Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Can anyone take a look at what I'm thinking of buying?

MooseMan3000 · 11-04-2005, 07:43 PM

Well, everything on that list is good... but some of it is too good, from the sounds of it. The three things that really stand out as extraneous are the motherboard, RAM, and sound card. We'll take those one at a time.

Motherboard: The DFI Lanparty SLI is a great motherboard. Are you planning on running SLI? If so, you'll need two of the same video card, or the Radeon X-Fire card (which is a lot more expensive). If not, why would you get an SLI board? Also, if you're planning on running SLI, why? It's much more cost effective to just get a better, single card. If you're looking for top of the line performance for games, get a Geforce 7800 GTX. nVidia won this battle. The ATI cards are good, but the nVidia ones were better this time around.

Also, that motherboard is great for overclocking. Since you claim you're not very good with computers, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say you probably won't be overclocking. So why would you buy a motherboard that is designed for that? You can get a motherboard that has all the features you need and more for half the price you'll pay for that DFI.

RAM: Again, will you be overclocking? If not, you don't need the XMS. Yes, when it comes in the box, the XMS is slightly better than the value stuff. Its real strong point, however, is that it can be overclocked and stay stable. If you're not overclocking, however, the benefits of super high end RAM are minimal. Again, a 2x1GB kit should run you about half the price you're looking at for the XMS stuff.

Sound card: Are you an audiophile? Are you going to be lots of media intensive stuff? Is there a reason you need a sound card? The onboard sound on most nForce4 boards is excellent, and it hardly takes any processing cycles to use. The processor you're getting, the Athlon 64 3500+ can easily handle all the games you'll throw at it and still have cycles leftover for sound. There will be little to no performance increase if you get a sound card, so think pretty hard about whether you're willing to spend $120 on that 2% speed increase. The majority of your gaming performance depends on your graphics card, not your processor.

Which brings me to my next point...

Why the X850? It's outperformed in most instances by a 6800 Ultra, and it's always outperformed by a 7800 GTX. I've been an ATI fanboy for a long time now, but the numbers don't lie. nVidia just has better cards right now. For gaming performance, the new Geforce can't be beat. I'd use some of the money you'll save on the other components and get a really nice graphics card, instead. Sure, it's a $100-200 more, but the performance increase will be very noticable, unlike the increase with, say, the sound card.

It does look pretty good, though. Does the case have a power supply included? If so, who makes it and what's the wattage? That will be fairly important to how stable your rig is.

And good choice on the mouse. Get a good mousepad for it (I recommend the fUnc 1030, though others are pretty good, too); you won't regret it. It just moves and tracks so much nicer with a good pad.

11-04-2005, 07:43 PM	#8 (permalink)
MooseMan3000 wouldn't mind being a ninja. Location: Maine, the Other White State.	Well, everything on that list is good... but some of it is too good, from the sounds of it. The three things that really stand out as extraneous are the motherboard, RAM, and sound card. We'll take those one at a time. Motherboard: The DFI Lanparty SLI is a great motherboard. Are you planning on running SLI? If so, you'll need two of the same video card, or the Radeon X-Fire card (which is a lot more expensive). If not, why would you get an SLI board? Also, if you're planning on running SLI, why? It's much more cost effective to just get a better, single card. If you're looking for top of the line performance for games, get a Geforce 7800 GTX. nVidia won this battle. The ATI cards are good, but the nVidia ones were better this time around. Also, that motherboard is great for overclocking. Since you claim you're not very good with computers, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say you probably won't be overclocking. So why would you buy a motherboard that is designed for that? You can get a motherboard that has all the features you need and more for half the price you'll pay for that DFI. RAM: Again, will you be overclocking? If not, you don't need the XMS. Yes, when it comes in the box, the XMS is slightly better than the value stuff. Its real strong point, however, is that it can be overclocked and stay stable. If you're not overclocking, however, the benefits of super high end RAM are minimal. Again, a 2x1GB kit should run you about half the price you're looking at for the XMS stuff. Sound card: Are you an audiophile? Are you going to be lots of media intensive stuff? Is there a reason you need a sound card? The onboard sound on most nForce4 boards is excellent, and it hardly takes any processing cycles to use. The processor you're getting, the Athlon 64 3500+ can easily handle all the games you'll throw at it and still have cycles leftover for sound. There will be little to no performance increase if you get a sound card, so think pretty hard about whether you're willing to spend $120 on that 2% speed increase. The majority of your gaming performance depends on your graphics card, not your processor. Which brings me to my next point... Why the X850? It's outperformed in most instances by a 6800 Ultra, and it's always outperformed by a 7800 GTX. I've been an ATI fanboy for a long time now, but the numbers don't lie. nVidia just has better cards right now. For gaming performance, the new Geforce can't be beat. I'd use some of the money you'll save on the other components and get a really nice graphics card, instead. Sure, it's a $100-200 more, but the performance increase will be very noticable, unlike the increase with, say, the sound card. It does look pretty good, though. Does the case have a power supply included? If so, who makes it and what's the wattage? That will be fairly important to how stable your rig is. And good choice on the mouse. Get a good mousepad for it (I recommend the fUnc 1030, though others are pretty good, too); you won't regret it. It just moves and tracks so much nicer with a good pad.