Attempting a Rebuild

Unospazmatic · 07-18-2008, 01:18 PM

Hello all, i am new to these forums and I just wanted to start by saying that there is so much helpful information on this site.

Well, anyway my current PC specs are as follows

AMD Athlon x2 4800+(socket 939 version)
Asus A8n32-sli deluxe mobo
Creative Soundblaster live 24bit
Some generic bestbuy ram 1gig pc3200
Lightscribe dvd/rw
A fairly old but fast cd/rw
A maxtor 80gb hdd and a hitachi 20gb
Nvidia bfg 7900gt(256)

Now for the difficult part. I am going to be going back to work soon and want to upgrade my pc. Going to start with my case to see if that doesn't fix some of my heat/cooling issues. Then my PSU and ram and so on and so forth.

What I am wondering is with the upgrades I want to get will the PSU I want to get be able to run everything.

That and what do you guys think of this stuff. If you know of anything that gives better performance or performs the same with lower cost please tell me.

Here is what i am getting in the way of upgrades.

Case
PSU
RAM
hdd

I think that is everything I will be upgrading. So please, comments thoughts and questions.

P.S. If you have any suggestions for other upgrades and know a good site to purchase them(besides newegg lol) then feel free to tell me.

Edit: Also I forgot. My $$$$ limit on single pieces of hardware is about $400-500 each, lower is always better but if you gotta drop the cash for higher performance then so be it xD

**linderman** · 07-18-2008, 04:37 PM

WOW I'm kinda speechless (imagine that )

$400.00 for a case ...................... as much as I LOVE lian-li I could never get myself to splurge like that

I am thinking ......... you would have ALOT more performance if you upgraded for real !

Like this:

Coolermaster Centurion Full Tower Case - $150.00

Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS4 motherboard $179.00

or

ASUS P5K-E wifi same cost as gigabyte board

Corsair XMS ram - 2 x 1 gig PC2-6400 / DDR2-800 with 4-4-4-12 timings $60.00 or less ?

CPU = Intel E8400

Corsair TX-750 watt $99.00 at provantage .com

your old board is still selling very well on ebay ......... get it done !! sell it off !!

at least from this upgrade you would see some SPEED improvement

**linderman** · 07-18-2008, 04:41 PM

you should be able to get around $300.00 for your old parts which will get replaced ???????

out of pocket expense = $400.00 evaluate that one in comparision!

Unospazmatic · 07-19-2008, 08:36 PM

Yeah, that does sound kindof helpful actually. Have any links to that case so I can get a look at its dimensions?

I had planned on keeping this mobo/cpu and just ocing it but since I am redoing half my junk might as well go with the other half xD

So you're saying get this mobo with this psu and this cpu?

Also, i found this ram which doesn't look too bad for the price.

Tell me what you think of this case.

I plan on shopping around for everything, I just need to get a new case first as this one is small and is the major source of my cooling problems.

Unospazmatic · 07-19-2008, 09:07 PM

Also, it seems I forgot something in my first post that i meant to do but was too tired

Budget: How much money are you willing to spend on the new build?

$400-$500 per piece of hardware at most.

Brands: Are there any brands of components you want or don't want?

As long as it performs well at the price level with good reviews to back it brand does not matter.

Multitasking: Will you be multitasking with this computer and if so, how much?

Very minor levels of multitasking. An MMO with winamp/vent and maybe a few other programs.

Gaming: Will you be gaming and if so, how much and how new are the games?

I plan on gaming fairly heavily into some of the newer fps games as well as getting in more mmo's.

Calculations: Will you be doing any intense calculations or media encoding?

It is possible but unlikely. Very unlikely.

Overclocking: Do you plan on overclocking and if so, how much?

If it gives the speed and power necessary then probably not.

Storage: How much storage will you need and what will you be storing?

One tb at ABSOLUTE most. 500-750 gb would be plenty.

Legacy Support: Will you need support for older hardware like parallel, serial, or PS/2 devices?

Not really.

Operating System: Do you want Windows XP or Vista, or Linux compatibility?

xp

Case: Do you want help selecting a case and if so, how big do you want it?

Help is always handy, need full tower with plenty of room for fans preferable > than w8inches by h20 by d20

Accessories: Do you want a keyboard, mouse, or other items included?

I have some for now but again suggestions are always a good thing/

Recycled Components: Will you be reusing any components you already have?

Yes, my sound card, graphics and mobo/ram/cpu until they all get replaced.

Monitor: If you want a monitor, what size do you want and should it be widescreen?

