Curse

Tsunami Rain · Mar 06, 2006, 07:31 AM // 07:31

I'm building my friend a computer on a budget. I was wondering if maybe some of you could check over that all of my parts are compatable (I'm pretty sure i got everything in order). Input is also welcome. Thanks!

-Tsunami

Before I begin I would like to take the time to say this:
1. I put aside 100 dollars because Aaron [edit: my friend] wants to buy a CRT
2. I double checked everything so all of the parts are compatible
3. All products will be purchased off of www.NewEgg.com

List:

Mobo: DFI LanParty UT RDX200
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813136165
Price: $154.00
Socket Type: Socket 939
CPU Type: Athlon 64 FX/Athlon 64/Athlon X2
FSB: 1k MHz HT
North: ATI Radeon XPRESS 200 CrossFire
South: ATI SB450
DDR Type: DDR 400 (PC 3200)
#Slots: 4x 184pin DDR
Max RAM: 4Gigs
Dual Channel: Yes
[Go read the rest im tired of typing out info]
[NOTE: ATI Radeon XPRESS 200 CrossFire FTW!]

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 4000+ SanDiego
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103529
Price: $334
Core: SanDiego
Freq: 2.4Ghz
L2: 1MB

CPU HeatSink+Fan: Scythe Katana
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835185123
Price: $29.99

RAM: Corsair XMS (2x1gig) 184pin
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145486
Price: $180
Type: DDR 400 (PC3200)

Video Card: ATI Radeon X1800 XL 256mb
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102610
Price: $299
Core Clocked: 500MHz
Memory Clocked: 1000MHz
Memory: GDDR3
Interface: PCI Express x16
OS Ready: XP + Vista [Among Others]

HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 SATA NCQ 3Gb/s ST3160812AS
160GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148105
83.00

NEC Black 16X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 16X DVD-R 6X
DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2M
Cache IDE/ATAPI DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827152058
39.75

SONY Black Internal Floppy Drive Model MPF920 Black
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16821103116
9.99

OS: Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition OEM
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16837102059
Price: $93.95

Case: Aspire X-Navigator
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811144089
Price: $154
Type: Mid Tower

LED's: LOGISYS Cold Cathode LED's: Green
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16800888072
Price: $7.99 x 2 = $15.98
[I Picked Green]

Floppy Round Cable [Black]
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16812104015
Price: $2.29

IDE Round Cable [Black]
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16812104114
Price: $3.99

Antec Thermal Grease
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835129002
Price: $4.99
[Will lower temp of CPU greater than generic thermal grease. I do however prefer Artic Silver]

Cable Ties [Black]
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16812999111
Price: $4.99
[Tie up those messy wires]

Total: $1,322.92
Tax: $76.32 [FedEx 2 Day]
Final: $1,399.24

koneko · Mar 06, 2006, 04:18 PM // 16:18

Just a little note, Corsair memory doesn't work all that well with DFI motherboards for some reason (as I found out, and the DFI forum people seem to love their OCZ, so I went with that). Do yourself a favor and buy a real power supply, not a no-name product that comes with the case. Arctic Silver 5 is fairly inexpensive and only a dollar or two more than the one you listed, so why not? My computer uses a Thermalright XP-90 and a Panaflo fan (recommended by quite a few people, and it works very well). Keyboard? Mouse? Sound card (instead of using the onboard solution)? The San Diego 4000+ may not be worth it at that price, with dual-core processors already out - maybe a Venice 3200+ instead.

http://www.dfi-street.com/forum/ - try posting your message in the ATI section and let them make some more suggestions. Good people...I learned quite a bit from that forum.

pegasux · Mar 06, 2006, 07:40 PM // 19:40

agree with koneko. Also i don't think you need a 3rd party heatsink and fan...the stock one will do fine with arctic silver. I have a dual core 4800+ and run the stock setup with arctice and right now my temp is at 84 F. Also you don't need the extra cables, the motherboard will come with them.

Tachyon · Mar 06, 2006, 07:49 PM // 19:49

I notice you didn't include a PSU in your list! Considering that it's probably the most important component, I'd go and spend a little extra on a top-notch one just to be on the safe side.

Plus, why not ditch the 3.5" floppy drive and stick a multi-card reader in there instead? Answer me this, in the last year how often have you or your mate actually used a floppy disc? Multi-card reader is the same price as the 3.5" disc-drive yet can read all sorts of media cards.

Oh and I agree with the above two posters, try and avoid using Corsair with the DFI boards. They suggest OCZ which is very good RAM, but I swear by Mushkin personally. In the end though it's up to you.

Other than those points, very nice system indeed.

