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Critique before I buy this...

O

obsidian_mh

Limp Gawd
Joined
May 26, 2005
Messages
464
As soon as Christmas passes, I'll be starting work on my dual-core SFF. Thought I'd post what I'm looking at so far and get some opinions on it. Thanks!

Case: Q-Pack
Motherboard: MSI 6150
CPU: X2 3800 through X2 4400 - Depends on money constraints. Not sure how much I will have
RAM: 2GB OCZ DDR400 (BF2 and VMWare) - Not worried about overclocking
Harddrives: Maxtor 250GB SATAII
Optical: Lite-On DVD+/-RW - Will a BenQ or LG fit? Haven't had one of them for some time.
Sound: Soundblaster X-Fi Platinum
Videocard: BFG GeForce 7800GTX 512MB - Definitely what I'm buying, no matter what.
Powersupply: Enermax Liberty 500W

Let me know what you think!
 
Asus Tforce? Tforce is Biostar's brand. Do you mean the Asus A8N-VM -C something?
 
go for the MSI geforce 6150 that was just released, it is probably the most complete package in a mATX motherboard.
 
obsidian_mh said:
Case: Silverstone SG01 - More room than the Qpack, right?
The SG01 is longer but not as tall or wide.

Motherboard: Asus TForce 6150
Look into the new MSI 6150 board.

CPU: X2 3800 through X2 4400 - Depends on money constraints. Not sure how much I will have
For the price the X2 3800+ can not be beat. If you want more power, however, you may want to consider the Opteron 170(2.0)/175(2.2) Denmarks as they have 2x1MB L2 Cache like the Toledo (X2 4400+), but they are cheaper.

RAM: 2GB Corsair XMS DDR400
Do you plan to over-clock? If so, be more specific. (Timings etc...)

Harddrives: Maxtor 250GB SATAII - Is two drives realistic in this case with heat considered? Should I get maybe a 160GB SATAII, and a Raptor?
The SG01 does very well with keeping HDDs cool. With current HDD prices, there is no reason to get a drive smaller than 250GB in my opinion.

Optical: Lite-On DVD+/-RW
Fine.

Sound: Soundblaster X-Fi Platinum
I would get the XtremeMusic version. The Platinum's drive-bay provides nice ports, headphones included, but the cord connecting the card and the bay will restrict airflow.

Videocard: BFG GeForce 7800GTX 512MB - Definitely what I'm buying, no matter what.
Fair enough.

Powersupply: Antec Truepower 550W - Again, is this acceptable when heat is taken into account, or is there a better choice?
The Antec NeoHE series has a single 80mm fan directed out the back of the PSU with no bottom ventilation. This could be seen as important as one complaint of the SG01 is that the PSU fan will struggle with the CPU fan if the PSU has a bottom 120mm fan. That said, some people trust the Enermax Liberty series more. The Seasonic S12 series is excellent, but you will have to spend more time managing cables. I would not get the Truepower series.
Click to expand...

I hope this helps you.
 
I've heard the Biostar TForce boards are better than the Asus ones (...I know...biostar?!?), but that's more from the OCing perspective.
 
TESLA said:
Case: Silverstone SG01 - More room than the Qpack, right?
The SG01 is longer but not as tall or wide.
Click to expand...

Should I look at the Qpack instead? Which has better airflow/cooling?


TESLA said:
Powersupply: Antec Truepower 550W - Again, is this acceptable when heat is taken into account, or is there a better choice?
The Antec NeoHE series has a single 80mm fan directed out the back of the PSU with no bottom ventilation. This could be seen as important as one complaint of the SG01 is that the PSU fan will struggle with the CPU fan if the PSU has a bottom 120mm fan. That said, some people trust the Enermax Liberty series more. The Seasonic S12 series is excellent, but you will have to spend more time managing cables. I would not get the Truepower series.
Click to expand...

The Libery has a 120mm at the bottom, doesn't it? Should I look at the Liberty or NeoHE?
 
TESLA said:
Originally Posted by obsidian_mh
Case: Silverstone SG01 - More room than the Qpack, right?
The SG01 is longer but not as tall or wide.

Motherboard: Asus TForce 6150
Look into the new MSI 6150 board.

CPU: X2 3800 through X2 4400 - Depends on money constraints. Not sure how much I will have
For the price the X2 3800+ can not be beat. If you want more power, however, you may want to consider the Opteron 170(2.0)/175(2.2) Denmarks as they have 2x1MB L2 Cache like the Toledo (X2 4400+), but they are cheaper.

RAM: 2GB Corsair XMS DDR400
Do you plan to over-clock? If so, be more specific. (Timings etc...)

Harddrives: Maxtor 250GB SATAII - Is two drives realistic in this case with heat considered? Should I get maybe a 160GB SATAII, and a Raptor?
The SG01 does very well with keeping HDDs cool. With current HDD prices, there is no reason to get a drive smaller than 250GB in my opinion.

Optical: Lite-On DVD+/-RW
Fine.

