Critique my upgrade!

[ForbiddenDonut]

I'm thinking of doing a pretty serious computer overhaul here, so let me know what you think. I'll say what I currently have and what my concerns are at the end.


Processor: Intel Pentium 4 / 3.0CGHz 512k socket 478 Hyper Threading Technology 800 MHz FSB - OEM - $414 from newegg

Heatsink: ALPHA PAL8942T. Heat Sink ONLY. for Pentium 4 (mPGA478) - $29.99 from newegg

Fan: Panasonic Panaflo Axial Fan 80x80x25.5mm, Ball Bearing, DC 24V, 1.68W, 3200 RPM, 14.1 CFM, 24.0 dB-A Model: FBA08A 24L1A - OEM - $8.00 from newegg

Motherboard: Asus P4P800 i865PE P4 (800FSB) Skt478 DDR ATX Motherboard w/Audio, Gigabit LAN, RAID/Serial ATA Retail

Ram: 2xCORSAIR MEMORY XMS Extreme Memory Speed Series 512MB 32MX8 PC-3500C2 With Platinum - Silver Heat Spreader. - $268 form newegg

Power Supply: Antec TruePower True480 480W Power Supply Retail - $87.49 from googlegear

Video Card: ATI RADEON 9800 PRO 128MB DDR AGP Video Card, Support AGP 8X, Retail box - $377.00 from Directron ( http://store.yahoo.com/directron/9800pro.html )

Hard Drive: WD WESTERN DIGITAL "SPECIAL EDITION" 80GB 7200RPM EIDE HARD DRIVE MODEL # WD800JB - OEM, DRIVE ONLY - $83.00 from newegg



Total Price: $1308.47

And I think that's it. This will be going in my Lian Li pc-60 which already has a dvd drive and a burner in it, and I'll be using my turtle beach santa cruz for a sound card. Now, for concerns and questions. First...to raid or not to raid? Is raiding worth it without a SATA drive, since the onboard raid is a sata raid? Also...volume. The reason I'm using the alpha with the panaflo instead of the stock hsf is because I'm 99% sure the alpha/panaflo combo will be quieter. That's also my reason for choosing the Antec. Are there any other suggestions for quieting this system without making it a whole lot more expensive? My last concern is about the 9800...everywhere it states a price or anything like that, directron says 9800 pro, and they show a 9800 pro box...but other than that, they always refer to it as a 9800. This can, of course, be cleared up with a simple email.

Furthermore...in your opinion, should I wait til the end of the summer to do something like this?

Thanks in advance!

 

[squidman]

I say scratch the useless p4 3.0 ghz. EVEN if u got money to burn - burning it this way is just plain... yes, u got the point . Instead, get the 2.8C: its cheaper, and the FPS difference in games will be barely noticeable. Id spend the difference on m-audio or klipsch pro media speakers. The difference shall be awesome.
Other than that - u got squids approval!

 

[ForbiddenDonut]

My current speakers are videologic sirocco crossfires. klipsch can bite me bum!

Thanks for the tip on the 2.8. I've been thinking about that, and my only concern is that I'm not too interested in doing a lot of overclocking, and I want to get the max longevity out of the system...even in light of those 2, do you still recommend the 2.8?

 

[optimistic]

Originally posted by: squidman
I say scratch the useless p4 3.0 ghz. EVEN if u got money to burn - burning it this way is just plain... yes, u got the point . Instead, get the 2.8C: its cheaper, and the FPS difference in games will be barely noticeable. Id spend the difference on m-audio or klipsch pro media speakers. The difference shall be awesome.
Other than that - u got squids approval!

Yeah get the 2.8 or 2.4C. The premium for the 3.0 is not worth the extra points in benchmark tests. Save it for a better monitor, or spkrs.

 

[optimistic]

Originally posted by: ForbiddenDonut
My current speakers are videologic sirocco crossfires. klipsch can bite me bum!

Thanks for the tip on the 2.8. I've been thinking about that, and my only concern is that I'm not too interested in doing a lot of overclocking, and I want to get the max longevity out of the system...even in light of those 2, do you still recommend the 2.8?

Why settle for 865? Why not get the full fledged 875 boards if you have money to burn?

 

[ForbiddenDonut]

See, I'm actually (believe it or not) trying to build this somewhat economically. That being said, the Asus 865 board as fast or faster as pretty much any 875 board, when not taking into account overclocking. Hexus's benches...

 

[Corporate Thug]

i'd get the abit board instead and a 2.8C

 

[Deuce24]

2.4C is oc'able to over 3.0ghz with stock heat/fan...I recommend saving the $200+

 

[powerMarkymark]

Originally posted by: shady06
i'd get the abit board instead and a 2.8C

Hey Shady..............which Abit board are U recomending?

