Brand new gaming rig build, priced out and ready to go...

[Malladine]

ASPIRE X-Plorer ATXB8KLW-YL Black/Yellow Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Model #: ATXB8KLW-YL
$57

MSI K8N Neo4-F Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
$85.50

XFX PVT70GUDF7 Geforce 7800GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - $374.00

FSP Group (Fortron Source) AX450-PN ATX12V 450W Power Supply - Retail
Model #: AX450-PN
$49.99

AMD Athlon 64 3500+ Venice 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3500BPBOX - Retail
Model #: ADA3500BPBOX
$219.00

CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model VS1GBKIT400 - Retail
$89.75

Maxtor DiamondMax 10 6L300S0 300GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM
Model #: 6L300S0
$129.99

Logitech Ultra X 967353-0403 PS/2 Wired Standard Keyboard - OEM
Model #: 967353-0403
$18.00

Logitech MX518 931352-0403 2-Tone 8 Buttons 1x Wheel USB + PS/2 Optical Mouse - Retail
Model #: 931352-0403
$39.89

SENNHEISER PC 150 2 x 3.5mm Connector Headset - Retail
$55.00

LITE-ON Black IDE DVD-ROM Drive Model SOHD-16P9S Black - OEM
Model #: SOHD-16P9S Black
$22.00

SAMSUNG Black IDE DVD Burner Model TS-H552U/BEBN BLK - OEM
Model #: TS-H552U/BEBN BLK
$39.99

Turtle Beach CATALINA 8 (7.1) Channels PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail
Model #: TBS-3430-01
$49.99

ALTEC LANSING VS2221 28 Watts RMS 2.1 Speaker - Retail
Model #: VS2221
$36.00

ViewSonic G220fb Black 21" CRT Monitor 15-pin mini D-sub - Retail
Model #: G220fb
$439

Subtotal: $1,715.11 ($1834.81 with shipping)

Changes made so far:
CPU from SanDiego 3700+ to Venice 3500+,
PS from Seasonic 380W to Fortron 450W,
Enermax case to Aspire case,
2gb OCZ to 1gb Corsair and
Audigy ZS to Turtle Beach Catalina

 

[Fresh Daemon]

Nice rig. I'm sure you'll be very happy together. However, there's no way those speakers justify an Audigy2. I hope it's a stop-gap measure before you go to a more expensive 5.1 system!

 

[Malladine]

Really? Altec Lansing have served me well in the past. I suppose I could just get a santa cruz turtle beach for $50

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

Get a better motherboard. You won't be able to overclock as well on that. The EPoX nForce4 Ultra board is only $107 at Newegg. It's the 2nd best overclocking board out there for S939. Also, XFX graphics cards are crap. Go with eVGA, Leadtek, or BFG. Also, you could save some money on the PSU by going with the 450W Fortron @ Newegg with dual +12V rails for only $50.

 

[Pabster]

Originally posted by: Malladine
Really? Altec Lansing have served me well in the past. I suppose I could just get a santa cruz turtle beach for $50

Actually you could find a decent used one for $25 or less.

Hell I've still got a Santa Cruz in my Northwood rig and it works just fine.

The Audigy might be a better choice IF you plan on going to a real 5.1 system though.

 

[Ike0069]

Very nice setup. Looks like everything was well though out, but I do have a couple of comments.

First, I agree with the above comment. If you plan to go with those speakers, the Audigy2 ZS isway overkill. The A2 value would be fine.

Second, that PSU is very nice. But IMO it doesn't leave alot of room for upgrades or OC'ing. If you do plan to OC, I would go with closer to 500W just to be safe. If you have no plans to OC, maybe look at the 430W Seasonic.

 

[Ike0069]

Originally posted by: t3h l337 n3wb
Get a better motherboard. You won't be able to overclock as well on that. The EPoX nForce4 Ultra board is only $107 at Newegg. It's the 2nd best overclocking board out there for S939. Also, XFX graphics cards are crap. Go with eVGA, Leadtek, or BFG. Also, you could save some money on the PSU by going with the 450W Fortron @ Newegg with dual +12V rails for only $50.

Don't pay any attention to this jackass. The MSI board is fine,especially for the price.
And XFX is actually quite good now a days. They come with a Lifetime Warranty, and their 7800 cards are getting excellent reviews.

 

[Malladine]

Good advice guys

I will look into a more powerful ps and overlocking is a non-issue so i will be sticking with the msi. I'll also change that ZS unless he wants a 5.1 setup. If that happens i'll just drop the 3700+ to a 3500+ to fit it into the budget.

 

[Warrior Legolas]

Originally posted by: Ike0069

Originally posted by: t3h l337 n3wb
Get a better motherboard. You won't be able to overclock as well on that. The EPoX nForce4 Ultra board is only $107 at Newegg. It's the 2nd best overclocking board out there for S939. Also, XFX graphics cards are crap. Go with eVGA, Leadtek, or BFG. Also, you could save some money on the PSU by going with the 450W Fortron @ Newegg with dual +12V rails for only $50.

Don't pay any attention to this jackass. The MSI board is fine,especially for the price.
And XFX is actually quite good now a days. They come with a Lifetime Warranty, and their 7800 cards are getting excellent reviews.

Calm down. Just because you got a MSI board and a XFX card and have had no problems doesn?t mean that everyone else has had the same experience with them.

 

[ShadowBlade]

XFX is horrible. I reccomend Gigabyte, BFG and PNY, not necissarily in that order.

 

[flatblastard]

Originally posted by: t3h l337 n3wb
Get a better motherboard. You won't be able to overclock as well on that. The EPoX nForce4 Ultra board is only $107 at Newegg. It's the 2nd best overclocking board out there for S939. Also, XFX graphics cards are crap. Go with eVGA, Leadtek, or BFG. Also, you could save some money on the PSU by going with the 450W Fortron @ Newegg with dual +12V rails for only $50.

