Need opinions on this rig...

[SmokeyTirez]

Hey folks. First timer to TH forums, so wuzzup?

Anyways, I frequent this site often for the latest "what's cool" info, so I figure'd this would be the place to find out what's what on a setup I'm looking at.

I'm looking at the following:
-Abit IC7-MAX3
-P4 3.2 800/512
-Corsair TwinX1024 1GB DDR400 XMS3200 (Dual channel, matched set)

I already have a nice mini tower with a P4 power supply (350W I think), a Radeon 9800XT Pro, an Audigy 2, DVD RW, blah blah.

Does this seem like a reasonable setup? The price gap to the 3.4 is too much for me right now. I figure the 3.2 is a good breaking point as far as price goes. Will the dual-channel matched set Corsair memory work well with the IC7-MAX3? Are matched sets worth the extra $50 over buying individual DDR2 SIMMS?

Thanks to TH's shopping tools, I found the entire setup available for $745 from ZipZoomFly.com. Does that price seem reasonable, or am I getting ripped? (I couldn't find it cheaper anywhere else, given the free 2-day UPS shipping at ZipZoomFly).

And finally, will this setup prepare me for Windows-64? I realize that it will be a good bit before I could really take advantage of 64-bit apps anyway, but when the time comes do you feel this setup will hold me over for a while? (FYI...I tend to upgrade my system every 3 years, so that's what I mean by "a while"). Also, I'm primarily a gamer. Mostly online stuff, and I play everything from Rainbow 6 to Quake to LO-MAC to Flight Sim. I also do music creation with stuff like Reason and Acid. So a healthy dose of power and memory are what I need.

Thanks in advance!



-Smokey

 

[Crashman]

Windows 64 doesn't support the P4 because the P4 doesn't support 64-bit instructions.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[SmokeyTirez]

I see. I assume the P4 will at least work with Windows 64, but it just won't take advantage of the 64-bit functionality, correct? I'm find with that. I'll never buy AMD, so I'm willing to hold off on that for now until Intel's 64-bit offerings come down in price. Looks like that will happen the next time I upgrade my machine (several years from now).

Mainly I need to know if the Corsair dual-channel DDR I've chosen will work with the IC7-MAX3 mobo. If the combination I've chosen is cool then I'll probably just go ahead and get it ordered. Just wanted to double check with you folks first to make sure I wasn't buying an incompatible memory/mobo combination.

Thanks!


-Smokey

 

[Crashman]

XP-64 is XP with 64-bit extensions. If you want XP on the P4, use XP without the extensions. MS isn't giving the 64-bit version any leg up on the standard version that I know of, they keep them both updated as best they can.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[SmokeyTirez]

Thanks for the info. I was making the assumption that XP-64 would be "better", but you're right that that doesn't make sense (plus I would assume that would tick off Intel).

Can you give me your thoughts on the setup I have proposed? I'm just about to click "Buy Now" but want to make sure I'm not missing out on something. The last time I upgraded I ended up getting the "not so great" setup because I skimped on memory and stuff. I just want to make that, this time, I get the best setup I can for the money.

Thanks!


-Smokey

 

[Crashman]

How many 512MB modules would you be using? You'll want dual channel with today's chipsets, and 1GB via 2 512MB modules would be fine. I can't see paying that much for a board when you can get boards with similar performance and stability at half that price, but it's your money.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[SmokeyTirez]

Two 512s, for a matched set. Bought it today! I'm so amped! Should be in by early next week (yay for free 2-day UPS!). Per Abit's webpage, I'm using the Corsair DDR400 3200CP2. Last thing I was is compatibility problems, so I just got the memory they recommended on their own site.

The mobo only cost $183 shipped. It is a little pricey for what I'm used to paying for boards, but it looks like a real nice board. Pricegrabber showed this as the second-cheapest price in their list, but the same store had the cheapest price on P4 3.2's. So it all works out in the end.

Thanks for your help man! I'll post again when I get it all setup. Can't wait! It's about time I went "all out" and got quality components rather than skimping on memory or mobo specs.

l8r


-Smokey

 

[SmokeyTirez]

Not much really. I've not kept up with the whole OC'ing process, so I tend to stay away from it for fear of melting expensive hardware. If I ever do overclock it's the basic stuff (like basic voltage increases, or stuff like the OC software included with the 9800 XT Pro, which ties in with the temp monitoring so I don't have to worry about it).

If I'm not mistaken, a serious OC'er would have gone with 3700 memory, correct? It has more flexible OC features I believe. But reliable power is more important to me, so if I do tinker with it, it will be basic stuff.

Thx


-Smokey

 

[SmokeyTirez]

Ya that's true. I've looked at that stuff before (cooling equipment). It ain't cheap! At least, not the production stuff. I'm sure something homegrown could be built to keep things cool and a cheaper cost, but I just don't think I'm all that nuts about OC'ing to go through it. I work on my car, my bike, etc. If I break something on those then I know how to fix it. If I fry something on my PC due to OC'ing or faulty cooling, then I'm pretty much screwed and have to buy all new stuff. That kind of modding is pretty low on the wife-approval factor. I'll stick with the lightweight stuff and play it safe. I figure if I can just start out with a powerhouse that's reliable then I'm cool. I upgrade at least once every few years, so the way I look at it I'm not missing out on much by trying to squeeze out the last little bit of power out of the chip.
Maybe one day I'll build a second system, just for messing with this stuff. Cuz OC'ing does sound fun and rewarding. I just don't want to do it on my main system. If I burnt it out, what would I play games on??
l8r


-Smokey

 

[jammydodger]

so I'm willing to hold off on that for now until Intel's 64-bit offerings come down in price

What 64bit offerrings?

P4c 2.6@3.25
512Mb PC4000
2x120Gb 7200.7 in RAID0
Waterchill KT12-L30
Abit AI7
Radeon 9800Pro

 

[SmokeyTirez]

The ones I would assume they would build to compete with AMD. I can't imagine they would let AMD run off and win in that marketspace. It's only a matter of time, right?

-Smokey