[DS3Circuit]

Ok, well I am biting the bullet and building a new PC .... I blame APK for posting that DOOM3 movie clip and being the final straw in my decision JK

I used to be up on the pc hardware, but as of recently, I have lost touch with that aspect of the business. So basically, I am posting my list of things I plan on putting together, and those who have a better clue then me, feel free to cast your opinions.

ALREADY BOUGHT THESE:
Antec Bronze Case - 4 5.25 and 4 3.5 bays ...... 350 Antec PS
Abit NF7-S nForce 2

PLANNING ON PURCHASING:
Barton or Thunderbird CPU ?? 2.5 Ghz or higher?
Crucial 3200 512 MB
Pioneer AO3 DVD-RAM
Sony DVD-ROM
Plextor 52X CDRW
Iomega Zip 250

Promise TX2 Raid Controller ... I got some 80 gig Western Digital 8 meg cache drives I would like to stripe off of that controller.

Umm, so what video card should I get .... I was looking more along the Radeon line of cards, but nothing so $$$$ such as the 9700 or 9800. Personal experiences here would be great.

In the end, I would like this machine to do sorta everything from video editing, web designing, running simulators, and play games

Feel free to criticize anything that I have overlooked or incorrectly configuredl.

Thanks folks!

[sapiens74]

Go with Corsair 3200LL series ram.

Great matched with that board.

You don't need all those DVD drives.

Buy the Pioneer drive and just that one. You don't need any more drives. Zip drive only if you need it . Otherwise stick to CDRW, or get a Zip on EBAy for cheap

Radeon 9600 Pro if you can afford it. Otherwise a 9000 pro would be great.

[Copernicus]

If your going to put in a DVD-ROM, get the Mitsumi DM-2000TE. Put that DVD-RW(Pioneer A05) in either a USB 2.0 Enclusure or a IEEE-1394 enclusure. That is if your only going to use that DVD Writer in Win2000 or XP. I personally liking the 44x Yamaha CD-RW better than the Plextor 52x CD-RW.

[mezron]

Honestly, if you're doing this primarily for Doom I'd wait to buy parts til fall. ATI will have released thier next video card, and prices will fall for the current line. And of course the same processor will cost less then, or for the same money you can go faster

If you're just in need of a general upgrade anyway go ahead, but if you're doing this mostly for Doom... I'd really wait you'll want every bit of power available at the time it comes out to play it all it's graphical goodness

Jim

[clutch]

Yeah, upgrading for a game like that only to not put a good deal of cash into the video card (which is going to do most of the grunt work) would be a waste of time. Also, I am not an AMD myself, mostly because of the chipsets that support them. But that's just me .

[tignat]

I think you should reconsider the PS, at least 400W with all that "arsenal" :-) also you will need some extra coolinig fans unless you don't like to leave the case open. if you experience reboots or lockups under heavy load, think of this.
good luck,
tudor

[ViolentGreen]

Quote:

Barton or Thunderbird CPU ?? 2.5 Ghz or higher?

I assume you mean Barton or Thoroughbred?

[ConQueso]

Good choice on the case. (SLK3700AMB perhaps?) If so, I don't know why they call it bronze, when it looks more grey, with just a hint of bronze. Anyway, nice case with a big fan in back for good and quiet cooling, and a nice car quality metallic paint job.

I'd either try to drop any redundant or unnecessary drives or get a better PS as someone else was saying. Don't want to underpower your system. Keep in mind the beefy GFX cards use up enough power that they need it straight from the PS. Maybe a True Power 380 or better. Know anyone you could sell the 350 to?

And, as someone else said, don't bother getting an expensive GPU (or system for that mater) to play D3 until it comes out. If D3 gets bumped back and graphics cards make their projected releases, you might deprive youself of a much better GPU or GPU price than if you buy now.

Nice choice going with the nforce2 chipset. I've built several systems with it, and while none were Abit, I've read good things about the board you mention (especially if it's revision 2.0)

[DS3Circuit]

Got a lot to respond to, so bare with me

SAPIENS: Thank you for the Corsair memory tip. I will be sure to put that on the list, and see how it budgets vs Crucial memory. Only reason I am going with all those drives is that I already own a Sony 16X DVD ROM as well as a Pioneer AO5 DVD-RW Drive. The burner will be brand new .... a little excentric :P

Copernicus: Thanks for the tip about putting the Pioneer in a DVD enclosure .... firewire all the way .... gonna have to go price La Cie and their competitors. Yamaha burner ehh? And I thought Plextor was the best .... gonna go take another look.

