I NEED a new rig. PLEASE read and help?!
So, it's been about 3 years since I built my current computer. New technologies are blazing past my rig and new games make it want to cry. I'm not making this thread so those of Sharky do the work for me, more I want resources to help me build my next machine. I don't want flamewars, just user experiences with hardware, links to good reviews and info and possibly technical numbers (benchmarks, etc.) to help me in this process.
I figure I should be able to double the speed and performance of my current setup, if not triple it, within a $1,500 budget, which is about the amount of money I spent on the current box.
The current box:
A-Bit NF7 2.0, nForce 2
Athlon XP 2500+ (Barton) OC'ed to 3200+
2x Corsair Value RAM, PC 2700, 512MB
ATI Radeon 9700PRO
PATA Hard Drives
Thermaltake Xaser II Full Tower, 5 80mm fans
RaidMax 450w PSU, 3-Fan
Thermalright (forgot model...) HS with Thermaltake SmartFanII
What I want to have is a system that will last as long as this one did. A good 2-3 year lifespan will make me happy. A baseline of what I want is a system with a dual-core AMD CPU, an ATI 512MB video card with a GPU running at least 600MHZ, 2GB of PC4000 RAM, a nice PSU that will keep itself cool and has wrapped cables and a lightweight full-ATX case with fans that won't keep me up at night while also keeping my system nice and cool.
I have been window shopping and reading reviews like a mad-man; here is what I am thinking about getting:
ATX Computer Cases
Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price 1 Thermaltake Tsunami VA3000BWA Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Model #: VA3000BWA
Item #: N82E16811133132
$108.99
Internal Hard Drives
Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price 2 Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 ST3250823AS 250GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM
Model #: ST3250823AS
Item #: N82E16822148065
$206.00
AMD-compatible Motherboards
Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price 1 ABIT AN8 Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Model #: AN8
Item #: N82E16813127197
$94.00
Video Cards
Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price 1 ATI 100-435805 Radeon X1900XTX 512MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
Model #: 100-435805
Item #: N82E16814195003
$649.00
Power Supplies
Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price 1 Thermaltake Silent Pure Power W0049RUC ATX12V/ EPS12V 680W Power Supply - Retail
Model #: W0049RUC
Item #: N82E16817153021
$169.00
Fans, Heatsinks (Case, CPU, Chipset)
Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price 1 ZALMAN CNPS9500 LED 92mm 2 Ball Blue LED Light Cooling Fan with Heatsink - Retail
Model #: CNPS 9500 LED
Item #: N82E16835118223
$63.99
Memory - System
Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price 1 CORSAIR XMS 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model Twinx2048-3200c2pt - Retail
Model #: Twinx2048-3200c2pt
Item #: N82E16820145575
$233.00
Processors
Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price 1 AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Manchester 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Dual Core Processor Model ADA3800BVBOX - Retail
Model #: ADA3800BVBOX
Item #: N82E16819103562
$300.00
Now, all of this is over my budget, but mainly what I want. Is this good? Will this really give me the performance boost I am looking for in a new computer? Can any corners be cut to make it cheaper or better while reducing or maintaining cost? Are any of the parts listed here something I should do everything in my power to avoid? Also, I want to be able to overclock for a little extra power, am I backing myself into a corner with these parts? Should I get faster/better SATA hard drives?
I have done a LOT of reading lately to try and get caught up on what is new, good and garbage. Other questions I am pondering are waiting around for prices to drop on some of this newer hardware, or if something newer/better/cheaper is around the corner.
I don't want flames, I want compelling information. My allegiances lies with Maxtor, A-Bit, ATI, nForce chipsets, AMD CPU's and Thermaltake cases, but with good information, I can better myself if there are better products out there.
For those that have taken the time to read this, thank you and I look forward to this thread and what it brings to the table, and, in hopes, will aid others in my situation or similar.
Thanks again for the time to reply guys.
Thanks again for the replies; you folks have been very helpful. I still have a few questions though.
A number of people have been singing to the praises of RAID and I am considering getting two, faster (higher RPM and cache size), lower capacity SATA drives to run in raid as my Windows/Games/applications drives and have cheap, high capacity PATA drives for storage of Music/Documents/Pictures. Back in '03, I read a hard drive setup and partitioning guide written by a Sharky veteran and I have my drives partitioned like some people use folders, for performance and security. The first drive is set up with three partitions; a 7.5gb partition for Windows by itself, then another 7.5gb for my applications. The other partition is left for my music, around 35gb and the rest of the drive is for OS testing. (Unpartitioned space) The second drive is set up with a 50gb partition for my games, 50gb for video files and 15gb for pictures and documents. I know this seems ridiculous, but it has worked well for me for the past 3 years. The reasoning behind this setup is to keep Windows by itself, because we all know how Windows just loves to eat itself alive sometimes, this way it makes it easy to just reformat that partition and reinstall everything instead of a major backup project every 4-6 months. Another reason for this setup given by the author of the article was that by running games from another drive, it allows the OS to pull data it needs solely from the other drive as the game runs, instead of having to read over system files and other application data to spin to the file the game needs to load. It wasn't a considerable increase in performance, but it made sense and things did run a little more smoothly. Since I prefer to just reformat every season or so, I worry about running a raid setup. Having everything installed to s single drive letter makes me nervous after months of having things set up the way I have them.
So, enough bantering, here are my questions behind that long story: How does RAID work? What do I need to read and consider to learn how to set it up? What are the advantage/disadvantages? Considering what I said above, am I going to be able to set things up similarly, or shouldn't I? What kind of hard drives should I buy for a RAID setup? Will the RAID array have conflict with PATA drives if they are present in the system?
