Review my rig before I buy and build it? Advice Please!

M

Mizugori

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Mar 25, 2004
Messages
1,240
 
I'd go with this monitor instead:
$185 - Acer AL1916WAbd Black 19" 5ms DVI Widescreen LCD

and this dvdrw drive:
$33 - LITE-ON 16X DVD±R DVD Burner W/ LightScribe Black SHM-165H6S

Why an amd system? You could build a core2duo system for about the same money and get better performance.
 
hmm... i built a few amd systems in the past so i've just stuck with them. what makes a core2duo better? this may sound stupid but is it any more difficult to build an intel system? i've never worked with it before.

why do you suggest the different burner?

also, i had considered widescreen but my friend has a widescreen laptop and photographs look retarted on it because of the widescreen... any thoughts?

thanks!
 
HYUNDAI Q70U Silver 17" 3ms DVI LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 700:1 Built in Speakers - Retail

Antec LifeStyle SONATA II Piano Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 450Watt SmartPower 2.0 ATX 12V V2.0 for AMD & Intel systems Power Supply - Retail

Logitech 980240-0403 Black 3.5mm Connector Desktop Microphone - Retail

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Windsor 2.2GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 Dual Core Processor - Retail

Liteon SHW160P6S04 16X Dual Layer DVD±RW Drive (Black) Retail ***Free Shipping***

MSI K9N SLI Platinum Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

CORSAIR XMS2 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

eVGA 256-P2-N615-TX GeForce 7600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
 
Id agree with the poster that said to go Core2Duo. At the current moment, they are faster than the X2s. They are also pretty cheap. A Intel Core2Duo E6300 is around the same price as the X2 4200+.

If you did decide to go Core2Duo, then you would need to change your motherboard to something that supports Core2Duos. Id highly recommend looking at a motherboard with the P965 chipset.
 
alright, well im interested. first, this is going to be primarily a gaming pc, do you still recommend the intel? also, i'm not looking to overclock it.

if so, would you tell me a little more about it. i basically know nothing about intel... :( I know what to look for and about the model names for amd, but im clueless about the intels. what should i be looking for, and what should i be avoiding, when i pick a processor?

thanks!
 
if your set with ur budget, then you can get the Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 ATX boars for $143 and Core 2 Duo E6300 for $182

link :

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128012

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819115005

but if ur bit flexible over ur budget then, i would suggest Asus P5B delux for $214 and Core 2 Duo E6400 for $220.

link :

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819115004

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131028

and over clocking core 2 duo processors are very easy, even with stock voltate you can over clock it a lot. :)
 
First, some reading material for you:
http://anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2795&p=16
http://anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2802
http://anandtech.com/memory/showdoc.aspx?i=2800&p=6

With Core2Duo, you only need DDR2-533... the only reason to get higher speed ram is for overclocking. With AM2, you'll need DDR2-800 to get the best possible performance out of the chip, even at stock speeds.

Why not overclock? as you can see from that second article, at stock speeds, the E6300 outperforms the 4200+ x2. Both chips overclock nicely, too. The E6300 can reach 2.59Ghz with a STOCK intel HSF!! Core2Duo's run cooler, consume less power, overclock very easily, and outperform their respective amd counterparts.

Enough about the cpu... here's my suggested build. I kept it around $900 since thats what your original build would have cost (approx):

$185 - Acer AL1916WAbd Black 19" 5ms DVI Widescreen LCD
$182 - Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 Conroe 1.86GHz
$100 - Foxconn P9657AA-8KS2H Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express
$105 - CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2x512MB) DDR2-667 VS1GBKIT667D2
$115 - BFG Tech BFGR76256GTOCE Geforce 7600GT 256MB ($145 - $30MIR)
$95 - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS 320GB 7200RPM SATA300 16MB Cache
$80 - Antec LifeStyle SONATA II ATX Mid Tower w/ 450Watt SP2.0 ($100 - $40 MIR + $20 Shipping)
$33 - LITE-ON 16X DVD±R DVD Burner W/ LightScribe Black SHM-165H6S
$12 - Plantronics .Audio 300 Black 3.5mm Connector PC Mic
===========
$907 + tax and shipping (after rebates)

I'd actually suggest 2GB instead of 1GB:
$200 - Patriot Signature 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2-667 PSD22G667KH ($210 - $10MIR)

I chose that mobo cuz its alot cheaper than the GA-965P-DS3 and P5B Deluxe; also, it can overclock as good as the P5B. Though, as always, overclocked performance is never a sure thing. http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/963/6/page_6_bios_and_overclocking_foxconn/index.html

Here are the other two commonly used boards for Core2Duo setups:
$143 - GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3 Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express
$185 - ASUS P5B Deluxe Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express

Also, why get a 17" LCD when you can get a 19" Wide LCD for $10 less?
 
sorry if this is a dumb question but... if you do not overclock (im considering it now but, just for argument's sake, say if i did NOT overclock at all) is there a significant performance difference between valueram and regular or 'extreme' rams? ie corsair value select versus corsair xms, and kingston valueram vs kingston hyperx?
 
enginurd said:
Why not overclock? as you can see from that second article, at stock speeds, the E6300 outperforms the 4200+ x2. Both chips overclock nicely, too. The E6300 can reach 2.59Ghz with a STOCK intel HSF!! Core2Duo's run cooler, consume less power, overclock very easily, and outperform their respective amd counterparts.
Click to expand...
I agree with just about everything Enginurd says and actually, e6300's can go quite a bit higher! I'm running with the stock cooler and am at 2.905Ghz stable. Of course, that's not reachable without faster RAM unless you get really lucky.

