AM2 3800X2 this MONTH

[biglonstud]

Hey everybody!

I believe I have finaly decided to build a PC this month(Ive been looking, and researching of what to build, for the last year or so).

From what Ive heard from people on these forums, and on review sites, it seems like this might be a good build:

UPDATED July 10th 2006

CPU:
Meh, I think Ill get a Sempron Manila 3000, then once the price drops on the 3800X2 AM2 Ill get it(or something like that).
(hopefully I can overclock it too 2.6-2.8ghz)

Motherboard:
ASUS NON-SLI
(Asus does not seem to be compatible with some OCZ Ram...) Price $95 Mmm... Ive heard lots of good things about the Biostar TForce 6100, considering getting that. And it has a Onboard video, so if I do get a 7900GT I might as well get the Biostar board, just incase the GPU artifacts, and freezes up, I can still run the PC.

RAM
Corsair DDR2 800 2x1GB $158 AR

GPU
7900GT EVGA any recommendations on which version of it would be great! Thanks!
I am still considering a 7600GT because Im probably not going to be running games over 1280x1028(well 1440x900 which has about the same number of pixels), and it appears to me that the 7600GT can handle FEAR, HL2, and most other games at almost max setting when at 1280x1028 resolution or so. And it may save me $100+. But then again you guys seem to recommend the 7900GT, but I have heard lots of reports of trouble with the 7900GT cards.

PSU
I heard OCZ is great, and Sparkle too. Ive been looking at either a 600W Sparkle(or was it Forton) or a 520W-600W OCZ.
$120 or less. I dont want to spend more than I need to. Mmm... Rosewill 500W PSU is one of the few sub-$100(it cost about $60) that supports 24+Amps on the 12v(I need higher amps on the 12v fo the 7900GT right?), and it has a really high rating on Newegg from more than 90 people, and unlike some of antecs products, there have not been one report of it frying any componets.

Monitor:
Ive been looking at getting a 19" Wide DCLCD Screen, or maybe a 19" Wide Scepter(both I believe are made by Scepter). $200

And I already have a:

Harddrive 200Gb ATA Maxtor(but I am hoping to get 2 SATA drives in Raid 0 some time)

DVD Burner Nec 3550A

Case:
Was looking at a CoolerMaster. $50

Any recommendations, or comments would be great!

I am currently using a Dell 2.4ghz P4, 512mb Ram, and a Radeon 9800.

My budget is well... $1500 max, hopefully less.

I think Ill start buying parts for the PC this month(as I see the parts go onsale, Ill get em) and hopefully have a full PC by August.

And there is Conroe... but, doesn't that cost more? And wont K8L, and AMDs second Gen of Multi-Core CPUs come out next year on AM2?

 

[attack]

That seems like a pretty nice pricedrop...I have a feeling if anything the S939 will drop that low while AM2 will be more. If that's the case I'd go for a S939 setup as DDR2 isn't that much of improvement and PC3200 is cheaper.

For video, definetly splurge for a 7900, it's so much stronger than the 7600. For PSU's, that's a lot to spend on one...I thought 80 was getting up there...I think OCZ is more bling bling than actualy strong power, but that's just my opinion.

 

[biglonstud]

I thought $80 for a PSU high enough. But when I was looking in the PSU section, I got the impression that I may need one that cost $100 or more. Glad to here that you dont think a $100+ PSU is needed, what would you recommend?

 

[jamesgig]

go with corsair xms ddr2 800 2x1gb 4-4-4-12 $250@newegg

 

[Jacobman]

I think the new OCZ Gold DDR2 800 works.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820227124

Heres the older gold that doesnt work.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820227030

 

[biglonstud]

OCZ Gold 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM Unbuffered DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit System Memory - Retail
Looks good, I checked some benchmarks comparing DDR2 800 5-5-5-15 timing, and 4-4-4-12, and there seemed to be only a slight difference in performance(in Fear, Medium Quality using 5-5-5-15, they got 156 FPS, and with 4-4-4-12, they got 160 FPS)... I might rather save myself $75 and get the 5-5-5-15 Ram... unless you guys think its really worth it...

The OCZ cost about $176 after Rebates.

 

[biglonstud]

Thinking of buying this:
eVGA 256-P2-N567 Geforce 7900GT KO Superclocked 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail $169(EDIT thats $269, sorry!) AR + Free Hitman Game

Think I should go for it?

Or should I wait, and look around alittle more and try to find a better deal?


Pfftt... I should probaly just wait till Conroe comes out.

 

[squads]

Thinking of buying this:
eVGA 256-P2-N567 Geforce 7900GT KO Superclocked 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail $169 AR + Free Hitman Game

Think I should go for it?

Or should I wait, and look around alittle more and try to find a better deal?


Pfftt... I should probaly just wait till Conroe comes out.

that would be $269 after rebate...you almost gave me a heart attack there.

But yeah that card should do you pretty good.

 

[biglonstud]

Sorry about that squads, my mistake, I meant $296.

 

[biglonstud]

After looking at some benchmarks of an overclocked Sempron(and seeing that it performs about as well as a 3500Athlon, or a 3800X2), and seeing that I could get a 3000 AM2 256kb Cache for $55, and that the 3800X2 cost almost 6 times more than a Sempron. I am now considering getting a Sempron AM2 System. Think this is a good idea? I know dual core will become a standard sometime soon, but I have yet to see big advantages of dual core CPUs in gaming benchmarks.

