It's Been A While....but....my New System Specs

[MikeyBoy]

It's been a while since I built my own PC. In fact, I have been pretty far removed from the advances in CPU and Video Card technology for a few years now. That thing called work got in the way. But, I would like to build a new PC. So far, I have come up with the following specs - PLEASE feel free to make suggestions in any/all areas. Budget is about $2500-2700 (not including monitor).

PROPOSED SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS:

PROCESSOR: CPU P4-830 INTEL P4D 8030 DUAL CORE 3.0G (I'm now discovering the AMD's are much better for the same or a pinch more money -- if so which one?? -- thoughts?)
MEMORY: 2 PCS ME 1GBDDR2667
MOTHERBOARD: MBO-ASP5N32SLI ASUS P5N32-SLI/DELUXE
HARD DRIVES:WD740GD WESTERN DIGITAL 74GB 10K RPM RAPTOR (MASTER) AND A
ST3500641AS SEAGATE 500GB 72K RPM SATA HARD DRIVE (SLAVE)
VIDEO CARD: VC-BFG7800GT256 BFG 7800GT OC 256MB GDDR33 SLI READY
WIRELESS CARD: NW-LSWMP54GS WIRELESS SIGNAL-BOOSTER (will probably swap this out for just a regular 802.11b/g wireless card....the signal booster might be a waste of money.)
FIREWIRE CARD:FW SIIG 800DV-KIT (1394B) FIREWIRE CARD
DVD DRIVE:MD-DVD16XB 16X DVD DRIVE BLACK LITE-ON
DVD BURNER:A-OPEN16X DVD +R 3 COLORS DUAL LAYER DVD RW
CASE:CS-TTVA3000BWA THERMALTAKE VA3000BWA W/O POWER (really not sure on the case. There are so many great one's and really bad one's out on the market today.) Thoughts??
POWER SUPPLYS-HE550W ANTEC POWER SUPPLY 550W

TOTAL PRICE: $2,542.5

 

[purelithium]

I own an AMD X2 3800+ and I love it. It's the approximate equivalent of the Intel 820. I would recommend either the AMD Opteron 170 or the Opteron 165 for you.

Of course, if you're changing your CPU, you're going to have to change your MB and RAM. I don't like ASUS, but others have had good luck with them. I recommend DFI and Epox.

Why 2 optical drives?

Anyway, Your system looks good.

 

[smirkus]

antec is known for good cases. Why are you getting two DVD drives--i am pretty sure you don't need one DVD drive to burn a dvd in your DVD-R Drive. I REALLY DO NOT RECOMEND GETTING A DUAL CORE PROCESSOR NOW. WASTE OF MONEY. Very few apps written for them, and cost a lot more for some performance boost--single core is what most people have and what software developers target now, and years down the line when dual or more core processors are standard, the expensive dual core you buy now will be obsolete. Think about it--how many 64bit apps are there now, and the first 64bit cpu came out three years ago!

Are you sure your mobo doesn't have onboard firewire capabilities? Also if you are spending that much money on a computer, might as well get the 7800GTX or wait for the x1900 by ATi etc. Good luck

 

[Jagger]

Here my suggestions:

Case: CoolerMaster Centurian - VERY well built case and only about $60 w/o PSU

CPU: AMD X2 4400+ - it will easily overclock to the 4800+ level w/o even trying. BTW, there is no contest between Intel and AMD, especially when it comes to dual core. AMD wins hands down.

I respectfully disagree with the other poster who stated that dual core is a waste. As of today, with reference to games, yes, it is a slight waste. However, for multitasking, photo and video editing and encoding, dual core wins hands down. Plus most programs are patching or being designed for dual core. If you plan to keep it for more than a year, go with dual core.

Memory: OCZ Plat. or Cosair. Get 2 GB.

HDs: good choice

PSU: good choice again but also check out Enermax. Very quite and highly reliable.

MB: If not planing on going with SLI, get the Abit AN8 Ultra. Otherwise get the KN8 SLI. Rock solid, easily overclocked. Plus comes with a firewire card for the rear. The Centurian case also has a front firewire port.

 

[purelithium]

Instead of re-writing what has already been said, here it is:

http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/Buying-Dual-Core-Waste-ftopict172825.html

Buying Dual Core is not a Waste

 

[purelithium]

Take for instance that most gamers shut off all their other processes they can when they play their game, in order to give the most CPU cycles specifically for the game.

With a dual core, or dual processor system. One core could manage all the background processes and even manage running windows so that the game could have the benefit of 100% of the cycles on the other core. This would result in a much better performing game, and the ability to ALT+TAB out of a game without having to wait for the lag. Dual Cores aren't the waste that a lot of people(people that either haven't used them or only go by what they see and read in a review) say they are. It's all a matter of preference, but I like being able to have a lot of different things running on my computer and not have it become completely unusable like every "single-core" system i've had in the past.

 

[mdd1963]

"then dual core won't benefit you one bit."

Quake 4 has been SMP patched, and ekes out minor 30-40% framerate increases with a dual core....

 

[Jagger]

Quake 4 has been SMP patched, and ekes out minor 30-40% framerate increases with a dual core....

I'd hate to see what you consider "major"... :lol:

 

[warthogg]

i've just built a unit with the same cpu/mobo/dual 7800gt combination. My first build 8)
my unit includes the following that i'd recommend:
case: antec p180
psu: enermax 620watt

Succesful build on first power on though i have to go back and clean up the jungle of wires for a cleaner/safer environment when i set up sli-mode with second card i have and add in more devices. I recommend the enermax 620watt psu if your going for an sli-dual set up since it provides modular cables and plug ins specific for the pci-e x16 cards (this unit was built with the pci-e x32 sli-mode board in mind)

For this motherboard, i think you need a really good size case. The antec p180 is a good size case but the space for mobo was a nice tight fit and you may need some xtra longnose needle plyers to plug in some of the wirings at the edges. Also that the psu is sectioned off from the mobo are where you have to route power cords through a hole between the sections seem to provide a really good cinch around all the the cords for cleaner set up. Case also has modular detatchable hdd units case which you can slide out screw on multiple drives and plug cables and slide in.
One advice: have some forethought for the device placements and how you'd manage the tangle of cables as you add in because with multiple chambers there is a lot of routing to be done and takes up inches on the cables.

You can't go wrong with these . I chose the Pentium 830 because i'd like to play around with 3d graphics software and use midi software/devices all of which i understand to take best advantages of a dual core.

Hope your build goes well