Another Rate my build gaming PC

N

Nixxon

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 28, 2006
Messages
149
Ok guys, I've lurked on here for quite some time and decided to post my own build. This is my first build ever, and though I consider myself quite computer savvy I want to make sure my choices are good ones. This computer is going to be for gaming, music, maybe some photoshop etc. Im playin World of Warcraft, Company of Heros etc and I wanna be able to have the settings on high for graphics. My cost is around the $1,000 range for the whole thing, but a few hundred more or less isn't going to hurt, just so long as I get a nice powerful PC that works well.

Please rate my build :) any comments are appreciated as to why somthing is better or why somthing dosn't work with the parts I have. Thanks!


COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-WW Black/Silver Aluminum Bezel, SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811119077
$49.99

ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard -
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813131013
$142.99

XFX PV-T71G-UDF7 Geforce 7900GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814150144
$262.99

Antec SmartPower 2.0 SP-500 ATX12V 500W Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817103937
$67.99

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Windsor 2.2GHz Socket AM2 Dual Core Processor Model ADA4200CUBOX
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819103747
$187.00

CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model TWIN2X2048-6400C4 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820145034
$309.00

Subtotal: $1,019.96
 
That's some expensive ram. Go with G.Skill and put the extra $60 towards a 4600+ instead. Wow, NewEgg just keeps raising the price on those g.skill sticks. They were at $230 - $30 instant savings a couple days ago. Now they're at $270 - $30 instant, lol! Did you need a HDD? or did you already have a sata3g 16mb cache drive to use in this nice system? If you need a drive, go for the Seagate ST3320620AS 320GB for only $95... not a bad deal for a rebate-less drive. Also, did you need a dvd burner? go for the NEC ND-3550A for only $30, if you do. Good luck with the build!

On second thought, the cheapest core2duo cpu would still be better than the 4200+, so go for that instead. Then you can OC it and it would be better than a stock FX-62!!
 
I don't really know much about RAM specs.

Also I didn't really wanna overclock my computer, I just wanted a straight gaming and I really don't know much about intel's duo, is it that much better than AMD's dual core?

Oh also I already have CD/DVD drives and I have 2 IDE hard drives, I will be purchasing a SATA HD in the future but right now I want to focus all my money on these parts.


Anyways this is my updated build. Any comments? I wanna make sure I have an awsome gaming computer thats stable and avalible for pretty decent upgradability in the future while still staying in the $1,000 budget.

COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-WW Black/Silver Aluminum Bezel, $49.99
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811119077

ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI MCP ATX AMD $142.99
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813131013

XFX PV-T71G-UDF7 Geforce 7900GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video $262.99
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814150144

Antec SmartPower 2.0 SP-500 ATX12V 500W Power Supply - Retail $67.99
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817103937

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ Windsor 2.4GHz Socket AM2 Dual Core Processor $253.00
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819103751

OCZ Platinum Revision 2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 $229.99
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820227139

Subtotal: $1,006.95
 
Hrmm... on a side note, would maybe using a 939 slot and a 939 processor be better?
That way I could get a better processor and it would be cheaper?

Im looking for the best possible computer I can get for around $1,000 and I think what I have now is pretty good, but alot of people are now telling me that it would be better to get the best 939 processor and motherboard rather than a decent/high end AM2 processor/motherboard
 
Ok I think I got the build that I want. Will somone please just look this over rly quick and make sure all the components are compatable etc? I just wanna make absolutely sure that I didn't miss anything. I'm keeping the corsair ram because all the reviews on newegg said that the M2N-SLI Deluxe runs the best and most stable on that. My CD Drives are going to be all using the IDE, and I alrdy have a moniter/keyboard/mouse/speakers.

Thanks for all who has comments so far and continue to do so!

LIAN LI PC-7B plus II Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811112099
$89.99

ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813131013
$142.99

XFX PV-T71G-UDF7 Geforce 7900GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814150144
$262.99

Sunbeam NUUO SUNNU550-US-BK ATX12V/ EPS12V 550W Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817709004
$74.99

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ Windsor 2.4GHz Socket AM2 Dual Core Processor Model
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819103751
$253.00

CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model TWIN2X2048-6400C4 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820145034
$309.00

Western Digital Caviar RE WD1600YD 160GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822136009
$64.99

Subtotal: $1,197.95
 
First, dont trust reviews on newegg. People here are guarenteed smarter.

Second, get on Core2Duo (E6300 would whoop the X2) from intel and the Gigabyte DS3 mobo. Overclocking is really easy, and gives you free performance. Ram, not sure on personally since im still on DDR, but I dont think we'd be reccommending it if the ram was "incompatable". Oh, and if you dont get a retail CPU, dont forget a cpu cooler.

Third, I'd go with at least 250gb WD SE16 drive with the money you saved.

