Help me with PC config pls

[gvblake22]

I would agree with most of the points already made. It is a little self defeating to get an SLI motherboard with an ATI video card. But that's not saying it won't still run great. You just won't be able to take advantage of the SLI feature.

If you want an nVidia based motherboard but don't plan on utilizing SLI, then you should just look into something based on the nF4 Ultra chipset. the DFI LanParty UT nF4 Ultra-D is probably the most highly regarded s939 nForce4 Ultra motherboard. The DFI nF4 Ultra Infinity and Asus A8N-E looks like a pretty solid board too.

As far as air cooling goes, I would definately recommend either the XP-90C. If you want to use a 120mm fan, the XP-120 or SI-120 are both great; it just depends on motherboard compatability which one you should use. The XP-120 might perform slightly better only beacuse there are fins soldered to the base, but the SI-120 is more compatable with motherboards that aren't compatable with the XP-120.

And yeah, you cannot use that DDR2 memory on the AMD platform you configured. Check the HardwareLogic Recommended Hardware. I would agree that the Corsair TWINX2048-PC4000PT 2GB kit is a great choice for memory!

[Tyreal]

I would recommend sticking with air cooling if your not going to overclock your system to far or if your not looking for silence. Watercooling can still can pretty loud depending on your setup.

If you want an nVidia based motherboard but don't plan on utilizing SLI, then you should just look into something based on the nF4 Ultra chipset. the DFI LanParty UT nF4 Ultra-D is probably the most highly regarded s939 nForce4 Ultra motherboard. The DFI nF4 Ultra Infinity and Asus A8N-E looks like a pretty solid board too.

The Ultra-D and Ultra infinity are good boards as well and i've heard they overclock decently.

If your not gonna use SLI, change your motherboard to one that doesn't. ATI does not feature sli but features a technology called Crossfire which is similar to SLI.

If you want to use SLI keep the board and change the card. Make sure everything is compatible.

The most popular air cooling heatsinks right now in the market for socket 939 would probably be: TR XP-90C, XP-120, Scythe Ninja, and Thermal Take Big Typhoon. The two TR heatsinks and the ninja do not include fans. Popular fans include panaflos and tri-blade deltas. I think most would agree with this.

The SI-120 is pretty good so i've heard. I have the SI-97 and it performs pretty good.

[gvblake22]

Originally Posted by Tyreal

If your not gonna use SLI, change your motherboard to one that doesn't. ATI does not feature sli but features a technology called Crossfire which is similar to SLI.

If you want to use SLI keep the board and change the card. Make sure everything is compatible.

I just want to point out here that you CAN use an ATI video card on a motherboard based on an nVidia chipset! Even an nVidia SLI motherboard will run ATI video cards just fine. You can just only use the SLI setup feature if you have two SLI compatable cards.
Likewise, you can buy an ATI based CrossFire capable motherboard and still use an nVidia video card in it. You just can't take advantage of CrossFire unless you have a CrossFire capable master card and a CrossFire capable slave card.

Originally Posted by Tyreal

The most popular air cooling heatsinks right now in the market for socket 939 would probably be: TR XP-90C, XP-120, Scythe Ninja, and Thermal Take Big Typhoon. The two TR heatsinks and the ninja do not include fans. Popular fans include panaflos and tri-blade deltas. I think most would agree with this.

The SI-120 is pretty good so i've heard. I have the SI-97 and it performs pretty good.

I would agree with that. I forgot about the Scythe Ninja and the Thermaltake Big Typhoon, so thanks for mentioning those.
And like Tyreal said, you need to choose and purchase a fan seperately with the Thermalright heatsinks. Some of the Thermalright's come in a retail package which includes a panasonic panaflo medium speed fan, but those package deals are not as common as the bare heatsink.
Also, the Skythe Ninja does not come with a fan because it is actually designed to be a passive heatsink. But it does come with mounting clips for a 120mm fan. So the cooler will perform much better with a low speed 120mm fan strapped to the side of it making the Ninja an active cooler.

Choosing the fan that is right for you can be tricky sometimes, but don't let that deter you from buying a Thermalright heatsink! They make very good products and the fact that you can put whatever fan on it is really a very good thing. That way you can customize how much noise you want and how much cooling power and airflow you want. And also, if you get a low speed, quiet fan that cools one processor well, and then you buy a different processor that puts out more heat or you want to overclock it more, you can just buy a faster, more powerful fan for the heatsink instead of buying a whole new heatsink/fan to suit your specific changing needs.

Just something to think about :D

[Tyreal]

I just want to point out here that you CAN use an ATI video card on a motherboard based on an nVidia chipset! Even an nVidia SLI motherboard will run ATI video cards just fine. You can just only use the SLI setup feature if you have two SLI compatable cards.
Likewise, you can buy an ATI based CrossFire capable motherboard and still use an nVidia video card in it. You just can't take advantage of CrossFire unless you have a CrossFire capable master card and a CrossFire capable slave card.

oh yea. sorry if that was made unclear. you can do that.

Thermaltake has been in the dumps for a while and are flamed alot but there Big Typhoon seems like a big turn around and performs really nicely.

