Revised Gaming Rig - Still Need alittle Help

[vikingblade]

hi guys. i revised my gaming rig components a bit, but i still have a couple points im stuck on...my list is below

EPoX EP-9NPA+Ultra
AMD Athlon 64 3000+
Thermaltake Tsunami - Black Computer Case
Fortron 450W Power Supply
Seagate 7200.8 250gb
CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR
BenQ DW1640 DVD Burner
HIS Hightech Radeon X800XL Video Card

A few questions...

Is the 7800gt worth a $100 upgrade from the x800xl? or would that extra 100 be better spent on another gig of ram or a faster cpu?

Any comments on the HIS x800xl

Alot of guys seem to be using 2 harddrives in raid, or 1 smaller, fast HD for the OS, and a larger HD for storage, movies, music, games etc... is this something i should be thinking about or is a single large, fast HD like the Seagate 7200.8 good enough?

Im thinking of dropping the $100+ Tsunami case and going with a lower priced coolermaster centurion 5, Antec solution slk3000 ETC.. I could then put thedifference towards a video card, ram or cpu upgrade. Any suggestions for a good affordable case. any opinion on these 2?

Again, this is primarily a gaming pc, i really dont play at super high rez...1024x768-1600x1200 max.

Thnx for the help.

 

[Fresh Daemon]

Is the 7800gt worth a $100 upgrade from the x800xl?

If you've got it, sure. It's faster and more future-proof.

or would that extra 100 be better spent on another gig of ram or a faster cpu?

That's two questions!

1) Only if you like BF2 at high detail, FEAR, or MMORPGs and want the best performance. They will all run in 1GB, just not as smoothly, especially at the high detail levels.

2) No. With that Epox board you should be able to get the 3000+ to overclock to at least 3500+ speeds anyway. I have a DFI board (and the Epox is almost as good), my 3000+ is running at 2500MHz (about 3900+) and I haven't pushed it that hard yet, I'm still assembling a watercooler.

Any comments on the HIS x800xl

Yes, if you want to go ATi, it's a good choice.

Im thinking of dropping the $100+ Tsunami case and going with a lower priced coolermaster centurion 5, Antec solution slk3000 ETC.. I could then put thedifference towards a video card, ram or cpu upgrade. Any suggestions for a good affordable case. any opinion on these 2?

I bought the Antec SLK3000-B and I love it. Looks nice and professional, excellent build quality, strong enough that I can stand on it (I weigh 220 pounds), mounts 2 120mm fans - very nice case, especially at the price.

The Centurion is also a good case, although I haven't personally tried it.

Overall I say you seem to have done your research and put together a nice rig with high-quality components.

 

[rise]

well, if its a gaming rig i'd get the 7800gt.

i don't think you need another hdd, or a smaller faster boot drive. you'd be far better off spending the money on additional or better ram.

i personally don't like the tsunami but thats just a matter of taste. so i'd have no problem switching that if you could save some money for the 7800gt or more ram and not give up any cooling performance.

i have the slk3000 and its a nice case for the money.

on a side note, i did a new build with the benq 1640 as the only optical drive and i couldn't get windows xp2 (home or pro) to install. i had to switch it out with an nec 3540. kinda odd but i saw a couple other people have the same problem. i dunno if its just a dfi/benq problem just a heads up.

 

[Sunrise089]

OK, here is my general rule when it comes with where to spend extra $$$ on a computer:

PC's are one of the best examples of the law of diminishing returns. In a car 16k will get you a 165hp Sentra SE-R, 26k will get you a 300hp Mustang GT, and 33k will get you a 400hp GTO. Notice how well HP scales with price (and NO horsepower isn't everything, but one could argue that by mass the case is the most crucial part of a computer).

In a computer its a VERY different story. $100 gets you 1.8 ghz, $200 gets you 2.2ghz, $400 gets you 2.4ghz, and $800 gets you 2.8ghz - Terrible scaling. Ditto for cases, Power Supplies, Monitors, Memory, Speakers, Sound cards.

NOT ditto for Hard Drives which scale pretty well.

Graphics cards are somewhat in between, but are only used when you play a game.

