Advice on components for high end PC

[Bob]

So far I have acquired or have on order:

Athlon 64 x2 4800 CPU
Asus A8N32 SLI MB
WD Raptor 74GB SATA 10,000 RPM HD

I still need to decide, and need advice on:

1. Ram - I'll probably go with the Corsair 3500LL 2x1gb when it is
available, but I was also looking at the mushkin 4000 which they claim
is faster even though the latency numbers are not as good.

2. Power supply - Would like to find something quiet and SLI.

3. Case - I will probably order another Addtronics since I really like
the first one I got 5 years ago. They aren't flashy but are well
built, great ventilation with filters, and there is an option for
rolling casters.

4. Video card - I wont get two at first but buy the first one and then
hope the price drops so I can get the second one later at a cheaper
price. Probably will go for the 7800 GTX 512 if a few more
manufacturers come out with their versions.

5. DVD/CD drive - I don't have a clue but I hear good things about the
plextor drives.

6. OS - Windows XP pro, probably in OEM version to keep the cost down,
along with an OEM of office.

7. Sound card - I don't have any idea.

8. Monitor - Probably LCD 8ms, with digital input, 19 inch.

Thanks for any ideas you can suggest!

 

[John Weiss]

So far I have acquired or have on order:

Athlon 64 x2 4800 CPU
Asus A8N32 SLI MB
WD Raptor 74GB SATA 10,000 RPM HD

To do what?

I still need to decide, and need advice on:
1. Ram
2. Power supply
3. Case
4. Video card
5. DVD/CD drive
6. OS - Windows XP pro, probably in OEM version to keep the cost down,
along with an OEM of office.

How will you legally acquire those?

7. Sound card
8. Monitor

9. CPU - Why an X2 for a "high end" PC? Why not dual-core Opterons or 2 of
them?
10. HDs - Why only 1 Raptor? Why not 2 or 4 in RAID 1 or 10? Why not U320
SCSI, 15K RPM?

 

[Bob]

For a PC for gaming, handle work brought home from the office, surf the
net, and have a 3 to 5 year shelf life before the next upgrade.

I believe that as the system builder it is legal for me to buy and use
OEM hardware and software on the PC I am building. Newegg.com sells
OEM software and there are other retailers also.

Opterons might have been a better choice but when I checked AMD's
website they indicated they were targeted for workstations and servers.
Also, I haven't seen a lot of comments about people using them in
PC's. I did see a lot of comments about people who were very pleased
with their X2 PC's.

I'm considering adding another Raptor in RAID, but there seems to be
some debate on if this really increases the speed for the trouble, but
most agreed that their real speed gain was in using the Raptor.

 

[John Weiss]

For a PC for gaming, handle work brought home from the office, surf the
net, and have a 3 to 5 year shelf life before the next upgrade.

For gaming, clock speed seems to be the key, since few of them can take
advantage of a second CPU/core. If gaming is your main use, an FX-57 may be a
better option.

I believe that as the system builder it is legal for me to buy and use
OEM hardware and software on the PC I am building. Newegg.com sells
OEM software and there are other retailers also.

OK. I haven't read the OEM EULA, so I don't know how restrictive it is.

Opterons might have been a better choice but when I checked AMD's
website they indicated they were targeted for workstations and servers.
Also, I haven't seen a lot of comments about people using them in
PC's. I did see a lot of comments about people who were very pleased
with their X2 PC's.

The difference between "high end PC" and "workstation" is lost on me. Maybe
it's the difference between productivity/development and games...

My dual Opteron 246 rig works very well in the multitasking environment I
usually work in. If memory bandwidth is among your concerns, the Hypertransport
scheme in the dual Opteron setup is very helpful.

I'm considering adding another Raptor in RAID, but there seems to be
some debate on if this really increases the speed for the trouble, but
most agreed that their real speed gain was in using the Raptor.

RAID 0 is dangerous with Windows, but RAID 1, 5, and 10 are useful in varying
circumstances. Top performance will likely be gained in RAID 10 in SCSI U320 in
a 64-bit PCI-X slot. OTOH, a pair of Raptors in RAID 1 (my current
configuration) gives great performance and a measure of redundancy for a
reasonable cost; it is NOT a replacement for a good backup scheme, though.

