Sanity check before I order

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dannyaa

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Jan 1, 2001
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Hey guys... any glaring mis-sights? Better deal I'm missing, better price-to-performance ratio, paying too much for something, unrecommended hardware, etc.?

Here's the build...

$120 Antec Sonata II + extra 120mm fan
http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=M&Product_Code=100588&AFFIL=pricewatch&NR=1

$110 Epox 9npa+Ultra nforce4 mobo

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813123236&CMP=OTC-pr1c3watch&ATT=Motherboards

$224 Athlon64 3500+ Rev.E retail

http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=M&Product_Code=120272&AFFIL=pricewatch&NR=1

$154 XFX GeForce 6600GT 128mb PCI-e retail

http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=M&Product_Code=190439&AFFIL=pricewatch&NR=1

$126 Corsair XMS 1GB pc3200 RAM (2x512mb kit)

http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=M&Product_Code=140803&AFFIL=pricewatch&NR=1

$121 Western Digital SATAII HD - 250GB

http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=M&Product_Code=150939&AFFIL=pricewatch&NR=1

$44 NEC 16x DL Burner

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827152047

$25 Mitsumi 7-in-1 card reader/floppy

http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=M&Product_Code=170108&AFFIL=pricewatch&NR=1

$231 Viewsonic G90FB

http://www.c-source.com/ttechnote.asp?part_no=1566505&src=PW



Thanks for the check...


P4c 3.2Ghz NWood / ABIT AI7 / 1GB XMS-Pro DDR 3200 / BFG GF-6800GT 256mb / Antec 380W

A64 3000 Venice / Epox 9npa-U / 1GB HyperX DDR 3200 / XFX GF-6600GT 128mb / Antec 330W
 
I was just about to note that you had a p4c, and were going to also have an A64, which seems really sane to me. Then I saw the part about the Antec 330, and thought," what, is he fking nuts?" You really do need a better psu than that.
 
The Sonata II that he's buying has a 450W PSU in it.

__________________________________________________
<font color=red>You're a boil on the arse of progress - don't make me squeeze you!</font color=red>
 
You would be making a huge mistake with that PSU. The PSU is going to make or break this system. In todays market you can forget buying a case and PSU for $120.00 and getting anything close to quality. More than likely at least half or even more of the questions we get about unstable systems and Blue screens are because of the PSU. You probably need to come up with $75 to $100.00 more and get the PSU seperately.

ASUS P5WD2 Premium
Intel 3.73 EE @ 5.6Ghz
XMS2 DDR2 @ 1180Mhz

<A HREF="http://valid.x86-secret.com/records.php?PHPSESSID=792e8f49d5d9b8a4d1ad6f40ca029756" target="_new">#2 CPUZ</A>
SuperPI 25secs
 
For $120.00 theres no way that that PSU is going to do what it claims. Thats $120 for the case and PSU.

ASUS P5WD2 Premium
Intel 3.73 EE @ 5.6Ghz
XMS2 DDR2 @ 1180Mhz

<A HREF="http://valid.x86-secret.com/records.php?PHPSESSID=792e8f49d5d9b8a4d1ad6f40ca029756" target="_new">#2 CPUZ</A>
SuperPI 25secs
 
I did some research on that PSU. I googled the exact info that was listed in the description and came up with a pile of links. The thing that disturbs me the most is that this same PSU ranges from $195.00 to $67.00. Thats only the PSU no case. There were a ton of different specs in the ones I looked at but the 12V rails were not great on any of them. The best I found was 17Amps but you wont get that in the combo deal.

ASUS P5WD2 Premium
Intel 3.73 EE @ 5.6Ghz
XMS2 DDR2 @ 1180Mhz

<A HREF="http://valid.x86-secret.com/records.php?PHPSESSID=792e8f49d5d9b8a4d1ad6f40ca029756" target="_new">#2 CPUZ</A>
SuperPI 25secs
 
It's an Antec Smartpower series PSU. For the system that he is building I would think it is sufficient.

__________________________________________________
<font color=red>You're a boil on the arse of progress - don't make me squeeze you!</font color=red>
 
Here are the <A HREF="http://www.antec.com/specs/SP450_spe.html" target="_new">SP-450 Specs</A>. 15A and 17A for 12V1 and 12V2. Here is the info on the <A HREF="http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=26450" target="_new">Smartpower v2.0</A> and here is the <A HREF="http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=15139" target="_new">Sonata II info</A>.

__________________________________________________
<font color=red>You're a boil on the arse of progress - don't make me squeeze you!</font color=red>
 
It may be ok, but what bothers me is that I found at least 3 different Specs including a single 12VRail with the same exact model numbers. This leads me to believe that Antec has different spec PSUs that they sell under the same model #.

ASUS P5WD2 Premium
Intel 3.73 EE @ 5.6Ghz
XMS2 DDR2 @ 1180Mhz

<A HREF="http://valid.x86-secret.com/records.php?PHPSESSID=792e8f49d5d9b8a4d1ad6f40ca029756" target="_new">#2 CPUZ</A>
SuperPI 25secs
 
Important Update - Antec technicians from Taiwan and the USA visited the Munich THG laboratory for just this purpose. The reason for the 3-hour visit was the divergences we discovered in the ripple test, which were not within spec - although the power supplies did not fail. The technicians from Antec performed new ripple tests on their power supplies together with the THG laboratory engineers. It turned out that the tolerances and high-frequency vibrations with their PSU can lead to varying results in the ripple tests. However, we didn't observe this phenomenon in any of the other candidates

The above is from Toms PSU reveiw. The top of the line from ANTEC produced pretty good numbers Truepowers numbers werent great at all so I would think that the Smartpower would be even worse. The effeicency isnt good either.

