I'm ordering this week. How's this setup?

[Phisionary]

Hi folks. I've got a nearly-finalized list of components I'm ordering, probably within the week. I just wanted to post 'em up and see what you guys think.

Tagan TG480-U01 480 Watt PSU
- $78 (??)
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ 939pin 90nm CPU
- $155 www.MonarchComputer.com
Western Digital WD740GD SATA 74GB HDD
- $177 www.newegg.com
*Zalman CNPS7700-Cu HSF
- $51 www.newegg.com
*Artic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
- $8 www.newegg.com
Vantec IceBerg Copper RAM Heat Spreader
- $7 www.newegg.com
PDP Systems DDR400(PC-3200) 1024MBx1 RAM
- $160 www.newegg.com
*MSI k8n Neo2 Platinum nForce3-Ultra MoBo
- $140 www.MonarchComputer.com
ATI 9800 Pro 128MB GPU
- $163 www.newegg.com

others, I haven't finalized which store:
case (Antec P-160)
~$100
serial add-on card (Syba 2-port)
~$15

est. shipping for all items:
~$70 ??

total:
$1125

my thoughts, on each part:
PSU - The tagan is nice... don't worry about that much.
CPU - The 3000+ is going to be overclocked... there is suposed to be great potential on those 90nm parts.
HDD - Yeah, that HDD is pricey, but I hate slow response on HDD's, and multitask hardcore...
HSF - The HUGE ****ING Zalman (2lbs+).. There's some quiet cooling fo ya, tho.
um, AS5? - Best thermal compound $$ can buy.
heat spreader - eh. ram comes without. y not?
RAM - 1 gig on 1 dimm. Latency is 3-4-4-8, but I want the option of upgrading to 2 gig, hopefully dual channel, and hopefully without cutting the clock speed. It's the best option I think. Plus high-density ram is supposed to run a few % faster than similarly clocked low-D ram, IIRC.
MoBo - Onboard dual gigabit, SATA, nice features, good overclocking.
GPU - well, I thought a lot about this, but decided I'd rather get something less than perfect now, and upgrade later. So, 9800 pro it is. price seems pretty fair.

case - aluminum, shiny. supposed to be designed with quiet in mind. looks are ... meh. but that's okay. 120mm fans rear standard, front optional. biggest problem is my slot-drive DVD (you'll understand if you see it)
serial - need more than one, I'm afraid. Ever heard of the brand? Semi-generic stuff worries me, but what the hey, it's cheep. :/

shipping estimate... well, it's only from three places... historically, newegg's shipping r0x0rs with combined orders.

oh, and the *'s mean that I haven't shopped around, i.e. pricegrabber/froogle. that's the best price from known reliable stores, off pricewatch.

Muchas thanx to everyone who helped me thus far, on the overclocking thread, esp. Asus. :cheers:

Anyway, if anyone wants to give there opins on this setup I'd love to hear from you. I will be ordering in about 24-48 hours probably.

:imu:

 

[bosox188]

Is that 9800 pro 256-bit? Send a link to it (not just the site you got it from) to make sure, because a true 9800 pro is around $200. The fake 128-bit versions are about $160 and much worse.

 

[_Cronik_]

It Looks Cool Dude But Your Processor, 3000+, If I'd Be Your, I'll Buy The 3200+ 1Mb Cache But Your Cpu Looks Great

 

[[w0f]Oblivion]

most reviews have show the extra 512k of cache arent worth it, or is it 256 k, oh well cant remember, but they show little improvement. the 3000+ is the way to go

 

[Ennui]

Nobody Listens To People Who Type Like This, Dude.

Nice set up, I would also advise you check out the ati card for the same reasons, but other than that looks like a very well-rounded system.

 

[Asus]

So far looks great. Just some suggestions/comments.

The 3000+ and 3200+ on Socket 939 both have the same cache (512K) but the speed is different (1.8 vs 2GHz).
It's Socket 754 where they are different caches (512K vs 1MB) with the same speeds (2ghz).

The 3000+ is a good low cost option although if you want a little extra speed (200MHz) or if you are planing to OC (multiplyer of 10 instead of 9) then the 3200+ (90nm) would be a better buy. Lets say you only hit 250MHz FSB with your board. A 3200+ with a multiplyer of 10 would be 2.5GHz(10*250). A 3000+ with a multiplyer of 9 would be 2.25GHz (9*250). With slower timed memory you just might not be able to run as high of a FSB as you would like so the higher multiplyer would help out for better OCing.