Mezron: This is not completely for Doom3 ... this is more along the lines of. I have been sitting in front of a MacG4 for the past 2 months at home without a PC. (Converted my workstation into a test server ... company wont give me anything to take home ... ) Macs are nice and all, but this is getting a little ridiculous.

Clutch: I have always been a fan of the underdog lol .... besides I agree that VIA chipsets leave much to be desired, reason why I went with the nvidia based system. This event has been in the making since I changed another workstation into an exchange 2003 test box.

Tignat: Thanks for PS advice, if i get those lockups you mention, i will remember to add a better PS. Maybe then an Enermax 400+. And yes I got 2 extra 80mm case fans.

ViolentGreen: As of writing this post, I have decided on a Barton 3000. When the first post was made, I wasnt sure of what to acquire.

APK: Troublemaker! LOL .... at any rate .... I agree with you about the video card. I think I will stick to an nvidia solution since you and so many others are their proponents. Ack @ never thought I would spend 300 to 400 bucks on a card. This better kick some butt :P . Very nice suite of utilities, I must add. It even works well on an old K6-2 system with a Riva128 card. Hope the new job is coming along well and about the car .... good deal man.

ConQueso: Yeah its a sweet case and a good board ... revision 2 I might add. Dunno why they call it bronze either lol

Thank you all for your advice and critiques. I always appreciate the experience of others. I will be sure to return the favor in these forums.

Whewww, thats a long post.

[Mr.Guvernment]

When ulook into that power supply - look at the 3.3 +5 v output - get one that is over 200 and u should be fine!

i beleive P4's require a min of 180 to run fine.

[Brian Frank]

If you're gonna buy a separate controller card, it might be wise to not buy the NF7-S, and get just the NF7, unless you're gonna make use of the SATA controller or you'll be wasting your money.

Memory: Corsair is good stuff from what I hear; however, if you're not going to overclock, it's best to go with something a little cheper. If you get a Barton with the 400MHz FSB, make sure to get some PC3200 to go with it.

If you want to build most of the system now and then grab the video card you want when D3 actually hits, that'd be pretty good.

Power Supplys: I personally like Sparkle. Not the first name people mention, but they are high quality PSU's along the lines of Antec and Enermax.

Optical drives: I've personally had good luck running Toshiba DVD drives. I've still got my 6x DVD drive from 2-3 years ago running fine.

[DS3Circuit]

Mr G.

Thanks for that tip, I took a look on my Antec and its rated at 250 for the 3.3 + 5v.

Brian Frank

The FastTrak TX2 is a pull from another machine, so I wont be using SATA just yet. And you are correct sir, I did get a 400 MHz Barton so I will be using the 3200 Ram .... 512 ... and I dont mind spending the extra 20-30 bucks for corsair.

I am still thinking about the video card .....

APK

I got your email and I will checking out those tools. I am curious if they will run on a virtual machine thats NT4 SP3 .... gonna put them to the test :), oh and the basketball fan in me loved the spudd web analogy

Enjoy your weekend man, today is the last day of an end-user migration. I am soooo getting a beer at 5:00

[Mr.Guvernment]

do not buy an FX card!!!! the one sout now are a joke and are being compared to g4's!!


and soem G4's are beating the Fx's!!!

suppoedly they are popping out anew fx that it to actually!! beat the 9800's.

so may want to wait a bit on that vid card.

[DS3Circuit]

New computer is here

and HOOOOOOO this thing is blazing ... I purchased a 2.5 barton .... got it running at 3.2 (all CU heatsink, 2 fans on it, arctic silver, and no adjustments to vcore)
Temperature (under full load for 15 minutes) ... 36.5 Celsius LOL

Oh and I must say ... GREAT MOTHERBOARD.

I have thrown in a GF2MX 400 AGP card .... temporarily
I have thrown in a 512 266 DDR DIMM .... temporarily

Thanks for all the advices and inputs. It was all very much appreciated. And APK, I look forward to seeing how quick your regcleaner is on this box

Time to go to work ... ttfn

[DS3Circuit]

Got a Radeon 9800

........... I know I know, but after reading the benchmarks from tomshardware, anandtech, and so on ..... I went with the canadians :p

Must admit I have never seen my games run as smooth as glass before.



EDIT

Also got it for $275 American ... local Best Buy had an open return .... woohoo!! .... nicest part is that I still get the full ATI warranty and their 30 day warranty as well.

I couldnt bring myself to spend over 400 bucks for a video card .... I cant imagine this card being out of date within the next 2 years .....

The 9800 plays Enter the Matrix superbly