ASUS P5WD2 Premium
Intel 3.73 EE @ 5.6Ghz
XMS2 DDR2 @ 1180Mhz

<A HREF="http://valid.x86-secret.com/records.php?PHPSESSID=792e8f49d5d9b8a4d1ad6f40ca029756" target="_new">#2 CPUZ</A>
SuperPI 25secs
 
It may be ok, but what bothers me is that I found at least 3 different Specs including a single 12VRail with the same exact model numbers. This leads me to believe that Antec has different spec PSUs that they sell under the same model #.
Click to expand...
Now that is interestng. It could be several things:
1. False advertising on Antec's website - not likely.
2. Retailers replacing the PSUs in the Sonata II PCs.
3. Retailers mislableing/improperly identifying the specs of the Sonata II.
I believe the most likely scenario is the third option. That and/or confusion about the Sonata vs Sonata II. The original <A HREF="http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=15138" target="_new">Sonata</A> had a <A HREF="http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=20380" target="_new">Truepower 380W</A> PSU that was not ATX 12V v2.0 - only one 12V rail that was 24A. That could be the source of confusion/bad descriptions you've seen.

The bad thing is that it looks like Antec decided to save some money by going with a Smartpower PSU in the Sonata II. Even if it does have 2 12V rails, it is not as good as their Truepower line of PSUs.
The top of the line from ANTEC produced pretty good numbers Truepowers numbers werent great at all so I would think that the Smartpower would be even worse. The effeicency isnt good either.
Click to expand...
Buying separate, about the min that I would go with is a Super Flower SF-201T (~$82.99)and an Enermax EG565P, 535W ($91.50). That is about $50 more than Sonata II. You could close it be within $40 by getting a good 450W, but buying separate I think that Enermax has a great price/perf. So...the buying separate path costs almost 50% more than the Sonata II. Is the Smartpower the best PSU on the street - we both know that isn't the case. Will is handle the system that he is going to assemble? More than likely it will. I guess he just needs to make the decision whether or not it is worth the extra expenditure....

__________________________________________________
<font color=red>You're a boil on the arse of progress - don't make me squeeze you!</font color=red>
 
What about the SuperFlower, I know nothing about this brand.

ASUS P5WD2 Premium
Intel 3.73 EE @ 5.6Ghz
XMS2 DDR2 @ 1180Mhz

<A HREF="http://valid.x86-secret.com/records.php?PHPSESSID=792e8f49d5d9b8a4d1ad6f40ca029756" target="_new">#2 CPUZ</A>
SuperPI 25secs
 
It's the <A HREF="http://www.directron.com/201tblk.html" target="_new">case</A> that Rich is always raving about.

__________________________________________________
<font color=red>You're a boil on the arse of progress - don't make me squeeze you!</font color=red>
 
I just bought that Antec Sonata. you're overpaying for it- i bought mine for $100.

You should improve your Graphics card and decrease the CPU. Heck, I'd recommend a 6800 GT and a 3000+: you're probrably going to get some better performance of that thing
 
You should improve your Graphics card and decrease the CPU
Click to expand...
That may be something to think about!

ASUS P5WD2 Premium
Intel 3.73 EE @ 5.6Ghz
XMS2 DDR2 @ 1180Mhz

<A HREF="http://valid.x86-secret.com/records.php?PHPSESSID=792e8f49d5d9b8a4d1ad6f40ca029756" target="_new">#2 CPUZ</A>
SuperPI 25secs
 
You can get the Sonata (380W Truepower) for $60 right now - you paid too much if you got a Sonata. What he listed is a Sonata II - 450W and newer version.

__________________________________________________
<font color=red>You're a boil on the arse of progress - don't make me squeeze you!</font color=red>
 
yeah, I saw the Sonata II is $100 at the site, with a $15 mail in rebate (so $85) and then $18 to add another 120mm Antec Smartfan.

The 330W in my sig is my "backup" comp, I've played a bunch of LAN games and done some video and all my web stuff, never had a problem with the PSU.

This system is for a friend, he wants a decent video card but his main focus is not gaming... I tried to talk him into a bette 3D card but he just wanted a faster CPU... it will be best for him.


Me? Hey, I'd get that Antec P160 for $70 at Fry's right now (it's got a $40 rebate) and a Seasonic 600W PSU from the THG review for $140 if it was my new rig. Along with probably the 3500+ & a 7800GTx.


Anyway, thanks for all the help. Thats interesting info about the Antec PSU. I think it should probably be ok for what he will be using his computer for, but I missed that detail about it being a SmartPower now instead of a Truepower...

Thanks again all!


P4c 3.2Ghz NWood / ABIT AI7 / 1GB XMS-Pro DDR 3200 / BFG GF-6800GT 256mb / Antec 380W

A64 3000 Venice / Epox 9npa-U / 1GB HyperX DDR 3200 / XFX GF-6600GT 128mb / Antec 330W
 
That Seasonic is definitely nice, but I would probably go with something morealong the line sof the Enermax EG565P for $91.50 shipped at ZZF. Great little PSU and more than enough power for a rig that I would put together - no SLI in my future...

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