Building a new monster rig

[Bobthelost]

You could copy and paste it.

 

[darXoul]

Originally posted by: Bobthelost
I think the 17% increase was driver based, infact i'm sure it was.

Well, I also took it with a grain of salt. It seemed... excessive. Still, the point is that even if you want one card, you shouldn't take SLI/CF boards out of the equation.

 

[Kryhs]

Originally posted by: Bobthelost
You could copy and paste it.

But I'd have to link the links and that takes effort

 

[LOUISSSSS]

if funds are unlimited just buy the MAximum PC 2005 dream machine or copy their 2006 dmx11?

 

[Allio]

Originally posted by: fx
ABIT AN8 32X- $200
AMD Athlon FX-57 (Single Core, 2.8GHz)-$814
TT Big Typhoon - $49
OCZ Platinum 2x1GB - $221
eVGA 7800GTX 512mb-$750
Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty - $265
BenQ DW1655 - $46.50
WD Raptor 150 GB - $286.00
Seasonic 600W - $153.99
Dell 2405FPW - $879.20

Cost- $3665

Why the hell would anyone pay $750 for a GTX 512 when the 1900XTX blows it out of the water for $150 less? The Fatal1ty is also a bit of a waste of money. Otherwise that's looking pretty good.

 

[Crescent13]

when we hear "unlimited", we usually say "buy BlueGene from IBM". $4000 is far from unlimited. Anyway, do you want it right now? if not, than wait until ~march for socket AM2, and Geforce 7900. If now, then...

FX-60
2 512MB 7800GTX's
ASUS A8N-32 SLI
2GB Mushkin Redline PC4000 3-3-2-7
Lian-Li Case
Liquid cooling (I'm talking swiftech here, not the cheap stuff)
PCP&C 1000W PSU
4 150GB Raptors in Raid 5

 

[Praxis1452]

When I replied with FX-60 he stated he wanted top of the line or something close to that. Generally if you just want a computer that is not top of the line but still kick ass of course I could have listed something else. The A8n32 SLI I chose because it's a top of the line board. For example if he was overclocking I would have chosen the Ultra D but the a8n32 is a great board. But the A8R MVP will do just fine as well.

If you wanted Cost/Performance with more emphasis on performance I would suggest

A8R MVP
X1900XT(XTX is definetley not "worth it")
2x1gb of ram(value ram works just fine)
150gb Raptor just for your gaming needs and OS
250gb Hard Drive for media storage size depending on your needs
Dvd Burner
Dvd-Rom drive
X2 4800+ or 4400+ with the 4400+ being the better value
Scythe Ninja with Nexus fan
P180 Case (I like it heh)
Fortron 600W PSU
You could add an x-fi sound card if you want it
Think that's about it

 

[Broly]

Just make sure your case can fit the 2 cards in SLI man.

My case got me shafted and I have to sell my Deluxe

 

[dev0lution]

Originally posted by: Bobthelost
Some of the advice here has been bloody terrible.

The 4800 has 92% of the performance of the FX-60 , and it's a lot lot less money

:thumbsup:

Since you're not interested in SLI/Crossfire you should go with the X1900XT. The XTX isn't worth the premium and the 7800GTX 512 is more $ and possibly harder to find. Arguably the best single card for the price out right now.

Even though you're not planning on crossfire or overclocking, I'd still take a look at the ASUS A8R-MVP. It's got a good balance of features and performance for around $100 and it's passively cooled. It will overclock well and offers crossfire support should you decide you'd like those features in the future (or ATI improves Crossfire enough to make it worthwhile :grin; ). Plus, with the price you're not really paying a premium for either capability like on some of the other crossfire or SLI boards.

 

[Bobthelost]

Originally posted by: Praxis1452
When I replied with FX-60 he stated he wanted top of the line or something close to that. Generally if you just want a computer that is not top of the line but still kick ass of course I could have listed something else. The A8n32 SLI I chose because it's a top of the line board. For example if he was overclocking I would have chosen the Ultra D but the a8n32 is a great board. But the A8R MVP will do just fine as well.

