Final config... Ordering tomorrow if everything goes alright

[EugenyG]

All prices in Canadian dollars.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

$75 18" (301-SL) Black/Silver Case w/Transparent Side Panel 4xFan 400W P4 PS USB 2.0

 

 

 

$31 LG 52x32x52 IDE int CD Writer w/Software

 

 

 

$67 LG GSA-4161BB internal 16x16 DL DVDÃÆââ¬Å¡ÃâñRW drive w/Software

 

 

 

$189 Maxtor 250GB HD 7200rpm 16MB (SATA) #6B250S0

 

 

 

$155 Asus A8V-Deluxe S939 VIA K8T800 Pro Chipset 1AGP8x/5PCI/4DDR, w/Sound Gigabit Lan SATA Raid USB 2.0 ATA-133

 

 

 

$185 1GB DDR2 533Mhz (Kingston KVR533D2N4/1G

 

 

 

$339 AMDÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâî AthlonÃÆââââ¬Ã¾Ãââ 64 3500+ (2.2GHz) Socket-939 512K Box

 

 

 

$499 Leadtek WinFast A400GT TD GeForce 6800-GT 256MB AGP8x

 

 

 

Assembly, shipping and handling: FREE.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total: $1520CAD + 15% Sales Tax = $1771 CAD ($1463 U.S. -- Final price I'm paying)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm well aware the mobo and video cards are AGP rather then PCI-E, but I decided it's worth the $100 less, since I'm not planning to upgrade in the near future, and when I do I'll need a new mobo anyways.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What do you think of the config? Competent to hold out in gaming for at least a couple of years? (In a year from now I'll probably slap on another 1GB DDR2, but for today's gaming market 1GB seems fine) Worth the money? Does it has all the box components it needs to have to work? Any last-minute changes that need to be made? Etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PS: Stuff I already have:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- Microsoft Natural Keyboard Pro

 

 

 

- Logitech MouseMan Optical

 

 

 

- 5.1 Surround Speakers

 

 

 

- 17" Sony Flat CRT Trinitron Monitor

[Pyro]

I do think you should PCI-E, but beyond that it looks great.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About the memory though, are you sure it'll fit the mobo? I don't have any experience from using DDR2, but isn't it an Intel-only type of memory?

[Phyco1312]

I do think you should PCI-E, but beyond that it looks great.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About the memory though, are you sure it'll fit the mobo? I don't have any experience from using DDR2, but isn't it an Intel-only type of memory?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I believe DDR2 works with both Intel and AMD, as long as the mobo does support the 240 pin style. And if your going with a gig of memory, you mine-as-well bite the bullet and buy some lovely dual channel RAM. The difference is speed. Just a suggestion though. And Pyro's right, I think PCI Express will help out a good amount too.

[dark_counda]

The RAM won't work. As far as I know, ther are no motherboards that support both AMD CPUs, and DDR2 RAM. Either switch to Intel, or switch to DDR1.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If your sure your going to buy a whole new system in a few years time, there isn't any need for PCI-E. Your chosen video card outperforms your CPU and RAM, so using PCI-E has no added benefit for you.

[EugenyG]

Well, system ordered!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I indeed had to change RAM to DDR, since the mobo wouldn't support it. I also had to pay an extra $20 for a case fan (the box designers did something brilliant - they put 4 auxiliary fans in the front, side, and top, but didn't include any fans in the REAR - ie where they are needed most. :? )

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

System will be assembled by next Tuesday.

[Mercifull]

Well, system ordered!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I indeed had to change RAM to DDR, since the mobo wouldn't support it. I also had to pay an extra $20 for a case fan (the box designers did something brilliant - they put 4 auxiliary fans in the front, side, and top, but didn't include any fans in the REAR - ie where they are needed most. :? )

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

System will be assembled by next Tuesday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4 fans on the front >.< what case did you get?