The memory looks OK except I would probably recommend getting memory with a CAS of 2.5 instead of 3. Link

The pricing on that 9800Pro looks great but it's probably the version with 128Bit memory bus. It would perform a little better if it has a 256Bit bus although I'd recommend something along the lines of this, this or even this (get a TAP plan).

 

[Phisionary]

thanks for the input.

I have it on good authority that the MSI MoBo would not be a speed limitation. Every review I've seen can push it to almost 300 MHz. So hopefully that wont be an issue. I can't seem to make the extra 45 bucks worth it since they apparently don't overclock to higher levels... The price total is already pushing my budget...
Check on the 512 cache. The 939 3000+ and 3200+ are both based on the 90nm process, and use 512k (The new FX's might have more maybe). Performance increases are minimal, probably becuase of low-latency RAM due to on-die memory controller. or something

Asus... sweet... I couldn't find a single DIMM 1Gig module with timings like that... where did you find that?? weird. That's beautiful. I'm gonna look up some reviews on trascend brand, b ut that looks great... with 2.5 I can probably relax timing and OC the RAM a reasonable amount as well. Nice. :E

Video card... yeah :x I didn't realize.

****...

ATI radeon 9800 pro EZ. dammit. I knew it was too good to be true.
AIW-brand 9800 pro 128mb 256-bit from newegg... $235. *sigh*

well, back to $1200 I can live with it.
However, it does put the nvidia 6600GT back in teh running. Interestingly, the 128mb GT model is about the same price as the 256mb non-GT version. only difference I can see is that the GT is AGP, instead of PCIE. That's a bit discouraging. I'd like PCIE, I guess, but it's not worth the 100 markup for the MoBo right now, IMO. That's not even the SLI ver.

But ATI has been my favorite lately. First, for image quality. Supposedly some of the biggest problems have been fixed, but shader quality and AA quality (& performance, at higher res.) has seemed to be better on ATI cards, from what I've read.

oh... hot shit! that's a sweet price on a 6800 though! wow.

what's with the TAP, though? why should I have one?

Plus, has anyone dealt with their rebates? I hate rebates, I often get screwed over....

Thanx again folks.

 

[Killing2Live]

lol you had me searching all through newegg for that 165 dollar 9800 pro

 

[Phisionary]

dammit. the 6800 from compusa was out-of-stock in my area.

at retail price it wasn't worth it... fot that price, it was.

I saw an online rebate on a 160gb segate hdd, after rebate: $49.99. was 2 days late to get that price though. So this is the second sweet deal I've missed :flame:

The 6600 GT still is an option then... hmmm.

 

[Asus]

Yeah if you want to stick with a 9800pro, thats great. Look around, you can find them for 200$ or maybe a little under. Sapphire 9800pro with 256Bit bus
Xtasy 9800pro with 256Bit bus
Both are good cards.

That board only supports AGP and not PCI-Express. You would have to spend a lot more for getting a PCI-Express board.

Also read some of this. It can get up to 300MHz for FSB but sometimes it doesn't. That article isn't about the FSB speed but it mentions it since it's dealing with OCing.
The 3000+ 90nm CPU is not going to be your limitation. It can OC great when paired with the right parts. The board or memory is where you will run into a limitation first.

Oh and the TAP on the gfx card from Compusa, it's a great option. Basicly it's an over-the-counter replacement of the card which covers if it didn't work correctly. But the plus is not just the coverage on your card but the fact that new graphic cards come out more than once a year it's a great way to upgrade. The chances you will get a better card are very good. Example, if you bought a GF4 4600 with the TAP then you would probably have got a 9700 Pro/5800 to replace it. Also you can pay the difference and get a better card.

 

[Phisionary]

of course I'd love an nforce4 board under $200, but that's not gonna happen for a while, at least.

Well, I've seen some comparitive reviews of 9800 pro and the 6600 GT, and the 6600 seems the better card, really. SM3.0 is a plus, and generally better performance in most games.

The TAP deal sounds good.
UInfortunately, as I mentioned, they are out of stock. Oh well. :|

ATM, some silly part of me is telling me, "**** it! It's just money! Buy this... ;)"

Some part of me is listening... But that's pricey for an unemployed student. :E

Edit: Also, HardOCP convinced me that the ATI visual quality advantage is really negligeble. And since (in their review at least) the nvidia showed better performance in HL2 even, I am reluctantly looking at nvidia as my best option once again, in the 200 plus, sub 400 range at least. Nvidia really seems to have gotten back into things, haven't they? If I had bought a vid card 6 months ago, no way would it have been nvidia. interesting...

Although the X800XL looks nice for PCI-E users. meh.

 

[Asus]

It sounds like you know what you want.

