Advice on building a new system

dwalden · Rated PG-13 Joined: 17 May 2006 Posts: 35

Hey Guys,

I'm building a new system this week and I was hoping some experts could give me some suggestions on it.

This is what I'm getting:
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+
MOBO: ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe
GFX: XFX NVidia GF7900GT 256MB 550MHz
PSU: Enermax Liberty 500W
SOUND: Creative SB X-Fi Xtrememusic
CASE: Antec P180B

The HDs and memory are coming from my previous system.

Questions:
1. I have 1GB of Corsair PC4000 DDR (4x256MB) that I was going to use. Would it be better to get 2GB of a low latency PC3200 for the new system, or just use what I have?

2. I can't really spend much more than I already have decided on, but do you have any suggestions / changes for the above shopping list?

FYI - This sytem is mostly for gaming.

Thanks

**Doctor Feelgood** · Posted: Wed, 17 May 2006 13:11:02 Post Subject:

Welcome... From the tests I have run and seen elsewhere, 2GB doesn't do all that much for most applications. Some games benefit from it, but its not like a doubling of performance or anything.

To me it would come down to what your budget is. The rest of your system sounds like solid stuff, and you will be spending some serious money. But, if you already have the 1GB set I would run with that, honestly. The performance of the kit you have is very good, and if you mess around in the BIOS you might get it to run lower latency while at PC3200 speeds.

dwalden · Rated PG-13 Joined: 17 May 2006 Posts: 35

I've heard that the 4x256MB is a bad way to go though. I've heard that 1GB sticks run better. Thoughts?

Hellfire · Rated XXX Joined: 05 Aug 2003 Posts: 3473

I'd stick with the fewest sticks you can, keeping them in pairs for the dual channel mode.

**Doctor Feelgood** · Posted: Wed, 17 May 2006 14:59:32 Post Subject:

Oh... I didn't see the (4x256MB) part. Was that an edit?

Anyway... Yeah, not the best as Hellfire said.

2x 512MB would be cool in dual channel mode, but if you bencmark 4x256 against 2x512 you will see lower performance.

Kilamon · Rated XXX Joined: 22 Mar 2005 Posts: 811

Use a DFI mobo. Grin

dwalden · Rated PG-13 Joined: 17 May 2006 Posts: 35

Kilamon · Rated XXX Joined: 22 Mar 2005 Posts: 811

Probably the SLI-DR Expert. Check out www.DFI-street.com for more info and stuff on their offerings. I have the SLI-DR and it has capacity for 8 SATA drives, 2 IDE interfaces and 6 external USB slots plus 2 internal, firewire internal (for front port connection), SLI capable on 2 x16 slots, plus all kinds of stuff. If you do get a DFI, you can check the street for up to the minute info and even download BIOS updates that are non-standard that will allow higher overclocking than the standard BIOS. I love both of my DFI mobos. Smile

BeerCheeze · Posted: Wed, 17 May 2006 21:45:31 Post Subject:

Unless you plan on doing SLi I would go with an ATi X1800XT instead of the 7900GT. You are going to get better performance at a cheaper price.

If you're looking to do SLi then the 7900GT would probably be a better approach (as I think you'll end up spending less).

edvallie · Posted: Wed, 17 May 2006 23:27:11 Post Subject: