Help me configure my new rig

[Pyrodude808]

Hello Im new here at XtremeSystems and I could use your opinions! I am building a new system and my total budget is somewhere between 2000$-2500$ This will be my second time building a system so I kinda know what Im doing, but I will have help from a very qualified person. Use of my computer will be Gaming..I need some sheer gaming goodness and a machine thats ripping fast. I dont plan on doing any overclocking (some Instant messaging and Microsoft Word)
Games that I currently play are Dawn of War, Rome total War, HL2 Counter Strike. I plan on playing battlefield2 and what ever other good RT'S come out.I want this system to last at least 3 years with maybe a video card upgrade along the road. I will list the specs I have picked so far and would like recommendations on other parts or just anything I need to know


Case, I cant have somthing Massive, and I would like a drive door if possible
My idea would be the Lian Li PC-65B even thoough it has no drive door
Any other idea's on better cases that look good and have great airflow?


Power Supply, My idea the Ultra X-Connect 500watt psu
I dont think I need more than 500watts since I have no current plans to overclock Although I read on Gruntville that 24-pin ATX and PCI-Express connectors not included. So does that mean it wont work with my config


Cpu, AMD FX-55 from ZoomZipFly for 879.00$ With fan and heatsink 3 year warranty. I dont really understand OEM. I know the OEM processors dont come with a heatsink or fan, leaving you to pick and place your own. Does OEM come with a warranty? Why is it more expensive?


Motherboard, oh man this is where I have no idea except, that PCI-Express will be the standard in a while so I want to go with that. There are many brands of the NF4 and the VIA chipset but which is the best?


Video Cards.... I dont really know? maybe the x850xt pe? or what ever nVidia throws out next. I would consider getting one Nvidia 6800U or GT and then add another latter which seems to be a good idea...


Ram, Another I have no idea.. 1Gb should be enough I think. What ram fits those motherboards and what is the best?


Hard Drives, My idea 1x Fujitsu 36.7 GB 15,000 rpm OEM Drive only. Im not sure if that is enough space but I dont DL mp3 or videos and my only programs would be windows, games, and some small others. Another question is 15k big enough of a difference to be worth 200$ or is it better to just get a 10k 100$ drive?

Just a regular song 16x DVD drive, I dont need or plan on using a dvd burner or CD burner

I dont plan on getting a soundcard, I will just use the onboard sound. Unless you guys think it would be a better idea to get a sound card

I have a logitech MX1000 and I would consider getting a Razer Diamond back if it is worth it... And I have no idea on a keyboard need somthin thats easy to type on and game with

Headset, I plan on getting Logitech's new extreme headset, but if theres better please tell me!
I think thats it, and I would really appreciate any feedback what so ever. Help make me xtreme :D

[jjcom]

No overclocking :eek: lol o'well

Alright, I'd get a PSU with the PCI-E and Sata connectors. The FX-55 would be good to get...An NF 4 motherboard so you can ensure 100% conpatibilty for SLI. an ASUS, MSI, or Giga board would be fine. I'd get the ASUS myself. If your budget is that big, go for the 6800 Ultra. 1gb...well since your not overclocking...you could get 2x 1gb sticks, but that might be overkill. So I'd say get 2x 512mb sticks.

"Help make me xtreme :D"

That rig should do it.

jjcom

[Maelstrom2160]

ya may benifit more putting ya cash into 2 6800gt in sli mode on a nf4 sli mainboard. You will probably notice alot more performance than you would buying a fx55 and one gpu.

You could look into buying a cheap winchester and a decent heatsink and fan, and try a little CPU overclocking, it'll save you some serious $, it's so damn easy to do it.

if you dont plan to do any "front side bus" overclocking dont buy any fancy memory, economy RAM from a reputable manufacture will function as you would expect

with the sound its up to you, your cash, you make the decision. Do you need slightly better sound that what the onboard audio will give? do you have decent enough audio output gear to take advantage of it? If not save a few dollars and go with the onboard sound chip

one word of advice dont skimp on ya PSU if your intending to get two graphics cards and run them in SLI

If ya want a keyboard go to your local computer store/rip of merchant and tap the keys on his cheapo keyboard collection, the one ya like the feel of is the one to get :banana:

[Pyrodude808]

I would consider overclocking but the fact that it voids the warranty scares me into thinking the second I over clock the cpu or gpu will die and I will have to buy another one...

