Author Topic: Gaming Only Machine (Read 2010 times)

Reschke · « **on:** February 03, 2006, 03:39:40 PM »

Just a few parts I am going to get with tax money for a new system. I finally get to reclaim my computer since the wife's embroidery business is doing so well. I don't need a monitor or speakers since I have headphones and my existing speakers are staying with her computer for now.
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1 Thermaltake Tsunami VA3000BWA Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail $108.99

1 ASUS A8N-SLI Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail     $118.00

1 BFG Tech BFGR78256GTOC Geforce 7800GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail $319.99

1 Thermaltake Silent Purepower W0014RU ATX 480W Power Supply - Retail $59.00

1 AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Manchester 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Dual Core Processor Model ADA4200BVBOX - Retail $358.00

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 $233.00

2 Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 ST3120813AS 120GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM $85.00 x 2 $170.00

1 Logitech Cordless Desktop MX3100 967513-0403 2-Tone PS/2 RF Wireless Standard Keyboard Mouse Included - Retail $113.99

2 PLEXTOR Beige SATA DVD Burner Model PX-716SA/SW - Retail $119.99 x 2 = $239.98

1 Creative Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS SB0350 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card - OEM $75.00

Total = $1,795.95

schizer · « **Reply #1 on:** February 03, 2006, 03:44:09 PM »

Why not get an Opteron 165 and overclock it, say yourself about $100

wrag · « **Reply #2 on:** February 03, 2006, 03:45:42 PM »

IMHO everything looks good except the mouse.

Wireless mouse = batteries = go out at the worst time = Plus saw the mouse and special batteries seem to be requiered = ?????

indy007 · « **Reply #3 on:** February 03, 2006, 04:16:38 PM »

Only change I'd make is drop 1 of the Seagates for a Western Digital Raptor SATA drive. Split it into 3 partitions. One for Operating System, one for your swap file, and one for game installs. It is a noticable difference, twice as fast as the Seagates. Keep the second Seagate for storage and big software that doesn't need the performance (office, whatever else).

I'd drop the wireless keyboard & mouse. That's just personal preference though. I hate needing extra batteries, and I refuse to have a mouse weighed down by them... but I'm a twitch gamer at heart.'''

Maybe, depending on the price gap, jump to the 512mb version of that video card.

That's it though, that machine will be really fast as you've got it spec'd

eagl · « **Reply #4 on:** February 03, 2006, 06:22:53 PM »

IMHO you're definately on the right track and thinking price/performance along the same lines that I do, but I'd make a few small changes.

I'd get one larger drive instead of multiple smaller ones. Cut the failure rate in half and no worries about getting RAID working. I've done the RAID thing and it's fast, but probably not worth it. 300 gig SATA is a pretty good price/capacity point right now.

Also do some research into the dual core cpus and your favorite games. Some people are reporting weird problems with certain games with any dual core cpu, so they end up having to disable one core in bios to run some games. Since this is for gaming only and most games only use one cpu, consider spending the same amount of money (or less) on a higher clock speed single core cpu.

I'd get one dual-layer DVD recorder, and a second cheaper cd/DVD drive since it's unlikely you'll ever burn 2 DVDs at once. You also specified beige drives... There are equivalent black drives matching your case for the same price out there, so shop around.

I'd use some of the money saved on getting only one DVD-R drive and single-core cpu on a soundblaster X-Fi card instead of an audigy2.

OOZ662 · « **Reply #5 on:** February 03, 2006, 10:01:57 PM »

Dual core systems and nVidia are having an AH issue at the moment, but one guy in Tech Support says his is running fine. Still, some people, including Skuzzy, have admitted major problems with dual core/nVidia cards.

Kev367th · « **Reply #6 on:** February 03, 2006, 11:30:29 PM »

Dual core, nVidia + Windows 2000 works flawlessy.

Problem is the change they made in the XP thread handler, it loses track of threads when switching from one core to another.

Mine has been running SWEEEET. (Windows 2000)

Ditch the Corsair 2x1Gb and go for Mushkin instead. Couldn't get the Corsair 2x1Gb kit to work on my system at CAS2 only 2.5 .

The Mushkin 2x1Gb kit (blue heat spreader - HP I think) dropped in and worked perfect 1st time. (Was cheaper also).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820146425
$229.99 - $35 rebate = $194.99

Timings - 2-3-2-6

If your into overclocking its also possible to drop it to CAS2.5 loosen the timings and get it to DDR500 speeds. (see the reviews in the newegg link)

WindX · « **Reply #7 on:** February 04, 2006, 04:30:32 PM »

