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[Biff Hardbody]

Keep in mind I don't know much about pcs. I've done allot of research the last two days. I'm going to be buying it in a few weeks, maybe a month. So, by that time maybe some of the prices will change or go down. Let me know if anything sucks (I know you will).

1)Case
Lian-Li 12-Bay Silver Aluminum Case, Model "PC-65"
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-112-024&depa=1
Cost:$105

2)Power Supply
Antec 550 Watt Power Supply With 2 Fans 5.25 Control Panel, Model "TRUE CONTROL 550W" -RETAIL
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc....ufactory=BROWSE
Price:$99

3)Motherboard
ASUS "A8V Deluxe Wi-Fi" K8T800 Pro Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket 939 CPU -RETAIL
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc....-131-499&depa=1
Price:$180


4)Cpu
AMD Socket 939 Athlon 64 3800+, 2.4 GHz, 512KB L2 Cache 64-bit Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=19-103-465&depa=1
Price:$712

5)RAM
Crucial 184 Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200 8T – OEM (X2)
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=20-146-541&catalog=23&manufactory=BROWSE
Price: $172

6)Video Card
Radeon 9800 Pro 128 MB
(already have)

7)Sound Card
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS PCI Sound Card, Model "SB0350"
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=29-102-162&depa=1
Price:$88

8)Hard Drive
Seagate 160GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model ST3160023AS, OEM
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=22-148-018&depa=1
Price: $115

9)Optical Drive
NEC 8X Black Dual Layer DVD+/-RW Drive, Model ND-2510A BLK, OEM BULK
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=27-152-023&DEPA=0
Price: $79.99

10) Speakers
Logitech Z-2200 2 Satellite THX-Certified Speaker System –RETAIL
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=36-121-107&depa=0
Price: $118

11)Keyboard
(Already have)

12) Mouse
(Already have)

13)Monitor
19 inch Tube.
(already have)

14)OS
Windows XP
(Already have)

 

[Bregor]

1)Case
Lian-Li 12-Bay Silver Aluminum Case, Model "PC-65"

Excellent.

2)Power Supply
Antec 550 Watt Power Supply With 2 Fans 5.25 Control Panel, Model "TRUE CONTROL 550W" –RETAIL

Excellent choice, I own a True Conrol 550W myself. But you could probably have done great with a 380 or 430.

3)Motherboard
ABIT "AV8" K8T800 Pro Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket 939 CPU –RETAIL

I'm not very familiar with the A64 MB options, but Abit is an excellent brand.

4)Cpu
AMD Socket 939 Athlon 64 3800+

Excellent.

5)RAM
Crucial 184 Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200 8T – OEM (X4)

I think that 1 GB is plenty, but if you can afford it, 2 GB of Crucial PC-3200 is great choice.

6)Video Card
Radeon 9800 Pro 128 MB
(already have)

Excellent.

7)Sound Card
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy2

The Audigy 2 is supposedly an excellent card, but I'm not very fond of Creative products. Here is an alternative:

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=29-121-101&DEPA=1

8)Hard Drive
Seagate 160GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive

Excellent.

9)Optical Drive
NEC 8X Black Dual Layer DVD+/-RW Drive

Excellent.

10) Speakers
Logitech Z-2200 2 Satellite THX-Certified Speaker System –RETAIL

Good.

 

[Nos_G]

Sweet specs Biff, good luck on the 'building' aspect of the project.

 

[ItalianStallion]

Sure you don't wanna go with PCI Express?

 

[psycho_snake]

thats all great equipment, apart from the AMD. i would have gone for pentium instead. Also, isnt there a new radeon out or something?

 

[Biff Hardbody]

Bregor, thank you. I've been wanting someone to go down the line and tell me what they thought piece by piece. It just makes me feel more secure. I'm not missing anything, am I?

About the PSU. I was originally going to get an enermax 430 Watt PSU. But, I saw this one was only $10 more! So, I decided to get it. The only thing is the voltage control. I don't want to fry my system. I think there is an option to let it self regulate. Screw it, I'll figure it out.

I'm not very familiar with the A64 MB options, but Abit is an excellent brand.

I've actually heard the ASUS is a bit better, but they are currently out of stock. Here's its description-

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=13-131-499&depa=1

Thanks for the soundcard recommendation. I'm currently reading up on it now. Looks good. I've heard people ut down creative labs before, but I've only heard good things about the audigy.

