Please help New build

[Mallick]

I am in the process of building a new system for gaming specific. This will be my 1st that I am building myself and need your advice please. This is what I have come up with so any input is hellpful. Thank you in advance.

Case = XION Onyx XON-303 Black/Blue Steel ATX Mid Tower
Mobo =ASUS M2R32-MVP Socket AM2 AMD 580X CrossFire ATX AMD Motherboard
Vcard =
Proc =AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Windsor 3.0GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM2 Processor
Sata =Seagate Barracuda ES ST3320620NS 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s
Pow =COOLMAX CR-550B ATX 550W "140mm Fan" Power Supply 115/230 V UL, CSA, TUV FCC,
Mem =G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)

I haven't come up with a good video card yet but I am leaning towards ati.

 

[Onus]

Other than a few specific models (yours isn't one), Coolmax PSUs are in the "do not buy" tier at http://www.tomswiki.com/page/Tiered+PSU+Listings?t=anon.

 

[aevm]

Sounds decent.

Do you like AMD in particular, or would you consider Intel too?

Will you overclock?

What's your screen resolution?

What games do you like most?

What is your budget?

Coolmax is not a very good choice. Corsair 520HX would be much better for example.

Depending on your resolution, games and budget, the best video card for you could be x1950Pro, x1950xt, 8800 GTS 320 MB. Check them out.

 

[Mallick]

I do like AMD only because I never had any problems with my previous systems with AMD vers the 1 Intell I did have.

Yes I am going to have a friend of mine show me how to overclock.

Resolution is 1680 x 1050

I play FPS'ers and Roleplaying ( am building for Age of Conan and Warhammer mostly )

Budget is under 1k

I will do away with the Coolmax thank you for your advice there.

I was looking at the Sapphire x1950 pro and the Sapphire x1950xt but I am uncertain of the real difference in the 2 minus the memory which I am told is not a big issue since the xt can share off the ram is that true? Which one of these cards would run faster in a system like mine or would there even be a better choice of cards. Eventually I will run 2 of the same cards and want to choose which is best for my needs but I am new at building.

 

[Mallick]

jtt283 thank you very good link I am going to do away with that power supply for sure Corsair HX does look alot higher on that chart for sure.

 

[aevm]

OK, let's take it slowly. First of all, running two video cards (i.e. Crossfire, since you prefer AMD and x1950 cards) is usually a bad idea. I would recommend an 8800 GTS 320 MB or 8800 GTS 640 MB. It costs more than the X1950Xt but less than two x1950XT cards.

Look at this:
http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics_2007.html?modelx=33&model1=778&model2=707&chart=278
That's 45 fps for the 8800 GTS 640 MB, 43 fps for the 8800 GTS 320 MB, 36 for X1950XT, 28 for X1950Pro

and this:
http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics_sli2007.html?modelx=33&model1=821&model2=807&chart=338
Two x1950XT cards in Crossfire get 48 fps. Two 8800 GTS 320 cards in SLI get 82 fps.

Based on this, I'd say you are best off buying one 8800 GTS 320 MB now, and adding another one later when it drops in price and/if you feel the need. To make this work really well you need a motherboard like the Asus P5N32-E SLI Plus or eVGA 680i or something like that.

Now, an 8800 GTS 320 MB and a Corsair 620HX and a motherboard capable of SLI cost about $500 or $600 together, I think. Add a Q6600 for $300 and you have very little left for case, keyboard, speakers, cooler, fans, disks, DVD-RW, etc.

It probably best to get the 8800 GTS 320 MB and a GA-P35-S3L motherboard (or GA-P35-DS3R). You lose the dual card option, but 43 fps is decent IMO.

Does your 1K have to include Windows, monitor, speakers, keyboard and mouse?

 

[Mallick]

No that is everything minus keyboard mouse speakers. That is one of the reasons i thought about a much cheaper card.

Monitor I was thinking about a 19" Acer or ViewSonic both with 5ms. Once again if you think that is a bad choice let me know I am new at this and want to learn more.

I couldn't acess those links from work but from home in a few hours I certainly will.

And thank you for taking time in helping me.

 

[aevm]

No problem.

I'd go with Viewsonic rather than Acer if the price and size and response time are the same. Not that I have anything against Acer, but I have used 3 Viewsonic monitors so far and they've all been great. LG is also very good. Samsung is the best but expensive.

How about this (prices from newegg)?
E4400 $126
GA-P35-S3L $87
OCZ 600W $80
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341010
X1950XT $168
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130082
Viewsonic monitor $170
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824116065
case (Xion Onyx) $50
XP Media Center $110
HSF (for better overclocking) $30 or whatever
RAM (2GB) $110
Disk $80
DVD-RW $30
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148140

I'm at $1041, plus shipping + taxes + some things include rebates. Sorry, 1K is very tough.
Maybe get XP Home, Centurion 5, I don't know...

Edit: come on guys, other ideas? Somebody who has overclocked the E4400, any suggestions for RAM or cooler or motherboard?

 

[Mallick]

Why is the E4400 so much better than the AMD 6000+ I have a bitter taste in my mouth from Intel. I know from alot of reviews that Intel is the better right now but I would rather go with the AMD if possible. Is it that that the Intel OC's much better?


Going home now to check those lings from before.

 

[aevm]

The E4400 can overclock to some serious levels where it beats the X2 6000+, and it's cheaper ($126). At stock however, the X2 6000+ is a better option that Intel CPUs that cost about the same. For example a $170 X2 6000+ does almost as well as a $230 E6600 if neither is overclocked.

You did say you will overclock. That makes Intel the best choice. You pay $126 plus another $30 for a good cooler and get better performance than with a $170 X2 6000+.

On the other hand, you know what, if you feel more confortable with AMD go with AMD, it's not worth the trouble to overclock to save $14 anyway.

I'm sorry I'm clueless about AMD motherboards. I hope somebody can suggest a good one. If you want to go with the X2 you can't go with P35, of course.

 

[Mallick]

Well I do thank you for your help it is much appreciated to say the least. If you know anyone with AMD exp please let me know. I am sorta lost with all this, I suppose this just takes time to learn.