Please stat me a computer!

I'm hoping this is the correct forum for this request. I was told a while back that this was the place to come for requesting spec write-ups for various computer configs.

My mate is putting together a new PC and he's about as proficient with computers as a monkey is with a typewriter. I know enough to be able to put the thing together but not enough of the current best of the best of the PC world (I'm primarily a Mac-head... please don't hold that against me, I can't help being superior ) to know what a good config would be.

So I would kindly request that you post me some configs. The parameters are that it has to be AMD, has to have quality components, and the price range ($2,000 USD) must include a 22" CRT (the CRT can be crappy, however as the dude just cares about size as far as the monitor is concerned).

It's 99% going to be used for gaming and porn surfing. The other 1% is work related so he can write it off as a tax deduction

Thanks.

Hmmm... $1500 (I figure $500 for the monitor based on Pricewatch)... That gives us a lot of room

Quick 10 minute search through Newegg results in...
Random 22" CRT -- $500
XP 3000+ (Barton) OEM -- $253
Heatsink/Fan -- $30
Western Digital Raptor 36GB (x2) -- $138 x2 = $276
Motherboard (dunno what's really good) -- $150?
Pioneer 16x DVD Drive -- $43
LiteOn 52x24x52x (on sale ) -- $50
Radeon 9500 -- $150
Logitech Z-640 -- $65
Turtle Beach Santa Cruz -- $75

Grand Total: $1592

This isn't everything (still needs a case, cables, ect.), but I see it hard to pay $400 for that kinda stuff

If you're really into gaming, you could trade the Radeon 9500 for a better card like the 9700 or 9800 (pros or non). If you're an n'Vidia man, then the GeForce FX 5800 is also up at the top of performance.

You could spend less on the CPU and get one that OC's better also. I don't really know how well the Barton's OC, or what some good T-Bred chips are.

JigPu

Hungry Jack said:

It's 99% going to be used for gaming and porn surfing. The other 1% is work related so he can write it off as a tax deduction

Thanks. [/B]

Click to expand...

At least he's honest...

For the motherboard: Abit NF7-S. Also, I'd say go for the barton 2800+ instead, and use that extra to get 9700pro.

JigPu'

Vertig0 said:

At least he's honest...

Click to expand...

Lol

JigPu's guide is good, but you could always get a slower chip and overclock it, and with the money saved get a backup PATA drive (Western Digital SE are good and not that expensive). Considering with dual Raptors you might go RAID....

9700 non-pro can be had for a few dollars more than the 9500.

JigPu said:

You could spend less on the CPU and get one that OC's better also. I don't really know how well the Barton's OC, or what some good T-Bred chips are.

Click to expand...

As far as OC'ing is concerned we know a guy who's really into that (has the see through case, glowing cables and half a dozen fans, etc.) so as long as that's taken into account with cooling in the specs, I don't see a problem with taking that into consideration. Although, having said that, neither of us would know how to do it.

I think I'll recommend that route though, ie. getting the lesser CPU and the better graphics card. He wants a monster, so...

And about honesty, heh, it's funny because he had almost convinced himself to get a Mac (I'm always raving about all the stuff I can't afford) but after spending a day shopping for one, balked at the price. I convinced him later on that he's just not a Mac person and that a PC would suit his needs better and when he evaluated his needs it came down to games & porn, lol.

Sigh, still... he was an inch away from buying a PowerMac G4 1GHz, 512MB, SuperDrive, with a Radeon, TV adapter with all these neat recording functions and a 23" Apple Cinema Display... I think what really turned him off was the fact that if he had bought it, I'd be over his place all the time drooling over the thing

Thanks for the advice so far.

JigPu said:

Logitech Z-640 -- $65
Turtle Beach Santa Cruz -- $75

Click to expand...

Err, sorry to sound so dumb (ok, well, to be honest, that's why I'm here, 'cause I don't know, so I'm not sorry, just embarrassed...), but what are these? Soundcard and speakers?

Hungry Jack said:

Err, sorry to sound so dumb (ok, well, to be honest, that's why I'm here, 'cause I don't know, so I'm not sorry, just embarrassed...), but what are these? Soundcard and speakers?

Click to expand...

Yep. the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz is the soundcard.

2500+| 100
2x256mb ddr 400| 80
radeon 9700pro| 250
22 inch crt|500
cheiftec dragon case|50
fortron 530w|75
cd-rw|45
dvd-rom|35
2x80gb|170
Abit NF&-S|125
logitech 5.1 speakers|70
sk-7/fan|30

total|1630, and i'm sure I forgot something

prolly forgot the dvd(+/-)r since our mac friend will have nothing less than a superdrive .
but... case fans would be nice to have as well. maybe an audigy 2 also.