Sweet specs Biff, good luck on the 'building' aspect of the project.

Thanks man. Actually I'm going to pay someone $50 to "help me" build it while I "supervise".

Sure you don't wanna go with PCI Express?

Well, I won't be buying this stuff for a month (give or take a week). So, maybe my mind will change by then. But, this looks very good for now I think.

thats all great equipment, apart from the AMD. I would have gone for pentium instead. Also, isnt there a new radeon out or something?

Thanks. My main reason for choosing the AMD Athlon 64 is what I heard from most people. They said it was a little better for gaming and that the 64 part would have a future.

My main goal was to make a PC that was gaming minded, clean, quiet, powerful, long lasting and upgradable for the future. To tell the truth, I really don't know the differences in the AMD/Pentium. I have a pentium 4 1.7 ghz, and part of me wants to try something different. In the end, I just want the best for gaming. No matter what brand it is.

Thanks for the feedback, fellahs.

 

[B'z-chan]

Why not go with the 5.1 or 4.1 setup? Your card screams for it. Z-560's are the best man i love them and i use them almost more than my home theater speakers now.
EDIT: Well since you dont have room why not go with some Karmon's or Klipsh

 

[Biff Hardbody]

Bregor, can you suggest a better pair of 2.1 speakers? I know its between the Klipsch and Logitech's. I just don't have the room for a 5.1 system.

lol, just saw your post above me.

I'd like a 5.1 system, but I just don't have the room for it (cramped apartment). I read the review on maximum PC, and they said they are the best 2.1 speakers around. Likewise, the user reviews on newegg.com were nothing but highly posative.

 

[Marty Chinn]

My g/f has that case and complains that the case rattles too much.

 

[Biff Hardbody]

My g/f has that case and complains that the case rattles too much.

 

[B'z-chan]

Those 2.1 logitech's are nice but hoenstly pay the 20 bucks more and get the z-560's just dont connect the back speakers. Even though you say you wont use them now. At least owe it to your self to be able to expand your horizons some how instead of having to buy another speaker set in the future.

 

[Biff Hardbody]

Those 2.1 logitech's are nice but hoenstly pay the 20 bucks more and get the z-560's just dont connect the back speakers. Even though you say you wont use them now. At least owe it to your self to be able to expand your horizons some how instead of having to buy another speaker set in the future.

Do you mean these?

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=36-121-106&depa=0

I see your point, the ability to upgrade would be nice. But, that center speaker...I just have no room for it. I'll look harder at it.

 

[Biff Hardbody]

Guys, I have a question.

Do you think it would be smarter if I switched the cpu to an athalon 64 FX-53 and took away a gig of ram(leaving me with 1024)? The price is now $5 cheaper alltogether.

 

[Biff Hardbody]

I'm doing it. Definitely. Changing the top post to reflect my new specs.

 

[Shogmaster]

Guys, I have a question.

Do you think it would be smarter if I switched the cpu to an athalon 64 FX-53 and took away a gig of ram(leaving me with 1024)? The price is now $5 cheaper alltogether.

You can take away the gig, but forget the FX-53 unless you want your 550W PS going full tilt all the time (hope you have a good AC).

 

[Bregor]

You can take away the gig, but forget the FX-53 unless you want your 550W PS going full tilt all the time (hope you have a good AC).

?

AFAIK, the FX-53 has no power or heat dissipation problems.

 

[Shogmaster]

?

AFAIK, the FX-53 has no power or heat dissipation problems.

That 3800+ A64 has the power throttling feature when there's no load on the CPU. The FX-53 lacks it IIRC.

 

[Biff Hardbody]

Shit....maybe I spoke to soon. Thanks for the heads up. What if I got a cooling system of some sort?

 

[Bregor]

Shit....maybe I spoke to soon. Thanks for the heads up. What if I got a cooling system of some sort?

Unless you overclock the CPU, the retail heatsink should work great.

 

[Bregor]

That 3800+ A64 has the power throttling feature when there's no load on the CPU. The FX-53 lacks it IIRC.

Even so, it should not be a problem even at full load.

 

[Biff Hardbody]

So, you think the FX-53 won't give me power supply problems then?

I'm just trying to get all opinions. No offense to anyone. I want to make the right decision.

 

[Bregor]

So, you think the FX-53 won't give me power supply problems then?

I'm just trying to get all opinions. No offense to anyone. I want to make the right decision.

