Win64

[Pwnbroker]

I'm building the following computer:

[code:1:d5d4623de5]Antec LifeStyle SONATA II Piano Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 450Watt SmartPower 2.0 Power Supply

ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce SPP 100 ATX AMD Motherboard

eVGA 256-P2-N554-AX Geforce 7600GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card

Antec SmartPower 2.0 SP-500 ATX12V 500W Power Supply

AMD Athlon 64 3800+ Venice 2.4GHz Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3800BPBOX

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD4000KD 400GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive

NEC Display Solutions LCD195WVXM-BK Black 19" Rapid Response (5ms) DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor

LITE-ON 20X DVD±R Burner with 12X DVD-RAM write and LightScribe Technology Black IDE Model LH-20A1H-186

Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64 SP2B with Vista Upgrade Coupon

Antec 77064 Thermal Grease

Subtotal: $1,109.89 [/code:1:d5d4623de5]

Plus I have an Audigy 2 ZS and 1 gig of Mushkin dual channel I'm putting in, PC3200 I think. Also, I'm buying the 500W ps to replace the 450W and putting the 450W in my current rig, which has a 350W ps. I'm planning on getting another video card later for the SLI. Question is, is this a cost worthy gaming rig do you think? Anybody know of any better solutions for the same price range?

 

[Pwnbroker]

No replies, so I guess that means I am building the perfect system...

 

[qwazzy]

No, don't think that. Right now it's better to get a Core 2 Duo then an X2. Also, it's better to get one GOOD card, and not do SLi.

 

[Pwnbroker]

why is that? SLI has faults or there just aren't any good SLI cards yet? and the card I chose isn't a good card? Should I go with Asus instead? And Core 2 Duo, that's Intel, right? I don't buy Intel, I stick strictly to AMD.

 

[alcattle]

It seems that cost is making some of your choices for you. Nothing wrong with that. Like qwazzy said get a dual core, if not Intel then a 64 x2 and look at the prices to find a good deal. If the Vid card has to last awhile (6 months) go with a 7900. What is it you like on that DVD Burner, last review I saw Light scribe is a slow waste to disks. Why XPx64 very little runs better on that than XP Pro.
I think I would stay with the 450 W PSU to start with, unless you know you are going to SLI. If you want to go to the 8800 series you might need 600 W. Case and monitor are probably fine, more how they look to you than other factors.

Big Al in Seattle

 

[Pwnbroker]

Running SLI only gives you a 30% increase in performance over a single card. Not really worthe spending the money on 2 cards. You would be better off not running the x64 edition of XP pro. Stick with regular XP pro. 64 bit has many hardware issues that havn't been and won't be worked out.

My $0.02

Thanks guys for the input, it's been like 2 years since I've built my last system, and there's been many changes since then. So should I just get a non-SLI board? or should I keep my options open for future use? Since everything will be ancient in a year and a half, and it may be that long before I can afford to get the other video card, I guess I won't get SLI. Also, assuming that Crossfire will be subject to the same limitations as SLI, there's no reason to go that route either.

Will Vista possibly correct the issues with XP x64?

What is it you like on that DVD Burner, last review I saw Light scribe is a slow waste to disks.

This disk is actually what they call a super disk or something to that effect. It does DVD +/- RW, DVD +/- R, DVD-RAM, Dual layer DVD, CD-RW, CD-R, and it has the lightscribe, which is nice as I hate looking at CDs I made that look like they were made by my 4 yr old. A nice graphic or label on the top that easily tells me what's on the disk reduces my time searching chicken scratches on home made cds and dvds. I think the 15-20 minutes spent making a cd/dvd with a nice label is worth it. Plus, I try to give pictures of my kids on disk to my family and it just looks so much better than a marker.

Here's what I have now:

[code:1:218fc75e22]Antec LifeStyle SONATA II Piano Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 450Watt SmartPower 2.0 Power Supply $99.99

ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 590 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard $198.99

GIGABYTE GV-NX76T256D-RH GeForce 7600GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Silent Pipe II, Lead Free Video Card $149.99

Antec SmartPower 2.0 SP-500 ATX12V 500W Power Supply $69.99

AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+(65W) Windsor 2.0GHz Socket AM2 Processor Model ADO3800CUBOX $135.00

CORSAIR XMS2 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X1024-6400C4 $146.00

2 Western Digital Caviar SE WD2000JS 200GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive $135.98

NEC Display Solutions LCD195WVXM-BK Black 19" Rapid Response (5ms) DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor $259.99

LITE-ON 16X DVD±R DVD Burner W/LightScribe and 5X DVD-RAM Write Black ATAPI/E-IDE Model SHM-165H6S $34.99

Microsoft Windows XP Professional With SP2B 1 Pack $139.99

Arctic Silver CMQ-22G The high-density, ceramic-based thermal compound $9.99
Subtotal: $1,380.90 [/code:1:218fc75e22]