Building new system. Requesting inputs.

[Flallen]

Ok. Putting together a computer system and would like any constructive input as to what I have so far. Machine will be used for gaming as well as work related (Word, Excel, possibly circuit simulations, etc).

Was trying to keep it under $2k. I already have a monitor and speakers I plan to use with the new system. I included some heatsinking that may not be necessary (unless I try to oc the cpu or memory). Plan to run two 10k rpm Raptors in a Raid 0.

Feel free to point out any components you feel should be changed, or just general observations, etc that might be helpful in finalizing the system before I purchase and build it. Anyway, here it is:

Case
COOLER MASTER Wave Master TAC-T01-E1C Silver All Aluminum Alloy ATX Mid Tower Case without Power Supply [ Link ]

Power Supply
Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-550 ATX12V 550W Power Supply [ Link ]

Motherboard
ASUS P5N32-SLI Deluxe Socket T (LGA 775) NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX Intel Motherboard [ Link ]

Processor
Intel Pentium D 830 Smithfield 800MHz FSB 2 x 1MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Dual Core, EM64T Processor [ Link ]

Processor Cooling
THERMALRIGHT SI-120 High Performance Heatsink [ Link ]

THERMALRIGHT LGA775 RM Retention Bracket for Socket 478 Coolers [ Link ]

Antec 75003 120mm Ball Case Cooling Fan [ Link ]

Memory
CORSAIR ValueSelect 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM Unbuffered DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) System Memory [ Link ]

Memory Cooling
x2 VANTEC ICEBERG DDR-A1C Copper RAM Heat Spreader [ Link ]

Video Card
eVGA 256-P2-N515-AX Geforce 7800GT 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 VIVO PCI Express x16 Video Card [ Link ]

Hard Disk
x2, Raid 0 Western Digital Raptor WD740GD 74GB 10,000 RPM 8MB Cache Serial ATA150 Hard Drive [ Link ]


Did not included the DVD, Floppy, Mouse, or KB here. Here is the link to the complete NewEgg wish list if you wish to see those: [ Wish List ]

 

[cowboytech]

Sounds like a very nice system, I like to work with very nice systems

 

[Flallen]

Yeah, I just have never had an AMD system before.. so, was just sticking with what I know more than anything. I will prob try to find some benchmark tests and compare some of the AMD processors.

The other thing I was thinking about is that I might want to get like some 300GB+ 7200 rpm HD just for storage and to backup my main drives onto every once in a while. Cuz either of the raptors goes down in raid 0 and I lose that drive. I'm sure it's not likely to happen, but I just doubled the chance by putting them in raid 0 together.

 

[Flallen]

K. Here's the AMD version. Gonna try to find some benchmark data on similar setups to decide which I plan to build. Similar cost to Intel system above. Only differences are the MB, processor, and RAM.. Removed the RAM heat spreaders because these come with them and removed the bracket for the cpu heatsink that was for the intel socket. Memory is DDR instead of DDR2 now and I went higher than DDR400 so I can OC it some if I want.

Case
COOLER MASTER Wave Master TAC-T01-E1C Silver All Aluminum Alloy ATX Mid Tower Case without Power Supply [ Link ]

Power Supply
Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-550 ATX12V 550W Power Supply [ Link ]

Motherboard
ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce SPP 100 ATX AMD Motherboard [ Link ]

Processor
AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Manchester 1GHz HT 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket 939 Dual Core Processor [ Link ]

Processor Cooling
THERMALRIGHT SI-120 High Performance Heatsink [ Link ]

Antec 75003 120mm Ball Case Cooling Fan [ Link ]

Memory
mushkin eXtreme Performance 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 500 (PC 4000) Dual Channel Kit System Memory [ Link ]

Video Card
eVGA 256-P2-N515-AX Geforce 7800GT 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 VIVO PCI Express x16 Video Card [ Link ]

Hard Disk
x2, Raid 0 Western Digital Raptor WD740GD 74GB 10,000 RPM 8MB Cache Serial ATA150 Hard Drive [ Link ]

 

[Maxiius]

You could save $$ on MB if you switch to a non-SLI board... but that's of course if you dont plan on going SLI

And i'd toss another storage HDD if ya can, like 300gb or something. That's just me though

 

[gman003]

Please just go with an AMD man. The AMD X2 3800 has been shown in various benchmarks to pound the Intel 830 D in face in just about every benchmark you can come up with. Heck, it will even own the 840 D in some benchmarks. They are more overclockable and the motherboards you can get I'm sure are no where nearly as expensive as the Intel based mobos you can find. But thats just me, I will admit I am an AMD FanBoy. But I am for a million reasons. AMD > INTEL. And that is that!

Basically, what are you planning to do with your system? Gaming or Multi-tasking? If you are just in it for gaming, might as well go singlecore man and get the best graphics card you can get. But if you do plan on going Multi-Tasking, get as high up as a processor model (from AMD of course) with the fastest 2GB of memory you can afford. And if you are just casually gaming, get a 6800GS graphics card for now, great price/performance ratio IMO.

You might want to skip those raptors. From performance based comparisons and real life experience, they are not worth the money. Use that money to buy better/faster processor and/or ram as that will have a better performance increase in everyday use than those raptors. 250gb 16mb cache HD will be just fine I think. You might increase your Windows boot time by like 3 sec. with the raptors, but you wont see any real difference when it comes to running applications or loading apps. Thats where the memory comes in.

Enjoy that new AMD X2 system man!