 

[johns]

I'm testing a couple of systems that are primarily used for multi-media
and gaming.
Good Freaking Luck !!!! Just putting together stuff based on vendor
hype is going
to cost you a lot, and you won't get the box you were after. My first
sytem is an
AMD64 3000+ with an ATI 9800 Pro video card. It has been very good up
until
recently. Now with newer games, or with top settings in Far Cry, it is
having
problems with good FPS. It will run anything and looks fine ... just
dropping in
FPS. Also, I can't nudge up the settings in CoD2, or FEAR beyond
"medium".
However with the new Catalyst 5.11 driver, I have both running pretty
well, and they
look good on the medium settings at 1024 x 768 resolution. In that
system, I have
1 gig ddr400, and I'm getting ready to up it to 2 gig. Also, I'm
testing another
system .. a Dell 9100 .. that has a GF6800GT pci-e 16 video card ... to
see the
effect of a next generation video card in a PC that is roughly
equivalent to the
AMD64. Looks pretty good. The 6800 doesn't like the Very High settings
in Far
Cry, but the High settings look super good ??? Can't explain that
either. Also,
the 6800 doesn't like AA at all. This may be a driver problem, or it
may be
the 6800 doesn't need it. I'm just beginning to explore this. Right
now, I think I'm
going to get a very nice game box by just upping ram to 2 gig, and
buying
the 6800GT. That box will run state of the art games right now, and by
the
time the Game writers up their standards, I suspect something new will
be
on the market ... probably Xbox 370.
So, my advice is to be conservative in specing out a game box. I think
you
are really overdoing it, and much of it will not be upgradable. For
top gaming
performance, I recommend:
Gigabyte 929 mobo for the AMD64 .. single cpu That ASUS mobo is
garbage
and it will start rebooting on you in about 1 year
when the caps fail.
I like the nForce 4 chipset .. but I have the
nForce 3, and it is
very stable, and very compatible with the ATI
cards. If you get
into a VIA chipset, it will not run the ATI cards
very well at all.
2 gig ddr400 .. Kingston is OK, but have vendor put it in. Sometimes
K-ram
doesn't fit well.
Sony DVD / CDRW combo ... Plextor is overpriced, and no better.
Hitachi 160 gig SATA ... no RAID .. that is old DOS-era crap and
stupid.
Instead, use disk imaging ( split C: 60 D: 100 )
and then
back that up with external USB 160 gig to copy
off the images
and even a few direct copies of email, etc
Also, the Hitachi
has low latency, and moves data quick.
Antec case: There is just no excuse in anything else because the Antec
psupply
is a gamers psupply ... 350Watt has 21amps on
12v rail, and you
need that. And the side port will keep your cpu
cooler than any
other case. The aluminum box does not hold heat
either.
Viewsonic 4ms monitor: The 8ms is OK. The 4ms is better, but you might
not
like the aspect ratio. The 4ms is nearly square.
I like it ... now.
nVidia GF6800GT pci-e 16 ... is all the card you need for modern games.
It is
still pricey, but NewEgg puts it on sale every
few weeks. As for
dual video .. the new games are being written
impossible to win
in the sp-shooters, or they are a nuisance in
squad control. There
is really no reason to build a top end box to
do just that. You
are going to have to cut back on the game
difficulty to make it
playable at all. In CoD2, 64 Krauts shooting at
you is impossible
and you won't play the game. Having to occupy
6 bodies in a
squad game is equally stupid. The only reason
to have dual
video cards .. that I can see .. is if you buy
one of those wall-
size monitors that need 2 cards to create the
entire screen.
The industy is moving towards the Xboxes with
output to TV
monitors .. and the kids don't care about
crappy resolution.
So that makes the 2 video cards just media
hype.

johns

 

[DevilsPGD]

In message <[email protected]> "John Weiss"

To do what?

Be a computer?

How will you legally acquire those?

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=335900&Sku=M17-7502

You can be your own OEM... I can't say I'm familiar with Office's
licensing policy, I recommend OpenOffice and I use an Action Pack
provided Office 2003 license here (for $DAYJOB)

9. CPU - Why an X2 for a "high end" PC? Why not dual-core Opterons or 2 of
them?

Money. The cost:benefit ratio for a desktop user goes out the window.

10. HDs - Why only 1 Raptor? Why not 2 or 4 in RAID 1 or 10? Why not U320
SCSI, 15K RPM?

Money. The cost:benefit ratio for a desktop user goes out the window.

 

[Bob]

Thanks everyone for all your ideas!

I already got the Athlon 4800 and the Asus 32 SLI board and I'm hunting
down the rest of the gear.

Hopefully I will end with a system I like and can live with for a few
years.

I still remember squinting into my 4x4 Osborne screen till my eyes
burned! You gotta love all the choices we have these days compared to
what we had then.