New rig, suggestions? - Help :)

Mal51Mal51
edited July 2006 in Hardware
As the summer draws to a close, I will begin building my first custom rig. I think I have everything "knicked" (so-to-speak) except for the motherboard and PSU. I'm not interested much in SLI, as I will only use one video card, but I want SATA at 3.0 gb/s. I'm also interested in overclocking, so I need the board to be pretty stable. I'de like to use the Scythe Ninja heatsink/fan to cool the CPU (my case is large enough, Thermaltake Armor Full Tower) so I want as much space as possible. If I have to have an SLI compatable board to accomplish all this, no biggie, but I'de like it to be as inexpensive as possible (between 75-150 bucks).

Now for the PSU...

I don't know how much juice (wattage) my computer needs, but I have my sights on an Antec between 500w and 550w (no NeoHE). I just need a good shove to decide which one, as I am trying to cut corners as the rig I'm building will cost a pretty penny.

So far my rig is planned as follows...

Thermaltake Armour Full Tower Computer Case (2 120mm led fans, 2 cold cathode 90mm fans)
Opteron Denmark 170 (plan to overclock)
Scythe Ninja 120mm (fan/heatsink)
eVGA Geforce 7900GT CO 256MB
Zalman VGA Heatsink
Seagate Barracuda 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
2 GB OCZ Cas Latency 2 Timing 2-3-2-5 Voltage 2.8V (plan to overclock)
SAMSUNG 16X DVD±R DVD Burner With 5X DVD-RAM Write and LightScribe ATA/ATAPI
Creative Labs (X-Fi Music)
(Mobo undecided)
(PSU undecided)

Any suggestions would be wonderful and appreciated! Thanks!

Comments

  • JimboraeJimborae Newbury, Berks, UK New
    edited July 2006
    Seasonic S12 or FSP psu's will see you right, some where around 500w will be enough. As for a motherboard Abit KN8 Ultra or even cheaper Asrock 939SLI-eSATA2. I'm sure others will come along more suggestions :)
  • Mal51Mal51
    edited July 2006
    Anyone know anything about the A8N-SLI SE from Asus?

    http://www.asus.com.tw/products.aspx?l1=3&l2=15&l3=0&model=789&modelmenu=1

    Seems like a pretty good board to me, and zipzoomfly.com is selling it for $99. Supposed to be very stable and support sata 3.0 gb/s. The only problem is, that this board is on backorder.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited July 2006
    Are you sure you don't want to wait for AMD X2 65nm or Intel Conroe? Why are you planning a system that is obsolete before you even get the parts?
  • airbornflghtairbornflght Houston, TX Icrontian
    edited July 2006
    Leonardo wrote:
    Are you sure you don't want to wait for AMD X2 65nm or Intel Conroe? Why are you planning a system that is obsolete before you even get the parts?

    Exactly my thoughts. Wait a little bit and you will get a much better computer, and you will thank us in the end that you waited. Unless you needed this thing yesterday. Hell, I am waiting till next fall to build a computer, hopefully the dust will have settled by then.

    And welcome, I hope you stick around and become part of the family; and have you thought about folding for Team 93, it's a great way to say thanks and to help possibly cure certain diseases.:wave:
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited July 2006
    The only advantage I can see building AMD Opteron in the near future is that AMD X2 (90nm) and Opteron may see significant price decreases when Conroe and Xeon Woodcrest are readily available. But even after enjoying potential cost savings, you would be at the end of the road for upgrades because the system you have specified uses DDR(1). DDR is already the 'old' technology. Everything new, AMD and Intel, is/will be DDR2.
  • airbornflghtairbornflght Houston, TX Icrontian
    edited July 2006
    Leonardo wrote:
    The only advantage I can see building AMD Opteron in the near future is that AMD X2 (90nm) and Opteron may see significant price decreases when Conroe and Xeon Woodcrest are readily available. But even after enjoying potential cost savings, you would be at the end of the road for upgrades because the system you have specified uses DDR(1). DDR is already the 'old' technology. Everything new, AMD and Intel, is/will be DDR2.

    Not to mention the migration to DDR3 within the next few years. DDR is definately going the way of the dodo. If an opteron is all you needed for the next 2-3 years, then yeh, you could get it cheap after the price drops, but after all the new tech is out, the computers will be much more powerful, and hardware advancements are nearly always driven by software demands. So while an opteron will scream and literally rip apart most apps today, 18 months from now it may be on its knees begging for mercy from the new programs:smiles:.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited July 2006
    So while an opteron will scream and literally rip apart most apps today, 18 months from now it may be on its knees begging for mercy from the new programs.
    Whoa, dude! Taken the creative writing classes a little too seriously?

    ;D
  • csimoncsimon Acadiana Icrontian
    edited July 2006
    LOL ...yeah wait for the price drops. It shouldn't take much longer.
  • airbornflghtairbornflght Houston, TX Icrontian
    edited July 2006
    Leonardo wrote:
    Whoa, dude! Taken the creative writing classes a little too seriously?

    ;D


    Dont know what your talking about:vimp:


    FYI, I made a 94% in composition.:-/
  • Mal51Mal51
    edited July 2006
    My dilemma is this...

