Building A Pc - Could Use Some Suggestions/crits

[woah]

I am building a low-end/mid-range PC with a target price of $550. My goal is to build something that will be satisfactory for the time being, but substantially upgradable in the future. So far, I think I've done pretty well (much more credit to those on the steam forums and hardware IRC channels that have assisted me), but I'm trying to get as much input as possible. Therefore, if my fellow DarkModders would be so kind as to analyze the configuration I have below, your criticisms would be very welcome .

 

 

MB: ASUS A8N5X Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail $77

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16813131569

 

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice 1GHz HT 512KB L2 Cache Socket 939 Processor - Retail $120

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16819103537

 

PSU: Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-550 550W Power Supply - Retail $90

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16817103931

 

 

RAM: pqi TURBO 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Dual Channel Kit System Memory - Retail $66.99

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16820141152

 

 

GFX: GIGABYTE GV-NX66T128D-SP Geforce 6600GT 128MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail $114.99

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16814125015

 

CASE: CHENMING 301KEB-0-0 Black Computer Case - Retail $35.50

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16811125450

 

HD: Western Digital Caviar SE WD400JD 40GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM $49.00

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16822144173

 

(I know I don't have a CD/DVD drive selected...I'm hoping one might just "pop up" at one time or another...it could happen...)

 

Total: $553

 

In addition, what are your opinions on cheap vs. expensive Power Supply Units? Do I really need to spend >70 to get a quality PSU? I'm seeing the same stats of $90 units on $50 units, but I'm warned that the $50 units are prone to die and kill your whole system. And then there are others that say the $50 units are perfectly fine--even for a person who plans on making a substantial upgrade in the future. One part of me wants to go for a $50 unit--in place of a $90, and spend the difference on a higher quality video card, and the other part of me wants to ensure stability and upgradability for the future. I'm torn to say the least..

 

Also, how much of a difference is there between CAS2 and CAS2.5 DDR ram?

 

Thanks

Edited April 11, 2006 by woah

[obscurus]

Yes, you really do need to spend the cash on a good power supply. It is probably the least glamorous component, but is arguably the most important part to spend big on. Antec make good power supplies, as do SuperFlower. Look for one with a single large fan and a large grille area on the back - they are quieter and more efficient at cooling your PC. Good PSUs feel quite heavy when you hold them in your hand - cheap ones use dodgy capacitors etc. which are very light-weight. A cheap PSU is a bad idea - if you buy an expensive graphics card and the cheap PSU craps out and fries your graphics card, you will be spending a whole lot more in the end. Don't risk it.

 

Don't worry about the CAS timings on the RAM, it makes a negligible difference in real world applications if you have CAS 2, 2.5 or 3 RAM - it might equate to 1 - 2 FPS difference in Quake IV at most.

 

Otherwise your plan looks pretty good. Stay away from Maxtor hard drives, they are shit.

[Domarius]

If you want max upgradability, best you can do is make sure you support the latest standards and hope for the best - that they don't do what they did to me and double back on that whole Socket 470 CPU thing.

 

Also, I think - never pay for more power in the hopes of it lasting you longer. You'll just waste money and be superceeded anyway, mainly by new features if not power. Best to get the seriously dropped prices of the mid-range stuff more frequently, than buy expensive cutting edge less often. Since the games are usually designed for the mid range stuff, you can also be sure of being able to play the current games.

[woah]

True . I'd never buy high-end stuff. I use to, but it's so rediculously expensive.

 

I don't really expect this PC to last that long considering new technologies are imminent, though (the new AM2 standard is two months away, but AM2 won't really be useful until sometime in 2007), but I guess you could end up waiting forever. In the mean time, I'll probably just buy a new GFX card. Then, when AM2 comes around, I'll just upgrade my motherboard, processor, and ram. Hopefully the PSU will still be good and going then.

[Dram]

That's pretty good. That US$ or AU$?

[woah]

$US, and I just bought it last night .

[oDDity]

My cheapo PSU blew out a few weeks back, and it has damaged my MB a little I think, the computer won't restart properly any more, I have to switch it on and off at the socket now.

I will be buying a better one next time.

Most noise comes from the PSU, right?

HOw much to you hve to spend to get a really quiet one?

[obscurus]

Northbridge cooler fans and GPU fans are usually the worst culprits when it comes to noise (small fans with shittty bearings), but cheap PSUs are badly designed with poor airflow leading to turbulence and noise. Good PSUs use bigger fans (big fan + slower RPM = same amount of air pushed with less noise), and lots of ventilation at the back, and help to draw air over your CPU.

 

Around AUD $100 (GBP 40 - 50 pounds, $75 USD) + will get you a decent one, more will get you better. It is also a good idea to invest in a good quality power board with high current surge protection. In most countries, the power coming through the lines into your house varies wildly - for example, here in Australia, the standard is meant to be 240V AC, but it is usually 230V in reality, but it can fluctuate between 220V and 260V during the day. Good PSUs can handle this range of fluctuation, cheaper ones can't, and will fry when their tolerance is exceeded. A lot of electrical appliance manufacturers will not apply their product warranties to devices that fail because the juice coming out of the power lines was not the voltage the appliance was designed for, and you can sue your electrical utility company if they fail to keep their voltages on spec, but most people don't know this.

