NEW OPTY BUILD

[LOUISSSSS]

MB: EPoX EP-9NPA+ SLi Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail $141

CPU: AMD Opteron 148 Venus 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor Model OSA148BNBOX - Retail $239

GPU: eVGA 256-P2-N515-AX Geforce 7800GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Desktop PC - Retail $289

PS: Antec TruePower 2.0 TP2-550 EPS12V ATX12V 550W Power Supply - Retail $107

HDD: Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 6Y250M0 250GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM $97.50

RAM: CORSAIR XMS 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model TWINX1024-3200C2PT - Retail $106

ATX Desktop: Lian Li PC-V880B Black Steel ATX Desktop Computer Case - Retail $164

Does everything look ok? please help me out this is my first AMD build computer switching from 4 intels in the past...

edit // added gpu. changed hdd. i do plan on getting another 7800gt in the future unless u guys have a decent reason not to get an sli board. thats the reason for the antec PS and the SLI MB. thanks for the input so far but i would like more please

 

[Some1ne]

That link won't work for anyone but you, because the shopping cart display is keyed either by a cookie or your HTTP session id, and everyone that clicks it gets one that's different than yours and therefore sees an empty cart.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

fixed

 

[Some1ne]

That's better, although I don't see a video card listed. Which one do you plan on using?

As far as general comments:

1. I strongly recommend against the SLI mainboard...it just isn't worth it from a cost/performance standpoint, and it makes no sense at all as a "future upgrade path".

2. Nothing wrong with the PSU, although it seems like overkill for what you are doing. Anything that falls within the $70 to $80 range should be more than sufficient for that build.

3. Why not get a SATA HDD? And for that matter, you can get much larger capacities for not much more money.

Here's a 250 GB maxtor SATA for $95: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144338
And here's a 250 GB Seagate for the same: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822148065

4. I really don't understand why absolutely everyone seems to be buying Lian-Li cases now. While they are pretty, in my opinion they don't really do anything to justify their inflated cost relative to other cases that are available. Personally I'd never spend $164 on just a case, unless it came heavily modded out of the box. And even then it would have to be quality mods.

5. Why the Opteron 148? The 146 overclocks just as well, and if you can find a place that still has them, can be had for a bit less. I would also suggest going for a dual-core CPU (either opteron 165 or X2 3800+) for ~$100 more, especially if you don't plan on upgrading this system for awhile.

 

[alimoalem]

i agree, drop down to the $100 epox without sli. if you're on a "budget" you definitely don't wanna go sli.

your system parts come out to $560 without a graphics card. your case/psu comes out to $271. that is WAY too much. it should be $250+ if your computer's system parts are like $2000. drop it to $100 and apply the remaining $170 to a graphics card and possibly a dual core opteron

 

[GamerExpress]

Not too sure about what video card you are using??

I don't think you really need to go with the Corsair XMS, some value Corsair will work fine. The case is awesome, but I wouldn't spend that much on a case. You could really drop down to an Opty 146 and not lose too much, plus if you want to overclock, it will easily go to speeds of the 148 and much higher.

 

[kwarkers]

DONT BUY ANTEC!!!

 

[Ducati0427]

Kwark,
Do you have a reason behind saying that? I would agree with the fact that if you have the spare cash get the Dual core processor. Are you on much of a budget if so how close are you to your max? What do you plan to do with it?



Will G.

 

[jc9970]

Good choice on the power supply.

 

[Puffnstuff]

Originally posted by: kwarkers
DONT BUY ANTEC!!!

Ditto to that.

 

[ub3rnewb]

Originally posted by: Puffnstuff

Originally posted by: kwarkers
DONT BUY ANTEC!!!

Ditto to that.

Please give the guy some solid evidence rather than just 1 second statements. I'm not trying to argue, just asking that you give him reasons why you think he made a bad decision.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

Originally posted by: GamerExpress
Not too sure about what video card you are using??

I don't think you really need to go with the Corsair XMS, some value Corsair will work fine. The case is awesome, but I wouldn't spend that much on a case. You could really drop down to an Opty 146 and not lose too much, plus if you want to overclock, it will easily go to speeds of the 148 and much higher.

i am using an evga 7800gt, at newegg, where i will be buying from, the opty 146 is mroe expensive than the 148.. so i think the 148 here is a better choice? i can't really afford the dual core opty.. what do you (or anyone else) recommend me for basically.. movies, music, CS1.6 and CS: SOURCE <~ my main problem right now. i usually run itunes, aim, annd CS:S at the same time so what should i do.. thanks

 

[eXx08]

Nice you'll love that Opteron 148.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

opteron, help me out on a good motherboard under 140 shipped. the cheaper the better but also should work well.. i think i'm set on the venus 148 since no one is giving me any feedback...