If you wanted Cost/Performance with more emphasis on performance I would suggest

A8R MVP
X1900XT(XTX is definetley not "worth it")
2x1gb of ram(value ram works just fine)
150gb Raptor just for your gaming needs and OS
250gb Hard Drive for media storage size depending on your needs
Dvd Burner
Dvd-Rom drive
X2 4800+ or 4400+ with the 4400+ being the better value
Scythe Ninja with Nexus fan
P180 Case (I like it heh)
Fortron 600W PSU
You could add an x-fi sound card if you want it
Think that's about it

Good build, but there is no need for a 600W PSU, none, nada zip, etc.

The 500W s12 would be far more enough for this even if you did go crossfire in the future, but i have pretty much identical motherboard layouts with a seasonic and the wires just aren't long enough to do a good job. I would advise the enermax liberty 500W instead.

Also while the XTX isn't all that much of an improvement over the XT, it is an improvement, i would go for it myself, especially if it's a single card solution.

Note: There isn't much room in the p180, you can do dual slot graphic cards in the lower slot, but it won't work too well with the A8N32 as there's no room for air to circulate.

 

[TanisHalfElven]

Originally posted by: Kryhs
I'll probably ask lots of questions one at a time, so if that gets annoying just say so and I'll save them and post them all at once

Is there a "one" mobo to get? Like when I built my last PC the Abit IC7-G was THE mobo to get.

the DFI LANPARTY seireis are THE ONE mobo's to get.
but they cost about $200

if you want cheaper look in my sig for my proc,and mobo recommendation.

 

[Praxis1452]

Well the case in general is up to thbe use as it is for most people just a look preference =P

 

[Bobthelost]

Originally posted by: tanishalfelven

Originally posted by: Kryhs
I'll probably ask lots of questions one at a time, so if that gets annoying just say so and I'll save them and post them all at once

Is there a "one" mobo to get? Like when I built my last PC the Abit IC7-G was THE mobo to get.

the DFI LANPARTY seireis are THE ONE mobo's to get.
but they cost about $200

if you want cheaper look in my sig for my proc,and mobo recommendation.

Only if you like your motherboard to sound like a jet engine at take off.

 

[seanp789]

budget some nice speakers in that.

 

[bREwIn dOdgEr dUDe]

Originally posted by: darXoul
Some good ideas up there but some things are not worth it IMO, whether you have limited or unlimited funds. They are:

- single core FX processors (still costly, plus not significantly faster and less future proof than good dual core chips),
- the X-Fi Fatal1ty card (the front panel with remote looks pretty useless, and the X-RAM only brings performance in specifically optimized games, which are not too numerous; plus it really makes little sense in the age of 1-2 GB systems) and
- the Dell 2405FPW (ghosting - this monitor gets surprisingly great opinions here but many reliable review sites, mostly European ones, write about massive ghosting in fast games - the 12 ms S-PVA panel is pretty slow),
- Raptor HDDs (small and loud, plus don't count on any fps increases in games thanks to them).

Here's what I would get if I wanted to buy a powerful gaming comp now:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+
Zalman CNPS 9500 LED or a Thermalright heatsink + 120 mm cooler
ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe, ASUS A8N-SLI Premium or, most likely, ASUS A8R-MVP
2 x 1 GB fast CL 2 memory (e.g. OCZ, Mushkin, Corsair, G.Skill, PDP, Kingston, etc.)
ATi Radeon X1900XTX
Creative SB X-Fi Xtreme Music
good 16x DVD burner (e.g. BenQ or NEC)
FDD
SilverStone Strider ST60F 600W
1-2 x WD Caviar 16 MB 7200 rpm 320 GB SATA II (WD3200KS) or, if you really want it that bad, Raptor 150 GB + 400-500 GB SATA II storage disk
a good case - I recommend mine, the Aerocool AeroEngine Jr. Black - good, 'no bullshit' case with good manufacturing quality, enough space and 3 LED quiet fans
Logitech Z-5500 speakers if you want 5.1 or Klipsch or Logitech Z-2300 if you want 2.1, plus headset, e.g. Medusa 5.1, SteelSound 5H (a good one!) or Sennheiser PC160
Logitech MX518 mouse
any decent keyboard (Logitech UltraX is good, if you like laptop keyboards), or G15 for braggin' but not much else
good pad (whatever you like, I love my cloth pad - Allsop Raindrop)
Samsung 244t 24" 6 ms S-PVA widescreen monitor or Samsung 204B 20" 5 ms TN display (if you don't want to spend as much money, don't care much about crappy vertical viewing angle or are afraid of encountering input lag on the 24" behemoth)

This is what I would get, and what I WILL get soon unless G71 miraculously manages to defeat the X1900 in games like F.E.A.R. or CoD2.