    I'm leaving for school in mid August, and I need a computer. My current computer smells like roasted goat cheese compared to systems today, and pales in comparisson to a even $400 rig today. 5 years ago this month was when I got this computer. Back then I was 14, and knew pratically nothing about system building, other than I thought my new HP with an AMD Athlon 1.3 ghz, 256 mb ddr (later upgraded to 512), 80 gig hd, floppy drive, onboard sound, geforce 2 32mb (later upgraded to the buggy Radeon 8500 64 mb) media machine was the grandest ever. I have not upgraded since then due to lack of funds and lack of broadband, which is still not available in my area today. The official reason I am building, is because my mobo, hd, video card, ram and psu are dieing. The unofficial reason is that I used to play DoD and CS on dial-up, and was very engrossed, but then steam came out and it took days to download updates, so much that I was frustrated enough to stop playing completely. 3 years later, and after playing at a friends house, games have reached a new era and this God-awful excuse sitting before me is inefficient for anthing. Hence, I am wanting a new computer, because I am going to be living in an apartment going to school at Texas Tech (transfer student f.y.i.) and I will most likely play games on my off time. I've saved a lot from working all year, and I want to take a chunk and build a new computer, but I also want to start building at the end of the month so that I have plenty of time to make sure everything is up and running before I leave. I also want a system that is moderately powerful, and not too expensive.

    I now realize that I'm in between a rock and a hard place, and I guess the question I'm trying to ask is...Opteron 170 or AM2 4200? Because I don't think Conroe (no matter how much I want it to) will come out before I leave. If this was the case, I'de plan on a Conroe.

    To airbornflight and his question about folding...Yes I will be folding. I think the idea is terrific and would love to join team 93 :).

    But as much as I hate to be a pain in the rear, could anyone point me in the direction of a mobo, cpu, heatsink, and ram that could be as closely cost related to the things I have considered so far that is up-to-date?

    Once again I appreciate everyones opinions, help, and ideas :).
  • csimoncsimon Acadiana Icrontian
    edited July 2006
    I only started late last year but I can tell you what I know.
    My opti 170 clocked higher than my 175 ...and they both clocked higher than the 4400 I borrowed (sorry mudd). All in all most people who have gotten even the poorer steppings have enjoyed this cpu.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited July 2006
    OK, I understand your dilemma! Yes, I can see that we need to put together a machine for you pretty fast. The computer needs to be one that's fast enough that you won't want to upgrade in only a year...because you won't have much of an upgrade path. No that's not negative, we'll help you spec out a really nice machine. What you've selected so far is very nice. I won't advise you a motherboard, as I haven't kept up with the Socket 939 offerings.

    PSU: Fortron, Antec, OCZ, PC Power & Cooling (if the budget is BIG): 500watt minimum. If you plan to go dual video cards later, then consider more power. Some people have had problems with v2 PSUs (dual 12v rails). They've worked beautifully for me.

    CPU heatsink. I run both the Scythe Ninja and Thermaltake Typhoon. Both are best of the best. Some people state that the Ninja causes/allows PWM chips around the CPU socket to overheat. I haven't had that problem.

    Hey, AMD experts, jump in and help this young man, OK?
  • Mal51Mal51
    edited July 2006
    I have been looking on the internet and getting the 411 on The Conroe e6600 and some people have said they have preordered these. Could this be true? and if it is, could someone tell me where I could buy one?
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited July 2006
    preordered
    I have no doubt that every vendor who wishes to stay in business has preordered. As far as I know, no one has Conroe in stock.

    Another option to consider is putting together an Intel D805 rig. You could upgrade again in a year or so when Conroe is mainstream with very little lost in original outlay, or when AMD has an answer to Conroe. With an 805 rig, you could purchase an inexpensive Socket 775 board for $100 or less. The CPU would run you only about $95, no kidding. The 805 is no champ, but would run rings around what you have now, and it is dual core. Let's say you went this route, you could later switch to AMD X65nm or Conroe, and continue using all your components except the motherboard and CPU. The DDR2, hard drives, PSU, case, PCIe video card....all would be good for the next upgrade. If were interested in upgrading an old system with just a stop gap system, I would seriously consider this.

    Yeah, sure, this probably doesn't sound very attractive, I can understand. Your timing though, is unfortunate. An AMD X2 or Opteron 170/175 system would certainly be faster, but it would be more expensive and you wouldn't even be able to migrate the DDR memory in a future upgrade. BTW, the 805's and 820's overclock very, very nicely. (But they are heat belching pigs! ;D)
  • edcentricedcentric near Milwaukee, Wisconsin Icrontian
    edited July 2006
    All of the early Core2 shippments will be going to OEMs (read Dell).
    I'll wager that it is 4-6 weeks before a regualr human can get one.

    I just went through the same decisions as you, thugh I am not a gamer so video was less of an issue.
    Go with either the Asus or DFI mobo. I went to a DFI Ultra-D
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813136152
    but it is a bit more money than you are looking to spend.

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131584
    This one looks like a gem.
  • csimoncsimon Acadiana Icrontian
    edited July 2006
    If you happen to go opti 170 I'd recommend the abit At832 or if budget is tighter then the dfi lanparty ultra-d ...don't worry about the sli/crossfire cause you don't have to use it ...most ppl don't.
  • Mal51Mal51
    edited July 2006
    I think I may have to take this one on the chin, and just go for the 170. This proc will be clocked to about 2.6 per core, and I think that it will be worth it. I probably won't upgrade again for 2 years, unless it becomes completely necessary to rebuild, or if I want more ram. The sad fact is that I can't wait any longer to get something more economical. :( We all have to put up with letdowns.

    Thanks for the mobo tips, btw.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited July 2006
    An overclocked Opteron 170 will be a snappy machine, no matter Intel and AMD manage to pull out of the new parts bin.
Sign In or Register to comment.