Swyfteblade

First let me start by saying you guys have a great community from what i have seen(found you guys through a websearch and read some of your hardware reviews). Now on to the goods.

I am looking to build my first comp(from the ground up)
looking for a little input from some people that have been around awhile and might have heard or have some experience with the products i am interested in...So lets get to it

Processor - Amd Athlon 64 X2 4400+ w/ xp 64bit - $670

Mobo - Asus A8N 32-Sli-Socket 939 - $250

Ram - Corsair Dual Channel 2GB PC3200 DDR400 CL2 - $300

Main Harddrive - 2x Westerm Digital Raptors 74GB Sata150 Raid 0- $330

Storage Drive - 2x Seagate 250GB Sata150 Non Raid - $220

Graphics Card - 2x eVGA GeForce 7800 GT CO GDDR3 256MB Sli w/ Ultra X-finity 600 watt PSU - $71

Audio - Creative X-Fi Fatal1ty PCI - $270
Logitech Z5500 5.1 Speaker System - $220

For the most part, i am pretty sure I like that setup. I was contemplating sata vs ide for my dvd burner but saw no evidence of increased performance so i will be going with an ide plextor dl burner and a basic ide dvd drive.

I have a 21" crt monitor but was thinking of going with this lcd due to space limitations.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...&sku=S203-2120
Link is kind of hard to see not sure how to fix that

I am going to be tossing all that into an Aercool Aeroengine II Case.

I plan on using this machine for gaming, and multimedia, but i will also be starting game design classes this summer. I am mainly interested in something that is a little future proof.

I am not into overclocking (yet) but understand the problems with heat, so i was thinking of maybe adding a watercooling setup but honestly have no idea where to begin with that. Was also looking at some of the zalman cpu coolers and figured that maybe i wouldn't need watercooling to have it run at decent temps.

Any info is appreciated. Oh yeah. All those prices are from TigerDirect. i have done business with them before and am happy so far.

Thanks In advanced for any input

The New Guy,
Swyfteblade

g35x

that list blows away anything "DECENT" ever DREAMS to be lol welcome to DH! if i were u i wouldent mess with watercooling,with my luck id have a leak and thats some good stuff u dont wana get water on =D also,im not sure the raptors are neccesary,i have a friend who has 2 sata (not raptor) drives in raid 0 and he says he didnt notice a performance increase,also tiger overprices on ram i guess....2gb corsair should not cost 300$ do you mean XMS or normal? neither should cost 300$ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145486 (194$) but i would reccomend http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227210 thats what i plan to get,it has the best timeing but some have problems.(newegg is the best site ever i ordered every component in my computer from them,with the exception of just my mouse ) and if you do plan to o/c in the future you might wana go for a dual core opteron instead of the x2,i hear they oc alot better other than that you're getting everything i dream of errrrhmmm also that LCD is a ripoff i myself am gona go for http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....&ref=06&loc=01 when i get the $

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technonerd

Your first computer, WHOA slow down My first computer was crappy.

I agree with g35x by not installing water cooler because it's your first time building the computer right? If u have leaks and damage your cpu then you're screwed.

I would just get one hard drive for now, 250g is PLENTY, I have 20 games install and software like adope photoshop, MAx 3d, etc. You can upgrade later.

I rather keep my CRT NEC 21 inch for now and wait until most of the lcd can handle 75hz for gaming


The X2 dual processer, I beileve they're still on baby stage and I rather wait for a couple of months. Here's a Tomshardware benchmark and you'll see why :P http://www.tomshardware.com/2005/11/...u_charts_2005/

Plus AMD made FX-60 and said that it's going to be the last FX for 939 and want to start focus on M2. So I would warn that it might be a clue for the future

Get X1900XT

Vikingod

Prices for the Processor and Mobo seem high.
proc: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103546 ($464)

I would also maybe go with a DFI mobo instead of the asus. At least that is what I would do again if I could. And if you are spending the money, get the ATI x1900 XT instad of the 7800gt's. And maybe a nice crossfire mobo.

