Rate my new rig please.

S

Sage Osaka

Limp Gawd
Joined
Mar 28, 2006
Messages
422
Ok, after returning my Ibuypower computer (defective) im going to just build it myself... it shouldnt be too hard.

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AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego 2000MHz HT Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3700BNBOX - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819103539

CORSAIR ValueSelect 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered System Memory Model VS2GBKIT400C3 - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820145579

LINKSKEY LKA-CR15B 19-in-1 USB 2.0 Black Card Reader/Writer - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820300901

Logitech G5 Laser 931376-0403 2-Tone 6 Buttons 1x Wheel USB Laser Mouse - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16826104191

Logitech G15 2-Tone USB Wired Standard Keyboard - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16823126179

Logitech X-530 70 Watts 5.1 Speaker - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16836121118

Antec TruePower 2.0 TP2-550 EPS12V ATX12V 550W Power Supply - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817103932

Creative Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS SB0350 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card - OEM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16829102178

XFX PV-T71G-UCE7 Geforce 7900GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814150149

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

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822144701

RAIDMAX Sagitta ATX-921WBP Black/Silver SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 450watt PRESCOTT/ SATA Ready Power Supply - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16811156180

ASUS 16X DVD±R DVD Burner With 2X DVD-RAM Read Black IDE Model DRW-1608P2 BK - OEM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16827135046

PLEXTOR 16X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE Model PX-740A-BP-BL - OEM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16827131354

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Ok, im thinking about just saying f*&% it and jumping to 4000+... so i havent decided 100% on that one yet.

Can someone tell me how that power supply would hold up with the system? Also could someone link me to a good temperature reader thermostat thing... i cant really decide which one is quality and usefull.

one last thing, could someone take a quick look over all the parts and tell me if everything would fit right and nothing would not be compatible with something else?


Thanks a lot in advance to anyone who is willing to help, i appreciate it.
 
I would get the X-Fi XM, Newegg has a $15 "instant savings" so it's only $30 more than the Audigy 2.

Out of curiosity, why not dual-core?
 
Why spend an extra $100 on your mobo when the SLI Premium is pretty much just as good. Use the extra 100 and go dual core or get a gtx
 
GO DUALCORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

apart from that maybe get the x-fi and a better set of speakers or get headphones
 
If he ever wants to run two of those graphic cards, the slipremium is not as good.

I love the slipremium, great set, great performance.

If you don't mind the price difference, you could seriously consider grabbing yourself an X2 processor. The 3700 is definately one of the best CPU's for the money right now, but it's going to age a lot faster than an X2 would. X2 utilization in games is really starting to take off lately.

Also, the case you have listed....it already comes with a PSU. I am generally a fan of antec power supplies, so I'm not saying you shouldn't buy it, but what I am saying is consider a case that doesn't already include a PSU. You can likely get a better one for close to the same price. Most importantly, there are disadvantages with steel cases when it comes to noise, cooling, and the fact that they are freaking insanely heavy.

I don't know how you feel about cases with LED's, personally I can't stand them. My current case is an Antec P160 which I absolutely love. It does have an led on the front, but I just unplug it, problem solved. The temperature display on it still works, it's a seperate cord.

The case you have mentioned DOES have a front door, so I'm going to assume you want that in a case. I think you should look at the Antec P180 and Coolermaster Centurion. I think you'd have a much better time with building and any upgrades you do to your comp, and it would do a better job of keeping your components cool considering they are aluminum.

I've ran a 4000+ slightly overclocked with 3 hard disks, an overclocked 7800gt, an hdtv tuner card, an an audigy2zs in my P160 with the only case cooling being the 120mm intake fan, and the 120mm outtake fan very succesfully, with temps not even being a factor. For that reason I really think all these stupid side intake fans that I see on cases to be absolutely heinous. You don't need them at all, and considering that the side panel is removable, it will always cause it to vibrate, making it even louder than it would normally be.

Do be advised that with the P180, the build process will be a bit more involved, because of how different the case is than most. You might need cable extensions, especially since the PSU is on the bottom, and everything is compartmentalized much like an Apple G5 Tower. But once it's built, this is a very good thing.

I also don't see any need at all for 2 dvd burners. If you want two optical drives, grab yourself either a dvd-rom or a cdrw/dvdrom combo drive.

The other thing I would recommend would be some form of modular power supply. PLEASE DO NOT BUY A NEOPOWER HE if you're using the asus boards. There are huge amounts of threads explaining why, and I can personally attest to it being real, just two months ago I ran into it. It will really help cut out the fat with cables that you don't need to use.

I don't have any personal experience with it, but you might consider this for a DVD burner.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827131351

It is SATA, which I think would be very nice for managing your cables and such.

I noticed you mentioned one of your burners being able to read dvd-ram discs. Is there actually a need for this? DVD-Ram is normally only used in video recorders, and I think it might be silly to get a drive that can read them, and not record them. If you don't have one of those devices, I would really question using another optical drive just for that service. My drive can record to dvd-ram, but that's a fluke feature that I didn't buy the drive for. I've never used dvd-ram discs, and I doubt I ever will.

