AMD X2 Gaming Build.

[IronMentality]

I know there's a perfectly good logical reason of why I should get DDR500 memory again, but I am still missing it. The DFI motherboard only supports PC3200 (DDR400).

 

[ribbon13]

Vapochill lightspeed is for overclockers. Top of the line overclockers (review). You can buy it here or Here (Note that in a couple of years, this is still gonna be worth $800 when your $1k processor is then only worth $50)

The best dual core 939 CPU is not available to the masses yet (Opteron 180). But you shouldn't wait for it.

The DFI only lists DDR400 as max because that's the highest JEDEC spec. IT WILL SUPPORT DDR500. It was the motherboard they used for the DDR500 tests. Conclusions of the test:
"The three 2GB kits that we tested are all winners, but the OCZ PC4000 EB Platinum Edition stood out from the crowd. The OCZ performed at fast 2-3-2 memory timings at DDR400 to 3-3-2 at DDR550 and never required more than 2.7V to maintain complete stability in our memory testing. It is rare to find a memory with this wide range of performance that is perfectly happy with voltages available on most any motherboard that you can buy. In fact, the OCZ 1 GB modules do not seem to really like voltages beyond about 2.8V."

So! Here is the best 2GB kit on the market. (Note newegg DOES NOT carry this model)

Note: If you want top of the line high-end, buying solely from newegg isn't wise or possible.

 

[Agnostos Insania]

Curse you and your endless supply of money. I'm struggling to afford a computer 1/3rd of that price.
Anyway, I second the idea of waiting for the 512mb 7800 GTX.

 

[IronMentality]

Originally posted by: ribbon13
Vapochill lightspeed is for overclockers. Top of the line overclockers

The best dual core 939 CPU is not available to the masses yet (Opteron 180)

The DFI only lists DDR400 as max because that's the highest JEDEC spec. IT WILL SUPPORT DDR500. It was the motherboard they used for the DDR500 tests. Conclusions of the test:
"The three 2GB kits that we tested are all winners, but the OCZ PC4000 EB Platinum Edition stood out from the crowd. The OCZ performed at fast 2-3-2 memory timings at DDR400 to 3-3-2 at DDR550 and never required more than 2.7V to maintain complete stability in our memory testing. It is rare to find a memory with this wide range of performance that is perfectly happy with voltages available on most any motherboard that you can buy. In fact, the OCZ 1 GB modules do not seem to really like voltages beyond about 2.8V."

So! Here is the best 2GB kit on the market. (Note newegg DOES NOT carry this model)

Note: If you want top of the line high-end, buying solely from newegg isn't wise or possible.

Are the links I put to at NewEgg for OCZ RAM sufficient for overclocking (they are also DDR500). I am willing to spend lots of money here, but going for the Vapochill Lightspeed isn't really necessary I don't think.

I'm sure Axiontech is a good site but everyone tells me I should stick with the Egg for there renowned service...

 

[IronMentality]

Originally posted by: Agnostos Insania
Curse you and your endless supply of money. I'm struggling to afford a computer 1/3rd of that price.
Anyway, I second the idea of waiting for the 512mb 7800 GTX.

Any idea of when the 512MB is coming out? Before Christmas I would assume.

 

[ribbon13]

You quoted me wrong.

Let me reiterate:
1. Buying soley from newegg is unwise.
2. The vapochill in a couple of years, this is still gonna be worth $800 when your processor is gonna be less than a quarter of its current value.
3. If you HAVE to buy from newegg, get this RAM

And if you want top of the line gaming performance where's the Fujitsu MAU3147NP?

And Seasonic S12-600(Better to buy it here) > Anything Antec, Fortron, or Enermax.

 

[Agnostos Insania]

Originally posted by: IronMentality

Originally posted by: Agnostos Insania
Curse you and your endless supply of money. I'm struggling to afford a computer 1/3rd of that price.
Anyway, I second the idea of waiting for the 512mb 7800 GTX.