Everything else looks ok.
 
Everything looks good. Its a good thing that you picked up a SATA drive though because that board only supports 2 IDE drives.

Should be a good build. Let us know how it comes out.

Though I might go threw this post and choose a differnernt PSU http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1000883

It might be a good one I dont know I just dont reconize the name brand and I like my name brands.
 
dchrsf said:
First, dont trust reviews on newegg. People here are guarenteed smarter.

Second, get on Core2Duo (E6300 would whoop the X2) from intel and the Gigabyte DS3 mobo. Overclocking is really easy, and gives you free performance. Ram, not sure on personally since im still on DDR, but I dont think we'd be reccommending it if the ram was "incompatable". Oh, and if you dont get a retail CPU, dont forget a cpu cooler.

Third, I'd go with at least 250gb WD SE16 drive with the money you saved.

Everything else looks ok.
Click to expand...

We'll I really don't know much about overclocking so I feel a little uncomfortable getting a processor/motherboard with the intent of overlocking. (I honestly don't know where to start)

By my way of thinking if somthing was meant to run that speed then they would set it that way. I've not only read reviews on Newegg but I've also read in a few other places that corsair has the least problems out of all other ram out there and since this is a new build I don't mind spending a few extra bucks to have things go a little easier.
 
Nice case.
Can't vouch for the Sunbeam P/S, never heard of that brand. I went with the Antec Truepower II 550W SLI P/S, couldn't be happier.
However, you might look into this Antec 550W as well because it has an exhaust fan that actually blows the air OUT of the computer. Mine has 1 fan that blows IN the comp.

Too bad Newegg doesn't have the xFx 7900GT Extreme 520MHz anymore. Zipzoomfly offers it but it's currently on back order if you can wait. Speaking of which, when do you plan on buying/building?
 
DeChache said:
939 and AM2 are all but the same price right now you might find a cheaper mobo but thats it.

Personaly if I was building right now I would be getting this but you do have a really good system there if thats what you decide to do.

Cpu http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819115004 239

mobo http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128012 139

cheaper and fast what more could you want.
Click to expand...
I agree with the E6400 and GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3 instead of an AM2 setup.

Check out this article to find out why, and just how much better a core2duo is compared to any amd (at both stock and oc'd speeds):
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2802&p=11 You can start at page 1, but that link takes u to page 11.

At stock speeds, the E6400 will beat the 4600+, so you don't even have to overclock. E6400 is only $13 cheaper, runs cooler, consumes less power, and can overclock more (though you don't plan on OC'ing, it is rather easy even with the stock intel HSF). However, just know that if you do OC, you could reach FX-62 speeds (and thats a $900 cpu!), lol. If you want to save more money, the E6300 is as good as and mostly better than the 4600+, too, at only $190.

I'm not sure about sunbeam PSUs, but I personally use an antec smartpower2.0 500W ($68 @ Newegg).

Corsair is overpriced, and not needed with c2d... g.skill works just as well. AM2 on the other hand, is picky with its modules... it only likes micron mem chips (crucial, corsair, g.skill, patriot), so OCZ (uses samsung chips i think) is out, should you decide to go with the slower am2 setup.

If you do go with core2duo, you'll only need DDR2-667:
$190 - G.SKILL 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2-667 - F2-5400PHU2-2GBLA
oops... no more instant savings on those sticks, lol... they're $230 now, still cheaper than your corsair, hehe. The 5-5-5-15 g.skills are only $205.

Just found this thread:
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1094578
listing this deal:
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80061-9&ps=ho4
$200 After $40MIR - Crucial Ballistix BL2KIT12864AA804 2GB kit DDR2-800 4-4-4-12
 
enginurd said:
E6400 is only $13 cheaper, runs cooler, consumes less power,
Click to expand...

I've read several threads stating that Intel CPU's run hotter than AMD. Did intel correct that with the core2duo chipset :confused:
 
Parker said:
I've read several threads stating that Intel CPU's run hotter than AMD. Did intel correct that with the core2duo chipset :confused:
Click to expand...
Have you been in a cave? Put down the can of Monster and stop WoWing for a bit, lol. Go read about the conroe (Core2Duo) cpus, or even the CoreDuos. Theres dozens of reviews of the new intel cpus. Yes, they obviously resolved their heat issues with this new marchitecture. Intel is also refreshing some of their older desktop CPUs to consume less power, leading to less heat generation.
 
enginurd said:
Have you been in a cave? Put down the can of Monster and stop WoWing for a bit, lol. Go read about the conroe (Core2Duo) cpus, or even the CoreDuos. Theres dozens of reviews of the new intel cpus. Yes, they obviously resolved their heat issues with this new marchitecture. Intel is also refreshing some of their older desktop CPUs to consume less power, leading to less heat generation.
Click to expand...