I like this setup, no i love it... i'd go with the ASUS SLI Deluxe; and the Samsung 24" WS... does anyone think waiting for the AM2 socket may be in order?!?....

 

[Kryhs]

Would a 24 inch monitor be able to support a high enough resolution to take advantage of the uber hardware? I really like that 2405FPW Dell, but 12ms response time is a bit high for me...

 

[Philippine Mango]

Why do you have so much money to waste?

 

[darXoul]

Originally posted by: Kryhs
Would a 24 inch monitor be able to support a high enough resolution to take advantage of the uber hardware? I really like that 2405FPW Dell, but 12ms response time is a bit high for me...

Definitely. 24" monitor = 1920*1200 native resolution. It's actually more than enough to tax even the most powerful hardware available, if you intend to play in high settings (AA, AF, all max).

The Dell is not a gamer's choice. Many people here claim they don't notice ghosting but if prad.de states that

"In spite of Overdrive, the Dell 2405FPW showed a low but still perceivable amount of ghosting in fast paced games i.e. the first person shooter Half-Life 2. Motion blurring, too, which due to the underlying technological principle all LCD displays show, became apparent. While we surely don?t want to mark out the 2405FPW as being unsuitable for gaming, we would reckon the rather picky natures among gamers to be disappointed by it.
The 2405FPW is not recommendable for hardcore gamers. (...) As for occasional gamers, given the respective individual demands, the Dell 2405FPW?s performance is most likely going to turn out as sufficient."

and behardware.com claims that

"But for Unreal or other FPS it is another story. If the character is static, we can only admire the contrast, color quality, precision of the shapes (at least with the standard resolution). If you move your mouse, it ruins everything. There is an afterglow and this is quite unbearable for really fast game fans.

You will, however, get used to this afterglow in time. It is disturbing but it all depends on the level of quality you require."

there must be something to it.

Plus, all the reports about input lag. I'd stay away from the 2405FPW. In fact, the infamous input lag has been reported on the Samsung 244t as well (also Samsung 214t, ViewSonic VP2030b...) but at least the panel is much faster than Dell's (even if technology is the same in terms of panel type, better electronics make the 6 ms S-PVA displays really a step above 8+ ms).

Being afraid of mouse lag, I'll probably grab a TN monitor, namely Samsung 204b.

 

[Kryhs]

The 204b is a 20" right? What's the native resolution for those? I'm seeing lots of 1280x1024... Me personally, I'd like at least 1600x1200 (or the LCD equivalent).

 

[Bobthelost]

I think the 204b is a 1600x1200 monitor, there are some 20" screens that run at that resolution, almost bought one myself.

 

[Kryhs]

Yeah I see that on egg now. Cool, looks like I'll probably get that one.

 

[darXoul]

It's clearly the fastest 1600*1200 monitor available now. If it had a better vertical viewing angle, it would be almost a perfect display for gaming. The world of LCDs is all about compromise though - you cannot have everything.

 

[Kryhs]

This is the wrong forum to ask on, but I figured I'd just post in my own topic... Where's a good place to get a nice office chair? I may just end up going to my local staples...

 

[kmrivers]

200 series opterons just took price cut. 265 for $300. You could do a dual dual core system well under $4000. just a thought. There are workstation SLI boards that have full x16 slots.

 

[Kryhs]

Here's a tentative list so far:

CPU + thermal paste

Heatsink and fan

Mobo

RAM

Video card

Sound card

DVD & floppy drive

PSU

HD

Case

Speakers

Mouse

Keyboard

Monitor


TOTAL $2928


I'm still debating about getting a larger monitor, and I'm still not sure about Sapphire as the video card brand.

Edit: What I don't like is how the 24" version of the Samsung is over twice as much at $1390. Unlimited funds or not that is just crazy.