See if they can order in a 6800 for you, at Compusa. Maybe they can order one through Commercial Sales. They do that at my store for customers. Maybe they can transfer one from another store. You'd have to pay this week (through Sat.) to get the sale.

 

[Phisionary]

Zalman CNPS7700-Cu compatible with MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum?

Well, the faster-timed memory Asus mentioned is out-of-stock too, I noticed yesterday. I'm on the notify-list, they are due to arrive today, sometime... Many thanks for pointing them out, btw. I'm sure they'll sell like hotcakes, of course, so hopefully I'll be all ready to order (which ..duh.., I haven't yet..). A little research and budgeting left to do and I'll be all ready. :E

But the point of my post... I noticed, with some dismay... that the Msi K8N Neo2 Platinum is on Zalman's CNPS7700-Cu list of NON-COMPATIBLE BOARDS!

Shoot, I thought. But I passed it off as inconsequencial, because obviously it's the memory slots it's blocking, and I read a review that said the neo2 Plat runs fine with memory in 3&4. In fact, it was MORE stable... A good sign. Still a bit of a wager I suppose, but still. It's darn close to my dream MoBo, really.

But I recently read a thread here that mentioned that the CNPS7000-Cu (the 7700's heaviweight copper flower-power predecessor) was only about a centimeter or so from the video card on this very board! *gasp*

I'd hate to buy and find it shorted out the traces on a 200-400 dollar video card, or didn't fit at all!

Well, anyway.. I searched around, and found no-one on the whole-wide-world-intrawebs, with personal experiance with the combination... so I did a little photoshopped test, and thought I'd share.

Without furthur ado:

Boy, yay, whee...

Okay, so this is the Zalman CNPS7700-Cu's diagramatic outline superimposed on the MSI k8n... It shows fairly well that it is VERY CLOSE to intersecting the AGP slot.... Will it actaully? Who knows. If the bord has it's components completely on teh bottom side of the board, I don't think it would be an issue. I COULD be wrong however. We shall see, because unless anyone gives my convincing evidence that I should not, this is the combo I'm getting.

(Thx to Zalman and Msi for the images, btw)​

Well, anyway... I'll keep you updated.

 

[Asus]

It looks like it would just miss the PCB of the graphics card although the heatsink and other metal on the back of today's card probably would touch it.

I would really recommend looking into Thermalright model heatsinks, reviews and such.

 

[Phisionary]

It looks like it would just miss the PCB of the graphics card although the heatsink and other metal on the back of today's card probably would touch it.

I would really recommend looking into Thermalright model heatsinks, reviews and such.

Ahhh... yes. Many cards have memory on the back... Some have heatsinks on them. But there is also the GPU HSF bracket 'n' stuff, might be in the way. If I found an appropriate image of my card, I could probably confirm or discount even that... Does limit my future upgrade option potential, of course.. :\

What models are you referring to? Off the top, that is, no need to do my research for me

I've seen the XP-120, sure it looks awesome, but really rather pricey, plus I think it's acually bigger, although I'm not sure it it is in that direction.

I'd like:
very good cooling performance,
low noise (i.e. somthing like a sub-1000rpm 120mm, althought that might be a size issue for that fan size no matter what model),
under $50,
and fairly widely available (so I can ship from one of the stores I have and save shipping, preferably).

I'll look around a bit anyway, I s'pose.

 

[Asus]

Well, the XP-120 is bigger because it's made to hold up to 120mm fans of your choice.
The XP-90 is much more reasonable in size. They don't weigh nearly as much as the zalman's though. I guess why I like them is they are not a fixed solution while they perform very well just like a zalman's.

If you want performance for less, then the SLK948U model will do great.

You can buy a very silent fan and it will still keep the CPU around 40C , get a fan that blows more air yet is still pretty quiet and get the CPU into the 30's or go all out and get a monster fan. It's all up to what fan you buy as the heatsink will dissipate that heat very well.

Thermalright.com

 

[Phisionary]

well, this is my thread. I reserve the right to pontificate at length to almost no-one but myself.

I have to admit it... I'm taking a pretty close look at the 6800GT. Just... so sweet. :E

Here is an interesting article I found over at Anandtech... They try to do a value analysis on some of the higher-end cards out today. It's rather illuminating. The 6800 and the 6800 GT often came out on top. Obviously any formula used will be imperfect at best (and indeed -- older cards can score very well, despite them being lame as hell), it does put performance per dollar into some real numbers, which is nice (OT: I'm a poet, and I wasn't even aware :cheese: )
Also scoring well, in about 50% of the tests... the 9700 Pro. The 9800Pro is missing, but the 9800XT seems decidedly overpriced. (As if we didn't know)

Anyway. whatever. I found it interesting.

