Help! Your thoughts before I drop the Benjamins to New Egg!

[dark-angel]

First of all I just want to say I've just found out about this site and I've learned more in 2 days than in the past month of really reasearching parts for my potential rig.

You guys seem to be the real deal and I would greatly value your input.

The box's main purpose is for ripping/backing up my personal DVD collection while simultaneously surfing the web or playing the occasional game. My goal is to try my best to balance performance to price. I don't play many games but when I have time I'd like to do so with as many bells and whistles on with minimal slowdowns / dropped frames (I hope I picked a decent mid-range video card, Mobo, RAM, etc.)

BTW I already have a case...an Antec Full ATX tower with clear side window and a total of six 80mm fans (2 dedicated for inflow blowing over the drives, 2 at theback for outflow, and 2 in the side window blowin out). I also have CD/DVD burner + Floppy (archaic I know but handy).

Your opinions are greatly appreciated. Without further ado, drum roll please:

1. ASUS A8N-E Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail $93
2. SAPPHIRE 100134L Radeon X1800XT 512MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail $309
3. Rosewill RP550S-2MK ATX 2.01 550W Modular Power Supply /Black - Retail
(I INSIST on modular cabling for better asthetics and don't wan't to hassle with extra cables or shrinkwrapping) $90
4. AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Toledo 2000MHz HT Socket 939 Dual Core Processor Model $460
5. CORSAIR XMS PRO 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200)
Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model TWINX2048-3200PRO - Retail (I know I could go cheaper but I like the cheesy LEDs) $249
6. Western Digital Raptor WD740GD 74GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM $160 -20Rebate= $140
I will use this soley for Windows, all storage will be on the 250Gigs x2 (Cheaper than one 500Gig drive)
7. Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s
Hard Drive 16MB Cache- OEM $90each = $180
8. Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 w/Update Rollup Release 2
OEM 1 Pack - OEM $115

Grand Total incl Tax + Shipping is approx $1850 US (All prices from NewEgg Apr 24, 06)

I don't want to spend more than $1900 out the door incl tax/shipping and please let me know if I am missing anything or if their are any known compatibility issues with Mobo/Ram/Vid Card etc.

 

[yamagiru]

This is what I use for DVD burning in a similar setup on one of my rigs.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827249006

 

[ThunderGodThor]

Save 60 dollars and get an opty 170 or get a 165 and save 130. And OCZ runs at 500 mhz. and save 100 on that and just oc clock the proscesser a bit to get it at the 2.2. For the opty 165 just clock it up to what the fsb of 250 and have the ram with no divider. And if you deside to go this way id get a DFI board as they can go higher and are more stable. But yes your system is very nice.

 

[dougyfresh]

i think you should go with a bit cheaper of ram, you should be able to get 2x1 GB good timings for 180 right? i paid 235 at Christmas time for my OCZ 2-3-2-5's

your call on that 1800xt, i might have chosen a 7900 GT if i could get the same price...you better check benchmarks though


everything else looks good , nice

 

[angry_ducky]

If you're just going to play an occasional game, why the expensive video card? You should consider getting the X2 3800+ to save some money. The only other thing you should consider is getting a different brand power supply; I don't know how good Rosewill PSU's are. Here's a nice OCZ one with modular cabling and all for the same price of that Rosewill one. Same wattage, too. Other than that, the system looks good.

 

[GherkinPekul]

I'm no expert, but if you are basing your choices on performance to price, drop the raptor. Having windows boot up a few seconds faster may be important to you, but saving $140 is cool too.
This is just my opinion, based on my limited research. I'm also building a new pc soon. 1) I'm squeezing as much as I can out of $1500, 2) 16mb WD drives perform well enough for me, and 3) I don't care if all the cool kids have raptors. Take that for what it's worth. I DO make a decent martini.

 

[bunkgoats]

All your components are pretty high end. Why cut corners with a Rosewill power supply? Tom's Hardware did an evaluation of power supplies a few months ago, read it and get one that preformed well, in fact here is the link. http://www.tomshardware.com/2005/07/11/stress_test/.
Good luck.

It doesn't seem that your on a budget, but if you are pass on the Raptor and use those funds for a better power supply. All that RAM you are getting will more than compensate for not having a Raptor in most cases.



Good luck.

 

[dark-angel]

Man! You guys are great!

