New Computer Parts List - Advice Please

[nuschu]

I'm helping a friend build a new system and we worked out the following list of parts last night. I was hoping to get some advice on the parts list so far. If there are any parts that just generally suck or of there are similarly priced parts out there that outperform these, I'd like to hear about them. He mainly does gaming, web development, some minor audio stuff, and possibly some minor video type stuff:

Antec P180 Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811129154

Antec TruePower 480W SLI Ready
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103929

AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103562

Abit AN8 32X ATX Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813127232

Patriot 2GB DDR 400 (PC 3200) RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820220040

eVGA GeForce 7900GT
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130281

Western Digital 74GB Raptor (system drive)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144160

Maxtor DiamondMax 10 300GB (storage drive)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144014

Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16829102190

 

[bamacre]

Is the cpu going to be OC'ed?

 

[nuschu]

Probably not at first, but I'd like to leave that option open...

 

[Bobthelost]

I wouldn't spend that much money on the A8N32 then, drop that down to an Epox 9na ultra and you're looking at around $100 saved. Find a bit more money somewhere else and you're starting to get close to a X1900XT.

 

[bamacre]

Originally posted by: Bobthelost
I wouldn't spend that much money on the A8N32 then, drop that down to an Epox 9na ultra and you're looking at around $100 saved. Find a bit more money somewhere else and you're starting to get close to a X1900XT.

I agree. And I would dump the Raptor HD altogether. The performance gain is very minimal and that money is better spent elsewhere.

Replace both drives with a single 400GB drive with 16MB cache...
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=101544

 

[dBTelos]

Just a few suggestions. I would personally go for some OCZ or Corsair RAM. Try this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145574

For the HD, just my opinion, don't go with Maxtor. I just picked up a WD 320GB PATA that would perform about as good as that drive for $110 on newegg. Maybe something like this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822148131

Or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822148110


Last, is your friend going to make use of most of the extra features that come with the Plat. version of the X-Fi? For music, games, etc the X-Fi XM is about as good as the Plat. If your friend does want the extra controls you would be able to find a m-audio card with similar features for less.

 

[nuschu]

Thanks for the help so far... I'll keep checking this thread before he orders this weekend. I appreciate all the advice and we'll definitely be making some revisions to the first parts list ...

Any more advice is always welcome. The more we have to work off of the better...

 

[nuschu]

Ok, after some revisions suggested on the forums I posted this on, I came up with this list. Once again, any comments or suggestions are appreciated. Especially looking for comments on a heatsink/fan combo or a watercooling solution for the CPU, or both for the sake of comparison ... Mainly looking to keep this thing cool, but also as quiet as possible. I'm using an XP-120 with a quiet 120mm fan on my computer, but not sure what I should recommend to him. Here is the second draft list (I left my notes to him in there just for the hell of it)...


Case
Antec P180 Case $133.33 (cheaper at zipzoomfly after adding shipping at newegg)
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=140118

The other option is sticking with your current case (Antec P160) and moving your old system into a media center type case for BeyondTV service...

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Power Supply
We might need to get a 4-pin extension cable if you want to route the cable in the P180 case, at least that is what I'm reading:
http://episteme.arstechnica.com/groupee...77909585/m/545003668731/r/680009668731

Seasonic S12-500 - $119 after rebate (more expensive but more reliable, very quiet, and all the cables are wrapped)
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=271603

Antec Smartpower 500w - $66.59
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=273503

Antec TruepowerII 550w - $79.99
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=270001

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Processor
AMD Athlon X2 3800 - $297
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80721-1

AMD Athlon X2 4200 ($337 when purchased with the OCZ memory below)
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80725-R

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Memory
OCZ Gold GX 2GB - DDR 500 - $162.99 after rebate
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=85204


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Hard Drive
Seagate 400GB SATAII - $199 (saves you $80 by getting one drive instead of 2)
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=101544

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Motherboard
http://www.nforcershq.com/article5877.html (DFI better for overclocking but the A8N 32X supports x16 SLI)

Abit AN8 32X - $154.99 after rebate - expires 4/30
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=240189

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Video Card
EVGA 7900GT - $319
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130281

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Sound Card
Soundblaster X-Fi Platinum - $159.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16829102190

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DVD Drive
NEC ND-4570A - $39.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827152070

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Misc

10" Rounded IDE Cable - $2.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16812881028

4Pin Extension Cable - $3.50 (just in case cable routing in the P180 is an issue)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16812198005

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - $5.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835100007

Heatsink & Fan (Need Recommendations)

 

[Jawo]

For heatsink, I have been enjoying the Zalman CNPS7000-ALCU, can't beat the price for $30. It works great, and it rather quiet as well!
Text

Edit: Just realized that you are getting the retail CPU that has Heatsink/fan included, although it can be noisy

 

[nuschu]

Yeah, he'll be foregoing the included heatsink/fan and going with something quieter...

 

[RussianSensation]

If you dont intend to voltmod 7900GT, X1800XT 512mb for $299 is faster in large majority of latest games. Sample

For cpu i'd go with Opteron 165 for overclocking. If you are not going to be overclocking 4200+ $30 premium over 165 is well wroth it for 400mhz extra. I'd drop Platinum X-FI and get regular Music version. I wouldn't pay $150 for an SLI motherboard because to me SLI is useless. Ask 6800 and 7800 users who bought 1 card and were hoping to purchase a 2nd one for less $$ in 1 year from release.

For cooler I'd take ARCTIC COOLING FREEZER PRO 64 - $25 over zalman 7000 or XP-90 ALUMINUM HEATPIPE

This Patriot 2GB (2 x 1GB) ram is far cheaper and just as good as the OCZ you want. It can run at 2-3-2-5 timings which is often better than 3-4-3 at 250FSB. You can even get OCZ 2-3-25 and it'll be better imo over the XTC series.

$40 savings on ram, $30 on motherboard without SLI, $50 savings on X-FI and you can squeeze X1900XT with an aftermarket cooler instead of 7900GT card or that seasonic PSU and Opteron 165. Either way, for gaming videocard is most important, so keep that in mind.

If you are going to get a 400gb hard drive, might as well get a fast 500gb WD for $30 more That's 30 cents per 1 gig over 400 gigs; very cheap. Not to mention the 400 gb WD is faster than 500gb seagate 7200.9 in benches - Link. 500 WD will be even faster than 400gb seagate.

 

[Operandi]

I'm not much of a fan of the P180; too much plastic is used in it's construction. Have a look at the Lian Li V1100 and the CoolerMaster Mystique 631.

For the rest of that hardware?. The SoundBlaster X-Fi doesn?t make much sense from a dollar value point of view. The AN8 32X has very good intergraded audio from a sound quality perspective and you would be much better off investing that $160 in a better CPU and/or GPU. For the PSU I would aim for a Seasonic or at least Forton-Source over any Antec. Stick with Vaule Corsair for the RAM. Lastly with some cable folding (use 90 degree angles) I actually perfer flat ribbon cables over the round variants.