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01-04-2006, 09:00 PM
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#1 |
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Member (3 bit)
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 7
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My Second PC Build - Comments/Suggestions
My First PC Built in 2001
Antec SX1040 + PP412X PSU Asus A7V133 VIA Apollo KT133A W/O Audio Retail AMD T-Bird 1.2GHz 266FSB Retail Crucial 256 SDRAM 133 CL2 ATI Radeon 64MB DDR 4X AGP VIVO Retail MITSUMI Floppy Drive 1.44MB 3.5inch IBM Desktar 60GXP 40GB ATA100 7200 RPM OEM Aopen DVD 1240 12X/40X Retail Hercules Game Theater XP Sound Card Sunon 80MM Case Fans (2) Total cost without shipping/tax: $949 First PC Upgraded Components Between 2001 and 2003 Plextor CD-R W2410A Plextor DVD-R 708A Western Digital 80GB ATA100 7200 RPM OEM Nvidia GeForce Ti 4200 128MB (ATI Radeon Replacement) Second PC Build 2006 Antec LifeStyle SONATA II Piano Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 450Watt SmartPower 2.0 ATX 12V V2.0 for AMD & Intel systems Power Supply - Retail Model #: SONATA II $99 (01/03/2006) MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail Model #: K8N NEO4 Platinum $126 (01/03/2006) AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3200BPBOX - Retail Model #: ADA3200BPBOX $167 (01/03/2006) Crucial 512MB PC3200 DDR 400 CT6464Z40B $63.99 (01/03/2006) QUANTITY: 2 CRUCIAL.COM CHAINTECH SE6600G Geforce 6600GT 128MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail Model #: SE6600G $125.99 (01/03/2006) MITSUMI Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive - OEM Model #: D359M3D/D359M3B $7.99 (01/03/2006) Western Digital Caviar SE WD2500JD 250GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM Model #: WD2500JD $99 (01/03/2006) QUANTITY: 2 LITE-ON Black IDE DVD-ROM Drive Model SOHD-16P9SV - Retail Model #: SOHD-16P9SV $19.99 (01/03/2006) Creative Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS SB0350 8 (7.1) Channels PCI Interface Sound Card - OEM Model #: 30SB035000000 $72 (01/03/2006) Thermaltake Silent 939 K8 cl-p0200 $29.99 (01/03/2006) AMAZON.COM Total cost without shipping/tax: $974 I'm building a gaming machine, subject to future upgrades, with a budget of $1000 or less. Please advise for comments and suggestions on this system. TIA! |
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01-04-2006, 09:04 PM
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#2 |
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Member (12 bit)
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Illinois
Posts: 3,557
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Looks good to me. I just finished a build using that Antec case, Only problem I had with it is the SATA power cables from the PSU are a little short. I had to use a SATA to Molex connector to install the second SATA HDD.
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01-04-2006, 09:06 PM
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#3 |
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Member (7 bit)
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 72
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consider Dual Channel RAM?
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01-04-2006, 10:06 PM
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#4 |
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Member (5 bit)
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: sac,california
Posts: 17
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ya i agree with flattius
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01-07-2006, 01:47 PM
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#5 |
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Member (3 bit)
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 7
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Here's the update (changed items are in blue) for further comments and suggestions:
For the Antec Sonata II, which brand for the case fans would you recommend for the following: a. 1 front 120mm case fan (optional) 25mm thick, b. 1 92mm fan (optional) in the air duct to cool the CPU, c. 1 80mm fan (optional) for graphics cards? For the Antec Sonata II, how is the 1 rear 120mm Tricool fan (standard) with 3-speed control to balance quiet with cooling? Is the 450Watt sufficient for the current configurations and future upgrades? Which of the following is the better budget buy:
Due to budget blow, would would you recommend 1 x 1 GB system memory and 2 x 250 GB HDD or 2 x 1 GB system memory and 1 x 250 GB HDD? A safe assumption can be made that the investment in Geforce 6800GS 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express will last for another three years. I have Plextor CD-R (2001) and Plextor DVD-R (2003) on the first built PC (2001), both beige colors. What is the opinion on the Plextor DVD-R PX-740A/SW-BL? What is the performance benefit for Plextor DVD-R between 2 MB cache (PX-740A/SW-BL) and 8MB cache (PX-716AL/SW)? Thank you for the excellent feedbacks! . |
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01-07-2006, 04:24 PM
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#6 |
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Wx geek
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Indiana
Posts: 6,638
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You'll want to get a dual channel kit to ensure dual channel compatibility.
