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Opinions on friends $5000 new build

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Do you know of anyplace that tell you what there is out there and what is good? cause i dont know anything about audio thats the reason i was going for the gigaworks
 
Originally posted by: leglez
Do you know of anyplace that tell you what there is out there and what is good? cause i dont know anything about audio thats the reason i was going for the gigaworks
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If you have a budget I can give you some suggestions.

For computer speakers those are pretty much the top three models.

For general HT type suggestions check out AVSforum and Hometheaterforum.

What kind of computer does this guy have now, and what does he want the new one to do that he can't do now?

If you ended up getting a receiver with the sound system, you could probably hook up the PS2 having a component output run to the tv and the s-video output running to the computer to record if you get a VIVO card or something similar.

If he does get a receiver, he's going to want one with 6 channel direct input to hook up an X-Fi.

In general, a pretty good entry level receiver with these features is going to run $200 to $400. Cheap Pioneer 515 for example

You can get a budget sub like the dayton 12" linky
or if buget allows get one that's quite nice. How big is the room for this system?
A PB10 @ ~$460 shipped is what I'm running and I'm quite happy with it.

Lots of options for speakers. Nice bookshelf speakers run in the $200/pair to $350/pair range.

Sound is more of a personal decision that something like a processor or videocard purchase where you can look at hard numbers and decide a clear winner.
 
Originally posted by: t3h l337 n3wb
$5000 on a PC is just retarded, so at least compensate for that by buying dual 2405 FPW's. They're big monitors for a pretty good price (you can get them for about $800ish if you look around). Just get the Opteron 165 and overclock it. RAID is really easy to use, and RAID 5 is awesome.
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Where exactly did you find it for $800 the cheapist i have found it is $899 using pricegrabber
 
Ok updated

I changed the mobo to the DFI LANPARTY nF4 SLI-DR, CPU to the AMD Opteron 165 Denmark 1.8GHZ, HDD to 2 Seagate 500GB's, Ram to 2GBs of OCZ, Video card to 7800GTX 512mb, and got rid of speakers, so that leaves $2400 for the speakers, watercooling, and TV tuner. I was thinking probably >$100 for the TV Tuner around $200 for the watercooling and then leave $300 for shipping and that leaves $1800 for the audio system so now i need suggestions for a TV Tuner Watercooling and audio system
 
Have you done watercooling before?

Does this guy think that rearrainging the budget to this is a good idea?
 
For an $1800 sound system there are a lot of possibilities.

You can get very good value going with internet direct brands, but doing demo tests is more difficult.
I'd be most comfortable recommending Ascend Acoustics as a brand without hearing it. Their 170 bookshelf speakers are pretty universally liked. Pair a Ascend setup with a nice sub from SVS or HSU and you have a good 5.1 set going.
HK receivers are supposed to pair up well with Ascend speakers.

There are plenty of more options out there too.

I guess it depends on how much effort you guys want to put into this for deciding that you want.
 
Right now he doesnt have a computer he uses a family pc which is a dell not sure the model number. He wants the computer to be able to play games, music, movies, and do graphic design, web design, and regular computer stuff (IM, Email, word process). The room its going to be in is 12x14. No i have never done water cooling before i have never built my own PC before because i have never had the money i have just helped other people out and built PC's for other people. He thinks its a good idea to spend more on stuff that wont get outdated in a month and just buy new stuff whenever its required. What exactly is the difference between 5.1 and 7.1? Do you happen to have AIM it might be easier to communicate.

Thanks again for all the help
 
Originally posted by: leglez
Right now he doesnt have a computer he uses a family pc which is a dell not sure the model number. He wants the computer to be able to play games, music, movies, and do graphic design, web design, and regular computer stuff (IM, Email, word process). The room its going to be in is 12x14. No i have never done water cooling before i have never built my own PC before because i have never had the money i have just helped other people out and built PC's for other people. He thinks its a good idea to spend more on stuff that wont get outdated in a month and just buy new stuff whenever its required. What exactly is the difference between 5.1 and 7.1? Do you happen to have AIM it might be easier to communicate.

Thanks again for all the help
Click to expand...

AIM: NBKmarauder

http://www.dolby.com/consumer/home_entertainment/roomlayout.html

Look at Dolby Digital for a 5.1 HT set
DDEX for a 7.1 set

I'd be kind of worried doing my first watercooling setup expecially if it was on a multiple-thousand dollar computer that wasn't mine.
 
Originally posted by: leglez
Ok thanks for the link.

Why is it hard to setup? or just easy to mess up and get a leak?
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Harder to set up than air cooling. I haven't done it myself.

If I was building an expensive computer for someone else and the processor would be fine with air cooling, I wouldn't add another variable into the system setup.
 
I agree with YOyoYOhowsDAjello about the SLi thing...🙂

I also agree with the cooling set up😀

Not trying to be a parrot, just trying to reinforce what he's saying
 
Why don't you get 2 2405FPW instead? Just a thought.
And I also think it's better to pay more for the stuff that retains value (IE: sound/displays)
 
Very nice.... But here are some more suggestions:

Get the PC Power And Cooling PSU. It doesn't get any better in PSU-land.