Any idea of when the 512MB is coming out? Before Christmas I would assume.

mOeeOm said Nov. 14th earlier in the thread. I won't pretend I know anything about the market but I would guess that seems about right. From what I've heard Nvidia is quite good about being on-time with releases. Although personally with me, if I had the money to spend it'd be incredibly hard to resist spending it all right now because waiting sucks. Maybe that's why I don't have any money.
You could always resell the 256mb 7800 GTX's, I don't see their demand going down any time soon.

 

[bob4432]

don't you realize that most games are not cpu limited, but gpu? for pure gaming you would probably be fine with a 3700diego, but if you want to waste $$$ on a 4800 that won't fully utilized, but be my guest.

i am saying you could build a box that perform very close to the one you are going to build for 1/2-1/3 the cost and put the saved money into some interest bearing acct like a ing savings account.

spending $3000+ and not getting any scsi is so sad...

also get the thermalright xp90 instead of the zalman

$800 for a processor is ridiculous because in 6-9mos it will 1/2 the cost. you could get a 3000venice and thermalright xp90 with a good fan and push it to at least 2.4GHz, and for a $130 processor

 

[SickBeast]

Two things the OP should definately do:

1. Wait for the 512mb GTX (9 days away).

2. Buy an Opteron 165 (it's the same as an X64 w/ 1MB cache, only cheaper).

 

[Markfw]

Damn, I just ordered another 3800 X2 since mwave was OOS, and now its back for $305 !

 

[bfonnes]

Originally posted by: IntelHydralisk
Can you wait for 512 mb 7800 gtx benches?... or are you dying to burn $3000+

And SLI is not a waste if you can afford it. It sure is a waste if you starve yourself for 6 months to buy it.

plus, if you need or want it... with SLI, you can turn off SLI and have easy 4 monitor support, then switch back to SLI mode when you want the extra speed.

BFonnes

 

[IronMentality]

Will a 15000RPM SCSI hard drive be that much of a performance booster over a Raptor/Seagate 16MB cache pairup?

 

[ribbon13]

It's certainly more worthy spending $500 more on SCSI/RAID than going from the 4400+ to the 4800+

Also you know how you do this?

MEMORY: OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Platinum System Memory Model OCZ4002048ELDCPE-K - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820227210

check this out friend. This will help readability a lot, and may help you get more responses from people who wont bother reading your jumbled mess.

[ L = LINK TEXT ] LINK GOES HERE [ / L ]
minus spaces

so we take "MEMORY: OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Platinum System Memory Model OCZ4002048ELDCPE-K - Retail"

well, lets adjust that "RAM: OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR400 OCZ4002048ELDCPE-K"

put it in the text spot and then the url goes in... and BAM!

RAM: OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR400 OCZ4002048ELDCPE-K

much better, neh?

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

1. Ditch that stupid 4800+. Get the Opteron 165 and overclock it with a Vapochill unit since you have so much money...
2. Get the Lanparty SLI-DR Expert.
3. Get 2x512MB 7800GTX's.
4. Get 4+ 15kRPM SCSI drives in RAID 5.
5. Get a really nice, really big case.
6. Get really nice 5.1 Klipsch speakers.
7. Get a Dell 2405FPW.

That should give you the absolute best. Since you seem to have an unlimited amount of money, those parts are top of the line.

 

[ribbon13]

Originally posted by: t3h l337 n3wb
1. Ditch that stupid 4800+. Get the Opteron 165 and overclock it with a Vapochill unit since you have so much money...
2. Get the Lanparty SLI-DR Expert.
3. Get 2x512MB 7800GTX's.
4. Get 4+ 15kRPM SCSI drives in RAID 5.
5. Get a really nice, really big case.
6. Get really nice 5.1 Klipsch speakers.
7. Get a Dell 2405FPW.

That should give you the absolute best. Since you seem to have an unlimited amount of money, those parts are top of the line.

:thumbsup::thumbsup:

First sane suggestion in the thread: 21 beer salute to you.

