New Computer Opinions

[Clownfetus]

hey im new here and was planning on getting a new computer for xmas. i was just wondering if anyone had any opinions towards what i should/shouldn't get, thanks.

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3700BNBOX
MB: DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 SLI-DR Expert Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI AMD Motherboard
GPU: ASUS EAX1800XL/2DHTV/256M Radeon X1800XL 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card
DDR Rosewill 2GB (2 x 1GB) (CAS 2.5) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 333 (PC 2700) Dual Channel Kit System Memory - Retail
HD: Western Digital Caviar SE WD1200JB 120GB 7200 RPM IDE Ultra ATA100 Hard Drive - OEM
SC: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic 8 (7.1) Channels PCI Interface Sound Card
PSU: Antec NeoPower NeoHE 550 ATX12V 550W Power Supply
total: $1,285.17


its a little more then i would like to spend, but i want top of the line. any feedback on better/cheaper stuff with close to the same result would be much appreciated, thanks

 

[tweaker]

The CPU is not compatible with the motherboard (very nice board btw), you need a Socket 939 CPU.
The DDR2 RAM isn't supported by the motherboard, you need regular 184-pin DDR.

Also there isn't much sense in getting such a small HDD these days when the price step to a 160 or at least a 120GB is barely noticeable. As a general rule of thumb, take the space you think is enough and double it, in other words grab a 160GB drive.

 

[Clownfetus]

ah well thank you very much, i would have never noticed this

changed it

 

[Mr.Suave]

wat will you mainly use this for, gaming?

GPU: ASUS EAX1800XL/2DHTV/256M Radeon X1800XL 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card

the 7800gt is a better choice and its a little cheaper than the XL for about of better performance

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3700+ ClawHammer 800MHz FSB Socket 754 Processor Model ADA3700BOX - OEM
MB: DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 SLI-DR Expert Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI AMD Motherboard

as tweaker said these wont fit. you really want the CPU go with a motherbaord thats socket 754. if you want the motherboard get a CPU thats 939. i suggest getting 939.

DDR Mem: GeIL DDR 2 Series 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 533 (PC2 4300)

wats the CAS?? if this comp is for gaming then you want to go with CAS 2 and 2gb isnt really needed. 1gb will do fine.

 

[tweaker]

wats the CAS??

That would be C4.
The modules isn't supported though so it's not an option.

if this comp is for gaming then you want to go with CAS 2

C2 isn't needed and is not really worth it in the long run, C2.5 (or 3 with faster memory) is good enough and gives much better price/performance ratio.

and 2gb isnt really needed. 1gb will do fine.

Not necesseraly true, let's wait and hear what games and other tasks he intend to use this system for.

 

[Clownfetus]

alright changed it again thanks for quick responses, oh and its for gaming, oblivion (TES:IV) unreal 2007 etc...

 

[Mr.Suave]

C2 isn't needed and is not really worth it in the long run, C2.5 (or 3 with faster memory) is good enough and gives much better price/performance ratio.

ok well i just said that becuase from wat i read in RAM101 it said CAS2 would be better for gaming but ya 2.5 would be fine too.

 

[tweaker]

Nice CPU.
The ram is decent, but do you intend to overclock?
Get a SATA HDD.

 

[Clownfetus]

i like to have the option of overclocking if needed, and changed the HD thanks and would a 550W power supply be enough?

 

[Dilly man 2]

make sure the sockets match ie: 939 to 939

get a good psu, antec neo he

For ram, dont get value select. there not great for gamin. if you want to go all out and spend 250 get ocz gold, geil, kingston "good highbandwidgth ram"

alsway go for SATA hdd
go for 120 or 160gigs

imo, you dont need a 200$ motherboard

 

[Clownfetus]

ok thanks, added some stuff

 

[Clownfetus]

anyone have any inputs on what kind of case i should buy? i dont want like a 150$ one but not like 30$ one that will fall apart

 

[sbeast64]

Why does his cpu and motherboard not match? He said '...cpu 939' '...motherboard 939.'
Is this because he got the information wrong,and only dual cores are 939?

 

[Clownfetus]

no its all copied and pasted from newegg.com so i think its right but i have no idea

 

[lowcar100]

no the original post was edited.

xoxide has a lot of cases to choose from or look at.

 

[SAD_DC]

here is awsome,inexpensive case which I got and it rocks!!!!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811144026


P.s Price doesnt matter when you said you dont want a 30$ case..
you can get alot of very nice case's for 30$ and they will
definatly not fall apart..

 

[SAD_DC]

WOW thats A crazy ass power supply...never seen anything like it..
lol

thanks for the show lowcar100

 

[Clownfetus]

thanks for all of the replies, anyone got any advice on a monitor? i want like a 20"+ CRT for a reasonable amount, thanks - and does my case work with my PSU?

 

[Bobo]

, anyone got any advice on a monitor? i want like a 20"+ CRT for a reasonable amount,

That doesn't really match up....20"+ for a reasonable amount... What do you need such a fricken big monitor for? Keep in mind that it is not just screen size, the rest of the monitor (including the weight and price) goes up too. My 19"CRT is 70lbs. I would recommend you get 20" max...but that's my opinion. Here are some choices:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?Manufactory=&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=1056%3A9101&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=0&description=&MinPrice=&MaxPrice=&SubCategory=19&Submit=Property

The cheapest at Newegg is $460.

Some 20" LCD monitors (larger viewable area than a 21" CRT)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?Manufactory=&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=1056%3A9100&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=0&description=&MinPrice=&MaxPrice=&SubCategory=20&Submit=Property

The cheapest is $400

Some 19" CRT monitors:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?Manufactory=&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=1056%3A9098&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=0&description=&MinPrice=&MaxPrice=&SubCategory=19&Submit=Property

Like I said, I think that 21" CRt is overkill, especially when you can get 19" for $300 less But it is your choice. How well does $450 fit into your budget?

 

[Clownfetus]

thanks alot for the monitors, i guess i'll have to go with an 18" or something, but i've been thinking latley

im starting to have mixed feelings about 64bit or not. i was just wondering what yall's opinions were change the MB and CPU to:

MB: DFI LANPARTY 875P-T Socket T (LGA 775) Intel 875P ATX Intel Motherboard
CPU: Intel Pentium 4 550J Prescott 800MHz FSB 1MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor (3.4GHz)

and if i should stick with 64bit, im assuming i should stick with AMD right?

one more; which do yalll think i should pick: (I prefer ATI) all roughly $350-80

Radeon X1800XL 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card

Radeon X800XT 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 VIVO AGP 4X/8X Video Card

Geforce 7800GT 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 VIVO PCI Express x16