With the 2800 Barton, what's the fastest RAM you can use with that?

Also, what's a good quality brand of RAM?

Thanks again.

Ok, thanks to y'all I've decided on the following config. If I could squeeze one more bit of advice out you, I'd be mighty pleasedd. Basically, what's a good case, power supply, heatsink and fan config for the below config, considering that it will be overclocked. Also, if the case could be metallic looking that'd be nice but it's not a necessity. Did I mention that I'm getting his old computer for free for doing this? So hurry up with those suggestions! I mean, really, do you expect me to play games on my Mac? I need a PC for that...
--

AMD Athlon XP 2800 "Barton" 333 FSB CPU

CPU: 2.08 GHz
Type: XP 2800 Barton Core
Cache: 512K L2, 128K L1, Total 640KB
BUS: 333MHz
Socket A
Retail Box (Comes with Heatsink and Fan).

Model #: AXDA2800BOX

ABIT NF7-S nForce2 SPP chipset

Support: AMD Socket A with 200/266/333 FSB, 8X AGP, SATA 150 ATX
Supported CPU: AMD-K7 Duron/Athlon/Athlon XP Socket A
Chipset: NVIDIA nForce2 SPP chipset with MCP2-T
FSB: 200/266/333MHz
RAM: 3x 184Pin DDR Supports 3 DIMM DDR 200/266/333 (Max. 3GB)or
2 DIMM DDR 400 (Max. 2GB)
IDE: 2 x Ultra DMA 33/66/100/133 (up to 4 Devices)
Slots: 1 x AGP8X/4X, 5 x PCI slots
Ports: 1xFDD, 2xSATA, 2xUSB2, 2xPS2, 2xCOM,1xLPT and Audio Ports
Onboard Serial ATA: Supports transfer rates 150MB/s (1.5G bps)
Onboard Audio: 6-Channel AC 97 CODEC
Onboard LAN: 10/100Mb Operation supports ACPI & Wake on LAN
Onboard Firewire: IEEE 1394a at 100/200/400MB/s transfer rate

Model #: NF7-S

2 X KINGSTON 256MB 333MHz DDR PC2700 ECC DIMM

Type: DDR ECC DIMM
Capacity: 256MB
Speed: PC2700

Model #: KVR333X72C25/256

ATI RADEON 9700 PRO 128MB TV/DVI 8X AGP

GPU: RADEON� 9700 PRO Visual Processing Unit (VPU)
Mem: 128MB DDR memory 256-bit memory
OS: Windows 2000, ME, XP. DirectX® 9.0 support
Eight parallel rendering pipelines, Four parallel geometry engines
Bus: AGP 8X support 2GB/sec Bandwidth
Peak Memory Bandwidth 20GB a sec (compare to ti 4600's 10.4gb)
Pixel Fill Rate: 2.6 Gigapixels/Sec
Resolutions: From 640x480 at 200Hz, to 2048x1536 at 85Hz
Integrated TV Output support up to 1024x768 resolution 2x/4x/6x full scene anti-aliasing modes
Retail Box with cables

Model#: RADEON 9700PRO 128 R

Western Digital Raptor 36GB SATA

Size: 36.7 Gigabytes
Interface: Serial ATA
Seek time: 5.2ms
RPM: 10,000
Data Transfer: 150MB/sec Max
Cache: 8MB
OEM (Drive alone) 3 Year Manufacturer Warranty

Model #: WD360GD

PIONEER INTERNAL ATAPI DVD-RECORDABLE MODEL DVR-A05SPK3 (DVRA05)

Inferface: ATA/ATAPI-5, MMC3, SFFC INF8090 Ver. 5
Buffer: 2MB Write, 512KB Read Buffer
Access Time (Random Average) DVD: 200 Msec, CD: 180 Msec
Write Support :
DVD-R: 4X (Requires 4X DVD-R Media), 2X, 1X
DVD-RW: 2X (Requires 2X DVD-RW Media), 1X
CD-R: 16X, 12X, 8X, 4X
CD-RW: 8X, 4X
Read Support:
DVD-ROM (Single): Max 12X CAV
DVD-ROM (Dual): Max 8X CAV
DVD-R, DVD-RW: Max 6X CAV
CD-ROM: Max 32X CAV
CD-R, CD-RW: Max 32X CAV
CD-DA: Max 32X CAV
Video-CD: 4X CLV

Model #: A05SPK3

Voyetra Turtle Beach Santa Cruz

PCI Sound Card with Digital Signal Processor for the ultimate listening experience. Home theater surround sound. Create your own Music. Accelerates MP3, DVD, and Internet Audio.

