What do you guys think of my new rig I ordered?

[C0mrad3]

Hey guys, I just ordered a new computer from a guy who has built custom computers for me and my family for quite some time. Here are the specs of the rig I will be getting:

- Cooler Master Ammo Case
- 550W Power Supply
- ASUS motherboard w/ 1GB memory
- AMD Athlon 64 3700 Processor
- West Dig. 160GB HD SATA 8MB buff
- ATI X300 PCI Express card 64/128MB
- DVDRW drive
- Windows Vista

- $615.00

The motherboard, though I don't know the specific model, supports the AMD64 X2 so it is upgradable. I'm recieving this as a Christmas present so I cheesed out on the video card to keep costs low, as you can see it is fairly affordable.

Since I'm going back to work Sundays soon (because of college) I'll be able to upgrade.

Here's some of my planned upgrades:

- Another GB of RAM (No more than $120)
- New Video Card (No more than $250)
- Soundblaster Audigy2 ZS
- Miscellaneous Cooling


Just wanted your guys input and suggestions for the RAM/ Video card I should get

 

[Agility]

I would rather you buy a bundle ram together. As in 2 in 1 package. This would be cheaper for sure. Also your card could probably buy the X1600XT or X1650XT. For soundcard i dont think its really much different unless you do consider alot when playing games or listening to music E.g changing the settings to fit in game mode or music mode.

Btw vista...? You've pre-ordered it?

 

[Ketxxx]

1. I would really ask what asus mobo it is
2. stick with XP Pro vista is gonna have bugs and security flaws galore for at least a year, plus check around, thers serious legal issues with it.
3. Get the WD SATA2 HDD with a 16MB cache, almost no cost difference and quite the performance improvement.
4. The money you save on the OS you can use for a much better vid card

 

[bruins004]

Just as an FYI just make sure you dont use 4 x 512mb modules of RAM.
If you do, the performance gain is not that big.

I suggest you wait a few weeks on the GPU to see if prices drop.
If they dont the 7900GTO is the best for $250 these days.

Also, DDR RAM has been pretty expensive these days (just take that into consideration).

What is this rig going to be used for.
If gaming save yourself some money on the Sound Card and get the Sound Blaster Live Edition ($20 at CompUSA and other stores).
It is well worth the $20 since the sounds are soo much better (Def best bang for the buck).

For cooling you could always get some more fans in the, add a blow hole and even get a PCI-E fan or cooler for vertical airflow for your GPUs.

Enjoy

 

[Agility]

Btw RAM prices are up these few months. A Corsair 512MB ram stick (just normal ram) went up from $86 to $105 ( IN SGD FOR goodness sake)

 

[bruins004]

He could always buy a 2 x 1GB stick pack and sell the extra GB of RAM (will def. drive the cost down).....
DAMN I remember that I got my 2x1GB OCZ Plat. sticks for ($150)

 

[AshenSugar]

ddr1 systems are a bad investment these days, rams price is climing fast, ddr1 on the other hand is still price droping nicely .

 

[bruins004]

Oh no wasnt saying to get a DDR1 system.
Just suprised at how high RAM prices has gone.
Thats all.

 

[AshenSugar]

had you asked b4 you ordered i could have gotten you a better deal for less $

http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=19173

read that topic, my post has a full system thats fully upgradeable for 509bucks
2gb ddr2
3600+ sempy64(starter overclocking cpu)
tforce 6100board(great clocking board)
epower 500watt psu.
320gb hdd
18x dvd burner with 16x dvdram support(samsung)
cheap case(not a bad one for the price tho)

gfx are on the mobo, ruffly = to x300 perf, board has pci-e for video upgrade.

allaround a great buy for the price and easly upgraded as $ permits^^

 

[C0mrad3]

Just as an FYI just make sure you dont use 4 x 512mb modules of RAM.
If you do, the performance gain is not that big.

I suggest you wait a few weeks on the GPU to see if prices drop.
If they dont the 7900GTO is the best for $250 these days.

Also, DDR RAM has been pretty expensive these days (just take that into consideration).

What is this rig going to be used for.
If gaming save yourself some money on the Sound Card and get the Sound Blaster Live Edition ($20 at CompUSA and other stores).
It is well worth the $20 since the sounds are soo much better (Def best bang for the buck).

