Final System Specs At $1000, Look Good?

[Playmaker]

Building a new system for ripping mp3s and gaming. Trying to keep it around $1000. I had another thread with questions but thought I'd make a new one since I've changed so much and finalized things. Here is what I've got...

Abit IS7
P4 2.4C (hoping to hit 3.0 on stock HSF)
2x512MB GeIL Golden Dragon PC3500
ATI Radeon 9600 Pro
Lite On DVD-ROM
Lite On CDRW
Antec Sonata w/ additional 120mm case fan
Antec Rounded Cables

My major issue...I've heard the max voltage on the IS7 is 2.8V. Is that true? That RAM is rated to run at 2.5V-3.1V and I realize it's a crapshoot that I can get it to run PC3500 with it's 2-6-3-3 timings at 2.8V. That kinda worries me, but it's $50+ cheaper then any other similar RAM options.

Next...Do you think cooling is going to be sufficient? Should I add a hard drive cooler and a PCI slot cooler?

Finally...Which brand is recommended for the ATI Radeon 9600 Pro?

Any changes you'd make for a similar price? Thanks...

 

[jacktesterson]

Sapphire has been good to me

 

[Playmaker]

I'll probably go with the Sapphire and I've decided to add a WD Raptor and use my old WD 80GB SE as storage so the price is now $1100 or so...

 

[Budmantom]

Thats a nice rig! I would upgrade the video card.


Just for comparison I have $800 in my Dell.

P4 2.66
1gb DDR2700
60gb hd 7200rpm
9700TX
845PE mobo
4X DVD burner

and the puter is 4months old

 

[Playmaker]

I was thinking about that, but a Sapphire 9600 Pro is only $150, and my next upgrade would be in the $250 range correct? The only game I play at the moment is EverQuest, which should run fine on the 9600 Pro. The only games I see myself playing in a the future are WoW and EQ2, both of which won't be out until at least next summer unless hell freezes over, regardless of what their release dates say.

Another question tho...If it comes down to 1gig of memory and no Raptor OR 512mb of memory and the Raptor, which is more future proof? I don't like upgrading...


EDIT: Another question...IS7 vs IS7-E...the only difference is firewire and ATA33/66/100 RAID correct? There is no SATA RAID on either board?

 

[Budmantom]

Right now you can get a 9700np for around $220 (I think they went up a bit), there is suppose to be a good difference between the 9700np and 9600pro, 8 pipelines vs 4. I am sure that the 9600pro will work fine, but f you want to turn up the eye candy go with the 9700.

I would go with memory over the raptor, but I went from 512mb to 1gb I can't say that I can feel a difference.

If I were you I would just go with a 7200rpm hd and 8mb cache.

So in summary 9700 / 1gig mem(just so you can brag) / big 7200rpm 8mb cach HD

Tom

 

[PrinceXizor]

Originally posted by: Playmaker
I was thinking about that, but a Sapphire 9600 Pro is only $150, and my next upgrade would be in the $250 range correct? The only game I play at the moment is EverQuest, which should run fine on the 9600 Pro. The only games I see myself playing in a the future are WoW and EQ2, both of which won't be out until at least next summer unless hell freezes over, regardless of what their release dates say.

Another question tho...If it comes down to 1gig of memory and no Raptor OR 512mb of memory and the Raptor, which is more future proof? I don't like upgrading...


EDIT: Another question...IS7 vs IS7-E...the only difference is firewire and ATA33/66/100 RAID correct? There is no SATA RAID on either board?

Hmm...well, that depends on if you mean you don't like to spend extra money. It is relatively painless to upgrade memory (save for the $ involved) but slightly more work to upgrade a hard drive. That being said, memory is more future proof in that as software develops it continues to require more and more memory. However, memory technology changes (particularly DDR which is towards the end of its life-span in its current iteration). Its kind of a toss-up.

P-X

 

[Playmaker]

How about this then. I can pick 2 of 3...

1. 1gig RAM, WD Raptor w/ 80gb SE as backup, ATI 9600 Pro
2. 1gig RAM, WD 80gb SE, ATI 9700 np
3. 512mb RAM, WD Raptor w/ 80gb SE as backup, ATI 9700 np

Keep in mind the only game I play atm is EverQuest and that nothing else but MMORPGs really interest me. I did the whole CS clan thing for a few years with online playing and LAN events for money and have more fun with MMORPGs...BTW, thanks for all the advice so far. I appreciate it.

 

[Budmantom]

Yeah I think #2

Eventhough EverQuest is the only thing you play the 9700 will be the most beneficial, it's not like when your chatting on line the raptor will help you.

