PCMech Forums - View Single Post - Yet another virgin build awaits feedback... Thanks!

Tyger · 10-18-2005, 08:55 PM

Hey everyone. I've been doing research on the current hardware market for quite some time now, and finally the day for me to contribute to that market has come

However, opinion of a single person is always worthless, therefore I'm asking for your help in answering some questions (which I will give about specific components) and giving me all the feedback you see appropriate. Most of the performance I'm going to squeeze out of this rig will go games, but there are a ton of other things I plan to use it for; to sum up, I'd like to get an all-around (and upgradeable, to that end) pc, with games being somewhat a priority

So here goes the list:

M/B
Asus P5ND2-SLI Deluxe

CPU
Intel P4 820

RAM
Kingston KVR533D2N4K2/2G (DDR2 533 2x1G Non-ECC)

HDD
2x WD WD2500KS 250GB 7200rpm SATA II 300Mb/s 16MB
- I plan to make this a RAID 0 solution

GPU
Asus EN6600GT/HTD/256M

Audio
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic
- some problems with this one: any idea why this is the only model of the series not available in my area? I don't really the reason to pay extra ~80% for the 5.25" bay and the remote (i.e. Platinum)

O/D
Asus DRW-1608P

FDD
Sony FDD 1.44Mb

Chassis
Asus TA-250
- I've heard that CoolerMaster is a good thing... Is, for example, Cavalier 3 worth the 25% extra? (aside from looking cooler? )

PSU
Asus A-45GA
- I've no idea if this is the optimal choice, but if you've got any suggestions, (1) this is the most I can spend on a PSU, and (2) a lot of the best brands are not available here in Lithuania (yeah, it sucks, but you just have to live with it)

Speakers
Creative CREATIVE Inspire 5.1 T5900

UPS
APC BACK-UPS CS 650VA 230V
- I like the price of this baby, but it supports a maximum of 400W - is this OK with my 450W PSU?

Printer
Minolta PAGE PRO 1300W
- I know this is like the cheapest thing ever, but unless anyone can give me any major flaws on it, I'm not spending any more in this area

And one more question: maybe it is a better idea to nerf the RAM to 2x512 instead of 2x1024 and get a better graphics card (like 6800) for the difference? I'm going to go SLI at some point, but I'm afraid getting a 6600GT now might be to much of a limitation (like, how good can dual 6600GT be in a year or two?). On the other hand, the 3 GB RAM limit doesn't seem that bad, since most probably that P4 820 is here to stay

So here's my inquiry, maybe a bit lengthy one, but I really want to get this right. Thank you all in advance!

P.S. If you found you miss something, you are right, but I've already bought keyboard and mouse, and I'm going to reuse my current SyncMaster 757MB monitor (for now).

10-18-2005, 08:55 PM	#1
Tyger Member (4 bit) Join Date: May 2004 Location: Kaunas, Lithuania Posts: 14	Yet another virgin build awaits feedback... Thanks! Hey everyone. I've been doing research on the current hardware market for quite some time now, and finally the day for me to contribute to that market has come However, opinion of a single person is always worthless, therefore I'm asking for your help in answering some questions (which I will give about specific components) and giving me all the feedback you see appropriate. Most of the performance I'm going to squeeze out of this rig will go games, but there are a ton of other things I plan to use it for; to sum up, I'd like to get an all-around (and upgradeable, to that end) pc, with games being somewhat a priority So here goes the list: M/B Asus P5ND2-SLI Deluxe CPU Intel P4 820 RAM Kingston KVR533D2N4K2/2G (DDR2 533 2x1G Non-ECC) HDD 2x WD WD2500KS 250GB 7200rpm SATA II 300Mb/s 16MB - I plan to make this a RAID 0 solution GPU Asus EN6600GT/HTD/256M Audio Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic - some problems with this one: any idea why this is the only model of the series not available in my area? I don't really the reason to pay extra ~80% for the 5.25" bay and the remote (i.e. Platinum) O/D Asus DRW-1608P FDD Sony FDD 1.44Mb Chassis Asus TA-250 - I've heard that CoolerMaster is a good thing... Is, for example, Cavalier 3 worth the 25% extra? (aside from looking cooler? ) PSU Asus A-45GA - I've no idea if this is the optimal choice, but if you've got any suggestions, (1) this is the most I can spend on a PSU, and (2) a lot of the best brands are not available here in Lithuania (yeah, it sucks, but you just have to live with it) Speakers Creative CREATIVE Inspire 5.1 T5900 UPS APC BACK-UPS CS 650VA 230V - I like the price of this baby, but it supports a maximum of 400W - is this OK with my 450W PSU? Printer Minolta PAGE PRO 1300W - I know this is like the cheapest thing ever, but unless anyone can give me any major flaws on it, I'm not spending any more in this area And one more question: maybe it is a better idea to nerf the RAM to 2x512 instead of 2x1024 and get a better graphics card (like 6800) for the difference? I'm going to go SLI at some point, but I'm afraid getting a 6600GT now might be to much of a limitation (like, how good can dual 6600GT be in a year or two?). On the other hand, the 3 GB RAM limit doesn't seem that bad, since most probably that P4 820 is here to stay So here's my inquiry, maybe a bit lengthy one, but I really want to get this right. Thank you all in advance! P.S. If you found you miss something, you are right, but I've already bought keyboard and mouse, and I'm going to reuse my current SyncMaster 757MB monitor (for now).