Another spec check please guys!

miracleboy · 14 Mar 2006 at 14:45

Haven't built a PC for 3+ years and a newbie when it comes to the new hardware, so be gentle!

Been reading for a day or so and still going on all the new tech! (All prices including VAT)

Here's my first punt - would welcome feedback, ideas, changes etc.

CPU
===

Definitely want AMD and dual core, not really into overclocking (not enough knowledge and need a really stable PC). So decided to go for the X2 range rather than the Opteron as I won't be able to take advantage of it's OCing abilities. I chose the 3800 but I may have some scope, moneywise to go up to a 4400 - is this worth the extra to get the 1MB L2 cache?

AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 3800+ (Socket 939) - Retail (ADA3800BVBOX) (CP-134-AM) £205.57

-or-

AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4400+ (Socket 939) - Retail (ADA4400CDBOX) (CP-127-AM) £325.42

M/B
===

Not really sure here, I know that I want the ability to RAID drives in the future and also maybe to add a second graphics card - which means Crossfire as I want to go ATI for the card.

I don't really know the difference between the manufacturers, but a couple of people recommended the DFI LP and I like the look of the boards - how do these stack up against others? Don;t mind paying a bit more to get a better spec (and therefore more future proof) motherboard. Read the Anand review - this board has no SATA2 support, is this a problem?

DFI LanParty UT RDX200CF-DR Crossfire (Socket 939) Motherboard (MB-017-DF) £146.82

The other option is to forget Crossfire altogether - any thoughts on a replacement motherboard in that case?

RAM
===

Definitely want 2GB - gain not sure of the difference between manufacturers. Heard people talk about Geil Value so here it is - again don't mind paying a bit more if there is a better (stock) option.

GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC3200 Value Dual Channel Kit CAS3 (GE2GB3200BDC) (MY-046-GL) £111.57

GFX
===

As I said, want to go ATI, with the option to go Crossfire later - hence the Crossfire motherboard. So is it best to get a master card now or get the best XTX and then get a master card later?

HIS Excalibur ATI Radeon X1900 XT-X 512MB GDDR3 AVIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-047-HT) £340.69

-or-

ATI Radeon X1900 ***Crossfire Edition*** 512MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-045-CO) £352.44

HDD
===

As it will be a gaming rig, want very good performance so plumped for the Raptor, on its own to begin with - maybe adding another in RAID0 later on.

Western Digital Raptor 150GB WD1500ADFD 10,000RPM SATA 16MB Cache - OEM (HD-069-WD) £198.52

-or- Bundle

Western Digital Raptor 150GB 10,000RPM SATA 16MB Cache RAID Bundle (BU-001-WD) £370.07

CASE
====

Tricky - not many I like the look of. This is one - I also really like the Lian Li V1100 plus, but not sure I can justify spending the extra on a case, maybe.

Antec P180 Advanced Super Midi Tower Case - No PSU (Silver) (CA-039-AN) £93.94

PSU
===

No ideas - really need some help here.

DVDRW
=====

No ideas - really need some help here.

OTHER
=====

Also getting the Saitek Eclipse keyboard, Razer Copperhead mouse and S&S Steel mouse pad. Already have a monitor, so won't be upgrading this yet!

Thanks in advance!

semi-pro waster · 14 Mar 2006 at 15:05

I'd go with the X2 4400 as the extra cache and the extra speed will make a difference particularly if not overclocking.

I'd probably not go DFI if you aren't overclocking, it is also based on the older RD480 chipset rather than the newer RD580 like the Asus A8R32-MVP Deluxe which is also cheaper and passively cooled.

Geil Value is good as any at stock and well worth the price.

I'd get the X1900XTX just now as they are faster than the Crossfire editions and if/when you get a Master card then there might be faster Master cards to pair it with.

Raptors are expensive for what they are but as fast as you can get non-SCSI wise. You could also look towards the WD 250gb SATAII drives as they aren't that far behind in speed terms and offer more space.