I'd actually suggest 2GB instead of 1GB:
$200 - Patriot Signature 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2-667 PSD22G667KH ($210 - $10MIR)
Click to expand...
Agreed

I chose that mobo cuz its alot cheaper than the GA-965P-DS3 and P5B Deluxe; also, it can overclock as good as the P5B. Though, as always, overclocked performance is never a sure thing. http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/963/6/page_6_bios_and_overclocking_foxconn/index.html

Here are the other two commonly used boards for Core2Duo setups:
$143 - GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3 Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express
$185 - ASUS P5B Deluxe Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express
Click to expand...
Might want to add the Gigabyte 965P-S3 for $115.99. It's the same board as the DS3, except it doesn't support raid and does not have solid capacitors like the DS3.

Also, why get a 17" LCD when you can get a 19" Wide LCD for $10 less?
Click to expand...
True 'dat.


Good luck with your build!
 
Mizugori said:
sorry if this is a dumb question but... if you do not overclock (im considering it now but, just for argument's sake, say if i did NOT overclock at all) is there a significant performance difference between valueram and regular or 'extreme' rams? ie corsair value select versus corsair xms, and kingston valueram vs kingston hyperx?
Click to expand...
If you don't overclock, then no. With real world use, you will never notice the difference. Benchmarks, maybe. But nothing you'll be able to see.

Value Ram tends to not overclock very well, meaning if it's rated at -667, unless you're lucky, you won't go much higher. On the flipside, more expensive "extreme" rams can sometimes go well over their rated speed, especially if the volts are raised and/or timings are loosened.

Same thing (sort of) with buying faster RAM. Let's say you set up your system and your Ram is running at 533. Even if you buy the Dominator $600+ RAM that's rated at something like DDR2-1000, it's really not going to run any faster than generic cheapie -533 RAM. The faster RAM is for people who overclock.

Hope that answered your question.

Rich
 
Cintirich said:
If you don't overclock, then no. With real world use, you will never notice the difference. Benchmarks, maybe. But nothing you'll be able to see.

Value Ram tends to not overclock very well, meaning if it's rated at -667, unless you're lucky, you won't go much higher. On the flipside, more expensive "extreme" rams can sometimes go well over their rated speed, especially if the volts are raised and/or timings are loosened.

Same thing (sort of) with buying faster RAM. Let's say you set up your system and your Ram is running at 533. Even if you buy the Dominator $600+ RAM that's rated at something like DDR2-1000, it's really not going to run any faster than generic cheapie -533 RAM. The faster RAM is for people who overclock.

Hope that answered your question.

Rich
Click to expand...
What he said ^^

To summarize: No, there would be no significant performance difference.


Cintirich said:
I agree with just about everything Enginurd says and actually, e6300's can go quite a bit higher! I'm running with the stock cooler and am at 2.905Ghz stable. Of course, that's not reachable without faster RAM unless you get really lucky.
Click to expand...
Wow, nice OC! your running 415Mhz FSB with stock intel HSF? very nice! how are your temps?
 
enginurd said:
What he said ^^

To summarize: No, there would be no significant performance difference.



Wow, nice OC! your running 415Mhz FSB with stock intel HSF? very nice! how are your temps?
Click to expand...
At load, I top out at around 60C. My new cooler should be here tomorrow though (AC 7 freezer pro) and I'm hoping I can get 3Ghz+ with lower temps. We'll see!
tongue.gif
 
one last question; about to buy but do you think the antec sonata is better or this?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811156062

I'm hesitating due to the numerous reports of that included antec psu with the sonata being DOA or dying within a few months...

also, I'm not totally against buying a case and psu separately, but is it possible to get a good psu and case for ~100-120 max?

thanks!
 
Mizugori said:
one last question; about to buy but do you think the antec sonata is better or this?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811156062

I'm hesitating due to the numerous reports of that included antec psu with the sonata being DOA or dying within a few months...

also, I'm not totally against buying a case and psu separately, but is it possible to get a good psu and case for ~100-120 max?

thanks!
Click to expand...

If you care about noise, you might want to go with the Antec SOLO from Fry's. It's only 50 bucks AR. You can probably get a decent 430 watt PSU for 50 or 60 bucks.
 
Mizugori said:
one last question; about to buy but do you think the antec sonata is better or this?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811156062

I'm hesitating due to the numerous reports of that included antec psu with the sonata being DOA or dying within a few months...

also, I'm not totally against buying a case and psu separately, but is it possible to get a good psu and case for ~100-120 max?

thanks!
Click to expand...
Antec had a bad batch. They'll RMA it if you have any problems. If you don't want to take the chance (I've bought two within the past year for friends' builds, and they're fine), you could still get a case and psu seperately for under 120. The Antec SOLO would be a nice choice. Here are some other suggestions:

$40 - XClio 450BL ATX 450W
$52 - FSP Group AX450-PN 450W
$50 - XClio GOODPOWER 500W ATX 500W
$75 - Antec SmartPower 2.0 SP-500 ATX12V 500W Modular PSU (w/ SmartFans)

$50 - COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-WW Black/Silver w/ Side Window
$55 - Antec Solution SLK3000-B Black Steel ATX Mid Tower

XClio's are Channel Well power supplies, which are also used for most of Antec's psu lines, I've been told.
 
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