What do you think?

[fatefirst]

My B-day is around the corner. Getting a lot of cash, wanted to finally build my own computer.

I already have the following:

Antec 900
Corsair 520W
LG 19"
Razer Mouse
Razer Keyboard
WD External Hardrive

What I plan on ordering:

Intel ATX
XFX 8800 GTS
Intel E8400 3.0GHz
OCZ 4GB
WD 1TB
Samsung DVD Burner
Windows XP Home
Heat-sink/Fan
Thermal Compound

Later purchases:

Acer 22" Widescreen
XFX 8800 GTS (SLI)
Creative Sound Blaster
Logitech G51 5.1
Plantronic Headset
AverMedia TV Tuner



The main goal I want to acheive with this build is mainly gaming(Not hardcore), along side with multi-media(Live TV and Movie Watching).

Keep in-mind this is my first custom computer, I am not an expert when it comes to computer parts.

If there is anything wrong with the build or a part is cheaper somewhere else. Please let me know.

P.S. The 2 TB of space is for movies and music...

[DMB2000uk]

Why not go for a 9800GTX+ for the same price?

Dan

[martini161]

you wont be able to do sli on that board. and why such an old, oudated chipset? plus, you wont even need sli witth a a 22 inch monitor

[fatefirst]

From what I was told about the 8series vs. 9series.

The only thing that really changed is the name

Ibleet told me they are pretty much the same thing.

[DMB2000uk]

They pretty much are, but this one is faster clocked than the 8800GTS you picked out so is a better card non-the-less.

Dan

[fatefirst]

The external hardrive I already have (WD USB 1TB)

What is the difference in the interface compared to:
IEEE 1394a/ 1394b
eSATA

Is the USB interface act more like a bottle neck when tranferings data to the external?

[Skippman]

The external hardrive I already have (WD USB 1TB)

What is the difference in the interface compared to:
IEEE 1394a/ 1394b
eSATA

Is the USB interface act more like a bottle neck when tranferings data to the external?

ESATA is the fastest of all the ones you mentioned. There's not much support for Firewire anymore since USB 2.0 came out and thier speeds are pretty comperable.

[martini161]

The external hardrive I already have (WD USB 1TB)

What is the difference in the interface compared to:
IEEE 1394a/ 1394b
eSATA

Is the USB interface act more like a bottle neck when tranferings data to the external?

ESATA is the fastest of all the ones you mentioned. There's not much support for Firewire anymore since USB 2.0 came out and thier speeds are pretty comperable.

actually, firewire is any where from 30-70% faster in reads, and 15-50% faster in writes.

[Skippman]

The external hardrive I already have (WD USB 1TB)

What is the difference in the interface compared to:
IEEE 1394a/ 1394b
eSATA

Is the USB interface act more like a bottle neck when tranferings data to the external?

ESATA is the fastest of all the ones you mentioned. There's not much support for Firewire anymore since USB 2.0 came out and thier speeds are pretty comperable.

actually, firewire is any where from 30-70% faster in reads, and 15-50% faster in writes.

Cite?

[martini161]

http://www.usb-ware.com/firewire-vs-usb.htm

[Skippman]

http://www.usb-ware.com/firewire-vs-usb.htm

Ok, that's what I thought. You didn't mention ESATA at all, you mean FireWire is faster than USB 2.0. Not that FireWire is faster than ESATA.

[martini161]

http://www.usb-ware.com/firewire-vs-usb.htm

Ok, that's what I thought. You didn't mention ESATA at all, you mean FireWire is faster than USB 2.0. Not that FireWire is faster than ESATA.

no, sorry i didnt specify. but actually, from what i read the newest firewire standard (due within the next few years) will be faster than SATA

[fatefirst]

you wont be able to do sli on that board. and why such an old, oudated chipset? plus, you wont even need sli witth a a 22 inch monitor

Like I said I am not up-to-date with computer parts, been to busy gaming xD.
I plan to order two 22" monitors (sorry I did not mention it).

What do you mean by out-of-date chipset?
If they board is out-of-date what should I get? I would prefer intel board.
*Reason is that I want to over-clock both motherboard and CPU when the warranty is void.*

North Bridge? South Bridge? (I have no clue what these bridges are for)

I have not seen a lot of informational websites that examples what they do.

Thanks for all the help guys

-Fatefirst

[Skippman]

The Northbridge handles the memory controller and the path to the graphics card on most machines.

The northbridge plays an important part in how far a computer can be overclocked, as its frequency is used as a baseline for the CPU to establish its own operating frequency. In today's machines, this chip is becoming increasingly hotter as computers become faster and thus also requires an increased level of cooling.

The Southbridge handles all the I/O functions of the PC such as connections to the hard drive SATA/PATA controllers and the other buses on the PC like PCI slots.

