For all the computer geeks - my new computer

[Romial]

Well it's about damn time that I upgraded from this POS to a way better computer so I was looking around and this is what I got so far. Any suggestions are appreciated. I'm custom building this thing from scratch as my first computer and heard it was pretty easy with how the manuals explain everything, so this should be fun. The only thing I'm not TOO sure on is the case and dvd drive. For everything else I'm pretty sure that's what I'll be getting. As I want this computer to last me another 4 years like this one did. My thoughts on each one is in italics.

Case - COOLER MASTER Praetorian Black ALUMINUM MID-TOWER CASE, Model "PAC-T01-EK" I'm not too sure about the case because it's running kinda pricy and I know there are others out there cheaper and that look better. Looking for one that has about 3-4 fans as I want my computer to be super cool so if I choose to OC it, heat won't be a problem.

Motherboard - ASUS "A8V Deluxe" VIA K8T800 Pro Chipset Motherboard For AMD Socket 939 CPU I've heard many good things about ASUS for mobo's and about the A8V in paticular. So going from the reviews, this looks to be a safe bet. But then...everyone has their favorites.

Video Card - ATI Radeon X700 PRO Video Card, 256MB DDR, 128-Bit, DVI/TV-Out, PCI-Express, Model "100-437402" 256MB baby...No more of this can't play games on my computers now. ATI and AMD are made for each other and this is the best ATI card for >$200.

Power Supply - Thermaltake Silent PurePower, 420W ATX power supply.UL, CSA, TUV, CE Approved. Intel Pentium 4 Compliant I MIGHT upgrade this and go for a 450W or even maybe a 480W if I need to. Any idea's?

Processor - AMD Athlon 64 3000+, 512KB L2 Cache 64-bit Processor Bad ass processor...'nuff said. AMD > Intel

Ram - Corsair XMS Extreme Memory Speed Series, (Twin Pack) 184 Pin 1GB(512MBx2) DDR PC-3200 :drool: Corsair = GOOD STUFF!

Floppy - Samsung Black 1.44MB 3.5inch Floppy Disk Drive, Model SFD321B/LBL1, OEM Drive Only Hehe everyone needs a floppy!

Harddrive - Western Digital Raptor 36.7GB 10,000RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model WD360GD, OEM Drive Only Mmmmm...raptors...yummy. It's not the biggest HD in the world, but almost nothing else will be on this computer except games. But if needed, I can get a cheaper 72,000rpm HD as a slave unit.

DVD Reader/burner - NEC 8X Black Dual Layer DVD+/-RW Drive, Model ND-2510A BLK, OEM BULK Not too sure, just going by the reviews here, any suggestions?

Sound Card - Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS PCI Sound Card, Model "SB0350" The better the sound card, the less you'll lag. I'm torn between this one and the gamerz one for $20 more. Any suggestions?

So what do ya'll think?

 

[ShamelessFlirt]

The drive is still too small.


Bear in mind I'm not even trying ...


$81.00
SAMSUNG 120GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model SP121


http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=22-152-017&DEPA=1

 

[ShamelessFlirt]

Oh and I absolutely love this DVD burner ...

$59.99
Lite-On 16X DVD Dual Drive, Model SOHW-1633S Black, OEM

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=27-106-961&depa=1

Write Speed: DVD+R9 2.4X, DVD+R 16X, DVD-R 8X, DVD+RW 4X, DVD-RW 4X, CD-R 48X, CD-RW 24X
Read Speed: 48X CD-ROM, 16X DVD-ROM
Interface: ATAPI / E-IDE
Buffer: 2MB
OS Support: MS-Windows 98 / NT4.0 / ME / 2000 / XP
Features: SMART-BURN, SMART-X, VAS system. DVD+R9 2.4X(Double Layer Support)

 

[Romial]

The drive is still too small.


Bear in mind I'm not even trying ...


$81.00
SAMSUNG 120GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model SP121


http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=22-152-017&DEPA=1

I'm not going for anything that is less than 10k rpm for my main harddrive. I may get a slave unit for other misc stuff. But for my main harddrive, 40gb is enough for games.

 

[ShamelessFlirt]

I'm not going for anything that is less than 10k rpm for my main harddrive. I may get a slave unit for other misc stuff. But for my main harddrive, 40gb is enough for games.

Price wise you're not going to pay much more for the extra storage.