1)I'm getting 1GB sticks, so performance gain will not be a problem.
2)I plan on waiting a little while as I just ordered it, so GPU prices will be down.
3)I found some good prices on DDR RAM on Newegg.
4)The SoundBlaster Live! doesn't have the amount of quality the Audigy 2ZS has, and the ZS is only 50 bucks more.
5)Ketxxx, It's not Vista, it's XP Pro,that was a miscommunication.
6)Thanks for the offer AshenSugar, but I have an Athlon, and I'd rather just get the 64 with the possibility of getting the 64 X2 down the road.

Thanks everyone for their input and suggestions, I will definitely be looking into the 7900GT and the specific model of my ASUS mobo.

 

[AshenSugar]

1)I'm getting 1GB sticks, so performance gain will not be a problem.
2)I plan on waiting a little while as I just ordered it, so GPU prices will be down.
3)I found some good prices on DDR RAM on Newegg.
4)The SoundBlaster Live! doesn't have the amount of quality the Audigy 2ZS has, and the ZS is only 50 bucks more.
5)Ketxxx, It's not Vista, it's XP Pro,that was a miscommunication.
6)Thanks for the offer AshenSugar, but I have an Athlon, and I'd rather just get the 64 with the possibility of getting the 64 X2 down the road.

Thanks everyone for their input and suggestions, I will definitely be looking into the 7900GT and the specific model of my ASUS mobo.

um dude am2 supports sempy64, athlon64(normal and x2),opteron, and fx chips, and has 3-5years upgrades on the way. reasion i point ppl whith low funds to sempy64 is its cheap and 256k version perform at most 5% slower in apps such as 3dstudio max(not something ur gonna likely run on a singel core system these days anyway)

ddr1 is priced higher then ddr2 now days, its around 200 for a ddr1 2gb kit, its around 170 for a ddr2 2gb kit, thats a huge diffrance.
sempy64 are just athlon64's with less cache/less cache enabled, and because of the cache being smaller they tend to overclock better

939 is EOL come the end of the year, you wont beable to get a new chip for that board soon, so you better grab a dual core b4 they are all gone.

 

[C0mrad3]

um dude am2 supports sempy64, athlon64(normal and x2),opteron, and fx chips, and has 3-5years upgrades on the way. reasion i point ppl whith low funds to sempy64 is its cheap and 256k version perform at most 5% slower in apps such as 3dstudio max(not something ur gonna likely run on a singel core system these days anyway)

ddr1 is priced higher then ddr2 now days, its around 200 for a ddr1 2gb kit, its around 170 for a ddr2 2gb kit, thats a huge diffrance.
sempy64 are just athlon64's with less cache/less cache enabled, and because of the cache being smaller they tend to overclock better

939 is EOL come the end of the year, you wont beable to get a new chip for that board soon, so you better grab a dual core b4 they are all gone.

I think I'm getting DDR2, though I'm not 100 percent positive.

Why wouldn't I be able to get a new chip for my motherboard soon, it's not socket 939?

 

[AshenSugar]

um AMD Athlon 64 3700 Processor not am2, there are 3500 and 3800 for am2(ddr2 suppor only comes with am2) 3700 is 939 and ddr1.

939 is the "old" platform, am2 has replaced it, amd has set 939 EOL(end of life) come the end of the year amd takes no more orders for socket939 chips, and supplys of x2's and optis will go fast to people with gaing 939 systems that dont want to go am2 till they absolutly have to.

so from your speds your getting 939 and ddr1..........

also do you even know the brand of psu hes giving you, if its not a name brand then your gonna have to replace it with a 40-50$ one from newegg if you want to use any high end gfx card thats currently avalable.

you may want to do some research b4 you order stuff next time, its better to build your own OR at least get the parts and just have a local guy/shop assimble them for you, as you know what your getting for sure and can pick each part for best price/perf/longevity

 

[TXcharger]

screw audigy get the X-FI!!! lol its supposed to be really good

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814161043
^^^^^
splurge and get that, thats what id do

 

[C0mrad3]

um AMD Athlon 64 3700 Processor not am2, there are 3500 and 3800 for am2(ddr2 suppor only comes with am2) 3700 is 939 and ddr1.

