My plans for my next computer

TimberWolf · Post by **TimberWolf** » Sat Feb 24, 2007 12:29 pm

Below is the links to all the hardware I am currently looking at to build a new system from the ground up along with a new OS. The only things coming over from my current system is a TV tuner card, keyboard and mouse. I am ording this all from Newegg to keep the shipping down due to the amount of things I am ording. The total cost of all this at this time is $805.91 not including shipping jet which I expect to be close to $40.

MSI K9N SLI Platinum Motherboard:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813130048
AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819103735
Duel 512 DD2 Memory Sticks:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820144027
Samsung 200 GB (SATA):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822152022
XFX Geforce 7900GS:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814150202
DVD/CD Rom:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6827136105
Disk Drive/Card Reader:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6821104108
Case:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811147042
PSU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817153023
Windows XP Home:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6832116056

This is to replace a system that was originally constructed over 5 years ago that is nolonger upgradable due to its equipment being no longer supported. It is to allow me to play my X3: Reunion and Age of Empires 3 games with max graphics. It is also to last me for the rest of college and well into my first decade after college (just under 2 years left till graduation). It will be uprgraded memory wise over the years as money allows allong with another internal hard drive running in a RAID configuration (not sure which one yet) and finally an external hard drive for backup. But thats all in the future. The OS is because I intend to contue to use my current system and with Microsoft doing all those "genuine" crap I intend to keep it all legal.

Is this a good enough selection to do what I want it to do?

MegaDeath70 · Post by **MegaDeath70** » Sat Feb 24, 2007 1:42 pm

I would get a DX10 card, not a DX9 card !

XMEN Ashaman DTM · Post by **XMEN Ashaman DTM** » Sat Feb 24, 2007 2:54 pm

I don't know about DX10 yet. But definitely consider that you'll need one in the next couple of years.

I'd suggest going with the WD 250 GB SATA drive:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822144701

Especially if you can wait a bit for a sale. I have two of these, and they are pretty fast and solid. But it's an OEM drive, so no cables.

I'd also maybe consider going with more RAM and possibly an Opteron. And be forewarned: many reviews that I have seen of this board by owners says that the northbridge runs a bit hot.

I would consider a different power supply for two reasons: there are ones with much higher efficiencies, and there are ones that provide slightly more power. If the power supply is sucking in 900 Watts, and you are only able to use 65% of that, then the rest of the power coming in is going to be wasted as heat. You might run into problems with the power supply down the road due to the higher thermal load on its parts.

I'd suggest one of these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817103942

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817194012

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817151023

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817194002

I know that those are all more expensive, but they should last a very long time. AND, you shouldn't run into power issues if you have to upgrade your video card in a couple of years. It's unbelievable how much power a video card uses these days. You'll see 100 Watts just to the video card easily.

Post by **XMEN Gambit** » Sat Feb 24, 2007 5:08 pm

Max performance these days for gaming is the intel core duo stuff. All else being equal, I prefer AMD, so I won't knock you for choosing that. Just saying you need to be aware of what you're getting.

DX10 card won't help without Vista. So, if you're going to want your 'puter to last as long as you say, you'll need to plan on upgrading your vid and OS at around the same time. BTW, I use an XFX-brand 6800 and it's been great.

You'll want more than 1GB of RAM total. Looks like 2GB is about the sweet spot for Vista.

If you're going to go RAID, you're better off buying a whole set (2, 3, 5, whatever) at the same time.

multi-card reader/floppy? Do you still use floppies? I built my current system going on 3 years ago, left out the floppy, and don't miss it. I have a USB multi-card reader built in to my printer and a standalone for portability. But it's just $20 bucks, so whatever.

XMEN Ashaman DTM · Post by **XMEN Ashaman DTM** » Sat Feb 24, 2007 6:55 pm

Oh yeah, I have a USB standalone floppy drive too. It's more convenient.

Gambino is right about Core 2 Duo. And since you are building a complete system, that's definitely something to consider.

TimberWolf · Post by **TimberWolf** » Sat Feb 24, 2007 10:40 pm

Well, I am strap for cash beyond whats already tied up in those parts. As I said I intend to get more hard drives and ram later but right now I can't afford much more than that.

With respect to WD, my last 4 hard drives were WD and 3 of them went bad (1 within a year). So I have been burned by them too many times to use them again.

I will look into the PSU's you linked to and see if its worth the extra money up front.

Post by **XMEN Gambit** » Sun Feb 25, 2007 12:23 am

I've got Seagate. With the fluid bearings. Way better than Samsung IMO, and not that much more pricey.

Short of it is, you're NOT going to build a computer good for the length of time you're talking about by, well, not skimping, but by putting so much emphasis on short-term budget. System longevity ain't cheap, and many would say it ain't possible. I suggest rather that your goal is really best-bang-for-buck, so that you've got the most in your wallet when the time comes to build that next one, or upgrading this one. That's what I personally do. Looked at with that goal in mind, your parts list looks a lot more promising. I still think you'll want more HD and RAM. RAM in particular will directly impact your gaming.