Western Digital Raptor 74GB 10,000RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model WD740GD, OEM Drive Only $179.89

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=22-144-160&depa=1

 

[ShamelessFlirt]

And there's a $25 mail in rebate too

 

[ShamelessFlirt]

Of course, if you're about the speed over the size ...


http://www.i-tech.com.au/products/6671_FUJITSU_MAS3735NP_73_5GB_3_5__Hard.asp

http://www.costcentral.com/product-list/15000_RPM_and_Faster/313/?PID=15

(these are scsi though)
http://www.shopgenie.co.uk/UK_listing/gen_1/J000003870.html

 

[Romial]

Of course, if you're about the speed over the size ...


http://www.i-tech.com.au/products/6671_FUJITSU_MAS3735NP_73_5GB_3_5__Hard.asp

http://www.costcentral.com/product-list/15000_RPM_and_Faster/313/?PID=15

(these are scsi though)
http://www.shopgenie.co.uk/UK_listing/gen_1/J000003870.html

There's a difference between going speed over size and spending a shit load of money.

 

[QuickDuck]

agreed, hard drive is way to small, especially for games.

hell my EQ directory alone is over 3 gig

 

[MechaBlade]

*fap fap fap* So.. ohh! what kinda games we talkin here... yeah! Uh!...

The better the sound card, the less you'll lag.

I've never heard that. But then I didn't know they had 15,000 rpm drives until I started looking around newegg.

*fap fap fap*

 

[Romial]

Re: Re: For all the computer geeks - my new computer

*fap fap fap* So.. ohh! what kinda games we talkin here... yeah! Uh!...



I've never heard that. But then I didn't know they had 15,000 rpm drives until I started looking around newegg.

*fap fap fap*

Regarding sound and how it affects lag: Getting a sound card vastly improves performance with anything that involves sound on your comp. With a motherboard's onboard sound, your CPU wastes precious cycles by processing sound-related info in addition to everything else that is is processing. This adds strain to your CPU. The more intense your onboard sound is (6.1 speaker surround etc that they seem to offer these days), the more work your CPU has to do. By getting an aftermarket sound card (even a $30 one), you take this strain off on your CPU and give the work to the PCI bus.

Pulled that off another message board and people agree with him as he knows his stuff.

 

[Romial]

agreed, hard drive is way to small, especially for games.

hell my EQ directory alone is over 3 gig

3 gigs is not a lot. My entire harddrive right now is 60gb and it's only half full right now with games and porn and unneeded items and such. If I get a 36gb or 40gb harddrive, it'll never be full from just games and if I do fill it up with misc stuff, that's when a cheap 7,200rpm slave drive comes up.

 

[ShamelessFlirt]

There's a difference between going speed over size and spending a shit load of money.

$116 for your 36.7 vs $155 (180 less 25) for a 74gig.

Get the larger drive.

 

[sexy-girl]

this is my case i love it it has a power supply built in too

http://arstechnica.com/reviews/hardware/sonata.ars/1

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Sonata.jpg

i have that same sound card and its very good for games ... i don't agree it will make it faster though ... it'll make it slightly slower if anything but sound a lot better ... audigy 2 z's are eax 4 compatible and using eax sound in games will give a slight performance hit (you shouldn't notice it though with everything else you got)

i also have those same hard disks but i have two and made them into a raid this is meant to help speeds ... i'm not sure if it does but they are very fast and cool ... boot up times are really quick

i have a similar graphics card and i love ati cards ... to be honest though right now i'm not sure there is that much difference between the new nvidia ones and the new ati ones ... i just prefer ati (canadian company and all )

you also forgot to get CPU fan by way


oh and this is my mouse its cool but you won't like if you're one of those people that can't use a mouse without constantly lifting it up from the mat

http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/products/details/GB/EN,CRID=3,CONTENTID=9043

 

[Romial]

this is my case i love it it has a power supply built in too

http://arstechnica.com/reviews/hardware/sonata.ars/1

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Sonata.jpg

i have that same sound card and its very good for games ... i don't agree it will make it faster though ... it'll make it slightly slower if anything but sound a lot better ... audigy 2 z's are eax 4 compatible and using eax sound in games will give a slight performance hit (you shouldn't notice it though with everything else you got)

i also have those same hard disks but i have two and made them into a raid this is meant to help speeds ... i'm not sure if it does but they are very fast and cool ... boot up times are really quick

i have a similar graphics card and i love ati cards ... to be honest though right now i'm not sure there is that much difference between the new nvidia ones and the new ati ones ... i just prefer ati (canadian company and all )

you also forgot to get CPU fan by way


oh and this is my mouse its cool but you won't like if you're one of those people that can't use a mouse without constantly lifting it up from the mat

http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/products/details/GB/EN,CRID=3,CONTENTID=9043

That's a pretty neat case but I think I may go with a case that doesn't have a power supply included as more often than not, they aren't all that good anyways. And for your case, 380W won't be enough for my computer, as I'm gonna need a 450 or even 480W one.

And having a better/seperate sound card won't slow things down, but it'll decrease the amount of information your cpu and/or mobo has to xfer.

As far as video cards go right now, I'm really leaning towards the 6600 GT from Nvidia as they have the shading thingy(I can't think of the proper name for it) and it will have a longer longevity over the ATI cards, namely the x700 pro.

