Need Build Advising..

iNSiGMA · Dec 14, 2005

Hey peoples. I've been planning this build for a while and after some research and finally deciding on a motherboard I've got the following down:

DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 Ultra-D
AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+
G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR 400
Creative SoundBlaster Audigy2 Value - PCI
ASUS EAX1300PRO/TD/256M Video Card

Western Digital Caviar SE 120GB
Western Digital Caviar SE 200GB
LG Black E-IDE / ATAPI DVD Burner
SONY Black IDE DVD-ROM Drive
Antec SmartPower 2.0 500Watt

How does that look for a stable system which can be overclocked?
Also, What I don't understand is why am I seeing X850Pro's at $250 (at newegg), when my 1300Pro is only $106. Am I missing something on that one?

jnev_89 · Dec 14, 2005

if you want to be gaming the x1300 is not the best card to have. the x850's are all much better gamers than your x1300 is, when they were current-gen cards a few months ago they cost almost twice that.

iNSiGMA · Dec 14, 2005

I see.. so the x850s are the hottness eh?

They're certaintly priced like it.

How about my other components?

castroman · Dec 14, 2005

Well it all looks good to me but why go for a 6800GS or maybye a 7800GT?

moonlightcheese · Dec 14, 2005

not sure if you're dead set on ATi but... here's the scoop. the nVidia solution performs better than the ATi solution. the DFI (nVidia chipset) is the best overclocker out there right now. it makes sense to get a DFI SLI board and get a single 6800GS to pop in it. this way all you have to do is buy another card when you are ready for more graphics power.

another thing, that power supply is not SLI rated and having a power supply like that, while it is ok for now, will not be ok down the road. the last thing you want to have to upgrade down the road is your power supply so i wouldn't skimp in that area. grab a good 520-550W SLI approved power supply. the Antec TruePower 2.0 550W is a good option and won't bust your budget.

that's my suggestion. but whatever you do, do not get the X1300 card. if you choose to go with the ATi card splurge for the DFI Crossfire board and if you are really set on ATi and you can afford to wait on the purchase, RD580 is not too far off and looks to be the best overclocker ever seen.

just a few options to chew on

ckj · Dec 14, 2005

Nvidia vs. ATI depends on the price point. But I agree, don't get the x1300, that's actually a budget solution much like the x300 and you probably will not be satisfied with it in the long run. I'd rather spend the $50 more and get a 6600gt.

Your powersupply will be stable, and SLI is NOT the future. Most people are not, will not buy two videocards, especially when the performance gains are minimal compared to the cost.

Maybe you could give us a budget so we can help you better.

LordDarik · Dec 14, 2005

Looks great, except I'd go with a Fortron Bluestorm over that Antec Smartpower. Ewiz has them for only a few more dollars then the Smartpower:
http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=PS-FS500A

darksparkz · Dec 14, 2005

Yep I recommend the 6800GS ($200) or the 7800GT ($300), whichever you can afford.

Definitely go for the Forton AX500-A over that Antec one, it's much more popular and seems more reliable.

Why not an Opteron 165? They'll look like they'll start getting cheaper now.

Maybe wanna consider the NEC 3550 or BenQ DW1640 DVD burners?

iNSiGMA · Dec 14, 2005

My budget is 1200. I want to be at 1000 at newegg so I can still purchase a case elsewhere.

Whats the best video card I can get for $110 or less?

I have the G.Skill memory because I read on DFI Street it works well with this board, and overclocks good.

The powersupply was also something I read to be good on DFI Street. If I have to change it I'd go back to the ENERMAX Whisper II

ckj · Dec 14, 2005

for 110, all you could get new would be a 6600. I'd rather sacrifice a little on the case, and get a better videocard.

LordDarik · Dec 14, 2005

iNSiGMA said:
My budget is 1200. I want to be at 1000 at newegg so I can still purchase a case elsewhere.

Whats the best video card I can get for $110 or less?

I have the G.Skill memory because I read on DFI Street it works well with this board, and overclocks good.

