Yet another 'rate-this-rig' thread!

[nbarb99]

Gaming rig for a friend - sans monitor, mouse, keyboard, and OS:

EPoX "EP-9NDA3+" NVIDIA nForce3 ULTRA $113.00
AMD Socket 939 Athlon 64 3500+ (90nm Winchester) $275.00
ARCTIC COOLING Blue LED CPU Cooler $19.99
Antec 430W Power Supply, Model "TRUE430" $77.50
Corsair Value Select (Dual Pack) 184 Pin 512MBx2 DDR PC-3200 $99.67
Sapphire ATI RADEON X800 XT Platinum Edition Video Card, 256MB $479.00
Hitachi 120GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive $79
Sony Black 52x32x52x16 Combo Drive $34.99

(The case is being purchased locally)


I'm not exactly certain of the power draw of the X800XT - the Fortron PSU has dual 12V lines, so it's not a chinsy PSU by any means, but I'm wondering if a different supply would handle the draw better.

 

[imported_fatal]

Might want to change the CDRw to this for $56.00
NEC 16X Double Layer DVD±RW Drive, Black, Model ND-3520A BK
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=27-152-035&DEPA=0

 

[ribbon13]

You get get a Gigabyte nF4 for $118

Aftermarket HSF isn't necessary. Seriously, why give up the 3yr retail warranty?

For $80 you could have the seasonic tornado 400 or an XClio

I'd get a Lite-on combo or shell out another $20 and get the NEC ND-3520a

 

[imported_itr]

add about $30 more for a dfi nforce 4 ultra

better brand and newer chipset

 

[Duvie]

Not bad...

1) Where are you shopping?? I have seen some of the items 10% cheapere elsewhere...I saw the Epox for under 100 dollars

2) Power supply?? I am not sure about it...It may be enough, I am not familiar with them....I like enermax or OCZ. OCZ has like a 420 or 470 watter that should be comparable in price...

3) I am always iffy about the value ram....I mean it will work but why not get some stuff that will do cas 2 at pc3200....cas timings make a much bigger difference with AMD systems then bandwidth alone....

4) Do you alreday have a dvd -burner?? If not they are not much more then the drive you are listing and will give you dvd burning support along with some very fast cd-r and cd-rw support...Also will be pretty sure it can play any dvd recordable media out there....Some cd-rws even as dvd-rom will not read some of my dvd-rws that run fine in every standalone player in my house...

5) Why the heck are you not getting a SATA HDD??? Seagte has some large drives for a nice price....


I guess if I had to rate this 1 out of 10.....I would give it a 6

Seems like to much older technology when the newer stuff will give you a bit more longevity for minimal cost...pointless is the word I use to describe some of the choices you have made....

 

[nbarb99]

Originally posted by: ribbon13
Aftermarket HSF isn't necessary. Seriously, why give up the 3yr retail warranty?

For some reason, Newegg doesn't carry the retail version of the 3500+. That's why I'm going OEM + HSF.

add about $30 more for a dfi nforce 4 ultra

The reason I chose to go with a slightly older (nForce3) board is because the Sapphire video card is AGP, not PCI-E.

 

[nbarb99]

*double-post alert*

Originally posted by: Duvie
Not bad...

1) Where are you shopping?? I have seen some of the items 10% cheapere elsewhere...I saw the Epox for under 100 dollars

2) Power supply?? I am not sure about it...It may be enough, I am not familiar with them....I like enermax or OCZ. OCZ has like a 420 or 470 watter that should be comparable in price...

3) I am always iffy about the value ram....I mean it will work but why not get some stuff that will do cas 2 at pc3200....cas timings make a much bigger difference with AMD systems then bandwidth alone....

4) Do you alreday have a dvd -burner?? If not they are not much more then the drive you are listing and will give you dvd burning support along with some very fast cd-r and cd-rw support...Also will be pretty sure it can play any dvd recordable media out there....Some cd-rws even as dvd-rom will not read some of my dvd-rws that run fine in every standalone player in my house...

5) Why the heck are you not getting a SATA HDD??? Seagte has some large drives for a nice price....


I guess if I had to rate this 1 out of 10.....I would give it a 6

Seems like to much older technology when the newer stuff will give you a bit more longevity for minimal cost...pointless is the word I use to describe some of the choices you have made....

1) Newegg - I find it easier to buy everything from one place, all at once.

2) Yeah, I'll look around...

3) Corsair is a (IMHO) very reputable brand. If it'll make that much of a difference, though, I'll look into it.

