• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

your opinion on these parts

zCypher

zCypher

Diamond Member
Hi everybody,

How's it going? I'm building a new system, and I'd just like your input before I go ahead. So far, I've come up with:

MSI K9A2
AMD AM2 6400+ 3.2GHz/2MB
4GB Kingston KVR 800MHz DDR2
500GB Seagate SATA-II 7200RPM/32MB
Asus EN8800GTS 512MB

Originally I was thinking about the Asus M3A. Am I doing well to take the MSI K9A2 instead? I've only had great experiences with both Asus and MSI so I have no worries either way, but just want the best out of the two or if there's a much better one at the same price, enlighten me.

I wanted to put the 1066MHz DDR2 but then learned I apparently need to get the much more expensive AM2+ processor, so I'll stick with the AM2 and 800MHz DDR2.

Regarding the hard disk, I momentarily considered the SATA Raptor because of its higher RPM speed - but the website I was looking on actually showed higher transfer speeds for the SATA-II - is this accurate?

Finally, the video card. Good choice? Your recommendations?

The system will be used for just about everything, from web and graphics apps, to business to movies to games... I'm not a hardcore gamer but I can't stand lag.

Your input will be highly appreciated!
 
any reason why your going AMD instead of Intel?

And if you thought it was because AMD > Intel, your poorly informed my friend.


Your going to have to relist your budget and objective for this rig also your location if you want to continue.


If you picked AMD because ou have the parts laying around, but asking for motherboard advice, id still say get intel. Expecially since the E2160 is a hot overclocker at sub 100 dollars, that would easily destory any AMD dualcore out there in EVERY benchmark.
 
Say your budget and what parts you already have;

8800GTS 512 is an excellent choice. If money is a problem slightly cheaper version is 8800GT.
 
CPU - :thumbsdown:

You can get a much cheaper lower clocked AM2 & OC it if you want to go that route.
But AMD is going nowhere these days, so i don't recommend 'em.

If you're on a budget & can't hit the quadcore price range, then get a nice P35 like the Gigabyte DS3L or Asus P5K, & an E4500, & clock to 3+ GHz.
Then you can add a quad down the road (a good Intel quad).
 
you don't buy the raptor for the str, but the latency times. if you do a lot of computer usage that is always accesses the hdd, then a raptor will benefit you, if not it wont
 
Thanks for the replies so far. You're right, I may be out of the loop - which is why I'm here and not building the system yet. So Intel is better value these days? I'm not at all concerned for overclocking, the system will stay at the factory settings.

Which Intel CPU then be best suitable in the same approximate price as the AMD I had selected?

Also, is there a comparable motherboard? I was just taking AMD because I know they were doing really well, but I haven't been following the scene for a while so I guess that's my mistake for assuming everything stayed the same.

What Intel CPU would you look at in the same price range that would out perform the AMD, without being overclocked? Also, do you know if there is a specific type of RAM I should be looking at or is my choice decent as it is?

The budget is about $1,000 and the system will be used for just about anything and everything... I could obviously build a $300 system that will do internet, email, office apps et cetera... but I'd rather build a better longer lasting system and be able to play games without lag when I feel like it, be able to open a crapload of stuff at the same time and not worry about disgusting slowdowns and not wait forever for stuff to load up. I don't see what other usage detail would be required... I think my goal is more or less clear at this point given the hardware I listed to begin with.

The system is being started from scratch. There is an existing system but I'm keeping it as is.

Thanks again for the help so far, I appreciate it.
 
Originally posted by: accguy9009
The Mod Zap posted this in another thread as a nice board. I agree and it looks like the price is right.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...16813127031&Tpk=IP35-E

This memory looks like a fairly good value to me.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820134583

Someone else can perhaps give you better advice on the CPU bit this one is priced about the same as your AMD selection.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819115029

Good luck with your new system.
Click to expand...

great recomendation for a value system.


Lets start with these components tho since his budget is slightly greater.