PSU depends slightly on whether you prefer modular or not, Seasonic are probably the best around but not modular. For modular look at Enermax, Tagan, Antec and Hiper. Something 500w+ if considering dual cards.

DVDRW I'd look at the NEC 4551 in the Lightscribe section

ACESHIGH · 14 Mar 2006 at 15:33

semi-pro waster, has given you some good advice.

X2 4400+ = due to exta L2 cache.
Asus A8R32-MVP Deluxe = due to newer RD580 chipset.
2 Gig Geil Value = is decent ram so if you like it, stick with it
ATI Radeon X1900 XT-X 512MB = get the master card later as the XTX is quicker by itself
Case = get whatever you like the look of & can afford
PSU = any quality 500w+ PSU will do
DVDRW = Philips SPD2400BM 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM (CD-006-PH), as its quiet & reliable

miracleboy · 14 Mar 2006 at 16:31

Okay - how does this look now?

AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4600+ (Socket 939) - Retail (ADA4600BVBOX) (CP-128-AM) £381.82

Asus A8R32-MVP Deluxe Crossfire (Socket 939) PCI-Express Motherboard (MB-131-AS) £135.07

2 x (RAID0) Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB 2500KS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD-046-WD) £136.18

GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC3200 Value Dual Channel Kit CAS3 (GE2GB3200BDC) (MY-046-GL) £111.57

HIS Excalibur ATI Radeon X1900 XT-X 512MB GDDR3 AVIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-047-HT) £340.69

Antec P180 Advanced Super Midi Tower Case - No PSU (Silver) (CA-039-AN) £93.94

Hiper HPU-4K580-MK Type R 580W Modular ATX2.2 PSU - Black UV (CA-005-HP) £62.22

NEC ND4551 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer LabelFlash ReWriter (Silver) - OEM (CD-028-NE) £30.49

ACESHIGH · 14 Mar 2006 at 16:47

As said above its a very, very nice system. Good luck & Enjoy it.

no_1_dave · 14 Mar 2006 at 16:59

What's the difference between a modular psu & just a psu? :confused:

ACESHIGH · 14 Mar 2006 at 17:06

no_1_dave said:
What's the difference between a modular psu & just a psu?

A modular PSU has connection points for power cables, so you can connect only the cables you use (frees up clutter & helps airflow). A standfard PSU comes with these cables firmly attatched & so even unused connections stay put (in the way). If you have a look at some modular PSU pics, you will see they dont show any cables in them, so you add the cables you need into the jacks that are shown on the pic. Hope that makes sense, because it does to me

miracleboy · 14 Mar 2006 at 17:34

The one I am going for is modular - in the pic you can see that the power lines detach. I went for this one because I want to keep the inside of the case tidy, and because it looks pretty cool of course.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Hiper.html

miracleboy · 14 Mar 2006 at 17:59

Just bought the Razer Copperhead Tempest Mouse, Saitek Eclipse Keyboard and S&S Steel Mouse Pad to start the build off on the right foot!

no_1_dave · 15 Mar 2006 at 09:32

ACESHIGH said:
A modular PSU has connection points for power cables, so you can connect only the cables you use (frees up clutter & helps airflow). A standfard PSU comes with these cables firmly attatched & so even unused connections stay put (in the way). If you have a look at some modular PSU pics, you will see they dont show any cables in them, so you add the cables you need into the jacks that are shown on the pic. Hope that makes sense, because it does to me

Cheers

I might chose the Tagan Easycon 530Watt over the Seasonic 500 Watt for my new system then next week

semi-pro waster · 15 Mar 2006 at 09:53

miracleboy said:
Okay - how does this look now?

AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4600+ (Socket 939) - Retail (ADA4600BVBOX) (CP-128-AM) £381.82

The rest is fine but either go for the X2 4400 or the X2 4800 as the X2 4600 has 512kb L2 cache only so costs more and isn't much(if any better) plus the X2 4400 will overclock well anyway.