Building PC

[kaheiyeh]

First off, this is for a friend, not me.

The parts:

AMD Athlon 64 3700+ "San Diego Core"
ASUS A8R-MVP Motherboard
HIS X1600XT 256MB IceQ
2x 1GB Corsair ValueSelect PC-3200 RAM
120GB Western Digital Enhanced SATA II Hard disk (WD1200JS)
Antec Sonata II Piano Black
Antec SmartPower 2.0 450W PSU

Is this a good setup. I do know that the A8R-MVP is a Crossfire motherboard. My friend likes ATI > Nvidia, so the X1600XT was the way to go without killing his budget. He's looking at running the newest games and also does the regular web surfing and watches video on the monitor.

Also, how hot does the 3700+ run with stock cooling and is it loud? My friend is considering a aftermarket HSF to go with the CPU. I suggested him to use Big Typhoon or the CNPS9500. He doesn't want any lighting (LEDs) on the cooling cause he can't sleep with the fancy lights on at night while downloading. This leads to the silent end as well. Right now, he needs a good aftermarket cooler that is silent,cool,cheap and not heavy. He's very concerned about the weight a heavy heatsink will put on the motherboard.

He needs this all for AU$1500, and right now it comes up to AU$1425, so there's AU$75 to spare for the cooler.

[Blak_Phoenix]

Re: Building PC

Well for the cheapest prices (may be able to bring down some of the existing), use static ice (www.staticice.com). Its an Aussie company.. gets the lowest prices on all hardware. The rest looks good, i dont go for the x1600, i would suggest a SLI mobo (better than CF at the moment) and a 7600GT, very well priced, great value for money, can play all games on high and isnt much more than the x1600. Also i dont trust an current CF mobo's, and the SLi ones are alot cheaper (im not an nvidia fan). Just the truth at the moment.

[imported_Mrt1989]

Re: Building PC

Id would change CPU and GFX to Opteron 144(saves a lot money and clocks to 2.5-3.0 Ghz) and nVidia 7900GT (cheap , performs very well )

[sackynut]

Re: Building PC

the opteron is a pretty good idea if he is willing to OC. but he might be getting the x1600 because of the price, if not yes, go with the 7900gt. that seems like a fairly good build my only suggestions would be if it is a gaming rig and even if he doesnt but especially if he does Overclock, I would get some better ram than value select. get something higher performing or with a heatsink.
and even though that PSU can handle everything listed just fine, I would probably up the wattage just for the future. it is a crossfire motherboard, which means he could get a second card (is x1600 CF supported?)

[Sir. Shpox]

Re: Building PC

The local site next to me is www.gamedude.com.au, seems a little overpriced though, based on my minor knowledge on hardware, I'm intrested in this thread too.

[kaheiyeh]

Re: Building PC

I did consider the Opteron 144 before, but now i'll get him to buy it instead of the 3700+. As for the GFX, I did recommend him to get the 7600GT, but he wanted to stay with ATI, so he chose the X1600XT. Also, seeing that he'll be overclocking the Opteron, what cpu cooler would keep temps down and stay silent while doing it? He's very concerned about the weight a heavy heatsink will put on the motherboard so a heatsink around 500g is the max he'll go.

[Sir. MatDef]

Re: Building PC

First of all, that mobo sucks complete ass and should not be used. The only cf board I will recommend is the asus with the xpress3200 chipset. No matter what your friend thinks about nvidias graphics cards, their mobos are the best for amd. For heatsinks, I love the scythe ninja, but the tuniq tower is supposed to cool even better.

[LoD]

Re: Building PC

I dont know how your AU translates to USD, or what avaliability is for you... but I would recommend this for your ballpark budget.

Drop down to a nforce 4 or nforce 4 ultra motherboard. ATI motherboards are not the best right now, ATI is fairly new to chipsets and their current stuff is really not up to par with nvidia. (That being said that is probably one of the best ATI boards out there, but the ATI route is not something i would go with yet)

For the CPU drop down to a 3200+ or whatever chip is cheaper than the 3700+. You didnt list prices, but the 3700+ is probably significantly more expensive, and not worth the price if this is for gaming since games are reliant on the GPU.

As for the x1600. Not a bad card, but its not particularly good either. Look for an "800" class card, either current or older generation. I think ATI has some really nice products out on the market right now, and the x1800GTO should fit the bill nicely. Its more expesnive, but by dropping to a Nf4 mobo and a 3200+ you should be able to make up the difference.


As for a CPU heatsink, get a retail CPU and dont think twice, it comes with a cooler that works great.

[kaheiyeh]

Re: Building PC

Ok, a little talk and fiddling and it's come to this ...

AMD Opteron 144 - $280
2x 1GB Corsair ValueSelect PC-3200 - $250
ASUS A8N-SLI Motherboard - $175
XFX PCI-Express 7900GT 256MB - $530
120GB Western Digital Enhanced SATA II Hard disk (WD1200JS) - $115
Antec Sonata II Piano Black w/ SmartPower 2.0 450W PSU - $185

Total: $1535

Anything else to add/change?

[Sir. MatDef]

Re: Building PC

Change the xfx to an evga one if you can, otherwise that's a fine setup.

[kaheiyeh]

Re: Building PC

Change the xfx to an evga one if you can, otherwise that's a fine setup.

EVGA is quite rare in Australia. Only one retailer sells them and it's at almost AU$600