I second not listening to this jack-ass. Epox 9npa is a fine overclocker but far from 2nd best. If i think about it, it's probalby the 2nd best overclocker of nF4 chipset mobo's, but there are other chipsets to consider.

 

[johnnqq]

look at reviews for a seagate barracuda. i'm pretty sure it outperforms that maxtor.
definitely get the nec dl burner.
why go with cheap speakers and a cheap mobo? definitely look at the logitech x-530s. only $50 for by far the best bang for the buck 5.1 system.

 

[Ike0069]

Originally posted by: johnnqq
look at reviews for a seagate barracuda. i'm pretty sure it outperforms that maxtor.
definitely get the nec dl burner.
why go with cheap speakers and a cheap mobo? definitely look at the logitech x-530s. only $50 for by far the best bang for the buck 5.1 system.

That MSI is not a "cheap" MB. It's just not the Ultra chipset, so it's less expensive than the ones that are NF4 Ultra. If you don't need the extra features, there is no reason to pay for them.

I do agree with the X-530's. Very nice speakers for the price, although the A2 ZS might still be a little overkill for them. They do not have digital connection.

 

[Malladine]

x530s huh? hmm

What speakers do have a digital connection out of curiousity?

 

[Ike0069]

The Logitech Z-5300's and the Kiplisch Pro Medias I believe. They are closer to $250 a set though for the 5.1's.

 

[Malladine]

Originally posted by: Ike0069
The Logitech Z-5300's and the Kiplisch Pro Medias I believe. They are closer to $250 a set though for the 5.1's.

ya, that's pretty painful. What kind of settings can you run games at with that rig, btw?

 

[Ike0069]

Originally posted by: Malladine

Originally posted by: Ike0069
The Logitech Z-5300's and the Kiplisch Pro Medias I believe. They are closer to $250 a set though for the 5.1's.

ya, that's pretty painful. What kind of settings can you run games at with that rig, btw?

I can run every game I have except for BF2 on high settings (including usually 4xAA/8xAF) at 1280x960/1024 perfectly smooth.
BF2 gives me fairly serious stuttering at those settings. I plan to upgrade to 2 GB system RAM soon, so hopefully that will be fixed.

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

Wtf, I was just giving my opinion, and you call me a jackass... I never said MSI was bad. I myself own the MSI Neo4 Platinum. It's an excellent board, and I'm very happy with it. The MSI Neo4-F isn't a bad board, but with such a large budget, why not get something better?

Also, a lot of people on this forum will tell you XFX is crap. Even though you get a lifetime warrenty, you'll probably still have to RMA it a couple of times. The quality of the parts they use just isn't as good as eVGA or Leadtek.

@flatblastard: Anand's reviews say that the EPoX board is probably the 2nd best Socket 939 overclocker. I specifically said S939! And all the good overclocking boards for S939 have nForce chipsets, so I don't see your point...

About the X-530's: I have them, and they sound pretty good. Good performance, nice price. Go for them if you don't want to buy ultra-expensive Klipschs (sorry, cant spell -_- or something.

 

[nippyjun]

I'd get a better power supply and an sli mobo.

 

[Ike0069]

Originally posted by: t3h l337 n3wb
Also, a lot of people on this forum will tell you XFX is crap. Even though you get a lifetime warrenty, you'll probably still have to RMA it a couple of times. The quality of the parts they use just isn't as good as eVGA or Leadtek.

Becaue you keep posting crap like this.
"Even though you get a lifetime warrenty, you'll probably still have to RMA it a couple of times. The quality of the parts they use just isn't as good as eVGA or Leadtek. "
Where did you get this info? Let me guess, some "XFX sucks" thread. :roll:

Yes, XFX does get bashed alot here on AT, but not very often by people who actually own one.
Yes, I beleive XFX did have some QC issues in years past, but right now they make a very solid card.
Please find me a recent reputable review that says otherwise.

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

Okay, maybe their quality is a better now. But even so, I wouldn't trust them as much as a company with better reputability behind it. Maybe I'm just being paranoid. Anyways, I didn't say the Neo4-F was a bad board. But if you have a big budget, you should probably go with a motherboard that overclocks better or gives you more features.

 

[DavidoFoo]

1. Instead of that Enermax case, go for an Antec SLK series/Sonata II/P180.
2. Epox 9NPA+Ultra
3. eVGA 7800GT
4. Seasonic S12 430W or >
5. Seagate 7200.8 or Hitachi 7k(x)
6. Maybe upgrade to PC160
7. BenQ DW1640
8. ASUS/Aopen DVD-ROM if you must
9. at least get a some Logitech X-530s or 5300e

 

[asicman]

I'll echo the sentiments regarding the MOBO. Go with the EPoX 9NPA+Ultra. You won't be sorry.

 

[Ike0069]

Originally posted by: t3h l337 n3wb
Okay, maybe their quality is a better now. But even so, I wouldn't trust them as much as a company with better reputability behind it. Maybe I'm just being paranoid. Anyways, I didn't say the Neo4-F was a bad board. But if you have a big budget, you should probably go with a motherboard that overclocks better or gives you more features.

Fair enough.
Just post that instead "it's crap", and it will actually be much more helpful to someone who's asking for input.

 

[flatblastard]

Originally posted by: t3h l337 n3wb

@flatblastard: Anand's reviews say that the EPoX board is probably the 2nd best Socket 939 overclocker. I specifically said S939! And all the good overclocking boards for S939 have nForce chipsets, so I don't see your point...

My point. First mobo on the list of max OC @ stock is not nF4 chipset, so I don't see YOUR point.