New Build (finally); Is it balanced?

[Mayflower]

I (finally) got tired of playing BF2 on Low settings, so I decided with the summer coming to get a new system.
I did a lot of research and reading and I ended up with my (pre)final build. I know some of you have high performance PC, so I wanted to know what you think, if it's pretty balanced or not because this is my first-time build and Im on tight budget.

So roughly, the main pieces are :

CPU
AMD Athlon 6000+ 3.0ghz

btw, Im preferential to AMD

Mainboard
ASUS M2n32-Sli Deluxe

Memory
2x 2G Kingston PC6400 800mhz Non-ECC

Graphic + Free copy of COD4 lol
XFX GF8800 GTS 512mb [honestly, avoid eVGa..]

Hard Drive
Seagate 7200.10 250G 16mb cache

PSU
Corsair 620HX 620W Sli-ready

Case
Antec 900 ATX
Cooling
. 1 top 200mm fan included
. 1 rear 120mm fan included
. 2 front 120mm fans included
. 1 side 120 mm bought separately Coolermaster

The auxiliaries (monitor, mouse, keyboard, etc.) I already got them, just wondering if I should get a cheap sound card or I can rely on the motherboard 8 channel audio (which seems pretty good).

At the end, it costs me around 1150$ + taxes and shipping fees.
I just hope that the PSU will have enough plugs for the multiples fans of the case.
So, do you think this is quite balanced or I should revise some components (I'm not a hardcore gamer neither)?

Thx

PS.: I saw some thread ppl asking for advices on a new-system building. Here are some great websites that helped me A LOT in the process of choosing the elements of the PC:

http://www.anandtech.com/

http://www.hardforum.com/

http://www.tomshardware.com/us/

http://www.guru3d.com/

Check out the forums, there are great tips and a lot of pros giving advices

A few things I've learned: it's worth the money to do research and build your own machines & never go in retail stores, internet ftw (really).

[sava700]

Re: New Build (finally); Is it balanced?

I'm a AMD fan myself but you can't beat the prices Intel has which by the way they are dropping prices again. You prob would have gotten a nice quad core setup for less, more ram, better graphics card and perhaps for a gaming rig you should have gone with a WD Raptor drive for speed rather than space..then just added a bigger SATA2.0 drive for data storage.

If you haven't made these purchases yet I could take your budget and give you a list of these parts I said above for a intel build and either meet it or saved you money with a better system.

Also don't worry about adding to many fans... just go with a simple 120mm in the back and maybe a 120mm in the front (push and pull) pulling through the front and pushing out the back is plenty.

[Wizrdwarts]

Re: New Build (finally); Is it balanced?

What res is your monitor? You could save a bunch by downgrading to an 8800GT I guess. Also what's wrong with EVGA?

[Mayflower]

Re: New Build (finally); Is it balanced?

Ok thx guys, many ppl recommended me for an Intel build, but I really got confused when trying to learn about Intel products. I learned there are difference between Ghz for AMD and Intel, but when I looked at the Intel Core 2 E6600 2.4Ghz it costs 270$. And it's only 155$ for a AMD 6000+ 3.0Ghz. Why is there a so huge price difference even when one is way lower than the other?

sava700, I haven't ordered yet, that's why Im posting in forums to make sure before buying. I'd be very glad if you could build list of Intel system (that would be actually better than the actual one(?)) meeting with my 1000CAD budget. I plan to buy all my parts on ncix.com
All the parts I chose were rated and reviewed as excellent product on many sites, especially the AM2 socket ASUS motherboard.
It bothers me 'cause I'll have to re-read and do more research about Intel, compatible motherboard, power supply, memory... but I'd give it a shot if it's really worth it.
And finally, sava700, along with that list.. could you post up your system specs ?

As for the graphic card, two of my friends had evga cards, and they all overheated and broke after few months use (even they had perfect cooling system).

[Sniper1432]

Re: New Build (finally); Is it balanced?

