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What do you think of this as a gaming PC?

I

InsiderGamer

Member
I'm in the market for a pretty good gaming/image editing PC (my old PC's been with me for 6 years, it's about that time now). Please just look these specs over and give me your opinions and perhaps suggestions on what could be changed (for performance or price advantages). I appreciate it.

Processor : AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ w/ 2x1MB Cache

CPU Heatsink / Fan : AMD Retail Heatsink and Fan

Motherboard : Asus A8N-E w/ DualDDR400, 7.1 Audio, Gigabit Lan, SATA2.0, PCI-E x16
EDIT: Changed to "nForce 4 SLI Motherboard" + Geforce 7800 combo.

Memory : OCZ 2GB PC3200 Platinum Edition Dual Channel DDR Kit (2 x 1024MB)

Case : Antec SLK3000B Black Super Mid Tower

Power Supply : Enermax 535W EG565P-VE All In One ATX 12V v2.0

Case Fan : Panaflo, 120mm

Floppy Drive : Panasonic 1.44MB Floppy Drive, Black

Hard Drive : Seagate 250GB Barracuda 7200.8 Serial ATA w/ NCQ, 8MB Cache

Optical Drive : Benq 1640 DVD +/-RW Dual-Layer, Black

Video Card : eVGA e-GeForce 7800 GT 256MB PCI-E w/ Dual DVI, VIVO

Monitor : Viewsonic VA902B 19in LCD, 8ms, Black

Sound Card : Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Value, OEM

Ethernet Card : Onboard 100/1000 Gigabit Lan

Operating System : Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition OEM
---

What would you guys recommend changing about that system? All suggestions are welcomed, I haven't been into the PC hardware scene in years.

Thanks for all your help, guys.

~IG
 
Might want to check out the Epox 9NPA Ultra. Cheaper and better.

Look around for deals on Windows, because some sell the home version for $90 while others much less. In fact, you could find the Pro version for $90 or lessthese days.
 
If you want to OC then go with a DFI mobo, and you may want to hold of buying a sound card and just use the onboard and upgrade to xfi in the future
 
like rail said, the epox is a good bang for the buck mobo with dfi-like overclocking potential. but the thing is, isnt evga having a 7800 series special that comes with the jetaway-ish sli mobo? assuming you dont want to/dont know how to overclock, the 4400 is a great choice, but if you want to, the 3800x2 can get the 4400 with the right approach.
 
That's weird, I don't see any Epox motherboards on my local PC store's website. I checked the other popular OEM shop, but they don't carry any either. All I see is Asus, Gigabyte and MSI? Rats.

~IG
 
Yeah, I found it at TigerDirect.ca (I'm Canadian, yes). It's not that much less expensive and then there's shipping to consider. So they're about the same in price, pretty negligible.

~IG
 
I'm not sure the deal is still availale but go to eVGA website and they will direct you to a link on tigerdirect.ca for the 7800GT or GTX and MOBO combo
 
stick with the 4400+ if you must have dual core,if you dont need dual core and want somethin purely faster than a 4400+ get the 4000+ san diego for much less money to put towards somethin else,the motherboard is another area id reconsoder imo anyway,never liked an asus board ive ever owned and built for others in comparison to others such as Epox,DFI,MSI,ABIT, are much better(i own nforce4 asus,abit and epox,nforce3 MSI and ABIT, norce2 400 ultra FIC,ASUS and ABIT myself for example),and throw down for an x-fi i went from audigy to audigy 2zs to this x-fi and this card is amazing i promise you, 4x the difference from audigy1 to audigy2...you truly have to hear it and feel it in games to understand what i mean and the adjustments for audio are unmatched, you can truly get the perfect sound with a few adjustments and enabling a few things like the 24-bit crystalizer,.
 
Looks like you've done your homework? 🙂

Anyway, if i were you, I wouldn't buy a soundcard just yet. Listen to the onboard with your speakers, and if you dont like it, upgrade to the Audigy (or the X-Fi).

RoD
 
Originally posted by: Finns14
I'm not sure the deal is still availale but go to eVGA website and they will direct you to a link on tigerdirect.ca for the 7800GT or GTX and MOBO combo
Click to expand...