Asus P5K-E series board
8800GT 512MEG
PSU you recomended is great as well for a mid level system.
CPU - are you really willing to not overclock? The E2160 accord to lopri on a the new M0 stepping will almost do 100% OC without too much trouble.

If your not ocing... a E6750 should be enough power for whatever you need. If you wannaa jump ballgames into quads, a Q6600 is also doable, however get a aftermarket sink.


Ram: 2gb for windows XP, 4gb for Vista, Anything thats DDR2-800 ram will suffice. I picked up a cheap pair for like 30 dollars After rebate and they work fine. Most likely you wont exceed the 400fsb barrier the ram can supply.
 
Originally posted by: aigomorla
Originally posted by: accguy9009
The Mod Zap posted this in another thread as a nice board. I agree and it looks like the price is right.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...16813127031&Tpk=IP35-E

This memory looks like a fairly good value to me.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820134583

Someone else can perhaps give you better advice on the CPU bit this one is priced about the same as your AMD selection.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819115029

Good luck with your new system.
Click to expand...

great recomendation for a value system.


Lets start with these components tho since his budget is slightly greater.

Asus P5K-E series board
8800GT 512MEG
PSU you recomended is great as well for a mid level system.
CPU - are you really willing to not overclock? The E2160 accord to lopri on a the new M0 stepping will almost do 100% OC without too much trouble.

If your not ocing... a E6750 should be enough power for whatever you need. If you wannaa jump ballgames into quads, a Q6600 is also doable, however get a aftermarket sink.


Ram: 2gb for windows XP, 4gb for Vista, Anything thats DDR2-800 ram will suffice. I picked up a cheap pair for like 30 dollars After rebate and they work fine. Most likely you wont exceed the 400fsb barrier the ram can supply.
Click to expand...

nothing wrong w/ the m/b that accguy9009 picked out - no reason to use all the budget if you can get it done for less - this isn't a govt contract 😀
 
Originally posted by: bob4432


nothing wrong w/ the m/b that accguy9009 picked out - no reason to use all the budget if you can get it done for less - this isn't a govt contract 😀
Click to expand...

What if i told you that the board didnt like voltage in the 1.43-1.45v ranges, and caused random reboots from me as well as a few other experienced builders.

Also the vdroop on the board was around .1-.2 sometimes from idle to load.


Yeah, the board is solid and mild and no overclocking... however the p5k add's wifi, second pci-e, and a much more stable platform then the abit.

You cant really compare asus p5k series with abit ip35 series.
 
Regarding the hard disk, I momentarily considered the SATA Raptor because of its higher RPM speed - but the website I was looking on actually showed higher transfer speeds for the SATA-II - is this accurate?
Click to expand...
Perpendicular drives come very close, or even exceed the raptor as shown here (avg read):
http://www23.tomshardware.com/...80&model2=850&chart=34

As far as a SATA-II drive out performing a raptor (which all are sata, all are sata-I) that would be in the burst rateing only. The cache on the hdd (8MB-32MB) is a ram chip. It transfers very quickly and is limited by the interface only. 133MB/s for UDMA-6, 150MB/s for SATA-I and 300MB/s for SATA-II.
The raptor only really shines when it comes to long sequential reads. If this does not apply to you, save your money. A hard drive with perpendicular technology will give you the same performance at a much reduced price (and a lot more storage).
Get 4GB (2x2GB). XP may not utilize all of it, but DDR2 is so cheap right now, buy up what you can (one reason/theory I heard its so cheap is RAM manufactures ramped up producation for Vista, but Vista didnt catch on like everyone thought so there is still more supply then demand).

