Rate this system (love some suggestions!)

[Gynthazi]

Hey guys,

I have a new system i'm building and before I ordered I though i'd ask the experts here what they thought.


Here's the list of components i'm looking at and their cost.. I'd love suggestions/changes... I really do not want to go over 2k not including monitor or sound system or operating system.

One stipulation - must use newegg - so please don't suggest another place.

Here we go!

DVD burner - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16827131357 - 82.99 (62.99 after mail in rebate)

Computer Case - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16811133171 - 429.99 (watercooling system included)

Hard Drive - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822144701 - 110.00

AMD Motherboard - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813136152 - 129.99

Sound Card - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16829102188 - 115.00

Power Supply - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817711002 - 139.99

Keyboard - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16823175103 - 46.95

Mouse - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16826104191 - 48.65

Memory - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820227210 - 239.99

Mouse Pad - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817114301 - 16.99

Processor - http://www.newegg.com/product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819103539 - 223

GFX Card - http://www.newegg.com/product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814130256 - 299(269 after 30 bucks off for processor/gfx combo deal)


Total as of now: 1852.54


Please, love to order stuff today! let me know what you guys think or anything you'd change!

Thanks a lot for your expertise!

-Dan

 

[Finns14]

If you are going to spend $500 alone on case and and PSU why the HECK are you buying that proc. Go get yourself an OPTY and OCing the sh!t out of it ppl have gotten certain optys up to FX-60 speeds on air. So either loose the water cooling or make it worth your money.

 

[Gynthazi]

But if I go opty won't I go over my budget?

How bout being a bit more specific please, I was with my post.

 

[Finns14]

Umm one of the site ie Monarch,tigerdirect or another big name online store is running a promotion where you can buy an opteron and mobo combo to save yourself some money. Look in the hotdeals forum for it. Also I think that some where was selling the GFX card you want for $275



Edit: Opps saw the newegg thing so I guess your out of luck on the deals , so then forget the watercooled case and get a regular case for 1/4 or less of the price

 

[Gynthazi]

Originally posted by: Finns14
Umm one of the site ie Monarch,tigerdirect or another big name online store is running a promotion where you can buy an opteron and mobo combo to save yourself some money. Look in the hotdeals forum for it. Also I think that some where was selling the GFX card you want for $275



Edit: Opps saw the newegg thing so I guess your out of luck on the deals , so then forget the watercooled case and get a regular case for 1/4 or less of the price

Well newegg has that combo deal as well.. I noted the 30 dollar savings...

If I go with a less expensive case, is there one you'd suggest that would work well with the stuff i'm getting?

Here's the cheap one I was thinking about if I don't go witht he nice one...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811119068 - 50 bucks

BUT if I go with that case, i'll need to get thermal grease and a fan too right?

What about

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835100007 - artic silver 5

and for a fan

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835118223 - 61.99

 

[Finns14]

Everybody loves the P180 or the new P150 also I hear most thermaltake are well liked. Also if you plan to OC get a better fan and get some thermal grease like you said.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Glad you're rethinking the cooling idea.

You can get great results on air cooling with these processors so I don't think spending $430 on a case is the best way to go.

What kind of display are you going to be using? What res?

With a $2k budget without monitor/speaker/OS, I'd think you would be looking at 7800gt SLI or a 7800 gtx (maybe even 512 variety).

For gaming the videocard is going to be the most important part for performance so this would be a place to spend a big portion of the budget.

 

[poisonthewell]

That case does not rate well in the "bang for your buck" category.

 

[Gynthazi]

Well right now I have a gateway lcd thats 1280X1024...

I'll keep that for now, and maybe upgrade to a dell later with a higher naitive resolution...


Any suggestions, i'd love!

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Gynthazi
Well right now I have a gateway lcd thats 1280X1024...

I'll keep that for now, and maybe upgrade to a dell later with a higher naitive resolution...


Any suggestions, i'd love!

Suggestions on the monitor?

You probably don't want to talk to me since I just got this for myself
http://www.azatek.com/details.asp?iid=792

I haven't seen an LCD that looked as good as one of these quality shadow mask CRTs and LCDs aren't as easy on my own eyes as quality CRTs I have used.

If you want the best image quality from games, want to avoid ghosting issues, and want flexibility of resolution I still think a CRT is the best bet for a gamer if you don't care about more deskspace or the weight.

Not trying to convince anyone else right now, but LCDs seem to have some significant drawbacks as a gaming display.

 

[Gynthazi]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: Gynthazi
Well right now I have a gateway lcd thats 1280X1024...

I'll keep that for now, and maybe upgrade to a dell later with a higher naitive resolution...


Any suggestions, i'd love!

Suggestions on the monitor?

You probably don't want to talk to me since I just got this for myself
http://www.azatek.com/details.asp?iid=792

I haven't seen an LCD that looked as good as one of these quality shadow mask CRTs and LCDs aren't as easy on my own eyes as quality CRTs I have used.

If you want the best image quality from games, want to avoid ghosting issues, and want flexibility of resolution I still think a CRT is the best bet for a gamer if you don't care about more deskspace or the weight.

Not trying to convince anyone else right now, but LCDs seem to have some significant drawbacks as a gaming display.

Thanks, but meant suggestions on the computer...

As of now i'm keeping the lcd i have

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

I have nothing against Plextor, but NEC, Benq, and some others have made some very solid optical drives lately. You might want to check them out as a quality lower cost alternative to the Plextor.

