DREAM RIG !

[Guest]

Here's a question for all you veterans out there!

I'm planning on building a dream rig (of course). This is what I'm aiming for:

- It has to be cutting edge and super fast but also super stable and very upgradeable (I don't want to have to replace the mobo every year).
- Since the focus is stability, I won't necessarily overclock (although I'd like to via a mobo bios like the Abit RAID if I can!)
- I'll be using this rig alot for gaming and possibly as a server for gaming.

So, my question is, if you were building a dream machine with this criteria in mind, what combination processor (Intel or Athlon!) and motherboard would you get? Please explain your choices. Any comments on hard drive (7200 rpm but what makes are best) and power supply etc will be welcome!

Thanks guys for all your comments and help!!

 

[AMD_Man]

This'll probably be a long one. I'll start off with the basics. Get a good power supply now so you don't complain later. A 400W+ power supply will virtually guarantee hassle free future upgrades. I recommend a 430W Enermax PSU because I have one I've got nothing but good things to say about it. Get the Whisper version if you want to reduce noise from the PSU. For the case, it's really a personal decision so I won't recommend any, but I suggest any Antec cases because look sleek and they're sturdy. Get a mid or full tower!

Let's start out with a platform. Both the 2Ghz P4 and the 1.4GHz Athlon are equally stable and relatively equal in performance. The P4 is somewhat overpriced while the Athlon is just right. I'd get an Athlon system because it provides a better upgrade path, you can get the 1.4GHz and know that the Socket A platform will be support for years to come. For the motherboard, I recommend the ECS K7S5A if you don't care about overclocking or RAID or the Abit KG7-RAID if you want both. For RAM, I'd say 256MB or 512MB CL2 PC2100 RAM. Go with 512MB if you don't want to add more RAM in 6 months when apps ge bigger. For the hard drive, I'd go with Maxtor, Western Digital or IBM. If you want a RAID setup then get two cheap 40GB 7200RPM hard drives. If not, then get a large 60 to 80GB 7200RPM hard drive.

If you like a lot of extra features in a sound card then get the Hercules Game Theater XP. If you just want a regular 5.1-enabled sound card then get the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz or Phillips Acoustic Edge. If you're doing a lot of gaming then get a GeForce3 (the Ti500 is a rip off, it's not much faster than a GeForce3 but costs significantly more) or Radeon 8500. Get a 16X Pioneer DVD-DRIVE. Get a 24X/10X/40X Plextor CD-RW. Get a Floppy drive.

Ohh, I almost forgot! Cooling! Get a Volcano II for the CPU cooler! DON'T WORRY, I'M NOT CRAZY! Then get at least 2 good case fans. You're load temps will probably hover in the low 50s which is ok, but it'll spare you the agony of loud noise.

AMD technology + Intel technology = Intel/AMD Pentathlon IV; the <b>ULTIMATE</b> PC processor

 

[Boondock_Saint]

Enermax 430 watt PSU
Antec SX1030 Case

Tyan MP Mainboard
2x 1.2GHz AthlonMP
1024 megs of Registered PC 2100 DDR RAM
4x 80GB Maxtor Hard Drives (7200RPM) in RAID 0+1 Array
Promise Raid Controller
nVidia Quadro DCC
Creative Soundblaster Audigy Platinum
Creative PC-DVD 12x
HP 24x/10x/40x CDRW
Creative PC-DVD RAM 1x

Microsoft USB Mouse
Microsoft Keyboard
21" LCD Monitor
Klipsch 5.1 500 watt speaker setup
Ratzpad Mousing Surface

 

[AMD_Man]

That's just overkill and probably not even in his price range.

AMD technology + Intel technology = Intel/AMD Pentathlon IV; the <b>ULTIMATE</b> PC processor

 

[garett]

well he did say a dream rig!

however i would ditch that HP burner and get the plextor. i have a 16x plextor and its great. 24x would be better

the speakers are deffinatly preference based. klipsch is really good. virocco crossfires are great too providing more quality but less boom. and then if you just have all kinds of money you can buy some home audio equipment instead.

just as a suggestion for a case, lian li cases are really great. expensive though. if you are going to customize the case(paint, blow holes, plexi, neons) you might as well go buy an old used one from someone though.

if you are going with amd, i would wait for the via kt266a chipset mobos to come out. im not sure when that will be though, hopefully soon. does anybody know?

really when you look at it just about everything is preference based. you can go to a site like http://www.neoseeker.com/ to find a lot of reviews on different products.