Mfg Part #: TBS-3400-01

Logitech Z640 5.1 Speaker

Patented subwoofer design delivers twice the bass energy of conventional speakers. Innovative satellite design with rotating pedestals that allow for wall or desk placement. Internal power supply eliminates bulky wall adapters. Easily hook it up to your video game console with our included adapter cable... no need for an external amplifier or receiver!

Model #: 970073-0403

Well, I supposed PC3700 would be the "fastest" ram for an AMD based system, but you'd have to be pushing some pretty high FSB speeds to max it out.

I'd suggest that you pick up some TwinMOS ram with Winbond BH5 or CH5 chips. A PC3200 stick of either will get you well over 200FSB @ CAS2. If you're going for an NF7-S as your motherboard, pick up 2 x 256MB sticks so that you can take advantage of the minimal speed increase that dual channel offers. You still following me? ^_^

If you're looking for a place to pick up TwinMOS for cheap, check out the amdmb forums @ www.amdforums.com. There are 2 people in the Trading Post that are moving large quantities of CH5 sticks. Oh, and I'm in no way affiliated with them..

a good case is the antec plus1080amg (comes with 480 watt powersupply).
a couple good heatsinks are either the Zalman CNPS7000-Cu(cheap, quiet, and good but heavy).
or
the thermalright slk-900-u (but you have to get a fan for this one).

iD10t said:

a good case is the antec plus1080amg (comes with 480 watt powersupply).

Click to expand...

Heh, I ended up talking with a mate here who's lively hood revolves around computers and he showed me a couple of local retailers websites and lo and behold, I ended up choosing this exact case!

I'm glad it comes recommended

I was told by this guy also that the MB has a pretty good sound system on it already so there's no real need for an uber sound card. Since the guy who's actually forking out the money is 95% deaf in one ear, I figured he could tolerate having less than the best sound

Here's what I've got so far. Any suggestions, hints, or tips would be welcomed: http://home.iprimus.com.au/ddk/beast.html

EDIT: Err, the prices are Australian so ignore them.

wow... those prices are impressive (i know its Australian ... but still.)
1) go non pro on the vid card if you can (save money, and is easy enough to flash to a pro ).
2) look into the bufalo memory with the windbond bh5 modules if you can (cheap and fast).
3) check that Zalman heatsink out, the oc'ers frontpage reviewed it. http://www.overclockers.com/articles735/
4) maybe a sata raid0 config with two raptors

otherwise looks killer.
happy huntin'

Get the 9700 pro imho, and get two 256mb rams so that you can get the bennefit of the dual channel mb, also get pc 3200 ram.

Swap the Ait Radeon 9700 Pro for a non-pro and the PC2700 RAM for PC3200.

Ok, some more revisions are in order, it seems.

I understand getting two sticks instead of one for the dual-channel benefit, however your right, you lost me on the bit about wind bonding and C4... what does the weather and high explosive have to do with the computer setup?

Yeah, yeah, don't quit my day job, I know

But I'm not sure I follow as to the reason why one should fork out three times more money for PC-3200 over 2700 when the M/B can only take 333MHz RAM. Does this winbond thing increase that capacity? I'm lost.

One stick of 512MB PC-2700 costs me $130 here whereas 512MB PC-3200 costs $360. Is it really worth the extra money?

Also, what's the difference between the Pro and non-Pro 9700 aside from price? The TV capability is important, he wants that, and AFAIK, the pro is about the best you can get with the TV tuner included.

Lastly, the speakers will be changed as soon as I find some that suit the look of the case. It was agreed (I just spoke to him... Star Trek night...) that for him, sound wasn't a big issue and that as long as the sound was good, he wasn't overly concerned about it. Which is good because I kinda busted the $3k AUD budget and cheaper speakers makes me look better

P.S. Not sure what you mean about the AUD prices. I know they're pretty good prices as the place was recommended to me by a friend in the industry. It's always good to have friends in low places

P.P.S. Btw, I really love this quick reply thingy at the bottom of the forums. Damn fine job whoever thought of that mod.

P.P.P.S. Vodka and beer mix surprisingly well

No, it isn't worth the extra cash if you aren't heavily overclocking. If you want the TV-Tuner get the 9700pro AIW.