What would you do differently?

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00ber_m00

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jul 10, 2004
Messages
446
I know that the build I have below is pretty good. I just want to know what people would do differently with a limit of 1200 dollars. It is currently at just under 1200. I am open to any suggestions you have to offer. Also, I know that the build is missing a processor and mobo. I will wait to add those after conroe is released and see how well they actually perform and then decide on a mobo and processor. For now, I'm really just interested in the rest of the build. Thank you.



Case: Antec Performance I P180 $124

GPU: ATI 100-435705 Radeon X1800XT 512MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail $339

PSU: HIPER HPU-4K580-MS ATX12V 580W Power Supply - Retail $99

RAM: CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model TWIN2X2048-6400C4 - Retail
$270 - $20 instant rebate = $250

HDD: Western Digital Raptor WD740ADFD 74GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM $169.99

Soundcard: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail $111.99

Thermal compound: Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM $5.99

HSF: ZALMAN CNPS9500 LED 92mm 2 Ball Blue LED Light Cooling Fan with Heatsink - Retail $54.99


Subtotal: $1,157.93


edit

forgot to mention that I will be using the system for just about everything, multi-tasking, gaming, etc.


edit

and the system I'm coming from is:

xp3200+ with an NF7-S 2.0
1 gig of kingston hyperx pc3200 ddr
radeon 9800pro 256mb
maxtor 120gb 8mb cache
audigy 2 plat
 
You can get a 1900xt for nearly that price now, and is a nice step up.

also, how big of a audiophile are you? it'd be nice to have an I/O interface and you can get an Audigy2 zs platnum for that price that has the interface so you can plug in additional mics, headsets, etc. the extreme music is just the card without the i/o interface and to be honest, my co-worker has it and I do not hear anything different with my Audigy2 zs card paired with my z-5500's.
 
yeah, I might keep the sound card i have now (audigy 2 plat) and not get the x-fi, i'm still debating that


also, the x1900's i saw at the same price were 256mb as opposed to the 512mb card i listed...will the x1900 still be a significant improvement?
 
although at the moment, not alot of games are capitalizing on the 512mb of ram, future games "may". by future, I mean in the next 2-3 quarters before it doesn't even matter as games newer than that will require a dx10 card to run them at optimal levels. It's not primarily the mem, as it's more that it just flat out has better guts. 63million more transistors, 48 pixel shader processors as opposed to the 1800's 16, and better core clock. it also OC's without breaking a sweat. I'm very happy with mine.
 
I checked again and I was wrong, the 1900xt's with 512mb are only about 40-50 more than the one i have in my list so that is a definite possibility, thanks
 
00ber_m00 said:
I checked again and I was wrong, the 1900xt's with 512mb are only about 40-50 more than the one i have in my list so that is a definite possibility, thanks
Click to expand...
hey, that's what you came here for. Better to catch stuff like that now than later on when your kicking yourself.
 
A better PSU...is there a better PSU with modular capabilities for under 100? that was the only one that came up
 
I'm also thinking of upgrading my 9800pro, how much of a difference will the x1900 be for him (and me if I upgrade)

I was also interested in the PS he is going to get, what is your concern with that one? (I need 2 for my custom case and these seemed to be perfect)
 
primal- i've looked into the x1800xt reviews and found user comments and it should be a huge increase over a 9800 pro so the 1900xt should be even more...

as for the power supply, i'm curious too what negatives it has since I only see positive reviews for it
 
as far as cases, go. id look into the VC3000SWA (thermaltake armor jr.) thats the silver version there is a black which is VC3000BWS or soemthing? anyway the airflow/setup on them is amazing as well as being very large for a mid-size. Price is comparable to that antec and it comes equiped with enough case fans for you.
 
I'm not a real fan of thermaltake cases because they're overpriced for what they are. Also, this antec does have better cooling than the thermaltake you mentioned (from what I've read online) and this case is much quieter. Thank you for the suggestion though.
 
This is my revised build. There are $60 dollars total in mail in rebates available plus $25 dollars worth of instant rebates in the setup below. I lose out on the mail in rebates if I don't order by Sunday though so I'm being very tempted. I've taken everyone's advice into consideration and have come up with the following build. Again, please let me know if you have any thoughts/criticisms. Thank you!



Antec Performance I P180 $124.99 -$5.00 Instant $119.99


SAPPHIRE 100149L Radeon X1900XT 512MB GDDR3 $355.99


Antec NeoHE 500 ATX12V 500W Power Supply - Retail $99.99


CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) $270.00 -$20.00 Instant $250.00


Western Digital Raptor WD740ADFD 74GB 10,000 RPM $169.99


Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM $5.99


Update Scythe SCNJ-1000P $34.99




Subtotal: $1,036.94 - $60 in mail in rebates if I order by Sunday = $976.94
 
If you go with Core 2 Duo (and you should), you won't be getting much bang for your buck with the DDR2-800 memory. DDR2-667 is sufficient, even for a 25% OC.

Antec PSUs are known for using crappy capacitors that fail earlier than other brands of caps.
 
I am going core 2 duo and I put the antec in there to replace a similar Hiper unit that people had similar criticisms of (poor quality). I suppose I should look into this again and find a better PSU. I'll also take a look at DDR667 and see how the price compares. I like that Corsair because it's 20 dollars instant rebate.
 
After a little more research...



Antec Performance I P180 $124.99 -$5.00 Instant $119.99
SAPPHIRE 100149L Radeon X1900XT 512MB GDDR3 $355.99
OCZ PowerStream OCZ520ADJSLI $134.99 - $25 $109.99
OCZ Platinum 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 $209.99
Western Digital Raptor WD740ADFD 74GB 10,000 RPM $169.99
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM $5.99
Scythe SCNJ-1000P $34.99


To a new grand total of $946.99


The OCZ PSU has amazing reviews and appears to be very popular if slightly expensive but for $25 off it's a nice deal. I still went with some ddr800 RAM but much cheaper this time and from the reviews it performs just as well and overclocks very nicely.
 
Always a possibility. At the worst though, I'm spending a few dollars too much on a quality unit. Better than spending too much or too little on a sub-par unit. Suggestions from anyone else?
 
primalgeek said:
I'm also thinking of upgrading my 9800pro, how much of a difference will the x1900 be for him (and me if I upgrade)

I was also interested in the PS he is going to get, what is your concern with that one? (I need 2 for my custom case and these seemed to be perfect)
Click to expand...

Unless you are upgrading your entire system a x1900 will not work with your 9800pro system. The PCIE connector of the x1900 will not fit in your computers AGP or PCI slots.
 
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