939 is the "old" platform, am2 has replaced it, amd has set 939 EOL(end of life) come the end of the year amd takes no more orders for socket939 chips, and supplys of x2's and optis will go fast to people with gaing 939 systems that dont want to go am2 till they absolutly have to.

so from your speds your getting 939 and ddr1..........

also do you even know the brand of psu hes giving you, if its not a name brand then your gonna have to replace it with a 40-50$ one from newegg if you want to use any high end gfx card thats currently avalable.

you may want to do some research b4 you order stuff next time, its better to build your own OR at least get the parts and just have a local guy/shop assimble them for you, as you know what your getting for sure and can pick each part for best price/perf/longevity

Listen, the guy has been building computers for my family for a long time, I'm not worried about it.

Secondly, I know it's a not a brand name PU, but since I don't have a high end GFX card in there then it doesn't matter, but when I do, I'm getting a Rosewill 550W Modular Power Supply. I currently have a Rosewill and I find it excellent.

Next, I'm not scared of never finding a dual-core AMD64 processor; just because they specified the EOL, doesn't mean I won't be able to get one for a decent price ever again (ebay, newegg surplus, etc.)

Also, I mentioned already I checked the prices of DDR, both 1 and 2, and if I have to get DDR1 that's fine because I don't really see a jump in prices since the last time I bought a 1GB stick.

I appreciate your concern, but you have to have a little more faith, I may not be an expert, but I know what I'm doing.

 

[AshenSugar]

Listen, the guy has been building computers for my family for a long time, I'm not worried about it.

Secondly, I know it's a not a brand name PU, but since I don't have a high end GFX card in there then it doesn't matter, but when I do, I'm getting a Rosewill 550W Modular Power Supply. I currently have a Rosewill and I find it excellent.

good luck with that, a shit psu can kill a system thats under very little load had guy bring me a sempy64 2600+ a while back that had a 9250 video card and 1 5400rpm hdd, the cheapo psu that he got blew killing every part in the system even the floppy drive.

and rosewill arent considered highquility by any computer guru's i know and i been doing this for over 15 years(long befor rosewill started up)

i reccomend stuff because i see people make pitfalls like you are with the system your getting, not having a clue what parts they are really getting, just trusting the guy they have had build computers for them b4...
he may have earned that trust, but anybody who advises sticking with a crap psu needs kicking in the ballz with skie boots.

 

[Agility]

Lol chill dude. Seriously comrade i kinda agree with him a little. Just cause he's built computer for your families for years doesn't mean he will come up parts thats completely worth trusting. You could trust him, but can you trust the product he recommends or the manufacturer? You should research more on it before buying. Rosewill..never even heard of it before.... And for your information, AM2 socket only supports DDR2. Plain Socket 939 supports up to DDR1. So its either AM2 socket motherboard which means DDR2 or Socket-939 motherboard with DDR1.

 

[AshenSugar]

that asus boards probbly one of the VIA chipset boards to........they are the cheapest crap asus makes.......for good reasion....via sucks.

 

[C0mrad3]

good luck with that, a shit psu can kill a system thats under very little load had guy bring me a sempy64 2600+ a while back that had a 9250 video card and 1 5400rpm hdd, the cheapo psu that he got blew killing every part in the system even the floppy drive.

and rosewill arent considered highquility by any computer guru's i know and i been doing this for over 15 years(long befor rosewill started up)

i reccomend stuff because i see people make pitfalls like you are with the system your getting, not having a clue what parts they are really getting, just trusting the guy they have had build computers for them b4...
he may have earned that trust, but anybody who advises sticking with a crap psu needs kicking in the ballz with skie boots.

No, I really do appreciate your input and I am not blindly trusting this guy. It's just that the budget is limited because it is a Christmas present and I can't be building a super computer. Being in college, I really don't have use for a super powerful computer either, just one quick enough for multiple tasks at reasonable speeds, maybe the occasional gaming.

I like the Rosewill PSU's because I know several people that own them and did some research on the web. They are moderately priced and offer decent enough stablility. I know I could get a much more expensive high end psu, but I just can't afford it.

