10-30-2003, 02:22 AM
I'm not so sure about the "more or less equal" comment for power supplies, but your choice is a good one. From this extensive PS roundup:
"ThermalTake came in very strong, with very low noise and very high stability. The $74 cost is high, but considering the other external fan control power supply costs $60 more, we think the cost is easily justifiable."
Up until the last few days, I've been completely out of the computer parts scene for many months. I just got into it about 2 days ago, and went full-on into Tom's Hardware Guide in search of a new gaming rig. My current PC, while "good", is not nearly to the level I want to be able to truly enjoy my gaming. That, and it's much more suited as a workstation than a gaming rig, especially since it's so CLUTTERED with junk. :P
I more-or-less skipped over AnandTech, mostly because I prefer Tom's Hardware, but also because they gave me all the information I needed by the time I poked my head in at the other place. I trust Tom's more, if only because I have MUCH more experience with them, and I find their layout very easy, so I'm also more comfortable with them. I don't nock the quality of AnandTech - I'm just not a regular visitor. ;)
Actually, the 5600 from MSI is a GREAT buy at $160. It got Tom's Editor's Choice Award for the 24 (I think?) VGA cards they reviewed, and was what I was originally going to go with. Taking another glance at the benchmarks led me to crank out the cash for a top-of-the-line vid card instead of going the route I usually go. If I wanted mediocre performance, I'd just re-use my current GeForce 4 Ti 4200 64MB (4x AGP, NOT the 8x). That's not what I want. I'd rather shell out the extra $150 or $200, or whatever it is, and get an extended life on the card, while enjoying the benefits in today's games as well as tomorrow's. Besides, like I said, it's under $400, which is my upper-limit for vid cards (usually $200 is my "general" limit), so I felt it was justified. Not my usual path, but again - for a gaming-only rig, I felt the extra money was well spent. As for the Raptor, I haven't looked into those, but chances are it either a) wasn't on sale at NewEgg.com (one of the best retailers), B) was too pricey, or c) wasn't Serial ATA. Or a combination of the three. In any case, since I usually leave my PC on 24/7, OS boot time is not an issue. Combined with 1 GB of top-notch RAM, a 2.8 GHz processor (probably going to be overclocked to ~3.4 GHz), and Serial ATA drives (@7,200 RPMs, while not the fastest, is still adequate, and with an 8MB cache), it should be a non-issue anyway. I'll look into it though, all the same. :D
Given that I won't be using my gaming-only rig for burning DVD's (let alone CDs, save for game backups and distribution of programs - like ROMs, game mods, etc.), and probably not even for watching them, I don't feel the extra money is justified. The only reason I even thre on a DVD player is for DVD-based games, which are not currently popular but still available. And, just in case I DO want to watch DVDs on my PC (although I can do that now anyway), but that's a big if.
Aye, I knew I was biting my foot with that comment, but to me, I've never had a bad PS. For all the PS's I've had over the years, ALL of them were WELL under the surplus of wattage I'm shooting for with this rig, and none of them burned out, or ever gave me any problems. HDs and media drives, OTOH, I've had issues with in the past, for sure (especially the latter), not to mention CPU fans. :P But I digress. The low noise level boosted the deal, and the fact that it completely matched the case just sweetened it all the more. Besides, I don't know PS's very well at all (I've long-since forgotten the major good brands), so I'm not too picky when it comes to them. Enermax, Thermaltake, etc. are all good to me. :) Plus, I couldn't find any reviews in my (very) limited search, so I just went with what looked good - and had the most specs. available. :P
It's a pipe-dream at the moment, and by the time I CAN afford it, something better will probably have come along. But, even if that is true, or not, the prices will have come down a wee bit. And it is only a few months away, IF I end up building it, so it's not like I'll be leaps and bounds behind the times. I'm going with a 2.8 not only because it's cheap, and adequate for TODAY, but because it has VERY solid overclocking potential, even without added / specialized cooling, so I can get much more life out of it in the future than by plunking down an extra $200+ for a slightly higher CPU. The vid card I felt was justified. Processor? No thanks. :D I'll wait until the P5's come out and grab the top-end P4 when the price plummets, and just plop that into the same mobo (which should support it just fine), and overclock it a wee bit, too. :)
Now I just need to figure out financial matters for running a business, and start poking around for mid-range PC parts so I can gather prices, and I'll be well on my way to starting up my dream. :D
"ThermalTake came in very strong, with very low noise and very high stability. The $74 cost is high, but considering the other external fan control power supply costs $60 more, we think the cost is easily justifiable."
Quote:Sounds like you did your homework. I've been a little out of touch with the PC parts scene recently, but I have heard great things about the 2.8GHz 800FSB CPU.