Trade in the corsair memory for Patriot PDP with XBL technology and save a good chunk of change their! Same performance and warranty at a way better price! I've been using it and I have actually seen better overclock times with it than with the Corsair, Kingston and Mushkin. Also keep the multiple hdd's and do as Indy stated. you may have a better chance for failure but at least you can have all your info backed up in case one drive craters and if you only have 1 drive that goes bad itll cost ya a lot more for data recovery on that drive than it would for all three drives to begin with. I also recommend getting the AMD processor! Asus would also have to be my first choice in motherboards followed by Abit and then Gigabyte. The AMD processor has better performance, is easier to cool and overclock and youll save enough money that you can put towards another drive or more ram! Ditch the logitech mouse keyboard combo and get a Razer Copperhead or Diamondback mouse and just get you a logitech wireless or wired keyboard. Of course this is all just a recommendation and the final verdict will depend on you and what you really want!:aok

Reschke · « **Reply #8 on:** February 04, 2006, 08:09:00 PM »

Personally I like my wireless keyboard and mouse right now. The one I am looking at doesn't need replacement batteries like AA. Its a Lithium Ion and may need replacement in a few years but since 99% of this stuff is all junk inside of 5 years now I may stick with that. I had a Razer mouse way back when they first came out and loved it. I didn't know they were still in business; but then I haven't really checked either.

As for the motherboard its a toss up between Asus and Gigabyte for me. No real troubles with either of them but its been a couple of years since I built so now is the time to start looking for that 2-3 year upgrade cycle. My last one was on the tail end of the A64 skt 754 chips and so far its worked flawlessly. The only hiccup is a little over heat issue caused by my case and thats because of those d*** wide HDD cables. I can't wait to roll into SATA.

38ruk · « **Reply #9 on:** February 05, 2006, 01:33:57 AM »

As someone said earlier, drop the 2 drives and go for 1 Raptor. Ive had a raid0 setup with 7200 rpm drives , and to me my raptor feels about the same as far as performance goes if not better . As far as the corsair goes , mine has been really good to me , it will run a 265 fsb with relaxed timmings .(2.5/4/4/11) It does need some extra volts thou to be stable, default is 2.65v for xms. @2.85 its fine and corsair warrantees to 2.9. GL 38

Pongo · « **Reply #10 on:** February 06, 2006, 11:16:19 PM »

Coolermaster TAC 101 silver
ASUS A8NE
AMD 3700+
SB Audigy 2 ZS
2 GB OCZ Platinum
Seasonic 430 powersupply
Seagate Barricuda 250
LG DVD burner
Logitech G5 gaming mouse
Gforce 7800GT CO

Kept my IBM PS2 keyboard and my samsung 900NF monitor, bought an acer 17 lcd and a cheap logitech keyboard to go with my old pc to the kids.

I have had it a week or so. If I was to do it again I would seriosly consider the optitron 165. 120 more but great Overclock apperently. And I would go for a bigger seasonic. The next one up has a dedicated Video card powerline that I would have liked to have.

The highlight of the thing is the mouse, case and powersupply. The gaming mouse is just increadable. The case-PS combo is very nice and quite and runs cool from what I can see.

Jsut got my new chair and the desk is on order.

Reschke · « **Reply #11 on:** February 07, 2006, 10:01:06 AM »

Coolermaster TAC-101 case

Thermaltake Tsunami series case

indy007 · « **Reply #12 on:** February 07, 2006, 10:18:21 AM »

Quote

Originally posted by 38ruk
As someone said earlier, drop the 2 drives and go for 1 Raptor. Ive had a raid0 setup with 7200 rpm drives , and to me my raptor feels about the same as far as performance goes if not better . As far as the corsair goes , mine has been really good to me , it will run a 265 fsb with relaxed timmings .(2.5/4/4/11) It does need some extra volts thou to be stable, default is 2.65v for xms. @2.85 its fine and corsair warrantees to 2.9. GL 38

Raptors rock. They're twice as fast as any other SATA drives on the market. Tom's Hardware has a good explanation as to why, but I'd have to dig up the link. There's more to it than just being 10k RPM. I've done comparisons head to head using the exact same machine, only swapping the HD's, and the load times were considerably faster in World of Warcraft, The Movies, Doom 3, and everything else I threw at it. In fact, it makes it a frustrating experience when I'm gaming on my laptop.

Reschke · « **Reply #13 on:** February 07, 2006, 10:22:42 AM »

I will look into those Raptor drives. The only reason I went with the Seagates is based on my past usage of them. I haven't used many WD drives but have liked the ones I used in the past.

38ruk · « **Reply #14 on:** February 07, 2006, 03:21:58 PM »

Quote

I have had it a week or so. If I was to do it again I would seriosly consider the optitron 165. 120 more but great Overclock apperently

Have you tried to clock that 3700? Mine is stable @ 3003MHZ (273X11) . But i run AH @ 2915 (265X11) until my new ram comes in , with this corsair i have to use a 5/6th divider to get there . But at allittle over 800mhz the overclock on the 3700+ san deigo (2200mhz stock) has suprised me. I'd say this is a great overclocking chip. Now i am on water , but on air i ran it 24/7 @ 2805 (255X11) with out any core voltage added . My 2 cents 38