If I was getting a new case I'd get an Antec 3000b. Not as flashy as most, but I've built a couple computers for others around it and it's easy to work with, quiet, and has good airflow.

For the sound, do you know what kind of speakers/headphones you're going to use with that X-Fi?

 

[emilyek]

I fell compelled to chime in, even though others have said it already.

That case is the worst bang for your buck ever made. It's why i can be made to hate TT.

That case is made like a cheap $30 case with some 'stylistic enhancement's and a $100 wc kit thrown in. The price is insane. You could get a six pack of Lian Lis or almost four P180s for the cost of that thing. Buy a nice case and a fancy air cooler for $250-300 less.

Consider a nice dual core Opteron (like the 170) and perhaps a lesser PSU. A lesser PSU is not neccesary, but you could definitley do well for less money than the $120 Powerstream. Something decent in the $70-100 (Seasonic, Antec) range would be enough, or even a hot budget buy-- like the Fortron or Xclio in the $50 range would suffice, since it looks like you are running one GPU.

Your other choices look ok to me.

 

[Gynthazi]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
I have nothing against Plextor, but NEC, Benq, and some others have made some very solid optical drives lately. You might want to check them out as a quality lower cost alternative to the Plextor.

If I was getting a new case I'd get an Antec 3000b. Not as flashy as most, but I've built a couple computers for others around it and it's easy to work with, quiet, and has good airflow.

For the sound, do you know what kind of speakers/headphones you're going to use with that X-Fi?

Thanks!

Not sure on the speakers yet.. thinking of some seinhauser headsets (sorry for the spelling).. speakers was going to get later..

Why? does it matter?

 

[Gynthazi]

Originally posted by: emilyek
I fell compelled to chime in, even though others have said it already.

That case is the worst bang for your buck ever made. It's why i can be made to hate TT.

That case is made like a cheap $30 case with some 'stylistic enhancement's and a $100 wc kit thrown in. The price is insane. You could get a six pack of Lian Lis or almost four P180s for the cost of that thing. Buy a nice case and a fancy air cooler for $250-300 less.

Consider a nice dual core Opteron (like the 170) and perhaps a lesser PSU. A lesser PSU is not neccesary, but you could definitley do well for less money than the $120 Powerstream. Something decent in the $70-100 (Seasonic, Antec) range would be enough, or even a hot budget buy-- like the Fortron or Xclio in the $50 range would suffice, since it looks like you are running one GPU.

Your other choices look ok to me.

Thanks a lot,

Starting to realise that case is a bad idea..no prbolem

So for the opteron, you'd suggest this?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103586 - 465.00

 

[Gynthazi]

still having "case anxiety" too....

Whats a nice solid case I should choose?

Was the one I listed above in the post where I listed a cpu fan and thermal grease ok? it's cheap but looks like it might be ok..

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Gynthazi

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
I have nothing against Plextor, but NEC, Benq, and some others have made some very solid optical drives lately. You might want to check them out as a quality lower cost alternative to the Plextor.

If I was getting a new case I'd get an Antec 3000b. Not as flashy as most, but I've built a couple computers for others around it and it's easy to work with, quiet, and has good airflow.

For the sound, do you know what kind of speakers/headphones you're going to use with that X-Fi?

Thanks!

Not sure on the speakers yet.. thinking of some seinhauser headsets (sorry for the spelling).. speakers was going to get later..

Why? does it matter?

Just wanted to make sure you were going to pair it up with something decent. There are a fair number of people who have paired up a $120 or $200 X-Fi with some $40 5.1 sets.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Gynthazi
still having "case anxiety" too....

Whats a nice solid case I should choose?

Was the one I listed above in the post where I listed a cpu fan and thermal grease ok? it's cheap but looks like it might be ok..

A case is pretty wide open for what you want personally. If the PSU isn't included, it mostly doesn't matter what you get as long as it's a decent design. 120mm fans is a plus but other than that I think pretty much anything should be good.
Installation would be where the differences would matter the most. Once it's put together it's not going to matter too much what you have.

I've stuck with Antec / Chenming / Chieftech cases in the past and have had good experiences with them.

 

[l Xes l]

watercooling is seriously overrated... go snap on some decent air cooler... spending that much on cooling and case is meaningless..
spend ur mone where it matters... a tight sound and b1g @ss monitor....

 

[Gynthazi]

ok think i'm going to change the case idea...

And possibly go with the opteron 170.. here's link to it:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...N82E16819103586 - 465


Here's case I was thinking bout (cheap but looks ok..)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...N82E16811119068 - 50 bucks

course need thermal grease and a better cpu fan.. would this work?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...N82E16835100007 - artic silver 5

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...N82E16835118223 - 61.99



Only other thing is do you guys suggest going with expert board?

I'm thinking i'll just use this computer a year or maybe year and a 1/2 till the ddr2 stuff is inexpensive then change to that.. should I go expert and sli? or just stick with what I have.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

DDR2 is going to come with a new socket type so when you do move over to that, I think that's going to mean getting a new motherboard and processor too.

Right now DDR2 isn't really any better than DDR, so it's not going to be a huge deal based on just the memory type afaik.

(your links in your last post don't work)

 

[l Xes l]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
DDR2 is going to come with a new socket type so when you do move over to that, I think that's going to mean getting a new motherboard and processor too.

Right now DDR2 isn't really any better than DDR, so it's not going to be a huge deal based on just the memory type afaik.

(your links in your last post don't work)

now he knows too much...