Getting a New Rig - Would Appreciate Your Comments

Shap

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Oct 31, 2004
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Hi, long time lurker here.

I'm getting a new rig to replace my aging though trustworthy machine - an Intel P4 2.4GHz with 512MBs memory and a GeForce Ti 4600, plus a few HDDs.

I'm getting the following (orders already made, but might be changed today or tomorrow if needed). The first three are bought in Israel and the rest imported from the US.
  • [*:8c42dc1f6c]Case: Antec P180 Black Performance Case (newegg link) - Highly recommended at silentpcreview.com. Fucker costs an arm and a leg here, more than two times its price in the US.
    [*:8c42dc1f6c]PSU: Seasonic S12 600watt (newegg link) - Ditto, though the price is a little more reasonable
    [*:8c42dc1f6c]Motherboard: Intel D975XBX Bad Axe 975X (newegg link) - To tell the truth I'd rather have went with a P5W DH but it's much more expensive here than the Intel and I want the mobo to have warranty so no import on this.
    [*:8c42dc1f6c]CPU: Core 2 Duo E6600 (newegg link) - Should be able to overclock moderately if needed.
    [*:8c42dc1f6c]HSF: Scythe Ninja Plus (heatsinkfactory link) - Hopefully to run fanless if not overclocking.
    [*:8c42dc1f6c]GPU: Sapphire X1950XTX (newegg link) - I know I might be paying a premium here, but it's supposed to be quieter than the rest of the x1900 series and if I'm already importing I'd best get the top of the top.
    [*:8c42dc1f6c]RAM: 2GB (2x1GB) Corsair XMS2 DDR2 PC6400 5-5-5-12 (newegg link) - This should be good, right?
    [*:8c42dc1f6c]HDD: Western Digital 320GB WD3200KS (newegg link) - silentpcreview claims this is quieter than the Barracuda
    [*:8c42dc1f6c]DVD-RW: Lite-On X16 DVD-RW with LightScribe (newegg link) - Got it for free with the RAM.All in all this comes down to around $1700, or $1500 had I bought everything in the US. Note that I already have:
    • [*:8c42dc1f6c]Monitor: Dell 24" 1920x1200 LCD 2405FPW (extremetech link).
      [*:8c42dc1f6c]HID: Logitech LX700 Keyboard/Mouse Combo (logitech link).
      [*:8c42dc1f6c]Audio: Yamaha Receiver with a 5.1 Morel Speaker Set (no link).
      My main needs are: 1) run Photoshop/Visual Studio quickly 2) play Neverwinter Night 2 (and other games) at the native resolution 3) satisfy the former two while still being as quiet as possible.

      I should point that I've only been a casual gamer the past few years, mostly for lack of time. This time I wanted to pamper myself a little so I went for the x1950xtx. I should also point that I usually play games a good while after they are released (Farcry is just now at the top of the queue lol), so I figure waiting for the DX10 cards isn't really necessary for me.

      Anyway I'd appreciate your comments. Especially if you know about any subset of the above which can cause a conflict, e.g., heatsink doesn't fit case, RAM doesn't work with this motherboard, PSU and HDD have bad bloode between them, etc.

      To tell the truth, this is actually the first PC I build by myself since 1991 :), so please bear with me.
 
Suggested changes:

Power Supply: Antec Truepower Trio 550W

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 <--- Unless you need certain features on the Bad Axe board like the second IDE port, get this one instead to save cash.

Video Card: Save yourself A LOT of money and drop to the X1900XT. If DX10 interests you, drop even further to an eVGA Geforce 7600GT. Save the money you didn't spend on the video card to get a high end DX10 when they arrive in about 3 months or so.

RAM: OCZ Gold 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2-800 <--- Avoid Corsair right now. They may have high quality parts, but their prices are rediculously high at the moment.

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB SATA <--- This drive uses perpendicular recording, which means better data throughput, which ultimately means better performance. The gain isn't all that significant, but I would take better performance for less money any day.

DVD Burner: NEC ND-3550A <--- This one has better access times (again for less money).
 

gentrinity

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Sep 6, 2006
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I would actually recommend the Sony SDM-P234, currently cheaper, its an S-IPS panel, and those are best for doing photoshop work, THG has it rated better than the 2405. I dont remember what panel the 2405 has though, but unless youre planning on getting it through ebay, and its considerable cheaper than the Sony, then go for it.
 

zrawas

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Jul 28, 2006
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Prophecy's changes are recommended, but I think there is a compatibility issue between DS3 and OCZ memory (ASAIK). Check that and make sure. Everything else looks good.