God no. Not with a 550W Antec PSU. Quite frankly, you could probably run that system on a good quality 300W PSU.

 

[Shogmaster]

Shit....maybe I spoke to soon. Thanks for the heads up. What if I got a cooling system of some sort?

We're not talking about that.

As someone that uses 430W version of that PS, I can tell you that it puts out some serious heat! I can't imagine living with the 550W version... 430W is bad enough.

Anyways, cool thing about A64 is the throttle down feature when there's no load (It's planned for fufture FX and Opterons as well). Thus, with A64, when you are not putting any serious load on the PC, it won't demand so much power from the PS, so it should output less heat into the room.

 

[Biff Hardbody]

OK, I get it.

I don't like the idea of my psu causing so much heat. I think I will skip to a smaller one. Maybe 400-430?

So, whatever PSU I choose the FX-53 will put a strain on my PSU and make it heat up bad? There's no way around this? Damn, for a second I thought I was going with the FX-53.

 

[EviLore]

Comparing the FX-53 and the 3800+...the 3800 is pretty much the same in performance, and using a socket that will be around for a long time. It's also a little cheaper. So I'd say you're better off with that.

Plus what shog is mentioning.

 

[Bregor]

I've got the True Control 550, and I haven't had any problems with it putting out a lot of heat.

 

[Biff Hardbody]

Alright, thanks EL. I guess I'll go back to the 64 then. Thanks for looking out for me fellahs.

 

[Biff Hardbody]

I've got the True Control 550, and I haven't had any problems with it putting out a lot of heat.

Thank you. I'll remember that.

 

[Biff Hardbody]

I just read this-

http://www.sharkyextreme.com/hardware/cpu/article.php/3261_3361881__1

And its convinced me you guys are right. Thanks very much. I'm going back to the 3800. I'm also lower my psu to the antec 430. Itll save me 30 bucks, ands its enough right now.

 

[Scalemail Ted]

I'm interested in building a computer so I'm gonna reference this thread

 

[Particle Physicist]

I'm interested in building a computer so I'm gonna reference this thread

same here.

 

[DCX]

Is that DVD-R drive any good? I'm looking to get me one and have no idea what to look for.

DCX

 

[Biff Hardbody]

Good. I hope people get something from this thread that helps them in this process.

I hear the drive is good, I don't know much more about it.

 

[teh_pwn]

While the 3800+ is an excellent processor, you're paying a hefty load for it.

If you remember my setup, I spent $219 on a P4 3.0 C, and when I overclock it to 3.5 GHz with an FSB 234. My Abit IC7 Max III and OCZ PC4000 are more than capable of handling FSB 250 as well. Here are my Sandra benchmarks:


CPU Arithmetic Benchmark:

Whetstone iSSE2 7755 MFLOPS
Dhrystone ALU 10761 MIPS
Whetstone FPU 4404 MFLOPS


CPU Multimedia benchmark:

Float x4 iSSE2 38615 it/s
Integer x8 iSSE2 27049 it/s


Memory Bandwidth Benchmark:

RAM Bandwidth Int Buff'd iSSE2 5566 MB/s
RAM Bandwidth Float Buff'd iSSE2 5561 MB/s



As you can see here, I beat your processor at stock except for memory bandwidth:

http://www.tomshardware.com/cpu/20040601/socket_939-29.html

Although you've got bitchin 64 bit support, so if you're going for that, good. I just wouldn't spend $700 for it.

 

[Shogmaster]

While the 3800+ is an excellent processor, you're paying a hefty load for it.

If you remember my setup, I spent $219 on a P4 3.0 C, and when I overclock it to 3.5 GHz with an FSB 234. My Abit IC7 Max III and OCZ PC4000 are more than capable of handling FSB 250 as well. Here are my Sandra benchmarks:


CPU Arithmetic Benchmark:

Whetstone iSSE2 7755 MFLOPS
Dhrystone ALU 10761 MIPS
Whetstone FPU 4404 MFLOPS


CPU Multimedia benchmark:

Float x4 iSSE2 38615 it/s
Integer x8 iSSE2 27049 it/s


Memory Bandwidth Benchmark:

RAM Bandwidth Int Buff'd iSSE2 5566 MB/s
RAM Bandwidth Float Buff'd iSSE2 5561 MB/s



As you can see here, I beat your processor at stock except for memory bandwidth:

http://www.tomshardware.com/cpu/20040601/socket_939-29.html

Although you've got bitchin 64 bit support, so if you're going for that, good. I just wouldn't spend $700 for it.

