New AMD Gaming Rig

It's about that time again. Time to build a new rig with the moneys from graduation -- gotta love it. Originally I was going to do this as a summer project, but I was given enough money to cover just about everything, and I have a friend in town for a month or so and I want to give him more incentive to come LAN (his rig is a brick and he hates carrying it around!), so I figured I would do it now and then get some good LAN'ing time in before he moves.

Here's the setup as it stands, recomendations and comments are what I'm looking for:

3200+ Venice [already ordered]
DFI LanParty UT nf4 Ultra-D [already ordered]
Thermaltake Tsunami [already own]
Fortron 530w PSU ~$80
2x512mb OCZ El Plat Rev2 ~$183.99
Seagate 7200.7 160gb HD ~$92.50
LiteOn Combo Drive ~$32.99
XP-120 ~$64.95 *includes panaflo fan
Sapphire ATI xt800 XL ~$299

Total: ~$753.43

So I already have ordered or own the first three items, they are locked in and I don't need recomendations on them. The rest of it I would like everyone to look over and let me know what you think. I have no intentions of going SLI. I'm not opposed to nVidia if it's the better choice, but please don't recommend it for the SLI options. I also don't need a DVD burner on it, the rig in my sig has one and I will be keeping that rig, this rig is for secondary gaming use.

Thanks in advance everyone!

1. You'll want to swap out that Fortron 530W for the Blue Storm 500W. Despite the fact that it is a good unit, it is strongly recommended that you run 24-pin units with the DFI NF4.

2. Maybe its just me, but I think the XP-120 is a good excessive. Chances are you can go with a XP-90 and recieve good cooling at less cost. At SVC.com, they have a retail XP-90 for $25 and a package for $31 (includes the XP-90 with a 92mm panaflo).

Aside from that, everything looks fine; good luck on your upcoming build.

deception``

Thanks man, the native 24p occurred to me after I posted. The bluestorm will also fit my coloring scheme and it's nice to have a pre-sleeved PSU (though I don't mind sleeving, it's always nice to have it done for you!).

My main concern about the xp-120 v. xp-90 was noise level. Will I have to be running the xp-90 at much higher speeds to attain the same cooling?

Thanks for the quick post!

YoMatta said:

My main concern about the xp-120 v. xp-90 was noise level. Will I have to be running the xp-90 at much higher speeds to attain the same cooling?

Click to expand...

Not exactly. You don't have to run a Tornado or Delta to enjoy nice temperatures on the XP-90. Nonetheless, the XP-120 will hold a clear advantage in the low noise category, as most 120mm fans can push more CFM.

deception``

Then I think that I will keep the xp-120 in the setup. I'll probably throw in an extra fan controller I have lying around also so that I can tune down the fan when I'm not gaming with it (which probably won't be that often). I'd also like to do some serious oc'ing, if it allows me to, so the added cooling capacity would be enjoyed.

Appreciate the comments deception``, you've always been very helpful!

From everything I've heard Liteon is crap. When I finally get my rig to together, it will have a Nec 3520. All I've heard is good reviews about it.

Edit: Nevermind just read the rest of your post and your sig.

EvilAerosolCan said:

From everything I've heard Liteon is crap. When I finally get my rig to together, it will have a Nec 3520. All I've heard is good reviews about it.

Click to expand...

Believe it or not, but Lite-On drives are actually very good. I have both a 16x black Lite-On and the NEC 3520A and I notice no difference in burn quality between the two

deception``

Yeah, any lite on's that I have seen aren't bad at all.

anything else look wrong with the rig? any comments? i'll be using onboard sound by the way... not interested in getting a sound card.

thanks again for everyone's help, might order this as soon as later tonight!

YoMatta-Recommended read

You have made some excellent choices.I just wondered why you chose that specific Hard Drive(I am not saying anything against it).Thier are several strong choices and I found a couple of reviews that give excellent comparissions between the Seagate you chose the new generation of Seagate as well as the 16meg Maxtor and the two Raptors.I highly recommend you to read them regardless of the choice you make.It will be well worth your time.
http://techreport.com/reviews/2005q1/seagate-7200.8/index.x?pg=1
http://www.storagereview.com/articles/200410/200410087B300S0-2_3.html

Plextors pretty much own too...

-1cem4n