Andy's New System Options

[airbornflght]

Okay, I am going to get a new system so that I can give my brother my old a64 2800 system, or at least thats my story and im sticking to it.

I need a few opinions on a few of the componets.

Case

For the case I am going to get the Cooler Master Centurion (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811119068), I like the mesh front, the plethora of drive bays, and a nice clean look. Not to mention a good price.


PSU

Now for the psu, im still looking, I want a single rail powersupply as I'm looking to do some heavy oc'ing. Right now it's the Sparkle (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103517).

I am having a pretty hard time finding one I like, I plan on doing some custom cable work on this computer and some modding to the case itself. If someone has a different psu to recommend then let me know.


Mobo
For the mobo, i wanted a good solid mobo that I could do some good overclocking as well as support new technologies. For this i am going to use the ASUS P5WD2-E Premium (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131589). A little on the pricey side, but I think I'll be happy with it.


Processor

For the processor, I started out looking at the 805, but then I saw all the advantages that the 920 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819116237) had for a small price jump. Which is what I'm going to build this system. Seem's like it is a good overclocker and decent performance. I can't wait to join the dual core club.:celebrate


Ram

Okay, ram..This is what I'm having trouble deciding. I am almost dead set on having 2 gigs (2 * 1gig) now what I can't decide on is what speed. I know I could use DDR2 800, but as I said earlier, I want to oc this some beach to its limit. And I'd like to take the fsb all the way up to anywhere between 250 - 260, if not 266.5 (thats my goal, that will get me a 3.7 gig clock) I guess my question is this, will it benefiet me much to get faster ram? I would be getting DDR2 900 if I did, becuase it is all that comes in 2 gigs as of right now. For the time being it is between these (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?Submit=ENE&N=2010170147+1052108080+1052308477+1052416064&Subcategory=147&description=&srchInDesc=&minPrice=&maxPrice=) or this one (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820134017). The later is the only 2 gig kit as DDR2 900. Which do you recomend. I know I will end up running a divider, but I want to get as close as 1:1 as I can get.


Hard Drive
For hard drives I want to do some kind of array, or else just split drives, windows on one array/dive, progs and files on the other array/drive.

I'm thinking of putting windows on a raid 0 array with two of these (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822148107) drives, and my programs on one of these (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144701) drives. That way if windows fails, I'll still have my files, although, I plan on buying a backup hard drive in the future. I'll have my os on the two 80's and the progs and files on the 250, although, im really wanting a highperformance computer, and redundancy aside, I may get another 250gig drive and throw it into raid0 as well. And get a backup drive.

Video

Okay, now for video. Most likely, I will get a 7900GT (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130281), but if I decide to save a little money, I will either go for the 7600GT (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130283) or something comparable that ati has out, I believe the X850XT or the X1800?


HSF

For processor cooling I am going to use the big typhon (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835106061), heard lots of good things about this cooler, and hoping it will give me plenty of room for a nice oc.


Monitor

I'm going to try and get my mom to buy me a new monitor since I'm going to be "giving" my younger brother a computer and getting him all wired up. The monitor I have my eye set on is this Viewsonic 19" Widescreen Monitor (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824116373). I really like the monitor, but I'm still looking at my options. I was looking at one from dell, but they are simply too much for a widescreen display that I am wanting.


This computer really started off as me just getting a budget computer and then it quickly expanded into a really nice and powerful gaming rig/workstartion. Yeh, it was a big post, but I want to make sure I get the right componets. And if anyone has any substitutions as far as componets go, let me hear them, especially on the ram and psu.

[Leonardo]

The P5WD2-E Premium is a great choice. There are some rumblings at tech sites though, that the P5WD2 (non "E") is more stable for overclocking. You might want to check that out. Also, the 'E' is more expensive but provides 2 X PCIe x16 slots versus the non-E's 1. Will you be going SLI mode? If not, I suggest you save money and get the ordinary P5WD2 Premium.

If gaming is your goal, you should consider an AMD dual core processor (and of course, an AMD board). The Intel dual core CPUs give great performance for the money, but won't keep pace with an AMD in gaming. Yes, you will get better performance out of an overclocked 920 than an 805. The 920 is also less power hungry and runs cooler than the 8XX series chips.

