critique my gaming rig

[jamestime88]

im buiding another computer so i can turn this one into a server. i dont want to spend alot of money, so im not going to buy PCI express and ddr2 and athlon 64s and all that stuff.

this is my list:
2500+ barton - $77(sould i get mobile for $25 more)
reuse my pc3200 kingston hyperX ram - free
antec truepower 430w - $66
powercolor 9800pro - $223
dfi infinity - $94
zalman 7000alcu - $36
vantec stealth 120mm fans x3 - $30
SATA 120gb hard drive (there are models from samsung maxtor western digital and seagate in the same price ringe) - $105-108
same optical drives - free
grand total = $631

what you think? will anything work better? it will probebly cost me like $50-100 less since i am waiting about 3 weeks to purchase.

im open to any suggestions. yes im overclocking...... but i dont want tons of noise or watercooling.

 

[Carnival Forces]

i think it'll kick ass.

 

[angrybusdriver]

Why not save $23 and get the better Sapphire 9800 Pro?

 

[jamestime88]

Originally posted by angrybusdriver
Why not save $23 and get the better Sapphire 9800 Pro?

i was told that the powercolor is a much better overclocker, and it was only $10 more than the sapphire.

is the sapphire really better?

keep your thoughts coming...

 

[retardedchicken]

personally i would put more trust into sapphire than powercolor but hell, if it overclocks better go for it!

looks like it willbe a nice rig

 

[CleanSlate]

I dont know how well the infiniti OC's but I hear the nvidia ultra 400 motherboards own.

~Adam

 

[ADINSX]

Another vote for the Saphire card over the powercolor, I've heard good things about Saphires and overclocking.

 

[BillLeeLee]

I really like the looks of that system, and I like the PSU (same as mine).

I'd have to agree to go with the Sapphire too, though. Powercolor's might be a better OCer, but everything overclocks different anyway. Sapphire's probably second only to ATi (or mayber third behind ATi and Asus) in making ATi vid cards.

 

[AR]

Originally posted by ADINSX
Another vote for the Saphire card over the powercolor, I've heard good things about Saphires and overclocking.

Actually, Newegg is selling the Powercolor 9800 SE's. . . using RivaTuner, you can unlock the pipes and make it a 9800 Pro card. . .

~$130 instead of $215. This is confirmed, L shaped memory and red PCB.

 

[angrybusdriver]

Originally posted by jamestime88
i was told that the powercolor is a much better overclocker, and it was only $10 more than the sapphire.

is the sapphire really better?

keep your thoughts coming...

I read the opposite. Some 9800 Pro shootout, they compared all of the brands. Powercolor came out better in a few tests, but it crapped on them with overclocking; only 20Mhz or something slow like that. The Sapphy OC'd well.

 

[jamestime88]

Originally posted by AR
Actually, Newegg is selling the Powercolor 9800 SE's. . . using RivaTuner, you can unlock the pipes and make it a 9800 Pro card. . .

~$130 instead of $215. This is confirmed, L shaped memory and red PCB.

please post some more info on this if anyone knows about it. how difficult is it to unlock the pipes?

and i would like more suggestions on components besides the video card.

 

[jamestime88]

in addition to any info on unlocking the pipes on the 9800SE, does anyone know the advantages over buying a mobile 2500+ over a normal one?
just keep in mind that i have pc3200 ram. it is a good quality ram so i can probebly overclock it a bit. does anyone know how much the hyperx will overclock?

thanks.

 

[Hades16x]

1 vote for the powercolor

i have 1 and i have 455/410 max clock

Stock

 

[angrybusdriver]

From the link you posted:

PowerColor: 400/760 @ 425/760

and

Pros:
+ Excellent performance
+ Great Image Quality
+ Nice bundle

Cons:
- Poor overclocking potential
- Expensive

Compared to the Sapphire, which is below:

Pros:
+ Nice bundle
+ Great Image Quality/Performance
+ Good overclocking potential

Cons:
- No differentiation in design

So, if you definitely want to overclock your card, why not spend $23 LESS and get MORE?

 

[CleanSlate]

Originally posted by jamestime88
in addition to any info on unlocking the pipes on the 9800SE, does anyone know the advantages over buying a mobile 2500+ over a normal one?
just keep in mind that i have pc3200 ram. it is a good quality ram so i can probebly overclock it a bit. does anyone know how much the hyperx will overclock?

thanks.

well it's unlocked, unlike the regular 2500+ that's why people buy them now.

~Adam

 

[ADINSX]

Originally posted by AR
Actually, Newegg is selling the Powercolor 9800 SE's. . . using RivaTuner, you can unlock the pipes and make it a 9800 Pro card. . .

~$130 instead of $215. This is confirmed, L shaped memory and red PCB.

This sounds good to, never heard about that. But the 9800pro's bios can be flashed so that it acts like a 9800xt (there was a guide on something awful, i can try to find it if anyone's intrested)

 

[Dark Assassin]

I'd also say to go for the Sapphire, despite disappointments in past and present video cards from both companies.

Honestly, I'm thinking stick to the source - ATI manufactured cards from now on. My Powercolor 9700 Pro overclocks easily using RivaTuner, but I get some major artifacts in 3dMark03 and my marks aren't good anyways.

Dark Assassin

 

[emorphien]

Originally posted by Dark Assassin
I'd also say to go for the Sapphire, despite disappointments in past and present video cards from both companies.

Honestly, I'm thinking stick to the source - ATI manufactured cards from now on. My Powercolor 9700 Pro overclocks easily using RivaTuner, but I get some major artifacts in 3dMark03 and my marks aren't good anyways.

Dark Assassin

Lots of ATI cards are built by sapphire.