I didn't list the cpu fan because I was/still am tossing things up for my mobo. It's going to be a thermatake one though if possible. My friend is trying to convince me to get an MSI K8N NEO4 Platinum SLI motherboard that has 2 pci-e slots. Better bang for your buck and it'll last longer. Only thing I'm worried about for that mobo though is that it doesn't have hypertransport technology in it. Only thing I'm pretty set on is the AMD Athlon 64 3000+ socket 939 processor.

So overall, it's a toss up between the MSI SLI board that doesn't have HT tech vs the more expensive ASUS SLI that does have HT.
And 6600 gt vs x700 pro. Choices, choices.

 

[Guest]

 

[Desiqnflaw]

You'll need a new primary drive, numbnuts.

You need to quit running your big mouth.

Where is this big day of reckoning you were going on and on about?

You are all talk. But we all knew that.

 

[Byron In Exile]

I'm not going for anything that is less than 10k rpm for my main harddrive. I may get a slave unit for other misc stuff. But for my main harddrive, 40gb is enough for games.

I wouldn't worry about 10k RPM vs. 7.2k RPM. Seek time is greater than rotation latency, and the difference here is minor. More important are the interface speed and the cache size.

You'll improve performance if you create a 4GB partition on the 40GB drive for the operating system.

 

[Romial]

You'll need a new primary drive, numbnuts.

What do you mean? You mean as in harddrive or what?

 

[Romial]

I wouldn't worry about 10k RPM vs. 7.2k RPM. Seek time is greater than rotation latency, and the difference here is minor. More important are the interface speed and the cache size.

You'll improve performance if you create a 4GB partition on the 40GB drive for the operating system.

I've heard that for gaming, 10k rpm vs 7.2k rpm can make a difference for the better.

But that's a good idea that I hadn't though of, thanks for that.

 

[Byron In Exile]

Re: Re: Re: For all the computer geeks - my new computer

Regarding sound and how it affects lag: Getting a sound card vastly improves performance with anything that involves sound on your comp. With a motherboard's onboard sound, your CPU wastes precious cycles by processing sound-related info in addition to everything else that is is processing. This adds strain to your CPU. The more intense your onboard sound is (6.1 speaker surround etc that they seem to offer these days), the more work your CPU has to do. By getting an aftermarket sound card (even a $30 one), you take this strain off on your CPU and give the work to the PCI bus.

Pulled that off another message board and people agree with him as he knows his stuff.

This is correct, except that "vastly" might be a bit of overstatement.

The same applies, if you're still in the dark age of dial-up networking, to "Winmodems," which are also cpu cycle-suckers. If you can't find a "hardware" modem, get an external one.

 

[Byron In Exile]

Power Supply - Thermaltake Silent PurePower, 420W ATX power supply.UL, CSA, TUV, CE Approved. Intel Pentium 4 Compliant I MIGHT upgrade this and go for a 450W or even maybe a 480W if I need to. Any idea's?

For what you've listed 420W should be plenty.

If you're planning to pack the thing full of hard drives in the future, get a 480W. The main problem is that the drives pull a lot of power when they start up.

 

[Romial]

Re: Re: For all the computer geeks - my new computer

For what you've listed 420W should be plenty.

If you're planning to pack the thing full of hard drives in the future, get a 480W. The main problem is that the drives pull a lot of power when they start up.

Yeah, with the case I might be getting, it comes with a 450w one. So we'll see how that works out and if it's a crappy one or whatever, I'll spend the $40 to get a new one.

And yeah drives do pull a lot of power when they start up, but the best way to have a computer is on 24/7.

 

[masterplan20]

I built one similar to that one....a few minor changes. Have you thought about buying 2 smaller SATA hard drives and running them on a mirror image? I've found that it speeds up my computer like no other. BTW....I paid under $400.00 for my whole setup.<-----See AV.

 

[Byron In Exile]

I've heard that for gaming, 10k rpm vs 7.2k rpm can make a difference for the better.

They can be; it depends on the manufacturer. Usually the faster-rotation drives are more advanced generally, and they can have faster seek-times, larger caches, etc., as well. It's best if you can find reviews with benchmark tests of the specific drives you're considering.

But that's a good idea that I hadn't though of, thanks for that.

yw! — You can also separate large data files (mpeg/mp3 collections) from program files by partitioning, as long as you have some idea how much space you need. Organizing the drive this way will reduce seek times for any file, since it's guaranteed to be contained in a particular region and not spread all over the disk. At the same time, smaller partitions make for smaller filesystem tables, which the OS can deal with faster.

Another thing to consider is cluster size. The NTFS default is 4k, I think. If you have a partition with large data files on it, it's better to use a larger cluster size (32k or 64k), which will reduce overhead and seek times also.

Looks like a nice system. I'd stick with ASUS, although nothing against MSI, just because their boards are so solid.