:beer::beer::beer:
:beer::beer::beer:
:beer::beer::beer:
:beer::beer::beer:
:beer::beer::beer:
:beer::beer::beer:
:beer::beer::beer:

 

[bob4432]

Originally posted by: IronMentality
Will a 15000RPM SCSI hard drive be that much of a performance booster over a Raptor/Seagate 16MB cache pairup?

look up seek times, a 15krpm owns any 10k or 7.2krpm hdd and the new 15krpm hdds own all in str.

since you seem to be more concerned about your e-penis than practicatlity one would only assume you would have this.

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

Originally posted by: ribbon13

Originally posted by: t3h l337 n3wb
1. Ditch that stupid 4800+. Get the Opteron 165 and overclock it with a Vapochill unit since you have so much money...
2. Get the Lanparty SLI-DR Expert.
3. Get 2x512MB 7800GTX's.
4. Get 4+ 15kRPM SCSI drives in RAID 5.
5. Get a really nice, really big case.
6. Get really nice 5.1 Klipsch speakers.
7. Get a Dell 2405FPW.

That should give you the absolute best. Since you seem to have an unlimited amount of money, those parts are top of the line.

:thumbsup::thumbsup:

First sane suggestion in the thread: 21 beer salute to you.

:beer::beer::beer:
:beer::beer::beer:
:beer::beer::beer:
:beer::beer::beer:
:beer::beer::beer:
:beer::beer::beer:
:beer::beer::beer:

 

[IronMentality]

Originally posted by: t3h l337 n3wb
1. Ditch that stupid 4800+. Get the Opteron 165 and overclock it with a Vapochill unit since you have so much money...
2. Get the Lanparty SLI-DR Expert.
3. Get 2x512MB 7800GTX's.
4. Get 4+ 15kRPM SCSI drives in RAID 5.
5. Get a really nice, really big case.
6. Get really nice 5.1 Klipsch speakers.
7. Get a Dell 2405FPW.

That should give you the absolute best. Since you seem to have an unlimited amount of money, those parts are top of the line.

1) This will absolutely give me the best performance out of any CPU? Honestly, I've never overclocked in my life. Usually I just build standard computers and go a safe Intel CPU, Corsair Value Memory, and Seagate SATA hard drive route. This is the first time I've ever attempted to build something ridiculous. Is it no more then a 15 minute step by step task to setup this AC type unit to cool an Opteron? Also should I get this CPU instead of the 165 as it is clocked higher? (AMD Opteron 152) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103592
2) Absolutely.
3) Absolutely.
4) I've never done RAID or done SCSI before. I am aware however, that 15,000 RPM is faster then 10,000. Am I going to need a vast array of cooling accessories to do this hard drive installation here?
5) I assume my Thermaltake case won't cut it if I am installing all of this new stuff. I assume a Lian-Li is in order now.
6) I will hook up a Harmon/Kardon receiver and 7.1 speaker system to my computer. No need for the Klipsch.
7) I plan on getting an LCD first, since I can use that for productivity work. If I find there's a problem with lag or ghosting while playing an FPS, I will purchase a ViewSonic 21" CRT.

I definitely appreciate all the help here guys. I really wanted to put the finishing touches on this today - looks like I'll have to wait to Monday to order new parts. Nonetheless, is there anything else I should add, as far as cooling accessories, hard drive cooling, and noise control? I don't want to turn on something that sounds like an airhorn is constantly going off

 

[IronMentality]

Originally posted by: bob4432

Originally posted by: IronMentality
Will a 15000RPM SCSI hard drive be that much of a performance booster over a Raptor/Seagate 16MB cache pairup?

look up seek times, a 15krpm owns any 10k or 7.2krpm hdd and the new 15krpm hdds own all in str.

since you seem to be more concerned about your e-penis than practicatlity one would only assume you would have this.

Right now I just use my Power Mac for productivity work and it sits in my room for good looks. I know how to build a PC, but I've always done basic Intel builds like I said. Practicality is not an issue here - I want the most performance for the dollar.