[Pyrodude808]

Can anyone out there educate me on OEM? Does OEM come witha warranty?

[RaptorRaider]

Can anyone out there educate me on OEM? Does OEM come witha warranty?

1 year warranty instead of 3 years warranty + HSF when you buy a boxed processor.
OEM is supposed to be cheaper than boxed.

I think OEM stands for 'Original Equipment Manufacturer'. :confused:

[Pyrodude808]

Thanks raptor, anyone have any comments on the 15k harddrive is it compatible with a NF4? And if so is it really worth the extra 100$?

[RaptorRaider]

Any other specs except that it's a 15k 36.7GH drive from Fujitsu?
Because I can find multiple drives with those specs:

Fujitsu MAM3367, 36,7GB (15.000rpm, Ultra160, 68p, 8MB)
Fujitsu MAS3367NC, 36,7GB (15.000rpm, Ultra320, SCA, 8MB)
Fujitsu MAS3367NP, 36,7GB (15.000rpm, Ultra320, 68p, 8MB)

I wouldn't recommend any of those drives, I think they're SCSI drives and those aren't supported by your (if any) motherboard.

My recommendation would be the 73GB Western Digital Raptor.

[Pyrodude808]

I was thinking about this one http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=22-116-140&depa=1

Ahh it is SCSI. Right now I'm thinking about the GigaNF4 and I dont think it supports that...

Whats the best Ram that the NF4 can use? Not in overclocking ablities but in default preformance

[jjcom]

Some OCZ plat rev. 2. nice tight latencies at stock

jjcom

[RaptorRaider]

You mean the K8NXP-SLI (http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Motherboard/Products/Products_GA-K8NXP-SLI.htm)?

Normally I'd say check out what memory your motherboard 'officially' supports.
However, I don't think Gigabyte has released that info because the motherboard isn't in stores yet.

You could buy what jjcom is recommending, I'm sure they'll do just fine.
But if you're not going to overclock , I don't think it's worth the money.
Tight latencies might raise your FPS by 1% or 2% but that's it. :p:
I'd buy some cheap 2x 512MB DDR400 (PC3200) from a company with a good name.

[Pyrodude808]

Any idea on the SLi/pcie mobo's that will be released before January 6th ?

[Bungo]

Dont worry about voiding the warranty. U can RMA a videocard that have been running with several vmods + phase-change cooling without getting denied. But that is of course if u remove all vmods,clean the card and attatch the stock cooling again, which means that the card must look like totally untouched/modified. But thats prolly nothing for u?

If u overclock ur stuff by just increasing the frequency and not the voltage, the chance of killing hardware is as big as getting hit by lightning :P:
But ofcourse, the hardware wont overclock as far without increasing the voltage. Just so u know.

To ur purchase, Sli is defenetly the way to go.. 2x6800gt would give alot of perfomance for the money.. but i have no idea about mobo.

[Pyrodude808]

Motherboards that I have been thinking of MSI K8N NEO4 PLatinum, and the Asus A8N-SLi deluxe... Which are the only ones out right now... Man 2 6800U would cost 1000$+ ! I may just wait save the leftover money and add another card this summer

[RaptorRaider]

Motherboards that I have been thinking of MSI K8N NEO4 PLatinum, and the Asus A8N-SLi deluxe... Which are the only ones out right now... Man 2 6800U would cost 1000$+ ! I may just wait save the leftover money and add another card this summer

If those are your options, I'd say take a motherboard from MSI.
The Diamond version (which should be in stores soon I think) has a very good onboard sound chip and since you don't want to buy a soundcard this would be a good choice.
On the other hand, the Asus has 2 PCI-E 1x slots which the MSI motherboards might have in a few months on a new revision, but don't have right now. But what would you need those slots for anyway? ;)

About waiting to buy a second videocard... I'm not sure that would work.
AFAIK I know, not only the videocard has to be the same, but also the BIOS.
So if you wait a long time until prices change and you're in need of a second 6800U, the BIOS could be different and then you wouldn't be able to run them in SLI. Again, I'm not sure about this.

