My new PC

[Kemp]

Just thought i'd share the info on my new pc with you guys:

Asus A8N-SLI Premium Motherboard
AMD X2 4400+ CPU
XFX Geforce 7800 GTX 512MB XXX Edition 7800GTX
2Gb Corsair value select ram
1 x 300gb HDD (WD) New
1 x 200gb HDD (Seagate) Old
Thermaltake Tsunami Silver Case
Thermaltake 550w PSU
Thermaltake silent cpu fan

I am quite excited about this. :B

Any suggestions? I will only do it in about 2 weeks time. The first three items has already been ordered.

[Kemp]

oh, I forgot.

Stuff i already have for this new setup:

Viewsonic 17'' LCD
Logitech G5 mouse
M-audio Audiophile 2496 sound card
Audio Analogue Primo Amp
Boston CR65 Speakers

[aud19]

If you're only getting one video card you don't need an SLI mobo, get the non SLI version, it's cheaper and it's a great board (I own it )

I don't personally like WD drives, I'd go Seagate or Samsung myself, quiter, more reliable etc. I assume they're SATA?

[Kevin P]

Nice machine Kemp. :T Are you going to run games on it? Or SETI? Dual core A64, now I'm jealous.

Ditto on Samsung HDs. They're dead quiet, and I've had zero problems with the 5 or so I've used in the past 6 years.

What cupholders (CD/DVD burners) are you putting in it?

[Kemp]

The one guy suggested the WD (apparantly their problems passed 3 years ago?) I am actually a Seagate person. Samsung isn't big here on HDD's. Even Hitachi hasn't really got a market here. Lots of opportunity for them to get in. I'm seeing my local pc guy tomorrow and will ask him to get me a Seagate rather. Do you guys know if there is a real world difference between sata150 and sata300? I saw a few reviews stating that it doubles the speed, etc, but they state it in such a way that it seems that it is in anycase throttled somewhere else. I'm not sure.

I got a good deal on the package for the MB & cpu. I don't think i'll run sli ever.

I play a bit of games HL2 & looking to get Ghost recon advanced warfighter when it is released here in May.

I don't know the model numbers, but i'm looking at the LG or BenQ DVD-RW. Any suggestions?

[PewterTA]

I highly recommend the NEC-3550A DVD Writer. I've gotten the older 3500 and the 3550 both for $40 each off of newegg.com and so far I've only had two discs that didn't write because of things I was doing with the PC... I've burned many DVDs...and not a single problem. Nicest feature is if you go over to cdfreaks.com, in there forum is a section dedicated for firmware hacking. The versions of firmware over there are phenominal! I've burned a 4x disc at 12x and had better quality burn than other's have had with writing them at 4x. Plus all the other nice features (which you can do on LG and BenQ)... I've just been super impressed with how well the NECs do.

Looks like a great computer!!! I'm sure you be enjoying it a whole lot!

[aud19]

I'm VERY happy with my LiteOn DVD-burner. Cheap, flexible, tons of firmware hacks and tweaks etc at CD Freaks and does NICE, quick burns.

[Kemp]

The guy actually recommended a liteon, but it is quite new here and i would rather spend a bit more upfront than to have problems later. Not to say there is something wrong with liteon, just nobody of my reference group has experience with it. I'll check out the site on Nec and see if it is available here.

Thanks

[aud19]

Liteon makes OEM drives for a lot of other companies including Sony FWIW

[JOY DIVISION]

I would wait a few more days if I was you since the new 7900GT and 7900 GTX will be selling, at a cheaper rate and faster clockspeed,eg. evGa card runs at 690MHz core clock and memory clock is about 1760Mhz at $599.00, then run a good PSU like an Antec TPII 550 at $89.00 or to a more reliable PSU like PC Power and Cooling 510 SLi at 197.00 has the highest 12V output at 34A to 38A at full load, good enough to carry 2 7900GTX, 2 Raptors and bunch of other stuff that you will have, for RAM, the Corsair Value Select is very good if you can find the ones with Samsung chips, good for oc'ing, or play around with the Corsair 3500LL 2GB around $300.00. WD is a great drive esp. the RAPTORS, get 2 and you wont look back, it's always a trip to see Windows load at less than 2 pass :E For DVD burners Go with Plextor 716 Dl can't go wrong with these, mine must've done about more than 976 disc and probably have around 4 coasters that fault was mainly on a cheap media.Hope this helps. :W

[Kemp]

Unfortunately i have already ordered the gfx card I was a bit too overeager with this purchase. I went with the liteon dvd-rw. Luckily these are cheap and if necessary i can replace it. The ram has the samsung chips.