 

[ribbon13]

1. The 152 is single core. Dual core opterons are 165 and you add 5 for each SKU making Opteron 170, 175, and 180.
2. :beer:
3. :beer:
4. Not really. Something like this would be perfect I'll try and find the appropriate model.
5. Lian-li is awesome, but there are other options.
6. :thumbsup: Though IMHO Denon > H/K
7. If you want something esoteric for SLI and first person shooters in widescreen, check out this. That monitor is the poster child for what it takes to make SLI worth it. No LCD on the market can compare to this baby. Just be sure you got a the space for it.

 

[bob4432]

Originally posted by: IronMentality

Originally posted by: bob4432

Originally posted by: IronMentality
Will a 15000RPM SCSI hard drive be that much of a performance booster over a Raptor/Seagate 16MB cache pairup?

look up seek times, a 15krpm owns any 10k or 7.2krpm hdd and the new 15krpm hdds own all in str.

since you seem to be more concerned about your e-penis than practicatlity one would only assume you would have this.

Right now I just use my Power Mac for productivity work and it sits in my room for good looks. I know how to build a PC, but I've always done basic Intel builds like I said. Practicality is not an issue here - I want the most performance for the dollar.

with your current rig in question, you are not getting the most performance for the dollar, just excellent (but not the most) performance for the most dollars. it is your $$$ and you can do whatever you want, but imo you could spend 1/2-1/3 and get 95% of the performance.

as far as the scsi stuff, pick up a chap u160 card, like a adaptec 29160, 19160 or 39160 or an lsiu160 and connect a 15krpm system hdd to it (card should run you ~$40 including the cable and a 36GB fujitsu mau (newest series) 15kr 68pin hdd is ~$185). once you go scsi you will never go back. and you can use 1 single 15krpm hdd on a 32bit pci slot as it will not fully saturate the pci bus. also active cooling is definately suggested for 15krpm hdds. my machine with its 10krpm scsi hdd has a 80mm fan in a cage with another 7.2krpm hdd and they stay cool, ~ ambient case temp.

here is info on the hdd

 

[Agnostos Insania]

Originally posted by: ribbon13
7. If you want something esoteric for SLI and first person shooters in widescreen, check out this. That monitor is the poster child for what it takes to make SLI worth it.

Dang. What's the catch? Only $480 for a screen that big? Hmm, I guess maybe it's been too long since I've looked at monitors.

while the 24-inch screen provides 21 percent more display area than 21-inch monitors..."
Viewable Size: 22.5inch

Pfft, I don't see how they can say that in the description paragraph.
"This car is brand new, never used!"
"Note: This car has 90,000 miles"

 

[bob4432]

Originally posted by: Agnostos Insania

Originally posted by: ribbon13
7. If you want something esoteric for SLI and first person shooters in widescreen, check out this. That monitor is the poster child for what it takes to make SLI worth it.

Dang. What's the catch? Only $480 for a screen that big? Hmm, I guess maybe it's been too long since I've looked at monitors.

the catch is it is a crt that weighs probably >120#'s and will take up all of your desk

 

[Agnostos Insania]

Originally posted by: bob4432
the catch is it is a crt that weighs probably >120#'s and will take up all of your desk

Cool. I've never entirely understood the weight issue that people have for stuff. I guess maybe if you move a lot or something, but my monitor and computer case haven't left their initial positions in years. Give me a solid steel computer case and CRT monitor any day.

 

[ribbon13]

Originally posted by: Agnostos Insania

Originally posted by: ribbon13
7. If you want something esoteric for SLI and first person shooters in widescreen, check out this. That monitor is the poster child for what it takes to make SLI worth it.

Dang. What's the catch? Only $480 for a screen that big? Hmm, I guess maybe it's been too long since I've looked at monitors.

while the 24-inch screen provides 21 percent more display area than 21-inch monitors..."
Viewable Size: 22.5inch

Pfft, I don't see how they can say that in the description paragraph.
"This car is brand new, never used!"
"Note: This car has 90,000 miles"

http://www.mysimon.com/4520-7608_8-1016109-4.html

compare 24 inch wide screen to 21 normal there if you're so inclined.

edit: oh, you're talking about viewable area? That's common with ALL CRTs. some of the CRT is behind plastic and unused, because that area is used for mounting/stability