The functionality found on a contemporary southbridge includes:

PCI bus. The PCI bus support includes the traditional PCI specification, but may also include support for PCI-X and PCI Express.
ISA bus or LPC Bridge. Though the ISA support is rarely utilized, it has interestingly managed to remain an integrated part of the modern southbridge. The LPC Bridge provides a data and control path to the Super I/O (the normal attachment for the keyboard, mouse, parallel port, serial port, IR port, and floppy controller) and FWH (firmware hub which provides access to BIOS flash storage).
SPI bus. The SPI bus is a simple serial bus mostly used for firmware (e.g., BIOS) flash storage access.
SMBus. The SMBus is used to communicate with other devices on the motherboard (e.g. system temperature sensors, fan controllers).
DMA controller. The DMA controller allows ISA or LPC devices direct access to main memory without needing help from the CPU.
Interrupt controller. The interrupt controller provides a mechanism for attached devices to get attention from the CPU.
IDE (SATA or PATA) controller. The IDE interface allows direct attachment of system hard drives.
Real Time Clock. The real time clock provides a persistent time account.
Power management (APM and ACPI). The APM or ACPI functions provide methods and signaling to allow the computer to sleep or shut down to save power.
Nonvolatile BIOS memory. The system CMOS, assisted by battery supplemental power, creates a limited non-volatile storage area for system configuration data.
AC97 or Intel High Definition Audio sound interface
Baseboard Management Controller

[DaddyRabbit]

What do you mean by out-of-date chipset?
If they board is out-of-date what should I get? I would prefer intel board.
*Reason is that I want to over-clock both motherboard and CPU when the warranty is void.*

-Fatefirst

The 975X is quite long in the tooth and I'm not even sure it will support the Wolfdale processors (might be wrong).

Your price for mobo, CPU, and GPU on the Egg adds up to - 584.97

You would get better performance and "futureproofedness" (look I made a word! ) with the following IMHO:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814102801 = 264.99 (after MIR)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813128358 = 109.99 (after MIR)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819115036 = 188.99

Total = 563.97

You'll save 21 bucks and, again IMHO, have a MUCH faster system, plus you can always get another 1GB 4870 to Xfire later if needed, but on a 22" panel it won't buy you anything.

[DMB2000uk]

daddyrabbits suggestions are good ones

Dan

[fatefirst]

Thanks for the effect on everything guys/gals.

Just want my first custom computer to be a successful one.

Main goal was to have a nice system for gaming and some media things I like to do.


The only thing is I had very bad run-ins with radeon cards.
-Always failing some way.

The Sapphire compared to the 9800GTX was picked out.
-Sapphire($289.99) is lacking:
---Core Clock
---Memory Clock
---Stream Processors
---Warranty(Not shown)

- EVGA GeForce 9800 GTX($129.99) is lacking:
---Memory Size

Why would you pick the sapphire?

Why does RAM have different volatges? Over-clocking? What would be ideal. Sorry for all the questions

[DMB2000uk]

The days when you can tell how a card performs just from looking at it's spec are long gone I'm afraid, so the only way you are going to know performance is to check out some reviews.

If you do you will see that the 4870 is just a bit faster than a stock 260GTX, and in some games, as fast as a 280GTX.

Sapphire are one of the largest AIB partners for ATI cards, so if you can't get good service from them if something goes wrong, then I don't know how they got so big.

I have a sapphire card in my rig (though it's only a 4850) and think it's great.

Dan

[DaddyRabbit]

I recommended the 4870 because you indicated wanting to do dual GPU's at some point which you can't do on the current crop of available, reasonably priced Intel chipset boards with Nvidia GPUs. I still stick by the "one GPU" mantra at lower resolutions though.

I recommended the Sapphire because at a glance it seemed to be the best value for a 1gig 4870 and they seem to get pretty good reviews. I have a 1st gen Visiontek which is fine on my 24" but has lost it's ability for larger overclocks (which is OK as it's fast enough as is).

Dan hit the nail on the head with comparing specs out of manufacturers blurbs, the 4870 is considerably faster than the 9800 GTX. I actually am not manufacturer loyal, I tend to buy what seems to be the best bang for my buck at the time I'm spending said buck I switched from Nvidia because at the time the 4870 was cheaper with equal to or better performance than the GTX 260. If I were buying a video card tomorrow I would seriously consider one of the new overclocked 216 shader 260 cards alongside the 4870 1G.

If you want to go Nvidia however I would suggest something like this over the 9800 GTX. It's a few $$ more than the 4870 1G but you won't be sorry.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814143156

OR

You could go with the 9800GTX+ and get a faster CPU or go Quad the options are many

[fatefirst]

It seems that way (Options are endless)...

If you guys/gays have some spare time could you wipe up a computer if you were to buy one toworrow.

Requirments:

1.Minumin
--Dual-Core
--4GB or Ram
--1TB hardrive
--DVD Burner
--20"+ Montior

2.All parts need to work with the items I have now.
-ATX Case
-Power Supply

3.Budget is $1,200 with shipping.
-Tax is not an issue
-I live in Dover, PA
--Zipcode 17315

4.Has to be Windows XP
--Home
--Media Center

Side note:
-I will over-clock the system when all the warranties' are void.
-I would like this system to be better than the next gen consoles.

Main goal:
Gaming
Media(Gimp, Adobe Programs, and Live TV)

It would be much appreciated if you guys/gals do this.

Thanks again,

--Fatefirst