[Pyrodude808]

Selecting the parts is harder than building the thing arghh..... I will never decide on anything

[Hombre]

Motherboards that I have been thinking of MSI K8N NEO4 PLatinum, and the Asus A8N-SLi deluxe... Which are the only ones out right now... Man 2 6800U would cost 1000$+ ! I may just wait save the leftover money and add another card this summer

Untill the summer you'll probably want a whole new generation card.. or even to go AMR or new ATI card, that will def :banana::banana::banana::banana: up the "SLI future upgrade" capabillities.

[Pyrodude808]

Anyone know if this http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=16-118-009&DEPA=0 wil convert SCSI to pci? If it does would that let mothboards with no SCSI support useable once that converter is pluged into a pci slot?

[RaptorRaider]

Don't forget that the Fujitsu drive you showed us has an Ultra320 interface while this one has an Ultra160 interface.
In this (http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/storage/display/u320scsi-2.html) article they test out the performance difference. It seems that as long as your only using 1 drive the difference is very small but when you use multiple drives the difference will raise fast.

[Pyrodude808]

Oh you right,good thing I didnt order would have been a stupid buy waste. I read the article which makes me think that the WD 73gb 10k HD would be my best choice. Anyone think that Nvidia is going to release a new card to compete with the x850?

[jjcom]

I don't think are going to...the current cards about the same still...the X850 was more of a refresh more than anything...plus a slightly higher clock boost. The X850XT PE would be my reccmindation for a vid card..

jjcom

[Pyrodude808]

when will the x850xt pe be sold to the public? march.....?

[jjcom]

I'd guess late January or Febuary...But it should be worth the wait...unless you want to go SLi then Nvidia 6800GT 2x would be very nice and blow the X850XT PE out of the water

jjcom

[Pyrodude808]

Becuase I cant find any of the parts I want I started looking a retailors that sell SLi computers... I configured one from Cyberpower
CoolerMaster TAC-T01-E1C Wave Master Aluminum 420W Case (BLACK)
Ultra X-Connect 500W PS
(939-pin) AMD ATHLON64 3500+ Processor
(939-pin) ASUS nForce4 SLI Chipset Mainboard
1GB (512MBx2) PC3200 DDR400 Memory (Corsair_XMS_PRO)
Western Digital Raptor 36.7GB 10,000RPM Serial ATA 150 8MB Cache WD360GD
NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT 256MB 16X PCI EXPRESS VIDEO CARD
NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT 256MB 16X PCI EXPRESS VIDEO CARD
16X DVD ROM (BLACK)
HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO

Price: $2327.00



How much money a I losing by going with them and not building my own?

[\/icious]

Becuase I cant find any of the parts I want I started looking a retailors that sell SLi computers... I configured one from Cyberpower
CoolerMaster TAC-T01-E1C Wave Master Aluminum 420W Case (BLACK)
Ultra X-Connect 500W PS
(939-pin) AMD ATHLON64 3500+ Processor
(939-pin) ASUS nForce4 SLI Chipset Mainboard
1GB (512MBx2) PC3200 DDR400 Memory (Corsair_XMS_PRO)
Western Digital Raptor 36.7GB 10,000RPM Serial ATA 150 8MB Cache WD360GD
NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT 256MB 16X PCI EXPRESS VIDEO CARD
NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT 256MB 16X PCI EXPRESS VIDEO CARD
16X DVD ROM (BLACK)
HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO

Price: $2327.00



How much money a I losing by going with them and not building my own?
Not much. From the prices ive seen it would probably cost about that much to do it yourself

[RaptorRaider]

Here in the Netherlands I think that would cost about €1850 - €1900 after shipping costs.

Edit: But that would be with 2 AGP 6800 GT's. PCI-E 6800's are almost impossible to find here, so I guess $2300 dollars isn't a bad price.