Very nice machine though.

Drakon

If you're willing to spend over $400 on a X2 processor, why don't you get a nice dual core Opteron instead?

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Produc...ctCode=80107-R

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Produc...ctCode=80106-R

Either one can easily overclock to X2 4400+ speeds and beyond.


As for a cpu heatsink, a ThermalRight XP90c should do you fine with a nice 92mm fan
http://www.frozencpu.com/cpu-tri-22.html

There are other coolers from other companies that you will suit you fine too, but I've only used Thermalright

Necrosis

No doubt, mine didn't even cost that much back in September.

g35x

so no raptors or raid (maybe go for a 300gb maxtor sata like i have?) x1900 and crossfire mobo,and a dual core opteron.....somebody make this guy a new parts list =D

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Grace

Hello Swyfteblade,

I am going to re-do your list a little bit, and explain the changes:


Processor - Amd Opteron 165 (Estimating 350$)
Mobo - Asus A8R-MVP - (Estimating 120$)
Ram - OCZ PC3200 Gold GX XTC 2GB kit (Estimating 250$)
Main Harddrive - 1x Westerm Digital Raptors 74GB Sata150 (for OS)
Storage Drive - 2x Seagate 250GB Sata150 7200.8 NCQ (for Storage)
Graphics Card - 2x ATi X1900 Crossfire (Any brand, cheapest will do)
Antec Neo HE 550W


First of all, you don't want to go cheap with the PSU. Buy a good PSU to begin with.

Second, the Opteron is considerably cheaper and can overclock much better than an Athlon. You won't gain anything by buying an Athlon CPU.

The Motherboard/VGA combination is another little thing that I've changed. First of all, the A8R-MVP will cost you half as much as a decent SLI motherboard, and it is a very good motherboard to work with. And the ATi crossfire sets usually cost less than a corresponding nVidia set.

RAID is virtually useless for a home PC. One more second loading time won't kill you, but you will be in real trouble if anything fails. Even if you plan on a motherboard upgrade, you won't be able to do that without erasing your disks or (highly unlikely) finding a motherboard with the same SATA controller. I won't get into details of what will happen if a disk fails. Just get a fast Raptor for your OS and installed applications, and use 1 or 2 large disks for storage.

Finally, I chose the OCZ RAM since they appear much cheaper than the Corsair RAM, plus you won't need anything better than that. They already are very good modules.




Now, concerning cooling, don't panic like that. You won't need watercooling to maintain good operating temperatures. Your case is well ventilated and the Opteron's are relatively cool cores, so merely get a good CPU cooler, there are hundreds of these for you to choose.


Hopefully that was of some help.


Edit : Oh yes, I forgot, audio. You can buy any speakers set you like, but don't get a 300$ audio card just like that. Most motherboards have very good on-board audio cards nowadays. I have friends who are sound enthusiasts and they are usually satisfied by the on-board HD audio codecs. So, since you are not an audio professional, skip the audio card entirely in my opinion and save your money. You can always add this one later if you are not satisfied by the on-board audio.

g35x

noooooo dont listen to him deffinitly go for at least an x-fi xtreme music liek i ahve belive me its well worth 117$ if you play counter-strike and such,you can hear where everone is walking and basically have radar lol

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GeneralClaymore

If he gonna be gaming , I would say go for the X-FI Extreme music for around 117 on newegg. Then if he has headphones, He will love the 3d Headphone Cmss . Others that have the sound card should tell you the same thing.

I use the 3d headphone and it sounds great, I been playing mmos uning it and I can all around me fine with it. I was shocked when i first use it because I wasnt expecting that much of a improvement with it.

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Source: x-fi titanium hd 2x LT1124ACN+ 2x LT1115 > Matrix M-Stage V2 /w 2x LME49710NA> DT880 pro 250ohm

Grace

It's 'her' and I insist on my original advice.

