New system build : Please review.

[DaveyTN]

Please review. I'm not concerned about price because I only swap computers about every 4 years and I usually don't upgrade in between.

- CPU - AMD Athlon FX-55 with stock fan/heat sink
- PSU - Antec NeoPower 480 ATX 12V 480 watt
- Mobo- DFI Lan Party NForce4 SLI-DR
- Memory- 1 GB 2 pcs 512 Corsair TWINX1024-3200C2PRO
- Hard drive- Seagate 200 GB 7200 RPM/8MB/SATA
- CD-RW - NEC 3520A
- Sound card- Audigy 2 ZS
- Video - 2 x eVGA 6800 GT
- Speakers - Logitech z-5300e

 

[EndGame]

Might want to up that P/S a bit.......you may be fine, but I wouldn't skimp in that area when considering SLI as you are.....

Rest looks fine!

 

[imported_g33k]

What more can be said? You have the best! Although in 4 years even that system will be obsolete. Congrats on your new puter.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Get a beefier powersupply.

Antec is great, but you don't want to mess aroud with SLI.

The same Seasonic 600watt I've linked to about 5 times today

I'm not laughing at the cost, but I think an FX-55 is a terrible buy. A 4000+ will perform almost as fast and cost hundreds less. A 3800+ is almost there too and costs a whole lot less.

benchmarks

Spend the money saved from the FX-55 on some better speakers or even a raptor. (I can't believe I just recommended a raptor to someone )

 

[biff420]

Yeah on that power supply..just looked into the Seasonic 600W. Its a bit more expensive than your average supply but its sure to be futureproof for a long while.

Also I would go with something other than eVGA for your GT's. I was going to do the same thing but then realized that for a bit more you can get the bundled games that you can sell one set of and then use the other to keep yourself busy for a weekend or two. I personally am going with the Gigabyte, since I am getting a Gigabyte board.

Just my two cents...do you have change?

 

[Matthias99]

SLI has a pretty lousy price-performance ratio once you factor in the more expensive motherboard, higher PSU requirements, and need to buy two high-end NVIDIA PCIe cards (which are overpriced right now). It's the fastest thing out there, but you pay through the nose for it. I think, personally, you would be better off buying an X800XL or single 6800GT now and then actually upgrading the video card later, once the next-gen parts are available and we see how SLI pans out compared to an NV50/R520-based solution.

Value RAM performs almost identically to super-high-performance RAM on Athlon64 systems. Plus, if you're not OCing, it's useless. See Zebo's stickied post in the CPU/OC forum.

Buying an FX-55 if you're not overclocking is just dumb. It's barely faster than the regular 4000+ -- its big advantage is the unlocked multipliers, which are only useful to an overclocker. And the 3800+ is pretty fast, too, and even cheaper.

If you're really "not concerned about price", that's about the fastest gaming system you can buy. But you're just throwing money away if you ask me.

Edit:

Assertions above to the contrary, 600W PSUs are still way, WAY overkill even for SLI (running that system at full tilt, you would be talking 350W, maybe 400W of overall load). The one you picked should work just fine, or you could get the ~500W Seasonic if you want something a little nicer.

 

[DaveyTN]

I'm probably going to buy from Monarch using their system builder and there aren't many other power supply choices above 500watt.

What about the Thermaltake W0023RUC? Its 560 watts.

 

[biff420]

With the price difference on the 500W to 600W being so minimal...might as well go with the 600W. Its only $10 more at newegg.

 

[EndGame]

Originally posted by: DaveyTN
I'm probably going to buy from Monarch using their system builder and there aren't many other power supply choices above 500watt.

What about the Thermaltake W0023RUC? Its 560 watts.

Go with Seasonic......high quality, quiet and the most efficient on the market!

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: DaveyTN
I'm probably going to buy from Monarch using their system builder and there aren't many other power supply choices above 500watt.

What about the Thermaltake W0023RUC? Its 560 watts.

What are the choices?

I think I'd actually take the Antec Neopower over the Thermaltake.

 

[vailr]

Won't the FX55 soon have a Venice core option?
If you're spending so much $$'s on a CPU, why not get a Thermalright X90-c HSF for it? (svc.com).
Also, I'd suggest a quality & quiet 510W (or better) PSU, such as the recently announced AOpen;
Text
or, an OCZ, Antec, or PC Power & Cooling brand.
I'd also recommend a dual-boot setup, with 2 HD's. That way, if one HD won't boot, you can change the boot drive sequence in bios setup, and perform maintenance on the other drive.
Good luck!

