My potential new rig

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Ophelia

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Feb 10, 2005
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Used pretty much for gaming:

1 ASUS A8N-SLI Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Model #: A8N-SLI
Item #: N82E16813131524
$112.99 $112.99

1 SAPPHIRE 100149 Radeon X1900XT 512MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - OEM
Model #: 100149
Item #: N82E16814102003
$449.00 $449.00

1 Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-550 ATX12V 550W Power Supply - Retail
Model #: TPII-550
Item #: N82E16817103931
$89.99 $89.99

1 AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Toledo 1GHz HT Socket 939 Dual Core Processor Model ADA4400CDBOX - Retail
Model #: ADA4400CDBOX
Item #: N82E16819103546
$463.00 $463.00

1 Kingston HyperX 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model KHX3200AK2/2G - Retail
Model #: KHX3200AK2/2G
Item #: N82E16820134039
$209.99 $209.99

2 Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Model #: WD2500KS
Item #: N82E16822144701
$93.00 $186.00

1 Logitech Internet Pro 967450-0403 Black PS/2 Wired Standard Keyboard - OEM
Model #: 967450-0403
Item #: N82E16823126167
$9.98 $9.


Subtotal: $1,520.95

Some notes:

I am keeping monitor, mouse, sound card, case and cd drives from my old computer

My reasoning behind the 1900xt with the sli mobo: right now, I am not planning on going dual - and probably wont for a while - I see this as a potential upgrade a few years from now, when I would replace the 1900xt with 2 nVidia cards. The price difference between the SLI vs the non SLI card is not very large, so....

Also thinking of picking up a few new 80mm case fans - anyone have recomendations on that? I can only fit 2 in the case, and I'm worried about heat, especially on the hard drives (planning on setting those up in a Raid 0) Upgrading the case is not an option.
 
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Ophelia

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Ok, is there a x1900xt that runs cooler? I"m concerned already about heat in my case.

Which epox or dfi for the motherboard?
 
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Ophelia

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So anyone have any opinions on some kind of heat solution?

I've heard the hard drives can run hot, and now the video card as well. I can only fit 2 80mm fans in the case - are there any other solutions I'm missing here?

As for that motherboard, it isn't SLI compatible? It's something I'd like to keep open for a possible future upgrade (though I wont be doing it now, or even in the next year or two - why I'm going SLI rather than crossfire on the motherboard)
 
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Banusflakes

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As for that motherboard, it isn't SLI compatible? It's something I'd like to keep open for a possible future upgrade (though I wont be doing it now, or even in the next year or two - why I'm going SLI rather than crossfire on the motherboard)
Click to expand...

1-2 years is a long time to plan for in light of the new platforms coming out in the next 6 months and a new OS looming on the horizon. And that is especially true with regard to something like SLI which may or may not exist at that point, who knows where multi-gpu platforms are headed. Not to mention the fact that by that time you'll probably be looking to upgrade the CPU to a newer generation as well so you'll end up buying a new Mobo anyway. You should plan for what you want now. If you want a dual card setup get something that will allow you to add a second card 3 months from now either a single NVIDIA card now and another later or a Crossfire mobo. DFI makes a nice one that allows you to run 4 dimms at 1T.
 
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Ophelia

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Why not just spend a bit more and pick up a better case?
Click to expand...

I can't fit a larger case - it's not as much a matter of expense, it's size.

As for your video card question. Not sure.. As for motherboard:

This one from DFI: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813136152
Click to expand...

Stupid question, but will I have issues setting this up? I'm fairly new to the build your own (well, I built one before, but I don't remember having so many options) - this one seems a little more complicated, but I'm willing to learn.



Question now between memory brands - found the following 2 on Newegg:

Kingston: http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820134039

Corsair: http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820145575

I don't really understand the ins and outs of memory timing (something which makes me nervous about the board above)

Also, the PSU I picked has a "20+4" connector (I've read the DFI boards need a 24 pin connector. Will the 20+4 suffice?

Thanks!!
 
samir_nayanajaad

samir_nayanajaad

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Feb 22, 2006
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Well the simple question to answer is about that power supply and yes the 20+4 will work with a 24 pin mobo, it says 20+4 because the extra 4 pins can be taken off to be compatible with a 20 pin mobo.

With memory timings things get a little sticky, In a small nutshell the smaller the number the better. Those numbers represent how many clock ticks of the cpu must pass for the ram to read write and access data on the memory banks. These numbers won’t cause you and issues with the mobo.

