My rig and a few questions

[Punisher1024]

Well, I am in the process of buying components for my first home built computer. I will be having a professional computer guy teaching me how to assemble it so no worries there .

Anyway, questions soon but first this is what I have bought so far:

Motherboard: Asus A8N, SLI, Skt 939, up to 4 gb ddr, Nforce 4

CPU: (will be purchased soon) Amd athlon 3200 venice 512kb L2 Skt 939

Ram: 1gb (1 x 1gb)


So, the questions are as follows:

1. I am still deciding on what graphics card to get, and have considered buying a 7600gt or a x1800xt. Will probably get the 7600gt so that I could eventually buy an extra 7600gt in the future when they will be cheaper and should give me about a 90% performance increase.

2. What sort of power supply will i need for this? That is including the 7600gt, possibly the x1800xt, and should also include room for expansion for a second 7600gt and a more powerful CPU such as an athlon X2.

Thanks for your time, hope this is enugh information

 

[enforcerfx]

Well, I am in the process of buying components for my first home built computer. I will be having a professional computer guy teaching me how to assemble it so no worries there .

Anyway, questions soon but first this is what I have bought so far:

Motherboard: Asus A8N, SLI, Skt 939, up to 4 gb ddr, Nforce 4

CPU: (will be purchased soon) Amd athlon 3200 venice 512kb L2 Skt 939

Ram: 1gb (1 x 1gb)


So, the questions are as follows:

1. I am still deciding on what graphics card to get, and have considered buying a 7600gt or a x1800xt. Will probably get the 7600gt so that I could eventually buy an extra 7600gt in the future when they will be cheaper and should give me about a 90% performance increase.

2. What sort of power supply will i need for this? That is including the 7600gt, possibly the x1800xt, and should also include room for expansion for a second 7600gt and a more powerful CPU such as an athlon X2.

Thanks for your time, hope this is enugh information

Lets critique your system. And welcome to the Forumz! Socket 939 is going out of style right now, so AM2 is probably the best way to go as AMD wise.

Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131022

Processor wise: Since 65nm chips are being released at the end of this year, you shouldnt be getting anything more than a x2 3800.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103735
It is overclockable as well.

Ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820141199
I believe this ram is compatible with the motherboard i selected, ill have other posters critique that.

Graphics card: The x1800xt by far beats the 7600GT in all tests. SLi unity with 2 7600GTs is not only stupid, but pointless and will only show a 30% percent boost, not 90. So the x1800xt i recommend.
Edit: Unfortunately, they do not have the x1800xt anymore, they had a OEM one for 200 bucks that apparently everyone wanted, and they have seemed to sell out. So i will recommend this, since it is in the price range of the x1800xt. The 7900GT.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814122244
After the rebate, its a good deal.

Power Supply: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817159056
It is overkill, but if you decide to SLi or Crossfire if you get a Ati card after the 7900GT, you wont have to replace the power supply.

You didnt mention a case, not sure if you have one or not but everyone seems to like this one, and it is a good case:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811133154

Well i hope i was of some help, wait till other posters critique your build, then you can have the final results. Good Luck

 

[shadowduck]

Well, I am in the process of buying components for my first home built computer. I will be having a professional computer guy teaching me how to assemble it so no worries there .

Anyway, questions soon but first this is what I have bought so far:

Motherboard: Asus A8N, SLI, Skt 939, up to 4 gb ddr, Nforce 4

CPU: (will be purchased soon) Amd athlon 3200 venice 512kb L2 Skt 939

Ram: 1gb (1 x 1gb)


So, the questions are as follows:

1. I am still deciding on what graphics card to get, and have considered buying a 7600gt or a x1800xt. Will probably get the 7600gt so that I could eventually buy an extra 7600gt in the future when they will be cheaper and should give me about a 90% performance increase.

2. What sort of power supply will i need for this? That is including the 7600gt, possibly the x1800xt, and should also include room for expansion for a second 7600gt and a more powerful CPU such as an athlon X2.

Thanks for your time, hope this is enugh information

Lets critique your system. And welcome to the Forumz! Socket 939 is going out of style right now, so AM2 is probably the best way to go as AMD wise.

Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131022

Processor wise: Since 65nm chips are being released at the end of this year, you shouldnt be getting anything more than a x2 3800.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103735
It is overclockable as well.

Ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820141199
I believe this ram is compatible with the motherboard i selected, ill have other posters critique that.

Graphics card: The x1800xt by far beats the 7600GT in all tests. SLi unity with 2 7600GTs is not only stupid, but pointless and will only show a 30% percent boost, not 90. So the x1800xt i recommend.
Edit: Unfortunately, they do not have the x1800xt anymore, they had a OEM one for 200 bucks that apparently everyone wanted, and they have seemed to sell out. So i will recommend this, since it is in the price range of the x1800xt. The 7900GT.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814122244
After the rebate, its a good deal.

