What do you guys think?

[Bokster]

Check out my new build. I'm going to overclock to 2.4 ghz for starters, then work on 2.5 ghz later on. The rig is mostly for gaming, but also quite a fair amount of video/audio encoding, and I do heavy multitasking as well, hence the X2.


Budget: $2000 CAD


Processor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ (max planned OC: 2.5 ghz)

Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5

Motherboard: DFI Lanparty NF4 UT-Ultra-D

Memory: Mushkin XP4000 Black Series 2GB Dual Channel

Video Card: eVGA GeForce 7800gt CO

Case: Antec P180

Power Supply: Enermax 535W FMA ATX 12V v2.0

Hard Drive: Seagate 300GB Barracuda 7200.9 SATA II w/ NCQ, 16MB Cache

Optical Drive: LG Super Multi 16x16 DVD +/-RW Dual-Layer

Monitor: Samsung Syncmaster 997MB 19in Flat-CRT

Speakers: Altec Lansing VS3121 2.1 Speaker Set

Extra:
About $200 dollars for keyboard/mouse and OS


I have a few questions regarding the build:

1) With the money left, I can't decide whether to go for the Thermalright
XP-90 or XP-120? Opinions?

2) What do you guys think of the performance of the rig to the amount of money spent? Am I spending too much? Too little? $2000 CAD approx. $1750 USD

3) Lastly, should I go for pc3200 memory? It's much cheaper and I heard it could run at pc4000 speeds, especially brands like OCZ or Mushkin. So are pc4000's really worth the extra $40?


Thanks guys!

 

[Maxiius]

1) XP-90
2) Looks good to me
3) I dont know a whole lot about memory junk. Have to get some other memory guru's advice on that 😛

 

[maxxum]

Memory is not really an issue unless you are going to be over clocking. If you don’t plan to then just about any memory will do. Personally, I would use the extra cash to either bump up the processor or get a raptor as the system drive and use the barracuda as a data drive. Also, after four years of on-board sound then switching to an Audigy, I would highly recommend you at least consider a value sound blaster as an alternative, particularly if you listen to music.

 

[fainis]

my opinion about the Audigy...it`s a good card for games (EAX and stuff) and multiple speakers configuration....but for music it lacks major stuff because of the 48khz internal sampling rate it has......what if my audio collection is sampled at 44.1khz..in this case the card does a double resampling and loses much....
look for a card that samples 44.1, 48 and 96khz .. for audio guru

 

[maxxum]

I’m no expert on audio; all I know is its like apples and oranges. On-board sound was just crappy compared. And the specs on my card state this:

# 24-bit Digital-to-Analog conversion during playback with sampling rates of 8, 11.025, 16, 22.05, 24, 32, 44.1, 48 and 96kHz in 7.1 mode and up to 192kHz in stereo mode

# 24-bit Analog-to-Digital conversion during recording in 8, 16 or 24-bit at sampling rates of 8, 11.025, 16, 22.05, 24, 32, 44.1, 48 and 96kHz

When you say internal, do you mean native conversion (hardware)?

 

[bagg]

I would go with an Opteron 165 over an X2 3800+ if you plan on overclocking. I have mine running at 2.63 using the stock HSF and stock voltage. Proc runs cool with no problems at all. Plus, you get an additional 512k cache on each core over the 3800+, for about the same cost. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Bokster]

It's just that over here the Opteron 165 is $50 more expensive. I don't think the extra cache is worth that much anyway. Thanks for the tip though.

 

[IAM_CA]

If you are going to order by Tuesday Feb 14, you should check prices at NCIX... They have a special on (ground) shipping - $5.99 CAD up to 200 lbs.

I ordered an Antec Sonata II (450W PSU), and some other parts that would have cost $40-$50 for shipping without the sale... and being outside of BC, there's no PST... awesome!!!

 

[Wozzy]

I can't tell on the website, but for the DFI boards you NEED a TRUE 24-pin power supply, not connectors or anything, a 24-pin connector. Just thought I'd share that.

 

[hella-d]

Grea System And Great Choice With The X2 (Hint, Hint...Look At My Specs.) Two Thumbs Up

 

[fainis]

i agree ... opteron is great ....... don`t forget the 24 pin power connector ..... there is a suplimentary 12v and 3.3v rail in there ... go for a atx2.2