1st - WoW = teh lose
2nd - I've been too busy enjoying my AMD to research Intel
But that's cool that the heat issue has been resolved. Kudos to Intel for that.

End threadjack :D
 
Kinda mortified to post here (got my new title in GM), but you oughta think about a 1900XT as the prices are pretty close to a 7900GT
 
ROFL, great title Adam.

I heard that its just better to go all NVIDIA because my chipset is NVIDIA.

I think after careful consideration and some research Im going to keep most of the parts but go to a 939 socket, the compatability issues with RAM and the lack of good motherboards for the price are big factors in my decision.
 
So I've decided to go with the 939 Route. The AM2 motherboards are just too picky with RAM for my taste especially because I'm a new builder. I've decided to go with a more generally well known motherboard/processor that has already been tested. Also my old mobo would only work with 2 8x pipes with SLI cards in while this one will have a total of 32. Im going Geforce just because my chipset is nvidia and I hear that its good to keep it common.

If you guys could take one more look over and let me know what you think that would be great. I would like to place this build on order tommorow. Thanks for sticking with me through the updates guys.

P.S. - I don't want intel so stop begging me to the dark side!!!!!! :p


LIAN LI PC-7B plus II Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811112099
$89.99

ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce SPP 100 ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813131568
$169.99

XFX PV-T71G-UCF7 Geforce 7900GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card -
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814150150
$270.99

Antec NeoHE 500 ATX12V 500W Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817103940
$99.99

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ Toledo 2.4GHz Socket 939 Dual Core Processor Model ADA4800CDBOX - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819103544
$291.00

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model F1-3200PHU2-2GBNS - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820231047
$209.99

Subtotal: $1,131.95
 
Nixxon said:
If you guys could take one more look over and let me know what you think that would be great.
Click to expand...

Looks like a good system to me. You're getting the 4800+ for less than what I paid for my 3800+ at the start of the year... :mad:

Someone correct me on this but is 500W going to be cutting it close for a system that might see SLI with a couple 7900GT cards or better?
 
Unless you'll be gaming at the highest settings @ 1600x1200 or higher, you won't need SLI. If you game at high settings on a 19" lcd @ 1280x1024, then you'll be good with a single card solution. Sticking with the same brand for vidcard is good, but not required. SLi is not worth it, imho. However, if you do need a dual card setup for that huge monitor, then SLI is definately better than CF. I may have mentioned this already, but DX10 is just around the corner. So if you're planning to play any of those games, you may want to keep the vidcard cheap until then (76GT).

If you want upgradeability, AM2 would be better. If the RAM issues bug you, just stick to what is known to work: corsair, lol. This way, when amd comes out with their conroe killer (or similar performance-wise), you can upgrade to it.
 
enginurd said:
Unless you'll be gaming at the highest settings @ 1600x1200 or higher, you won't need SLI. If you game at high settings on a 19" lcd @ 1280x1024, then you'll be good with a single card solution. Sticking with the same brand for vidcard is good, but not required. SLi is not worth it, imho. However, if you do need a dual card setup for that huge monitor, then SLI is definately better than CF. I may have mentioned this already, but DX10 is just around the corner. So if you're planning to play any of those games, you may want to keep the vidcard cheap until then (76GT).

If you want upgradeability, AM2 would be better. If the RAM issues bug you, just stick to what is known to work: corsair, lol. This way, when amd comes out with their conroe killer (or similar performance-wise), you can upgrade to it.
Click to expand...

Your'e right about the DX10 and I only have a 19" moniter right now so really SLI isn't somthing I'm going to be going for right now but I would like to have the option down the road.

Im torn between upgradability (AM2) and the 939 build to be honest. I don't like the AM2 build because of the motherboard options, I can't find a motherboard that is 32x but I do like the fact that it uses faster ram. I really don't have any issues with the 939 build except that I'm worried I'll buy now only to blow loads of cash to upgrade later, I guess thats just the game we play :/
 
you'll only need the 32x pci-e lanes if you'll be goin with a quad sli setup (7950GX2 dual GPU card, x2). otherwise, the 16x is perfectly fine for a dual sli setup (7900GT(X), x2). so don't worry about "only having 16x pci-e lanes." 939 is out the door, and ddr1 prices have gone through the roof lately. you're better off with am2.
 
enginurd said:
you'll only need the 32x pci-e lanes if you'll be goin with a quad sli setup (7950GX2 dual GPU card, x2). otherwise, the 16x is perfectly fine for a dual sli setup (7900GT(X), x2). so don't worry about "only having 16x pci-e lanes." 939 is out the door, and ddr1 prices have gone through the roof lately. you're better off with am2.
Click to expand...