Here's something to consider: Get one gig of RAM for now (2 x 512MB) and put the money into a faster CPU (like the 3500+ or 3700+) and put another gig in down the road. It'd be cheaper to add more RAM than to swap in a faster CPU down the road.
__________________
"It is the way of man to make monsters and it is the nature of monsters to destroy their makers." |
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01-08-2006, 10:06 PM
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#7 |
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Member (3 bit)
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 7
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After some research, here's the update (changed items are in blue) for further comments and suggestions:
Antec LifeStyle SONATA II Piano Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 450Watt SmartPower 2.0 ATX 12V V2.0 for AMD & Intel systems Power Supply - Retail Model #: SONATA II $99 (01/07/2006) MSI K8N Neo4-F Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail Model #: K8N Neo4-F $80 (01/07/2006) AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3700BNBOX - Retail Model #: ADA3700BNBOX $222 (01/08/2006) Crucial 1GB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered System Memory Model CT12864Z40B - OEM Model #: CT12864Z40B $89.99 (01/07/2006) eVGA 256-P2-N515-AX Geforce 7800GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Desktop PC - Retail Model #: 256-P2-N515-AX $304 (01/08/2006) MITSUMI Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive - OEM Model #: D359M3D/D359M3B $7.99 (01/03/2006) Western Digital Caviar SE WD2500JD 250GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM Model #: WD2500JD $98 (01/07/2006) LITE-ON Black IDE DVD-ROM Drive Model SOHD-16P9SV - Retail Model #: SOHD-16P9SV $20.99 (01/07/2006) Total cost without shipping/tax: $922 In the favor of AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego and eVGA Geforce 7800GT, an additional 250GB HDD and Plextor DVD Burner has been removed from the build list. There is a great dilemma between the fiscal struggle of 1GB or 2GB system ram due to the PC build budget of $1000 or less. With the current configurations (subject to installation of existing or new DVD burner at later date), is the 450W sufficient, especially the 7800GT requires a minimum of 450W? If not, would you recommend the following (the former built system is in Antec SX1040, heavy yet noisy): Antec PERFORMANCE TX TX1050B Black Steel Server Computer Case 500W ATX12V v2.0 Power Supply - Retail Model #: TX1050B $124.99 (01/08/2006) With the above configuration in mind, which ATX case with PSU (perhaps 500W +) would you recommend that is super cool in terms of temperature and super quiet in terms of noise level? What are the temperature and heat issues for AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego and eVGA Geforce 7800GT? To avoid unknown potential problems, would you recommend to partition the 250GB HDD into 50GB (OS: XP) + 100GB + 100GB? I hope the above configuration as game machine will last for another three years, subject to graphics card upgrade.... Thank you for the excellent feedbacks! . |
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01-08-2006, 10:32 PM
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#8 |
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Member (7 bit)
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 72
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due check this out here is the system i am building and its so similar to yours its kinda scary!
MSI K8NNeo4 Platinum Socket 939 Motherboard AMD Athlon 64 3700+ (SanDiego) Socket 939 BOXED Seagate 300GB Serial ATA HD 7200/8MB/S-ATA-150 Corsair 2048MB PC3200 DDR 400MHz (2 x 1024MB) NEC ND-3550 Beige 16x DVD Burner in Retail Box eVGA GeForce 7800 GT CO / 256MB GDDR3 / PCI Express / SLI / Dual DVI / VIVO / Video Card ANTEC 450w PSU ATX 2.0 Freaky huh?! |
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01-09-2006, 12:12 PM
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#9 |
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Member (3 bit)
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 7
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Truly freaky... Competition, eh?