1) I've never OC'd anything before and have absolutely no experience doing so, however, after reading the New Egg comments on the 4400, I was thinking of trying for the first time...thee 4400 supposed to be easy to OC with decent gains and minimal heat problems...Can I safely OC with the STOCK heatsink? Since I do play the occassional pickup of FEAR, I heard this is a good CPU for games right out of the box. I've also heard that the Opty 170 has better quality but has drop in game performance unless you OC the hell out of it. Also, how are they in comparison to overall multi-tasking against each other? Your thoughts on this?

2) As for the RAM, I know I could spend less for similar quality however (please don't laugh too hard), I've ALWAYS wanted the cheesy LEDs ever since Corsair came out with the darn things (I know I know... all your eyes are rolling skyward)

3) PSU: I definately want modular cabling. I gave a hard long look at the OCZ but read NUMEROUS accounts of failure within the first 2 months or so. It seems like you either get a great one or a lemon and I don't want any headaches. ANTEC was my first choice however it received lukewarm reviews from the NewEggers who bought the 550 True Power II...again anyone have firsthand experience with this? My current rig has the non-sata first gen Antec 550 and I've never had a hiccup.

4) Graphics: I just want a card that when I finally do have time to do a pickup game of whatever, I don't have to worry about crappy performance. I've been on the fence about the x1800 vs 7900gt and have heard differing opinions and the concensus seems to be a toss up. Anyone have these cards?

5) Heat: Since I'm recycling my old case and its fans...does six 80's do the trick with the above CPU/Vid card combo? I'd prefer to leave it as is and there doesn't seem to have any brackets in my current case for 120 fans.

6) Final Thoughts: I know technology changes rapidly and that today's best is tomorrow's kids calcuator, however, what are your guys thoughts on this rig meeting my description needs for the next 2 and possibly 3 full years?

Thanks in advance,
DA

 

[shadowduck]

Man! You guys are great!

1) I've never OC'd anything before and have absolutely no experience doing so, however, after reading the New Egg comments on the 4400, I was thinking of trying for the first time...thee 4400 supposed to be easy to OC with decent gains and minimal heat problems...Can I safely OC with the STOCK heatsink? Your thoughts on this?

If you are really going to overclock ditch the 4400+ save money and get an Opteron 165 or 170. The 165 can easily overclock to 4400+ levels with the stock cooler, the 170 can reach a bit higher. The 170 is $60 cheaper, the 165 $100. The Opterons also run cooler and are quality tested better (made to run 24/7/365).

 

[chocobocorey]

six 80 mm fans are going to be insanely loud. i have two 80 mms for my case and its annoying. i would go with a case that can do quiet 120mms. also if your not going to game yet, then just use onboard until you do or buy a cheap grafx card. no point buying the best there is now, for when u plan to game in the future, cuz then its outdated already. also drop the LED RAM and buy a night light for $3 if u really want lights

 

[chimrichalds]

Get Windows XP Pro SP2.

 

[clue69less]

I DO make a decent martini.

I'll have mine dry and please don't spill any on my Raptors. They get kinda cranky when dripping in vermouth. Good advice on the HDs, by the way. Also, I'd go for two optical drives considering the intended use and maybe 3 or 4 of the 250GB HDs. Ripping DVDs tends to fill disc space up fast and although you might not plan to keep an archive on your HDs, sheiit happens. One Raptor costs as much as a 250 plus an optical.

 

[nubetube]

Get either the 4200+ or the 3800+ to save some money and get the 1900XT instead. Trust me, the performance different from a 1900XT and a 1800XT is much greater than that of a 3800+ and 4400+.

 

[angry_ducky]

Get either the 4200+ or the 3800+ to save some money and get the 1900XT instead. Trust me, the performance different from a 1900XT and a 1800XT is much greater than that of a 3800+ and 4400+.

Get the 3800+ and an X1800GTO and RAM without the frickin LED's. That will save you a LOT of cash, which you can use to get some more hard drives.

 

[clue69less]

3) PSU: I definately want modular cabling. I gave a hard long look at the OCZ but read NUMEROUS accounts of failure within the first 2 months or so. It seems like you either get a great one or a lemon and I don't want any headaches. ANTEC was my first choice however it received lukewarm reviews from the NewEggers who bought the 550 True Power II...again anyone have firsthand experience with this? My current rig has the non-sata first gen Antec 550 and I've never had a hiccup.

Enermax Liberty's are modular other than the 24pin mobo and CPU power cables. They come in 3 sizes, up to 620 watts. And I've heard so many good things about the OCZ power supplies, I'd search for reviews elsewhere before worrying too much.

