: Fisher999

Originally posted by: Silversierra
Man, Fisher999, septuple posting, never seen this phenominon before

Click to expand...

Silver:

I have to let you know I take offense to you implying that I "neffed" in this thread. I put a lot of thought and time into my LONG posts. I could give you the names, but I won't, of two women at this forum who have to be neffers. One has only been a member since 03-28-05 and has almost 900 or 24.8 posts/day and another woman has only been a member since 02-01-05 and has over 6000 posts at an average of 71.5 posts per day!!!

My posts are usually quite long, use complete sentences and have links to sites that I've taken time to find component prices or information.

It can hardly be implied that I nef. But those two women I referred to; tell me how one can average 71.5 posts/day WITHOUT neffling ???

And I've seen some of their posts; they're always very SHORT posts with 3 - 4 INCOMPLETE sentences.

I, again, take offense to the implication of being a neffer.

:disgust:

one of the people you are reffering to is ribbon13 the other i'm not sure ---
ribbon13 I would say is actually not a nef, but is actually quite knowledgeable and is renound for giving links to problems very quickly, the 70+ posts per day comes from hanging around in OT

also not sure if ribbon is acutally a guy or girl, there was a thread on it, but I forget

.....

Need advice on parts for new rig

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