Need help with new system, and a critique of what I have so far

[leviathan660]

I've basically have been wanting to build a high performance low cost Machine. This is what I have so far. I have a few questions about it to. Would the Motherboard do? I changed it out of SLI because it isnt the way to upgrade. (At least I think, is it?). I'm also a bit worried that the 3200+ would bottleneck the 7800gt, which means that I would need to OC it. So would the RAM/ mobo combo be good in the case of some OCing? I added in 2 extra fans (3 total) to make sure it stays cool. Also the Case has a 450W power supply that should Definitely be good enough right? Also how is the mother board's intergrated Audio Sound Quality? If it is good then would it be wise to drop the sound card in an effort to reduce the cost?

heres the link to the PC Builder:

http://tinyurl.com/c848u

I'd like to note it's in Canadian Prices.

Thanks for your Time.

 

[Fern]

Hi leviathan660 and Welcome to the Forums!

Looks pretty good to me. My comments:

Lately DFI seems to be getting a rep for being finicky etc. Might wanna do a search and check out posts to at least make sure it's compatible with your choice of ram etc.

From what I read here and elsewhere, HIgh performance ram is a bit of a waste as there is little effect on performance. The onboard mem controller seems to do fine with regular ram. Course, if into OCing...

I strongly believe that CPU bottlenecking is way overstated. I wouldn't worry about that. If you examine articles and benchies closlely, you'll see that is an issue at very low resolutions. Who uses that?

Although I use a 6800GT (nVidia) now, I came from a 9800pro (ATI) and feel that the IQ is better with ATI. Others will disagree. But I'd look for an ATI product if I was in the market now.

I don't feel SLI is "good" upgrade path thingy. So I'm not interested in it either.

I OC so I like extra fans too. Am not worried about the noise either. I'm a FPS gamer mostly - who can hear fans over gunfire and explosions?

As far as the sound card, I feel onboard is pretty good. Personally, I'd need better speakers than the 5.1's I have now anyway to get any improvement. Plus I don't like the potential problems associated with Creatives drivers etc that I keep reading about.

Finally, I'm a big believer in quality PSU's. I always shop for a case w/o a PSU, then buy a good one (Enermax, Fortron) to add in. I'd think about cheaper ram and put the money towards a PSU that I liked (though I don't know what make/model that case comes with).

Fern

 

[brbdc]

I am looking to build something very similiar Leviathan. Here is what I am going for. Although I am not committed to doing SLI, this motherboard comes already setup for the X2 chip and has the upgrade possibility in the future.


==Monitor==
Dell Home has the Dell UltraSharp 2005FPW 20.1-inch Flat Panel LCD Monitor with Height Adjustable Stand for $699 - 35% off code D8Q403R9G4FJ32 [Exp 10/13, 4000 uses] - $60 off $500 code ?S8Z?$8RH8DCWX [Exp 10/12, 7k] + $1 handling = $395 shipped
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/prod...spx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=320-4111
416.79 FINAL


==Motherboard==
http://usa.asus.com/products4.aspx?l1=3&l2=15&l3=0&model=744&modelmenu=1
$222.99


==Chip==
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core Processor
http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/ProductInformation/0,,30_118_12898,00.html
$884 - athlon 64 x2 4800 dual core
$690 - athlon 64 x2 4600 dual core
*$526 - athlon 64 x2 4400 dual core
$473 - athlon 64 x2 4200 dual core
$365 - athlon 64 x2 3800 dual core

==Memory==
Dual channel memory architecture
4 x DIMM, max. 4GB, DDR 400 / 333 / 266, ECC, non-ECC, un-buffered memory

2 gigs. of crucial. $439.99
DDR is the type of ram. 333/400 are the speeds it supports. 4 gigs is
the max the board will support.
DDR400 translates to PC3200
DDR333 translates to PC2700

OCZ Technology - PC3200 DDR 2GB OCZ

PC3200 DDR 2GB (400) - OCZ Dual-Channel -- OCZ4002048PFDC-K -- ULN2 Technology - Unbuffered - 184 Pin - Lifetime Manufacturer Warranty - Retail - In-Stock
Dealer # - 140215
Man # -OCZ4002048PFDC-KOCZ4002048PFDC-K
Read more at Monarchcomputer.com
$215

Corsair XMS-3500LL PRO = made for my board. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145594
$319


==Video Card==
$468 - geforce 7800 gtx 256mb pci express vivo
$486 - geforce 7800 gtx 256mb pci express sli
$468 - geforce 7800 gtx 256mb pci express
*$344 - geforce 7800 gt 256mb pci express
*$351 - geforce 7800 gt
http://labs.anandtech.com/alllinks.php?pfilter=2946 for 7800 gt

==Storage==
128$ Serial ATA 300GB Maxtor 6L300S0 Serial ATA 7200rpm 16MB CACHE Hard Drive : 300GB SATA 150 Buffer Size: 9MS 16mb buffer w/NCQ Technology ROHS INSTOCK


==Case==
http://thermaltake.com/xaserCase/soprano/sws/sws.htm
http://www.3dcool.com/product_info.php?cPath=11_420&products_id=1253
$85


-=Optical Drive=-
Use old or get totally new?


==PSU==
http://silentpcreview.com/
http://silentpcreview.com/article241-page1.html
Will it fit in the Case?
$150

http://silentpcreview.com/article261-page1.html better reviews
http://silentpcreview.com/article226-page1.html

http://www.case-mod.com/store/seasonic-...tt-atx-power-supply-p-1579.html?src=fr
$130

 

[brbdc]

I believe the XFX video card benchmarked better somewhere so I am leaning on it. Its on special on new egg right now and as far as memory goes I am pretty flexible there.

 

[leviathan660]

Right, I'll definatly look into mobo/RAM compatibility. Initially I was going with Asus, but then I read on these forums, that ASUS boards dont OC very well. (I'm thinking I'd like to be in the 2.6 Ghz Region). Does that mean the DFI mobo is an overkill?Also, Unfortunatly I dont know what IQ is... So I am unsure, but it's basically either the x800xl/6800gt or the 7800gt. But for only $100 extra I get alot of extra performance. I just dont know quite yet. It's good to hear the the integrated audio is also quality. I'd be using 2.1 speakers, or perhaps headphones. Also the HD is good right? A friend of mine has a 16 MB cache, and he has been raving about his boot times, and load times for BF2, so I'd figure I'd go with that.

Thanks.