The powersupply was also something I read to be good on DFI Street. If I have to change it I'd go back to the ENERMAX Whisper II

Well now we're telling you that the Bluestorm is a better choice, are you gonna listen to DFi Street or OC Forums?

I also agree though that you should cut off some case budget and put it into the GPU, even $80 less would get you something in the class of an Antec P180. With your budget, a 6600GT would seem to be the minimum choice for a video card.

castroman · Dec 14, 2005

iNSiGMA said:
My budget is 1200. I want to be at 1000 at newegg so I can still purchase a case elsewhere.

Whats the best video card I can get for $110 or less?

I have the G.Skill memory because I read on DFI Street it works well with this board, and overclocks good.

The powersupply was also something I read to be good on DFI Street. If I have to change it I'd go back to the ENERMAX Whisper II

Well i have a 6200 256mb atm i'm upgrading to a 7800GT but i would reccomend the 6200 it's pretty cheap close to 120 ish

hrhrhrFOOT · Dec 14, 2005

6200 is garbage for that price range. 6600 is ok, but seriously the 9800pro and 5900 series which where high end last generation cards still beat it. I still like my 5900xt a lot and the rest of my computer a lot too. I don't really think i'll be upgrading soon =)

castroman · Dec 14, 2005

hrhrhrFOOT said:
6200 is garbage for that price range. 6600 is ok, but seriously the 9800pro and 5900 series which where high end last generation cards still beat it. I still like my 5900xt a lot and the rest of my computer a lot too. I don't really think i'll be upgrading soon =)

Well lol i don't care how garbage it is I would take any Nvidia card over an ATI any day because of all the terrible problems i had with there card in my Machine.

This POS media center PC that i have for now (but will be gone tommorow when i build my new comp with the parts that showed up) origionally came with a Radeon 9200 well to make a long story short there is a terrible conflict with the 9200, windows media center, and a 17" HP LCD monitor that makes the computer think it has 2 screens and can't even run freaking free cell properly. The only fix I came up with befor swapping out the cards was everytime I turned on the computer i had to delete then reinstall the moniter drivers and the video card drivers.

So I !Like ATI

darksparkz · Dec 14, 2005

6200 is pretty expensive for $120, for that you can get a 6600, maybe even the 6600GT in refurb or classifieds.

Definitely trim the edges to put more money towards video card, that's the most noticeable performance upgrade in gaming.

FlakMonkey · Dec 14, 2005

I dont know who would pay $120 for the 6200. Definitly go for the 6600GT, or vanilla if you have to.

iNSiGMA · Dec 15, 2005

How we feelin about this:
XFX Geforce 6600GT 128MB GDDR3 Video Card ?

Hott, right? :santa2:

moonlightcheese · Dec 15, 2005

well i never said "SLI is the future" i just said get a SLI rated power supply just in case. it never hurts to have a nice power supply and SLI is always a good option for easy upgrading.

at any rate... if you are a gamer the last thing you need to skimp on is the graphics solution. maybe get like a 3200+ get 1Gig of DDR, ditch the audigy as it isn't necessary (DFI has like 6.1 audio on board) and get ONE hard drive. that should make a lot more breathing room to buy a GOOD graphics card.

hrhrhrFOOT · Dec 15, 2005

castroman said:
Well lol i don't care how garbage it is I would take any Nvidia card over an ATI any day because of all the terrible problems i had with there card in my Machine.

This POS media center PC that i have for now (but will be gone tommorow when i build my new comp with the parts that showed up) origionally came with a Radeon 9200 well to make a long story short there is a terrible conflict with the 9200, windows media center, and a 17" HP LCD monitor that makes the computer think it has 2 screens and can't even run freaking free cell properly. The only fix I came up with befor swapping out the cards was everytime I turned on the computer i had to delete then reinstall the moniter drivers and the video card drivers.

So I !Like ATI

wrong. read my post again.

FlakMonkey · Dec 15, 2005

iNSiGMA said:
How we feelin about this:
XFX Geforce 6600GT 128MB GDDR3 Video Card ?

Hott, right?

That card should be nice.

Need Build Advising..

Member

Member

Member

Member

Registered

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Registered

Member

Member

Similar threads