Coming out of the stoneage.. need opinions on new build:

W

W.O.T. Stang

Limp Gawd
Joined
Aug 4, 2003
Messages
363
After 3 years of building my last system, it's definitely time to upgrade. I do a lot of "gaming" (if you can even call it that with the video card i've been stuck with), and a lot of other work (encoding, webpages, photoshop..etc).

Just wondered if all these pieces look to be good. I skimped pretty bad on my last system, and I want to make sure to use quality pieces this time.

Last time around i used a 350w powersupply that came with a case that has a whole 12A on the 12V rail. How it's running my current system with 3 HD's and a cd-rom and 6 fans, and a barton XP with no crashes for 3 years is beyond me The PSU i'm upgrading too has a 34a combined 12v rail, which i think should be great.. I've also been suffering with an overclocked Geforce 3 (circa. 1998 technology), So anything i've played has been about 23fps at 640x480/800x600 with DX8 graphics.

So keep that in mind when you see the build I have planned. I've done plenty of reading on the duel core problems and i'm prepared to tackle whatever I come across. I have all the X2 drivers / fixes / BIOS on CD ready to go, and I've read it's VERY important to make sure you have enough power and quality ram or it won't be happy.

Let me know what you think guys.. I tried to do this as cheap as i possibly could (besides the cpu, which i can wait to use), and I need to know if everything looks to be pretty good.

new system
 
It says your cart is empty...Just post the system in the thread and I will have a look at it, post your budget too.
 
iSkylla said:
It says your cart is empty...Just post the system in the thread and I will have a look at it, post your budget too.
Click to expand...

It should work now. If not, i'll post it seperately.

Oh, and my budget *was* $700, which i went over just a tad with what i picked out here. So i'd like to keep it no higher then where it sits right now.
 
I'd probably go ASUS/Chaintech VNF4 mobo wise, and grab something a bit beefier for the vid card, but all else looks good.
 
I am not too keen on that PSU. May I suggest a lower end Antec Model instead? While that is an okay PSU, if it were my computer, I would feel more confortable with an Antec.

Also, I would stay away fromthe AN8-Ultra, it is very very very picky about a lot of stuff. Even pickier than my DFI which to say the least is not easy to satisfy. Try an Epox or Chaintech model. Or if you want you could pick up a DFI LanParty Ultra-D for about the same price, however you will need different RAM. DFI doesn't like Corsair. Head over to http://www.dfi-street.com to see the suggested PSUs and RAM.

Lastly, you are missing a case...unless of course you are going to use your old one.

About the video card, go for a 6800GS instead of the 6600, you will be happier with it. Or if you're an ATI kind of guy like me, get an X800XL, I love mine. I never look at benchmarks and it seems to run everything except F.E.A.R. and SS2 at 1280x1024 with AA and AF fine. I dont watch FPS but if it is playable and smooth it is fine by me.
 
iSkylla said:
I am not too keen on that PSU. May I suggest a lower end Antec Model instead? While that is an okay PSU, if it were my computer, I would feel more confortable with an Antec.

Also, I would stay away fromthe AN8-Ultra, it is very very very picky about a lot of stuff. Even pickier than my DFI which to say the least is not easy to satisfy. Try an Epox or Chaintech model. Or if you want you could pick up a DFI LanParty Ultra-D for about the same price, however you will need different RAM. DFI doesn't like Corsair. Head over to http://www.dfi-street.com to see the suggested PSUs and RAM.

Lastly, you are missing a case...unless of course you are going to use your old one.

About the video card, go for a 6800GS instead of the 6600, you will be happier with it. Or if you're an ATI kind of guy like me, get an X800XL, I love mine. I never look at benchmarks and it seems to run everything except F.E.A.R. and SS2 at 1280x1024 with AA and AF fine. I dont watch FPS but if it is playable and smooth it is fine by me.
Click to expand...

I've heard a lot of things about the AN8 also. I believe some of it, but not all of it. I figured as long as i stuck with decent ram and a PSU with adequate 12V amps, it would be alright. I was considering the Asus A8N also, but i've heard a lot of trouble with the on-board fans.

The DFI.. I've been looking at them a LOT. They seem to be the "pros" board to use, if you want to tweak every last aspect of your system. (which from my standpoint would be great). But they almost seem to picky for my tastes. The board is about $15 more then the AN8/A8N, and it also requires at least a 480w PSU, and more expensive RAM.

Basically I want a system that's nice, but I don't want to have to have 3-$400 components in each slot to do it (video, ram, psu) Also OC'ing isn't a huge deal to me.. I may bump it up a few hundred MHz, but im no where near extreme, trying to get every last bit out of it.

As far as the video, i picked it because it's a HUGE upgrade for me, and it's also a combo deal with the CPU at the moment. I'll check out the 6600GS.. I didnt even know a GS model existed, much less the difference.

Thanks for some of the feedback guys, but remember I'm pretty much at the limit of the budget at the moment.
 
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