I see you quoting nothing but artificial benches. In real benches that he'd care (i.e. games) A64s beat P4s in most cases.

I do agree with you that he should save couple hundred bucks by going with something slower. 3400+ or 3600+ should be alot cheaper, and hardly noticeable from 3800+.

 

[teh_pwn]

Game benches won't matter once you get that fast. His video card would bottleneck the processor. Not a bad thing though, lol.

 

[Shogmaster]

Game benches won't matter once you get that fast. His video card would bottleneck the processor. Not a bad thing though, lol.

True, but switching to P4 at this stage for sake of articial benches is just kerazy. We spent the whole day helping him with this shit! :mad

 

[Biff Hardbody]

OK guys, let me ask you. If I changed to this processor, I'd save $200 or so.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=19-103-463&depa=1

What do you think?

With that saved, I might be able to swing a little extra cash and get a new video card. I hear you saying my vid card would be my bottleneck. What card would you suggest? I hear the GeForce 6800 series are good.

 

[Shogmaster]

OK guys, let me ask you. If I changed to this processor, I'd save $200 or so.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=19-103-463&depa=1

What do you think?

With that saved, I might be able to swing a little extra cash and get a new video card. I hear you saying my vid card would be my bottleneck. What card would you suggest? I hear the GeForce 6800 series are good.

better than my 3.0C P4.

You might hold on to your 9800Pro for now. No game's gonna push it much beyond it's capabilities. Get a Radeon X800 XT when it dips below $250.

 

[Biff Hardbody]

Thanks amigo.

 

[SentientStone]

I just got the Z-2200 speakers last week (had the Altec Lansing ATP3 previously) and they are great for the price I had to spend (~$108.50 Canadian). I have them hooked up to my on rotation with my DVD player, GameCube, and PC.

 

[Biff Hardbody]

Good to know.

 

[teh_pwn]

"You might hold on to your 9800Pro for now. No game's gonna push it much beyond it's capabilities. Get a Radeon X800 XT when it dips below $250."

Yeah, that's what I meant when I said it wasn't a bad thing that it's a bottleneck because it'll run anything you throw at it at full speed. Except for poorly programmed games, like Morrowind and KOTOR. I don't think the X800XT or 6800 Ultra would be able to either.

 

[Biff Hardbody]

Yeah, that's what I meant when I said it wasn't a bad thing that it's a bottleneck because it'll run anything you throw at it at full speed.

What about games coming out in the future like HL2 and Doom III? Should I upgrade my card for them in your opinion?

 

[Tea Master]

Your computer is very sick. Sick, as in good, that is.

 

[Wellington]

Goddamn Biff you are getting a behemoth of a system. You're going down in UT2k5.

 

[Biff Hardbody]

Your computer is very sick. Sick, as in good, that is.

Thanks man.

Goddamn Biff you are getting a behemoth of a system. You're going down in UT2k5

Well, I don't get it for amonth or so. So, the wait is already sort of getting to me.

I'll tell you something about UT. I fucking loved it, but I had to uninstall because I couldn't take getting 15 FPS in my favorite mode, onslaught. The day I get this thing I'm loading up UT2K4 and playing that shit till my eyes bleed.

 

[teh_pwn]

No, I'm pretty sure HL2 and Doom III will run at an fps as high as your monitor can go. I played the beta of both on a worse machine than both of ours and it ran smooth. And supposedly they were still optimizing the code. Although HL2 has gotten a facelift since.

 

[Biff Hardbody]

Thank you, man. Your advice has really helped me.

 

[DJ Demon J]

Looking good Biff! Have you looked into any extra cooling for the system? I didn't see any case fans on that case nor did I see you buying a non-AMD heatsink (i.e., it's a good idea to get a new heatsink instead of using the standard one that comes with your CPU chip--especially with overclock-friendly AMD chips). Extra case fans help regulate the airflow and keep the insides cool. I don't think you'll need more than 4 or 5 case fans( 2 rear exhaust, 1 or 2 side intake, 1 or 2 front intake). There's a website I went to (www.xpcases.com) that had plenty of nice aluminum tower cases with plenty of bays AND power supply units and case fans pre-installed! Good luck with this project, keep us informed!