I have one atm but I will be doing that after everything else is upgraded.

Stores: Do you have any online stores that you prefer to purchase from?

As long as they sell quality parts then I am fine. Prefer them all in one place but that is rarely possible

Location: What country do you live in?

The U.S.A.

**linderman** · 07-20-2008, 06:42 AM

YES all the parts you linked are decent and will deliver you a lot of bang for the buck $$

max performance without wasting money on "fluff"

Dont drag your feet buying that PSU....... it normally sells for $179.00

Unospazmatic · 07-22-2008, 11:24 AM

Already have it ordered

Unospazmatic · 07-26-2008, 03:10 AM

Well, thought I would update. The PSU I ordered was almost paid for when I got an email stating it was no longer available, so I found it through newegg and its still ~180. . .but w/e it is worth it.

So here is my updated list of what I currently will be recycling and what Linderman here has helped me with(thank you so much man, you're not only a pc saver you're also a $$$ saver xD).

Recycled

SB Live! 24bit 5.1 surround
Nvidia BFG 7900gt 256mb
My lightscribe dvd-rw and my cd-rw(although I may snag a new one before too long seeing as how cheap they've become)
And of course my copy of Xp(no reason to upgrade as of yet)

Now the new parts in the order I will be getting them.

Apevia X-Jupiter Silver (Case) $160
Corsair 750w PSU $180
Gigabyte GA-EP45T-DS3R $175
e8400 Wolfdale $175
WD Caviar 640mb Sata 3 hdd $90

Now comes the hard part. I have found some ram that is compatible with that mobo but I am unsure what to think as I haven't dealt with intel chipsets in probably close to a decade now. Tell me what you think of this ram at that price. I would like something cheaper but if it performs well it might be worth it.

Also I am tempted to upgrade my vid card. I don't care which way I go(nvidia or ati) as long as the ati card doesn't have too many driver problems(lol) or the nvidia gives good performance for its value(hah). Sorry, small joke there. Actually as long as it works well with the mobo I am fairly sure I can get it to work elsewhere, so please any suggestions?

Total(with shipping and the ram) is $960.38 so I am well under my budget. I was expecting to buy four parts at anywhere from $800-$1400 and now I have a full PC rebuild at the low end of that. So yeah Linderman rules.

Edit: Was just looking stuff over, my 7900gt can last me a while longer, I need to upgrade my monitor. Its an old IBM crt that maxes out at 1280/1024(lol) so yeah, a good lcd monitor is in order. Something around 200 bucks and 20 inches would do nicely if anyone has any suggestions.

**linderman** · 07-26-2008, 10:45 AM

dont waste your money on DDR3 ewwwwwwww

stick with DDR2-1066 / PC2-8500 Corsair Dominator

**linderman** · 07-26-2008, 10:46 AM

VID = ATI 4850 or 9800 GTX PLUS

**linderman** · 07-26-2008, 10:49 AM

you could easily shave off $100.00 on the case and power supply !!

that would pay for 50% of a new video card

then sell off your old card on ebay for $50.00 or $60.00

you would be sitting on a new VID card for $50.00

for my money = ditch the bling bling of the pretty case

Coolermaster centurion for $50.00

or look at antec "B" stock and 900 series case (go to antec.com )

**linderman** · 07-26-2008, 10:51 AM

http://www.antec.com/us/pro_specials.php

**linderman** · 07-26-2008, 10:53 AM

here you go ......................... found $80.00 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.provantage.com/corsair-cm...x~7CSMC05E.htm

**linderman** · 07-26-2008, 10:56 AM

http://www.antec.com/Search.bok?category=B+Stock

antec 900 gamer case

saved $60.00 more !!

Unospazmatic · 07-26-2008, 04:33 PM

Well first off, thanks for the quick reply with some very nice deals, that PSU is definately at the right price.

Only problem so far is that the case I listed is quite a bit bigger. I really need a case that is over 20 inches in the height and depth department, as the case you're showing is almost identical to mine save that that Antec has better ports and a window and is slightly wider than mine. I really need one that is(minimum) 20x8x20 for it to be an actual upgrade. As it stands now my case just gets no airflow so my CPU runs(with its normal heat sink) at around 52C. I've had to upgrade the cooler just to get it to get down to 48C, and when i take off the side panel to let it run it dropped down to 40C.

Small cases are bad =p

Found this one for $100(50 bucks off).

So when it comes to ram this corsair 1066 kit would be better than the other one I posted?

