Getting a new comp soon.

[Mechinn]

OS: XP Home Edition w/SP2 $89
Case: PS 430W - Thermaltake Saprano Mid Tower Case (Silver) - $105
Motherboard: Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe nForce4 - $175
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3200+ $209
RAM: 1 GB (2 pcs 512) Corsair (TwinX1024-3200C2PT) - $113
Hard Drives: 2 Seagate 160 GB in RAID 0, 1 Seagate 80 GB (to back up data) - $270
DVD-ROM/CD-RW: Lite-On 16X-dvd/52x32x52 CD-WR: $42
CD-RW/DVD-RW: Samsung DVD-WR/CD-WR $74
Video Card: BFG GeForce 6800 GT OC 256MB - $420

Total: $1611.23 (I left things like thermal grease and the floppie drive. no need to list it)

The computer will be PCI-E and although the motherboard supports it I wont be going with SLI and will mostly be for gaming.

What dose every one think of the setup I have? Any suggestions? Should I go with the motherboard I have?

 

[Excelsior]

I don't like the HD setup. I think you'd be better served by getting one Raptor..then maybe two 120s for backup, IE, have same files on both 120s. That'd be pretty safe and the raptor would be faster than the RAID.

 

[Mechinn]

although a 10,000RPM hard drive wold be nice, that's a lot of money to put down. even on a small one. I dont think I can do that. Eny other ideas on the hard drive set up?

 

[Cobalt]

Originally posted by: Mechinn
although a 10,000RPM hard drive wold be nice, that's a lot of money to put down. even on a small one. I dont think I can do that. Eny other ideas on the hard drive set up?

For my new setup I'm getting a 200gb seagate which I think would be a good idea for you as well. Just partition it like I will. I'll have a 25gb~ partition for os and progs, 150gb for files and 25~ for my linux dual boot.

EDIT: Oh I hope that 3200+ is a Venice. And get a cheaper mobo, no SLI since you say you won't be using it. And depending on how much you will game a 6600gt should suffice, you can play HL2, etc on high with that definitely. Sometimes it seems like people drop too much on their first build when they can just upgrade later or they will even change the comp again within the next year. New gen cards should be out by Q4~ so maybe you should save some cash on that video card. Just my .02.

EDIT2: If you do go the route I suggest, you could use some of that extra cash to upgrade to XP Pro.

 

[Mechinn]

yea, it's a Venice.

Hey, is there any real point to RAID 0? From what I've herd you can load your games much faster. Is that true?

 

[Cobalt]

Originally posted by: Mechinn
yea, it's a Venice.

Hey, is there any real point to RAID 0? From what I've herd you can load your games much faster. Is that true?

The marginal speed increase is not worth the possible risk of data loss.

 

[Smoolean]

Cobalt, without going through Microsoft.com and trying to comprehend the mumbo-jumbo... what are the advantages of XP Pro compared to XP Home?

 

[leigh6]

I am not expert on operating systems but I do not think xp home is upgradable to 64 bit Windows. I think you can only upgrade to 64 with Windows pro.

That might be a good reason to go pro instead of home.

 

[knothead34]

i dont think that power supply is gonna cut it. since you have an sli rig. the new nvidia cards coming out are gonna be power hungry. thats if your thinking about upgrading to those later on when they get cheaper.

 

[Excelsior]

Originally posted by: Mechinn
although a 10,000RPM hard drive wold be nice, that's a lot of money to put down. even on a small one. I dont think I can do that. Eny other ideas on the hard drive set up?

But...uh..you were prepared to spend $270 on HDs in the first place. It would only be a bit over 270 to get one raptor for your games/apps, then TWO Seagate 120GB drives for storage/backup.

 

[Baked]

Get the Toshiba 1912M for DVD-ROM/Reader and NEC 3520A for DVD/CD Writer. Like the other suggested, buying 2 large HDs for RAID 0 is a waste of money. If you want fast, get a WD Raptor, then buy a second large HD for file storage.

 

[imported_rod]

HDD:
Running two HDD's in RAID 0 will decrease load times, but it will also mean that if one of the HDD's die, you lose the info on both of them. I would just get a decent size HDD and use it by itself. Th other option is to get four HDD's, and use them in a RAID 1+0. This offers high speed and redundancy. But it does cost alot.

MoBo:
If you NEVER plan to use SLI or Firewire, then you can save a little money by going with the ASUS A8N-E. But if you want Firewire(for HD TV/Video Cameras etc...) or SLI, then go with the A8N-SLI deluxe (but get a replacement chipset fan. The stock one is bloody noisey. Zalman make a good passive one for less than $10).

PSU:
How many Amps does it give on the +12V rail?


RoD

 

[flatblastard]

Originally posted by: Mechinn
OS: XP Home Edition w/SP2 $89
Case: PS 430W - Thermaltake Saprano Mid Tower Case (Silver) - $105
Motherboard: Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe nForce4 - $175
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3200+ $209
RAM: 1 GB (2 pcs 512) Corsair (TwinX1024-3200C2PT) - $113
Hard Drives: 2 Seagate 160 GB in RAID 0, 1 Seagate 80 GB (to back up data) - $270
DVD-ROM/CD-RW: Lite-On 16X-dvd/52x32x52 CD-WR: $42
CD-RW/DVD-RW: Samsung DVD-WR/CD-WR $74
Video Card: BFG GeForce 6800 GT OC 256MB - $420

Total: $1611.23 (I left things like thermal grease and the floppie drive. no need to list it)

The computer will be PCI-E and although the motherboard supports it I wont be going with SLI and will mostly be for gaming.

What dose every one think of the setup I have? Any suggestions? Should I go with the motherboard I have?

It looks like your on the right track, but here is what I would suggest, assuming that you don't plan on any extreme OCing :

OS: WinXP Pro if you can, otherwise XP home will do the job.
Case: I like your choice here, but get the one without a power supply.
Mobo: Forget SLI if you don't plan to use it, I would get MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum.
CPU: Obviously, get the fastest one you can afford in Venice or San Diego core.
RAM: Good choice, corsair. I would get the twinx1024-3200xl kit, but what you picked will do just fine and costs less.
HD: 74GB Raptor for OS/Games and seagate 160GB for all else.
DVDROM: Lite-on SOHD-16P9S
DVDRW: Lite-on SOHW-1673 or NEC 3520A
Video card: eVGA 6800GT, cuz BFG with 20Mhz OC not worth the extra $50. Actually, a better choice would probably be an ATi x800xl from a price/performance point of view. 6800GT will be better in DOOM 3, if that's important to you.
PSU: Antec Neopower 480 or maybe the OCZ Modstream 520 as a cheaper alternative.

I used Monarch to check prices and the total would be $1585 for my first suggestions with an x800xl. With the cheaper alternatives the total is $1430. A 6800GT will add another $100 to the cost either way.