I will defnitely be looking into upgrading the cpu rather quickly as the eol, as you mentioned, has been designated for the end of the year, so I'm not going to take my time.

The guy that builds for us also includes a free year of service if anything goes wrong, so I mean the parts he gets aren't that shoddy, and like I said, I will be upgrading most of it.

Thanks again for your input and keep it coming.

 

[pt]

No, I really do appreciate your input and I am not blindly trusting this guy. It's just that the budget is limited because it is a Christmas present and I can't be building a super computer. Being in college, I really don't have use for a super powerful computer either, just one quick enough for multiple tasks at reasonable speeds, maybe the occasional gaming.

I like the Rosewill PSU's because I know several people that own them and did some research on the web. They are moderately priced and offer decent enough stablility. I know I could get a much more expensive high end psu, but I just can't afford it.

I will defnitely be looking into upgrading the cpu rather quickly as the eol, as you mentioned, has been designated for the end of the year, so I'm not going to take my time.

The guy that builds for us also includes a free year of service if anything goes wrong, so I mean the parts he gets aren't that shoddy, and like I said, I will be upgrading most of it.

Thanks again for your input and keep it coming.

i agree with comrad
a lot of my friends have generic psu's and only one of them blow up (due to his stupidity) and only killed his mobo

 

[AshenSugar]

No, I really do appreciate your input and I am not blindly trusting this guy. It's just that the budget is limited because it is a Christmas present and I can't be building a super computer. Being in college, I really don't have use for a super powerful computer either, just one quick enough for multiple tasks at reasonable speeds, maybe the occasional gaming.

I like the Rosewill PSU's because I know several people that own them and did some research on the web. They are moderately priced and offer decent enough stablility. I know I could get a much more expensive high end psu, but I just can't afford it.

I will defnitely be looking into upgrading the cpu rather quickly as the eol, as you mentioned, has been designated for the end of the year, so I'm not going to take my time.

The guy that builds for us also includes a free year of service if anything goes wrong, so I mean the parts he gets aren't that shoddy, and like I said, I will be upgrading most of it.

Thanks again for your input and keep it coming.

fortron and e-power are high grade psu's but dont cause over much, the list i made of parts is LESS then your paying now and you get MORE POWER every singel part i gave you is powerfull, the cpu takes little to no real work to push well past singel core a64 perf, the ram is 2x what hes givint you, hdds also 2x what hes giving you, psu is NAME BRAND.

my point is that you could have ordered the parts, then payed him a few bucks to put it togather if you couldnt do it yourself, and you would KNOW what your getting 100%, not guessing at what ur getting

and PT i been a tech 15+years now, i seen alot of psu's in that time, allmost all cheap ones that blew and took out EVERYTHING not just the mobo but every part in the system, theres a reasion u get them for 20bucks or free with a case, because they arent worth selling alone.

 

[C0mrad3]

fortron and e-power are high grade psu's but dont cause over much, the list i made of parts is LESS then your paying now and you get MORE POWER every singel part i gave you is powerfull, the cpu takes little to no real work to push well past singel core a64 perf, the ram is 2x what hes givint you, hdds also 2x what hes giving you, psu is NAME BRAND.

my point is that you could have ordered the parts, then payed him a few bucks to put it togather if you couldnt do it yourself, and you would KNOW what your getting 100%, not guessing at what ur getting

and PT i been a tech 15+years now, i seen alot of psu's in that time, allmost all cheap ones that blew and took out EVERYTHING not just the mobo but every part in the system, theres a reasion u get them for 20bucks or free with a case, because they arent worth selling alone.

Well do you have some reccomendations for a video card or a psu then? These are parts I look to upgrade.

Also, what DDR1 1GB RAM would you reccomend?

 

[AshenSugar]

one that matches the stick your getting, u dont wana use mixed ram in 939.

psu, Fortron source power/fsp, or E-Power/tagen price/perf they are the best buys your gonna find.

video card, when you get one, x1900gt/x1950pro, or x1900xt great careds, great windows drivers(i use the omegadrivers though ) give best chance of lasting a couple/few years as they are VERY shader heavy (gt/pro=36shaders, xt=48)