I WANT TO PULL THE TRIGGER AND LAST SUGGESTIONS/HELP?

[CrystalShip]

Building a new PC that I want to run all games really nice on. Here is what I have. Anything with a "*" infront of it can not be changed. Keep in mind I want to try to keep the cost semi low while keeping performance up.

Case: Xcilio A380
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811103008

Power Supply: Ultra ULT31845 X-Finity 500W
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=373047

Motherboard: Asus Crosshair
http://www.directron.com/crosshair.html

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+
http://www.directron.com/ada4200cubox.html

*Video Card: Geforce 7900gs

Ram: Corsair XMS2 2gigs
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145034

That is it. Any comments or suggestions would be much appriciated. Looking forward to lots of feedback. Thanks.

Also I have two 22" LCD monitors. Could I run both of those at the same time if I wanted to with this system? Just thought of that right now. Would be nice if I could. Thanks again.

 

[apt403]

Change the ram, mobo, and cpu to these. Might want to get a differnt psu as well.

E6300 - $181
Asus P5B Deluxe - $175
Super Talent 2GB - $275

 

[CrystalShip]

Ok, kinda funny but I am going AMD, not intel, sorry. I forgot to mention this above but I plan on doing a raid 5 array also.

 

[apt403]

ah, ok. any reason why your sticking with AMD? just curious.

 

[yas]

Its a shame you want to stick with that gfx card becasue a 1950pro would provide much better performance for the same price.

Also Ive never heard of that PSU so atleast make sure you see some reviews to check out if its good enough. You might wanna go with a better make like thermaltake or antec

 

[croc]

TAKE THE FRIGGIN' GUN MAKE SURE THAT IT IS LOADED POINT IT AT YOUR HEAD AND PULL THE DAMMED TRIGGER!

I hate caps lock...

 

[CrystalShip]

My current PC is AMD and I like it. I also have always been a fan of the underdog. AMD is the underdog. I think they have gotten more respect but most people still don't know who AMD is but could tell you who Intel is. When I made my last computer they were putting out a better product also.

Sorry about the caps I just want some comments on it so I can just purchase everything.

I know the powersupply I picked out isn't name brand but from what I have read it sounds pretty good and it is a nice price also. I really don't want to spend $120 for a power supply.

 

[zjohnr]

Power Supply: Ultra ULT31845 X-Finity 500W
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=373047

When I first looked at your list I just assumed you were intending on getting the Ultra ULT31841 V-series from Fry's since it's supposedly $0 after rebate. My bad.

Don't know what the difference is between the Fry's ULT31841 and the ZipZoomFly ULT31845, but IMO it had better be pretty amazing to justify a $70 price tag. :roll:

FWIW, here's a link to my post summarizing my experience trying to buy an Ultra PSU from Fry's for $5. (Hopefully the links to my pics of the PSU up on yahoo photo are working correctly again. Let me know if they are not).

I'm sure I was an exception to general experience and you wouldn't have any problems. But the fact that the PSU showed up not just shrink wrapped, but also with the Ultra "tamper tape" seal still (to my untrained eye) intact, gave me huge doubts about how good Ultra's factory quality control is.

Bottom line: Ya pays ya's money and ya takes ya's chance.

-john

 

[eric54]

My current rig is an AMD. The reason? At the time AMD had the better processor. My new rig will be Intel. The reason? Intel makes a better processor. As much as I like AMD and them being an "underdog" I can't deny the value in a 181 dollar chip that overclocks 1-1.5 ghz on a regular basis. Heck, if I could snatch just 300mhz out of my Athlon I'd be laughing! Case and point. The only person who benefits from brand loyalty is AMD, not you. You're the one who will have to upgrade sooner because the AMD cpu isnt cutting it. You're the one who has to wait an extra 25-45 minutes for that movie to encode. AMD doens't care how long you have to wait, its a supply and demand world, aka a free market. The only reason why those AMD chips are cheaper is because there just isnt any demand for them, except for those who are upgrading (but most of them use the 939 chipset and therefore see no reason to upgrade to am2 when they'll still have to replace the mobo, bad move on their part, at least horrible timing). Anyway, I have respect for loyalty, but I just see it as foolishness to follow blindly a corporate entity that is in the exact same business as Intel. That goes for nvidia over AMD/ATI, my next computer will have a G80 or a R600, which one? The faster one! Anyways, at this point in time, I cannot recommend you get AMD, Intel is far superior in every aspect. Anyways, that psu is fine, but i'd recommend enermax, corsair, or even antec. The corsair is modular like the Ultra. The ram pick is good, corsair is amazing. Have to agree with the gfx (btw, ati is the "underdog" when it comes to gfx cards) you'd be better off with a 1950pro/xt. Lastly, yes, you can dual monitor, just not for games. I use one moniter for gaming and the other for keeping track of msn/docs/net etc... Gotta say I love it, can only imagine what the extra 3 inches will be like. All in all its a good rig, but I really highly recomend going Intel, it may be painful, but just think, an oced 6300 outpaces anything AMD can throw at it, that my friend, is like buying a fx74 for 181 bucks.

 

[zjohnr]

The corsair is modular like the Ultra.

The Ultra ULT31845 PSU is not modular. The marketing word used by Ultra is "manageable", not modular. By that they mean the cables are more flexible than some others. Of course, I don't think that PSU is anywhere close to being worth $70, but given my history I'm also clearly not objective either.

Link to Ultra's product info for the X-Finity 500 Watt PSU - Black.

-john

 

[eric54]

Yeah they marketed themselves as being the first modular power supply company a little back, I only assumed their products still were, and to be fair, many if not most, are.

 

[CrystalShip]

Guys thanks for the input. I already have the Geforce card so I'm not changing that one. I know that ATI is the underdog there also but every Nvidia card I have had or any family member/friend has had, has worked. Not the same case with ATI. So if this power supply isn't worth it, what PSU would be. The motherboard requires ATX power supply (with 24-pin and 8-pin 12 V plugs). So this is a requirment for the PSU. From what I read, not all PSU's have 8-pin and this one got good reviews where I read about it. Any good value 450 watt+ PSU with those two would be nice suggestion.

I definettly appriciate the non bias oppinion between intel and AMD. Haha I capitalize all of AMD but non of intel. I guess that just shows you where I am at on that one.

Also I can fit one more 120 fan in the case. You think I should buy another one or the two big ones in there fine?

Sorry for all the questions but there are certain things that no matter how much reading I do, your opinons are just as helpful or better.

Thanks again.

 

[Crapola]

The benchmarks and results don't lie. I'm going to bulild a system myself soon, and I've been researching for months now. Every single thing I've read for months from all different sources tell me C2D is the winner hands down. Do youself a favor and go C2D, I know I will soon.

 

[minim3]

All good for me except the GFX.

Get the ATI 1950 PRO. Since it pawns the 7900GS and costs less too!

 

[hella-d]

Damn Right!... I Agree Just Look At My Systems Specs In My Sig (I Recently Upgraded It) And Its Perfect Not To Mention BLAZING FAST! And My Motherboard, WD800s, DVD-ROM And DVD-R/RW/DL One Of The Power Supplys And The Case (Though Not For Long On That Case) Are Still The Same Ones I Had Before The Upgrade.Bought Them Q4 2005.

P.S If Your An AMD Fan Please Check Out My Post At: http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=1387317#1387317