New 2500$ Gaming...Hows she look?

[comp615]

Hey just wanted to run a few things by you on this new gaming rig! It looks killer and I can't wait to get cracking at it but I wanna be extra sure it'll be all it can be. Here's the list:

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 ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI X16 ATX SAPPHIRE 100150 Radeon X1900XTX 512MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ Toledo 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Dual Core Processor CORSAIR XMS 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) SONY Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive Windows 98SE/ ME/ 2000/ XP - OEM Western Digital Raptor WD740GD 74GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM Western Digital Caviar SE WD2500JS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM SONY Black IDE DVD-ROM Drive Model DDU1615/B2s - OEM ASUS Black IDE DVD Burner 2X DVD-RAM Read Model DRW-1608P2 BK - Retail Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card

My concerns were a few things. First, the power supply...will 450w be enough? And also it's atx 2.0...is that good? What do I need to do since I (think) the mobo is ATX 1.

Also video card....is it worth the 50$ to just get the ATI version?

What else any other ideas on this monster!? Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it as always!

[jfk]

I would get a more powerful PSU. The X1900XTX recommends at LEAST a 450 watt PSU. Better to be safe. Yes, you will need an ATX 2.0 PSU for that 939/PCIE socket system. Why get a SLI board when you won't use it? If you want a single card solution, look to the A8N-E instead and save the dollars. If you decide you WANT to be able to use dual vid cards, either buy a NVIDIA vid card for that board or buy a Crossfire capable mobo to be able to use the ATI cards. The rest looks good, though I'd substitute the Sony DVD ROM for a ASUS or Lite On, but that's personal preference.

[comp615]

Ok...I will look at either changing the case or adding power...the main draw for the case was the included high quality power...

Also, on the A8N-E...is there something similar to that with firewire? Also, I liked the gaming life crap 8 phase power et all...but thats prolly just some advertising draw huh? Let me know if there is another good board...otherwise I might just toss in a pci express connecter...

Also if I'm saving that 100+ bucks is there anything else you'd recommend putting it on? 2 GB RAM? FX-59? Other?

[nicolaus corelius]

u could get a firewire card. if u like the extras on the mobo get it, for 50+ bucks its worth it for a build like urs. if u want to go crossfire (thats ATI's version of dual graphic cards) u can get this mobo- which is a high end also

[fatmanforlife99]

add a gig of that xms memory

[jayb1234]

Antec has several cases without power supplies that you could drop a 550 Watt Antec PSU into for a good combination.

[comp615]

Ok I found a better antec (500W) and swaped mobo's and added 1g o ram..heres the new list!

Antec Performance TX Black Steel Server Case 500W ATX12V v2.0 Black Floppy Drive WD Raptor 74GB 10,000RPM über fast Serial ATA 1.0 Drive 0em SAPPHIRE Radeon X1900XTX 512MB GDDR3 PCI-X16 SONY Black IDE DVD-ROM 16x WD Caviar SE 250GB Serial ATA 2.0 7200RPM HD AMD Athlon X2 4800+ 2 GB Corsair 3200 Matched Dual Channel RAM (231$) Creative Sound Blaster X-FI A8R-MVP Mobo ASUS 16x Dual Layer DVD+/-RW Black

[FireByyrd]

If you really want fast hard drives, use a 150 raptor along with the other drives then theres truly a high end PC there

[nicolaus corelius]

actually, they had some pretty negative reviews for the asus model. i suggest u look into these other two mobos

[spartan015]

Originally Posted by FireByyrd If you really want fast hard drives, use a 150 raptor along with the other drives then theres truly a high end PC there

why tho? like my friend has a 74gb and he barely has it full, i mean all he puts on is OS, games.. thats it. nothing else no storage cuz he has a 2x 250gb SATA (vid editing and music lmao)

[nicolaus corelius]

besides the capacity the 150 gig is actually much substancially faster than the 74 gig model. i think thats what he meant to say

[tomster2300]

Did all that really cost you $2500? I guess the video card is what drove up the price, huh? (since it's top of the line and 512 mb). Now you need a mouse, keyboard, speakers, and monitor. If you have any extra cash then I suggest getting a surround sound system from logitech (like my Z-5300e's or the digital Z-5500s) since you're already getting a nice sound card. The digital ones should run you just over $200. I haven't checked in awhile so I'm sure they have an even newer set out by now. Either way, I'd recommend getting one if you're truely going to game (even a different brand perhaps)

http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/pr...categoryid=422

[kevinf]

for the motherboard, the msi k8n neo 4 platinum would be a good choice at least in my opinion, there has been no problems for me so far.

[jayb1234]

Don't forget to order an Operating System, and you are likely to need a floppy drive at some point in the setup.

[Stuey]

Since you're putting in a considerable amount of money, I also suggest that you get 2 gigs of ram instead of 1. I'd suggest that you take a look at the Antec P160 or P180, and think about adding in a 550W TruePower II series PSU. However, that will add slightly to the cost.

[tomster2300]

If you're on a network or have a cd-burner then floppies are essentially worthless in a gaming computer. Most retail computers don't even include them these days anyway. But again, it's all personal preference, and they are dirt cheap.

[barch 88]

Originally Posted by tomster2300 If you're on a network or have a cd-burner then floppies are essentially worthless in a gaming computer. Most retail computers don't even include them these days anyway. But again, it's all personal preference, and they are dirt cheap.

He would need one if he is setting up his RAID Drives and Controller.

[Stuey]

Only if it's for the initial Windows Setup when the SATA is not natively supported though, right? After that he can install the drivers and install the array(s).

I don't think that with his budget he's going to start off with several Raid arrays where he'd need the drivers.

[RazorDX]

The only thing I've needed my floppy for in the past two years would be my network drivers, but I've put them on my flash drive and haven't touched a floppy drive since.

[tomster2300]

Well, I don't have Raid, but I also don't have a floppy drive and haven't had to use one in the last three years. I didn't know that about Raid.

[nicolaus corelius]

i used only for Abbyy Lingvo installation

[comp615]

Sorry forgot to put those in the new list but yes Windows XP and Floppy and 2 GB of ram are included in the price...


Is it even worth it to get crossfire? I dont think that theres any point since people clearly dislike it and he probably wont add another video card anyways. What would be a good board Asus or MSI, preferablly with firewire in the 100-140 range then?

[spartan015]

no crossfire is somewhat unstable tech, since if u get the 1900 meaning u have to get the crossfire version too (one crossfire board and one crossfire ready board) sooo really expensive... go sli, more effiecent since the brigde is inside the comp not outside using wires. or single x1900 that thing is powerful, an overclocked x1800xt beat sli 7800gtx (stock speed)

[628]

a lite-on drive may be cheaper and higher quality.

[tomster2300]

Crossfire isn't as a mature product as SLI currently is. Give it time and ATI will get the kinks worked out.

[barch 88]

^^^ I agree.

If you want a good SLI board go with the new MSI Diamond Plus.