Need Insight on new PC System

[PILOT]

Hi all,

I found a deal on the following new PC, want to know what you all think if you'd be so kind.

Specs:
** DISREGARD this system, I posted a new custom system below...

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+ (AM2)
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-M55SLI-S4 AM2 MAINBOARD 2000MHZ FSB
4GB DDR2 PC5400 240PIN 667FSB
GeForce nVIDIA 7600GS 512MB (SLI/HD/TV/DVI)
320GB SERIAL ATA 7200 RPM
6-Channel nVidia SoundStorm APU
- No operating system, but I'll probably just grab a cheap XP Home.

EDIT: 650 Watt Powersupply

I will be able to get it for about $1500 USD
What do you guys think?

I am fed up with my Sony PC giving me 15 FPS on BF2142.

Thanks in advance, any input would be appreciated. I'm by no means a computer guru.

[sordavie]

Go for less Ram and a better video card. Is there any reason why you're going to go with AMD rather than an Intel Core 2 Duo? The Core 2 Duo's are better than the AMD X2s. Power supply?

I built my PC around Sept/Oct of this year:

Intel Core 2 Duo E6400+Thermaltake heatsink/fan
ASUS P5N-SLI MB socket 775
2GB RAM
Geforce 7900GS
320GB HD
Soundblaster audigy 4
MSI 550 watt power supply
Case and DVD drives

I spent about $850.

With a budget of $1500 you could easily get a Geforce 8800 with a set up like mine, and you'll get a PC with much better performance than one with the components you've listed.

[PILOT]

Thanks for the input! This system is on eBay, and is somewhat limited to customization. The 4GB of ram really stood out.

Newegg.com seems to be a good spot. I built the EXACT same PC, and it came out to be a few bucks cheaper than what the seller on eBay has it going for. If I go with Newegg, I can cut out some RAM, get a better vid card and mobo (one that will support future quad sli or processors, or whatever you call it!).

So Intel Core Duo beats AMD X2 eh? Interesting, I may have to tweak the shopping cart a wee bit now.

AHHH! I just noticed that Newegg does not ship to Canada. Any Canadians have a similar site they use?

[PILOT]

PLEASE REVIEW THE SYSTEM IN THIS POST

In the meantime, who recommends water cooling? Im trying to eliminate dust form the internals, we use wood heat here so dust isn't a stranger.

----------------------
New System
----------------------
Processor:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6700

Mobo:
Asus P5NSLI Socket 775 nVidia nForce 570 SLI Intel Edition Chipset Dual-Channel DDR2 533/667 Gigabit Lan 6-Channel SoundMax Audio Dual PCI-Express Graphics Slots SLI Ready Support Intel Core 2 Duo Processor

Vid Card:
XFX GeForce 7900 GS (480MHz) 256MB GDDR3 (1.4GHz) RoHS ExTreme PCI-Express Graphic Card

HDD:
Western Digital (WD3200KS) Caviar 320GB SATAII 7200RPM 16MB Buffer (OEM)

RAM:
Corsair DDR2 PC2-5400 667MHz Value Select 2GB KIT (2X1024MB) 240-pin Unbuffered DIMM (VS2GBKIT667D2)

Case:
No idea/undecided - something fairly cheap, yet effective

Optical Drives:
DVD+R/RW 18x - undecided yet
DVD-ROM - undecided

Power Supply:
Thermaltake Silent PurePower W01129RU 600W SLI/Cross-Fire ATX 12V 2.2 version.

Cooling:
CPU Fan - Cooler Master Eclipse CPU Fan
Water Cooling? Need to do more research...

[sordavie]

Get a case that has filters on the intake fans. I'm not sure that watercooling will eliminate dust, since air still moves through your case due to the power supply. But, I guess watercooling has other benefits.

[Zoopy_T]

I'd cut the processor to the E6600 and get a better video card. Of course that is if you'll use this for more gaming than rendering/encoding

[Tempus]

There is not much better he could go on the vid card and still be cost-effective. A 7900gs is the best buy of the 7-series. That said, the 8800GTS is getting more and more affordable every day.

If you are not in a hurry to upgrade, I would postpone this for 2 months and then get one of the DX10 cards at a better price.

[PILOT]

Thanks for the tips guys.

I didnt realize the price difference between the 6600 and 6700! Wow, Im glad you pointed that out. One of my paintball friends owns a computer shop, so I have him on my mission now.

I am in a bit of a hurry. Like I said, 15 FPS is driving me insane. Ill stick with the 7900GS and grab a DX10 card when they go down in price, a year or so Im thinking.


XP Home, or XP Pro? Now that is my next question... Im thinking Pro - no real intentions on grabbing Vista when it comes out.

[Tempus]

Go with Vista and a DX10 system, as per my post above.

[=Sarc=]

If you can't spend the cash for a DX10 card, think about upgrading to one after mid 2007. Sell your 7900 on RFD (Canadian Deals/Buy/Sell/Trade site) and use that to upgrade.

[PILOT]

Originally Posted by =Sarc=

If you can't spend the cash for a DX10 card, think about upgrading to one after mid 2007. Sell your 7900 on RFD (Canadian Deals/Buy/Sell/Trade site) and use that to upgrade.

That's exactly what I was planning on doing. Thanks for the link on RFD!

Edit - I just bought my BFG7900GS on canadacomputers.com for $159. Boxing day sale. Also grabbed the G5 mouse too, so I can do some finger weight lifting :P

[=Sarc=]

Are you still considering water cooling? I haven't looked up on any of that stuff. A friend's brother has a water cooled PC and it's whisper quiet. I'm not sure about how often the reservoir has to be refilled/changed though. It would be a nice option to eliminate noise and dust.

[PILOT]

I am considering it. I'll see what my friend says about it. Ive heard both pros and cons. Will definitely let you know!