 

[Boondock_Saint]

Like already mentioned, he did say Dream Rig, did he not?

 

[somerandomguy]

I've heard that LCD monitors don't have as high refresh rates as CRT monitors. Is this true? How fast to they refresh?

"Ignorance is bliss, but I tend to get screwed over."

 

[marneus]

That is correct as far as it goes... but a LCD TFT doesnt need high refresh rates as CRTs do... different technology means a refresh rate is not the same problem

Quote "Refresh rates are not as meaningful as with CRTs partly because LCD pixels don't exhibit the same refresh/decay characteristics & partly because LCD displays are built around fixed,native resolutions - so they will be flicker-free at native XGA & SVGA resolutions"

---If at first you dont succeed... get a bigger hammer... that'll teach it !!!---

 

[XGForce]

Here is a dream rig and cost effective:

Intel Pentium 2GHz
Abit TH7II-Raid mobo
512MB Samsung PC800 RDRAM (or 256)
Any 20GB HD Drive RPM 7200
Asus V8200 Geforce 3 Deluxe
Pioneer 16x DVD Drive
19' Sony FD Trinitron
Lian-Li PC-60 Case
Sound Blaster Audigy Platinum
Altec Lansing ADA890 Speakers

OMG, im drooling!

GamerzCitadel.com

 

[dhlucke]

20 GB hard drive? 40 is ideal nowadays unless you need more and want to put out the extra cash.

<font color=red>God</font color=red> <font color=blue>Bless</font color=blue> <font color=red>America!</font color=red>

 

[forgettythatty]

I'll give you the super overpriced dream rig(DON'T BUY THIS):

The kyrotech Super G2 case with a voided warrenty used to overclock an athalon xp 1800 (1.5Ghz) to like 2.5 GHz on MSI’s K7T266 Pro2-RU Motherboard. $2700

A CHEETAH X15-36LP raid setup. $3000

The Geforce3 Ti 500. $350

Whatever the most expensive sound card by creative is. $200?

a viewsonic vp181 flat screen monitor. $2000

Corsair PC2400 ram $270

www.pcpowercooling.com power 600 watt power supply $333

I'll stop. It's already in excess of $7000

 

[lhgpoobaa]

i think u forgot the gold plated 1.44mb floppy drive

Religious wars are 2 groups of people fighting over who has the best imaginary friend.

 

[lhgpoobaa]

quick question for you AMD_MAN, you said you have the 430W enermax, and the whisper is even quieter...
BUT
i just lashed out and got the 550W by enermax and its damn near silent anyway! how do they make it quieter than silent?

Religious wars are 2 groups of people fighting over who has the best imaginary friend.

 

[AMD_Man]

The Whisper has a thermal probe that varies the fan speed depending on the readings. I'm not sure if anything else is different. I know that if you have a very hot ambient case temp then the Whisper's fan can go over 3000RPM (without making any noticable extra noise). I think it has to do with the type of fan they use on the bottom of the PSU. It looks like a thin clear plastic fan (which is also used in the non-Whisper version).

I actually got the Whisper to put the thermal probe near the CPU to force the PSU to blow as fast as possible.

AMD technology + Intel technology = Intel/AMD Pentathlon IV; the <b>ULTIMATE</b> PC processor <P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by AMD_Man on 10/08/01 08:17 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[garett]

isnt samsung ram suppose to be genericish? i would buy crucial just to be safe. right now i use corsair, but only because its pc2400.

 

[chaotictech]

Samsung Rdram is about the best ive seen so far. Samsung sdram and ddr is kind of on the cheap side. I guess everyone makes some things good and some things not so good.

When I go into a computer store I lose all means of reason for some reason.