[Pyrodude808]

Ok I configured again

CoolerMaster TAC-T01-E1C Wave Master Aluminum 420W Case (BLACK)
(939-pin) AMD ATHLON64 FX 55 Processor
(939-pin) ASUS nForce4 SLI Chipset Mainboard
1GB (512MBx2) PC3200 DDR400 Memory (Corsair_XMS)
Western Digital Raptor 36.7GB 10,000RPM Serial ATA 150 8MB Cache WD360GD
NONE - 2nd Hard Drive
NVIDIA GeForce 6800 ULTRA 256MB 16X PCI EXPRESS VIDEO CARD
NVIDIA GeForce 6800 ULTRA 256MB 16X PCI EXPRESS VIDEO CARD
16X DVD ROM (BLACK)
HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO

Price: $3131.00 (plus same ps and xp home)


Is the FX55 and 2 Ultra's worth the extra 1000$ ?

[Pyrodude808]

Holy crap with standard service its shipped on 12/17/2004 with RUSH it ships 12/13/2004 :slobber: :slobber: How do they do that???

[Maelstrom2160]

holy £*&%, nice rig. Have you ordered it yet?

if ya havent ya could get a couple of 60+Gb NCQ drives for that nf4 mobo for less than a $200 and set em up in raid 0 config

:banana:

try not to get overly excited before it arives ya'll want some energy to play some comp games.

[Hombre]

Is the FX55 and 2 Ultra's worth the extra 1000$ ?

Maybe the FX's worth it; but as far as I can see there is no problem to OC that 3500 beyond it's speeds and get more performance for less price; same on the ultra's, I think I will get 2 GT's; I can OC them, they draw less power, produce less heat and takes less space.

[Pyrodude808]

yeah i agree about the ultra's, but the 3500 isnt Winchester. I think I will get the 3200 Winchester and the GT's

[Pyrodude808]

Man I can't decide should I go all out and get the F55 and Ultra's or get the GT's and 3200 Winchester???!?! I gotta order soon what would be better, saving about a grand or getting the best of the best? Man I want to go all out but the better of me wants to save money ahhh

[Hombre]

If I was shorter on budget I will get 3200+ Winnie and save for the FX57 in my "next big upgrade". Same on the GT's. Just think of NV47x2 :slobber: Anyways, which PSU are you planning to go with that rig? BTW get some real TCCD instead of that XMS. I recommend OCZ EL Rev2. or OCZ VX.

[Pyrodude808]

I can only add what they offer on the site. I think If I add anything else it may void the warranty. I'm calling today to ask a bunch of questioins... On the ram thing all they offer is Kingston Geil and Corsair, whats the best of those? Try and check out the site www.cyberpowersystems.com so you can see what I can actually get.

[Hombre]

Here is a better rig for my opinion:
# CoolerMaster TAC-T01-E1C Wave Master Aluminum 420W Case (SILVER)
# (939-pin) AMD ATHLON64 FX 55 Processor
# (939-pin) ASUS nForce4 SLI Chipset Mainboard
# 1GB (512MBx2) PC3200 DDR400 Memory (Corsair_XMS)
# Western Digital Raptor 74GB 10,000RPM Serial ATA 150 8MB Cache WD740GD
# NONE - 2nd Hard Drive
# NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT 256MB 16X PCI EXPRESS VIDEO CARD
# NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT 256MB 16X PCI EXPRESS VIDEO CARD
# 16X DVD ROM (SILVER)
# NEC 3500A 16X DVD+-RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER (SILVER)
# NONE - MONITOR
# Creative Labs SB Audigy-2 ZS 7.1
Sadly this company doesn't offer better parts like PSU and RAM. I think you should go with PCPC510 at least... but if you don't OC you should get RAM that do 2225 stock. I suggest you to call that company and ask if the customize you some special parts.

