Cpuld any please check and correct this spec?

Curious · 2 Mar 2006 at 13:48

Could any please check and correct this spec?

I am looking to buy a totally new configuration. It will be used for gaming and I would for once want a computer that is somewhere around the top.

As I don't feel a need to play at resolutions higher than 1280 x 1024 will Crossfire be overkill?
If I go Crossfire, I bet I will need a better PSU.
As for the case I prefere a more or less silent solution.
As I don't plan to overclock and if one card is enough... Maybe the ram is overkill, could I cut on expenses there?
HD's... Raptors look nice... but is it that much of an improvement. I need reliable and not too noisy.
And a question of curiosity... Why is it an XT-X card bundled with the mastercard? I thought than when you ran x-fire you could not utilize the higher speeds of the XT-X and only run XT speeds. And if disabling X-fire you would run on the Mastercard, not the XT-X. To run off the XT-X I would have to put it in the slot where the Mastercard is situated.. am I wrong on that account?

AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 3800+ - Retail £182.95

Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB 2500KS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM £60.95

Liteon SHW-16H5S-05C 16x Lightscribe DVD±RW (Black) - OEM £25.95

Antec Sonata II Piano Black Quiet Case - 450W Smart Power PSU £65.95

ATI Radeon X1900 XT-X Crossfire Bundle / Asus A8R32-MVP Deluxe / Corsair 2GB PC3500LL Pro - Bundle £964.80

Subtotal £1,300.60
VAT £227.61
Total £1,528.21

Looking foreward to your comments and aid in a good spec.

Build as is at the moment.

Well, I am waiting for a check to dump in and I have come to this config. Any comments appreciated.

Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB 2500KS SATA-II 16MB Cache £60.95

AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4400+ (Socket 939) - Retail £284.95

Connect3D ATI Radeon X1900 XT-X 512MB GDDR3 AVIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI £294.95

NEC ND4551 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer LabelFlash ReWriter (Black) £27.95

Antec SLK3000B Midi Tower Case £29.95

Tagan TG530-U15 530W ATX2.01 Easycon SLi Compliant Modular Silent PSU £59.95

OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) PC3200 Dual Channel Platinum Series EL-DDR CAS2 £139.95

NEC MultiSync® LCD20WGX2 20.1" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Black/Silver £349.95

Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64 Edition inc. SP2 - OEM £79.95

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound £5.50

Asus A8R32-MVP Deluxe Crossfire £124.95

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS Edition £119.95

Logitech Attack 3 Joystick £13.95

Leadtek Winfast DTV1000-T Digital TV Tuner Card £34.95

Subtotal £1,627.85

Shipping (Parcelforce Euro 48) £22.00

VAT £288.73
Total £1,938.58

muckymick · 2 Mar 2006 at 15:42

If you are only going up to 1280 you probably wont see any extra performance from crossfire or the x1900.
I would just go with an x1800xt and something like the DFI lanparty ut nf4 ultra-d mobo and the money saved on gfx card would buy you a faster cpu.
I would also be looking at either a Pioneer or NEC dvd writer,much better quality for only a few pounds more.

Explicit · 2 Mar 2006 at 15:55

For that kind of money, you could have:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core FX60 (Socket 939) - Retail (ADAFX60DAA6CDBOX) (CP-146-AM)
£728.44
Asus A8R32-MVP Deluxe Crossfire (Socket 939) PCI-Express Motherboard (MB-131-AS)
£146.82
OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) PC3200 Dual Channel Platinum Series EL-DDR CAS2 (OCZ4002048ELDCPE-K) (MY-057-OC)
£164.44
PowerColor ATI Radeon X1800 XT 512MB GDDR3 AVIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-048-PC)
£258.44
Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB 2500KS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD-046-WD)
£71.62
NEC ND4551 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer LabelFlash ReWriter (Black) - OEM (CD-026-NE)
£32.84
Tagan TG530-U15 530W ATX2.01 Easycon SLi Compliant Modular Silent PSU (CA-008-TG)
£70.44
Antec SLK3000B Midi Tower Case - No PSU (CA-027-AN)
£35.19

Total inc VAT: £1508.23

That will easily play games at 1280 x 1024. Crossfire is a major waste for such a low resolution. Instead, you can still have one hell of a good card, but with an FX60 :eek:

p4radox · 2 Mar 2006 at 16:02

Explicit's spec is what I'd go for, I don't think you need Crossfire, and if you want silence then the noise Raptors make won't be too desireable

.

spoonz · 2 Mar 2006 at 16:02

no point in buying 2 x cards yet IMO. make sure you have the ability to "crossfire" in the future and then spend the cash elsewhere.