[EugenyG]

2 fans on front, one on side, one on top = 4 fans total (excluding rear ones, of which none were included except obviously the power supply fan). I separetely bought one rear 20mm "smart" fan - turns on when needed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's a pic of the case.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Phyco1312]

Well you could either buy a "PCI Freezer (fan)" for PCI slot, but that is inconvienent. Better yet, water cooling would be better :lol:

[Hannibal]

I disagree with the suggestion to get dual channel, by the way. I doubt it matters *that* much, and besides, now you have the option to put in another stick of 1GB later, which should be faster than ending up with 4 sticks of 512MB RAM (not to mention this will allow up to 4GB RAM instead of 2 :) )

[EugenyG]

Got my system! Typing from it now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I already installed (in that order) Windows XP Professional, NAV & NSC, NAV update, Windows Update, patches to video card, Ad-Aware, drivers for printer, CD drives and other non-essential peripherials, Office XP, and finally 2 graphically intensive games - UT2004 and HL2.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

UT2K4 runs absolutely flawlessly at 1024x768 (just don't like higher resolutions), at all maximum settings plus forced 16x anisotropic filtering and 8x antialiasing. Half-life 2, which is optimized for ATI, runs _almost_ flawlessly at 1024x768 at all settings maximum (can drop to ~20 FPS on crowded scenes), and <30 FPS was pretty much eliminated after switching to 8x AF and 6X AA.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Battlefield 1942, which I installed later, is obviously not a challenge to 6800GT at any settings. I am however looking to test out the more detailed Desert Combat mod, and definitely the extremely polygonal-intensive BattleFront42 mod.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The only thing I'm a bit annoyed is that loading times have not almost not decreased at all since my last system (P3 2.2 512 RAM and GF TI-200 3yo card). In fact, in some places in HL2 it feels like loading times between places on a level have actually increased. :S Anyone knows why?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another thing I'm surprised at is how quickly my 1GB of RAM is hogged by various Windows applications which used much less RAM on my last system. Over 700GB are already taken up as system cache, and each Iexplore window takes like 30MB RAM (used to take no more than 15). I'll test how Firefox does a bit later.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'll also post my 3Dmark score once I download it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overall I'm quite happy with my system, rating it at 9/10 for what I tested it with so far.

[EugenyG]

Over 700GB are already taken up as system cache,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Obivously meant 700MB.

[DahVid]

Thats weird. I'm running on a AMD 64 3000+ (OC'ed to 2.6ghz) 1gig of dual channel RAM (Corsair, 415mhz), and a 6600GT overclocked just a bit.. Hl2 runs flawless on 16x Sophic and 8x AA. Try overclocking a bit if you know how..

[Kwisatz]

Thats weird. I'm running on a AMD 64 3000+ (OC'ed to 2.6ghz) 1gig of dual channel RAM (Corsair, 415mhz), and a 6600GT overclocked just a bit.. Hl2 runs flawless on 16x Sophic and 8x AA. Try overclocking a bit if you know how..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I run (all non-OC) AMD 64 3000+, 128MB PCI-E 600GT, 1GB and I can max out all the settings on HL2 and it will run at 60 fps on 1280x1024, but break down and overheat soon afterward. I get 100fps with no AA or AF.

[EugenyG]

On the more intensive scenes in HL2 (like the Water Hazard where you race at high speed through a huge and very detailed terrain, as well as a flying helicopter and lots of other characters shooting), at1024 8x AA 6x AS it occasionally drops to 25 FPS, so at that point the framerate drop is noticable, but still playable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In most outdoor scenes in HL2 at these settings I get 35-40 FPS (very minor if any noticability in gameplay), and indoors it's pretty much always 50+.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As well, at 1024x768, with an unaided eye during gameplay I failed to see any difference between 6AA 8AS, and 8AA 16AS. After taking 2 screenshots and looking at them at photoshop at 300% zoom, yes I see a difference, but not in the game, so I don't care.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PS. I'm not going to overclock while the parts are on warranty. :wink: