Opinions on new machine?

[ech]

I plan on build a new AMD X2 3800+ machine overclocking it to 2.5 Ghz or better. Please let me know any changes you'd make to the following setup and I also need a recommendation on a case to put this all in. I want one with great ventilation for under $150. The machine will be used for multi-tasking every day applications for office use, dvd recording, and gaming as well. With that said, I don't have a dvd recorder picked out..any recommendations there?

AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core processor 3800+ ($352.26)
DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 SLI-DR Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD ($172)
* Only DFI board that supports SATA II Raid 0+1
Fortron Source ATX 500W 20/24 pin model AX500 ($79.49)
OCZ Platinum Series 1GB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 ($137.79 x 2)
HITACHI Deskstar 7K80 HDS728080PLA380 ($54.75 x 4)
Thermalright XP-90C Copper Heatsink ($45.95)
Panaflo H1B 92x92x25mm case fan ($8.99)
3ware 39" Multilane Serial ATA Cable for Serial ATA Drives ($46)
ATI 100-435513 Radeon X800XL 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 ($283)
* Should I spend a little more and upgrade to the 850XT or other card?

Grand Total: $1482.27

 

[Soccerman06]

When do you need all the stuff? If you can wait long enough for the X1x00 series, Id wait. Just because the prices will drop on the old gen, and the new gen will be out with better performance. It you can spare the extra money though and need it now, get a x850xt or 7800GT/X.

If you arent doing sli, save the money and just get DFI ultra (not sli). In my opinion, as long as a dvd recorder works with +- and dual layer +- and 16x, it doesnt really matter. Cant really recommend a box, just go with what looks good to you. Get an aluminum box cause they conduct heat better than plastic and steel and are lighter. Go ask the case/cooling section on which is the best.

 

[stevty2889]

The SLI version is not the only one that supports raid 0+1, the NF4 Ultra-D does as well..so you can save your self a few $$ there..other than that looks great, may want a slightly better graphics card depending on what games you play.

 

[Mogadon]

Have you checked out the Antec P180, alot of people have good stuff to say about it and i'm thinking about picking one up myself.

Actually they just reviewed a bunch of mid tower cases on this very site, you should find it useful.

 

[n7]

Okay, first thing, save a little money by grabbing this OCZ 2x1 GB kit.

Also, why buy 4 HDDs?
You could buy a single 400 GB drive, or if you are worried about parity, then run 2x 200 GB HDDs.
Filling your case up with tiny 80GB HDDs makes no sense.
If you start working with video much, you will want a lot of HDD space, believe me.

You don't list a DVD burner. The BenQ DW1640 would be my recommendation

 

[ech]

Thank you for the replies everyone.

Soccerman06 > I'm looking to upgrade asap so I can't wait for price drops, unfortunately

stevty2889 & Soccerman06 > Thank you for pointing out the data sheet on the Ultra-D. I hadn't actually looked on DFI's site and was going completely on what Newegg said about the RAID options.

Mogadon > I haven't yet looked at that case nor the reviews so thank you for the link.

n7 > I'll be running a RAID 01 setup so I need 4 drives...at least. Disk space is something I've never had a problem with and while I do plan to do some burning, 160 GB total from the RAID 01 config will be plenty. Thank you for the burner recommendation. That's something I was looking for.

 

[Insomniak]

If you are building now I would STRONGLY recommend against a Radeon X800 series. Nvidia's 7800 Series is out and will be MUCH faster for future gen games. With ATi's next gen chip coming (presumably?) soon, I'd wait a while. If you must buy now, I'd say get a 6800GT. The price difference is only around $20, it's a faster card, and it has a more modern feature set.

 

[ech]

Originally posted by: Insomniak
If you are building now I would STRONGLY recommend against a Radeon X800 series. Nvidia's 7800 Series is out and will be MUCH faster for future gen games. With ATi's next gen chip coming (presumably?) soon, I'd wait a while. If you must buy now, I'd say get a 6800GT. The price difference is only around $20, it's a faster card, and it has a more modern feature set.

I have already put the Leadtek 6800GT with the DFI Ultra-D in my cart at Newegg since they have a $20 discount with this specific combo. When I was first looking at the 6800GTs, they were quite a bit more. Is the Leadtek a decent 6800GT?