Explicit · 2 Mar 2006 at 16:15

Alternatively, you may want to drop the FX60 and consider a spec that includes a 20" LCD for better resolutions.

Curious · 2 Mar 2006 at 16:43

So go with Explicits spec
Except changing the chip to a 2x4400
And go for one 1900 XT-X
That would leave me at roughtly 1250 quid
What could you guys recommend for a display?

Explicit · 2 Mar 2006 at 16:46

NEC MultiSync® LCD20WGX2 20.1" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Black/Silver (MO-009-NE)
£411.19

Or

Dell Ultrasharp 2005FPW 20" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Midnight Grey (29082) (MO-000-DE)
£411.19

The NEC has better specs.

Curious · 2 Mar 2006 at 16:56

So does this look alright?

Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB 2500KS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM £60.95
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4400+ (Socket 939) - Retail £284.95
Asus A8R32-MVP Deluxe Crossfire (Socket 939) PCI-Express Motherboard £124.95
Connect3D ATI Radeon X1900 XT-X 512MB GDDR3 AVIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail £324.95
NEC ND4551 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer LabelFlash ReWriter (Black) - OEM £27.95
Antec SLK3000B Midi Tower Case - No PSU £29.95
Tagan TG530-U15 530W ATX2.01 Easycon SLi Compliant Modular Silent PSU £59.95
OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) PC3200 Dual Channel Platinum Series EL-DDR CAS2 £139.95
NEC MultiSync® LCD20WGX2 20.1" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Black/Silver £349.95
Subtotal £1,403.55
VAT £245.63
Total £1,649.18

Explicit · 2 Mar 2006 at 16:59

Couldn't ask for anything better

Beautiful rig!

muckymick · 2 Mar 2006 at 17:04

Yep,looks like a cracker.

Curious · 2 Mar 2006 at 17:05

Any rumors on when OcUK will have the motherboard? I will hold off the buy untill it gets inhouse.

Explicit · 2 Mar 2006 at 17:40

Curious said:
Any rumors on when OcUK will have the motherboard? I will hold off the buy untill it gets inhouse.

This thread is your best bet:
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17535467

Curious · 2 Mar 2006 at 17:50

Thanks... Seem it is on the way after being sold out

ACESHIGH · 3 Mar 2006 at 02:27

Curious said:
And a question of curiosity... Why is it an XT-X card bundled with the mastercard? I thought than when you ran x-fire you could not utilize the higher speeds of the XT-X and only run XT speeds.

No this is not correct. Its a common misconception infact.
Unlike SLI, crossfire cards can run at different clockspeeds. Infact a mastercard & X1900XTX will be slightly faster than a mastercard & a X1900XT. The faster card will simply do a bit more work.

That is why pairing a X1900XTX & a mastrercard will give you the most performance & why OcUK sell the crossfire bundles as they do.

See here ... http://www.ati.com/products/crossfire/faq.html

9. What happens when your CrossFire Edition card and and a compatible standard Radeon (CrossFire Ready) graphics card have different clock speeds?

A. Both cards will continue to operate at their individual clock speeds.

Curious · 4 Mar 2006 at 00:28

A question about the RAM....
As I am not overclocking at the moment... will I need buy that ram? Would cheaper ram not suffice? Or is that ram gonna make the difference while playing games? Just asking out of ignorance

Explicit · 4 Mar 2006 at 00:39

Curious said:
A question about the RAM....
As I am not overclocking at the moment... will I need buy that ram? Would cheaper ram not suffice? Or is that ram gonna make the difference while playing games? Just asking out of ignorance

The OCZ EL PC3200 is not really for overclocking (unless you use a divider). The beauty of them is the tight timings of 2-3-2-5, which is very good for a 2GB kit. AMD systems perform much better with tight memory timings, compared to a value RAM kit that probably has loose timings of 3-4-4-8.

Curious · 4 Mar 2006 at 01:01

Hehe. Well thanks a bunch for the answers and the patience

. That does not really tell me much. But I'll take your word for it. Was just curious

Oh. and thanks for the heads up on Crossfire info, ACESHIGH.

Curious · 8 Mar 2006 at 21:56

So made the revisions as written in the first post... any comments?

ACESHIGH · 9 Mar 2006 at 12:33

That looks like a great rig as it is!!