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Thread: My Turn for a new build

  1. #1
    Senior Member Tony2005's Avatar
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    My Turn for a new build

    After helping my friend spec up his new machine I thought I'd get one my self.

    Right the parts are from microdirect.com and it will be used to, Vista, Visual Studio 2008 and various games (TF2 etc).

    CPU: AMD Athlon X2 6400
    Motherboard: Abit AN52
    RAM: OCZ 800Mhz PC-6400
    PSU: OCZ 600W
    HDD: Western Digital 500GB SATA II
    GPU: Sapphire Radeon 3850 512DDR3

    I've also got a decent case and DVD-RW, What I'm not too sure about is the RAM, it states it needs 1.95v+ but I'm not sure if this motherboard can do this, Also the gpu requires pciexpress 2.0 and again I'm not sure if the board has this or could it be overkill for my requirements?.

    Thanks for any help
    Tony
    Last edited by Tony2005; 01-16-2008 at 11:04 AM.
    "I once prayed to god for a bike, but quickly found out he didnt work that way...so I stole a bike and prayed for his forgiveness"

  2. #2
    Senior Member Tony2005's Avatar
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    I was thinking as an alternative to the GPU is the sapphire x1950 Pro 512DDR3
    Worth getting this now or just getting the other one for when DX10.1 games become more common?
    "I once prayed to god for a bike, but quickly found out he didnt work that way...so I stole a bike and prayed for his forgiveness"

  3. #3
    Mod w/ an attitude Sterling_Aug's Avatar
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    Instead of guessing about parts, you should look into a pre-built from Dell. You can buy the cheapest video card then upgrade it yourself. Then you know the rest of the system will work together.

  4. #4
    Senior Member Lgbpop's Avatar
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    Abit boards routinely will let you set whatever voltage you want for whatever you want. My KN9 lets me set the voltage for my GSkill RAM at 2.2V, I can take it up to 2.5 if I was crazy enough to do so. Same for the CPU; you can set it higher than called for. You can also set things to Auto or SPD (depending on the mobo) and let the component draw what it's programmed to use.
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  5. #5
    Senior Member Lgbpop's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wikipedia
    PCI Express 2.0

    PCI-SIG announced the availability of the PCI Express Base 2.0 specification on 15 January 2007.[4] PCIe 2.0 doubles the bus standard's bandwidth from 2.5 Gbit/s to 5 Gbit/s, meaning a x32 connector can transfer data at up to 16 GB/s in each direction.

    PCIe 2.0 is completely backwards compatible with PCIe v1.x. Graphic cards and motherboards designed for v2.0 will be able to work with v1.1 and v1.0, and vice versa.

    The PCI-SIG also said PCIe 2.0 also features improvements to the point-to-point data transfer protocol and its software architecture.[5]

    In June 2007 Intel released the specification of the P35 chipset which does not support PCIe 2.0 only PCIe 1.1.[6] Some people may be confused by the P35 block diagram[7] which states the Intel P35 has a PCIe x16 graphics link (8 GB/s) and 6 PCIe x1 links (500 MB/s each), for simple verification one can view the P965 block diagram which shows the same number of lanes and bandwidth but was released before PCIe 2.0 was finalized. Intel's first PCIe 2.0 capable chipset is the X38 and boards are already shipping from various vendors (Abit, Asus, Gigabyte) as of October 21, 2007.[8] AMD started supporting PCIe 2.0 with its RD700 chipset series. NVIDIA has revealed that the MCP72 will be their first PCIe 2.0 equipped chipset.[9]
    You might be future-proofed but that card will work on that board.
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  6. #6
    Hooya! Rabbitrunner51's Avatar
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    No worries.. those parts should all work great. Most all the best ram makers,you can set voltages up some .. mine will go over 2.2V without breaking a sweat. The motherboard is key here. Abit's are very good boards so if any questions on what it will do, just go to thier site (Abit )and look the board up and read the spec. sheet etc..

    That video card is OK ( comperable to a 8600GTS but more pixel shaders plus? )) and IMO, and most of the industry, DX10 is still not really needed , although alot of games made today use it, all have 2.0. In fact, i myself looked at that card for some comparisons.. had me thinking some. LOL
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    Ultimate Member RockNRoll's Avatar
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    I myself was going to look into an 8600 GTS for DX10, but the difference in performance between the 512 8600 and the BFG 7900 GS (which is a GT core with some shaders soft-locked and runs at GT speeds. Only the BFG version though) made me choose the 7900 GS by BFG. Once I saw the performance difference, having DX 10 didn't matter a whole lot to me anymore. Snagged one off ebay for $75.50. The 3850 is a bit faster than the 7900 GT and is priced rather low.

    http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphi...1058&chart=317
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  8. #8
    Hooya! Rabbitrunner51's Avatar
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    Good source.. I always go to 'Tom's Hardware' for deeper analysis. Tells me eveything i need to kow when comparison shopping.

