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Thinking about building a new system

K

KyPeN

n00b
Joined
Aug 6, 2004
Messages
29
Hey! I'm new to [H]ardOCP, but I've been going to PC forums for some time.

I'm looking to build a new system. I'm going to need:
1) Power Supply
2) Case
3) Motherboard
4) Processor
5) Ram
6) Video Card

I do quite a bit of gaming (I've been throroughly enjoying Doom 3 :cool: ), but I also need quite a bit of processing power for scaling DVDs. I have a 2.4 ghz now, and it seems to be enough, so I don't think that would be much of a problem. Also, if possible, I would like to have an nVidia GFX card specifically for a certain driver function. This is only a what-if, and I would have no problem with an ATI card. I would also LOVE, if possible, 1 gig of ram. This would be a huge help!

Here is my current system:

2.4ghz P4 533 FSB
512 meg PC2100
GeForce4 Ti4200 64 meg @ 300/610
Audigy Platinum for gaming
AV-710 for music
80 gig Seagate + 100 gig WD
DVD-ROM + CD-RW
Fans + Controller

My budget is $800 give or take. I could go a bit higher as I will be planning on selling the hardware I replace. The original system I layed out had a powerful processor (A64) and a less powerful GFX card (ATI 9800pro BULK). Someone @ Futuremark.com suggested I go with a less powerful processor and a more powerful GFX card. I'm not exactly sure how efficient use of my money this would be. So I thought I would ask here. I havn't been keeping up on this kind of hardware for some time, so I need some help. Thanks in advance!
 
id say go for a p4 if you want a blend between gaming and dvd processing...

motherboard: abit ic7-g, or ic7-max3 ~ 150
cpu: p4 3.0c ~ 210
video card: nvidia 6800, 6800gt, whichever your budget can afford ~ 400

those prices are just #'s off the top of my head and are probobly wrong.
 
ANTEC Life Style Series Black Case With 380W Power Supply, Model "SONATA"- $100
CHAINTECH "VNF3-250" nForce3 250 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket 754 CPU – $82
AMD Athlon 64 3000+, 512KB L2 Cache 64-bit Processor – Retail -$175
2 X Mushkin 184 Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200 – Retail - $158
Leadtek nVIDIA GeForce 6800 Video Card, 128MB DDR, 256-bit, DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP, Model "A400 TDH" –RETAIL - $287.50

Total: $802.50

All those prices are taken from Newegg.
 
specter554 said:
ANTEC Life Style Series Black Case With 380W Power Supply, Model "SONATA"- $100
CHAINTECH "VNF3-250" nForce3 250 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket 754 CPU – $82
AMD Athlon 64 3000+, 512KB L2 Cache 64-bit Processor – Retail -$175
2 X Mushkin 184 Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200 – Retail - $158
Leadtek nVIDIA GeForce 6800 Video Card, 128MB DDR, 256-bit, DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP, Model "A400 TDH" –RETAIL - $287.50

Total: $802.50

All those prices are taken from Newegg.
Click to expand...

Holy poop on a stick! I had no idea I could get so much....POWER !

Few questions here:

1) Will that power supply be enough for 2 DVD drives, 2 HDDs, 6 fans, and 2 sound cards?
2) Will I be able to do some mild overclocking with that?
3) Will 128 meg be enough video memory? The only reason I ask this is because I kinda got screwed in the 64 meg Ti4200 route.

Thanks Specter!
 
Oh crap.

That case that you suggested, Sonata, will not do. I need 4 5 1/4" bays.

Okay, after seeing this, I would like to up the budget about $50.

http://www.xoxide.com/tttsunami1.html

I'm hoping that this will allow me a bit more room to work with by way of the power supply and case. I would like a quiet power supply being that this will be used for my DVD player also. Will the Thermaltake 400 watt work for me? I know sometimes less watts but better brand can make a huge difference.

Thanks for all your help so far!
 
