New Computer (Advice please)

[morbidman]

Hi everyone, I'm looking to build a new intel system. Here are the specs:

Motherboard: ASUS P5WD2-E Premium
Processor: Intel Pentium D 930 Presler 800MHz
Memory: OCZ Gold 1GB DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
Video: eVGA 256-P2-N516 Geforce 7800GT
Case: Antec p180
Monitor: Samsung 930b
*spelling
oops
hd: Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 300GB

I'm tempted to wait for the X1900XL, but I would like to buy it as soon as possible. Also, I'm planning to use the onboard sound. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks, guys.

 

[AliasX]

I only find a problem with the processor. Not a problem, but by the graphics card it looks like you are a gamer, and AMD has processors that are better for gaming.

 

[UsandThem]

Looks good to me.

Just be prepared for the AMD fanboys that will be coming.......


BTW I use a Athlon64 system

 

[morbidman]

Thanks guys. I was considering amd, but then M2 will leave me with little upgrade options in the future. I'm planning to keep this for about three years, so longevity is important.

 

[OdiN]

Originally posted by: morbidman
Thanks guys. I was considering amd, but then M2 will leave me with little upgrade options in the future. I'm planning to keep this for about three years, so longevity is important.

If you're worried about no upgrade options, you shouldn't be getting an Intel. They have always been HORRIBLE as far as upgrading. Even when pin-compatible CPU's have come out they required new chipsets or they wouldn't work.

I would say Intel doesn't give a crap about longevity of a platform for those looking to upgrade in the future.

Just as an example. When the Dual Core Intel came out on 775 (which already existed) they wouldn't work on current boards and needed a new chipset.

When AMD's X2 came out - you just dropped them into the s939 boards and they worked with a BIOS update. There were only a few boards that had issues.

 

[Bobthelost]

I wouldn't worry about upgrading either, every time i've upgraded the CPU i bought a new motherboard too. The only bit that would be different would be the DDR2 for the P4 system which would be compatible with AM2, although who knows what the next socket will be using. I keep hearing muttering about DDR3...

Moving onto the rest, what PSU are you going for? You don't need more than 450W even if you're going SLI in the future, i'd think about the Enermax liberty range, looks like a lovely PSU, the seasonic s12 range is also a favourite with p180s, quiet and high efficency, but the cabling will be a tight fit.

 

[morbidman]

I guess I could look at a 3800 or a 4400. But is m2 coming out in Q2? I'm going to get this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103931

Since amd has lower power consumption, will I even need such a powerful unit? Also, if there's anything wrong with the 12v rails, please tell me. Thanks.

 

[Bobthelost]

The TPII range is good enough, but it's nothing special. If money is tight then it'll do, but i'd shell out the extra to go for a seasonic instead. (In fact i did shell out the extra for a seasonic and don't regret a single penny of the money spent on it)

550W would be overkill for either p4 or X2. 450W is plenty.

 

[Bobthelost]

Now, RAM and HD...

1gb is enough, but games are starting to like having 1.5gb these days. I know you can still run dual channel with P4s using 2x512 and 2x256, or 4x512 but i don't know if you have to drop down to the slower 2T comand settings. I think DDR2 is the same price per gb as DDR, so there's no real advantage either way, but AMD systems are very, very tolerant of cheap RAM. The performance difference is 10% going from ultra cheap to top end.

HD: It's ok, seagates are a rather bland choice at the moment, you get higher performance from a hitachi or a WD drive, Hitachi for the 250gb range, WD for the 400gb range but i don't know about 300gb. Seagate used to be good for noise, but i've been hearing mutterings about the newer ranges and the low noise crown is now firmly in samsung's corner.

 

[xtknight]

For monitor get the Samsung 940B instead. It's newer and better.

 

[Bobthelost]

The 940 is faster, but aparently it's got poorer colour display. I've just ordered myself a 930b because a) it's cheap, b) it's a good alrounder c) i've been using LCDs since they came out and got the first 16ms 17" display, so i'm used to ghosting anyway

 

[Wentelteefje]

The Antec is very good, maybe consider an Enermax Liberty too... They cost more Watts-per-buck-wise, but are really great... The 400W version would suit your system well... Seasonics are to be considered too...

You could indeed do with something that costs a lot less, therefore take a look at this Fortron... Very stable and silent, this unit costs a lot less than similar-powerful PSU's, while still being very solid...

 

[morbidman]

Thanks for the PSU links. I like the dual 12v rails too on the liberty . I'm trying to save money for the 19 inch lcd , so I may have to do some more looking.

 

[alimoalem]

the previous posters gave some awesome advice but i'll post what i would get anyways:

cpu: amd all the way. check out the x2's. if you're OCing, go for the x2 3800, otherwise maybe the 4200.
mobo: sticking with ASUS would be a good idea, but i would also consider the epox 9npa+ (the ultra maybe?) or the DFI boards
case: looks good but kinda expensive
HDD: Western Digital SE16. it's very good. if you're a noise freak, go for the samsung
GFX: the x1900xt is out, why not that? the 7800gt is still a wonderful choice

 

[morbidman]

I thought about buying the X1900XT too, but at $575 it's a bit expensive. I would probably like to look for something around 300~400. Thanks for the suggestions though.

 

[Bobthelost]

I think you can get them for $500 already.

Yep: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102003

$520 from newegg. Still overbudget but not quite that far over budget. TBH you don't need that much GPU power, you'll have more than enough to run any game you can find at your max resolution, the only difference will be the ammount of eye candy you have going. It's nice to run games at thier highest settings, but it's not essential (for me at least). A 7800GT is a fantastic card, i've got one and no regrets at all.

A revised components list might be a good idea at this point i think.

 

[morbidman]

7800GT is what I will probably get. I'm still weighing amd and intel though. The liberty PSU looks very good and I have everything else roughly planned out. I thought the barracuda had the fastest seek times though. I have a question on memory too. Is ddr800 with 5-5-5-x faster than ddr667 with 4-4-4-x timings? I think my question is which has a greater impact on performance, timings or clock speed.