 

[LOUISSSSS]

edit // added gpu. changed hdd. i do plan on getting another 7800gt in the future unless u guys have a decent reason not to get an sli board. thats the reason for the antec PS and the SLI MB. thanks for the input so far but i would like more please

 

[eXx08]

Originally posted by: LOUISSSSS
opteron, help me out on a good motherboard under 140 shipped. the cheaper the better but also should work well.. i think i'm set on the venus 148 since no one is giving me any feedback...

MSI boards are really nice I like the MSI K8N-Neo4/SLI boared myself and I have it.

 

[eXx08]

Originally posted by: LOUISSSSS
edit // added gpu. changed hdd. i do plan on getting another 7800gt in the future unless u guys have a decent reason not to get an sli board. thats the reason for the antec PS and the SLI MB. thanks for the input so far but i would like more please

No reason not to get it unless you want to save money. A good Non-SLI boared is the Epox EP-9NPA-Ultra.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

which would u guys chose?
MSI K8N Neo4-F Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
or
EPoX EP-9NPA3ULTRA Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

for an opty 148?

 

[eXx08]

Originally posted by: LOUISSSSS
which would u guys chose?
MSI K8N Neo4-F Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
or
EPoX EP-9NPA3ULTRA Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

for an opty 148?

If you don't intend to Overclock I would go MSI but If you do go Epox.

 

[Some1ne]

i can't really afford the dual core opty.. what do you (or anyone else) recommend me for basically.. movies, music, CS1.6 and CS: SOURCE <~ my main problem right now.

The 7800 GT will be great for any game using the SOURCE engine. You could afford the dual core chip if you'd shave about $70 (or even more) off the cost of the case, and $30 off the cost of the PSU. Personally I think that would be a better way to apply the money.

i do plan on getting another 7800gt in the future unless u guys have a decent reason not to get an sli board.

1. Cost up front.

2. Fewer PCI/PCI-E 1x slots on the board and/or slots become inacessible when running with 2 GPU's.

3. Running graphics boards in SLI does not offer double the performance, and unless special "hooks" are added to the drivers, it does nothing at all. Forthermore, two 7800 GT's in SLI will most likely be eclipsed in performance by a single next-gen card, just like two 6800 Ultra's in SLI are bested by a single 7800 GTX.

4. DX10 and/or other standards that require explicit hardware support. For example, DX9 introduced a shader architecture that required hardware support in the video card in order to be used. Now, let's assume that SLI had been around for awhile at that point, so a lot of people bought SLI setups and moderately high-end DX8 cards awhile before DX9 came out so that they could upgrade later on by just adding a second one of those cards. Then all of a sudden DX9 comes out, and requires hardware features that their cards don't have, so the SLI users have two options, to forgo the new features and eye candy and add-in a second, now outdated, card as planned, or to forgo the extra money they spent getting an SLI board in the first place, and upgrade to a single newer DX9 card.

5. If you really want a dual-GPU setup, single cards that integrate two graphics processing chips are in the works and on the way.

SLI just doesn't make sense, no matter how you want to spin it, unless you have money to burn and want the best possible performance, right now. For all other applications using SLI is a bad idea. Think about it, you're paying extra for the mainboard, and you've admitted that the expensive PSU is there only because of the SLI, so that's extra there as well, while at the same time you're deciding not to go dual-core because of budget issues. Trust me, in the long run, you'll be far happier with a dual-core setup than you would be with an SLI setup. Dual-core is already accepted as the new standard, while SLI is still mostly just a pricey gimmick.

As far as alternative mainboards go, I have a MSI Neo4 Platinum (non-SLI), and I'm quite happy with it:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813130484

...also, a lot of people use the non-SLI Epox board, and are quite happy with that one as well.

 

[gus6464]

how about this:

A8N-SLI $122
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131524
Enermax 535w $88.50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103512
WD 320gb SATA2 $149
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822136003
Antec SLK3000B $50 shipped
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/shippi...Q/104-5401758-6831932?%5Fencoding=UTF8

You save quite a bit with that and are future proof since you are planning on going sli. I dont really trust maxtor as their reliability is kinda crappy. Ive had 3 of their drives go the way of the dodo after a couple of months. Plus with the amount you save on case and PSU you can get the bigger and faster WD hdd.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

Originally posted by: Some1ne

i can't really afford the dual core opty.. what do you (or anyone else) recommend me for basically.. movies, music, CS1.6 and CS: SOURCE <~ my main problem right now.