6) Final Thoughts: I know technology changes rapidly and that today's best is tomorrow's kids calcuator, however, what are your guys thoughts on this rig meeting my description needs for the next 2 and possibly 3 full years?

Don't worry about it too much. If you need to buy now, I'd think a dual core Opteron rig will do you just fine for two to three years, maybe longer with a couple of updates. If you can sit back a few months, you might want to keep a close eye on the Conroes or maybe hold out to see how the next generation AMD CPUs look. But it's too easy to wait for the next best thing and the old, tarnished current crop looks to be pretty fine stuff to me. One thing you can do to partially future-proof is to go with a case that will hold more than you think you need (and I agree that you want a case that takes 12cm fans) and go with a PS that has more output than you think you need. Good luck and most importantly, have fun learning new stuff!

 

[angry_ducky]

3) PSU: I definately want modular cabling. I gave a hard long look at the OCZ but read NUMEROUS accounts of failure within the first 2 months or so. It seems like you either get a great one or a lemon and I don't want any headaches. ANTEC was my first choice however it received lukewarm reviews from the NewEggers who bought the 550 True Power II...again anyone have firsthand experience with this? My current rig has the non-sata first gen Antec 550 and I've never had a hiccup.

Enermax Liberty's are modular other than the 24pin mobo and CPU power cables. They come in 3 sizes, up to 620 watts. And I've heard so many good things about the OCZ power supplies, I'd search for reviews elsewhere before worrying too much.

6) Final Thoughts: I know technology changes rapidly and that today's best is tomorrow's kids calcuator, however, what are your guys thoughts on this rig meeting my description needs for the next 2 and possibly 3 full years?

Don't worry about it too much. If you need to buy now, I'd think a dual core Opteron rig will do you just fine for two to three years, maybe longer with a couple of updates. If you can sit back a few months, you might want to keep a close eye on the Conroes or maybe hold out to see how the next generation AMD CPUs look. But it's too easy to wait for the next best thing and the old, tarnished current crop looks to be pretty fine stuff to me. One thing you can do to partially future-proof is to go with a case that will hold more than you think you need (and I agree that you want a case that takes 12cm fans) and go with a PS that has more output than you think you need. Good luck and most importantly, have fun learning new stuff!
Good advice.

 

[dark-angel]

CPU: According to THG CPU charts, the 4400 with its 2x1MB L2 caches seems to make a noticeable difference in prolonged CPU intensive activities (such as I would imagine DVD ripping). The only reason I'm going for the 4400 is that it is the entry point for the increased L2 and since I'm not going to upgrade my CPU for AT LEAST 2 years, I thought I'd drop an extra Benjamin for the peace of mind of noticeable performance gains without having to resort to OCing.

PSU: Based on the excellent PSU torture tests on THG I've decided I'm going for the:
Spire RockeTeer V SP-500W ATX12V 500W Power Supply - Retail $100

BTW, thank you for the link to the tests.

GRAPHICS: The benchmarks on THG of the x1800xt vs the x1900xtx for FEAR with all bells and whistles was only 5fps, and I believe the average human eye can't detect differences in frame rate above 38 (it's been a long time since Med School so I might be wrong on the stat), so the point is moot isn't it? Can someone clarify this?

CASE: I can't ditch this case because I spent $900 on a smoothcreations custom paint job and I absolutely love it! Is there a way to post pix?

RAM: Gotta have the LEDs...the cheesy side of me can't let it go...and even with the RAM I stay under budget of 19 Benjamins.

 

[Vile]

For some reason, I wouldn't spend money on buying expensive 2x1GB RAM DDR when it's about to go obsolete. I mean, AM2 is coming in a month mate, why not wait a little and see how it performs ? You can then make your AM2 build, it'll last for quite a while, and if you decide to go for Conroe or AMD's 'Conroe Killer' CPU, the RAM will still be useful.

Just a thought.

 

[angry_ducky]

For some reason, I wouldn't spend money on buying expensive 2x1GB RAM DDR when it's about to go obsolete. I mean, AM2 is coming in a month mate, why not wait a little and see how it performs ? You can then make your AM2 build, it'll last for quite a while, and if you decide to go for Conroe or AMD's 'Conroe Killer' CPU, the RAM will still be useful.

Just a thought.

If he wants a computer now, then he should go ahead and buy the DDR. If he wants 2x1MB cache for cheap, he should get an Opteron 165.

