Building a new system

[Stageman]

I am building to play mostly MMO's with. The cost factor was a big one in this system

* 1 x Thermaltake A2491 140mm Case Fan - Retail $15.99
(Going to place this in front bottom to pull air into the case and push it over the HDD.)
* 1 x Rosewill R218-P-BK Black 0.5mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail $21.99
(I really don't like most modern cases. The tool-less designs I don't want, the spaceship designs are useless and finding a good plain beige case is very hard these days within that criteria. I also don't like that many ATX mid towers have the USB and audio ports on the bottom. I find that completely backwards.)

* 1 x AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Brisbane 2.6GHz Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Processor Model ADO5000DOBOX - Retail $66.00
(Choosing retail gave me a backup cooler. I know that I could get more speed with an Intel product but at this cost point I feel that this is the better deal. AMD products have been very good to me and I'm continuing to be loyal to them for long as is reasonable.)

* 1 x BIOSTAR A770 A2+ AM2+/AM2 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail $69.99
(Chose this because it was cheap, had a lot of reviews and had less fluff on it, too many modern boards are over loaded with features IMO. I did get a 1 year replacement plan on it as I don't yet have confidence in Biostar since I have not worked with their products before.)

* 1 x G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL4D-4GBPK - Retail $84.99
(Cheap, well reviewed. OC'able)

* 1 x EVGA 384-P3-N851-AR GeForce 8800 GS 384MB 192-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail - 79.99 after rebates.
(Very cheap, many reviews, OC'able. Certainly not the best but at the price and for my use, I think it will do OK.)

* 1 x CORSAIR CMPSU-450VX 450W ATX12V V2.2 Power Supply - Retail $55 after rebate.
(Great features and should be adequate for this system.)

* 1 x Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit English for System Builders 1pk DSP OEI DVD - OEM $109.99
Single most expensive part in the system... And I will hold off before installing it as I will install Linux first and see how well that does with what I want to play. Microsoft is charging too much IMO and I am also repulsed at the idea of DRM. I'm no pirate but I strongly dislike DRM on General Principle. I feel it usurps my administrator authority and control of my hardware.

* 1 x COOLER MASTER RR-CCH-P912-GP 92mm Sleeve CPU Cooler - Retail $22.99
(I got this particular CPU cooler because I believe it will help cool the nearby north bridge chipset.)
* 1 x EVERCOOL SB-F1 PCI Slot Case Cooler - Retail $6.99
(Got this as an extra measure for helping to keep the video card cool in case it is required.)

* 1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM $59.99
(There are cheaper and possibly better drives for the dollar to GB ratio but I really had to keep the costs down and with other drives I already have, this should do just fine.)

* 1 x Sony NEC Optiarc Black IDE DVD-ROM Drive Model DDU1615/B2s - OEM $17.99
(Cheap and of course the system needs a reader.)

$676.88 Sub total
$014.00 extra coverage on mobo
$088.04 tax and S&H
$764.92 Grand total

Should be here by Friday. Then I'll start a fairly careful parts check and assembly process before any OS installation.

 

[mpilchfamily]

Should have gown Intel and should have gotten the 8800GT not the GS.

 

[Stageman]

Intel is three times the price and won't be offering enough of a speed advantage to make it worth while for my use. Owning the speed crown isn't everything, price is also a factor. A 8800GT is about $45 more after rebates. I'll be able to OC the GS fairly close to a GT which is what makes it such a bargain at $80. Plus, if I really did want to step into current tech, I'd pick a ATI.

 

[Blain]

Originally posted by: Stageman
Intel is three times the price and won't be offering enough of a speed advantage to make it worth while for my use.
Owning the speed crown isn't everything, price is also a factor. A 8800GT is about $45 more after rebates. I'll be able to OC the GS fairly close to a GT which is what makes it such a bargain at $80. Plus, if I really did want to step into current tech, I'd pick a ATI.

You listed one single application for your system.
You clearly don't mind OCing. An OC'd $70 Intel CPUs perform very well.
AMD fanboy! :laugh:

But as you've said...
"It's already ordered and shipped"

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

a DVD burner would've only been $5 more.

 

[Blain]

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo
a DVD burner would've only been $5 more.

It's clear he's going down the cheap road. That would have busted his budget.

 

[Denithor]

Originally posted by: Blain

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo
a DVD burner would've only been $5 more.

It's clear he's going down the cheap road. That would have busted his budget.

And, of course, the $23 CPU cooler that wasn't necessary is an acceptable expense.

So if it's all ordered and etc why do you want our input on it?

Personally I would have gone for 4850e (2.5GHz 45W) instead of the 5000+ (2.6GHz 65W) because you wouldn't need an aftermarket cooler and it would save you some on your power bill every month. But that's just me and you've already ordered so have fun with your build.