So all of that said the BEST way to spend money on a computer is to buy at pricepoints where parts still scale well, making the PC something like this:

A64 3000+
Cheap nF4 non-SLI
2 x 512 value memory
6600gt or x800 vanilla
19" CRT

But how much fun is that PC? If you want to ask about where to apply additonal $$$ (and now I am FINALLY getting to your question, here is my answer):

Upgrade graphics to at least a 7800gt
THEN upgrade the processor to a 3700+ or X2 3800+
THEN add the second gig
THEN move to high performance memory
THEN add RAID or Raptor
THEN add a sound card
THEN get a high end case
THEN upgrade to an SLI MB

Hope this helps

 

[vikingblade]

Thanks guys. great help.

so, the 7800gt is an x800xl killer even at not super high rez.. ive read they run hotter than ati and require more juice... will my current pick psu fortron 450 and an antec slk3000 case be enough power and cooling to run a single 7800gt efficiently?

the bendq problem is troubling me.. i chose that because i read about trouble with the nec and that the bendq is better, but... now not sure. i really want the build and install to go smooth, as im paying someone by the hour to build.

do i need to buy a 2nd 120mm fan for the antec slk3000 or does it come with 2. if i do, can someone reccommend one from newegg.

lastly, does any particular 7800gt stand out or should i just look for the best deal?
any brand i should avoid?

thanks again

 

[Azndude2190]

Originally posted by: vikingblade
hi guys. i revised my gaming rig components a bit, but i still have a couple points im stuck on...my list is below

EPoX EP-9NPA+Ultra
AMD Athlon 64 3000+
Thermaltake Tsunami - Black Computer Case
Fortron 450W Power Supply
Seagate 7200.8 250gb
CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR
BenQ DW1640 DVD Burner
HIS Hightech Radeon X800XL Video Card

A few questions...

Is the 7800gt worth a $100 upgrade from the x800xl? or would that extra 100 be better spent on another gig of ram or a faster cpu?

Any comments on the HIS x800xl

Alot of guys seem to be using 2 harddrives in raid, or 1 smaller, fast HD for the OS, and a larger HD for storage, movies, music, games etc... is this something i should be thinking about or is a single large, fast HD like the Seagate 7200.8 good enough?

Im thinking of dropping the $100+ Tsunami case and going with a lower priced coolermaster centurion 5, Antec solution slk3000 ETC.. I could then put thedifference towards a video card, ram or cpu upgrade. Any suggestions for a good affordable case. any opinion on these 2?

Again, this is primarily a gaming pc, i really dont play at super high rez...1024x768-1600x1200 max.

Thnx for the help.

I would just stay with what you got and get a good heatsink/fan to overclock your cpu use the rest on another gig of RAM and anyways I believe that your 3000 would be a bottleneck if running at stock speeds anyways...

 

[rise]

Originally posted by: vikingblade
Thanks guys. great help.

so, the 7800gt is an x800xl killer even at not super high rez.. ive read they run hotter than ati and require more juice... will my current pick psu fortron 450 and an antec slk3000 case be enough power and cooling to run a single 7800gt efficiently?

yeah, you'll be fine and the 7800gt is a much better card.

the bendq problem is troubling me.. i chose that because i read about trouble with the nec and that the bendq is better, but... now not sure. i really want the build and install to go smooth, as im paying someone by the hour to build.

like i said, i don't know how wide spread it is. i have 5 nec 35xx's and have never had an issue. i really wanted that benq based on the reviews and the price was right but after pulling my hair out through numerous bad installs i had no problem sending it back.

do i need to buy a 2nd 120mm fan for the antec slk3000 or does it come with 2. if i do, can someone reccommend one from newegg.

yes, it only comes with one. i got mine, asunon from svc.com.

lastly, does any particular 7800gt stand out or should i just look for the best deal?
any brand i should avoid?

i'm partial to evga.

 

[grimdeath]

the 7800gt is one of the best cards out there right now, while the x800 series and similar are becoming the "previous" generation, though they are cheaper...you will get your moneys worth

 

[johnnqq]

i'm in the same spot as you. i would get something in the x800gt 6600gt range and get 2 gb of ram, eventually going dual core and getting another graphics card as your only upgrades.