Originally posted by: bob4432
a lot of reads of many files
Click to expand...
Do you know of a application that benefits from this noticeably which can justify the huge price premium for marginal gains? [$0.22/GB for a 7.2k Vs. $1.1/GB 10k raptor]
 
Originally posted by: sutahz
Regarding the hard disk, I momentarily considered the SATA Raptor because of its higher RPM speed - but the website I was looking on actually showed higher transfer speeds for the SATA-II - is this accurate?
Click to expand...
Perpendicular drives come very close, or even exceed the raptor as shown here (avg read):
http://www23.tomshardware.com/...80&model2=850&chart=34

As far as a SATA-II drive out performing a raptor (which all are sata, all are sata-I) that would be in the burst rateing only. The cache on the hdd (8MB-32MB) is a ram chip. It transfers very quickly and is limited by the interface only. 133MB/s for UDMA-6, 150MB/s for SATA-I and 300MB/s for SATA-II.
The raptor only really shines when it comes to long sequential reads. If this does not apply to you, save your money. A hard drive with perpendicular technology will give you the same performance at a much reduced price (and a lot more storage).
Get 4GB (2x2GB). XP may not utilize all of it, but DDR2 is so cheap right now, buy up what you can (one reason/theory I heard its so cheap is RAM manufactures ramped up producation for Vista, but Vista didnt catch on like everyone thought so there is still more supply then demand).
Click to expand...

the raptor shines when you have a lot of reads of many files as it has a lower latency and can therefore find the file faster. one can get higher str from a regulra 7.2k hdd....
 
Originally posted by: aigomorla
Originally posted by: bob4432


nothing wrong w/ the m/b that accguy9009 picked out - no reason to use all the budget if you can get it done for less - this isn't a govt contract 😀
Click to expand...

What if i told you that the board didnt like voltage in the 1.43-1.45v ranges, and caused random reboots from me as well as a few other experienced builders.

Also the vdroop on the board was around .1-.2 sometimes from idle to load.


Yeah, the board is solid and mild and no overclocking... however the p5k add's wifi, second pci-e, and a much more stable platform then the abit.

You cant really compare asus p5k series with abit ip35 series.
Click to expand...

i would say that the 1.43-1.45 could cause some issues and i was not aware of this, but it may possibly be corrected by a bios fix or may be an issue w/ bad V regulation in the board design - not sure on this one as i have not researched it. the vdrop probably will not be much of an issue for normal use imho - what type of load cause this?

but still, for a $60AR board for a person that is not pushing it to the limits or o/cing i would still buy it. when the rebate goes away i would probably recommend the gigabyte couterpart (and yes i have used all the brands - asus, abit, gigabyte and many others, in my own builds, so it is not a bran loyalty)

honestly, even now knowing what you are saying i would still probably use one for something like a 43xx or 6550 or 6750 build.
 
Originally posted by: bob4432

i would say that the 1.43-1.45 could cause some issues and i was not aware of this, but it may possibly be corrected by a bios fix or may be an issue w/ bad V regulation in the board design - not sure on this one as i have not researched it. the vdrop probably will not be much of an issue for normal use imho - what type of load cause this?

but still, for a $60AR board for a person that is not pushing it to the limits or o/cing i would still buy it. when the rebate goes away i would probably recommend the gigabyte couterpart (and yes i have used all the brands - asus, abit, gigabyte and many others, in my own builds, so it is not a bran loyalty)

honestly, even now knowing what you are saying i would still probably use one for something like a 43xx or 6550 or 6750 build.
Click to expand...

Bob when i was building this monster here:
http://i125.photobucket.com/al...aigomorla/IMG_0862.jpg

A forum member named PCTC2 pre warned me of some bugs the board had. If he didnt tell me about these bugs, i think i would of pulled my hair out trying to debug it like he did.