The Antec power supply should handle it just fine. My friend is running a similar setup with a 6800 GT, and it powers his just fine. His 3.3 and 5 V rails are very constant, his 12V rail fluctuates a little more but is fine. Antec makes very good PSUs, thermalflakes are not quite as stable but they get the job done. I don’t like how even 480W thermaltake PSUs only have 18 amps on the 12V rail. The antec 380W has 18 amps on the 12V. I would not trust an thermaltake 400W to power that system. That case looks sweet though.
 
KyPeN said:
Holy poop on a stick! I had no idea I could get so much....POWER !

Few questions here:

1) Will that power supply be enough for 2 DVD drives, 2 HDDs, 6 fans, and 2 sound cards?
2) Will I be able to do some mild overclocking with that?
3) Will 128 meg be enough video memory? The only reason I ask this is because I kinda got screwed in the 64 meg Ti4200 route.

Thanks Specter!
Click to expand...

Oops forgot about your other questions

2) Yeah you can do more than mild overclocking with that setup. You can run at 2.2 ~ 2.3 no problem
3) Yes. Check out some of the video card benchmarks at hardocp, www.anandtech.com, and www.xbitlabs.com. The 6800 blows the 256MB 9800 XT out of the water at high resoultions.
 
B18_Cya said:
why do you need 2 sound cards?
Click to expand...

One is for music (AV-710) because it has a kick-ass DAC for the cost and sounds infinitely better than the Audigy for reasons I won't go into.

The other (Audigy) is for gaming, obviously, for speed and EAX capabilities.

Here is what I put together @ newegg.com

ENERMAX Black Server Case, 12- Bay ATX Entry Server Tower Screwless Entry with Locks, Model "CS-10181-B" -RETAIL
Specifications:
Case Type: Server Case
Color: Black
Material: 1.0mm SECC Steel
Drive Bays: 5.25'' x4,3.5''(External) x2, 3.5''(Internal) x6
Expansion Slots: 7
Front Ports: USB2.0 x2,IEEE1394 x1,Mic x1,Audio x1
Power Supply: N/A
Cooling System: 80mm fan Rear x2,Top x1
Motherboard Compatibility: ATX, Dual Xeon
Dimensions: 22" x 8" x 20.5" (DxWxH) more info-> N82E16811124033
$72.00

$72.00

CHAINTECH "VNF3-250" nForce3 250 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket 754 CPU -RETAIL
Specifications:
Supported CPU: Supports the new generation of AMD Socket 754 Athlon64 CPU
Chipset: NVIDIA nForce3 250
RAM: 3x DIMM for DDR400/333/266 Max 2GB
IDE: 2x ATA 133 up to 4 Devices
Slots: 1x AGP 8X/4X, 5x PCI, 1x CMR
Ports: 2xPS/2,2xCOM,1xLPT,1xLAN,6xUSB2.0(Rear 4),Audio Ports
Onboard Audio: 5.1-Channel AC'97 Codec
Onboard LAN: Realtek 8100C 10/100Mbps Fast Ethernet
Onboard SATA/RAID: 2x Serial ATA 150, RAID 0/1
Form Factor: ATX more info-> N82E16813152043
$82.00

$82.00

Leadtek nVIDIA GeForce 6800 Video Card, 128MB DDR, 256-bit, DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP, Model "A400 TDH" -RETAIL
Specifications:
Chipset/Core Speed: nVIDIA GeForce 6800/325MHz
Memory/Effective Speed: 128MB DDR/700MHz
BUS: AGP 8X/4X
Ports: VGA Out(15 Pin D-Sub) + TV-Out(S-Video) + DVI
Support 3D API: DirectX 9.0c(Shader Model 3.0), OpenGL 1.5
Cable/Accessories: S-Video Cable, Composite Cable, SV to AV Cable, DVI to VGA Adapter, Power Cable, Manual, 5 CD
Max Resolution@32bit Color: 2048x1536@85Hz
Retail Box (See pics for details)