If anyone can answer those questions for me, that would be grand... and I have more as well. :D
mrsinster
Quote:
1.
You want the 4000 x2 64 bit SanDeigo core socket 939 due to the larger cache size. $30 more Yes you will notice a considerable difference.
I couldn't find an x2 version of that CPU, just the x64 edition for ~$500. What I am looking for in a CPU is overall value and longevity; Translation: Overclocking potential. I wanted an x2 because in my head, it seems like it would last longer and perform better with things like Vista on the horizon. Am I wrong?
kenrippy
Quote:
but i chose the a8n-sli premium mainly because of the passive cooling on the southbridge. i hate chipset fans, they always die at some point. i have no intentions of running SLI either.
I agree with that whole statement, also, that MoBo (a8n-sli Premium) looks nice, I think I will go with that. The accessories and overall look of the whole thing is very cool, what are the overclocking features like? I really liked the A-Bit tools in the BIOS, made overclocking simple, no jumpers or any of those types of annoyances required, just, set parameters, reboot, system crashes, try again.
OS-Wiz
Quote:
In general the Cooler Master cases run cooler and quieter than anything on the market.
I'll take your word on it. What I want in a case is lightweight, cool, quiet and, preferably, a side window. I'm not all about "pimping my rig" I just like to be able to see the components that I spent my hard earned money on and hard work assembling. Is there anything out there that you guys can recommend that will have everything I would like, or should I make a sacrifice and get a solid case? (since I don't have the tools or the skill to mod the cases myself, a modkit wouldn't help me much...)
OC/ingmaddog
Quote:
For a PSU try an OCZ 520W Powerstream.
520w... wow, I remember when 350w was insane. Ok, so PSUs haven't had much love in this discussion. This system is probably going to be running 4 hard drives (2 SATA RAID, 2 PATA [storage drives]), a DVD-ROM drive, DVD-Burner, high-ish end video card (possibly two, later down the road), a high-ish level CPU (that is definitely GOING to be overclocked) the fans, Mobo, etc. So, I am going to want something that is going to run stable and cool. The antec with the 120m fan looks great; I think I will be going with that. Anyone disagree for cheaper/better/quieter?
OC/ingmaddog
Quote:
Yeah like hongsc said, drop the XTX and get the XT. Less $ and you can OC pass XTX speeds.
I'm surprised that no-one has tried to convert me over to nVidia or start claiming the whole arguments of "You don't need 512mb if you have a good CPU/RAM combo!!!111". The x1900XT looks nice, but are there any 256mb versions, or should I just cave in and get a 512mb so I don't have to later? And if I do get a 512 x1900XT, what brand should I get? I don't want to get a ~$500 video card and have it belch the magic blue smoke after 2 weeks.
Well, that's it, for today at least. I don't have internet access ay my home (for now), so that is why I keep bundling a bunch of questions together like this in rediculously long posts. I look forward to see what comes next and thanks a LOT, I'm learning so much from this and I really do appreciate it greatly.
Have a good one guys, until next time. :D
Responses and more questions.
Wow, thanks for the swift reply ken.
I can't really see the difference with those screencaps, I'm just not saavy to the app or the numbers myself. As far as RAID goes, do you have any links to info and tutorials on how to get that up and running? I have absolutely no clue on how to run and set up RAID. Also, I figure I won't be able to partitoon the way I am used to, everything from Windows, Games and applications will all be on the same drive letter, so if I get a virus or if windows decides to crap out, I have to redo everything... which is what I do anyways, (reinstalling everything on respective drives/partitions respectivly) so nevermind, this might be easier.
Aftermarket coolers are what I am going for. I got an OEM CPU on my last build with a Thermalright SLK-90 (finally remembered the name). I like the to options you suggested and I think the lafrger one with the 120mm fan would be best for me.
I still need a nice case though... any thoughts guys?
I'm going for an all-around build. Something that will rock games and be able to keep up with new software as it comes out. (Namely Vista and other 64-bit apps/games/OS's)
Speaking of software, here is a new twist to this thread. I currently use Norton products for Firewal/Anti-Malware. From what I have been hearing, I really shouldn't. I'm more concious than the typical AOL moron, so I am looking for security products that don't eat system resources like mad. I have been hearing great things about ZoneAlarm Security Suite for Firewall/Malware protection. As far as SpyWare is concerned, I have that covered. 99% of the time, I don't get Spyware because I know what not to do, but for regular scans I use Ad-Aware, Spybot, Spyware Blaster and Microsoft Anti-Spyware (Soon to be Microsoft Defender). So, anyone have any opinions on this?
Version 2 of my wish list.
Okay, so, to cut costs I made some changes.
Instead of the AMD x2 4200, I'll get the 3800.
Instead of an ATI card, I'm getting an SLI ready, 256mb, GeForce 7800GT nVidia card, so if I really want 512, I can SLI later. (Plus, it can overclock well by itself)
Instead of two Raptors for RAID, I'm just getting 1, it should be enough by itself, I don't keep THAT many games installed at once anways.
Instead of the Corsair RAM, I am getting the mushkin extreme performance. Reviews said it would overclock great with the 3800 x2 on the a8n-Premium.
The new sub-total is around $1520 instead of $2060.
Any complaints or additional suggestions/opinions?
For clarity, I can post the revised cart if anyone wants to know specific models.