[Pyrodude808]

The fx55 is a 600$ upgrade and I really do not want to spend $3,000. I'm calling them tonight, to ask about a lot of things. If they can get the 3500 winchester I will get that for sure. If not then I will probly get the 3200 and plan on upgrading soon if it dosent void the warranty, they possibly could do it for me. Getting 2x ultra's instead of the GT's is only 240$ do you think its worth it since I dont plan on overclocking? On the HD I dont really DL mp3s or movies but it does have a faster seek speed. I guess I will go with the 74 gig 10k. On the ram I will ask them, maybe I could get the least amount from the site and then add my own.

[GreatDeceiver]

If I was shorter on budget I will get 3200+ Winnie and save for the FX57 in my "next big upgrade". Same on the GT's. Just think of NV47x2 :slobber: Anyways, which PSU are you planning to go with that rig? BTW get some real TCCD instead of that XMS. I recommend OCZ EL Rev2. or OCZ VX.

what do you mean 'real' tccd? isn't corsair xms 4400c25 'real'?

[Pyrodude808]

Allright just an update, I called CP up and got this asian laddy who had no idea what I was talking about(not a good sign) but tommrow I will call again(try to get the manager or whatever) and probably order. I think I will get the ultra's and the 3200 winchester. And the worst ram they have, then order some OCZ PLt rev2 or in a bit when Cosair releases their "Bling Bling new better than the pro xms" line(said an article about it on toms hardware, cant find it right now.) She said that I can add almost anything without voiding warranty, need to ask about overclocking. If I get the Ultras I may have to buy a 600W PS just so everything is safe.

[Pyrodude808]

.... :D ......

bump.....

[Hombre]

GreatD, it isn't xms4400, it's 3200, and it's not TCCD based.

Pyrodude how is it going?
I think you're right, adding "just" 240$ more to the total price rather than 600$ sounds much more sane, Especially if you don't OC; you got alot of extra boost with the Ultra's.
Also I think that if you're not planning to bump your system in 1Mhz at least you should consider to go with the 3500+.
PSU like PCPC510 (650W Peak time @ 40c-+ :slobber: ) or OCZ520 will handle your rig just fine! :D

[Pyrodude808]

Im calling soon, and I'm going to find out if I can get the 3500 Winchester or not. If so I will get that and upgrade to the latest and greatest in a year. If not then I will get the 3200 and plan on upgrading soon. On the ram I think I will just get the cheap stuff and upgrade before summer. Power supply, if the x-connect isnt enough I will plan on getting this http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=22_230&products_id=2456&osCsid=3dada7956c2f7aae665334a42e6653ca . Im gonna get them Ultra's w00t

[Hombre]

Oh i'm sure the X-Connect will do the job pretty fine, but if you want to get ready for the future (And don't want to idle around 11.0V @ 12V :D) you should get a better PSU, and idd that TTGI is a beast.

[Pyrodude808]

If i got the cheapo ram, do you think that it would affect gameplay that much?

Edit: the cheapo ram is 512 MB PC3200 400MHz DDR MEMORY
GEIL VALUE RAM
GeIL Ultra-X High Performance Memory w/ Heat Spreader, 2 5-2-2
Kingston Hyper-X High Performance Memory w/ Heat Spreader 2-3-2-6-1
Corsair XMS High Performance Memory w/ Heat Spreader Corsair XMS PRO High 2, 2.5-3-3-6

[Pyrodude808]

Another update- called up cyberpower and they said I couldn't get the 3500 Winchester, only the Newcastle, and If I overclock it voids warranty!! Oh well I wasnt't planning on that anyways. So I shall get the 3200 Winchester then upgrade this summer/next christmas. 2x Ultra's which seems to be the best choice for me since I have no plans for overclocking. And still havn't decided on ram.... If you have an opinion on which ram I should get, look at the post above .

[Hombre]

No I don't think that a certain company can inferior only by "it's name".
Geil won't be slower in games than Corsair as long as the RAM is at the same amount and ratings.
I think you should get the Ultra-X from that list, as it's cheaper than other TCCD's and has the lowest timings @ stock from that list. Also, if you plan to OC in the future you can get lucky with those sticks.

[jjcom]

some 2-3-2 RAM or 2-3-3 would be the highest latence I would allow...current rig uses 2-3-2 RAM

jjcom