DDR2 RAM. If you don't want to spend a lot of money on RAM, you run DDR2 667 (PC2 5300/5400) and STILL overclock the CPU FSB. The BIOS of the P5WD2 allows you to set a FSB/memory frequency ratio whereby you can keep the RAM at stock speed while raising the FSB. If you plan on system overclocking, FSB + memory frequency, and you want to 2GB of RAM, I recommend you get a higher speed set of 2 X 1GB. Personally, I don't usually do system overclocks. My main goal for overclocking is Folding@Home, which doesn't necessarily benefit from higher speed RAM.

Your choice of HSF is excellent. You can't do better, but you can equal it for less money. As I mentioned in another thread, you might consider the Scythe Ninja. If you already have a spare 120mm fan, then you can save a bit of money with the Ninja.

[airbornflght]

yeh, the e version has the new chpset versoion though, thats what im interested in.

[Leonardo]

Yes, the "E" is based on the i975 chipset; the non-E is i955x (hand picked i945P). Newer is not necessarily better, but it is more expensive. Do a search for the motherboard and also for the i975 chipset. You may find that it brings no advantage at all. Just trying to save you from spending extra for no reason. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't believe so.

975 - improved support for SLI and Extreme Edition CPUs, support for "955" series CPUs' "virtualization" technology (http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=193&type=expert&pid=3), probably easier migration to Conroe series CPUs. Oh, well take a look before you buy. It may well be worth the extra cost. It may be also a whole bunch of hooey if you don't intend on using an $$EE CPU or SLI graphics.

[dawinner]

Hey looks good, Only thing i can add is the monitor is great, especially for the price. I just got one a couple of weeks ago and it is impresive. Good luck on it all.

[Leonardo]

After more looking around:

looks like many, if not most of the initial problems with i975 chipset have been fixed. Excellent motherboard.

[muddocktor]

Just for fun, I'm going to throw you another choice for a psu, Andy. My personal choice for a system like you are building would be a OCZ PowerStream OCZ520ADJSLI ATX, BTX, EPS12V 520W Power Supply (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817711002) for $139.99 and it also has a $20 MIR, bringing the price down to $119.99. Even though it's more money than the Sparkle, it also has a 5 year warrantee and OCZ also has great RMA support too. I also know that there are several folks running the Powerstream with a high end vid card and overclocking the hell out of a dual core Intel proc too, so it can hang in there, power wise. I'm not knocking the Sparkle now, but the Powerstream is a known good psu for overclocking the blast furnace DC Intels.

[Buddha16]

That big typhoon is big on awesome...ness!!! Make sure it will fit in your case, its pretty damn huge!! But good choose none the less.

[airbornflght]

yeh, thats what im really interested in toying around with is the virtualization, is that not the same thing as a virtual pc?...okay, restate myself, does it not provide hardware switching between os's without a reboot?

[Leonardo]

Check out the link I provided for "virtualization". I haven't looked into it very much.

[lemonlime]

Looks like a nice rig Andy.. I'd echo Mudd's comments on the OCZ 520. That is a killer PSU for the money. It's tried and tested, with a single beefy 12V rail (which I prefer to multiple smaller rails)..

Just one suggestion.. are you in a big rush to get this system setup? If its not something you needed yesterday, I would consider waiting a few months. Intel is releasing their new Conroe dual-core processors that outperform both Intels 9xx and AMD's 939 processors by a very large margin. AMD will also have their AM2 processors out at around the same time too. Just a thought :)

[airbornflght]

yeh, im really thinking about waiting, my system now is more the suficient. not to mention I'll have a better job and more hours durring the summer, which turns out to be more $$$ in my wallet. id like to see how the conroe compares to am2

[lemonlime]

yeh, im really thinking about waiting, my system now is more the suficient. not to mention I'll have a better job and more hours durring the summer, which turns out to be more $$$ in my wallet. id like to see how the conroe compares to am2

Yeah, I think that would be a smart move if you can wait a bit.. We're right on the tail end of the current generations, and there is some very exciting stuff right around the corner :)