So this is another(more budget/value oriented) System I was looking at. Please let me know if you think this would be a decent system(I would upgrade to AMDs second generation of dualcores, or quad cores(probably in January/July of 2007, and wont most games be using dual core then?) :

3000+ Sempron Manila AM2, 1600ghz, 256kb cache, heard of overclocks from 2.5-2.87 ghz for Manilas $55

2x1Gb Corsair DDR2 800(is DDR2 800 compatible with Semprons? I know 677 is) $158

Biostar Tforce 6100 AM2 $73

Thermaltake 430W 12v@18A(maybe I shoulc get a better PSU) $29.99

eVGA 7600GT Minimum Minimum 12v@18A $139 Or I could get the 7900GT that ajrettke recommends for $250 or so.

CoolerMaster Case $49

$200 Scepter 19" Wide Screen LCD from Costco(If I get a Dead Pixels Ill exchange it)


Sounds good? Would that be great bang for my buck? Or should I go for something alittle more expensive(7900GT, Asus board, Antec PSU, AM2 3200 Athlon or 3800X2) I was thinking this should be able to run most games(and programs) pretty well, and according Xbit labs, an overclocked Sempron should not be holding back a 7600GT in most games. And would a 7600GT run games like Fear, COD2, BF2, HL2 at rather high settings? Or would it be totaly better to get the 7900GT for $100 more. (Wouldn't a 7600GT hold me over till Direct X 10, and 8000 Series cards though? Which I could probably upgrade to later... but then I gotta get a better PSU)

 

[Seinken]

I'm not too knowledgable in the way a processor interacts with the RAM, but I hear that the lower the on-die cache, the less bandwidth needed from RAM.

Basically you will see nil-very little gains from 667-800. The only thing it'll help with is OC'ing maybe...

If you skimp on the video card, you will regret it. I own a 7900 and after moving from a 6800 i was AMAZED, lol... every game i play chugs along happily at 100+fps at ANY setting I play it at. In fact, a 7900 probably has too much power for a Sempron, I'm not sure how much of a bottleneck it'll be, but imo it will become one.

Also, NEVER skimp on power supplies, and ALWAYS stay with a reputable company. The PSU is the heart of your comp, it provides energy at a constant level and if that constant level moves up or down or goes way out of whack you can have multiple problems ranging from instability to total system meltdown, and no one wants a total system meltdown... do they?

The advice on the DDR2 probably isn't the best from me as I'm still in DDR1 land with a pair of G.Skills, so if someone can correct/add on to what I said I'd appreciate it.

 

[biglonstud]

Part of the reason I was thinking about getting DDR2 800 is because it only cost about $1-$20 more for DDR2 800, and that way, in 2007 I could get a quad core(AMDs second generation of Dual Cores).

Also, the Monitor Im getting only supports resolution up to 1440x960, so it has a little more pixels than 1280x1024(or what ever). (1440x960 is only "EDIT:"70,000 more pixels than 1280x1024, I think)

 

[Froggy]

Part of the reason I was thinking about getting DDR2 800 is because it only cost about $1-$20 more for DDR2 800, and that way, in 2007 I could get a quad core(AMDs second generation of Dual Cores).

Also, the Monitor Im getting only supports resolution up to 1440x960, so its somewhere inbetween 1280x1024(or what ever) and 1600x1200. (1440x960 is only 500,000-700,000 mope pixels than 1280x1024, I think)

1440*960 is only 1.38 MPixels
1280*1024 is only 1.31 MPixels

not a very big difference at all.

1600*1200 however is 1.92 MPixels.

 

[biglonstud]

Ah, sorry I remember doing the caculations. and thats right, it was 1.38 MPixels vs 1.31 MPixels. Sorry bout that.(one digit off...)

 

[biglonstud]

If I did get the Sempron Manila to hold me off till dual cores drop in price(which I heard could be as early as 2 weeks or so...). Would I be able to underclock DDR2 800 Ram to DDR2 677 Speeds to use with the Sempron? Or would I have to buy DDR2 677 for the Sempron? If I cannot underclock DDR2 800 to 677 Speeds, then Ill just have to wait till the end of the month before I can buy a 3800X2 after the price drop.

Also, Im not sure how long the Sempron Will be on sale for $55 for.

 

[biglonstud]

Alright, I am thinking of ordering this tonight!

Sempron Manila 3000+ 256kb cache
$55

BioStar TForce 6100 On newegg it has some pretty good reviews, and Biostar's 754 boards seem to be pretty good.
$74

eVGA 256-P2-N567 Geforce 7900GT KO Superclocked 256MB to 580Mhz $268 After $20 Rebate.

Rosewill RP500 ATX 500W Power Supply
$55

CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800
$158 After $40 Rebate

Windows XP Home $90

CoolerMaster Case $55

Cost of it shipped with Tax(excluding $40 rebate, and $20 Rebate):
$910 or so
Before Shipping and Tax:
$760 (or close to that)

PLU Scepter 19" Wide LCD 16.7M colors, DVI, VGA 1440x960, from costco.com. Price $229 Plus Shipping/Tax

So total around:

$1150 (I think)

Any thing else I should get? Any recommendations? Im thinking about ordering tonight!

PS I could upgrade to 3800X2 After price drop, right?

Thank YOU!

Sorry about Tripple Post!

 

[biglonstud]

Umm.. there have been lots of reports of trouble with 7900GT having artifacts and dying... any companys that have fixxed this yet? Cause I would realy like to get a 7900GT, but it seems like a large percentage of people are having LOTS of trouble with them. I think eVGA does have a card that says "Reload" or something like that on it. Any Idea if this is the "Fixxed" version?

Mmm... eVGA 7900GT OC to 580Mhz sounds really great, and most of you seem to recommend it. I would really like to get one(I think I will buy it). I just hope it isnt DOA, or get Artifacts...

Thank you