Please Review This Build

Limits: Need to stay within 2000 bucks, not over.

Desire: To get the most speed, performance, stability, and build quality in that price range.


Would you change anything, and why?

From Newegg:




1 COOLER MASTER Praetorian 730 RC-730-KSN1 Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Model #: RC-730-KSN1

In Stock
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$149.00 $149.00
1 ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI X16 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Model #: A8N32-SLI Deluxe
** This item may only be returned for a replacement of the same make/model within 30 days only.
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$249.00 $249.00
1 XFX PVT70FUND7 Geforce 7800GTX 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
Model #: PVT70FUND7

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$509.00 $509.00 (I get a bundle discount)
1 Antec TruePower 2.0 TP2-550 EPS12V ATX12V 550W Power Supply - Retail
Model #: TP2-550 EPS12V

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$99.99 $99.99
1 AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Toledo 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Dual Core Processor Model ADA4400CDBOX - Retail
Model #: ADA4400CDBOX
** This item is warranted through the product manufacturer only.
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$497.00 $497.00
1 OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Platinum System Memory Model OCZ4002048ELDCPE-K - Retail
Model #: OCZ4002048ELDCPE-K

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$238.50 $238.50
2 Western Digital Caviar SE WD2000JS 200GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Model #: WD2000JS

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$91.00 $182.00
1 LITE-ON Black ATAPI/E-IDE DVD Burner Model SHW-160P6S - Retail
Model #: SHW-160P6S BK RT

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$41.99 $41.99
1 Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM
Model #: ARCTIC SILVER 5
** This item may only be returned for a replacement of the same make/model within 30 days only.
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$5.99 $5.99
1 BELKIN F8E070 PC Service Tool kit - Retail
Model #: F8E070

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$53.49 $53.49
Subtotal: $2,025.96

 

Only thing I would change is the DVD burner and maybe motherboard.

If SLI is your motivation, then that's the best motherboard, but I don't like the sacrifices you have to make if SLI isn't vital.

If you're using dual-slot video cards, it leaves very little room in between for anything else.

For single slot cards, it's very well designed.

That's my only gripe in an otherwise superb board. (The heatpipes on the board block certain parts, so make sure your video card and CPU cooler fit in)

For burner, I would get a Pioneer or LG, and they support DVD RAM which the LiteOn doesn't. Not a big deal really.

An advantage of LiteOn is that there are heaps of third party utilities written for them, and they are very reliable. (although early Lite On DVD burners weren't anywhere near as good)


Did MA give you guys a pay rise or something?

 

No, LOL. Thinking of bankrupting myself. Re: the motherboard, my last build used a poor motherboard, and I paid dearly in the end.

So I went with what I hoped was the most future proof and highest quality at the time. I also figured I may go SLI later.

MAY.

What would you suggest instead, and while I didnt look realy closely at the mobo specs, what am I sacrificing?

 

Let me add:

I won't be overclocking, and I don't want to have to make any major upgrades for at least 2 years.

So--I need to make the parts count.

 

If you're going SLI, or even considering it, you couldn't have chosen a better motherboard.

It's the only board to offer 2 16x PCI slots that I'm aware of.

You aren't really sacrificing anything except some places it's a little crowded, as in the room in between both 16x slots etc.

Having said that, the board is crammed with almost everything you need anyway, so you shouldn't really have to add many cards.

I'm not sure, but I think it only comes with one USB2.0 plate, so unless you have front USB ports on your tower, you won't be able to use all 10 USB2.0 on the motherboard.

Apart from a few different brands (like DVD), I would have chosen the exact same hardware as you.


BTW, if memory serves me, didn't you recently buy an MSI Platinum or Neo motherboard a little while ago?

 

Yeah, that board was a HUGE mistake. My last build is one of my great failures. So many hardware crashes, I don't know what piece was causing the problem. I know the board wasn't helping though.

 

I just priced this identical system through abs computer.

Price:

$2,394.00, not including shipping.


Question: Would it be better to drop the speed of my CPU and get two 7800GTX? Or stay with what I have? I'm a casual gamer, but the games I like are heavy on the resources.

 

Now I'm thinking waiting on the socket M2 to come out.

I'm so torn.

 

I'm actually waiting for the new socket to come out before I upgrade, and I really need a new PC!

The M2 is using DDR2, and it should make a huge speed improvement because it uses onboard memory controller instead of relying on the chipset. (and Vista should be out by then, and you'll know your hardware is compatible)

I know there is always a new technology around the corner, but I didn't want to buy a socket at the end of it's life.

If you decide to go ahead, I wouldn't buy two 7800GTX now.

