Please critique my new build for gaming. Thanx.

[technut36]

After getting frustrated for almost 1.5 months try to build a conroe.
I have decided that I am going to wait for the Conroe Prices to drop even more most of all hopefully more stable motherboards and better motherboards should be coming out. One option is to wait two months but I have though about that for a few days and kinda leaning towards another option.

So the next best thing because of the price drops is the AMD X2's. Another advantage is that the boards have been out for a while thus i will be able to overclock a good amount and have a nice fast system. Then in about a yearI will try to sell this and upgrade to a conroe and dx 10 cards. By that time prices along with motherboard selection will be much better. So following is a list of parts I came up with, please let me know what you think of it and if you have a better recommendation I would appreciate a good suggestion.

Also if you think this whole Idea is bogus and you have a better idea, please let me know I am open to all kinds of suggestion.


DFI LP Expert
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813136166

X2 4400+ (89W)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103626

OCZ 2x1G DDR400 Platinum
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227210

PCPnC 750
http://www.pcpowercooling.com/produc...hp?show=S75EPS

Lian Li PC-V2100PlusII
http://www.lian-li.com/Product/Chass...2100plus_2.htm

eVGA 7950 GX2 (already bought)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130023

Scythe Infinity
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835185027

HDD: Raptor + 2.5 TBs


Price wise this is going to be about $300 cheaper considering the conreo setup would have similar parts with p5w and e6600. I am really concerned about high resolution gaming so for that I think 4400+ overclocked to about 2.6-2.8 would give me pretty similar results of a conrow build in gaming and this build will probably be more stable. Anyways what do you guys think?

[technut36]

I am not sure if I can run 7950 on the expert board beause the nvidia only has the LANPARTY UT nF4 Ultra-D listed as a compatible board for 7950.

[Nanometer]

You sure about that?

[technut36]

You sure about that?

not so sure, i want your guys' input so i can be more sure or think of a different set up.

[arisythila]

The 7950GX2 will work on any mainboard with PCI-E slot....

Why are you going with a Socket 939 board? why not AM2? I think it would be more benefitial to get AM2.. Just my opinion. The AM2 3800+ have been known to OC VERY well. I got 2.8 ghz out of my 3800+ with a mear 1.3v

Good luck.

~Mike

[technut36]

The reason I chose the 939 is because at the moment am2 doesnt offer much speed over the 939.

Anyways thanks for the suggestion I am looking into the AM2 right now. Your DFI NF590 board looks good but its more expensive.

How do you like your build, how are the games.

[v0dka]

939 is almost dead. 939 is, however, a very stable and mature platform so you could take it and only replace motherboard and CPU after a while because your other parts look like they might lat you a pretty long time.

[[XC] leviathan18]

dont waste your moeny with 939 am2 is already ddr2 and intel is ddr2 so the only thing you have to sell to go to intel is mobo and cpu

[v0dka]

dont waste your moeny with 939 am2 is already ddr2 and intel is ddr2 so the only thing you have to sell to go to intel is mobo and cpu

I thought he was exploring the best AMD option for now since it's cheaper than Intel and offering about the same performance gaming wise.

Getting rid of AM2 would make no sense since it's ready fro K8L. Which does make it an attractive option as well, it's jsut that motherboards and RAM are still a bit new to this platform. There is a problem with high mem speed and 1T for example and nice boards like the DFI 590SLI are expensive.

[Dubz]

go am2 as the socket is k8l ready like v0dka said. and once it arrives i doubt you will have to sell it to Intel.

[arisythila]

The reason I chose the 939 is because at the moment am2 doesnt offer much speed over the 939.

Anyways thanks for the suggestion I am looking into the AM2 right now. Your DFI NF590 board looks good but its more expensive.

How do you like your build, how are the games.

Well I think bandwidth does somethign for games. Battlefield 2, and 2142 load up VERY smooth. I installed it on my old 939 system(3800+, DFI Expert, 2gb of memory ect) and there was a noticable amount of lag. I would do this build over and over and over again. IF your smart about it, you can get yourself a VERY nice setup, for the same price. DDR2 will cost alittle bit more than DDR, but you will never think about 939 after you go to AM2.

~Mike

[technut36]

Ok here is the update, I spent all last night thinking and reading.
Here was my conclusion, I can build a conroe for around a very similar price, mwa*e's price on e6600 and p5wdh dropped so I just decided to go for a c2d build because even non oced it will still be faster then the setup which i was considering.
Well I already made my trip to mwave and man I got lucky because I just caught this mornings shipment of p5wdh, they were out of stock late afternoon.
Any ways I will have an upside down setup in the Lian Li case, so I am probably going to follow the excellent post by freecableguy and clean out the stock pad and put some as5, I am considering getting HR-05 for the NB but I want to install the TR Ultra-120 and see if I have space for if, if there isnt enough space i am just goin to stick a 40mm fan on NB. (thanks wusy)

Anyways everybody gave excellent advice. If I would have gone the amd route I would have chosen am2. I have reviewed the P5W DH Sticky's and I am expecting the problems with solution on hand. So hopefully my build goes nice and smooth.

Thanks a lot for all your advice. I came across this board during my research for a C2D build and all the stickys and other posts have been nothing but great help.

I will have all the parts by the end of the week and hopefully I will be able to overclock to atleast 3.3 Stable with 1:1 ratio by the end of week.

[arisythila]

That should be fun for you :-)

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=112902

~Mike

[vitaminc]

Seriously, just go AM2 if you really love AMD, or Conroe if you like high performance. There's no reason to buy an EoL platform.

[afireinside]

Also if you think this whole Idea is bogus and you have a better idea, please let me know I am open to all kinds of suggestion.

Get conroe now or wait. 939 is dead and am2 is slow. I've been through 9 939s, 2 AM2 chips and I can safely say even a "crappy" clocking conroe will decimate them.

[technut36]

Get conroe now or wait. 939 is dead and am2 is slow. I've been through 9 939s, 2 AM2 chips and I can safely say even a "crappy" clocking conroe will decimate them.

Lol, that was the key point why I turned to conroe finally.

[technut36]

Got the Lian Li PCV-2100PlusII, all I can say is I am so happy with my choice, I spent a lot of days or maybe even weeks just looking for the right case for me, and man this case really is it I LOVE IT. Its really solid, sleek and spacious. I also got the Silencer 750 from PCPnC in a nice copper finish, looks pretty damn solid, just wish it was modular but oh well I got space to tuck away the wires.

Just waiting for the gskill and ultra 120 from newegg.

[specv]

C2D is pound for pound cheaper than AM2. Plus the fact that u can upgrade to the kentsfield with more conroe boards you are crazy not to go that way. Id pass on 4x4 i cant imagine it being a better deal then kentsfield and you wont need a new motherboard

[technut36]

Seriously, just go AM2 if you really love AMD, or Conroe if you like high performance. There's no reason to buy an EoL platform.

Love performance so did end up going with conroe!