4) Yeah, I realize it's only $30 more for a DVD burner - I let my friend know this, and he said he doesn't think he'll ever need to burn DVDs.

5) No reason in particular; PATA isn't noticeably slower than SATA (AFAIK), so I figured it doesn't really matter.

 

[Duvie]

Dont buy at newegg...look elswhere.....Monarch, ZZF, and gameve (I like them)....

 

[ribbon13]

$293 shipped -> ADA3500BIBOX

Corsair is the best, and there is nothing wrong with value ram. Look at the sticky in the CPU forum.

SATA means no IDE ribbons and no added rounded cable expense. Why not? Seriously the difference is less than $10 usually.

 

[Duvie]

Originally posted by: nbarb99
*double-post alert*

Originally posted by: Duvie
Not bad...

1) Where are you shopping?? I have seen some of the items 10% cheapere elsewhere...I saw the Epox for under 100 dollars

2) Power supply?? I am not sure about it...It may be enough, I am not familiar with them....I like enermax or OCZ. OCZ has like a 420 or 470 watter that should be comparable in price...

3) I am always iffy about the value ram....I mean it will work but why not get some stuff that will do cas 2 at pc3200....cas timings make a much bigger difference with AMD systems then bandwidth alone....

4) Do you alreday have a dvd -burner?? If not they are not much more then the drive you are listing and will give you dvd burning support along with some very fast cd-r and cd-rw support...Also will be pretty sure it can play any dvd recordable media out there....Some cd-rws even as dvd-rom will not read some of my dvd-rws that run fine in every standalone player in my house...

5) Why the heck are you not getting a SATA HDD??? Seagte has some large drives for a nice price....


I guess if I had to rate this 1 out of 10.....I would give it a 6

Seems like to much older technology when the newer stuff will give you a bit more longevity for minimal cost...pointless is the word I use to describe some of the choices you have made....

1) Newegg - I find it easier to buy everything from one place, all at once.

2) Yeah, I'll look around...

3) Corsair is a (IMHO) very reputable brand. If it'll make that much of a difference, though, I'll look into it.

4) Yeah, I realize it's only $30 more for a DVD burner - I let my friend know this, and he said he doesn't think he'll ever need to burn DVDs.

5) No reason in particular; PATA isn't noticeably slower than SATA (AFAIK), so I figured it doesn't really matter.

1) i understand but IMO newegg is sucking hard lately....I am tired of those fvcks leaving my expensive stuff on the doorstep and not requiring signature or somebody to be there....they are not the cheapest in most things now....I wouldn't be care if I ordered from 3 places if I saved 10% on that whole total....

2) probably should...never want to skimp here

3) cas 2 timines versus cas 2.5 timings will make minimal 1-3% diff max...your call...

4)He may not burn DVDs but DVDs are great for data backups, ghost of hdds, etc....DVD media is cheap now...

5) My seagate SATA 80gb is very noticeably faster and snappier then my old ATA100 PATA drive....Again always your call, but if he wants to cheap everything up tell him to at least find the best deals...

 

[Duvie]

Originally posted by: ribbon13
$293 shipped -> ADA3500BIBOX

Corsair is the best, and there is nothing wrong with value ram. Look at the sticky in the CPU forum.

SATA means no IDE ribbons and no added rounded cable expense. Why not? Seriously the difference is less than $10 usually.

I didn't say anything was wrong with it...Cas 2 is better performance with the AMD64's...look at the numbers and anaylze them and you will see what I mean...weigh the percentage versus the cost...Also may allow him to oc a bit higher in speed if he plans on ocing....May be the difference between one divider and pc3200-pc3500 range and having to drop the multiplier and run sub pc3000.....

 

[crimson117]

Originally posted by: nbarb99
4) Yeah, I realize it's only $30 more for a DVD burner - I let my friend know this, and he said he doesn't think he'll ever need to burn DVDs.

It's <$20 difference, and this drive rules, and it's completely silent.

Although, the Sony drive comes with software.

 

[moechi125]

i notice you like to shop OEM stuff. I'm not a complete fan of buying OEM ... espescally with CPUs as it makes no sense. OEM vs Retail is around 25-50$ difference and OEm doesn't come with a fan so really at the end of the day you pay almost the same plus you get the warranty... mabe CD Drives and floppy drives OEM is fine with me but everything else i buy Retail.

 

[nbarb99]

@moechi125: Yeah, I prefer buying retail as well. I'm going to consider the 3500+ at ZZF.

@Duvie: Thanks for all your input I'll recommend a SATA hard drive.