Please Look at this New Build

[pjordan]

Ok, building new system for a friend and planning on overclocking. This will mostly be used for gaming.
CPU: 3200+ Venice
Mem: 2x512 OCZ Rev. 2
?Graphics: X800XL
?Board: ASROCK 939
Anandtech likes this board at <A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2524" target="_new">http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2524</A>
Possibly either NF4 DFI lanparty or infinity, but overclocks seemed similar and they are more expensive. What percent better do you think these boards might be?
Hard drive: 10k Raptor 74GB
PSU: Already have nice Antec TRUE430W.

Comments about these? These seem like pretty nice parts. Do you think going this far maybe I should get a 7800GT? It seems pretty expensive for the performance; I think its a bit out of budget, seeing I can get a X800XL on EBay for a bit under $200 or refurbished from Newegg. A 6800GT is just a little more, and a X850 Pro is about the same. From looking around it seems that a X800XL refurb from Newegg is the way to go.

 

[Rugger]

Epox 9NPA+ Ultra - if this is your first run at OCing, then the DFI LANPARTY probably isn't for you. The Asrock board is for people that currently have high performance AGP cards and want the option to upgrade it to PCIe later - again not the right board for you. The DFI can also be finicky to setup and tweak because of the vast amount of settings. If you're going to OC the video card, then the X800XL is not a great OCer.

What is your budget for the vid Card - better yet, what is the budget for the build?

*Steam rising*
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BUNNY STEW FOR DINNER!!

 

[pjordan]

I was thinking I could use Anand's settings from <A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2548" target="_new">http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2548</A>
Towards the end he had a zip file of all the settings he used.
The Ultra is a nice board to though from what I've heard.
I wouldn't have to OC the video card, but if there is a similar one that overclocks well, what is it? Are you saying an overclocked 6800GT would beat a small OC X800XL? Are you thinking of the 7800GTX? I am not exactly sure about the budget, since I am building the comp for a friend. But probably around 100 for the motherboard, that memory I picked out, hard drive, and maybe around 200-300 for graphics. He has an 9800Pro AGP already, which was why I was thinking of the Asrock. But he was wanting to upgrade that too probably. If he does, then he would have to spend a bit to get better.

 

[Rugger]

The 9800Pro is still a good card - especially if you OC it. But it is starting to get a little old...that Asrock board may be a good option for this build. Keep the 9800Pro and then switch to PCIe when the 9800Pro can't perform in the games he wants to play. The X800XL is heads and shoulders above that 9800Pro, but is he can live with the 9800Pro for a bit, then he might be able to step into a 7800 series card or an X1800 series card in that $200-300 range. You can already get a 7800GT For $330 and prices will continue to drop with ATIs 1800 series rolling into the market in force.

*Steam rising*
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BUNNY STEW FOR DINNER!!

 

[confusion]

People are probably going to start calling me the Opteron cheerleader but I would strongly consider getting a 144 or 146 s939 Opteron (146 is nice for the 10x multi). They are ~ $150/$210 respectively.

Read about some of the OC success stories <A HREF="http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=75211" target="_new">here</A>

 

[pjordan]

Do people generally think opterons overclock better than venice?
Can someone give me some information comparing the Asrock, Epox Ultra, and DFI's Lanparty and Infinity Ultra? I know that between the two DFI boards the main difference is that Lanparty glows in blacklight, and has a bit higher voltage options, which I don't think I'll need.

 

[dannyaa]

the biggest question is whats the budget?

Personally, I'd skip the Raptor drive & get a Seagate SATA with more storage for cheaper, then put the saved money into a 7800gt. I got an XFX 7800gt for $330 off new-egg after MIR. The 7800gt is a much faster card and more future proof, and for just over $300 brand new...

And if you check outpost.com or live near a Fry's, they often have amazing deals on HDs with Mail in rebates. I got a 300GB Seagate Sata 7200.8 drive for only $90 after MIR just last week!! Sure you get faster load times with the Raptor but you pay for it, and if your going to pay I'd rather have faster framerates than a few seconds faster level-load time!



A64 3700 SanD / Asus A8N-SLI Prm / 2GB OCZ Pltnm Pc3200 / XFX 7800GT 256mb / Antec 550W

A64 3000 Ven / Epox 9npa-U / 1GB HyperX DDR 3200 / XFX 6600GT 128mb / Antec 330W

 

[dannyaa]

Oh today, the 31st, is the last day to get in on that $30 XFX rebate. Also the last day to get in on free Call of Duty 2 with purchase of the XFX card. So if that is something you want to do, go to Newegg and jump on it because if you wait another day you'll pay $30 and will not get Call of Duty 2 with it!


A64 3700 SanD / Asus A8N-SLI Prm / 2GB OCZ Pltnm Pc3200 / XFX 7800GT 256mb / Antec 550W

A64 3000 Ven / Epox 9npa-U / 1GB HyperX DDR 3200 / XFX 6600GT 128mb / Antec 330W

 

[pjordan]

You are saying it overclocks as well as the other boards right?

 

[pjordan]

Anandtech got that board going pretty fast I thought. (See link in my first post.)

 

[dannyaa]

Why do you want the AsRock board? Is it significantly cheaper than the Epox? Just go with Epox...

Oh BTW, I saw in Newegg the eVGA card is $345 no rebate required & also bundles Call of Duty 2 although I'm not sure when the CoD2 promo ends on that one. The eVGA ultimately will cost $15 more. It is slower out of the box (slightly) but the top-end OC is better than the XFX. See THGs review.



A64 3700 SanD / Asus A8N-SLI Prm / 2GB OCZ Pltnm Pc3200 / XFX 7800GT 256mb / Antec 550W

A64 3000 Ven / Epox 9npa-U / 1GB HyperX DDR 3200 / XFX 6600GT 128mb / Antec 330W

 

[Rugger]

The Asrock is $36 less than the Epox.

*Steam rising*
|<font color=red>(\__/)</font color=red>|
|<font color=red>(='.'=)</font color=red>|
|<font color=red>(")_(")</font color=red>|
~~~~~
BUNNY STEW FOR DINNER!!