Time has come

[joeydtx]

I have come here before playing with my idea of a new system to build to succeed my current pc, one I am extremely proud of in going into its 6th year of operation. Time has finally gained a hand in playing my PC games to where a couple I which to play my system cannot handle... primarily because of my Nvidia Geforce 4200ti. They games I do play (WoW, FFXI) are showing signs of sluggishness and now with some tired like noises from it retirement for this old gal has finally come to earn some rest as a browsing PC.

So here are some questions.

AMD is my only choice in the matter, so ..

1) Socket 939 or AM2 board type? From what I know the Crosshair is the AMD gaming board of choice, just not sure if I wanna do 220ish. Any other recommendations are welcome.
2) To SLi or not to SLi, what are the pros and cons, and can anything benefit yet? (Nvidia fan btw)
3)Vista is looking great, but should I be worried about using it?

Ill leave these for now, I think for now the most impotrant things that I find hard to decide are a board and the case/power supply to go with it so any help is appreciated!

~JD

[joeydtx]

Just by researching, how is this looking to you guys, aside from the questions?

Board:
ASUS
ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 Motherboard - Retail 139.99

Processor:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+ Windsor 2.6GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM2 Processor - Retail 139.99

Hard Drive:
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM 69.99 (One for now, second later on)

Memory:
Crucial Ballistix 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail 133.99 (2nd set later on)

Case:
APEVIA X-CRUISER-BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail 69.99

Power Supply:
Rosewill RP550-2 ATX 2.01 550W Power Supply 115/230 V CSA, CB, TUV, FCC, UL - Retail 54.99

Operating System:
Microsoft Windows XP Professional With SP2B 1 Pack - OEM 139.99
-------or-------
Microsoft Windows Vista 32-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack DVD - OEM 111.99


Video Card:
PNY VCG86GTSXPB GeForce 8600GTS 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail 199.99 (2x? Pending SLi answer)

= 948.92 + tax&shipping

JD

[Zero Tolerance]

sounds like you have a good selection there.

I dont know if I would buy a gig of ram in the form of 2x512 but rather 1 gig singles. Just so you can upgrade easier...but its not a big deal either way.

The hard drive looks like where you have skimped the most. And I see alot of people skimp on hard drives when they should be really shopping for the best drive that they can afford. Afterall that is where all of your data is going to be and you dont want to look at bargain basement drives unless you are building in redundancy in the form of an array.

I also would go with XP SP2 over Vista at the moment. IMO Vista wont be worth loading AT LEAST until the 1st service pack....or quite possibly even the 2nd. At least with XP you know you have a working stable platform that will work with ALL hardware that is out there.

As far as SLI goes. If you can afford it...go for it. I run 2 cards in SLI and love it for gaming. For general desktop apps its overkill though. So depending on what you are going to do primarily with the rig will be the deciding factor on if SLI is for you or not.

I have the A8N Deluxe and SLI on the Deluxe series boards works flawlessly...at least on mine it does. So if that is why you are skeptical...then dont be.

[bufordt]

Skip the Vista for the time being and sink that savings into a really fast hard drive. And bump it up to two gigs of ram, you won't be sorry. Then after you get all of the bugs worked out, your setup will be Vista ready. I have used Vista on systems with 1GB of ram and they are pathetically slow. Think Windows 95A on a 286 slow. You need 2GB onboard to really start appreciating Vista.

[vantim]

Joeydtx:

I am currently building my dream system, and like yourself.... AMD is the only option. I build gaming systems as a side living and keep up with all the news. So here is what I recomend you do...

1. Socket AM2 is the choice you want. 939 is now a dead processor, so there is no compelling reason to build one. The way it's going to be with AMD is the FX series are the dual processor Quad Core boards. The X2 dual core, and eventually quad core lineup will stay with the AM2 socket for now and through the end of the year (at least.)

2. SLI or Not! This is a tough one. If you got the cash, then go for it. I'm going for it with a pair of 8800 GTX's. I'm starting with one and will add a second one later. Just make sure you get a motherboard to support it. Whether it be an Nvidia Based Board or A crossfire setup. Either one is good. Remember, not all games (most of them actually) do not take advantage of SLI setups. So this is purely a luxury and definitely has bragging rights.

3. RAM: Zero Tolerance is absolutely correct. Go for the gig of ram in a single stick. 1 Gig is just about the minimum you want now adays. 2 or 3 Gig is where you'll want to be when you do install Vista.

4. Hard Drives: A good sized 7200 rpm sata II drive will be sufficient. I'm opting for a 10000 rpm raptor for the OS, and a pair of 7200 rpm 750GB Maxtors to do storage duty.

5. OS: Stick with XP SP2. It's stable and runs games faster. The only compelling reason to make the switch to Vista is to run Direct X 10 games. And guess what??? There are only a couple of them out there. Not to mention Vista is just down right shaky right now. In 3 to 6 months, they should smooth everything out, but until then, take my advice and stay with XP. If you do install vista I would say do a dual boot setup with XP. Another thing with Vista is the Nvidia SLI drivers are very slow and buggy right now.