Good luck with you build.
 

gentrinity

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Ive heard about it, id actually recommend the Platinum over the Gold, seems to have better compatibility according to newegg customers
 

Kenyada

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Sep 2, 2006
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I'd add the Windows XP Pro 64-Bit OS, giving you the option of bumping the RAM up to 4GB for graphics intensive work.
 
I believe the issue is simply voltage. The voltage that ram set likes to run at is 2.0, but the DS3's default ram voltage setting is 1.8. All you'll need to do is get into the BIOS and increase the voltage.

@ Kenyada, XP x64 is a waste of time. It's Microshaft's first attempt at 64bit computing and it wasn't great. I have tried it on my own system and it's nothing to write home about. Stick with the 32 bit version until Vista shows up. Apps that like 4GB of ram will still run just fine with only 2GB.
 

enforcerfx

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Jun 4, 2006
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Hi, long time lurker here.

I'm getting a new rig to replace my aging though trustworthy machine - an Intel P4 2.4GHz with 512MBs memory and a GeForce Ti 4600, plus a few HDDs.

I'm getting the following (orders already made, but might be changed today or tomorrow if needed). The first three are bought in Israel and the rest imported from the US.
  • [*:e459917a0c]Case: Antec P180 Black Performance Case (newegg link) - Highly recommended at silentpcreview.com. Fucker costs an arm and a leg here, more than two times its price in the US.
    [*:e459917a0c]PSU: Seasonic S12 600watt (newegg link) - Ditto, though the price is a little more reasonable
    [*:e459917a0c]Motherboard: Intel D975XBX Bad Axe 975X (newegg link) - To tell the truth I'd rather have went with a P5W DH but it's much more expensive here than the Intel and I want the mobo to have warranty so no import on this.
    [*:e459917a0c]CPU: Core 2 Duo E6600 (newegg link) - Should be able to overclock moderately if needed.
    [*:e459917a0c]HSF: Scythe Ninja Plus (heatsinkfactory link) - Hopefully to run fanless if not overclocking.
    [*:e459917a0c]GPU: Sapphire X1950XTX (newegg link) - I know I might be paying a premium here, but it's supposed to be quieter than the rest of the x1900 series and if I'm already importing I'd best get the top of the top.
    [*:e459917a0c]RAM: 2GB (2x1GB) Corsair XMS2 DDR2 PC6400 5-5-5-12 (newegg link) - This should be good, right?
    [*:e459917a0c]HDD: Western Digital 320GB WD3200KS (newegg link) - silentpcreview claims this is quieter than the Barracuda
    [*:e459917a0c]DVD-RW: Lite-On X16 DVD-RW with LightScribe (newegg link) - Got it for free with the RAM.All in all this comes down to around $1700, or $1500 had I bought everything in the US. Note that I already have:
    • [*:e459917a0c]Monitor: Dell 24" 1920x1200 LCD 2405FPW (extremetech link).
      [*:e459917a0c]HID: Logitech LX700 Keyboard/Mouse Combo (logitech link).
      [*:e459917a0c]Audio: Yamaha Receiver with a 5.1 Morel Speaker Set (no link).
      My main needs are: 1) run Photoshop/Visual Studio quickly 2) play Neverwinter Night 2 (and other games) at the native resolution 3) satisfy the former two while still being as quiet as possible.

      I should point that I've only been a casual gamer the past few years, mostly for lack of time. This time I wanted to pamper myself a little so I went for the x1950xtx. I should also point that I usually play games a good while after they are released (Farcry is just now at the top of the queue lol), so I figure waiting for the DX10 cards isn't really necessary for me.

      Anyway I'd appreciate your comments. Especially if you know about any subset of the above which can cause a conflict, e.g., heatsink doesn't fit case, RAM doesn't work with this motherboard, PSU and HDD have bad bloode between them, etc.

      To tell the truth, this is actually the first PC I build by myself since 1991 :), so please bear with me.


    • Very nice system, seems you want to do a lot of interesting things with this system. Few selected changes:

      Case: Nice choice
      PSU: Nice
      Motherboard: Change to a Asus P5B with Wifi, Excellent overclocker, and very stable. Have only heard great reviews about it.
      Processor: Nice
      Ram: Nice
      Video card: With DX10 rolling out the end of this year, really no need for a top of the line card thats only gonna stay in the top for the next 3 months, possibly less. Suggesting either a X1900XT 256mb or a 7900GTO(overclocks well to GTX speeds) Whatever is cheaper over where you live.
      HSF: Very Nice
      Harddrive: Nice
      Keyboard/Mouse: For what your getting, the keyboard and mouse just look cheap compared to your system. Try a Logitech G15 and a Logitech G5 or G7. More optimized for gaming, little extra out of the pocket, but defintely worth it.

      Have fun. :D