That would save you some money to get something that would be very nice, for example another hard drive. Two hard drives in a gaming computer is ideal, and I don't mean because of raid, I mean because of having another drive to backup to.
 
The reason im not going Dual core, is because of all these threads i hear about people having trouble with them in games. This computer is going to be 80%+ used for games, asisde from maybe browsing the internet. I've heard a lot of people say that if a computer is going to be used for mainly games, to stay Single core. About the X-Fi, is it a noticable upgrade? I'm not an audiophile, so i dont need the best of the best sound... but i want it to sound nice, which is why im getting a sound card in the first place and not using onboard sound. Could someone give me a slightly brief explanation on the differences and pluses and minuses of using a dual core for gaming? Also, is the jump from a 7900gt to a GTX a noticable upgrade, aside from the price?

thanks for all the feedback guys i appreciate it.

Edit: about the SLI premium, i was reading reviews on the deluxe, and people were saying that when u use 2 cards in SLI, it cuts it down from pcie x16 to x8 for each, and thats definetely something i dont want.
 
I just built my first system a few weeks ago and I went with the X2 3800+. I play BF2, HL2, WOW, UT2004, Fear, and have had only one minor problem with the dual core. I just applied the amd patch and everything has worked great. Check out http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=983781
it gives you the steps if you happen to have problems.
Like I said it was my first build so maybe I got lucky, but it seems like dual core runs just fine. I'm sure it'll run even better with the newer generation of games, and windows Vista. It seems like most of the new procs will be dual core in the near future, so you might as well be prepared since it's going that way anyway.

I have the G15 keyboard, and I think you'd be better off spending your money on another component. The keyboard is fine, but for the price, and the fact that barely any games use the LCD screen it makes it expensive for what you really get.
 
No offense, but it doesn't sound like you've done much research on dual-core gaming. 99% of problems can be fixed by setting affinity to one core. Any games I have that have problems on my X2 4400+ have been fixed by doing that, and the same deal on my sister's X2 3800+. Like Blue38 said, more and more programs and games will be multithreaded. It's the way of the future. Go read the AMD forum for more on dual-core.

The reason I'd go with the X-Fi XM instead of the Audigy 2, is that it's newer and not too much more expensive. (People say it has much better drivers too, but it's my first Creative card so I don't know. I haven't had any problems, at least.)

While what you say about the channels being cut in half in SLI mode is true, no graphics cards on the market saturates it. We are nowhere near having bandwidth problems with SLi-ed cards on X16 boards (the majority of SLi boards). Go A8N32-SLI Deluxe for other reasons, but by the time this becomes an issue, this board will be but a memory.
 
I'm using a dual core chip right now and there are no, I repeat no problems with games. Thats all in the past
 
discochan said:
I'm using a dual core chip right now and there are no, I repeat no problems with games. Thats all in the past
Click to expand...

QFT!!!!!!

ive got a dc and a single core and i have to tell you ive had the same amount of problems with both...and thats NO problems!
 
im not saying that dual core wouldnt be good or have problems with gaming, but i hear a lot more people say that for CURRENT gaming, it is better to stay single core. All the stuff i hear may be wrong, but in which case i would need further evidence of it being so. Does anyone know anything about that power supply? i Know that supposedly Antec psus are really good and reliable. other than my processor, does anyone have some more feedback? I am going to and will do some more homework on the processor before i make the purchase, so i guess some more feedback on that would be nice too.
 
The trouble with "people" is that they find a truth, and if that truth is valid for 1 month, they repeat it for 2 years.
 
Yea, I'm also going to agree that relying on the single core because of a few stability problems in the past is pretty unfounded. It's been said over and over, but it looks like it's becoming a valid point.

As far as your question on the power supply goes, I've never had a problem with anything antec puts out. I also recommend Enermax. What you want to look for on a powersupply is one that has stable voltage flow. Your system can actually crash from that shifting around more than it should.

Good luck
 
I would get a chienming, antec or lian-li case instead of the raidmax, also why do you need two burners? Other then that drop the Corsair and get some better gskill stuff http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231047 , also you could get the Biostar T-Force SLI and save 90$ (as good as the Asus one), also I would get a 3200+ venice instead of the 3700+ as you most likely will be able to hit 2.4Ghz or more on one and thats fast enough for any game out.
 
He is building a new system, with a pretty much type of the line GPU and for crying outloud, he's spending $75 on the KEYBOARD.

It would be rather silly for him given where hs is coming from, to use a completely outdated CPU.
 
well i might get the keyboard from zipzoomfly, because its like 7 dollars cheaper and free shipping also, so that would save a little money. um... idk, to upgrade to a decent x2 cpu is an extra little chunk of money... is it really worth it?
 
just buy a x2 3800 and oc it to 2.4ghz(more if you want) or if you want to spend a bit more get a opty 165/170
 
man you guys are succeeding in convincing me to get dual core... should i get the 4200? anyone know if its very good?
 
whats the deal with the opterons. are they like higher quality than the amd64's or are they newer or something? i havent heard a whole lot about optys so could someone fill me in? also, would i notice a big difference between the 4200 and the 4400?
 
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