I have a very similar rig as that. If you're just interested in BF2, it will be fine. :)

I play all high, 8xaa, 1400X1050 resolution at 70-100 FPS.

[signa]

Re: New Build (finally); Is it balanced?

I just bought a quad 6600 for $186 shipped. Its all about finding the deals. :hmm:

[Eagle101]

Re: New Build (finally); Is it balanced?

You can either get a Q6600 which is at reasonable prices or an E8200 or E8400 Intel Core 2 Duo which are at insane (in a good way) prices right now, Intel is a much more avid over clocker the C2D chips.

As for the gfx, the one you picked out is fine, you could save some $$$ and go for an 88GT as wizardwarts said i would advise it.

[sava700]

Re: New Build (finally); Is it balanced?

sava700, I haven't ordered yet, that's why Im posting in forums to make sure before buying. I'd be very glad if you could build list of Intel system (that would be actually better than the actual one(?)) meeting with my 1000CAD budget. I plan to buy all my parts on ncix.com
All the parts I chose were rated and reviewed as excellent product on many sites, especially the AM2 socket ASUS motherboard.
It bothers me 'cause I'll have to re-read and do more research about Intel, compatible motherboard, power supply, memory... but I'd give it a shot if it's really worth it.
And finally, sava700, along with that list.. could you post up your system specs ?

Hmm I'm not very good with figuring up CDN funds... so I'll figure up a USD build through newegg and you can just use it for reference.
As for my system....well I have 5 of them so no sure what you need to know as my two main gaming rigs are always being rebuilt and upgraded within 6months due to the upgrade cycle of PC hardware.


ASUS P5K SE LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail 93$

COOLER MASTER Elite 330 RC-330-KKN1-GP Black SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 45$

CORSAIR Dominator 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail 54$ (After 40$ mail in rebate)

PC Power & Cooling S610EPS EPS12V 610W Continuous @ 40°C Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, cUL, CE, CB, TUV - Retail 109$

BFG Tech BFGE88512GTOC2E GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail 249$

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor - Retail 240$

Thats pretty much all you would need..I set you up with one of the best PSU's PC Power and cooling since that is what will drive your system, then 2gigs of better ram..a good Graphics card, and a powerful Quad core processor with a decent case that I would use. The motherboard is just plenty for your needs unless you wanted to go SLI which you would have to switch it out for a different one..but I would just upgrade cards and forget SLI.

That brings your total to 790$ before shipping so you figure about 840$ after shipping and taxes. And thats against the USD. I figured that up pretty quick since I just build a new rig and had already looked around at parts.

[Mayflower]

Re: New Build (finally); Is it balanced?

Hey thx for that list
I checked on the canadian seller website, following the listed products

motherboard : 111$
case : 60$
Memory : it only offers the Corsair Dominator w/ fans : 130$
VGA : 244$
CPU : 270$
PSU : 110$
Adding the HD, it comes around a total of 995 CAD.

Now coming back to my initial setup : I found the same 8800GTS, this time manufactured by BFG, at 245$, which save me 110$ compared to the XFX one. I end up with 1050CAD
This is 50$ difference (due to the 4G instead of 2) with the Intel build.
Now I read the Intel review on the web and most ppl overclock their E6600 2.4ghz which becomes better in term of performance than the AMD6000. However, the heat rises and they had to add an aftermarket heatsink (Zelmann or whatev).
So, for my PC, I don't intent to overclock anything; considering this fact, would AMD and Intel build be similar performance (AMD having 2G more of ram) at the very same price ?

[sava700]

Re: New Build (finally); Is it balanced?

Hey thx for that list
I checked on the canadian seller website, following the listed products

motherboard : 111$
case : 60$
Memory : it only offers the Corsair Dominator w/ fans : 130$
VGA : 244$
CPU : 270$
PSU : 110$
Adding the HD, it comes around a total of 995 CAD.