 

Personally, I would settle for a lesser graphics card than a lesser PSU...

[Domarius]

Yeah the money you'd save by going cheap on your PSU would probably get you maybe 5 more FPS if you spent it on your video card anyway

[OrbWeaver]

Northbridge cooler fans and GPU fans are usually the worst culprits when it comes to noise (small fans with shittty bearings),

 

No shit - my nice new X850 XT has a dedicated vent port for the fan (standard 2-slot job) and it sounds like a vacuum cleaner when it starts up.

 

Fortunately the fan never seems to go above 13 percent, even when playing games, so the noise isn't too much of a problem.

[oDDity]

You're crazy spending that much on a graphcis card, just so you can crank antialiasing up to 16x.

Anyway, Sapphire do verisons of most radeons with silent liquid cooling.

[OrbWeaver]

You're crazy spending that much on a graphcis card, just so you can crank antialiasing up to 16x.

 

They are on special offer from Ebuyer:

 

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/in...duct_uid=105306

 

Pretty good deal considering that is less expensive than the average X800 XL which was what I was originally intending to get.

 

I only use 2x antialiasing and 4x AF, but now I can play in 1280x1024 at full framerate which I couldn't before with my 9800XT.

[oDDity]

Yeah, actually that's a lot chraper tha I imgained, it's not much more than my 9600xt cost when I bought a few years back..

I'll have to start getting into PC hardware again, since I'm going to be buying a new system in the coming months, and this is the only time I take much interest in the scene.

[Fingernail]

Well I hate to tell you I was looking at a X1900 for my new summer PC.

 

Now they are expensive!

[woah]

I was planning on getting the X850XT if I had gotten the PSU lower. Only $163 at NewEgg.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16814102483

[woah]

It seems that I am getting significant artifacting and occasional freezes in Half-Life 2 and Doom 3 (the only games I have ATM). The odd thing is, my CPU and GPU temps are perfectly fine (according to the Nvidia temp monitor). Why would I be getting artifacting if my GPU is not overheating? It has yet to even breach 70 degrees. Maybe the temp monitor on my card is inaccurate? (but could it really be inaccurate by 40-60 degrees?!).

 

Anyways, it is a fanless GPU, but that still does not explain my artifacting problems given that the temperatures are quite low and normal...

[Dram]

strange. What card and is it overclocked?

[woah]

GIGABYTE GV-NX66T128D-SP Geforce 6600GT 128MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card

[Dram]

Very strange indeed. That's the same card I have, except it's an agp 8x version.

 

So basically it just artifacts all the time and is not even overheating? If this is the case then I would very quickly go and see the person who sold it to you and demand a refund or replacement. Last time my card was doing artifacts (another older card) it died a week later.

[Dram]

Oh, another problem it might be is the power it's getting. If it's not getting enough juice it could be doing this. What's the wattage of your psu?

[obscurus]

I'm tellin' ya, it'll be the PSU... if it is a cheapo one or it is failing, it won't keep its voltages on spec, and your PC will behave erratically. If you have a multimeter handy, check the voltages coming off the 12V and 5V rails when everything is running at full tilt. If they are off by more than half a volt you have a problem, and probably need a new PSU. If you don't have a multimeter, you can use some software diagnostic utilities that use the MB circuitry to detect the voltages, but this is ususally less accurate than using a multimeter.

 

If your 12 volt is actually putting out closer 13V for example, your computer will be more prone to crashes. If your voltages are fine it might be a driver issue, but I'm guessing you've probably already tried that...

 

What PSU do you have Woah?

[woah]

I have the Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-550 550W Power Supply

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16817103931

 

Once I get home, I'll check the voltages and what not...

[obscurus]

That is a very good quality PSU, so unless it has been damaged in an electrical surge or is worn out, it is more likely you have a defect in your graphics card or mobo somewhere... hmmm. Still worth checking the voltages, but I suspect that won't be the problem.

[Dram]

Indeed, a good quality psu.

 

I'd check the card. Try running the ATI Tool as it will show you if you're getting artifacts and all - and it's VERY intensive for the card - a perfect test. It's not only for ATI cards if you're going to ask

 

Run it and if you do get any artifacts at normal clock speeds etc then return the card and get a replacement - remember, there are always faulty cards, you could just be unlucky and got one of them.

[woah]

I just ran ATI Tool and I started getting extreme artifacting within 3 seconds--default clock speeds. ATI Tool recorded my temperatures as a mere 42C...

 

I'm returning it tomorrow. Not for a replacement, but for a refund. I wanted a more powerful GFX card anyways.

 

I'm going to be buying a new graphics card, but I don't know which one to get. My budget is ~$250 USD. Anyone have any recommendations?