Basically you can hear everything with any good audio codec, including the ones used on high-end motherboards nowadays. And you still can buy an audio card later if the on-board audio does not satisfy you. There is no need to spend hundreds of dollars for an audio card without even trying the 'free' on-board audio.

chlorf

I completely agree with Grace. I bought an X-Fi Xtreme Music and was sorely disappointed. The "crystallizer" effect can be duplicated with software at virtually no speed loss, and the CMSS 3D Headphone is trash; completely inferior to Dolby Surround Headphone software, and you can get a free wrapper of that for foobar2000 if you search around. If you really want good sound, buy some nice headphones and an amp, and if possible a DAC. You get better resolution with headphones and better surround playing DVDs with Dolby Surround Headphone. You'll see much more improvement in games and music by just getting a pair of 200$ Sennheiser HD595s at headphone.com than with an X-Fi Xtreme music, and probably any other X-Fi.

Also, having recently built my first PC, I can give you this advice:
Check the pins on the mobo and make sure they're not bent. If they are, send it back!
Use the power cable that your PSU came with! It has the appropriate power capacity! I used the wrong cable, and sparks flew! Literally!
Read reviews and conduct thorough research on everything you buy.

BTW, quick question, is the latest Crossfire faster, or the latest SLI? I'm helping a friend build a computer but I can't find the answer.

Drakon

I have an Audigy2 ZS and it suits me just fine with games, dvds and music

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Produc...uctCode=290223

chlorf

My on-board Soundblaster Live! 24bit served me well before I got a DAC that supports USB input. I don't use a soundcard now.

Swyfteblade

You guys/gals are the greatest, And I really mean that.

After many hours on new-egg looking through prices and such i have done a total revamp.

Processor - Still up in the air - Athlon X2 or Opteron - like i said not big into overclocking so would have to study up on the whole process

Mobo- Someone reccomended crossfire over sli and i read the review that you guys did and am totally set on crossfire 1900 setup - Asus A8R-MVp Crossfire

Video Cards - X1900 Cf and X1900XTX (connect3d is one of the certified manufacturers on Ati's site have to do a bit of review on them if not i will just spend the extra $$ and get the ati branded cards

Ram - Corsair Twinx2048-3200C2Pro - Looks like it was tested with the board through the asus site

Hard Drives - WD Raptor 150 (Os and Applications)
2xSeagate Barracuda Sata 3GB/s(storage)
(seems like a lot but i have 180gb+ of video and music now)

Looked into Cpu coolers/heatsinks and am leaning towards the Xp-90c someone reccomended earlier.

Once again thanks to everyone for their input. Took some time and read a bunch of reviews and did alot of searching. Hopefully I can get this "Decent" machine together and take some pictures let you guys see how it turned out.

next step is audio setup...
But in all the hype i forgot the heart of the system - crossfire certified does it seem like too much though -
Psu - Enermax ELT620AWT
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817194004

Swyfteblade

Necrosis

I'm on the fence depending on sound cards. It really comes down to how/what you're going to use the computer for. Personally I like the X-Fi series, and see them as a major improvement over previous generations of Creative cards. However, I've also owned just about every manufacture there is besides Prodigy. I like the CMSS 3D for games, but for music it sounds horrible. I just the regular headphone settings for that. Foobar is good but I use some thing better called J. River Media Center. I like the crossfeed plugin for Foobar better than any thing else. I used to be able to use the Winamp plugin but no longer. Oh well. However, I do think any other X-Fi than the music is a waste of money.

g35x

CMSS is not crap u wana try to sneak up on me with a knife in counter-strike source and try to tell me that!?!?! and i have nice headphones with my x-fi and it rocks.....if he wants to try onboard sound thats fine with me i mean its his computer im just giveing reccomendations i say if he has the money then go for it

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Drakon

That PSU seems to be quite expensive. I would recommend this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817711002. OCZ makes some great PSUs and I've been using 2 Powerstream 520Ws, not the SLI version though. 520W should be enough for your setup