 

[clue69less]

For some reason, I wouldn't spend money on buying expensive 2x1GB RAM DDR when it's about to go obsolete. I mean, AM2 is coming in a month mate, why not wait a little and see how it performs ? You can then make your AM2 build, it'll last for quite a while, and if you decide to go for Conroe or AMD's 'Conroe Killer' CPU, the RAM will still be useful.

Just a thought.

If he wants a computer now, then he should go ahead and buy the DDR. If he wants 2x1MB cache for cheap, he should get an Opteron 165.

One cool thing about the Opty option is that... It's cooler! The ~0.05 less volts that the Opty runs at stock (compared to a 4400+) means the Opty really run cooler. I've got a 4400+ myself, so I can fully appreciate where the OP is coming from. But if I had it to do over, I would pop the additonal $46 bucks and get an Opty 175. And if I'm not mistaken, the 175 will OC more than the 4400+ will, right?

 

[dark-angel]

So now I'm down to deciding between the 4400 and the Opty 170 (I think it has a 10x multiplier and was told this is generally easier on calculations for OC).

Does the difference in Hyperthreading 2000MHz HT in the 4400 and only 1000MHz in the Opty 170 make an difference in real world everyday CPU intensive or multi-tasking tasks?

I'ms still not sure if I'm gonna OC since I have no experience doing so. If so, I think I'm better of with the 4400.

 

[angry_ducky]

So now I'm down to deciding between the 4400 and the Opty 170 (I think it has a 10x multiplier and was told this is generally easier on calculations for OC).

Does the difference in Hyperthreading 2000MHz HT in the 4400 and only 1000MHz in the Opty 170 make an difference in real world everyday CPU intensive or multi-tasking tasks?

I'ms still not sure if I'm gonna OC since I have no experience doing so. If so, I think I'm better of with the 4400.

With AMD's, HT means HyperTransport, which acts like a FSB, rather than meaning HyperThreading as it does with Intel.

 

[dark-angel]

For some reason, I wouldn't spend money on buying expensive 2x1GB RAM DDR when it's about to go obsolete. I mean, AM2 is coming in a month mate, why not wait a little and see how it performs ? You can then make your AM2 build, it'll last for quite a while, and if you decide to go for Conroe or AMD's 'Conroe Killer' CPU, the RAM will still be useful.

Just a thought.

The THG preview of AM2 with DDR2 said it doesn't make much difference at all at this point (if I interpreted it right). Since DDR2 has been out already for awhile, I don't think my Corsair RAM (with the LEDS :lol: will be much cheaper in a month).

Also if I wait for AM2 don't I also have to wait for AM2 supported MOBOs? I'd prefer to have my computer in 1 month max and I feel that is waaaaay to short of a time to try out first gen build MOBO while the current 939 MOBOs have been through the scrutiny of real world usage and time.

Am I right on this?

As for the Hypertransport (thanks angry ducky for the clarification) difference of 1000MHz on the Opty and 2000MHz on the 4400, am I right to think I should see NOTICEABLE gains head to head if I don't overclock?

 

[sincraft]

bleeding edge technology NEVER pans out to something cost effective. It's great to have the newest of new, like with am2 but do you want to be the test rat or should I say, do you want your hard earned dollars being the test subject? I say nay, go with proven methods, leading edge is great, but once you hit the top of the top, newest of the new, you will be surprised how rushed technology is, to met deadlines for investors.
Never pans out...

S

 

[Vile]

The THG preview of AM2 with DDR2 said it doesn't make much difference at all at this point (if I interpreted it right). Since DDR2 has been out already for awhile, I don't think my Corsair RAM (with the LEDS :lol: will be much cheaper in a month).

Also if I wait for AM2 don't I also have to wait for AM2 supported MOBOs? I'd prefer to have my computer in 1 month max and I feel that is waaaaay to short of a time to try out first gen build MOBO while the current 939 MOBOs have been through the scrutiny of real world usage and time.

Am I right on this?

I think AM2 motherboard should be available at or soon after the release date for the new AM2 CPUs (May 23th?). But as it always happens, motherboards will have some bugs, probably crappy BIOS and stuff. I'd still recommend making an AM2 build over a 939 build. Mostly because I don't want to see anyone buying 1 or 2 GB of RAM he'll never use again.

Even tho the diference in performance is not much between 939 and AM2, I bet new, more powerful processors will come out later, which will start to take full advantage of the new socket. Same applies to motherboards, new chipsets will come out and improve the overall system performace.