Seems like it.
EVGA 7800 GT w/ free nForce 4 SLI Motherboard

Tigerdirect.ca link: http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/...etails.asp?EdpNo=1644233&sku=E145-7810

Apparently the COD2 thing is still going, unless they updated the page while forgetting to delete it. (I thought the promotion ended Oct. 31)

EVGA linked to Newegg's card (which is cheaper, at least to Americans), but it doesn't seem to have the option of adding the mobo. $400 U.S (or $360 on Newegg if they do have the deal) for a 7800GT and mobo seems mighty appealing.
 
Originally posted by: InsiderGamer
I'm in the market for a pretty good gaming/image editing PC (my old PC's been with me for 6 years, it's about that time now). Please just look these specs over and give me your opinions and perhaps suggestions on what could be changed (for performance or price advantages). I appreciate it.

Processor : AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ w/ 2x1MB Cache

CPU Heatsink / Fan : AMD Retail Heatsink and Fan

Motherboard : Asus A8N-E w/ DualDDR400, 7.1 Audio, Gigabit Lan, SATA2.0, PCI-E x16

Memory : OCZ 2GB PC3200 Platinum Edition Dual Channel DDR Kit (2 x 1024MB)

Case : Antec SLK3000B Black Super Mid Tower

Power Supply : Enermax 535W EG565P-VE All In One ATX 12V v2.0

Case Fan : Panaflo, 120mm

Floppy Drive : Panasonic 1.44MB Floppy Drive, Black

Hard Drive : Seagate 250GB Barracuda 7200.8 Serial ATA w/ NCQ, 8MB Cache

Optical Drive : Benq 1640 DVD +/-RW Dual-Layer, Black

Video Card : eVGA e-GeForce 7800 GT 256MB PCI-E w/ Dual DVI, VIVO

Monitor : Viewsonic VA902B 19in LCD, 8ms, Black

Sound Card : Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Value, OEM

Ethernet Card : Onboard 100/1000 Gigabit Lan

Operating System : Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition OEM
---

What would you guys recommend changing about that system? All suggestions are welcomed, I haven't been into the PC hardware scene in years.

Thanks for all your help, guys.

~IG
Click to expand...


All depends on the price.


 
I looked at the 7800 GT/Mobo deal on TigerDirect.ca and while it looks like I might be saving around $40 CAD (yay), with the cost of shipping, it's actually more expensive. Although you guys are posting all these lovely online suggestions (and I do appreciate that), all my attempts to buy components online usually get crippled when it comes down to the shipping costs 🙁 .

My local OEM dealer has pretty cheap prices. For instance, the eVGA Geforce 7800 is only $439.99 CAD where any other Canadian online retailer is more expensive and that's not even counting the shipping. Bah.

~IG
 
"i would go with a 4200+ and a GTX"

As a bump and another question, I don't understand the pull of the GTX. Looking at benchmarks on various websites, it seems the performance increase isn't worth is extra money. And if anyone else has any further suggestions, I'd really appreciate that. I'm hopefully looking to order this puppy tomorrow.

~IG
 
I think the VP191B LCD is faster than the VA902B, but let me check on that first. Edit: Yeah, it is, plus the VP191B has a better PVA panel. If you can afford to get the VP191B that would be the best. The little motion blur it does have will be less pronounced/annoying than that of the TN-panel VA902B's. If you want the absolute best, I'd say the Samsung 193P+ slightly beats the VP191B.

If you're not going to OC, immediately ditch 'performance' memory. Take this advice from me. I spent $300 on TCCD PC3200 1GB and my 1GB $90 Corsair Value is just as fast at default (total 2GB now). Put that saved ~$200 (or however much) toward the better VP191B LCD.

Keep the X2 4400+ and GT as it is. Games will be more CPU-limited with a 1280x1024 LCD. There is a negligible difference between the GT and GTX.

The rest has my approval.
 
Epox? I thought that was a cheap ECS-esque Chinese brand.
DFI I suppose if you are overclocking. If not, it doesn't matter at all and I'd just get whatever is more tailored toward your budget. I think ASUS makes great boards. I've had two with no specific issues at all.
 
Thanks guys for telling me about the Geforce 7800 and mobo combo 🙂 . I checked it out and my local retailer is also honoring the deal, which saves me $100 CAD! Well worth getting the PC a week later. It doesn't say which motherboard it is exactly (says "nForce 4 SLI Motherboard") but it seems to have all the features I'm looking for (dual channel, SATA @ 300 MB/sec...) and you can't forget the savings!

If anyone else has any last minute suggestions to my rig now, please feel free to speak up.

Thanks so far everyone for all your help and advice. You've helped me get a better, cheaper, PC.

~IG
 
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