Another pc spec thread.

Dcully

What do you tech heads think of this spec for a gaming rig?

Asus A8N SLI So939
MS-Tech ATX Midi-Tower silver/red 550 watt psu
Pioneer 110 16x DVD+/-R/RW/DL
Geforce 7800GTX PCIExpress 256MB
MDT DDR2 2GB PC2-533/4200
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ So939 Dual Core
Seagate S-ATA 250GB 7200

Might get a second 7800GTX later on.

unklerosco

"MS-Tech ATX Midi-Tower silver/red 550 watt psu"

What PSU???

Why spend all that money on a system n put it in a crappy case?? Get something decent and a very good PSU.. Enermax, Seasonic etc.

Dcully

Didnt think it was a bad case tbh,is it really that bad?

commited

The case is the least important item as far as im concerned, but the PSU is vital.
There are loads out there so do a good bit of research before you buy.

unklerosco

commited wrote:

The case is the least important item as far as im concerned, but the PSU is vital.

Wrong wrong wrong... Would u put a ferrari engine in a lada???

Case is very important, Airflow being the most but build quality, size, expansion too... I've had tonnes of different case's and the difference can be huge. Just swaped my pc into a coolermaster wavemaster case n the quality is class. Invest now n save later...

Go to custompc.co.uk n look at their recent reviews on Power supplies and cases...

unklerosco

What case is it exaclty, there's a few on there site..

commited

unklerosco wrote:

Wrong wrong wrong... Would u put a ferrari engine in a lada???

Case is very important, Airflow being the most but build quality, size, expansion too... I've had tonnes of different case's and the difference can be huge. Just swaped my pc into a coolermaster wavemaster case n the quality is class. Invest now n save later...

Go to custompc.co.uk n look at their recent reviews on Power supplies and cases...

Why own a ferrari if it never leaves your room?

What I meant is - dont throw a ton of money at a case & windows and stuff, when the stuff inside it is far more important
I have a globalwin 802. It's oldschool, simple and well designed. It cost the princely sum of £35 back in the day There is nothing it cant do and there is plenty of space inside.

By all means dont buy a crap case that's badly designed, but dont over do it imho

conzy

Why use DDR2 In an Athlon 64 rig? It is no advantage at all seen as the athlon 64s optimize dual channel DDR with its on-die memory controller. A Good pair of Dual channel DDR like the OCZ platinium rev 2 pc3200 would be much better, these are overclockable to nearly 300mhz as apposed to the 200mhz stock speed plus they have a lifetime warranty if you keep the voltage under 2.8v but they will never know if you go a bit higher:p

commited

The main fact is that that motherboard doesnt support DDR2 so it's not even an option! Cant believe I missed that

TerrorFirmer

Dcully you modest devil you.

I really need to upgrade but can't really afford. Well...just need a new card. But can barely afford that. Soon.....I still haven't taken the amd plunge either.... still happily using a 3.4 p4l

I noticed interestingly enough for the first time recently all the HP computers you buy in retail stores almost all feature amd processors....

Dcully

Does that mobo really not support DDR 2 guys?
Can you suggest one that does or would i see much difference if i stuck with normal DDR on that mobo?

masteroftherealm

Amd cant support DDR2 yet due to the fac thats its integrated memory conrtoller is on the chip and as yet doesnt support DDR2. And DDR2 aint all is hyped up to be. I still far prefer DDr.

conzy

Get some good Dual Channel DDR With the lowest latency you can aford 2-2-2-5 is the best you can get and be sure to get it from a good manafacturer such as OCZ, Corsair or Kingston if you dont plan on ocing

K.O.Kiki

conzymaher wrote:

Get some good Dual Channel DDR With the lowest latency you can aford 2-2-2-5 is the best you can get and be sure to get it from a good manafacturer such as OCZ, Corsair or Kingston if you dont plan on ocing

He is talking of PC3200 DDR, in case you didn't know.
The other option is to use PC4000 or PC4400 -- these run at higher stock speeds, but with looser latency.
Manufacturers with good reputation include: Corsair, Crucial, OCZ, G.Skill, Mushkin, Patriot & Kingston.

Also, if the rig is purely for gaming, you can save money by buying a 3500+ It's single-core, but will do the job just as well unless you've got some intensive programs running in the background -- and save you €220!
Then spend that money on a Seasonic PSU, and a nice big case by a major manufacturer (they're so good, they don't come with PSUs!)

Apart from that, mobo's fine, DVD's are close to equal, Samsung's SATA II drives are possibly better.
Hope that helps.

commited

or go for the 3700+ - has a 1mb cache and only costs another €60.
Personally I'd order & wait for one of the 146 opterons - they clock to FX-57 speeds but cost €875 less!!

(all prices komplett)

conzy

I wouldnt get the 3700 its really a s754 processer on a s939 chip, they had an extra 512kb of l2 cache to make up for the lower clock speed. Alot of sites have done alot of benchmarks and the extra cache is pointless in the new athlon 64s with the on die memory controller and that they extra cache only earned another 1 or 2 fps in most games.

You would be better off saving the money for a decent psu like the Thermaltake Silent Purepower 680W (€155), you will need this if you ever decide to run 2 7800gtxs in SLI, and go for a 3500 venice oc. they overclock to nearly fx55 speeds.