 

[DaveyTN]

The choices in the pick list above 500 watts are:

- Antec True550 ATX 12V Power Supply $114.00
- Ultra X-Connect ULT31558 ATX 12 V Power Supply $81.00
- Aspire ATX-AS520W-12V ATX $75.00
- PS 520W - OCZ OCZ52012U ModStream ATX 2.0 $99.00
- PS 535W - Enermax EG565P-FMA REV 2.0 ATX 2.0 w/SLI Power Supply $89.00
- PS 560W - Thermaltake W0023RUC ATX 12V $107.00
- PS 600W - Enermax EG701AX-VE-SFMA ATX 2.0 w/SLI Power Supply $165.00

Or should I pick the Antec NEOPower 480 watt??

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: DaveyTN
The choices in the pick list above 500 watts are:

- Antec True550 ATX 12V Power Supply $114.00
- Ultra X-Connect ULT31558 ATX 12 V Power Supply $81.00
- Aspire ATX-AS520W-12V ATX $75.00
- PS 520W - OCZ OCZ52012U ModStream ATX 2.0 $99.00
- PS 535W - Enermax EG565P-FMA REV 2.0 ATX 2.0 w/SLI Power Supply $89.00
- PS 560W - Thermaltake W0023RUC ATX 12V $107.00
- PS 600W - Enermax EG701AX-VE-SFMA ATX 2.0 w/SLI Power Supply $165.00

Or should I pick the Antec NEOPower 480 watt??

I think the OCZ 520, Enermax 535, or Antec 550 would make good choices.

 

[DanDaMan315]

Judging by the choice of the NeoPower I'm guessing OP wants modular.

And if your gonna spend all that money on a CPU you should get some better cooling, maybe some nice water? And for gods sake it seems like a waste to get an FX and not overclock it....

 

[DanDaMan315]

And if your only upgrading once every four years, I advise spending half as much on a computer 95% as good and purchase a new one every two years. That just makes more sense IMO.

 

[tylerhskate]

Get a better dvd burner such as Pioneer DVR-109

 

[imported_itr]

seems as though you're going all out on the new build. i would suggest 2gb ram (1gb x 2) and a raptor for the OS.

 

[DaveyTN]

If I do decide to overclock, wouldn't the FX-55 be a better choice than the 4000+?

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: DaveyTN
If I do decide to overclock, wouldn't the FX-55 be a better choice than the 4000+?

You'd still be able to overclock a 4000+. You'd just be limited to increasing the FSB speed since the multiplier would be locked. You'll have a little more overclocking options with the FX, but I think it's hard to justify for the extra hundreds of dollars.

 

[DaveyTN]

Thanks.
Ok, one more thing. If I did choose to overclock, which of the following would be the best choice for heat sink/fan? These are the only ones in the pick list from Monarch:

- Stock Heatsink/Fan
- Thermaltake A1770 $22
- Thermaltake A1772 $49
- Thermaltake A1838 $25

Those are the only options I see on Monarch. Thanks!!

 

[imported_Kensai]

Very nice build,
A1770 = Suxorz unless you're trying to get a short cooler to fit in a small case.
A1772 = Same as the above unless you need the RF and BP. (Retention Frame and Backplane)
A1838 = The best out of the three in my opinion.

But either way, I wouldn't get either of those three if I had to pay for it. Get a Thermalright XP-90, XP-120 or any of their relatives.
The Zalman 7000Cu and 7700Cu are also very good coolers. Silent too.

 

[Melchior]

A build that is 4x cheaper will last you just as long. I would not spend that much unless your rich, in which case just buy whatever you want.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Originally posted by: DaveyTN
Thanks.
Ok, one more thing. If I did choose to overclock, which of the following would be the best choice for heat sink/fan? These are the only ones in the pick list from Monarch:

- Stock Heatsink/Fan
- Thermaltake A1770 $22
- Thermaltake A1772 $49
- Thermaltake A1838 $25

Those are the only options I see on Monarch. Thanks!!

None of those are great, I would take the stock HSF, then replace it myself with an XP90 or XP120 with a panaflo fan. Monarch won't do the good ones because they are much bigger and more prone to damage in shipping once installed on the mobo.

 

[Crescent13]

PSU, RAM, Sound Card, rest looks fine.

 

[imported_bum]

If you are incredibly rich, ignore the rest of this post...

Since you say you only upgrade your computer every 4 years, I assume you are using an old computer now. That means you don't really need any type of computing power that justifies spending that much money. You could probably get away with 1000-1500 bucks, but if you are content to spend, take the advice of the people here.

As others said:

-get a 3500+, 3800+, or 4000+. Personally I wouldn't even spend for a 4000+, but that's your choice.
-buy some cheaper ram. check out this link for some ideas.
-ditch the SLI. Go with a single 6800GT or similar card. In this case you would also downgrade the mobo
-PSU and soundcard changes are something to look at, but don't make much of a money difference.

With the money you saved, you'll be able to upgrade your system again in 1-2 years, instead of spending all that for something that's only superb for another year or so.