Just switching PSU, Ram and adding in a "stand in" case of about $100 my new total is $753 before shipping. I am definately glad I have waited to buy anything yet.

**linderman** · 07-26-2008, 04:42 PM

yes the DDR2 1066 ram will be faster than the DDR3 ram you listed ..... the DDR3 has CAS latency that is or almost is ..... twice the delay

think of the CAS latency number as how long it will take you to empty the garbage can in minutes

1066 memory has a CAS of 5

1600 and 1800 DDR3 have latencies of 7 & 9

the 1066 memory almost has enough time to make TWO trips

DDR2 -800 / PC6400 actually can make two trips with the sticks that are CAS 4-4-4-12

**linderman** · 07-26-2008, 04:45 PM

if you are going to overclock at all then DDR2- 1066 memory is the better choice

if you wont be overclock in a major way ...... then DDR2-800 PC8500 memory will do just fine

but the 1066 memory is now attractvely priced ......... 18 months ago it wasnt so pretty on the price !! ROFL

07-18-2008, 01:18 PM	#1 (permalink)
Unospazmatic Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 57 OS: Xp My System	Attempting a Rebuild Hello all, i am new to these forums and I just wanted to start by saying that there is so much helpful information on this site. Well, anyway my current PC specs are as follows AMD Athlon x2 4800+(socket 939 version) Asus A8n32-sli deluxe mobo Creative Soundblaster live 24bit Some generic bestbuy ram 1gig pc3200 Lightscribe dvd/rw A fairly old but fast cd/rw A maxtor 80gb hdd and a hitachi 20gb Nvidia bfg 7900gt(256) Now for the difficult part. I am going to be going back to work soon and want to upgrade my pc. Going to start with my case to see if that doesn't fix some of my heat/cooling issues. Then my PSU and ram and so on and so forth. What I am wondering is with the upgrades I want to get will the PSU I want to get be able to run everything. That and what do you guys think of this stuff. If you know of anything that gives better performance or performs the same with lower cost please tell me. Here is what i am getting in the way of upgrades. Case PSU RAM hdd I think that is everything I will be upgrading. So please, comments thoughts and questions. P.S. If you have any suggestions for other upgrades and know a good site to purchase them(besides newegg lol) then feel free to tell me. Edit: Also I forgot. My $$$$ limit on single pieces of hardware is about $400-500 each, lower is always better but if you gotta drop the cash for higher performance then so be it xD Last edited by Unospazmatic : 07-18-2008 at 01:26 PM. Reason: Forgot somethin

07-18-2008, 04:37 PM	#2 (permalink)
linderman Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 14,030 OS: win 2000 pro / Win XP pro My System	Re: Attempting a Rebuild WOW I'm kinda speechless (imagine that ) $400.00 for a case ...................... as much as I LOVE lian-li I could never get myself to splurge like that I am thinking ......... you would have ALOT more performance if you upgraded for real ! Like this: Coolermaster Centurion Full Tower Case - $150.00 Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS4 motherboard $179.00 or ASUS P5K-E wifi same cost as gigabyte board Corsair XMS ram - 2 x 1 gig PC2-6400 / DDR2-800 with 4-4-4-12 timings $60.00 or less ? CPU = Intel E8400 Corsair TX-750 watt $99.00 at provantage .com your old board is still selling very well on ebay ......... get it done !! sell it off !! at least from this upgrade you would see some SPEED improvement __________________ If you cant be polite and friendly; then please be silent. Last edited by linderman : 07-18-2008 at 04:39 PM.

07-18-2008, 04:41 PM	#3 (permalink)
linderman Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 14,030 OS: win 2000 pro / Win XP pro My System	Re: Attempting a Rebuild you should be able to get around $300.00 for your old parts which will get replaced ??????? out of pocket expense = $400.00 evaluate that one in comparision! __________________ If you cant be polite and friendly; then please be silent. Last edited by linderman : 07-18-2008 at 04:43 PM.

07-19-2008, 08:36 PM	#4 (permalink)
Unospazmatic Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 57 OS: Xp My System	Re: Attempting a Rebuild Yeah, that does sound kindof helpful actually. Have any links to that case so I can get a look at its dimensions? I had planned on keeping this mobo/cpu and just ocing it but since I am redoing half my junk might as well go with the other half xD So you're saying get this mobo with this psu and this cpu? Also, i found this ram which doesn't look too bad for the price. Tell me what you think of this case. I plan on shopping around for everything, I just need to get a new case first as this one is small and is the major source of my cooling problems. Last edited by Unospazmatic : 07-19-2008 at 08:58 PM. Reason: Added links

07-19-2008, 09:07 PM	#5 (permalink)
Unospazmatic Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 57 OS: Xp My System	Re: Attempting a Rebuild Also, it seems I forgot something in my first post that i meant to do but was too tired Budget: How much money are you willing to spend on the new build? $400-$500 per piece of hardware at most. Brands: Are there any brands of components you want or don't want? As long as it performs well at the price level with good reviews to back it brand does not matter. Multitasking: Will you be multitasking with this computer and if so, how much? Very minor levels of multitasking. An MMO with winamp/vent and maybe a few other programs. Gaming: Will you be gaming and if so, how much and how new are the games? I plan on gaming fairly heavily into some of the newer fps games as well as getting in more mmo's. Calculations: Will you be doing any intense calculations or media encoding? It is possible but unlikely. Very unlikely. Overclocking: Do you plan on overclocking and if so, how much? If it gives the speed and power necessary then probably not. Storage: How much storage will you need and what will you be storing? One tb at ABSOLUTE most. 500-750 gb would be plenty. Legacy Support: Will you need support for older hardware like parallel, serial, or PS/2 devices? Not really. Operating System: Do you want Windows XP or Vista, or Linux compatibility? xp Case: Do you want help selecting a case and if so, how big do you want it? Help is always handy, need full tower with plenty of room for fans preferable > than w8inches by h20 by d20 Accessories: Do you want a keyboard, mouse, or other items included? I have some for now but again suggestions are always a good thing/ Recycled Components: Will you be reusing any components you already have? Yes, my sound card, graphics and mobo/ram/cpu until they all get replaced. Monitor: If you want a monitor, what size do you want and should it be widescreen? I have one atm but I will be doing that after everything else is upgraded. Stores: Do you have any online stores that you prefer to purchase from? As long as they sell quality parts then I am fine. Prefer them all in one place but that is rarely possible Location: What country do you live in? The U.S.A.

07-20-2008, 06:42 AM	#6 (permalink)
linderman Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 14,030 OS: win 2000 pro / Win XP pro My System	Re: Attempting a Rebuild YES all the parts you linked are decent and will deliver you a lot of bang for the buck $$ max performance without wasting money on "fluff" Dont drag your feet buying that PSU....... it normally sells for $179.00 __________________ If you cant be polite and friendly; then please be silent.

07-22-2008, 11:24 AM	#7 (permalink)
Unospazmatic Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 57 OS: Xp My System	Re: Attempting a Rebuild Already have it ordered

07-26-2008, 03:10 AM	#8 (permalink)
Unospazmatic Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 57 OS: Xp My System	Re: Attempting a Rebuild Well, thought I would update. The PSU I ordered was almost paid for when I got an email stating it was no longer available, so I found it through newegg and its still ~180. . .but w/e it is worth it. So here is my updated list of what I currently will be recycling and what Linderman here has helped me with(thank you so much man, you're not only a pc saver you're also a $$$ saver xD). Recycled SB Live! 24bit 5.1 surround Nvidia BFG 7900gt 256mb My lightscribe dvd-rw and my cd-rw(although I may snag a new one before too long seeing as how cheap they've become) And of course my copy of Xp(no reason to upgrade as of yet) Now the new parts in the order I will be getting them. Apevia X-Jupiter Silver (Case) $160 Corsair 750w PSU $180 Gigabyte GA-EP45T-DS3R $175 e8400 Wolfdale $175 WD Caviar 640mb Sata 3 hdd $90 Now comes the hard part. I have found some ram that is compatible with that mobo but I am unsure what to think as I haven't dealt with intel chipsets in probably close to a decade now. Tell me what you think of this ram at that price. I would like something cheaper but if it performs well it might be worth it. Also I am tempted to upgrade my vid card. I don't care which way I go(nvidia or ati) as long as the ati card doesn't have too many driver problems(lol) or the nvidia gives good performance for its value(hah). Sorry, small joke there. Actually as long as it works well with the mobo I am fairly sure I can get it to work elsewhere, so please any suggestions? Total(with shipping and the ram) is $960.38 so I am well under my budget. I was expecting to buy four parts at anywhere from $800-$1400 and now I have a full PC rebuild at the low end of that. So yeah Linderman rules. Edit: Was just looking stuff over, my 7900gt can last me a while longer, I need to upgrade my monitor. Its an old IBM crt that maxes out at 1280/1024(lol) so yeah, a good lcd monitor is in order. Something around 200 bucks and 20 inches would do nicely if anyone has any suggestions. Last edited by Unospazmatic : 07-26-2008 at 03:30 AM.

07-26-2008, 10:45 AM	#9 (permalink)
linderman Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 14,030 OS: win 2000 pro / Win XP pro My System	Re: Attempting a Rebuild dont waste your money on DDR3 ewwwwwwww stick with DDR2-1066 / PC2-8500 Corsair Dominator __________________ If you cant be polite and friendly; then please be silent.

07-26-2008, 10:46 AM	#10 (permalink)
linderman Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 14,030 OS: win 2000 pro / Win XP pro My System	Re: Attempting a Rebuild VID = ATI 4850 or 9800 GTX PLUS __________________ If you cant be polite and friendly; then please be silent.

07-26-2008, 10:49 AM	#11 (permalink)
linderman Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 14,030 OS: win 2000 pro / Win XP pro My System	Re: Attempting a Rebuild you could easily shave off $100.00 on the case and power supply !! that would pay for 50% of a new video card then sell off your old card on ebay for $50.00 or $60.00 you would be sitting on a new VID card for $50.00 for my money = ditch the bling bling of the pretty case Coolermaster centurion for $50.00 or look at antec "B" stock and 900 series case (go to antec.com ) __________________ If you cant be polite and friendly; then please be silent.

07-26-2008, 10:51 AM	#12 (permalink)
linderman Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 14,030 OS: win 2000 pro / Win XP pro My System	Re: Attempting a Rebuild http://www.antec.com/us/pro_specials.php __________________ If you cant be polite and friendly; then please be silent.

07-26-2008, 10:53 AM	#13 (permalink)
linderman Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 14,030 OS: win 2000 pro / Win XP pro My System	Re: Attempting a Rebuild here you go ......................... found $80.00 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! http://www.provantage.com/corsair-cm...x~7CSMC05E.htm __________________ If you cant be polite and friendly; then please be silent.

07-26-2008, 10:56 AM	#14 (permalink)
linderman Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 14,030 OS: win 2000 pro / Win XP pro My System	Re: Attempting a Rebuild http://www.antec.com/Search.bok?category=B+Stock antec 900 gamer case saved $60.00 more !! __________________ If you cant be polite and friendly; then please be silent.

07-26-2008, 04:33 PM	#15 (permalink)
Unospazmatic Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 57 OS: Xp My System	Re: Attempting a Rebuild Well first off, thanks for the quick reply with some very nice deals, that PSU is definately at the right price. Only problem so far is that the case I listed is quite a bit bigger. I really need a case that is over 20 inches in the height and depth department, as the case you're showing is almost identical to mine save that that Antec has better ports and a window and is slightly wider than mine. I really need one that is(minimum) 20x8x20 for it to be an actual upgrade. As it stands now my case just gets no airflow so my CPU runs(with its normal heat sink) at around 52C. I've had to upgrade the cooler just to get it to get down to 48C, and when i take off the side panel to let it run it dropped down to 40C. Small cases are bad =p Found this one for $100(50 bucks off). So when it comes to ram this corsair 1066 kit would be better than the other one I posted? Just switching PSU, Ram and adding in a "stand in" case of about $100 my new total is $753 before shipping. I am definately glad I have waited to buy anything yet.

07-26-2008, 04:42 PM	#16 (permalink)
linderman Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 14,030 OS: win 2000 pro / Win XP pro My System	Re: Attempting a Rebuild yes the DDR2 1066 ram will be faster than the DDR3 ram you listed ..... the DDR3 has CAS latency that is or almost is ..... twice the delay think of the CAS latency number as how long it will take you to empty the garbage can in minutes 1066 memory has a CAS of 5 1600 and 1800 DDR3 have latencies of 7 & 9 the 1066 memory almost has enough time to make TWO trips DDR2 -800 / PC6400 actually can make two trips with the sticks that are CAS 4-4-4-12 __________________ If you cant be polite and friendly; then please be silent.

07-26-2008, 04:45 PM	#17 (permalink)
linderman Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 14,030 OS: win 2000 pro / Win XP pro My System	Re: Attempting a Rebuild if you are going to overclock at all then DDR2- 1066 memory is the better choice if you wont be overclock in a major way ...... then DDR2-800 PC8500 memory will do just fine but the 1066 memory is now attractvely priced ......... 18 months ago it wasnt so pretty on the price !! ROFL __________________ If you