Earlier today i looked at the 7900gtx and felt a bit depressed for a moment. The problem is there will always be something better and someplace cheaper with our hobbies and he main thing is to not take it too seriously and enjoy.

It will still be a HUGE upgrade for me :T

[Shane Martin]

I second the NEC drive. I have one and it's lightning fast.

I too am a Seagate fan and it's all i'll use now. I had terrible luck with WD drives.

[Kemp]

Just for interest sake i got a score of 5492 on 3dmark06 without any overclocking. I will be overclocking the system a bit and then try again.

[sirbogey]

Kemp, that's a hell of a system! :T 512MB video card?! ;x( I've done a lot of reading, and have seen a lot of comparison tests between the 512 and 256 cards. The 256 scoring exactly the same as the 512s. Nevertheless, I wasted a lot of cash on a new system myself:

Asus A8N32-SLi
4400+ 64 X2 Dual Core
Plextor PX-716AL
2*250GB WD SataII 16MB HDDs (yes a wester digital)
2GB Corsair Twin X
BFG GeForce 7800GT OC 256MB
Hiper Typer-R 580W
wavemaster from coolermaster
and a Dell 24" widescreen LCD

The worst thing is, I can't get the RAID-0 to work!?!? It seems to be a problem with the board. You buy the latest thing, but can't get it to work. But the machine is fast and furious :amen:

Do you think there is a big difference in speed between the 256 and 512 yourself?

[Kemp]

Asus A8N32-SLi
4400+ 64 X2 Dual Core
Plextor PX-716AL
2*250GB WD SataII 16MB HDDs (yes a wester digital)
2GB Corsair Twin X
BFG GeForce 7800GT OC 256MB
Hiper Typer-R 580W
wavemaster from coolermaster
and a Dell 24" widescreen LCD
Do you think there is a big difference in speed between the 256 and 512 yourself?

Very nice system you also have there. At one stage i also looked at a Coolermaster case due to USB connectivity on the TT (top instead of front).

The one guy at the PC shop that put it together for me brought his pc in the morning when they finished mine and we ran the 3dmark on both. He has the 256 version. He only managed to get 3750. But he also only had the 3800 single core cpu, so it is not a fair comparison. AFAIK 3dmark06 does favour dual cores. Benchmarks is only benchmarks. In the end it comes down to the use of the machine.

But to answer the question. I don't think currently it makes a difference. I went with it because i don't want to upgrade again soon and fear that there might be software / games that i would like to look at that could benefit from it.

I haven't gone into the whole raid thing yet. Is it worth my while? Don't know. This friend of mine are having sleepless nights over raid 6 :lol: He is running raid with two raptors currently. His next mission is a media centre pc with this huge raid configuration.

I hope you have hours (Years) of fun with your new machine :T

Did you run 3dmark06 or 05?

[Kemp]

Just came across this article.

http://www.pureoverclock.com/review.php?id=33&page=1

[sirbogey]

Very good article indeed. Regarding RAID 0: it's up and running now. I've had problems with the drivers. Anyway, I think RAID 0 is worth it. I've never worked with a system that was so quick...

[Kevin P]

RAID 0 is fast, but if either drive fails or gets corrupted, you're SOL. Frequent backups are a must. Also, it's better to not put the OS on a RAID 0 partition. Use it for data/paging/temporary only. That way, if something happens, you can still boot up the machine and repair the RAID.

[David Meek]

Listen to Kevin. Get your OS off the RAID drives.

[aud19]

Listen to Kevin. Get your OS off the RAID drives.

:yesnod:

[Glen B]

oh, I forgot.

Stuff i already have for this new setup:

Viewsonic 17'' LCD
Logitech G5 mouse
M-audio Audiophile 2496 sound card
Audio Analogue Primo Amp
Boston CR65 Speakers

You're going to love the M-Audio Audiophile 2496 sound card. I bought one a few weeks ago. I have been busy transferring some of my vinyl collection to CD (i.e, ones that were never re-released on CD or where the quality of the re-issue is inferior).

[Kemp]

You're going to love the M-Audio Audiophile 2496 sound card. I bought one a few weeks ago. I have been busy transferring some of my vinyl collection to CD (i.e, ones that were never re-released on CD or where the quality of the re-issue is inferior).

Yeah, it is nice. It is amazing how you get used to the std pc output sound and then the huge difference when you get something like this. I'm still waiting for a mixer, as i would be using it to record guitar with and can't wait to hear the difference as i have recorded through the normal mic input up to now.

I have since bought the Hauppauge PVR150, i'm still struggling to get it to work though

[sirbogey]

Listen to Kevin. Get your OS off the RAID drives.

strongly disagree! unless I had only 1 PC :lol: