New build - thoughts?

[jjanders]

CPU: X2 3800+ or 4200+, not sure yet, I don't OC. Not sure if I should spend the extra $60 for the 4200+ ($355)
Mobo: Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe nForce4 (This may be a bit much for now but I want upgradeability in the future) ($209)
Memory: 2 x 1GB Corsair XMS 3200. ($175 + $40 rebate)
Case: P180 ($125)
PSU: Seasonic 500W (only complaint I've read about this is cables not being sleeved which may be a pain in a P180...any other suggestions for good reliable PSU's?) ($115)
Video: eVga 7600GT ($189)
DVD: NEC ($40)

I'm also going to get a 19" LCD, still narrowing those choices down.

Thoughts?

 

[Bobthelost]

Don't waste the money on the A8N32 if you're not overclocking or even getting a 7900GT. You can save $100 there, which is enough to get you up to an X1800XT or a 7900GT if you stretch the budget a bit.

 

[imported_rod]

Originally posted by: jjanders
CPU: X2 3800+ or 4200+, not sure yet, I don't OC. Not sure if I should spend the extra $60 for the 4200+ ($355)
Mobo: Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe nForce4 (This may be a bit much for now but I want upgradeability in the future) ($209)
Memory: 2 x 1GB Corsair XMS 3200. ($175 + $40 rebate)
Case: P180 ($125)
PSU: Seasonic 500W (only complaint I've read about this is cables not being sleeved which may be a pain in a P180...any other suggestions for good reliable PSU's?) ($115)
Video: eVga 7600GT ($189)
DVD: NEC ($40)

I'm also going to get a 19" LCD, still narrowing those choices down.

Thoughts?

CPU: If you aren't OCing, then it's probably worth forking out for a 4200+ over the 3800+.
MoBo: Only get that MoBo if you plan to (eventually) use SLI. When you're not using SLI, it will perform exactly the same as the A8N-SLI premium.
Mem: Nice.
Case: Nice again.
PSU: It's meant to be good. And hey, you can sleeve the cables yourself. You can do an entire PSU in a couple of hours.
Video: 7600GT - I assume you're not going to be doing too much gaming?... If you are gaming, the 7800GT/7900GT are better value.

LCD: I've been looking at the Samsung 940b. Just a suggestion. (Has a "Zero Defective Pixel" warranty for a while).

RoD

 

[jjanders]

Thanks for the input.

I probably won't ever be using SLI, most likely just using 1 card and upgrading that whenever...so I'll probably drop the mobo down to the A8N Premium.

I will be doing some gaming, unfortunately the 7900GT is OOS most places, so I'm not sure what the next beset thing is, either a 7800GT or X1800XT?

 

[Luckyboy1]

My first thought is...

What budget are we talking about here?

 

[jjanders]

No super strict budget, but I'm not looking for top of the line everything. Just something that will keep me going for a few years.

 

[Luckyboy1]

Originally posted by: jjanders
No super strict budget, but I'm not looking for top of the line everything. Just something that will keep me going for a few years.

Uhg, well, when you can give me the budget, I mean the give it till it hurts budget, then I can give you ideas (maybe) and also cheaper alternatives and what you'll give up for doing what is usually the smart thing, which is taking one step back from the latest and greatest thing.

I will also need to know what you are migrating over from the old computer including what case you are using.

 

[jjanders]

Well, I'd say $1500 MAX, preferably $1200-$1300 or so. This does not include HDD, sound card, or speakers, these will be transferred over from my current system.

Currently I have:
ASUS P4PE mobo
P4 2.4ghz
512MB DDR333
Radeon 9500 Pro
Antec 430W power supply (this might be transferrable I guess)
My case is also Antec, similar to this one: http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=61050. It is an OK case, but I don't really like the look of it, and love the looks of the P180.

 

[Bobthelost]

Originally posted by: jjanders
Thanks for the input.

I probably won't ever be using SLI, most likely just using 1 card and upgrading that whenever...so I'll probably drop the mobo down to the A8N Premium.

I will be doing some gaming, unfortunately the 7900GT is OOS most places, so I'm not sure what the next beset thing is, either a 7800GT or X1800XT?

X1800XT is better than the 7800GT by miles.

 

[Luckyboy1]

Ok, what Bob says on the video card thing. Get a crossfire capable mommaboard. Why? Nobody in teir right or even mostly wrong mind runs at low eye candy rates on these newer builds and at high eye candy rates, ATI beats the royal stuffing out of nVidia for overall image quality. Crossfire holds the promise of being the least buggy of the routes to go and as a result, will benefit you on more games in the end. Also, some games like my combined install of Forgotten Battles/Ace Expansion Pack/Pacific Fighters went initially with eye candy setups at the high end that only worked with nVidia. Wait, that's not the whole story! Even though nVidia paid 1C: Maddox, and Oleg, don't come back and say they didn't because they did!... nVidia paid Oleg to punch this exclusive eye candy setting and the results were...

1) porked frame rates when engaging water = 2 settings. I don't mean a 25% loss in frame rates, but a 75% loss in frame rates rendering that setting useless.

2) Sales of the game completely died afterwards when people found out in order to play at max settings dictated one card over the other.

3) They responded by coming out with water = 3 for nVidia which was even more porking of frame rates and finally, water = 2 for ATI, which while porking the frame rates somewhat looked better than nVidia's water = 3 and still was at least slightly playable.

So in the end, don't worry if a particular eye candy setting is an exlusive for this or that card. Exclusive quickly loses out and is usually useless for most of us in the first place.

The crossfire technology simply takes the 32 bits of color and says...

This card handles these 16 bits and the other handles the rest.

The end result is a technology that while it doesn't hold the theory promise of nVidias offering, it gives reality that is far and away better than anything nVidia has produced.

Remember the promise of theory now! The promise of 8 X AGP over 4 X AGP... we got 2% for that! The promise of PCI Express over AGP and well, you all know the answer to that one as well.

Those of use hoping new monitor technologies will make it so we can forget AA and AF have so far been left out ion the cold. I'd say wait another 20 years for that to happen in an affordable way. Sorry, but the idea that you can just set up the monitor to some high resolution setting so you can bypass AA and AF is just foolish.

 

[Luckyboy1]

I'd go with a DDR2 board over a DDR1 board and a SATA2 board over a SATA I board.

 

[jjanders]

Could you recommend a good crossfire capaple board?

Also I was under the impression AMD didn't have any DDR2 boards (yet).

 

[Luckyboy1]

I've stayed away from looking due to knowing thyself and as a result, being in danger of ordering one.

Adding insult to injury on evaluating mommaboards is the fact that even reviews will be of limited value. Why? Here's the typical scenario...

A mommaboard builder designs a board and puts it out for sale all the while, lovingly paying attention to quality.

A review site like this one gets ahold of it and says...

While it is porked like the rest of 'em in auto mode, set in manually to this, this, this and this and WOW!

The logistical guy for the mommaboard manufacturer comes into work and finds about 20,000 urgent orders for the board in question the next Monday morning...

Hey boss, WTF should I do now?!

Tell the boys out on the production line to kick it in gear and if they run out of the quality capacitors, ressistors or other parts, to just put in the cheap ones until we can get the next order delivered. also, call up the Chinese subcontractor of boards who can care less about us and get them pushing out that board as well!

So in the end, you have to pay attention to not only model numbers, but lot numbers as well. So you need some tinkerer who's in the board selling business. The only true one like that I know of is Joe at...

www.magnum-pc.com

Call him and ask all questions both mommaboard and RAM and then order from him. You pay like $10.00 more, but he then gives you real world assistance setting up the board and all the tricks that go with it for free! An easy $10.00 to let go of if you ask me!