sre
more info-> N82E16814122193
$285.00

$285.00

Antec P4 ATX12V 400 Watt Power Supply With 2 Fans, Model "SL400" -RETAIL
Specifications:
Type: ATX
Maximum Power: 400W
PFC: No
Power Good Signal: 100-500ms
Hold-up Time: < 17ms at Full Load
Hold-up Time: < 17ms at Full Load
Efficiency: >=68%
Over Voltage Protection: +5V trip point<+6.5V;+3.3V trip point<+4.1V;+12V trip point<+15.6V
Overload Protection: Latching Protection+5V @<53A;+3.3V @ <48A;+12V @ <23A
Input Voltage: 115 VAC / 230VAC
Input Frequency Range: 47-63 Hz
Input Current: 10A for 115VAC;5.0A for 230VAC
Output: +3.3V@28A;+5V@38A;-5V@0.5A;+12V@18A;-12V@0.8A;+5VSB@2A more info-> N82E16817103912
$58.00

$58.00

AMD Athlon 64 3000+, 512KB L2 Cache 64-bit Processor - Retail
Specifications:
Model: AMD Athlon 64 3000+
Core: Newcastle
Operating Frequency: 2GHz
FSB: Integrated into Chip
Cache: L1/64K+64K; L2/512K
Voltage: 1.5V
Process: 0.13 Micron
Socket: Socket 754
Multimedia Instruction: MMX, SSE, SSE2, 3DNOW!, 3DNOW!+
Packaging: Retail Box (Heatsink and Fan included) more info-> N82E16819103486
$175.00

$175.00

Mushkin 184 Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200 - Retail
Specifications:
Manufacturer: Mushkin
Speed: DDR400(PC3200)
Type: 184 Pin DDR SDRAM
Error Checking: Non-ECC
Registered/Unbuffered: Unbuffered
Cas Latency: 2.5-4-4
Support Voltage: 2.6V
Bandwidth: 3.2GB/s
Organization: 64M x 64 -Bit
Warranty: Lifetime more info-> N82E16820146219
$78.00

$156.00

Subtotal »

$ 828.00

How does it look? I see the mobo only has 3 ram slots. I assume this doesn't allow for dual channel? Bad?

Also, will this setup allow me to do some OCing?
 
1.) Socket 754 Athlon 64s do not support dual channel, for one thing.

2.) I'm not familiar with Athlon 64 overclocking, so I don't know how the PC3200 RAM you chose works into that.

3.) The power supply I believe is from Antec's mainstream consumer line of Smart Power PSUs. While not bad, they are not as good as their much better True Power line of PSUs, and the True Powers can be had for about $15 - 20 more for the True Power 430.

4.) No clue about the Chaintech mobo, only more familiar with the Abit, Asus, and MSI boards, but I can't recite the model numbers off the top of my head.
 
s754 doesnt support dual channel, you need s939 for that, and that will be considerably more expensive

edit: curses! you beat me to it BillLeeLee
 
OCing that with PC3200 just involves changing your memclock multipler. Lets say you want to OC to 2400MHz. You change your memclock to run 5:6 (240 * 5 / 6 = 200) to run your ram in spec. I think I remember seeing a good guide about OCing A64’s in the AMD forum.
 
I'm going to bump this. For a couple simple questions:

1) Do things look okay? Will I suffer a lot of performance w/out dual channel?
2) Okay, True Power PS, $15-$20 extra, got it. Thx for the tip
3) Should I look at another mobo besides the Chaintech?
4) Will this ram let me do some OCing? Specter mentioned a process I am not really familiar with that I will look into as soon as I buy the machine. But how possible is it?

Thanks for the fast replies guys! I really appreciate it!
 
For the mobo, i suggest go with the MSI Neo Platnium. You can't go wrong.


p.s Since you can't run dual channel with the 754 proc, it's still all right to have a gig of ram (512*2) with the same sticks of ram, right? I know its a stupid question. sorry about that


-nertil
 
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