New "Futureproof" Gaming PC Suggestions

[Salahuddin]

Hello everyone,

I'm new to these boards and I must say that I really feel priviledged to be amongst such a knowledgeable community.

Just wanted to ask a couple of quick questions. I'm aiming to build a new gaming PC that will be pretty good for a year or two. I know its impossible to build a truly "futureproof" computer, but for what its worth, I've decided to put together the following:

AMD X2 4400 CPU
GeForce 7800 GTX
DFI Lanparty NF4 SLI-DR (with the hopes to have the option of SLIing a 7800 GTX several months down the road).
Enermax 600W NoiseTaker Power Supply
Samsung Spinpoint 160GB HD x2 in Raid
Either OCZ Gold VX PC4000 2GB (4x512MB) or OCZ Platinum PC3200 2GB (2x1024MB)

So... with this build, I had a couple of questions I hope I could please get answered:

1. I really want to get 2GB of RAM in my machine. I've read the OCZ Gold VX series is pretty good... but will I have trouble running 4x512MB in my machine? I'm not huge on overclocking, but some headroom would be nice and I would really like to run my memory at very tight 2-2-2 timings if possible. If not the OCZ Gold VX, would the OCZ Platinum PC3200 2x1024MB be better... or is there another choice I should consider?

2. Is the Enermax 600W powersupply likely to be powerful enough to run two 7800 GTXs in SLI? Or should I choose another PS to be safe?

3. Would anyone recommend any other HD than the Samsung Spinpoints 160GB each? I know Raptors are the fastest, but in my readings they don't provide that much of a performance boost and their size is kind of small. Anyone recommend any larger HDs?

4. Any case suggestions to keep this machine nice and cool with air cooling?

Thank you,

Salahuddin

[[XC] leviathan18]

wait till new raptor revision 147gb sata II 16mb cache
sata II hitachi deskstar are the best right now
psu pcp&p sli dlx is a killer
ram depens on what you want very tight timmings high vdimm not too high fsb or very high fsb more loose timings not too high vdimm
4 512mb will run in 2t command rate not 1t

case well im looking over the lian li 2000 or 1200 they look awesome or maybe the stacker or the tt kandalf

[Hans.Gruber]

AMD X2 4400 CPU
GeForce 7800 GTX
DFI Lanparty NF4 SLI-DR (with the hopes to have the option of SLIing a 7800 GTX several months down the road).
Enermax 600W NoiseTaker Power Supply
Can't do much better than that, if at all.

Sli for GFX update, dual core for multihreading games, s-939 socket gets few new CPU's to it, 600W PSU is plenty.

Nice set.

4. Any case suggestions to keep this machine nice and cool with air cooling?
Make sure that the case has places for 120mm fans.

[YanBooth]

http://mountainmods.com/product_info.php?cPath=21_32&products_id=77

Want amazing air cooling? Thats your ride.

Yan

[YanBooth]

wait till new raptor revision 147gb sata II 16mb cache



I heard a rumor, and you confirmed it!

Well, how long? I most certainely have to add that to my rig setup!

Yan

[perkam]

Hey Sal,

Firstly, :welcome: Welcome TO XtremeSystems.com !!!! :welcome:

I hope you enjoy your stay here and find what you're looking for :)

As for your rig, the Noisetaker is a ways cheaper than PCP&C SLI ... but yes, the the PCP&C is better overall with many high end overclockers endorsing it. Though that shouldn't mean the Noisetaker is insufficient, it should handle everything you need at a much lowre price :) .

Perkam

[Salahuddin]

Thanks for the replies everyone. And thanks for the kind welcome perkam... it was much appreciated!

Have another few questions based on what was mentioned, if you guys don't mind:

1. Leviathan, you said that 4x512MB will run in 2T not 1T command rate. Forgive me, but I don't quite understand what that means... other than, I assume it means the ram will run slower. If this is true... how much slower are we talking here? If I want 2GB, does that make my only viable option 2x1024MB for an AMD board?

And for AMD motherboards, I read that tight timings are most important to overall gaming. Is this true or is the FSB more important (I know it is for benchmarks)?

2. I've heard of this "new Raptor HD" for a while now. Any ideas when it might come out? I'm kind of hoping to build this system in the next month or so.

3. How important is it to get an HD with 16MB cache over an 8MB cache?

3. Thanks Yanbooth for suggesting that case... but I think that is a little overkill for me. It looks quite impressive for sure. I'm not a huge overclocker... just want to make sure that if I go SLI I have adequate cooling for 2 x 7800 GTXs. Have any suggestions around the $150 price range? The stacker and kandalf that leviathan mentioned look nice... any other suggestions in this ballpark?