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01-09-2006, 02:57 PM
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#10 |
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Member (9 bit)
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 282
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in terms of the plextor dvd burner, you could pick up a lite-on for half the price ($40) and still have a nice burner. i have one and i like it, except when it revs up to full speed it is kinda loud, though all dvd-rw's may be I only have experience with this one. I would get 2x512 ddr as it will be sufficient right now, and as blue said you can easily add RAM later without much hassle at all.
I don't have a lot of partitioning experience but I don't think you need 50gb for your system partition, 20 should be enough unless you are loading tons of games and programs on that same partition. |
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01-11-2006, 07:41 AM
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#11 |
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Member (3 bit)
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 7
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Louds3,
How is your experience with Asus A8N-SLI? Model? Is it worth getting motherboard that has two PCI-E 16x slots? How can one use two graphics cards (double power) installed on SLI motherboard on one monitor D-SUB or DVI? Thanks! |
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01-11-2006, 03:37 PM
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#12 |
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Member (9 bit)
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 282
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My experience with the A8N-sli has been very good so far, been running rock solid for a few weeks now (got it for christmas). My only complaint would be that the chipset fan is kinda loud. If you can swing the extra bucks for the one with the heatsink on the chipset, i would go for it, but it's not a necessity.
Using two video cards in SLi mode does not actually "double" the power of you gaming ability, but it does offer a nice step up in performance. tomshardware.com has some benchmarks that show the difference between one card and two in sli. You already have a nice card there, so it would be useful in like a year maybe to add a second one when the price drops or if you start to feel like your video card is holding you back. You only need one monitor, as the motherboard has features that allow you to use one monitor while using both cards (there's like a little bridge connector device and a little card on the motherboard that you reverse the direction of when you get the second card). Also, even if you never get two cards for Sli, you can still use the pci-e16x slot as it is backwards compatible with pci-e x4 and x1. steve |
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01-28-2006, 06:15 PM
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#13 |
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Member (3 bit)
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 7
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The rear I/O panel (keyboard/mouse/printer port/usbs/linein/etc) of the Asus A8N Premium SLI motherboard does not match the rear I/O panel of the Antec Sonata II case. Should I break the metallic covering of the rear I/O panel on the Sonata II case? Any warranty issue on this case if broken? Recommendations? TIA!
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01-28-2006, 06:28 PM
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#14 |
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Staff
Premium Member
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Doncaster, UK
Posts: 3,563
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Your motherboard will have come with a replacement I/O shield, since there are many variations. Just push out the pre-installed one, and snap in the new one.
No warrenty issues in doing this. Freakitchen
__________________
-FK- "Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw, The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die, We shall not sleep, though poppies grow, In Flanders fields." - John McCrae, May 1915 |
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01-29-2006, 10:49 PM
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#15 |
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Member (3 bit)
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 7
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Thanks for the quick solution to the I/O panel issue.
Are the following connections safe and sound from Antec Sonata II PSU to the Asus A8N SLI Premium motherboard: * 3-pin (small) cable from PSU to the power fan on the motherboard * 4-pin (square) cable from PSU to the ATX12V on the motherboard * 20-pin and 4-pin (bundled together) cable from PSU to EATXPWR1 (24-pin) on the motherboard Thanks again. |
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01-30-2006, 05:43 AM
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#16 |
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Staff
Premium Member
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Doncaster, UK
Posts: 3,563
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All those are fine. Keep in mind Antec's warning about the monitoring of the power supply fan via the small 3 pin. Sometimes, because that fan spins so slowly, an error report can be generated by fan/temperature monitoring software. Since that fan is thermally controlled, there's nothing to worry about.
Freakitchen |
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