Take a look at this setup.

[avaxxo]

So, I'm building a computer and as of right now, I've never done anything quite so extensive. But I've got friends that have so the actual putting together part is fine, I'm just not sure what to get.

I took a look at the [H] article pitting the 3400+ against the other 'main' competitiors and I really liked what I saw. Take a look at what I've decided on and give me your thoughts. Keep in mind though that I have never overclocked and also have no idea how to... but I wouldn't mind doing some if it would help hugely.

So:

AMD Athlon 64 3400+ Socket 754 Processor
MSI K8T NEO-FSR (MS6702-020)
RADEON 9800 Pro 256MB
Mid Tower ATX silver plated Case w 550W
Kingston Technology (System Memory) - PC3500 DDR 512MB 433MHz HyperX Memory w/Heat Spreader

For cooling I was thinking about liquid, as I'd probably need it if I overclocked the video card, right?

Like I said, I don't really know that much. I just want something that's an amazing gaming machine (and will be for at least another 2 years) but that won't cost me 3 grand. I'm looking to spend around 1,500 to 2 grand on a rig and perhaps another 500$ on a monitor, but that can come later.

Thoughts?

 

[MTB2Live Live4Comps]

what's the brand on that case/power supply? the power supply mainly. i ask simply because going generic on the powersupply can be a big mistake in the long run of your system's health. and case, just because that's what you look at all the time - and what houses all your goodness.

otherwise, it looks nice. you might consider the Asus K8V Delux mainly because i've seen better overclocks and it supports coolnquiet, but that's your feature choice. both are respectable boards.

the video card will overclock just fine with it's default cooler, but will go a good deal higher if you water cool it and put some heatsinks on the memory. if you go liquid - remember to test your system for 24 hours out of the case and away from electronics to make sure it doesn't leak at all (put it over some papertowels or something - dyed water helps a lot.

 

[avaxxo]

The case is a House Brand (part #CSPW196) on Pricewatch.

I wasn't sure about whether or not it would be worth it to pick up a case that cost three times what that one did. I originally thought about a case on thinkgeek that was about 150$ for what appeared to be the same thing, but if power supplies do matter more than I thought I'll look into those more carefully.

 

[MTB2Live Live4Comps]

what you might consider doing is getting the case and powersupply seperately - that way you can pick the best of both.

 

[avaxxo]

In that case, what would you suggest for a power supply (in terms of raw power actually needed)?

 

[Dark Assassin]

While I think the new 64 bit processors are great, they are still very much in the infant stages. And to boot, nothing utilizes a 64 bit architecture yet.

If I was going to pick out a computer at this point in time, I'd go for an IC7- Max 3 and a Pentium 4 3.2C.

They are nearly on par in performance with the Athlon64's and are still significantly cheaper. Hyperthreading is a very nice addition to the chipset as well. But, it's your choice.

Dark Assassin

 

[avaxxo]

Well I am looking to buy this in midjune anyway, but I'm interested on what you have to said about the 64 arch. How far away is that technology from becoming more commonly used?

 

[MTB2Live Live4Comps]

some of it is dependent on how many hard drives, cdrom drives, and memory you plan to run, but i'd recommend a 400W+ brand name power supply. like antec's TRUE series, or Enermax units, or higher end sparkle power units.

 

[MTB2Live Live4Comps]

Originally posted by avaxxo
Well I am looking to buy this in midjune anyway, but I'm interested on what you have to said about the 64 arch. How far away is that technology from becoming more commonly used?

if you run linux: a very good chunk of the current packages available will recompile into 64bits and work well. The few that don't will when a few minor changes are made to the source code.

if you run windows: there's a beta windows xp 64 out now. but drivers suck ass at the moment (3d linux and windows drivers are esp bad - both are closed source and rely on the company). windows applications, like the os and drivers, are all dependent on the company rereasing the product into 64bit code. in most areas, it'll help performance about 30-40%. a very easy to capture boost (but intel has $$$$ and doesn't want this - they'll push to keep things optimized for threaded environments instead of 64bits, even though it could be threaded and 64bit).

linux: great outlook that can be captured almost today
windows: you gotta trust a crap load of companies to not be suckered into intel's wishes

however, the athlon 64 also offers the ability to extend memory beyond 4GBs. also, even if not all your aplications get rebuilt into 64bit, the games and encoding apps for sure will - where the biggest gains will come. the athlon64 uses hypertransport to communicate with the other devices in your system - a much better and more efficient way of doing so than (for example) intel's subsystem. in extremely highly graphics intensive games, for example, this can play a key role. and to whoever said it, the athlon 64 isn't that "immature." it's been in stable conditions for over 2 years, and at stocks speeds, is just as stable (if not more) as your p4.

ultimately look at where YOU want performance now, and consider how long you want to keep the system. if it's a while, there shouldn't be a question - go athlon 64. but if you do a crap load of encoding media, and don't wish to keep your machine for over a year w/out upgrading the proc/mobo, then the p4 is probably a better bet.

 

[avaxxo]

Thanks man. You've really helped me decide on the A64 solely because I'm a windows gamer for life and don't like upgrading all the time. Hopefully all I'll have to get in the future is an updated video card once 64-bit applications become more used.

Thanks again.