Please help with some final details

S

SphincterBoy

Limp Gawd
Joined
Sep 24, 2005
Messages
128
After 5 long years with a Dell 4100 (PIII 800MHz) I am finally getting something new. But this time I’m going the build-it-myself route to get the best machine possible. Besides, I think it will be fun.

I intend on using it primarily for games (the usual FPS - BF2, HL2, UT2004, Q4) but also want to get to editing the hours of MiniDV footage I have of my kids. I doubt I will be doing any over-clocking, but you never know.

So far I have decided on the following components for my new rig:

ASUS A8N-SLI Premium
Zalman 7700Cu
2x1GB OCZ PC3200 Platinum 2-3-2-5
PCP&C Turbo Cool 510 Express/SLI
Antec P180
Sound Blaster 2 Audigy ZS Gamer LE


1. The biggest decision remaining obviously centers around the CPU and GPU. I was set on the Athlon 64 4000+ with it’s San Diego core and 1 MB of L2 cache, but now I’m wondering if I should shift some cash over to the video card OR consider going with a dual core Athlon X2 3800+ at roughly the same price.

As for the video card, I have read in many places that I would be better going with a single 6800GT rather than two 6600GTs in SLI – and maybe I could pick up another 6800GT down the road. Although the cards must be identical to be used in SLI (unless the rumors are true and Nvidia is coming out with a way around that) and finding a match later may be a pain in the ass. To complicate it further I’ve begun to think about a 7800GT…

So, what is the sweet spot for balancing CPU and GPU power? (And don’t tell me X2 4800+ and 2x7800GTXs)


2. What sort of HDD setup would you recommend? I don’t want to splurge for Raptors, but I do want good performance and lots of capacity. Should 16MB cache be a priority? Should I go with RAID 0?


3. If I purchase Windows XP Pro OEM am I allowed to install it on a second computer? The Dell is still on WinME and I’d like to upgrade and network them. If I purchase a non-OEM am I allowed more than one install?


4. Do you recommend purchasing locally or over the Internet? I’ve used Newegg many times, but I wonder if I should go local in case there are problems and exchanges are necessary.


Thanks in advance your feedback, guys. I’ve learned a ton from these forums already.
 
Well if you going video editing and playing BF2 on that rig, go 2 gig of memory.Try to get to at least 7800GT level on the GPU , the 6800 seriees is getting long in the tooth and the 7800 series is very affordable these days.

Go X2 , you wont regret it.

Hardrives , well the latest ones with 16 meg caches are getting good reviews and driving the price of 8 meg units down. You can ger a coule of 250 gig drive pretty cheap these days
 
sc00ter said:
I'd definitely spring on the X2 3800+, it'll help a lot if you plan on doing video editing.

X2 3800+ - $353
eVGA 7800GT - $350 after MIR

It's amazing the prices on these things. The X2 has dropped $20 since it's initial release and the 7800GT is only ~$60 more than the 6800GT. :eek:
Click to expand...

I would never rely on mail-in rebates. They can take up to 6 months or maybe longer just to recieve the money. By then... that 50 bucks is kind of pointless. Its all about the initial big sum cost that has to be paid all at once that will hurt the wallet, not -50 bucks 6 months down the road.
 
Thanks for the input. I'm definitely going for the 7800GT, but I question whether the 3800 X2 is the way to go instead of the 4000+ with it's faster clock and 1MB L2 cache. My primary focus is games and everything else is a distant second.

Also, does anyone have any comments for the other three questions I posed? I'd love to hear what you all think.
 
SphincterBoy said:
After 5 long years with a Dell 4100 (PIII 800MHz) I am finally getting something new. But this time I’m going the build-it-myself route to get the best machine possible. Besides, I think it will be fun.

I intend on using it primarily for games (the usual FPS - BF2, HL2, UT2004, Q4) but also want to get to editing the hours of MiniDV footage I have of my kids. I doubt I will be doing any over-clocking, but you never know.

So far I have decided on the following components for my new rig:

ASUS A8N-SLI Premium
Zalman 7700Cu
2x1GB OCZ PC3200 Platinum 2-3-2-5
PCP&C Turbo Cool 510 Express/SLI
Antec P180
Sound Blaster 2 Audigy ZS Gamer LE


1. The biggest decision remaining obviously centers around the CPU and GPU. I was set on the Athlon 64 4000+ with it’s San Diego core and 1 MB of L2 cache, but now I’m wondering if I should shift some cash over to the video card OR consider going with a dual core Athlon X2 3800+ at roughly the same price.

As for the video card, I have read in many places that I would be better going with a single 6800GT rather than two 6600GTs in SLI – and maybe I could pick up another 6800GT down the road. Although the cards must be identical to be used in SLI (unless the rumors are true and Nvidia is coming out with a way around that) and finding a match later may be a pain in the ass. To complicate it further I’ve begun to think about a 7800GT…

So, what is the sweet spot for balancing CPU and GPU power? (And don’t tell me X2 4800+ and 2x7800GTXs)


2. What sort of HDD setup would you recommend? I don’t want to splurge for Raptors, but I do want good performance and lots of capacity. Should 16MB cache be a priority? Should I go with RAID 0?


3. If I purchase Windows XP Pro OEM am I allowed to install it on a second computer? The Dell is still on WinME and I’d like to upgrade and network them. If I purchase a non-OEM am I allowed more than one install?


4. Do you recommend purchasing locally or over the Internet? I’ve used Newegg many times, but I wonder if I should go local in case there are problems and exchanges are necessary.


Thanks in advance your feedback, guys. I’ve learned a ton from these forums already.
Click to expand...


To start i would get as much of the hardware from either newegg or zipzoomfly. They are the best online sites, and they are real good about RMA's and returns.

Processor: the X2 3800+ is without a doubt your best option.
Graphics : i'd say Nvidia 7 series, 7800GT is a very good card, and you can buy another later to go for SLI
Hard drives: anything with 16mb cache. WD or Maxtor makes some real nice drives. maybe 2x 250GB in RAID 0

I have a hacked copy of XP so i dunno what the OEM copies allow.
 
I'm in California so both Newegg and Zipzoomfly hit me with sales tax, which really adds up considering how much I am purshasing. How about Monarch Computers? They appear to be well rated on Resellerratings.com.
 
SphincterBoy said:
I'm in California so both Newegg and Zipzoomfly hit me with sales tax, which really adds up considering how much I am purshasing. How about Monarch Computers? They appear to be well rated on Resellerratings.com.
Click to expand...
I have no experience with monarch, but i did check their prices and they are pretty good.
 
As far as I know, Monarch is supposed to be a reliable company. You should be pretty safe with them.
 
Well reseller ratings doesn't seem to have a problem with them. They get a good rating.
I would be comfortable buying from them.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top