Yet another system build

[imported_Radar]

Hi, I'm about to build a new system. Before I order them I want to make sure if I have all parts I need and I would appreciate your coments as well.
It's going to be mostly for games. Perhaps I will do some overclocking.

AMD 3500+ Winchester

ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe

2x 74 GB Raptors or Maxtor

BFG GeForce 6800 GT OC 256MB GDDR3/PCI-E/TV-Out/Dual-DVI

Plextor 12X DVD+/-RW Drive, Model PX-712SA

Antec Solution Series Black ATX Mid Tower Case, Model "SLK3000-B" www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct...tion=11-129-152&depa=0

Thermalright Heatsink for P4 & K8 CPUs, Heatsink Only, Model "XP-120 or
Thermalright Heatsink for P4 & K8 CPUs, Heatsink Only, Model "XP-90 (which one I should pick ?)

Antec 480 watt 120mm fan ATX 12V v2.0 power supply, Active PFC, Model "NeoPower" http://www.newegg.com/app/View...tion=17-103-924&depa=0

Antec Silver Thermal Compound

VANTEC VORTEX Hard Disk Drive Cooler www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct...tion=35-888-110&depa=0

RAM - 1 GB, I'm not sure which, probably Corsair, but there's so many different types, I'm lost.

I have old DVD-ROM, floppy drive, and Audigy card already.

Thanks

 

[imported_Radar]

anyone?

 

[CheesePoofs]

Ok, looks great overall, just a few things that i noticed.

1) You could get a much bigger hard drive for less than those two raptors and see no noticable performance difference.

2) Either the xp-120 or xp-90 will work. xp-120 cools slightly better, but its bigger, so if you want to try to reuse it on another motherboard it makes more sence to get the xp-90.

3) that power supply is a server one, so i don't know if it has all the necessary connectors for an ATX motherboard. Im not sure on this though.

4) for the ram, you should just get value ram, especially if you aren't overclocking. you will get no speed improvement with expensive ram over value ram at stock speeds. And even if you do OC, you can still overclock fine with value ram, you just have to turn down the memory divider.


I had one question though .... where did you find that 6800gt pcie???

 

[ts3433]

If you're going to OC, just get the 3200+ or 3000+; you should reach the same speeds. The XP-90 is almost as effective as the XP-120. Remember to pick out a separate fan for those--they don't come with one. A better value might be a Zalman CNPS7000 AlCu.

You can save money right now by going with an AGP 6800GT and a good AGP motherboard (Asus A8V, Epox EP-9NDA3+, MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum), and then just upgrading the motherboard and video card together when you need to.

Are you planning on putting those Raptors in RAID0? It's not going to give you any significant additional performance (unless you do heavy video editing, and in that case you'd want bigger drives), and a RAID0 array is a bit more prone to data failure. Consider getting one 74GB Raptor for your OS and programs, and a second storage drive for data.

Instead of that Plextor, I'd get an NEC 3520A (they seem to be recommended the most at the moment).

The True550 is a bit much for what you have right now (you'd be fine with a Seasonic 350W), but it should handle pretty much anything you throw at it for a while.

Arctic Silver 5 is regarded as one of the best thermal compounds out at the moment.

The HD cooler is probably unnecessary.

Try 2x512MB of Corsair/Crucial/Mushkin value RAM. Even for overclocking, this will work fine.

 

[imported_Radar]

Thanks guys,

I already have second thoughts about HD. I'm thinking about Maxtor, which one would be the best?

I think I'll get XP-120. I wasn't aware of the fans, Thanks !! I'm not sure which fans would it be. Could you recommend some, perhaps even link to one?

I read somewhere that those SLI mobos will require more power. Maybe just with 2 video cards?
I think that this mobo requires 24-pin connector.

I think this PSU has 24-pin conector http://www.newegg.com/app/View...tion=17-103-924&depa=0

I got 6800gt pcie at Monarch earlier today.

 

[CheesePoofs]

I would recomend just getting the fans that thermalright recomends on their website.

That mobo has a 24 pin connecter, but from what i've heard it doesnt require it.

If you want a modular power stream, i'd got with the OCZ modstream series. IMO they are nicer power supplies, although others might argue that. And they both have the 24 pin connectors.

 

[ts3433]

Seagate, WD, and Samsung are preferred for hard drives.

Panaflo and SilenX fans are supposed to be good, but I don't know the best for your needs. You could even just bypass this step altogether and just get the 7700.

If the PSU has enough juice, you'd be fine using a 20-to-24-pin adapter (included with many new PSUs). After looking at what else is in that same price range on Newegg, you might be better off just keeping the True550 if you think you'll do SLI with 6800s later (a Seasonic 350W is enough to power virtually any single-CPU, single-video card system).


By the way, if you don't mind doing a board upgrade when you upgrade your video card next, just build a system with AGP for now. You can save money on the 6800GT (AGP ones are $400, while PCIe ones usually sell for $500+) and motherboard (Epox's EP-9NDA3+ is a very good board for $120). Since there's not a whole lot of NF4 selection right now and any 6800GT will last you for quite a while, this might be better. (You could even downgrade to a 6800 or 6600GT if you don't think you'll do much gaming above 1280x1024 very high details or 1600x1200 medium-high details.)

 

[SrGuapo]

Originally posted by: Radar
Thanks guys,

I already have second thoughts about HD. I'm thinking about Maxtor, which one would be the best?

I think I'll get XP-120. I wasn't aware of the fans, Thanks !! I'm not sure which fans would it be. Could you recommend some, perhaps even link to one?

I read somewhere that those SLI mobos will require more power. Maybe just with 2 video cards?
I think that this mobo requires 24-pin connector.

I think this PSU has 24-pin conector http://www.newegg.com/app/View...tion=17-103-924&depa=0

I have heard nothing but bad things about the Maxtors. They are supposed to be loud and unreliable. I would recommend a Seagate, as they are some of the most quiet and have good performance.

I would also get the NEC 3520A DVD-RW instead of the plextor. Much better deal, IMO.

Personally, I wouldn't get the SLI board (WAY too expensive for my tastes), but it is your call.

 

[Anubis08]

Seagates also have 5 yr warranty. But good overall.:beer:

 

[imported_Radar]

Do I also need some sort of clips or backplate for the heatsink and fans? They have some parts like that on their website. I just want to be sure I have all parts I need to built the system.

I heard good things about Maxtor (Diamond Max). I don't know. It seems selecting HD is the hardest choice.

 

[CheesePoofs]

The heatsink will come with all the additional stuff you will need, ie clips, backplate, screws, etc.

 

[imported_Radar]

Thanks a lot.

I just checked Monarch, they still have that card, BFG GeForce 6800 GT OC 256MB GDDR3/PCI-E/TV-Out/Dual-DVI