And a nitpick... You're putting big bucks into this machine but chosing low end DVD drives. Silly. Stick with something like Plextor. This is a real nice burner.
 
although pcp&c is the best, you can just get a seasonic s12-600w for a lot cheaper while losing minimal reliabilty. the benq dw1640 burner is tested by anandtech and it performed better than all the other burners, and at $40, it's a steal.
 
Don't necessarily get two 2405s if they'll be unable to be compatible with Windows Vista

I'd go for raw speed for the base components:


Opteron 175
Vapochill Lightspeed (or whatever phase change)
2 gigs Crucial Ballistix
DFI SLI-DR Expert
2x512mb GTX
Fatalty X-FI
HDD depends on whether he wants size or speed
 
Yeah, change the burner to the DW1640, and the PSU to a Seasonic/PC P&C. A $5000 computer would be such a shame without SCSI. Get a 15kRPM 74GB drive for your OS/apps. It's ultra-fast, and the hard drives will be the bottleneck in that system. Also, 500GB hard drives are really expensive right now. You'd be better off getting like 2 400GB drives or something. I still recommend RAID 5, since it's the perfect combination of redundancy and performance.
 
Actually the Benq is the same drive from an electronics standpoint as the Plextor. So, either way you're in good shape.

Curious why someone would go for an Opteron on a desktop machine that doesn't need >4GB of memory, though.

And finally, when you have a $5k budget...... you GET the PC Power And Cooling PSU....
 
I won't wade through the whole thread, but I did see a couple points of contention.

Asus A8N32-SLI > All other socket 939 motherboards.
Equip that with an Opteron 175 and run a pair of these at DDR333 1.5-2-2-7-1T. Nothing else I've seen here on AT will touch this.

I'd highly advise on waiting for LSI's MegaRAID SAS 8408E. It's something that will not lose it's usefullness for years to come. Pair it with a 15,000RPM 36GB SAS drive in two partitions. 18GB for OS and a 768MB page file. 18GB for some apps and another 768MB pagefile. That will get the computer off to a blazing fast start. Next, make a RAID5 with 3 Western Digital WD4000YRs. This will give you 800+GB of space, data security, and some serious storage speed.

As for PC Power and Cooling. My workstation budget was five times your friend's PC budget, and I tried a Turbo-cool 510 EX+SLI and Turbo-cool 850 ETX. I'm still using a Seasonic S12-600.

What's the point of watercooling this system? The CPU wont gain much, because it's overclock won't be very heatbound, and the room will probably be hot with the amount of equipment. If it's for quietness, consider this. Get a nice pump, and have the radiators in an entirely different room, or even outside!


Originally posted by: chieftang
Actually the Benq is the same drive from an electronics standpoint as the Plextor. So, either way you're in good shape.
Click to expand...
True.

Curious why someone would go for an Opteron on a desktop machine that doesn't need >4GB of memory, though.
Click to expand...
See second post

And finally, when you have a $5k budget...... you GET the PC Power And Cooling PSU....
Click to expand...
See above.

 
Curious why someone would go for an Opteron on a desktop machine that doesn't need >4GB of memory, though.
Click to expand...
See second post


I still think X2 A64's are getting good overclock results, though, and therefore represent better bang for the buck yet. For example, an X2 3800+ stable at 2.4GHz is ALOT of performance for a mere $322, and you'd need a stable 600 MHz OC from the Opteron 165 to match it. Perhaps doable, but a given? I doubt it. So then it comes down to cache size. If you are running a server with many clients, OK, the cache will help you there. In a real world desktop situation? Probably not. And of course, if I ever need 8GB of RAM, then Opteron gets me there. Otherwise, until I hear that Opterons are knocking the socks of X2's in overclockability, I'd stick with the X2.

And, finally, with this budget I would stand firm on the PC Power And Cooling PSU. ;-)
 
We kind of banged out a tentative sound system for the computer and gaming system:

Speakers:
Ascend Acoustics
340 center
170 front R+L
200 surrounds

Sub:
SVS
PB10

Receiver:
Harman Kardon
Not sure on the model... going to check out harmanaudio off ebay and see what comes up in the $350-ish range
AVR330 / 335 / etc.
 
Originally posted by: chieftang
Otherwise, until I hear that Opterons are knocking the socks of X2's in overclockability, I'd stick with the X2.
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Ding ding ding! We have a winner!

Did you just miss the memo? Or have you NEVER ventured in the CPU forum? Maybe you're too busy paying off that mortage for the rock you're living under.
 
Originally posted by: ribbon13
Originally posted by: chieftang
Otherwise, until I hear that Opterons are knocking the socks of X2's in overclockability, I'd stick with the X2.
Click to expand...

Ding ding ding! We have a winner!

Did you just miss the memo? Or have you NEVER ventured in the CPU forum? Maybe you're too busy paying off that mortage for the rock you're living under.
Click to expand...


OK, but why didn't you just say so in the first place?
 
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