    According to that chart, the 8600GTS does in fact beat out a 1950 Pro by quite a margin.. For the dollars and considering there are alot of choices as to video card makers, I'd opt for that... MSI puts out some great cards to choose from for that card. Yeah, that 7900GS is quite a bit better overall.. sweet!

    I really think i'll just get a 8800GT down the road after i get my new LCD. I'll have around $200.00 or more to spend next month if i so choose. Keep hedging back and forth over a new card or monitor... No discusson though, as i have ot have the monitor first. lol
    Phenom 2 X4 B35 :ASRock N68C-S UCC: G Skill DDR1333 ( 4GB ): ATI Radeon HD6770 1GB : Logitech X504 5.1 SS speakers.:WD 500GB,&300GB Sata2 HD's ; Liteon Lightscribe 24X DVD/combo Drive : Antec 620C neo PSU: CTL 22"WS

  9. #9
    Senior Member Tony2005's Avatar
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    I'd like to thank you all for contributing help.

    I've decided to get something similar to the post I made for a friend earlier. We both decided to get the same system, Here's what I've got now:

    • AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+ (2.8GHz) Socket AM2 2MB L2 Cache (2x1MB) Retail Boxed Processor
    • Samsung SpinPoint HD501LJ 500GB SATAII Hard Drive 16MB Cache - OEM
    • 2 x Corsair 2GB Kit (2x1GB) DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 XMS2 Memory Non-ECC Unbuffered CL5(5-5-5-12) Heat Spreader Lifetime Warranty
    • PowerColor X1950Pro AC2 512MB DDR3 256bit Dual DVI PCI-E Graphics Card
    • Arctic Power 700W PSU - With PCI-E, SATA, 20+4, ATX12V, 8pin +12V Connectors - Retail Boxed
    • Casecom Black Mid Tower Case - Front Blue LED 120mm Fan - With Side Window
    • Gigabyte GA-M52S-S3P GeForce 6100 Socket AM2 8 channel audio ATX Motherboard
    • Optiarc AD-7191S 20X DVD±RW/DL/RAM LightScribe Serial ATA Black Bare Drive - OEM


    About £416 for all of this, Not the highest spec machine but for me just hits the sweet spot of price/perfomance.

    Thanks
    Tony
    "I once prayed to god for a bike, but quickly found out he didnt work that way...so I stole a bike and prayed for his forgiveness"

  10. #10
    Hooya! Rabbitrunner51's Avatar
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    Sometimes its the case of combining praticallity and common sense.. I think you've accomplished that feat just fine. Good job. LOL
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  11. #11
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    Your choice looks nice.

  12. #12
    PC Aficionado MJCfromCT's Avatar
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    I'm surprised nobody brought this up, but why are you going with AMD? Intel chips are clearly superior to current AMD chips.

  13. #13
    Ultimate Member RockNRoll's Avatar
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    Maybe for the same reason YOU did! ! (referring to your sig) lol I'm just messin man. Maybe he's a die hard AMD fan (sort of like me lol).
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  14. #14
    Hooya! Rabbitrunner51's Avatar
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    Cost maybe.... we're all aware about the Intel chips or C2dual per se, but sometimes in opting for something else, may not be such a bad idea.

    As was my case, i wanted to save monies and still get something that performed almost if not equal to the so mentioned C2Dual chips. The motherboards for those cost more also, and given that in overall performance your only missing by a small margin like a few FPS,which only the top end users would notice anyways, its still a smart move... his choice.

    Now.. if and when myself or Tony or whomever decides to upgrade someday or buy another system, i now i would probablly opt for the best performer and wait a bit.
    Ah.. the wait!. Thats the real issue here. We as gamers or computer affectianados overall, want things now or ASAP. I just know i could put things on hold forever,which i do all the time anyways, and never get an upgrade. Do waht you can with what you got at the time you got it.... LOL
    Phenom 2 X4 B35 :ASRock N68C-S UCC: G Skill DDR1333 ( 4GB ): ATI Radeon HD6770 1GB : Logitech X504 5.1 SS speakers.:WD 500GB,&300GB Sata2 HD's ; Liteon Lightscribe 24X DVD/combo Drive : Antec 620C neo PSU: CTL 22"WS

  15. #15
    Hooya! Rabbitrunner51's Avatar
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    Hey MJC, I thought you got ahold of a new system or parts for. Maybe i'm wrong, but unless your sig. is old and outdated, your in store for some upgrades yourself. Hope that happens....

    ( go Giants )
    Phenom 2 X4 B35 :ASRock N68C-S UCC: G Skill DDR1333 ( 4GB ): ATI Radeon HD6770 1GB : Logitech X504 5.1 SS speakers.:WD 500GB,&300GB Sata2 HD's ; Liteon Lightscribe 24X DVD/combo Drive : Antec 620C neo PSU: CTL 22"WS

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