Power Supply: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817159056
It is overkill, but if you decide to SLi or Crossfire if you get a Ati card after the 7900GT, you wont have to replace the power supply.

You didnt mention a case, not sure if you have one or not but everyone seems to like this one, and it is a good case:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811133154

Well i hope i was of some help, wait till other posters critique your build, then you can have the final results. Good Luck

Nice suggestions Enforcer except the RAM. DDR2-533 even at CAS3 does not work hot with AM2. Lets see here..

I hate to add $100 to the cost- but this is really the best RAM for AM2:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145034

 

[Punisher1024]

As for buying from newegg, live in UK so will probably get ripped off by shipping prices.

Well, already have the mobo, so will have to be 939. Anyway, they are nice and cheap now and arent exactly horrificaly bad. Also, it is a matured processor, the problems have been sorted out unlike AM2, which I will consider in about 2 years time. AM2 is still very new in the market, more prolems etc, I feel it will be a more viable option when I next build a new system, but by then there will probably be AM3

Yes, I do have a case, it contains my present computer, a duron 700mhz processor and a riva tnt2

For the GPU's, I based it on this article:
http://tomshardware.co.uk/2006/08/25/sub_200_pci_express_graphics_card_showdown_uk/

Well, as for graphical concerns, I will probably be biased towards Nvidia due to being able to add a cheaper graphics card in the future.

Thanks for the reply

 

[shadowduck]

Well, as for graphical concerns, I will probably be biased towards Nvidia due to being able to add a cheaper graphics card in the future.

Thanks for the reply

What does that mean? ATI makes cheap cards just like nVidia does. Right now, frankly, ATI beats the pants off nVidia almost across the board.

As for your system, sine you are going S939:

Get a dual core CPU. Like this one: X2-3800+
http://www.dabs.com/productview.asp...&SearchKey=All&SearchMode=All&NavigationKey=0

Get 2GB of RAM also. Like this: Corsair 2GB CAS2:
http://www.dabs.com/ProductView.asp...50,4294959239,4294960190,4294955846&InMerch=1

Make sure you update the BIOS on that board as soon as you get it. That board has had so many problems since release its not even funny. Hope you have better luck with it.

For video: x1800 hands down. It beats the pants off anything nVidia has the price range. As for going SLI: NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO! Buying 2 7600GTs is a horrible idea, and won't give you anything close to 90% increase. More like 30%. Plus: 2 7600GTs cost around $300 (USD). ONE 7900GT at $250 beats the crap out of that setup. We won't even talk about the X1900XT at $300 that would destory it completely.

 

[Punisher1024]

Thanks for the advice

So, as a revision followng these replies, will be one GPU, no longer SLI, and probably the X2 3800, doubt the extra ram at this moment in time, my limit is £250-£300 for the PSU, CPU and the GPu altogether at the moment.
Will buy the extra ram at christmas

Revision:
Mobo: Asus A8n sli
CPU: X2 3800
GPU: Ati X1800GTO (http://www.scratchcomputers.com/product_info.php?products_id=1122)

Sorry, I thought the XT was the card in the article, it was actually the GTO.

I may be going over my monetary limit, so how about £100-£120 for the CPu and GPU and about £80-£100 for the PSU.

Thnaks for all these replies, previously I felt somewhat confused at what I should be buying, its a real good help.

 

[tekzor]

isnt it better to get a cheaper brand of ram that will equal performance of cor$air but cost 40 less?

 

[shadowduck]

isnt it better to get a cheaper brand of ram that will equal performance of cor$air but cost 40 less?

Maybe, but Asus boards are very very picky on RAM, and Corsair seems to work the very best.

 

[enforcerfx]

Well, as for graphical concerns, I will probably be biased towards Nvidia due to being able to add a cheaper graphics card in the future.

Thanks for the reply

What does that mean? ATI makes cheap cards just like nVidia does. Right now, frankly, ATI beats the pants off nVidia almost across the board.

As for your system, sine you are going S939:

Get a dual core CPU. Like this one: X2-3800+
http://www.dabs.com/productview.asp...&SearchKey=All&SearchMode=All&NavigationKey=0

Get 2GB of RAM also. Like this: Corsair 2GB CAS2:
http://www.dabs.com/ProductView.asp...50,4294959239,4294960190,4294955846&InMerch=1

Make sure you update the BIOS on that board as soon as you get it. That board has had so many problems since release its not even funny. Hope you have better luck with it.

