****System Buyer's Guide****NEW UPDATE 12/01

[slipONflange]

Originally posted by: Zebo
Time for some updating? Prices all around and maybe adding new 90nm 939's anand just reviewed?



http://www.newegg.com/app/View...=19-103-499&depa=1

 

[madogvt]

^

 

[ciwell]

RESTICKY THIS PLEASE!

Hey jpeyton, you should take an earlier suggestion and start jpeytontech.com

 

[ScrapSilicon]

^ for NDENT

 

[NDENT]

bump

 

[Zebo]

Slacker

 

[jpeyton]

Updated two of the three configs. Yes, I admit to being a slacker.

 

[jpeyton]

^

 

[ciwell]

Why no resticky yet? Come on mods!!

 

[ScrapSilicon]

:thumbsup:

 

[Sonic587]

Glad to see this back up. We desperately need this in GH.

Good work as always, Jpeyton. :thumbsup:

 

[jpeyton]

Slowly updating the High End rig.

 

[Zebo]

best guide on net

 

[SonicIce]

Originally posted by: Zebo
best guide on net

Quite possibly yes

 

[flexy]

ok..the one link for the enermax PSU in the high-end guide...i just think its weird they dont state max amps there.
Anyway i had to laugh seeing a cig lighter as recommended accessory for the PSU. (Not that i am smoking in the house.. )
What about a built-in coffe/espresso maker or cup-warmer ?

 

[Frew]

Not a single Intel anymore.

 

[jpeyton]

Originally posted by: LeadFrog
Not a single Intel anymore.

I'll be adding an Intel config to each price point soon.

 

[Ardan]

definitely a wise decision, as well. That way, you can reach out to EVERY buyer

 

[scaryclownsarefun]

I think a better high end wold be something like this:
AMD athlon 64 3200 DTR
DFI Lanparty UT 250
OCZ EL Platinum Revision 2
2x Seagate Barracuda 160GB (RAID 0)
Viewsonic VP201B 20.1in. monitor
NEC 16X ND-3500A DVD Burner
Logitec MX310 Mouse
Logitec Elite Keyboard
EVGA 6800 Limited Edition (or GT if you can't find the LE)
Antec True 430W PSU
I believe everyone should build thier own case, so get whatever case you will.

 

[MegaRoll]

Does anyone think the Cooler Master Wave Master case is good?
http://www.newegg.com/app/View...=11-119-030&depa=0
I personally think that case is sexhay...

 

[Ardan]

So, I'm going to upgrade my PC. I'm planning on getting 512Mb (2x256Mb) of Crucial Ballistix DDR400 (i'll add another 512Mb of it later on if I EVER need it anytime soon) since I intend on overclocking and my buddy has had great results with that RAM. Well i'm going to wait a few weeks of pay (weekly) to save up more money and I'd like to have budgeted about $400 or a little lower.

Should I go with Socket 754 or Socket 939? I am not someone who upgrades a lot. I'm a power user that gets what he needs and uses it for as long as he can. I am thinking of maybe a 3000+ Socket 939 90nm and then overclock that, but are either of these good in that arena?
MSI K8T NEO2-F
Soltek SL-K8TPro-939

The prices of those boards are in line with what I have budgeted for an upgrade in the first week of December. Does anyone know if they are overclocker-friendly? Granted, I doubt I would be going to 2.6Ghz with DDR550 like anandtech's 90nm article, but I am not going to be doing some 10% overclock. Do you suppose some of these highly recommended nForce3 250Gb boards and a Socket 754 processor would be better for that? I intend to use a Silent Boost K8, by the way. I have used Thermalright products in the past (like an SLK-800(A) on this PC), but they're not necessary this time around .

Is it worth it going to a 90nm Athlon 64 for overclocking and one of those boards? Should I go for one of those fantastic Socket 754 boards and use the money saved on a faster Athlon 64 instead? Someone told me they had to flash the BIOS to support a 90nm Athlon 64, and that also has me worried. Can anyone give me some input here? By the way, I don't have the time to read the 216-some replies (popular for a reason--good picks, jpeyton!). Sorry:beer:

Edit: the case is an Antec SLK3700AMB with an adjustable 120mm Enermax front fan (obviously a 120mm rear one ) and an adequate OCZ PowerStream PSU. I also took the top 5.25" cover off to try and boost the PSU's cooling ablity. The PC is almost totally silent!

 

[jpeyton]

I've been asking myself the same question as of late.

There are two options:
S939 3000/3200+ Winchester Core (1.8GHz/2.0GHz)
NF3 Ultra S939 MOBO (not a fan of the VIA based boards; NF3 seems to hit higher FSBs in all the reviews)

S754 3400+ Newcastle Core
NF3 250 S754 MOBO

The Newcastle looks tempting just because you start with a 2.4GHz core speed and the Winchesters are doing between 2.4 and 2.6 on air. Granted, you give up ~5% performance using the S754 platform at equal stock clock/FSB speeds, but overclocking is a different animal.

MWave has 3000+ Winchesters for $150. Add a NF3 Ultra board ($135), and you have a fast combo for a little under $300.
MWave also has 3400+ Newcastles for $220. Add a Chaintech VNF3 ($75), and again, a fast combo for a little under $300.

 

[LS20]

good guide!!

for budget system:

question - why recommend MOBILE athlon 2400+? whats the difference between that and normal athlon 2400? what about 35W mobile athlon and 45w ??


also, how reliable is the Jetway radeon card? i love my genuine ATI card to death... is there an ATI card with all-around (more 2d focused) capabilities?

 

[jpeyton]

Originally posted by: LS20
good guide!!

for budget system:

question - why recommend MOBILE athlon 2400+? whats the difference between that and normal athlon 2400? what about 35W mobile athlon and 45w ??


also, how reliable is the Jetway radeon card? i love my genuine ATI card to death... is there an ATI card with all-around (more 2d focused) capabilities?

The mobile 2400 has 512k L2 cache; the normal one has 256k.

The mobile also has no multiplier lock, so you have greater control when overclocking. The normal one has a multiplier lock.

35w mobiles use less power, running cooler, and *might* have more headroom when overclocking. But I personally think the 35w and 45w overclock the same on average; the 35w were just binned differently because they could be undervolted with stability.

 

[Ardan]

Originally posted by: jpeyton
I've been asking myself the same question as of late.

There are two options:
S939 3000/3200+ Winchester Core (1.8GHz/2.0GHz)
NF3 Ultra S939 MOBO (not a fan of the VIA based boards; NF3 seems to hit higher FSBs in all the reviews)

S754 3400+ Newcastle Core
NF3 250 S754 MOBO

The Newcastle looks tempting just because you start with a 2.4GHz core speed and the Winchesters are doing between 2.4 and 2.6 on air. Granted, you give up ~5% performance using the S754 platform at equal stock clock/FSB speeds, but overclocking is a different animal.

MWave has 3000+ Winchesters for $150. Add a NF3 Ultra board ($135), and you have a fast combo for a little under $300.
MWave also has 3400+ Newcastles for $220. Add a Chaintech VNF3 ($75), and again, a fast combo for a little under $300.

Agreed, it is definitely a dilemma. What do you suppose the type of RAM I should get? I'm getting some RAM soon, and I am going to do either 2x256mb or 1x512Mb and simply add another stick later to either of those. What do you think? I was thinking of Crucial's DDR400 Ballistix...do you think I should go for their DDR500 RAM instead since I'm overclocking? It is $138.99 on their site for 1x512mb of it.