Almost time for me to update - need advice, please :)

Murray

Murray

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Ok, here goes. I'm soon gonna build myself my own computer and I want it to be a good computer for new games (and probably some old ones as well) so I can play Half-Life 2, Doom3, etc on really good detail.
I don't really know if I'm a newbie on this or not, so I'll start off by showing the speccs. I'm gonna buy my computer from datorbutiken.com, so if you who would like to help me are swedish, things migt be a little easier for you. :)

Every item is linked to it's info on datorbutiken.com when you click them.
Anyway, here they are:

Case:
Antec LANBOY-EC Aluminium 350W True Power ATX + cooling

Motherboard:
Asus K8N-E Deluxe nForce3 250Gb 3DDR-DIMM 5PCI SATA Raid Audio GB-LAN Socket754 ATX

Processor:
AMD Athlon64 Newcastle 3200+ AX 2200MHz/2.2GHz 512kb Socket754 + Zalman cpu-cooler

RAM:
Kingston KVR400X64C3A/512 2x512Mb (tot. 1024Mb/1Gb) Dual DDR PC3200 400MHz 184pin Unbuffered CL3

Harddrive:
Western Digital Caviar WD1600JB-00FUA0 160Gb 7200rpm 8Mb Fluid UDMA100 IDE

Serial ATA (SATA) Harddrive:
Western Digital Raptor WD360GD 36Gb 10000rpm 8Mb cache S-ATA

Graphics card:
Asus Radeon AX800Pro 256Mb DDR3 TV-out DVI RETAIL AGP

I also have a 60GB harddrive that I will put into the new computer + a DVD unit and I will probably add a DVD burner later on, and that makes a total of three harddrives and two disc units.

My first question is: do the PSU (Antec 350W) have enough power for this to work?

I would also like to know if the case I have chosen has quiet fans.

You may also point other things out that I have to put my attention to. Good things, bad things, whatever.

PS: Don't mind the signature, it was a joke. :p
 
that looks like a very nice system.

only thing i would possibly change is the video card, might get a geforce 6800gt instead. the gt and pro and are very similar in source engine:

http://www.techreport.com/etc/2004q3/source-engine/index.x?pg=5

but the gt totally pulls away in doom3 + in future doom3 engined games. to me the x800's aren't worth it unless you get an x800xt or pe.
 
poseyjmac said:
that looks like a very nice system.

only thing i would possibly change is the video card, might get a geforce 6800gt instead. the gt and pro and are very similar in source engine:

http://www.techreport.com/etc/2004q3/source-engine/index.x?pg=5

but the gt totally pulls away in doom3 + in future doom3 engined games. to me the x800's aren't worth it unless you get an x800xt or pe.
Click to expand...
One other thing.
I'm pretty confident with the choise of graphics card. If I get a Geforce6400, I will proably be forced to get a greater PSU so, no thanks, I'm sticking to the X800Pro.

EDIT: Oh and thanks for the statistics. I think I'll be fine. :thumbs:
 
poseyjmac said:
that looks like a very nice system.

only thing i would possibly change is the video card, might get a geforce 6800gt instead. the gt and pro and are very similar in source engine:

http://www.techreport.com/etc/2004q3/source-engine/index.x?pg=5

but the gt totally pulls away in doom3 + in future doom3 engined games. to me the x800's aren't worth it unless you get an x800xt or pe.
Click to expand...
As far as I know, that is because ATI where lazy and didn't develop proper OpenGL drivers and that it woud be fixed in the next catalyst version.
 
unix_core said:
As far as I know, that is because ATI where lazy and didn't develop proper OpenGL drivers and that it woud be fixed in the next catalyst version.
Click to expand...

time will tell i suppose.
 
I'd suppose it would be safe to assume the fans are silent enough. Myself I have never experienced any sound at all from my antec plusview-case's fans because it all drowns in the extreme noise from my CPU-fan(TT Volcano 11+) :)

But is Athlon64 really a good gamers choise? Unless hl2 supports 64 bits, it's probably not worth the high price.
 
Try to find some RAM that has a lower CAS Latency to it. Look for something around a 2 or 2.5.

unix_core said:
But is Athlon64 really a good gamers choise? Unless hl2 supports 64 bits, it's probably not worth the high price.
Click to expand...

Yes, the Athlon 64 is an awesome gaming CPU. Much better than a competing P4 in 32 bit applications.
 
You have totally ripped off my idea for a system except for mobo, processor & casing :E I'm going for a Xaser III if I can find one. And a NEO (from abit I think) mobo. Cool name ;) You're in for a ride I'd say. Where did you get the money? Need some tips.
 
Alec_85 said:
You have totally ripped off my idea for a system except for mobo, processor & casing :E I'm going for a Xaser III if I can find one. And a NEO (from abit I think) mobo. Cool name ;) You're in for a ride I'd say. Where did you get the money? Need some tips.
Click to expand...
Actually I'm the one who needs some tips and I'd like to thank blahblahblah for warning me about the memory-thingie. I'll look in to it. :)
 
If you wait until the end of the month you'll have your pick of several lovely AMD PCI-express enabled motherboards...
 
Murray said:
Actually I'm the one who needs some tips and I'd like to thank blahblahblah for warning me about the memory-thingie. I'll look in to it. :)
Click to expand...

I would have suggested some memory, but navigating swedish sites are not my speciality. ;)

I'll give you some memory suggestions from a US website.