I'd just get one, and wait (it can handle anything anyway) till prices drop and buy the other.


(I'm surprised the MSI gave you problems, I thought they were a decent board. At least I've never heard anything to the contrary)

 

wait till the 7800 gtx is about 100$ to add second. thats what im planning on.

 

would be cheaper but i dunno if u would wanna.....u can get 2 7800gt cards for just a little more than 1 gtx but i think you would be better off with the fast proc and 1 gtx. You can always add another later.

 

Yep. I decided thats precisely what I will do. Will be a cheap upgrade

 

Not only that, the GTX is costing me only 400 dollars.

 

I changed the ram to this:

MEM 1Gx2|CORSAIR Twinx2048-3200c2 R - Retail (Qty=1,Price=$236.00)

Its on the Asus QVL list. I'm trying to make this the most painless build I can. I kind of lost my nerve on the last failure I created, that survived a whole 6 months.


Of course, if newegg doesn't process my preferred account soon, the order will get canned.

 

I would change is the CPU, as the san diego core gets better gaming benchmarks even though it's only single core. I have seen the opteron 170 score very well on 3dmark06 but I thought they were only for servers and I can't seem to find any other comparisons.

And I would go with the Thermaltake Armor case. I've heard artic ceramic is better than silver, but if you're not going to be overclocking it doesn't really matter.

 

just my .02
I love my asus board(which is now 4 years old),
and think you'll be happy with yours as long as
(as insomniac stated) you plan to utilize the sli capability.
msi isn't bad either.
sounds like a nice build

 

My MSI esperience was abysmal.

Pyrate, got a URL where the 4400+ is ousted by a San Diego core? The Opteron 170 is ideal for overclockers only, afaik.

Thermaltake cases aren't of the same quality of Coolermaster cases, usually.

 

I've looked at benchmarks for the 4400+ vs. th San Dieo 4000+.

It looks to me in newer games, the 4400+ is pulling ahead. I'll think about it further, but IMHO, it looks to me the 4400+ is more future proof than the 4000+, and the 4000+ is not faster in other benchmarks either. There are some here and there, but thats it.

Noting that I can run multiple instances of games (handy in MMORPGs) on a dual core CPU, its a no brainer. That, and the talk of up coming games supporting dual core...

Lastly, I don't play games all the time

 

Ok, read up on the TT Armor case. I'm considering it. Its 10 dollars more, but supports more fans, although I think one 120MM and two 80MM is sufficient.

If the order cancels due to kinks in the system, I might change it. I don't think the Coolermaster case isn't a bad choice either, and it has a removeable motherboard tray.

Thanks for the heads up on that.

As for AS5 vs. ceramique, AS5 cools better from the reviews I read. Ceramique is cheaper, and isn't eletrically conductive, though, which is a nice touch.

 

Ok, final build, ordered and should be shipped today. Only changes made were:

Thermaltake Armor VA8000BNS Black Chassis: 1.0mm SECC, Front Bezel: Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail. (Thanks Pyrate) Thought long and hard on this one. Pluses: Its a full tower and offers more fan locations and well, more fans. Full tower, that can be converted to BTX. Minuses: No removeable motherboard tray, drive cage blocks bottom PSU fan, it will need to be removed. More expensive.

CORSAIR XMS 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit System Memory - Retail Chose this over OCZ due to it being on the Asus QVL list.


HP Black 16X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 16X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 40X CD-R 32X CD-RW 40X CD-ROM IDE DVD Burner - Retail (Thanks Cleetus) Chose this due to the fact that the LiteOn actually had its review rating drop over the weekend, and it supports LS.

I went with AS ceramique too (Thanks Pyrate). Not because it cools better, but its non conductive. That was more appealing to me than a couple of degrees difference.

I added a floppy drive for the hell of it too. Probably never need it, but there is that one time you do...and don't have one.

 

Sorry can someone explain SLI to me? Is that a mobo that supports dual graphics cards?

 

Yes it is but start your own thread, not nice to steer someone's thread in another direction.


Adrynalyne, please let me know if you have any dramas with the motherboard and what you think of it's setup, features and performance etc, and how the build went in general. Thanks.

BTW, case looks really nice. I'm a real stickler for cases, but I like this one.

VERY NICE setup. I'm jealous, enjoy!

 

Sorry about that. Killer build Adrenalyne... the way I would go if I had more $$ to work with

 

I'll let you know. I'm excited, thats for sure. I love my Mac, but lets face it, its slow.

In regards to the motherboard, it has some really impressive features (to me). I'll let everyone know how it turns out