Anyhow the board is shakey at best when you set the voltage option @ 1.425+ on the cpu. The board would randomly reboot and keep rebooting. I had to majorly compromise on this quad as well because i couldnt get voltage up there. Its funny i watered a budget board so hence i should of expected it.

http://i125.photobucket.com/al...73/aigomorla/CM690.jpg

Would be my estimate on the relative sweet spot of this board. The votlage is set at 1.4v <any higher and reboot> for reference and it loads at 1.320

I know this chip is fully able to push 3.6 @ 1.475Vcore because ive had it, but because im limited by the board its at 3.4ghz. :T

I know the op wont be pushing his chip this hard, but im just letting you know of the bugs the board has. 1.4 with vdroop of 1.32 would still push any chip into moderate overclocking, but if the op had a few extra cash, the P5K-E would be a much more fun board to play with expecially with overclocking.

Heres another example of massively unstable vdroop. The bios voltage is still set @ 1.4 and it changed on a longer run. My PCAnwhere screen capture messed up the cpu-z lines. but you should be able to tell wht they are:

http://i125.photobucket.com/al...p73/aigomorla/Temp.jpg
 
i appreciate the info. for me, there wouldn't be a problem as even when i o/c, i do it w/ the V at the default setting and let the m/b take care of dynamic clocking to keep heat down, but if i did want to push a quad i would definitely want to know this info 🙂

i am still in an area where a x2 4200 is enough oomph, but it is getting hard not building a new rig because i want to w/ the prices of boards like these along w/ the cheap 667 and 800 ddr2 atm.
 
Originally posted by: bob4432
i appreciate the info. for me, there wouldn't be a problem as even when i o/c, i do it w/ the V at the default setting and let the m/b take care of dynamic clocking to keep heat down, but if i did want to push a quad i would definitely want to know this info 🙂

i am still in an area where a x2 4200 is enough oomph, but it is getting hard not building a new rig because i want to w/ the prices of boards like these along w/ the cheap 667 and 800 ddr2 atm.
Click to expand...


Normally i also recomend this boaard in builds, but if overclocking is an objective, expecially those who like to push the chip, this board is a definite no go. :T

But im always an advocate of you only ugprade when you feel like you need to. If your machine is doing what you need to do fine, and its not bothering you, why upgrade?

Me personally i just like pushing these chips to see how fast they can go. Throw them on a couple WCG rig platforms, and see how long it takes for something to die.

And believe me, if you F@H or WCG, something will die if you run it in an overclocked machine.
 
Alright.. so how's this so far?

ASUS P5K-C (support sata2, ddr2 and 3, pcie16x, core 2 quad, 1333 bus, has firewire)
intel e8400 3.00GHz 1333 with 6MB (can be changed for a quad later on since it's supported)
2x 2GB kit of kingston ddr2-800 (to be changed for ddr3 when its in ddr2's current price range)
seagate 500GB with 32MB cache
asus pcie 8600GT 512
OCZ 600W PS
asus mycinema p7131 tv tuner

I always buy LG cd or dvd drives, never had problems till the one that's in this comp now. Thinking about trying other brands for once ... any suggestions? any good insight? definitely go for Sata right? Asus has a sata dvd burner for $49, I never tried asus cd/dvd drives so I have no idea but I do know that I've been happy with every other asus product I've bought in the past (usually just mobo/video).

the tv tuner is only $50 too ... there might be some uncertainty about this card? i haven't personally heard anything bad bout it .. is it worthwhile for the price?

also ... in terms of cooling, is what is provided with these products sufficient for long hours of use (assuming no overclocking)??
 
Are you going to game?
8600GT is a bad card for buck if you want to game.
Gaming choices are Radeon 3850 or 3870 and nVidia 8800GT or 8800GTS 512.
 
I'm not a heavy gamer but I do enjoy one from time to time. What's more important for me is that all the video, multitasking, graphical apps etc all work flawlessly - gaming with no lag and high quality settings is fun and a good plus but I don't spend much of my time gaming these days.

Are there any concerns in terms of driver compatibility with the 3850 or 3870?
 
Hmmm... I read the video section, looked at some reviews and prices and I came across an XFX 8600 GTS 256MB DDR3 for $112 - is that worth it, then later on get a more powerful card once the prices come down?

Let me know what you think
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top