Here is some cheap CL 2.5 memory
Some more expensive CL 2 Ram

As a general rule, if you are going to overclock, get the more expensive RAM. If not, the Corsair Value select will be more than enough for you. The heat spreader on the more expensive RAM does nothing to it, so don't worry about that.
 
blahblahblah said:
Try to find some RAM that has a lower CAS Latency to it. Look for something around a 2 or 2.5.
Click to expand...
How did you know the memory I was gonna buy had a bad CAS Latency, by the way? I can't seem to find any info at all...
 
Murray said:
How did you know the memory I was gonna buy had a bad CAS Latency, by the way? I can't seem to find any info at all...
Click to expand...

Because your ram says CL3. Go for CL2,5 or CL2. CL = CAS Latency. :bounce:
 
blahblahblah said:
You found a winner. :)
Click to expand...
Good. And with the memory questions answered, is there anything else worth discussing about my choices?
 
Let's say I was to change my mind on buying a GeForce 6800GT. Would I be forced to get better PSU?
 
Murray said:
Let's say I was to change my mind on buying a GeForce 6800GT. Would I be forced to get better PSU?
Click to expand...

Good point. The 3 harddrives may put you over the edge even with the X800 Pro. Determining how much power you need is nearly impossible. (The 6800 GT doesn't consume that much more power over the X800 Pro).

If possible, try and find a higher wattage power supply. Just to be safe. That means you will have to find a different case. :(
 
blahblahblah said:
Good point. The 3 harddrives may put you over the edge even with the X800 Pro. Determining how much power you need is nearly impossible. (The 6800 GT doesn't consume that much more power over the X800 Pro).

If possible, try and find a higher wattage power supply. Just to be safe. That means you will have to find a different case. :(
Click to expand...
Ok, what do you think of this case then?

Antec Plus1080AMG 430W True Power ATX

I've tried to translate the info on the page to english, here's the best I could do:

Type: Miditower
Motherboard support: ATX
5.25" slots (visible/intern): 4/0
3.5" slots (visible/intern): 2/4
Power Supply Included: Yes, 430W True Power (AMD&P4 OK)
Electrical wire included: Yes
Fan slots: 5x80mm
Fans included: 3x80mm
Front connections: USB, IEEE1394
Dimensions (Depth x Wide x Height): 472x206x523mm
Net weight: 14.4kg

Sorry if I'm not that good at english. :p
 
Ok I got convinced to change to the X800Pro VIVO so I can mod it and get extra pipelines.
It won't be too expensive so I can bear with it. :)
But I would still like to know if the case I chose is a good one (check my previous post).
 
johnnypoopoopant said:
spoiler sig...i dont see any spoiler, btw nice upgrade :thumbs:
Click to expand...
Yes, I know, [Matt] - the god of DELETED told me to remove it since it might confuse people.
 
[Matt] said:
i also told him to go with the vivo ;)
Click to expand...
Yeh, that's very good, [Matt], now please answer me question: is the case good enough? (No need to point out how ugly it is, I fully agree :p)
 
Murray said:
Yeh, that's very good, [Matt], now please answer me question: is the case good enough? (No need to point out how ugly it is, I fully agree :p)
Click to expand...

The case should be more than enough. If you don't like the case, don't get it. Find a case that is appealing to you and then buy a seperate power supply.

Antec isn't the only good powersupply company. Thermaltake, and Forton both make excellent power supply's as well.
 
blahblahblah said:
The case should be more than enough. If you don't like the case, don't get it. Find a case that is appealing to you and then buy a seperate power supply.

Antec isn't the only good powersupply company. Thermaltake, and Forton both make excellent power supply's as well.
Click to expand...
Yes, I know, but I tried Antec once, and they had really quiet fans, so I got a big respect for their creations.

Buying a separete PSU is out of the question, since that will become too expensive.

Here's another PSU from Antec, what do you think?
Antec SONATA Silent Piano-Black 380W ATX + cooling

Speccs:

Type: Miditower
Motherboard support: ATX, mATX
5.25" slots (visible/intern): 3/0
3.5" slots (visible/intern): 2/4
Power Supply Included: Yes, 380W (AMD&P4 OK)
Electrical wire included: Yes
Fan slots: 2x120mm
Fans included: Yes, 1x120mm
Front connections: Yes, 2xUSB, 1xFirewire, Ear phone, Mic. in
Dimensions (Depth x Wide x Height): 412x206x412mm
Net weight: 10kg


I can search for one of those you mentioned as long as the fans are quiet and good coolers.
 
The one you linked to is designed to be extremely quiet. I'd say that one would work wonderfully with your computer. 380 Watts should be enough.
 
blahblahblah said:
The one you linked to is designed to be extremely quiet. I'd say that one would work wonderfully with your computer. 380 Watts should be enough.
Click to expand...
Ahh, good, I guess that makes my upgrade flawless, then? (well, kinda) :cheers:
 
There is just this one more thing I'm wondering about.

Like I said, I changed my mind on getting the X800Pro non VIVO and I'm getting the VIVO version instead so I can mod it. In any case, they are for some reason named AX800Pro:

Asus Radeon AX800Pro 256Mb DDR3 TV-out DVI VIVO RETAIL AGP

Why is the "A" there? Can it be possible that I'm unable to mod it, or is it called AX800Pro because it is one of Asus cards?
 
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