 

[Blain]

Originally posted by: Denithor
So if it's all ordered and etc why do you want our input on it?

...you've already ordered so have fun with your build.

He'd like confirmation that he did a good job on picking out his parts.

 

[Stageman]

Originally posted by: Blain

Originally posted by: Stageman
Intel is three times the price and won't be offering enough of a speed advantage to make it worth while for my use. Owning the speed crown isn't everything, price is also a factor. A 8800GT is about $45 more after rebates. I'll be able to OC the GS fairly close to a GT which is what makes it such a bargain at $80. Plus, if I really did want to step into current tech, I'd pick a ATI.

You listed one single application for your system. You clearly don't mind OCing. An OC'd $70 Intel CPUs perform very well.

I actually do mind OC'ing and won't be doing it right away and probably only to the GPU. I looked at similar priced Intel CPU's and from what I saw, they were not competitive when on equal price footing.

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouTooa DVD burner would've only been $5 more.

I'll be keeping the current system active which already has a burner as does the system before it and the system before that (Has two actually). I really don't need five burners in the house.

Originally posted by: Denithor

Originally posted by: Blain

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo
a DVD burner would've only been $5 more.

It's clear he's going down the cheap road. That would have busted his budget.

And, of course, the $23 CPU cooler that wasn't necessary is an acceptable expense. So if it's all ordered and etc why do you want our input on it?

Personally I would have gone for 4850e (2.5GHz 45W) instead of the 5000+ (2.6GHz 65W) because you wouldn't need an aftermarket cooler and it would save you some on your power bill every month. But that's just me and you've already ordered so have fun with your build.

Apparently you didn't read the explanation I made in my original post. This particular cooler not only blows on the CPU but also on the surrounding area. Near the CPU is the northbridge which is only cooled by a passive heatsink. I wanted to try this cooler to see if it will be adequate in helping to keep the northbridge cool.

Here is a link to the product. http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16835103041 I also read the reviews on it and other people indicated that they bought it for the same purpose. So I'm hoping that it lives up to that expectation.

As for the power usage differential between the two CPU's. It is an interesting question, at what price point does the Intel product start to save money over the AMD per watt hour if at all. I haven't yet seen a study on this. It would be especially neat if someone made a website where by you could select how much your utility charged per watt and then it would give you the cost differential.

Originally posted by: Blain

Originally posted by: DenithorSo if it's all ordered and etc why do you want our input on it? ...you've already ordered so have fun with your build.

He'd like confirmation that he did a good job on picking out his parts.

I was hoping to see if there was any glaring problems such as incompatibilities that I may have missed or anecdotal information on any of the parts.

 

[DSF]

Originally posted by: StagemanApparently you didn't read the explanation I made in my original post. This particular cooler not only blows on the CPU but also on the surrounding area. Near the CPU is the northbridge which is only cooled by a passive heatsink. I wanted to try this cooler to see if it will be adequate in helping to keep the northbridge cool.

If you're not overclocking it really shouldn't be an issue.

Originally posted by: StagemanAs for the power usage differential between the two CPU's. It is an interesting question, at what price point does the Intel product start to save money over the AMD per watt hour if at all. I haven't yet seen a study on this. It would be especially neat if someone made a website where by you could select how much your utility charged per watt and then it would give you the cost differential.

The 4850e is another AMD CPU, not an Intel one.

Originally posted by: Stageman
I was hoping to see if there was any glaring problems such as incompatibilities that I may have missed or anecdotal information on any of the parts.

I think it just confuses people that you would do that after buying instead of before, but whatever.

 

[nerp]

Yeah the 4850e is a great chip.

 

[Stageman]

Originally posted by: DSF

Originally posted by: Stageman
Apparently you didn't read the explanation I made in my original post. This particular cooler not only blows on the CPU but also on the surrounding area. Near the CPU is the northbridge which is only cooled by a passive heatsink. I wanted to try this cooler to see if it will be adequate in helping to keep the northbridge cool.

If you're not overclocking it really shouldn't be an issue.

The reviews on the motherboard indicated that the northbridge ran hot.

Originally posted by: DSF
The 4850e is another AMD CPU, not an Intel one.

You're right. Other than the lower wattage consumption, how does this CPU compare to a Athlon 64?

Originally posted by: DSF

Originally posted by: Stageman
I was hoping to see if there was any glaring problems such as incompatibilities that I may have missed or anecdotal information on any of the parts.

I think it just confuses people that you would do that after buying instead of before, but whatever.

Well now that people know, perhaps someone will chime in with information. I'm still curious if anyone has any anecdotal info to relate on the products listed.