Rate My Next Game Box, Please.

[merkinofbaphomet]

I am getting ready to start my next build, and thought I would run it up the flag here at Anand. The machine will be used primarily for first person shooters. I plan on at least experimenting with the Asus AI NOS overclocking utility.

My budget is roughly $1500, for the tower only.

So, on with the show...


$49.99 COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel

$169.00 ASUS A8N-SLI Premium

$369.00 BFG Tech BFGR78256GTOC Geforce 7800GT

$97.50 Antec NEOPOWER 480

$235.00 AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego

$80.50 CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit

$22.99 MITSUMI Black USB2.0 & FDD Digital Card Reader/Writer

$166.46 Western Digital Raptor WD740GD

$38.99 NEC Black IDE DVD Burner Model ND-3540A

$91.95 Microsoft Windows XP HOME

All in all, that's roughly $1350 shipped. Not too shabby, however I have a few questions...

1) Any suggestions for memory? The Corsair above was just for rough pricing and not on the Asus QVL list. I don't plan of overclocking right off, but it would be a nice option given the power of the Asus board. Actually, I plan on going with 2GB, just looking for a few ideas. Preferably under $300.

2) Should I even bother with the Raptor? I will likely get a second WD SATA drive for mass storage. I am a very impatient man, if that helps at all.

3) Processor ideas? I was going to get a 3500+, but the 3700+ and 3800+ are so close in price.

4) Am I right in assuming the 7800 GT has about 90% of the power the 7800 GTX does?

Thanks for your time.

Cheers!

-Merkin

 

[Gadzookie]

dont get a raptor get a hardrive with 16 mb cache and it will be as fast if not faster then a raptor

try to get 2 gigs of corsair ram

dont go SLI its a huge waste of money

how about something like this ?

Antec Solution SLK3000-B Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail 49.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811129152

FSP Group (Fortron Source) AX450-PN ATX12V 450W Power Supply - Retail 49.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104954

AMD Athlon 64 3700+ 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor - Retail 235.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103539

EPoX EP-9NPA+Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail 105.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813123236

CORSAIR ValueSelect 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM System Memory - Retail 210.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145579

Maxtor DiamondMax 10 6B250S0 250GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM 95.50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144358

NEC Black IDE DVD Burner Model ND-3540A - OEM 38.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827152047

XFX PVT70GUDF7 Geforce 7800GT Video Card - Retail 359.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150108

$91.95 Microsoft Windows XP HOME

Total 1234.43

thats what i would get now since you have a budget of 1500 you can use the
left over money and bump up the procssor to a dual core like a x2 4400
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103546

 

[Buck Naked]

Check this out
Text

The 3700+ has the worst performance per dollar ratio right now.

 

[KoolDrew]

I would get rid of the SLI motherboard as it is just a waste of money. I would suggest going with something like the EPoX 9NPA+Ultra. It is cheap and is a good overclocker.

There are much cheaper 7800GT's available. There is even oner at TigerDirect for $300. However, it does only have a one year warranty.

There are much better PSU's available for around that much of cash. I would suggest something like a Fortron AX500-A. It can be bought for ~$70.

I would just save some money in other areas and bump up to a X2 3800+. If you don't want an X2, I would just get a 3000+. The only advantage the 3700+ will have is the extra cache. However, for the added cost it is not worth it.

Get 2GB (1GBx2) of RAM. Corsair VS is fine, but I would suggest some Crucial Value. They overclock well for a reasonable price.

I wouldn't bother with the Raptor. It does not offer a significant enough perfromance advantage over current 7200 RPM drives to justify the added cost at all.

 

[Gadzookie]

rember you need at least 2.2 ghz so it wont bottleneck the GPU

 

[Gadzookie]

Originally posted by: Buck Naked
Check this out
Text

The 3700+ has the worst performance per dollar ratio right now.

that guide is out dated there basing the 3700 on a price of 260 .00

the 3700 san diego right now is 230 bucks retail and the 3500 is 201.00

i would pay 30 bucks more for more cache and you can easily over clock that 3700 to fx levels

you can overclock MHZ but not cache

 

[Buck Naked]

Originally posted by: Gadzookie

Originally posted by: Buck Naked
Check this out
Text

The 3700+ has the worst performance per dollar ratio right now.

that guide is out dated there basing the 3700 on a price of 260 .00

the 3700 san diego right now is 230 bucks retail and the 3500 is 201.00

i would pay 30 bucks more for more cache and you can easily over clock that 3700 to fx levels

you can overclock MHZ but not cache

Did you even look at the posted date?
If the prices are skewed it would be across the board

 

[Gadzookie]

i guess your right i would still go with the sand diego