Thanks again everyone,

Salahuddin

[Hans.Gruber]

1. Leviathan, you said that 4x512MB will run in 2T not 1T command rate. Forgive me, but I don't quite understand what that means... other than, I assume it means the ram will run slower. If this is true... how much slower are we talking here? If I want 2GB, does that make my only viable option 2x1024MB for an AMD board?
You wont notice any difference between 1 or 2T, only some synthetic test reveal the difference, and it's 0-3%. (about).
2x1024MB would be my choice, still possible to get 4GB total if needed in the future.
3. How important is it to get an HD with 16MB cache over an 8MB cache?
Not important at all if that is the only difference.
But i don't recommend a raid setup, it give no advantage unless you go for RAID 1.
Get fast drives with NCQ,

[[XC] leviathan18]

well my friend s7e9h3n didnt tell me exactly when they come out... somewhere near september i think

i would go sata II with ncq with the hitachi they seems to be the faster right now the 250gb version has plenty of storage and if you raid 0 2 of those babies sweet....

and yes 2t is slower than 1t that is because the MEM controller is on cpu on the athlon 64 and they can only handle 2t@ ddr400 with 2gb byt if you OC a little the mem you will not see the difference.

i also like the lian li 1200 and 2000 they look so great but is more personal taste than anything

[RaptorRaider]

How about these (http://www.wdc.com/en/products/Products.asp?DriveID=133&Language=en) instead of the Hitachi drives?

Haven't seen a review of them yet but SATAII, 16MB cache and a decent price is nice.

[Salahuddin]

So leviathan, does only 4x512MB run at 2T or does 2x1024MB run at 2T as well?

Sounds like my best choice might be the OCZ PC3200 Platinum 2x1024MB with 2-3-2 timings.


BTW... noob question... what does NCQ mean?

[Chris27]

native command queing I think

[Salahuddin]

So do all Sata II drives have NCQ automatically? And, do all Sata II drives work with the Sata controller on the DFI Lanparty NF4 SLI-DR board?

[YanBooth]

3. Thanks Yanbooth for suggesting that case... but I think that is a little overkill for me. It looks quite impressive for sure. I'm not a huge overclocker... just want to make sure that if I go SLI I have adequate cooling for 2 x 7800 GTXs. Have any suggestions around the $150 price range? The stacker and kandalf that leviathan mentioned look nice... any other suggestions in this ballpark?


That case is a great air cooling case, but I think it was aimed at people who want to drop a large water cooling setup in it (thats what I will be doing).

Another case that is more basic, no weird upside mobo stuffm is the Lian Li PC-75. There also is another version of the same caase that replaces the 80mm fans with 120mm fans in some parts of the case.

Anything else?

yan

[Salahuddin]

You're awesome Yan... thanks bro.

[YanBooth]

No problem. Just trying to help.

Yan

[perkam]

Thanks for the replies everyone. And thanks for the kind welcome perkam... it was much appreciated!

Have another few questions based on what was mentioned, if you guys don't mind:

1. Leviathan, you said that 4x512MB will run in 2T not 1T command rate. Forgive me, but I don't quite understand what that means... other than, I assume it means the ram will run slower. If this is true... how much slower are we talking here? If I want 2GB, does that make my only viable option 2x1024MB for an AMD board?

And for AMD motherboards, I read that tight timings are most important to overall gaming. Is this true or is the FSB more important (I know it is for benchmarks)?

2. I've heard of this "new Raptor HD" for a while now. Any ideas when it might come out? I'm kind of hoping to build this system in the next month or so.

3. How important is it to get an HD with 16MB cache over an 8MB cache?

3. Thanks Yanbooth for suggesting that case... but I think that is a little overkill for me. It looks quite impressive for sure. I'm not a huge overclocker... just want to make sure that if I go SLI I have adequate cooling for 2 x 7800 GTXs. Have any suggestions around the $150 price range? The stacker and kandalf that leviathan mentioned look nice... any other suggestions in this ballpark?


Thanks again everyone,

Salahuddin

Hey Sal,

1. 4x512MB All the Way. Dont worry about 1T/2T, you'll get higher clocks with 2T to compensate for the small fall in perf, so there will be end difference. As for AMD Mobos, yes you need good timings ram.=, some mushkin redline should be best, you can see a recent review of 4x512MB Mushkin Redline here: http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=66239 .

2. Dont worry about it, if you want a REALLY fast system, you can get two 36GB Raptors for around the same price as two SATAII NCQ-enabled 160GB drives...your choice if you need the extra space or not.

3. As Hans Gruber stated, no importance whatsoever.

4. Yanbooth's suggestion of a lian li PC-75 Seconded :up:

Perkam