I'm not sure what would be most beneficial with ripping mp3's but I think you will be plenty fast with this system.

 

[Holmecollie]

Newer MMORPGs (Starwars Galaxies in mind) seem to be very RAM thirsty so I'd vote for 1gig ram.

I don't reccon the 9600pro will handle World of Warcraft with eye candy very well by the look of existing screenshots. Again, Starwars Galaxies seems to be pretty graphics intensive.

I don't think you will notice much of a difference between the Raptor and Cavier SE unluss you're it's in a raid array but I'm a bit unsure of this. However the 1gig ram is a lot more important for new MMORPGs!

Someone correct me if I'm wrong... Doubt that:beer:

 

[Mday]

why is it that you arent getting a combo drive but separate dvd, CDR\W

 

[Playmaker]

I have 2 drives in case I did on the fly burns. I guess I don't really need them that much. Can anyone suggest a good combo drive sub-$75 (what I'd be paying for the 2)? Especially one that won't crap out on me after a few months. I rip quite a bit and having 2 drives might last longer heh. I'm open to suggestions tho...

The only reason I thought about the Raptor was all the hype it was getting on the Newegg reviews. Quite a few people said they noticed a nice speed increase and some even compared it to the WD SE drives when saying that. I suppose not getting the Raptor would allow me to spend $130 more on my vid card tho.

Thanks again for all the advice, keep it coming...

 

[Playmaker]

Okay, I thought about it somewhere and I've decided that I'm going a bit overboard. The only games that interest me in the near to distant future are EQ2 and WoW. EQ2 looks to be less high end game oriented then EQ, which I would dislike, and Blizzard takes forever to release their games. So, I will ONLY play EQ and use it for ripping mp3s and listening to music. I decided that instead of spending $1200 on the comp I'd rather spend $800 and put that $400 into a better home audio system (I plan to use the digital out on the mobo to a receiver). Here are what I hope to be my final specs...

Abit IS7-E
P4 2.4C
Kingston HyperX 2x256mb PC3200
Sapphire ATI 9600 Pro
Mitsumi Floppy
LG 52x24x52x16x DVD/CDRW Combo
Antec SLK3700AMB w/ 350W Smart Power
Additional 120mm Antec Case Fan
Rounded IDE and Floppy Cables
MS Multimedia Keyboard
MS Intellimouse Explorer 3.0a

That runs $765 before shipping from Newegg, hopefully not passing $800 with shipping. I have a WD 80GB SE in my current comp that I will carry over (just bought it at xmas break and it's already clicking, will probably have to RMA it soon).

Not quite the original system I had in mind, but do you all think it is solid? I appreciate the advice and any more suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I plan to order it this afternoon...

 

[classy]

I would go with #3. The Raptor will give you all the speed needed to load maps and with all the memory on video cards these days I doubt you'll see a huge difference between 512 and 1 gig of memory.

 

[classy]

Originally posted by: Playmaker
Okay, I thought about it somewhere and I've decided that I'm going a bit overboard. The only games that interest me in the near to distant future are EQ2 and WoW. EQ2 looks to be less high end game oriented then EQ, which I would dislike, and Blizzard takes forever to release their games. So, I will ONLY play EQ and use it for ripping mp3s and listening to music. I decided that instead of spending $1200 on the comp I'd rather spend $800 and put that $400 into a better home audio system (I plan to use the digital out on the mobo to a receiver). Here are what I hope to be my final specs...

Abit IS7-E
P4 2.4C
Kingston HyperX 2x256mb PC3200
Sapphire ATI 9600 Pro
Mitsumi Floppy
LG 52x24x52x16x DVD/CDRW Combo
Antec SLK3700AMB w/ 350W Smart Power
Additional 120mm Antec Case Fan
Rounded IDE and Floppy Cables
MS Multimedia Keyboard
MS Intellimouse Explorer 3.0a

That runs $765 before shipping from Newegg, hopefully not passing $800 with shipping. I have a WD 80GB SE in my current comp that I will carry over (just bought it at xmas break and it's already clicking, will probably have to RMA it soon).

Not quite the original system I had in mind, but do you all think it is solid? I appreciate the advice and any more suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I plan to order it this afternoon...

Not bad. But I would go with a better deal on a case. You should be able to save a few bucks there. Also trust me take a Logoitech MX500 over the Intellimouse. Might be a bit cheaper as well. One more thing check out mwave and googlegear especially. Googlegear is usually cheaper and they have faster shipping.