Please critique this setup...an Intel guy going AMD...

R

rayman2k2

Supreme [H]ardness
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Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 SATA NCQ ST3120827AS 120GB Serial ATA150 Hard Drive $83.00

Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 ST3200826AS 200GB Serial ATA150 Hard Drive $111.00

DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 Ultra-D Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD $135.00

ATI Radeon X800XL 256MB PCI Express x16 Video Card Model #: 100-435500 $295.00

G.SKILL 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 550 (PC 4400) Model #: F1-3200DSU2-1GBLD $232.01

AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice 1GHz FSB $146.00

Subtotal: $1,002.01



There we go. My main goal is decent framerates in games, as well as low load times. The 120GB HDD is for Program/Windows, and the 200GB is for Data/Files/Storage

My main concern is this: I play Star Wars Galaxies, and have two instances of the game running at once, will I experience lag with this setup if I had two running?
 
if you have aim im me tsutrack09, ill help you pick out some good parts for 2 games at once, or whats ur max amount of money your wanting to spend and ill post a newegg wishlist for you.
 
wow! This setup can lose a LOT of it's price. Let's get started...

Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 - bad, will be slow. You want to use this for your active files?? Less cache means slower!!

Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 - again, overpriced.

HDD: Let's go with a Maxtor 7200.16. You'll get a faster HDD for less. And order from ZipZoomFly.com, they have free shipping and a good, safe packaging method (better than newegg). How much do you REALLY need for storage? Take your pick from 200, 250, or 300:
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=100719-4 $158
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=100718-3 $123
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=100713-3 $97.50

DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 Ultra-D Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD $135.00
good.

ATI Radeon X800XL 256MB PCI Express x16 Video Card Model #: 100-435500 $295.00
Get one at monarchcomputer.com for $250.

G.SKILL 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 550 (PC 4400) Model #: F1-3200DSU2-1GBLD $232.01
BAD! If you want 1GB, spend $90 on two of these:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820146532
or $212 on 2 of these (2GB total):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820146545
Crucial Value is very good ram for your money. Just because it's rated DDR400 doesn't mean it won't go a lot higher. Not that you need ram that can go fast, that's what memory dividers are for. (Read (cf)eclipse 's "the truth about A64s and memory" FAQ, I'll find a link to it soon.)

AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice 1GHz FSB $146.00
Look in the [H]otdeals section for a 3200+ Venice for $144 or a 3000+ venice for $119 (both shipped prices).

Subtotal: much more for less.


----

edit: Ok, now that you can see the above, I'm gonna add some stuff. I would get 2GB of RAM and the 3200+ for your situation. Seems like you are gonna need a lot of ram and probably won't be OCing that much, that's why I say that. Let's look at your total (minus HDD).

$144 3200+
$212 2 x 1GB Crucial Value
$250 X800XL
$135 DFI LP Ultra-D
--------
$741
now, hard drive. Let's say you want the 300gb (I would only get one, RAID is a lot of hassle for nothing):
$158, $123, or $97.50
--------
$899.

There ya go, over $100 less and you get an extra GB of RAM, a better proccesor, and only 20gb less of FASTER hard drive space.



edit:
Here's the memory guide: http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=917047
and the Venice deals:
$144 3200+ http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=928248
$119 3000+ http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=921999
 
I can't see that wishlist....

IMHO if you are on a budget right now an X2 just isn't worth it. Maybe when the $345 one comes out, but right now a >$400 minimum proc won't help you too much. 2GB of ram WILL though. I would rather get 2GB than a better proc.
 
Russ said:
wow! This setup can lose a LOT of it's price. Let's get started...

Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 - bad, will be slow. You want to use this for your active files?? Less cache means slower!!

Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 - again, overpriced.

HDD: Let's go with a Maxtor 7200.16. You'll get a faster HDD for less. And order from ZipZoomFly.com, they have free shipping and a good, safe packaging method (better than newegg). How much do you REALLY need for storage? Take your pick from 200, 250, or 300:
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=100719-4 $158
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=100718-3 $123
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=100713-3 $97.50

DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 Ultra-D Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD $135.00
good.

ATI Radeon X800XL 256MB PCI Express x16 Video Card Model #: 100-435500 $295.00
Get one at monarchcomputer.com for $250.

G.SKILL 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 550 (PC 4400) Model #: F1-3200DSU2-1GBLD $232.01
BAD! If you want 1GB, spend $90 on two of these:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820146532
or $212 on 2 of these (2GB total):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820146545
Crucial Value is very good ram for your money. Just because it's rated DDR400 doesn't mean it won't go a lot higher. Not that you need ram that can go fast, that's what memory dividers are for. (Read (cf)eclipse 's "the truth about A64s and memory" FAQ, I'll find a link to it soon.)

AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice 1GHz FSB $146.00
Look in the [H]otdeals section for a 3200+ Venice for $144 or a 3000+ venice for $119 (both shipped prices).

Subtotal: much more for less.


----

edit: Ok, now that you can see the above, I'm gonna add some stuff. I would get 2GB of RAM and the 3200+ for your situation. Seems like you are gonna need a lot of ram and probably won't be OCing that much, that's why I say that. Let's look at your total (minus HDD).

$144 3200+
$212 2 x 1GB Crucial Value
$250 X800XL
$135 DFI LP Ultra-D
--------
$741
now, hard drive. Let's say you want the 300gb (I would only get one, RAID is a lot of hassle for nothing):
$158, $123, or $97.50
--------
$899.

There ya go, over $100 less and you get an extra GB of RAM, a better proccesor, and only 20gb less of FASTER hard drive space.



edit:
Here's the memory guide: http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=917047
and the Venice deals:
$144 3200+ http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=928248
$119 3000+ http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=921999
Click to expand...


sweet, thanks. I will o/c as much as i can, but i wont obviously push it too far as it is my first build.

that setup looks great! I am also interested in what bostesseger69 had in that wishlist but it keeps coming up empty :confused:

budget wise, there is no hard limit, but a soft limit of 1200-1300 including case and power supply. for case, i really wanted to go with the Lian Li V1000B, power supply i didnt know what to get. I also will be keeping my current monitor.
 
DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 Ultra-D Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Model #: LANPARTY UT nF4 Ultr
In Stock
Remove Add item to Cart $135.00 $135.00

ASUS EAX800XL/2DTV/256 Radeon X800XL 256MB DDR PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
Model #: EAX800XL/2DTV/256
In Stock
Remove Add item to Cart $286.00 $286.00

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Manchester 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Dual Core Processor Model ADA4200BVBOX - Retail
Model #: ADA4200BVBOX
In Stock
Remove Add item to Cart $527.00 $527.00

CORSAIR ValueSelect 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered System Memory Model VS2GBKIT400C3 - Retail
Model #: VS2GBKIT400C3
In Stock
Remove Add item to Cart $188.00 $188.00

Western Digital Caviar SE WD2500JD 250GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM
Model #: WD2500JD
In Stock
Remove Add item to Cart $116.00 $116.00

Subtotal: $1,252.00

yea, just get a 3000+ venice core if you dont want x2 processor, save you about $400 right there and then you can buy lian-li, good powersupply, and watercooling setup.
 
ah, 1200-1300. Well, let's look at some better stuff.

Starting with $899.
-$250 for X800XL (we'll be upgrading that puppy)
------
$649

for a PSU might I recommend the Seasonic S12-500. It is very quiet and efficient (>80% sometimes) and has nice large 12v rails.
You can find it for $105 here:
http://www.case-mod.com/store/seasonic-s12500-s12-series-500w-500-watt-atx-power-supply-p-1579.html
-----
$754

Video card! 7800GTX here we come...
MSI 7800GTX $549: http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=321952
-----
$1303

You need a case too, but have no fear!
-$135 DFI LP Ultra-D (not needed if not going SLI - and you probably don't want to anyway)
+$92 DFI nf4-DAGF http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813136160
-----
$1260

O, and unfortunately I think the deal on the 3200+ has expired. They are about $25 more now, so...
-$144 Venice 3200+
+$119 Venice 3000+
------
$1235

Now you have $65 or so for a case. Take your pick, just make sure it has a 120mm in the front and back (that's what I usually use as a base).



------


edit: If you stick with the X800XL, remember to get it here:
http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merc...e=M&Product_Code=190527&Category_Code=VC-ALL2
$249 shipped

Also, don't get a hard drive from newegg. They pack their drives in bubblewrap, which every major HDD company rejects if you send a RMA to them in it. So go figure. ZZF has a very good HDD packaging process. And cheaper. You want low load times. The Maxtor 16mb cache will lower your load times. So pick one. :)

And I would DEFINITELY, no question, pay the slight premium to get 2GB of Crucial Value rather than Corsair. I don't like Corsair, it's crap at OCing.

The Venice I linked to is OEM, so get a HSF from some website. Then you can watercool later. Get the feel for OCing first and all.
 
hm...interesting ideas, im interested in the 3000+ and o/c'ing that puppy...isnt there a cheaper x2? how do those fair?
 
looks good to me, but if i were you i would go corsair value ram about $50 cheaper, and just use a divider, amd chips are a lot different, you dont use ram speed in overclocking as much you just put up a ram divider and go at it, try to get the divider as close to 400mhz as possible, maybe a little more, just my experience, plus u save some mula.
 
I own the seagate 7200.7 160GB w/ NCQ and i must say that it performs extremely well.
 
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