Well, I looked around at Thermalright stuff. The Xp-90 does look rather nice. It's a bit pricey still, considering you have to buy a seperate fan and everything.

The Xp-120 looks quite delish. But, in no uncertain terms, it does not fit my Mobo. Heat pipes hit some cap's, I guess.
For looking like such a nicely spaced part... the neo2 plat is really kind of lame when it comes to RL compatibility. :x

So, basically, I am, yet again, looking at the 7700 I'm afraid. For one, I know I want quiet. My comps been too loud for too long to endure any more... I want nice semi-silence. REAL silence is too costly, money and performance wise, but faking it is good.

I saw a review for a fully contained hard-drive, um... thingy. Heavy copper, top, bottom, sides. Fit's in a 5+1/4, reduces drive noise to almost Nil. sounds very cool. I'd link it, if I'd remembered to bookmark it. Called the, uh, drive something something 2002 something. that should narrow it down fo ya!


Anyway, it was 70 bucks! ouch.

Well, this is almost a journal now. I just ramble on and on. Why don't I get a ****ing life!


:E hehe j/k
What would I use one of those for?

11/17/04 has definitely passed, and newegg has not told me my 2.5 mem is available. hmm. I do hope they get it in.

Thanks for th' help Asus, despite me ignoring your advice on the 3200 and the thermalright... I can be stubborn. Well, maybe I'll regret it.

One lingering issue I have, is apparently their are some memory compatibility problems with the MSI. I don't like incompatibility! :hmph:
If you have a magic link, from wherever you pull those out of... This would be good time!

j/k. I found one earlier, I closed it on accident. I can find it again.

I'm sorry if anyone read all this. It's even more a waste of time than it was for me to write it.

sleep time....

 

[Phisionary]

well I'm reconsideing my RAM choice aswell.

I want the option of 2GB (in a year or more from now) at good speeds. that means 2x 1gig Dimms.

but... equivalent 1gb dimms cost somewhat more, and have slower timings.

so as much as I'd like that upgrade path, it seems less and less worth it. If the CAS 2.5 1gb dimm at newegg was actually in stock... maybe I'd go for that. But, as it isn't, I'm thinking I should go for some low latency semi-enthusiest 2x512 dual channel, and have the option of OC'ing the mem as well.

If I really want 2 gigs, I can buy from scratch :x

it will be cheaper in the future, and would have better timings I'm sure, as production of 128mb chips becomes more commonplace.

This is what I'm looking at this very moment: http://www.outpost.com/product/3955668/
it's 2-3-2-5-T1 memory, same as what they have at newegg for 185 (was sold for 145 last month, dammit). I dunno about shipping from outpost, and their stock-status isn't listed online apparently. but if they have it, this stuff looks nice.
newegg link, with serial number and timing info. for 165 the price is not too far off budget.
one snafu... the chips used are apparently not specified, so performance could vary, batch-to-batch, by quite alot.

I'm still looking... I'd like some memory I can get into the 250's at T1 timings, for somewhat under $200.

This computer has crept up in price since I concieved this project. Disturbing. But I think it will absolutely r0x0r.


...for a couple months and then it will be obsolete :flame:

 

[Phisionary]

god I love newegg. they have everything. my memory is still up for consideration, but I COULD get everything (except case and PSU) there, and it is probably within 10 bucks of the best price on the web.

I'm sorry, www.MonarchComputer.com, you are just not good enough to take on teh mighty newegg.

plus... with all that stuff I mentioned I was getting, the shipping is under $32!!

sweet. I know I said (at the beginning of this thread) that I'd order within 48 hours. Well... oh well. but I'd say 24 from right now is extremely probable...

I know, it's not suspenseful to anyone but myself. :dork:

I am very much considering the eVGA 6800GT vid card and this memory. 220 bucks, almost 60 over what I was considering... but OC of up to 280 maybe! Just a user review, yeah, but 2-2-2-5 timing? that's nice

well, folks. as you can see I have no probelms keeping you updated... even when nothing has happened. :E

 

[Phisionary]

I have a quick question for y'all.

Should I buy a soundcard? Or is the onboard audio good enough?

I use sennhieser closed studio headphones most of the time... they are pretty high fidelity. How much of an improvement in Signal-to-Noise Ratio and such would I notice if I got an add-in card?

You can get the soundblaster audigy2 value card from newegg for $50. That price is nice... But, do fancy-er sound cards add much value? If I get the 'gamer' model, will my games sound better really? Don't they all support the same level of 3D-positional sound effects and whatever? Just wondering if anyone here has an opinion on that.

Meh. I may just try onboard and decide later. I dunno.