I'm looking at the Asusu P4P800 myself and would like to know who has experience with it.

Thanks.

 

[ForbiddenDonut]

If he's recommending the abit board of the same chipset, it's the abit IS-7. The only reason I picked the asus board over the abit board is because it seems to me that the asus board simply performs better.

As for the 2.4 overclocking, that was something that I was considering for a long time, but I decided against it for 2 reasons. I'd save money on the chip, but I'd probably go for an 875P board. The overall cost would still be lower, but I'm also not interested in doing a whole lot of overclocking. Simply put, I'm building this system for the purpose of being able to use it for a long time. Overclocking generally reduces the life of the components.

However, with the 2.8 getting a lot of recommendations...perhaps I'll look into that instead of the 3.

 

[Tiggerbaby]

ok

 

[Corporate Thug]

yup IS7 (IC7 if you want to burn money :Q)

 

[tyipengr]

If you aren't going to overclock, then go with the 3.0C Retail. Lose the Alpha PAL8942T and the Panaflo and stick with Stock Intel cooling which is more than adequate at stock speeds. Switch from the Asus P4P800 to the Intel D875PBZ (by far the cheapest Canterwood mobo with Intel CSA Gigabit LAN) or to the Intel D865PERLK.

Thats stability/longevity/speed if you aren't going to overclock. You even get Intel CSA Gigabit LAN and Intel's PAT thrown in. I usually recommend Asus for the stock speeds but this time I am going Intel because of the benefit of CSA Gigabit (Asus should've gone along with CSA gigabit).

 

[ForbiddenDonut]

tyipengr: I'm 99% sure the asus comes with the gigabit lan. Their 875 board doesn't, but their 865 board does. I was also considering the intel reference board for a while, but the performance just doesn't seem up to snuff when compared with the other canterwood boards, or even the asus springdale. Plus, the intel board does cost more than the asus 865. Is it really going to be that much more stable?

shady06: why the abit instead of the asus?

 

[tyipengr]

Nah. The P4P800 has the same 3Com Gigabit LAN that runs off the PCI bus and not the CSA bus in the North Bridge like the Intel board. Funny thing about the performance of the Intel D875PBZ, I thought it was almost identical to the other Canterwood boards. Anand didn't use the D875PBZ in the Canterwood reviews so I had to use Tom's reviews of the Canterwood which are a bit questionable in legitimacy but the the Intel board looked prettty up to snuff there imho.

And for the question of stability. I've played with alot of Asus, Abit, Gigabyte, and MSI boards and Asus comes the closest to Intel boards when it comes to stability and reliability but it doesn't surpass it. I mean all boards willl work for at least two years but if you wanna go the long run only Intel and maybe Asus will keep supporting the board with BIOS updates and the such. It's that "maybe" that makes me choose Intel. Trust me, I am an old o/c'er thats stopped because I am sick of killing CPUs and listening to loud fans all night. After a while you just want the comp to work right. I am not willing to sacrifice that little bit of performance for the longevity, like you.

 

[squidman]

No,no,no! No intel reference boards!!! Asus on 865 is EXCELLENT in terms of features, stability, speed, etc. Cmon, its a Asus . Next. The flaw of people's recommendations is that they gonna accentuze and focuse the points they like about the product. But u still have to decide for yourself. That being said, there's yet another recommendation: to focus on CONS of the product, as opposed to PRO's. You see, the cons of Asus boards are NOTHING compared to those of intel, or Epox. "Once u go Asus, u cant go back" (Thats about me). The p4800 deluxe is mighty kick ass. Canterwood (875) is too new, and better, later revisions are to be expected in months to come. 865 is pretty much the $#!+ - all the possible flaws had been solved on the h/w level. And the Gigabit lan is kickass too. Its good that its being ran off of the South Bridge via the PCI bus.
Id recommend the 865 to 875 any time. I would have recommended 875 to 865 in like 6 months when all the possible flaws were fixed. 'Sides, the performance difference is barely noticeable. 2.8C+865+GOOD (accentuise that) 3500RAM = kick ass sytem.

 

[ForbiddenDonut]

So....2.8 or 3.0 seems to be the inner debate here for me. Also, Does anyone have experience with Kingston hyperX 3500? That's another consideration as an alternative to the corsair xms 3500...

 

[Gage8]

i have been very happy with corsair xms...just ordered some more for my pc.

 

[squidman]

kingston might trip on some configurations (sigh...did on mine), thats why corsair is overwhekmingly preferred to it.