The 7800 GT will be great for any game using the SOURCE engine. You could afford the dual core chip if you'd shave about $70 (or even more) off the cost of the case, and $30 off the cost of the PSU. Personally I think that would be a better way to apply the money.

i do plan on getting another 7800gt in the future unless u guys have a decent reason not to get an sli board.

1. Cost up front.

2. Fewer PCI/PCI-E 1x slots on the board and/or slots become inacessible when running with 2 GPU's.

3. Running graphics boards in SLI does not offer double the performance, and unless special "hooks" are added to the drivers, it does nothing at all. Forthermore, two 7800 GT's in SLI will most likely be eclipsed in performance by a single next-gen card, just like two 6800 Ultra's in SLI are bested by a single 7800 GTX.

4. DX10 and/or other standards that require explicit hardware support. For example, DX9 introduced a shader architecture that required hardware support in the video card in order to be used. Now, let's assume that SLI had been around for awhile at that point, so a lot of people bought SLI setups and moderately high-end DX8 cards awhile before DX9 came out so that they could upgrade later on by just adding a second one of those cards. Then all of a sudden DX9 comes out, and requires hardware features that their cards don't have, so the SLI users have two options, to forgo the new features and eye candy and add-in a second, now outdated, card as planned, or to forgo the extra money they spent getting an SLI board in the first place, and upgrade to a single newer DX9 card.

5. If you really want a dual-GPU setup, single cards that integrate two graphics processing chips are in the works and on the way.

SLI just doesn't make sense, no matter how you want to spin it, unless you have money to burn and want the best possible performance, right now. For all other applications using SLI is a bad idea. Think about it, you're paying extra for the mainboard, and you've admitted that the expensive PSU is there only because of the SLI, so that's extra there as well, while at the same time you're deciding not to go dual-core because of budget issues. Trust me, in the long run, you'll be far happier with a dual-core setup than you would be with an SLI setup. Dual-core is already accepted as the new standard, while SLI is still mostly just a pricey gimmick.

As far as alternative mainboards go, I have a MSI Neo4 Platinum (non-SLI), and I'm quite happy with it:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813130484

...also, a lot of people use the non-SLI Epox board, and are quite happy with that one as well.

thanks for the information. i've decided not to go for the sli. i dont think i will need a case and hard drive since i believe i have an extra of both. how about a thermaltake 480 for PS?

 

[Techno]

Louissssss,

I did have money to burn so I went SLi even though i am not an "extreme" gamer. My latest PC has a couple of the parts you mentioned. I have the EPoX EP-9NPA+ SLi, I have 2 eVGA 7800GTs (N516) and the Lian-Li PC-V880B case. The Motherboard/Video cards rock but I do have to worn you about the case. Although i don't have the Antec Power Supply. I did go w/ the AeroCool Turbine 550w Power supply (w/ detachable cables). There simply isn't alot of room between the 7800GT's and the end of the power supply with the cables. I'd say there is about 1 maybe 2 inches between the two. Once you add the power connector to the 7800GT, your SOL for room. I had to bend most of my cables at a 90 degree angle and it is still a very tight fit!!!

EDIT... also, be sure that when you install the motherboard, set up all the wires FIRST! (SATA, power plug, reset led, power led, power switch, reset switch, ect......) Once you install the video card and any other pci cards, if you foget any cables, unless you hve small hands, you will have to take everything back out because of how close the power supply sits to the motherboard.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

thanks a lot, i dont think i will be getting the lian li case anymore i'll just use my thermaltake v5000D, i took out the fan controller so theres much more space without the cables. and am i stupid to getting this new system over my 4 month old system in my signature? i only play SOURCE as of now.. and watch some dvd's

 

[Some1ne]

how about a thermaltake 480 for PS?

That should be fine, although I've never been a huge fan of thermaltake products (I wasted some cash on some very poorly perfoming thermaltake HSF units back when they were still just starting out, and was pretty disappointed with both of them). Alternately, this Enermax model should be more than sufficient for your build, and saves about $30 over the 550W PSU you had originally picked:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103457


Edit: and looking at your current system specs, I really see no reason why that system wouldn't be able to play CS:Source. You've got a fast enough processor and plenty of RAM, and a decent graphics card as well. Your HDD might be a source of bottlenecking, so you might want to try defraging it and maximizing the amount of free space on it as much as possible. You might also try overclocking/unlocking the video card, although really even a stock 6800 should be able to play that game just fine.