Sound: Soundblaster X-Fi Platinum
I would get the XtremeMusic version. The Platinum's drive-bay provides nice ports, headphones included, but the cord connecting the card and the bay will restrict airflow.

Videocard: BFG GeForce 7800GTX 512MB - Definitely what I'm buying, no matter what.
Fair enough.

Powersupply: Antec Truepower 550W - Again, is this acceptable when heat is taken into account, or is there a better choice?
The Antec NeoHE series has a single 80mm fan directed out the back of the PSU with no bottom ventilation. This could be seen as important as one complaint of the SG01 is that the PSU fan will struggle with the CPU fan if the PSU has a bottom 120mm fan. That said, some people trust the Enermax Liberty series more. The Seasonic S12 series is excellent, but you will have to spend more time managing cables. I would not get the Truepower series.

I hope this helps you.
Click to expand...

All great suggestions
I suggest OCZ or Crucial for ram :D
 
kirbyrj said:
I've heard the Biostar TForce boards are better than the Asus ones (...I know...biostar?!?), but that's more from the OCing perspective.
Click to expand...
ASUS you are looking at 230fsb. After giving up on the bios overclocking, I am doing 315fsb Prime stable! Others have done even higher. Built in memtest utility, 3.3v jumper, onboard reset switch, smart fan control and onboard power/reset switches... really impressive.

X-Fi is an A2 with new marchitecture. Waste.

Lite-Ons are noisy. Go with a BenQ or LG if it fits.

RAID two Raptors, better idea.

2GB is probably useless, but you know what games you play.

Crazymofo has the right idea about getting a PSU with an 80mm fan if you play to use that case. NeoHe seem to have alot of issues, though.
 
Get the SG01 if you can not stand plastic.
The SG01 is a great case, but it is not good at cooling with the stock fans.
You would need to tinker with the fans and voltages a bit to get good results.

The Q-Pack is much better for no-hassle cooling.

I do not know how long you want to wait, but a new SG01 build is coming sometime soon, or so we are told.

As for the PSU, the NeoHE series has been getting mixed thoughts. I believe it to be a fine product, but some people trust the others I have listed more; even though the ones I have listed are not as good for cooling within the SG01.
 
If anything is a waste of money on a budgeted system, it would be two raptors in my opinion.

They run hotter, have far less storage, and are more expensive.

Plus, the benefits of such drives are rarely seen to all but the most nitpicky of people.

I would agree about the X-Fi; although, the price difference is not really too large.

As for the Lite-On drives, they have been quiet when I used them in the past; I guess that changed. Oh well, go with LG and BenQ like the others have said.
 
TESLA said:
If anything is a waste of money on a budgeted system, it would be two raptors in my opinion.
Click to expand...
Faster... ;)

Eh, that's what the naysayers with no experience want you to believe. The difference between my Seagate and past 7.2k drive is huge! RAID is questionable, but aside from halved load times, it would also help maintain their maximum potential.
 
i'd suggest a different sound card, or none at all. the msi has the 430 southbridge, right? so it should have the azalia audio? unless you're an audiophile and you have extremely high-end speakers and/or headphones, the onboard sound will be more than enough, and you're getting dual-core so you wont take any performance hit at all in games. or just get like an audigy2 zs or something like that; thats way more than enough. and if you're patient you can find it on sale for like $40 or less.
 
Soymilk said:
i'd suggest a different sound card, or none at all. the msi has the 430 southbridge, right? so it should have the azalia audio? unless you're an audiophile and you have extremely high-end speakers and/or headphones, the onboard sound will be more than enough, and you're getting dual-core so you wont take any performance hit at all in games. or just get like an audigy2 zs or something like that; thats way more than enough. and if you're patient you can find it on sale for like $40 or less.
Click to expand...

I have a set of Logitech Z-5300s which I may replace after this machine is built. I do a little bit of DJing, mixing, and recording, so I'm looking for the high-end card with expansion.
 
freddy418 said:
go for the MSI geforce 6150 that was just released, it is probably the most complete package in a mATX motherboard.
Click to expand...

Is the MSI really that much better than the Tforce? I haven't seen any reviews on it. I'd hate for it to be another Asus A8N-VM CSM that doesn't OC as well as the Biostar but has a bigger name on it ;).
 
I have yet to see confirmation that the MSI board has azalia audio.

Z-5300s will yield a small increase in clarity if you choose to use an add-in soundcard; providing that your chosen soundcard has a better codec that is handled by hardware.

Even so, the difference in quality may not be worth the extra investment if you are on a budget.

If you plan to upgrade to HiFi speakers or monitors, however, you certainly will see a great difference between on-board and add-in audio.

If you are buying a soundcard to help with recording clarity, then you do not need an X-Fi card. In fact, I tend to stay away from Creative entirely when it comes to recording as there are cheaper solutions available. Many of such solutions provide equal or better clarity.

I would agree that given today’s games, a dual core computer will not benefit greatly, if at all, during gaming should it have an add-in solution with a processing capability built in.

If the new X-Fi fits your budget, go for it. Otherwise, do not sweat it if you have other wants for the system.
 
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