I am not knowledgeable enough to tell you the info off the top of my head, but go to wikipedia and look up the term “CAS latency” and all other latency terms with memory and you will get a good understanding of how stuff works.

In my own experience changing timing from my default 3-3-3-6 2t to
2-2-2-5 1t helped me about 3 fps in games. AMD cpus love low latency the biggest number you should consider is CAS latency, and btw 2-2-2-5 is the lowest latency you can get right now
 
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Ophelia

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Ok, I think this may be it - I haven't seen bad things about this motherboard - anyone care to elaborate? I looked into the dfi, but I'm not into super configuration - I'm not planning on OC, so it may be a bit more than I need. DFI boards seem to be for those into tweaking - I just want something to work out of the box.

I added a couple of case fans, and an aftermarket fan for the video, which hopefully will help with any heat issues.

2 Thermaltake A2016 80mm 1 Ball, 1 Sleeve Blue LED Light Case Cooling Fan - Retail
$13.99 $27.98

1 ASUS A8N-SLI Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
$112.99 $112.99

1 SAPPHIRE 100149 Radeon X1900XT 512MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - OEM
$449.00 $449.00

1 Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-550 ATX12V 550W Power Supply - Retail
$89.99 $89.99

1 AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Toledo 1GHz HT Socket 939 Dual Core Processor Model ADA4400CDBOX - Retail
$458.00 $458.00

1 CORSAIR XMS 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model Twinx2048-3200c2pt - Retail
$192.00 $192.00

2 Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
$90.00 $180.00

1 Logitech Internet Pro 967450-0403 Black PS/2 Wired Standard Keyboard - OEM
$9.98 $9.98

1 ARCTIC COOLING Accelero X2 Fluid Dynamic Bearing VGA Cooling Fan with Heatsink - Retail
Model #: Accelero X2
$32.99 $32.99


Subtotal: $1,552.93-$50 mail in rebate = $1502.93
 
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ak47is1337

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Jan 30, 2006
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Ok, I think this may be it - I haven't seen bad things about this motherboard - anyone care to elaborate? I looked into the dfi, but I'm not into super configuration - I'm not planning on OC, so it may be a bit more than I need. DFI boards seem to be for those into tweaking - I just want something to work out of the box.

I added a couple of case fans, and an aftermarket fan for the video, which hopefully will help with any heat issues.

2 Thermaltake A2016 80mm 1 Ball, 1 Sleeve Blue LED Light Case Cooling Fan - Retail
$13.99 $27.98

1 ASUS A8N-SLI Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
$112.99 $112.99

1 SAPPHIRE 100149 Radeon X1900XT 512MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - OEM
$449.00 $449.00

1 Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-550 ATX12V 550W Power Supply - Retail
$89.99 $89.99

1 AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Toledo 1GHz HT Socket 939 Dual Core Processor Model ADA4400CDBOX - Retail
$458.00 $458.00

1 CORSAIR XMS 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model Twinx2048-3200c2pt - Retail
$192.00 $192.00

2 Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
$90.00 $180.00

1 Logitech Internet Pro 967450-0403 Black PS/2 Wired Standard Keyboard - OEM
$9.98 $9.98

1 ARCTIC COOLING Accelero X2 Fluid Dynamic Bearing VGA Cooling Fan with Heatsink - Retail
Model #: Accelero X2
$32.99 $32.99


Subtotal: $1,552.93-$50 mail in rebate = $1502.93
Click to expand...
NO DONT GET THE A8N-SLI get the 32 piped SLi by asus, yes its a lot more expensive but that one just SUCKS. if you want to save some cash, get the premium.
 
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ak47is1337

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Jan 30, 2006
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I've had bad experiences with Ultra-D's and SLI-DR's, but if you do pick up a DFI make sure you don't get any of the ATi versions (even flakier than the NF4 ones) and get an Expert revision.
 
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Ophelia

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Feb 10, 2005
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DFI is too advanced for what I want (no OC, no big time tweaking) - it seems a little to finicky about what types of stuff will be compatible.

What about:

This board:

EPoX EP-9NPA+ SLi Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813123246

and going to the X2 4200+ processor - keeps it at about the same price (a bit cheaper, actually)

How much of a difference will I see between the two processors? (Keeping in mind my main concern will be gaming) They benchmark pretty close in most cases, though the 4200+ only has a 512kb cache, as compared to the 1Mb cache on the 4400+.
 
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