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Advice on a new build

D

DyNe__

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Feb 10, 2002
Messages
2,005
I'm upgrading from my current system (XP 2400+ @ 2.5ghz, 1gb pc3200, 9700 pro) for college. I don't need to do that heavy of gaming, but I would like to be able to play newer games at least at medium settings.

Here's what I'm thinking:

Proc: AMD X2 3800+ AM2 = $159

Mobo: Biostar TForce 550 nForce 5500 AM2 = $86

RAM:OCZ 2gb PC2-6400 Platinum = $130 AR

Video Card: evga 7600GT KO = ~$140

Case: Lian-Li V300 = $100

PSU: Enermax Liberty 400W = $75

Optical Drive = NEC 3550A which I already have

Hard Drives = I have a 200gb and 300gb, but I might buy another 400 or 320 (I'm going to put either 1 or 2 of these in external enclosures).

Total should be around $690 from the above, but I want to invest some money on good after market cooling that is SILENT since it will be in my dorm. I'm also going to be buying an HDTV tuner so that I can watch tv on my 2407FPW.

The reason I'm going AM2 rather than conroe is because the conroe system would be a while before I would get one, and it would be more expensive. I think the X2 will be sufficient at least until I get a better video card (I'm waiting until DX10 has been out on the market for a while).


Some questions:

How hard would it be to mount a 120mm fan in that case?
Is that case easy to work in?
Is the mobo I picked the best for the price? I don't need integrated video but integrated audio would be nice so that I don't have to use a PCI slot for it.
Since the evga is OOS, what 7600gt should I get in place of it?

Thanks for any help!
 
Yeah i hear that case is really nice, or maybe even the SG-01, but i think the lian li is a better value. Also that mobo an ATX mobo, and isnt that case micro-ATX? :confused:
 
BFGuy1741 said:
Yeah i hear that case is really nice, or maybe even the SG-01, but i think the lian li is a better value. Also that mobo an ATX mobo, and isnt that case micro-ATX? :confused:
Click to expand...


D'oh, I thought I saw mATX... I was wondering how an nForce 5 mobo came out in the past few days (I was looking and hoping for an nf5). Are there any nf5 mATXs?
 
DyNe__ said:
D'oh, I thought I saw mATX... I was wondering how an nForce 5 mobo came out in the past few days (I was looking and hoping for an nf5). Are there any nf5 mATXs?
Click to expand...

never.
 
Once you get the mobo thing sorted out, you will want to get only 1Gb ram and get a higher end graphics card instead. It will signifigantly boost performance and may save you a few bucks...
 
Hupo said:
look at my link.
Click to expand...

That is NF5? The south bridge is nf4 right?

synaps3 said:
Once you get the mobo thing sorted out, you will want to get only 1Gb ram and get a higher end graphics card instead. It will signifigantly boost performance and may save you a few bucks...
Click to expand...


I won't go less than 2gb, and I already bought the RAM (which I thought was a very good deal). Besides, I wouldn't be saving enough on the RAM to buy a worthy upgrade. I would rather just wait and buy another one in a few years than get one that is out of my price range right now.
 
I like the setup but with that case you won't be able to use the highend video cards without some modding (if you did want to upgrade eventually). So the 7600 would actually be a good choice for that case.
 
tayunz said:
I like the setup but with that case you won't be able to use the highend video cards without some modding (if you did want to upgrade eventually). So the 7600 would actually be a good choice for that case.
Click to expand...


If the modding is just cutting some metal away, I can do that fine. I'm thinking if I have to cut out the hard drive cage so I can't use it anymore then that might be a problem. To be honest I probably won't upgrade the video card until the best dx9 cards are very cheap (ie DX10 is larger in the market).

Do you think I should spend the extra $50 and get the SG-01? Hmmm... I don't think the Lian Li case is going to cause any headaches for a long time..
 
Ordered.

1 CASE LIANLI|PC-V300B BLACK - Retail
Item #: N82E16811112113 $99.99 $99.99

1 MB BIOSTAR TFORCE 6100 AM2 GF6100 - Retail
Item #: N82E16813138027 $73.99 $73.99

1 VGA EVGA GF 7900GT 256-P2-N583-AR - Retail
Item #: N82E16814130032 $269.99 $269.99

1 PSU ENERMAX | ELT500AWT 500W RT - Retail
Item #: N82E16817194003 $104.99 $104.99

1 CPU AMD|A64 X2 3800+ AM2 2x512K R - Retail
Item #: N82E16819103735 $159.00 $159.00

1 DISCOUNT FOR COMBO #1066
Item #: COM $-10.00
Subtotal: $697.96
What's this? Tax: $0.00
Shipping: $19.58
Grand Total: $717.54
Click to expand...

RAM was ordered from Fry's, but AR the total should be a tad under $800. This doesn't include any extra cooling... I'm still looking and open to suggestions for good AR GPU/CPU coolers that will work with this case!
 
DyNe__ said:
Ordered.



RAM was ordered from Fry's, but AR the total should be a tad under $800. This doesn't include any extra cooling... I'm still looking and open to suggestions for good AR GPU/CPU coolers that will work with this case!
Click to expand...
Great scott! thats cheap! Does frys have a website? Because you got everything i wanted!
 
the total is actually around $817 due to shipping, sorry bout that.

Hupo said:
Great scott! thats cheap! Does frys have a website? Because you got everything i wanted!
Click to expand...


Here is the link to the RAM I bought: http://shop1.outpost.com/product/4815800?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

When I bought it I got another $10 MIR that lasted from 7/29-7/30. $190 - $60 = $130 for 2gb of OCZ Platinum PC6400 RAM.. not bad :p

The other rebate I have is a $30 on the EVGA 7900GT. I decided on this video card mainly because the evga 7600gt I was going to buy ($135) is OOS and the current rebate will have expired by the time anyone gets any in stock. So I figured an extra $70 now will prevent me from having to upgrade quite so soon.
 
DyNe__ said:
Do you think I should spend the extra $50 and get the SG-01? Hmmm... I don't think the Lian Li case is going to cause any headaches for a long time..
Click to expand...
if you get the sg01, you should get the silverstone nt06 too. think of it as being bundled with the case, and the case costs $190 (130 case + 60 nt06), but it's extremely efficient and runs passively (using the psu for the fan). there really isn't an option worth mentioning in the same breath as the nt06 with the sg01 for air cooling.

i'm getting the sg01+nt06 combo in a couple days; i like the looks better than the lian-li, the ability to fit any video card w/o modding, and the size. the lian-li is (imo) significantly bigger than the sg01, but of course size is subjective. take a look at dworley's pictures in the sff gallery for an idea of the size difference.
 
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