Janus Anobix · Mar 06, 2006, 09:47 PM // 21:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by koneko

Just a little note, Corsair memory doesn't work all that well with DFI motherboards for some reason (as I found out, and the DFI forum people seem to love their OCZ, so I went with that). Do yourself a favor and buy a real power supply, not a no-name product that comes with the case. Arctic Silver 5 is fairly inexpensive and only a dollar or two more than the one you listed, so why not? My computer uses a Thermalright XP-90 and a Panaflo fan (recommended by quite a few people, and it works very well). Keyboard? Mouse? Sound card (instead of using the onboard solution)? The San Diego 4000+ may not be worth it at that price, with dual-core processors already out - maybe a Venice 3200+ instead.

http://www.dfi-street.com/forum/ - try posting your message in the ATI section and let them make some more suggestions. Good people...I learned quite a bit from that forum.

golden information there, took the words right off of my finger tips. Oh, and why are you only putting aside $100 for a CRT monitor? That will be surely of very shoddy quality. As Koneko stated, drop down to a 3700+ san diego and put the extra money into a good 19'' lcd monitor. Follow his advice with the RAM, the cooling, and most definitely (of all importance) the power supply. I would grab the Fortron (FPS Group) AX-500, it is a top quality (leagues above aspire) 500W (although if you pick an aspire 600W or whatever this will blow it away as total wattage does not matter - it is the amount of clean power) that will play with your system very nicely.

oh, and why are you going crossfire? From the reports that I have read, it doesn't give any advantage over SLI and actually underperforms compared to it. I would get a NF4 SLI board (like Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe) and get a 7800gt to put in there.

Serafita Kayin · Mar 06, 2006, 09:57 PM // 21:57

You know, other than the monitor, and the thermal compound, and the power supply, you have a great system spec'ed out there.

Go ahead and get it, and enjoy it.

Alias_X · Mar 06, 2006, 11:41 PM // 23:41

PSU - Fortron 450Watt $50 on newegg

I am using the 420 watt that came with my case, and it is working fine with stable voltages, but most of the time that won't be a given that it will work.

I would go with dual core, possible the dual core 3800+ or the 4400+, see if it fits into your budget.

Just because you plan on getting that processor, I can guess you aren't going to overclock much. You might want to save some money on the motherboard. I have an ASUS A8N5X and it has all sorts of awesome overclocking programs, and a great bios. I could flash the bios in my windows environment also, which is a plus.

Tsunami Rain · Mar 07, 2006, 01:47 AM // 01:47

hehe sorry for posting minimal info.

1. I have an antec 550w power supply ($100 bucks off newegg) for my friend so I was going to give that as a gift to him.

2. He wanted just a crud CRT because hes going off to college in Texas in a few months and doesn't want to move a LCD screen up there. He said he would buy one there.

3. Wasn't aware of the DFI / Corsair thing thanks for the heads up

4. Multi-card reader is a good idea (why didn't I think of that)

5. I've heard that there are MANY games that do not support dual core processors..

CONFIRMED:
Quake 4
COD2
WoW
BF2
BF2: SF
AoE3
UT2004
HalfLife2
F.E.A.R.
Doom3
Far Cry

UNCONFIRMED
SW:BF2
CS:Source

(well that was back a month. Not sure if there has been any updates0

6. I was thinking of getting him a FX-55 CPU. What core do you all suggest? (note: his budget has gone up to $1,800 max).

7. As far as i know, Newegg doesnt sell Artic Silver. Thats why I had to go with another brand.

8. I'll update this list shortly in a new thread.

Alias_X · Mar 07, 2006, 02:46 AM // 02:46

That list is a bunch of bull. Nvidia and ATI have released some patches that make game performance better on dual core processors, but they all play on dual cores. Some, you have to designate to run on one core, because they cannot utilize 2 cores.

I am on my 4400+ right now, GW Max settings with 4x AA, runs amazingly.

Tsunami Rain · Mar 07, 2006, 02:50 AM // 02:50

thanks for the info alias. This list has just been passed around for awhile and ended up in my hands. If my friend doesnt want to spend a bit more money on an AMD FX-Series, I'll be getting him a dual core. *any sugestions*?

koneko · Mar 07, 2006, 03:14 AM // 03:14

1. Do make sure it is of the 24-pin variety. Since you are giving your friend a power supply, consider purchasing a cheaper case (which does not include a power supply) to save even more money.
3. The ex- that put together my computer was very cranky when they put two pieces of Corsair memory from their computer into mine while I was out stalking the evil FedEx man about yet another package he failed to deliver - I remember that they were grumbling something nasty about it. Odd how memories and thoughts come and go. Anyway, this would work. And the OCZ people are very friendly and good with replacements.
4. You will want a floppy drive so you can flash the BIOS. (Which, with all DFI products, you will want to - I apologize on behalf of my people that read/write/speak the funny moon language that created this product for the incompetance).
6. In your opening post, you mentioned that this was a system "on a budget." A FX55 is somewhat contradictory to that goal. Any of the Venice cores would suit such a "budget" computer just fine. My computer uses a 3200+ that is simply wonderful.
7. Arctic Silver 5 - Newegg.com
Bonus: An Opteron 165, though not officially supported by DFI, would be cost-effective and very nice - but you apparently have to have more than half a clue to have it working perfectly (again, dfi-street.com/forum).

Tachyon · Mar 07, 2006, 05:03 AM // 05:03

Screw that list!

Just set the affinity of the 'dual' CPU to use a single processor for any games that refuse to run! It's that simple!

Let's just say that BF2+SF, FEAR, Quake4, HL2 and Far Cry all work just fine on dual cores. Like I said above, just set the affinity first.

Wrath Of Dragons · Mar 07, 2006, 05:20 AM // 05:20

i think by them not working with dual-core is that they dont use both cores at once, only 1. it still works fine, ur just not getting what your processor is capable of