Now coming back to my initial setup : I found the same 8800GTS, this time manufactured by BFG, at 245$, which save me 110$ compared to the XFX one. I end up with 1050CAD
This is 50$ difference (due to the 4G instead of 2) with the Intel build.
Now I read the Intel review on the web and most ppl overclock their E6600 2.4ghz which becomes better in term of performance than the AMD6000. However, the heat rises and they had to add an aftermarket heatsink (Zelmann or whatev).
So, for my PC, I don't intent to overclock anything; considering this fact, would AMD and Intel build be similar performance (AMD having 2G more of ram) at the very same price ?

You would get better performance out of the Intel build with the parts I listed than the AMD parts...the ram alone is twice as good. Plus with this intel processor you will have 4 cores instead of 2 so your future proof for a long time!

The heat shouldn't be that much of a issue if you get a decent aftermarket cooler and only stick to the fans in that case I pointed out.

Since you added everything up with the HDD and still put you under budget you should consider a WD Raptor HDD 74gig which is about 150$ USD but its made for speed not space since thats more important to a gamer anyway..then later just slave a larger SATA drive for capacity if needed.

[Mayflower]

Re: New Build (finally); Is it balanced?

Thx for the info

Here since is raining this morning, I sit and did over an hour of research.
I came up with this conclusion :

Two builds (AMD and Intel). I exceeded my 1000 budget, ok, but if it's worth the money, it won't hurt that bad.
So, here two of my complete build. What do you think ?

-----

AMD

CPU: http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...anufacture=AMD
AMD Athlon 6000+ 3.0 Ghz

Motherboard: http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...nufacture=ASUS
ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe

Memory
4x 1G Kingston PC6400 800mhz DDR Non-ECC DIMMs

Video: http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...anufacture=XFX
NVidia XFX 8800 GTS 512 mb Alpha Dog Edition

Hard Drive: http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...acture=Seagate
Seagate 7200.10 250G SATAII 16mb cache

Power Supply: http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...e%20Technology
Silverstone Zeus 650W ATX12V Active PFC

Case: http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...ufacture=ANTEC
Antec Nine Hundred Mid Tower Gamer Case 900 ATX 9 Drive Bay
. 1 top 200mm fan (included)
. 1 rear120mm fan (included)
. 2 front 120mm fan (included)
. 1 side 120mm fan (optional & WILL buy: Coolermaster 1220rpm http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...e=COOLERMASTER
. 1 middle 120mm fan (optional & WON'T buy)

TOTAL AMD Build : ~1100 CAD

---

Intel

CPU: http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...ufacture=Intel
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Quad Core Processor LGA775 Kentsfield 2.40GHZ 1066FSB 8MB

Motherboard: http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...nufacture=ASUS
ASUS P5K-E/WIFI-AP ATX LGA775 P35

Memory
4x 1G Kingston PC6400 800mhz DDR Non-ECC DIMMs

Video: http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...20Technologies
NVidia BFG 8800 GTS 512 mb

CPU Heatsink (reviews say the stock cooler is ****) http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...ture=Zerotherm
Zerotherm CF900

PSU http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...acture=CORSAIR
Corsair 620HX

Hard Drive, Case
See AMD Build

TOTAL Intel Build : ~1180 CAD

[Eagle101]

Re: New Build (finally); Is it balanced?

Definitely the Intel build mate and you wont regret it

[Mayflower]

Re: New Build (finally); Is it balanced?

Hey Eagle101, I see in your specs that you have to Antec 900 case and the corsair 620W PSU. Just a question, does your PSU provide enough plugs to make all 5 case-fans work ?

[Eagle101]

Re: New Build (finally); Is it balanced?

Yep, no faults yet BUT, i am thinking of upgrading it well i will have to check what TGN says about it.

[Flt. Sgt. Powderhound]

Re: New Build (finally); Is it balanced?

That Q6600 will absolutely batter an Athlon 64 6000+