For video: x1800 hands down. It beats the pants off anything nVidia has the price range. As for going SLI: NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO! Buying 2 7600GTs is a horrible idea, and won't give you anything close to 90% increase. More like 30%. Plus: 2 7600GTs cost around $300 (USD). ONE 7900GT at $250 beats the crap out of that setup. We won't even talk about the X1900XT at $300 that would destory it completely.

Hes right they do, and im a Nvidia user Lol. I tryed looking for the OEM x1800xt, but they seem to have sold out on those cards since it was so popular. I only recommended the 7900GT because it was the cheapest i could find next to the x1800xt. They have a Recertified 7900GTKO for 202 bucks on newegg, but have no idea how reliable those are. The x1900xt was too expensive and I dont know how he is on rebates neither with the x1900xtx. That ram is good that shadowduck picked out. I still cant figure out what ram is compatible with what motherboards, lol im still a noob
Anyways good luck with your system.

 

[Punisher1024]

Thanks for all the replies

As of the moment, Athlon 64 X2 3800, Asus A8N sli, and a geforce 7600gt, mainly because the x1800 is out of stock everywhere.

 

[sleepdeprived82]

PSU: Hiper HPU-4M580 Type R 580W ATX2.2 PSU - Black (CA-009-HP)
£52.86 or go modular for an extra £12

CPU:AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 3800+ (Socket 939) - Retail £111

Leaving £140 for GFX so I would go with the Sapphire ATI Radeon X1900 GT 256MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI which is £140.

The 256mb x1800xt is £150

All from overclcokers.co.uk

 

[Punisher1024]

I will buy that I think.

One more question though, about dual cores...
do I really need them? What do I need to do to use the cores? If I dont multi task so much is it still good to have?

Edit:
Just found an X2 3800 for £101.
http://www.savastore.com/productinf...avastore&product_id=10283352&pid=207&rstrat=0

What about the Connect3D ATI Radeon X1800 XT 256MB GDDR3 AVIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI, 200 left for £148 a piece.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_This_Week_Only_25.html

 

[I]

If you don't feel you'd be upgrading the CPU later (some people really don't ever...) you could do fine with skt 939.

1GB of memory is fine in general, but to plan maybe SLI video cards someday, you're already thinking to mismatch the system parts. Get 2 x 1GB memory modules. Get a faster CPU now too, or forget about ever upgrading the video because your CPU will be a bottleneck.

Perhaps more importantly, we don't know total budget or how long you want/need this system to last as first configured. You will not get 90% performance improvement later by getting a second 7600GT, the actual % will depend on the game, eyecandy, resolution, CPU, memory load and other variables, but for certain nowhere near 90%.

IMO, if you feel the video will be too slow during your use of the system, aim higher now for a single card. An Athlon X2 is not "more powerful" for games, as most games are not effectively multithreaded. The fastest single core the budget will allow is the ticket "today" for gaming, unless you're trying to do something a bit unusual like capturing video or another demanding task simultaneous to the gameplay.

Your target PSU should be a quality major name brand with at least 25A of 12V power, as a sustained, not peak, rating. You could aim higher for more margin for dual video cards but again I dont' think given the system specs, later upgrading dual cards and CPU will be a good plan.

IF you really want to look at the long term upgrade scenarios, then you do want skt AM2 as others suggested. Even so, a 3200 CPU is just too low to aim, a bit of a waste of money as it'll depreciate soon enough. You might just be as well off buying high quality memory with the idea you'll be able to reuse that, AM2 board, and later replacing the board, CPU, and video at once since just tossing in a second video card won't gain so much and then you'd have $$$ tied up in two aging cards.

To put it another way, look at some gaming bechmarks but in particular look at the testbed configurations. They're meant to ensure the video card isn't the bottleneck (usually) which is what you'd want in a system if you had any hopes of a later benefit from a 2nd SLI'd card.

 

[Punisher1024]

Hmm, so an X2 core then? Wont be getting the 3200 now, and my budget is around£250 -£300 for a CPU, GPU and a PSU.

GPU:
Sapphire ATI Radeon X1900 GT 256MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/X1900_Series.html

or

Connect3D ATI Radeon X1800 XT 256MB GDDR3 AVIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_This_Week_Only_25.html

Or

Nvidia geforce 7600gt (not sure which, open to suggestions)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/7600_Series.html

CPU:

Athlon 64 X2 3800
http://www.savastore.com/productinf...=Savastore&product_id=10283352&pid=45&tid=279


PSU:

Hiper HPU-4M580 Type R 580W ATX2.2 PSU - Black (CA-009-HP)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Hiper_Power_Supplies.html


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Open to suggestions on this [/list]