Who wants to spend my money?

[NathanA]

Okay guys, I have about 2500 dollars to spend on a new desktop computer (give or take a couple hundred). If you had this money, what would you get? I plan on buying parts and building it myself. Please list, as detailed as you can, what you would opt to get, and, if possible, why you chose that. Package must include tower and components, LCD monitor, and mouse/keyboard combo. I already have a 120gb Maxtor HDD, win XP home package, and a Memorex 16x dual layer DVD drive. Anyways, I thought you guys might have fun spending my money!

 

[ming]

MSI Neo4 Platinum Mobo - Good performance for NF4, Dual Gigabit LAN, OCing.
AMD Athlon64 3500+ - (value for money)
Nvidia 6800 Ultra GFX - Best on the market at the moment
Thermaltake Armor Case - cool design, ATX/BTX compatible.
Corsair Twin1024-3200XL Pro (2-2-5-2) - low latency, high performance.

 

[ElementalDragon]

ming, he could always go with a 6800GT and OC it to Ultra specs and save probably around $100.

 

[onimkron]

I agree on the motherboard, MSI are producing some nice motherboards recently. Asus and Gigabyte do some nice SLI motherboard's too, if you're interested in going down that route.

For processor, I'd personally go for the Athlon 64 3000+, the performance between this and the others in the Socket 939 category doesn't seem to be too much, so you could use the savings on other components. It also overclocks really, really well, but again this depends if this is what you're planning to do.

Corsair''s reputation precdes it, has lots of good reviews Alternatively, you can go for OCZ (platinum series) or Crucial's Ballistix series.

If you don't fancy an Nvidia card, you could also wait for the next batch of PCI-E cards. I haven't really checked up on this, I've only read up on the newer 6600 GT, but if it's a fast AGP card you're after, the Ultra is probably the best bet

Just choose a case with nice airflow. 120mm fans are very useful, they're very quiet in comparision to their smaller (80mm) siblings. Good airflow is a plus these days with so many hot components.

Edit: You could always just save up and go further with your money; top of the line Athlon FX, liquid cooling etc. Sure to cost quite a lot though!

 

[trainmaster77]

I am more than happy to spend your money. HAHA

Samsung 915n 19inch monitor - 389.00 www.newegg.com
Ultra x-connect modular PS - 100.00 pretty much anywhere
Any full tower case - 80.00
Asus a8n-sli deluxe - 190.00
1 gig mushkin ram pc3200
dual channel black lvl2 - 219.00
2 BFG 6800gt oc SLI - 900.00
AMD fx53 retail box - 730.00


total so far ......................... 2608
assorted fans .................. 50.00
Total ... without shipping 2658.00

you could also opt for any keyboard mouse depending on how much over you wanted to go ..but id vouche for the logitect mx1000 mouse and the saitek gamers keyboard which would set you back about another 100 bucks.

Since this mobo has pretty good internal sound (7.1) you could stick with that and later on opt to a soundblaster audigy2 and pick it up from ebay.

Speakers ..well im assuming you have a stereo at home and could just run a cable to your receiver.

Or you could get logitech z3500 for about 70 bucks or go for the creative 750's which is 7.1 supposedly the best multimedia speakers around and would set you back another 450 freight included (from ebay)


If you got all this at say newegg you would pay about 40 bucks shipping ... if you purchased the case locally and the powersupply which are the heaviest items ... you would save a good bit on freight i think more saved than paying taxes.

Just my 2 cents. Its easy now for someone to replace items on this particular list but at least its a start.

 

[NathanA]

Thanks guys fopr the quick replies! I am looking forward to building my new system. As far a water cooling is concerned....well, im not too convinced by that yet...something about using water that close to electronic components makes me shudder...call me old fashioned...lol...anyways, keep the ideas coming!

-Nathan

 

[trainmaster77]

Thanks guys fopr the quick replies! I am looking forward to building my new system. As far a water cooling is concerned....well, im not too convinced by that yet...something about using water that close to electronic components makes me shudder...call me old fashioned...lol...anyways, keep the ideas coming!

-Nathan

watercooling is overkill.

 

[mlakrid]

Watercooling is only overkill if you dont plan on OC'ing... If you do... even old fashioned you should check it out, many of the water cooling systems are ALMOST idiot proof.... Im only doing a 10% OC for now, and after I decide which I am going to use I will be shooting for around a 40% OC.... with my 3.2 Intel Proc which now put out more heat that the amds (roles reversed about a year ago) the heat would be too much for standard air cooling....

But hey what do I know? Im a N00b Overcl0cker....

Hehe

 

[NathanA]

Forgot to mention that my new system needs to relatively quiet...anyone have any experience with Antec's Sonata case?

 

[mlakrid]

As for spending your money... Here are my thoughts...
Asus P4P800-E with 3.2GHz PRESCOTT $333 (with shipping) Pricewatch
256MB DDR3 x850XT Platinum 8x AGP $675 (with shipping) Pricewatch
Corsair TWIN XP1024-3200XL 2-2-2-5 Memory with LEDs continued next Line ....> (2 pair for a total 2GB) $698 (with shipping) Pricewatch
DELL 2005FPW 578 (with Shipping) Pricewatch
2x WD 36GB 10000 RPM SATA Raptors $220 (with shipping) Pricewatch
Windows XP Pro w/SP2 $155 (about anywhere when you purchase this stuff)
Thermaltake Tsunami VA3400SWA (silver with plexiglass side and dual 120 mm fans and 400W Power Supply) $129 from pricegrabber SHIPPING not included because I dont know where you live.....

and the edited total is: $2788....

Aint computer prices SOO much better now???

BOOO YAH!! Man I amaze myself sometimes hehehe....

 

[trainmaster77]

Forgot to mention that my new system needs to relatively quiet...anyone have any experience with Antec's Sonata case?

well if you wanna do quiet yer budget is too small. i personally always opt for sheer power. AMD is the way to go if you are gaming.

About the overclocking ... if you buy top notch stuff to begin with ... the need for overclocking is almost nill and the money you would spend on a good watercooling system would be better spent on hi end components instead. this fx55 i have would smoke any current intel based system and i figure the fx53 would probably do the same thing.

you get double and almost triple fsb speeds with amd without overclocking. but that argument can go on and on and on so i guess it depends on preference.

just think all that money and a small fitting that this fella in a chinese factory didnt quite fit correctly or wasnt totally exact and boxed it up anyway to be sent to the US in a container. Then you get it .. put this watercooling system in case ..and that particular fitting happens to barely drip water ..and your computer shorts and well .. you know the rest of the story.

 

[onimkron]

Have to agree, water cooling is a bit of an overkill if you aren't planning on overclocking much, hence why it's not neccessary for you to spend that much money on. On the other hand, it does keep it quiet by quite a margin. Can be pretty daunting to set up, but some good kits come with some nice manuals these days. Plus, there's the special coolant you can use to reduce the chances of shorting your equipment..but with so many benefits, there's a cost issue, and of course time consumption

Nice, wide range of dieas for you to pick through do! Like to see what you get when you come to spending all that money

 

[NathanA]

So I have gone through your suggestions, and have compiled what I want...please look through and see if Im missing anythings and make some suggestions. I'm getting a SLI capable MB for future expansion...I plan on getting only one video card right now. What sort of fan should I get for my CPU? Is the stock one good enough? Basically, I'm looking for more guidance/suggestions...click the link below to see what I've selected so far...thanks to those who have responded so far!

-Nathan

Shopping Cart

 

[ming]

Did you take a look at the Armor case from thermaltake?
http://www.thermaltake.com/xasercase/armor/armormenu.htm

 

[NathanA]

Yes, I looked at the Armor case...it seems to be a bit bigger than the tsunami. Is there any particular reason why you would suggest the armor over the tsunami?

 

[ming]

Only reason would be the BTX compatibility (future proofing) and you can move the drives to any position in the case.

Mind you, I have the tsunami case myself... and it's cool

 

[Tuffgong4]

after looking at your cart I think you have put together a very nice system. one thing I would change though is a dvd burner for the cdrw drive you have in there. it would only be a 40 dollar difference and you would be able to back up more of your stuff. since they don't carry NEC dvdr drives I would recommend an LG brand dvdr drive.

and I like the fact that you are using zipzoomfly.com, it is a totally underrated online hardware merchant that more people should use

 

[NathanA]

after looking at your cart I think you have put together a very nice system. one thing I would change though is a dvd burner for the cdrw drive you have in there. it would only be a 40 dollar difference and you would be able to back up more of your stuff. since they don't carry NEC dvdr drives I would recommend an LG brand dvdr drive.

and I like the fact that you are using zipzoomfly.com, it is a totally underrated online hardware merchant that more people should use

Sorry if I forgot to mention, I already have a Memorex 16x DL DVD burner to go along with my system...yes, zipzoomfly has great customer service, and their prices are always great!

 

[trainmaster77]

the samsung monitor you have in your shopping cart seems a bit high. you can get the 8ms response time one for 390 at newegg with free shipping. that would save you about 50 bucks to put on something else.

and also note that lcd in your cart has 25ms response which building a gaming system you would be disappointed with very apparent ghosting

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=24-001-185&depa=0&CMP=EMC-neemail030805&ATT=915N

 

[NathanA]

That monitor does not have DVI input...could you make another suggestion?