XMEN Ashaman DTM · Post by **XMEN Ashaman DTM** » Sun Feb 25, 2007 3:00 am

I'd definitely go with the RAM suggestion. And as to all of the parts you listed, I'd say that the RAM is one of the most crucial items to not skimp on. Well, RAM and the power supply. My last power supply lasted for nearly 6 years. The only reason that I decided to get rid of it was that it didn't have the extra 4 connectors off of the ATX connector, and it wasn't rated to handle the higher amperage of an SLI system (even though my setup would be a crossfire setup, if I went that route).

I wholeheartedly understand your sentiments towards WD. I had a very bad experience with the last generation of IBM drives (before they were bought by hitachi). I will never buy another deskstar drive again.

If you push your RAM up now, with good quality RAM, then you'll be set for Vista. Everywhere I can read up on RAM says that it's hard to go bad with anything but the crappiest names in the memory business.

XMEN Iceman · Post by **XMEN Iceman** » Sun Feb 25, 2007 9:50 am

I am with Dan and Asha on a couple of things.

1. Get a GOOD powersupply. I have been using the Xclio powersupplies lately for my big builds and have had wonderful performance out of them.

I have used the 500-watt primarily for my dual-core machines. And it is a very good bargain for $52. It is very heavy, well made, and is SLI certified.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817189005

2. AT LEAST 1 GB of RAM. AT LEAST. Makes a huge difference in performance. Preferably 2 GB for todays sims.

I would buy a 7600 Geforce then upgrade to an 8-series after they come down in price.

Just my 2 cents.

TimberWolf · Post by **TimberWolf** » Sun Feb 25, 2007 2:39 pm

Ok, so here are the changes:

1. I'll take your suggestion and grab the PSU your suggesting.

2. I did a new look at ram and found a pair of 1 gig sticks for about $80 more.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820144061

3. Also took a look at Seagate and found one I think will work for now. Can't afford to buy two right now.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822148140

*EDIT*

I should note that the new total is now at $927.91. To do this I will have to make some sacrifices (not like I have much more to cut) and have to use my tax returns to pay for it.

XMEN Ashaman DTM · Post by **XMEN Ashaman DTM** » Sun Feb 25, 2007 8:42 pm

You could go with less hard drive capacity?

And you can chop off about 75 bucks with this card (not counting discounts and rebates):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814130062

TimberWolf · Post by **TimberWolf** » Tue Feb 27, 2007 1:25 pm

Did a couple of searchs for hard drives and found other acceptable ones but only $10 or $20 cheaper with 100gigs less and other little things. So the extra cost seems acceptable for now.

I was cheap on the video card I choose when I built my current system and was forced to upgrade it again within a couple of years with something even more expensive then what I had originaly looked at. So I am not going to go too cheap on it this time.

I have found a cheaper case that I think will still meet my needs:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811147057

I took a glance at cases produced by the company that makes the PSU Ice suggested and saw a couple I thought would be nice (with the hot northbridge my board is reported to have) but couldn't convince myself to go for them.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811103004
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811103009

Is there anything I may have not throught of that would be better to choose one of the two other cases over the one I did?

XMEN Iceman · Post by **XMEN Iceman** » Tue Feb 27, 2007 6:22 pm

Yes...get a Coolermaster brand case. Best bang for the buck. They are built very heavy duty and have excellent cooling. The quality is awesome. They start at $45. and go up. The drive mountings require no screws using a friction mount. They have several models, and mine has a 120mm fan and all-wiremesh front, runs VERY cool. They are not light, but very nice. This is the one I have:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811119047

TimberWolf · Post by **TimberWolf** » Tue Feb 27, 2007 10:20 pm

Ok, was looking over all of the hardware and saw that a mail-in rebate was about to close so I ordered everything that I wanted that was in stock.

Here is what I have ordered:

COOLER MASTER Centurion
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811119104
XCLIO GOODPOWER 500W ATX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817189005
MSI K9N SLI Platinum Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813130048
AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Windsor 2.0GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819103735
GeIL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820144061
Seagate Barracuda 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822148140
LG DVD/CD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6827136105
GeForce 7900GS 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814150202
Microsoft Windows XP Home With SP2B
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6832116056

Grand Total of: $942.63 with shipping
mail-in Rebates: $40
Final cost: $902.63

They didn't have the floppy/card reader instock, and its not required for my system.

Spinning Hat · Post by **Spinning Hat** » Tue Feb 27, 2007 11:04 pm

I wouldn't worry about having a floppy drive unless you plan on enabling RAID anytime soon. You could always steal the one from your current system....