Im confused, don't I need 32x pci-e lanes if I want to go with a proper SLI setup?
If I have 2 cards with 16x PCI-E lanes in each slot dosn't that make a total of 32 pci-e lanes? As opposed to haveing 2 cards with 16x capabilities and having them both runinng at 8x pci-e lanes each to make 16 total???
 
Nixxon said:
P.S. - I don't want intel so stop begging me to the dark side!!!!!! :p
Click to expand...
This is what I don't really understand about people. Why pay more for less performance? I don't really see the point in company loyalty. Just buy whatever is faster and offers more for your money. You would be spending less money for a Core 2 Duo system, and getting better performance. Also, 939 is not a smart choice, since it is being phased out in favor of AM2 on the AMD side. I am going to be completely honest and say that you are making an illogical and just plain bad decision on your new purchase. If you are going to spend this much money on a completely new system, you might as well buy the parts with the best performance. Especially when they are priced better.
 
-Rc- said:
This is what I don't really understand about people. Why pay more for less performance? I don't really see the point in company loyalty. Just buy whatever is faster and offers more for your money. You would be spending less money for a Core 2 Duo system, and getting better performance. Also, 939 is not a smart choice, since it is being phased out in favor of AM2 on the AMD side. I am going to be completely honest and say that you are making an illogical and just plain bad decision on your new purchase. If you are going to spend this much money on a completely new system, you might as well buy the parts with the best performance. Especially when they are priced better.
Click to expand...


Perhaps he's always had Intel and wishes to try AMD. Nothing wrong with trying something different :p
 
Parker said:
Perhaps he's always had Intel and wishes to try AMD. Nothing wrong with trying something different :p
Click to expand...

I've used intel exlusivley for the past 5 years. I want to just try an AMD. Plus for the price the intel isn't THAT much better from what I read anyways.
 
No :( I can't decide if I want to do 939 or AM2....

Having such a difficult time. Plus I wanna figure out what enginurd was talking about when he said

"you'll only need the 32x pci-e lanes if you'll be goin with a quad sli setup (7950GX2 dual GPU card, x2). otherwise, the 16x is perfectly fine for a dual sli setup (7900GT(X), x2)"
 
AM2 over 939.. if you want "true" sli, look at the 590 boards. The Asus M2N32-SLI has been great to me.. It supports the full 16x/16x (or 32x so you call it) for whatever sli setup you want to put in.. it has linkboost and all the extras you will need. I don't have SLI yet, but I'm going with it when DX10 is here. Right now I just have a single 7900gt. It does the job quite well.
 
Nixxon said:
Im confused, don't I need 32x pci-e lanes if I want to go with a proper SLI setup?
If I have 2 cards with 16x PCI-E lanes in each slot dosn't that make a total of 32 pci-e lanes? As opposed to haveing 2 cards with 16x capabilities and having them both runinng at 8x pci-e lanes each to make 16 total???
Click to expand...
Dual x8 is a proper setup. Dual 16x is an extreme setup, that doesn't show much, if any, benefit. Though you do get more bandwidth capacity with more pci-e lanes for SLI, the current cards don't need it. They run fine in dual x8 mode. Besides, with a 19" LCD, you won't need SLI at all. Read some reviews of 32x SLI boards... like this one:
http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2787&p=12
Yes, the Epox only supports single X16/dual X8, and the 590 boards support dual X16, but we have yet to measure any real performance difference in dual X8 versus dual X16 with current video cards.
Click to expand...
 
So I went ahead and took the plunge and bought the AM2 build with the following components, thanks for all who helped me out.


LIAN LI PC-7B plus II Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/produ...N82E16811112099
$89.99

ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/product/produ...N82E16813131013
$142.99

XFX PV-T71G-UDF7 Geforce 7900GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/produ...N82E16814150144
$262.99

Antec NeoHE 500 ATX12V 500W Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/produ...N82E16817103940
$99.99

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ Windsor 2.4GHz Socket AM2 Dual Core Processor Model
http://www.newegg.com/product/produ...N82E16819103751
$253.00

CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model TWIN2X2048-6400C4 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/produ...N82E16820145034
$309.00

Western Digital Caviar RE WD1600YD 160GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/product/produ...N82E16822136009
$64.99

Shipping and Handling Charge**: $35.50
Total: $1283.45
 
Looks like a very nice build! Trust me though, you'll be wanting some more Hdd space verry soon! Enjoy all that when it comes!!

oh, *Links are dead*
 
I have 200g IDE hard drive that I might use. So I might have my DVD-R using one and then the big HD using the other, but who knows maybe another sata might go in there :)
 
I know it's a bit late now but I feel that although you will have a rocking machine, it's too bad Allendale/Conroe wasn't an option for u. The lowest duo core cpu would have been faster than what u picked--Without overclocking which was why u said no to intel.

Still, ur computer will be nice and I suspect you will probably will OC that anyway :)
 
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