Up until the last few days, I've been completely out of the computer parts scene for many months. I just got into it about 2 days ago, and went full-on into Tom's Hardware Guide in search of a new gaming rig. My current PC, while "good", is not nearly to the level I want to be able to truly enjoy my gaming. That, and it's much more suited as a workstation than a gaming rig, especially since it's so CLUTTERED with junk. :P
Quote:If you haven't already, poke around the reviews and forums at www.anandtech.com - a quick search of the forums will turn up all sorts of additional information about most of those parts (good and bad).
I more-or-less skipped over AnandTech, mostly because I prefer Tom's Hardware, but also because they gave me all the information I needed by the time I poked my head in at the other place. I trust Tom's more, if only because I have MUCH more experience with them, and I find their layout very easy, so I'm also more comfortable with them. I don't nock the quality of AnandTech - I'm just not a regular visitor. ;)
Quote:Personally, I would drop the video card down to a 5700 Ultra (review) to save a buck or two. You'll probably get the urge to upgrade it soon enough given what's in the pipeline, so why pay top dollar now? I would also add a WD Raptor as a boot drive / current game drive. I hate waiting for load times / OS bootup time.
Actually, the 5600 from MSI is a GREAT buy at $160. It got Tom's Editor's Choice Award for the 24 (I think?) VGA cards they reviewed, and was what I was originally going to go with. Taking another glance at the benchmarks led me to crank out the cash for a top-of-the-line vid card instead of going the route I usually go. If I wanted mediocre performance, I'd just re-use my current GeForce 4 Ti 4200 64MB (4x AGP, NOT the 8x). That's not what I want. I'd rather shell out the extra $150 or $200, or whatever it is, and get an extended life on the card, while enjoying the benefits in today's games as well as tomorrow's. Besides, like I said, it's under $400, which is my upper-limit for vid cards (usually $200 is my "general" limit), so I felt it was justified. Not my usual path, but again - for a gaming-only rig, I felt the extra money was well spent. As for the Raptor, I haven't looked into those, but chances are it either a) wasn't on sale at NewEgg.com (one of the best retailers), B) was too pricey, or c) wasn't Serial ATA. Or a combination of the three. In any case, since I usually leave my PC on 24/7, OS boot time is not an issue. Combined with 1 GB of top-notch RAM, a 2.8 GHz processor (probably going to be overclocked to ~3.4 GHz), and Serial ATA drives (@7,200 RPMs, while not the fastest, is still adequate, and with an 8MB cache), it should be a non-issue anyway. I'll look into it though, all the same. :D
Quote:Given your budget, a DVD+-RW might be worth considering. You can get good models around $115 a pop these days.
Given that I won't be using my gaming-only rig for burning DVD's (let alone CDs, save for game backups and distribution of programs - like ROMs, game mods, etc.), and probably not even for watching them, I don't feel the extra money is justified. The only reason I even thre on a DVD player is for DVD-based games, which are not currently popular but still available. And, just in case I DO want to watch DVDs on my PC (although I can do that now anyway), but that's a big if.
Quote:I'm not so sure about the "more or less equal" comment for power supplies, but your choice is a good one. From this extensive PS roundup:
"ThermalTake came in very strong, with very low noise and very high stability. The $74 cost is high, but considering the other external fan control power supply costs $60 more, we think the cost is easily justifiable."
Aye, I knew I was biting my foot with that comment, but to me, I've never had a bad PS. For all the PS's I've had over the years, ALL of them were WELL under the surplus of wattage I'm shooting for with this rig, and none of them burned out, or ever gave me any problems. HDs and media drives, OTOH, I've had issues with in the past, for sure (especially the latter), not to mention CPU fans. :P But I digress. The low noise level boosted the deal, and the fact that it completely matched the case just sweetened it all the more. Besides, I don't know PS's very well at all (I've long-since forgotten the major good brands), so I'm not too picky when it comes to them. Enermax, Thermaltake, etc. are all good to me. :) Plus, I couldn't find any reviews in my (very) limited search, so I just went with what looked good - and had the most specs. available. :P
Quote:Enjoy building your new Gaming rig! :D
It's a pipe-dream at the moment, and by the time I CAN afford it, something better will probably have come along. But, even if that is true, or not, the prices will have come down a wee bit. And it is only a few months away, IF I end up building it, so it's not like I'll be leaps and bounds behind the times. I'm going with a 2.8 not only because it's cheap, and adequate for TODAY, but because it has VERY solid overclocking potential, even without added / specialized cooling, so I can get much more life out of it in the future than by plunking down an extra $200+ for a slightly higher CPU. The vid card I felt was justified. Processor? No thanks. :D I'll wait until the P5's come out and grab the top-end P4 when the price plummets, and just plop that into the same mobo (which should support it just fine), and overclock it a wee bit, too. :)
Now I just need to figure out financial matters for running a business, and start poking around for mid-range PC parts so I can gather prices, and I'll be well on my way to starting up my dream. :D
Roland *The Gunslinger*