[gvblake22]

Thermaltake Big Typhoon Reviews at:

X-Bit Labs
Tech-Mods
Overclockers Online
BigBruin

[PimpingBox]

ok guys i finished the final copy of my pc config. I had some help from Tyreal =D. hope this is good

From NCIX: (Canadian Dollars)
Video Card: ATI Radeon X1800XT 625MHZ 512MB 750MHZ 256BIT GDDR3 PCI-E Dual DVI

HDTV-OUT Video Card Retail
$706.25
Mother Board: DFI LANParty UT RDX200 CF-DR ATX S939 RD480 DDR 2PCI-E16 SATA Sound

2GLAN 1394 Crossfire Motherboard
$254.49
RAM: OCZ Gold EL PC4000 2GB 2X1GB DDR500 CL3-4-4-8 184PIN DIMM Dual Channel Memory Kit

W/ Ramsink
$297.54
Hard Drive: Western Digital 150GB SATA 10KRPM Raptor 5YR MFR Warranty Hard Drive
$370.64
Power Supply: OCZ PowerStream SLI 600 Watt ATX12V V2.01 BTX 24PIN Low Noise Power Supply
$235.62
CPU: AMD Opteron 148 Processor S939 Venus 2.2GHZ 1MB L2 Cache 90NM 64BIT Retail Box *Limit 1

Per Cust*
$339.72
Case: Thermaltake VA8000 Armor Super Tower Case Black 10X5.25 2X3.5 6X3.5INT W/ Window
$171.35
Optical Drive: LG GSA-4167B 16X DVD+-RW 16X Dual Layer Writer IDE 2MB Black OEM W/ SW

Burner
$57.53

Accessories:
Monitor: Samsung 915N 19IN LCD Monitor 1280X1024 700:1 8MS 0.294MM Analog Black
$402.28
Keyboard: Logitech Office Pro Keyboard Black PS/2 W/ Multimedia Keys & Detachable Palm Rest OEM
$12.00
Mouse: LOGITECH MX518 GAMING-GRADE OPTICAL MOUSE 1600-DPI USB SILVER-BLACK
$57.76
CPU cooling: THERMALRIGHT XP-120 S478/754/939 120MM ALUMINUM HEATPIPE COOLER FAN NOT INCLUDED
$65.02
(FAN):NMB-MAT (Panaflo) 120MM Ultra High Speed Cooling Fan 2750RPM 114CFM 45.5DBA 3PIN No
Sensor
with Hydro Wave Bearings
$29.91
Controller: THERMALTAKE HARDCANO 13 5.25IN MULTI FUNCTION DRIVE BAY CONTROLLER W/ 6

IN 1 CARD Reader & LCD DISP.
$78.54
Total:$3020.86+tax=$3443.78

The budget is around 4000 but i want to save some money for some other things.

[Tyreal]

change your videocard. The videocard you get has to be a crossfire master card or something like that. I'll check for you.

[Capper]

why are you so intent on ATI? You really should consider the NF4 DFI board with an NVIDIA video card. The DFI Crossfire board is very nice but there are a couple of issues with it..... First, the SB450 Southbridge on the Crossfire boards do not support SATA2.5.... which means no SATA3.0GB/s transfer, which will be an issue here shortly as HDD standard moves up.
I honestly would not buy the top of the line video card, I never recommend that, I use a pair of 7800GTs myself and they are more than enough. you could put a pair of those in SLI and still save $150 over what your one card will cost right now.
That OCZ memory is okay, but I'd personally recommend the Corsair TWINX2048-4000PT or the Crucial PC4000, bioth overclock to nearly DDR600.
As to the HDD, skip the Raptor....they are all hype!!!! For that price you could get a 500GB HDD that will perform as well, and offer more than 3 times the space.

[Tyreal]

I have no arguement. Capper's arguement is just too convincing.

I know alot more about SLI than I do about Crossfire. Crossfire has had many delays but does have some advantages over SLI.

My new config won't have top of the line. Often times, the level one below performs just a little slower and can be clocked very near to its older brother.

I love my raptor. If your really inssisting on the raptor, get the smallest one.

[gvblake22]

Well, I'll add in my thoughts to this whole thing...
Frist, I believe it's SATAII or SATA300, not SATA2.5 ;)

Second, I would agree with Capper on the memory situation. This Corsair TWINX2048-PC4000PT 2GB kit is cheaper and very nice.

And about the video card. The 7800GT actually outperforms the X1800XT on average and can be had for $300 or less (USD).

Capper is also correct about the ATI southbridge on that motherboard. It has been known to have poor USB2.0 performance and lacks SATAII compatability and features (like 300MB/s transfer rates and NCQ).

I have a Raptor as well as a newer, high capacity 7,200rpm drive and while there is definately a noticeable difference between the Raptor and the other drive, it is a really tough call on whether it is worth the extra money or not. That's gonna be up to you to decide.

And if you go ATI, you don't have to get a CrossFire master card right away. You can just get a regular card now, then get the master card later if/when you decide to go crossfire. But personally, I think dual graphics are way over rated. As Capper said, for that much money, you can get a single card that performs just as good.

and I really doubt you will need a 600W PSU. A nice 500W ATX 2.0 compliant PSU should be plenty for your setup. Check out the Fortron Blue Storm 500w, OCZ Powerstream 520W, and the Seasonic S12 500W. Those are all tried and true reliable PSU's that will save you money and provide great performance. I would particularly recommend either the Seasonic or the Fortron. I have the Blue Storm 500W and it does a great job handling the system in my signature...