Critique my build

[Mac Cool]

Asus M2NPV-VM $84
Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Retail (Socket AM2) $66
1GB DDR2-667 $49
Onboard Video $0
Onboard Sound $0
Western Digital Caviar SE 200GB (WD2000JS) 3.0 Gb/s $60
Antec Sonata II (with 450W SmartPower 2.0 PSU) $88
Hanns-G JW-199DPB 19" LCD $170
=================================
Total $515.00

Add Later = GeForce 8600 GT $106

I'm trying to keep the price down. I want a cheap computer but not cheap
parts. I need easy access USB ports on front, quiet is king but I gotta
keep the price down. An Antec P180 would be nice but it's high for the
budget. Suggestions welcome, especially on the monitor, case and MB.

 

[Paul]

Asus M2NPV-VM $84
Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Retail (Socket AM2) $66
1GB DDR2-667 $49
Onboard Video $0
Onboard Sound $0
Western Digital Caviar SE 200GB (WD2000JS) 3.0 Gb/s $60
Antec Sonata II (with 450W SmartPower 2.0 PSU) $88
Hanns-G JW-199DPB 19" LCD $170
=================================
Total $515.00

Add Later = GeForce 8600 GT $106

I'm trying to keep the price down. I want a cheap computer but not cheap
parts. I need easy access USB ports on front, quiet is king but I gotta
keep the price down. An Antec P180 would be nice but it's high for the
budget. Suggestions welcome, especially on the monitor, case and MB.

In the reviews here, they mention chipset temperatures as an issue.
And the kicker, for the Southbridge is, there are no screw holes
to allow using an aftermarket cooler. If you wanted temperature
reduction, you'd have to point a good sized fan towards the top of the
bare chip.

Also, one reviewer reports the DVI-D needs a resistor soldered to it,
to be able to detect a monitor connected to it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16813131014

I really don't know what else to suggest. I spent about 10 minutes
looking through some other Newegg reviews, and didn't spot a winner.

Actually, this MSI K9VGM-V is cheaper. But the built-in graphics
would suck for games, so if you get this, might as well get the
8600GT in the same order.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130542

In the reviews for that board, there are still two reports that
the Northbridge runs hot. But with that heatsink, you have a couple
possibilities. You could try mounting a 40mm fan on top of the existing
heatsink. Or, since the heatsink has push pins (squeeze the tip together
with pliers, on the solder side of the motherboard), you could remove the
heatsink and install an aftermarket unit.

Swiftech MCX159-CU $32
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16835108072
http://www.swiftnets.com/products/mcx159-CU.asp

Thermalright HR-05 $20 (fanless, but a fan can be attached if needed)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835109128
http://www.thermalright.com/a_page/main_support_installation_hr05_cliptypes.htm

Paul

 

[Mac Cool]

Paul:

In the reviews here, they mention chipset temperatures as an issue.
And the kicker, for the Southbridge is, there are no screw holes
to allow using an aftermarket cooler. If you wanted temperature
reduction, you'd have to point a good sized fan towards the top of
the bare chip.

Thanks for looking things over, it was very helpful.

 

[Mac Cool]

I was going to build an upgrade computer using the Athlon 64 X2 3800+
Retail (Socket AM2) but after looking at some benchmarks the X2s aren't
much improvement over my P4 2.53. I would save money with AMD but only get
a very minimal performance increase, looks like I need to stick with
intel. FYI, I use the machine mostly for ripping, encoding and
multitasking with 6-8 tasks at a time.

 

[jameshanley39]

I was going to build an upgrade computer using the Athlon 64 X2 3800+
Retail (Socket AM2) but after looking at some benchmarks the X2s aren't
much improvement over my P4 2.53. I would save money with AMD but only get
a very minimal performance increase, looks like I need to stick with
intel. FYI, I use the machine mostly for ripping, encoding and
multitasking with 6-8 tasks at a time.

Link to the sites with the benchmarks. They may be useful for
people.

i could give you the benefit of the doubt and presume that you're new
to usenet, and not selfish.

 

[Mac Cool]

(e-mail address removed):

Link to the sites with the benchmarks. They may be useful for
people.

i could give you the benefit of the doubt and presume that you're new
to usenet, and not selfish.

Guess I'll have to be selfish then. I believe they were old benchmarks on
Xbit Labs but I don't have the link handy.

Do you have some experience comparing P4 with X2 concerning multimedia?

 

[Same Guy]

(e-mail address removed):


Guess I'll have to be selfish then. I believe they were old benchmarks on
Xbit Labs but I don't have the link handy.

Do you have some experience comparing P4 with X2 concerning multimedia?

What aspect of multimedia?

I have the Opteron 185 which I have heard is similar to the X2 and I
find it to be much faster than the P4 it just replaced. I base this on
the time it takes to compress *.flac files which has been halved. I
would assume rendering XviD from DVD sources to be much faster as well
based upon this experience.


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