6. If you are going to go SLI, I would recommend a bigger and better power supply. Maybe one from Enermax, PC Power and Cooling, Tagen or Coolermaster . I wouldn't get anything under 650 watts. Also make sure they are SLI Certified. Check Nvidia's website for some good info on choosing a good PSU. Most people tend to overlook and scimp on the the PSU, but in a gaming rig, it is one of the most important ingredients to keep everything stable. You want the best one you can afford.

If you're interested in my project, here is the link: http://www.cpurigs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3608

[vantim]

Think Windows 95A on a 286 slow. You need 2GB onboard to really start appreciating Vista.


WHEW!!! That's downright painful. I know it's bad, but I would at least say a 486sx. I remember my IBM PS2 which was a 486 sx (no math coprocessor for all you youngens out there) at 25MHZ and 4 mbs of ram and a 1MB cirrus logic video card. Win95 really chugged along on that system. I never put myself through the agony of installing it on a 286. I've seen it on a 386, but once again, I wouldn't torture myself like that.

[vantim]

BTW... Just to let you all know. My AthlonXP 3000 machine with 1 gig of ram, and an Nvidia 6600 is dual booting Vista Ultimate and XP. Vista runs ok at best. Games just do not work on it. It's slow and sometimes just locks up. If I launch Internet Explorer on that machine, Vista will revert my desktop from Aeroglass to the standard because it's just not enough processor and memory to handle the OS. On the other hand, I'm able to run Doom 3 and Quake 4 in XP on that machine without trouble.

Expect a 30 to 40***37; drop in gaming performance when running Vista instead of XP. Even the newest Intel Quad Core setups experience a 10 to 15% hit.

[joeydtx]

Ok so XP2 pro it is. Better HD, up the ram to 1g sticks, better power supply (should have known this) and up the card one more level. What about the case, is it good or look into something else. Btw all these items are off newegg so they are easy to find. My gut is also telling me to go with the crossfire lol. Price isnt the issue, but the more I pay the longer it will take to buy the parts but I want this system to sing when I hit the power button when I load her up.

Vantim, if it is okay to ask what was the average price you paid for yours?

JD

[Zero Tolerance]

If you are gonna go SLI you should buy your video cards in a pair.

There have been many issues with SLI when you try and mix and match vendors and even different versions of the same model from the same vendor.

So make the decision to go SLI or not up front and just fork the cash out. Else you could be one of those that have SLI issues because the 2 cards are conflicting one another.

I havent kept up with SLI in the newest boards. I built my box about a year ago now and at that time mixing video cards was a big NO-NO

just my .02's

[vantim]

They've changed the rules on that. You can now use different video cards as long as they have the same core.

[Zero Tolerance]

They've changed the rules on that. You can now use different video cards as long as they have the same core.

Good to know that...thanks.

Is this change across the board or just the newest mobo's? Are there BIOS flashes for older boards that were constrained to the old rule of thumb?

Would be a good thing to know because I have a friend that bought a first generation A8N (the one where you have to actually flip the SIM chip to get into SLI mode) that had so many problems with SLI he just took the 2nd vid card out and said heck with it.

He bought one card..then months later a 2nd card. They were the same model...but from 2 different mfgrs. He never got it working.

Then his first card went bad and they refunded the money on it so he bought another card like the 2nd...just a different mfgr date(and BIOS version) and it didnt work right either.

Anyway....thanks for clearing that up. :)

[joeydtx]

Okay guys sorry for the late response but thankful for the input from you guys. I have made revisions per suggestions from you guys and other gaming friends from WoW and rl friends. My one suggestion was to not go SLi since I only will use one nice card, but not sure if I should or shouldn't and keep the option open. Anyhow, this is the new concept.

Board:
ASUS
ASUS CROSSHAIR Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 590 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail 239.99
Processor:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+(65W) Windsor 2.4GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 Processor - Retail 119.99

Hard Drive:
Western Digital Caviar RE2 WD5000YS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM 154.99

Memory:
CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail 159.00

Case:
COOLER MASTER Mystique RC-632-SWN1-GP Silver Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail 129.99

Power Supply:
Antec True Power Trio TP3-650 ATX12V 650W Power Supply with Three 12V Rails 100 - 240 V UL, CUL, FCC, TUV, CE, C-tick, CCC, CB - Retail 129.99

Operating System:
Microsoft Windows XP Professional With SP2B 1 Pack - OEM 139.99

Video Card:
PNY VCG88GTS32XPB GeForce 8800GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail 269.99

= 1,343.93 + tax&shipping

+400 to the total base cost, but should be worth it I think.

~JD

[vantim]

I think you should definitely look to keep that option. Just watch the video card market and when you can swing it, get another card like you have now. Good Luck. That'll be a nice machine.

You've left yourself room for some more future upgrades in that machine. That is actually good thinking. You'll have plenty of room for processor, ram, hard drive and video power.