Hard Light Productions Forums
Off-Topic Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: Turnsky on March 28, 2004, 08:00:29 am
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just need to ask a few questions before i save, and eventually spend my money.
Mobo + Ram Combo (http://www.auspcmarket.com.au/index.php?redir=http://www.auspcmarket.com.au/show_product_info.php?code=MB-ALKX18DPROIICOMBO)
this works out to : $358.307 USD
CPU (http://www.auspcmarket.com.au/index.php?redir=http://www.auspcmarket.com.au/show_product_info.php?code=CP-AMAXP3000)
=$211.727 USD
The linch-pin of the system ;) (http://www.auspcmarket.com.au/index.php?redir=http://www.auspcmarket.com.au/show_product_info.php?code=VI-ELSA-F980XT)
=$545.603 USD
might need this along the way ;) (http://www.auspcmarket.com.au/index.php?redir=http://www.auspcmarket.com.au/show_product_info.php?code=CO-V9041) (if need be)
=$32.5733 USD
all things said and done, any opinions on the mobo and vid-card?
and yes, i do plan on getting a powersupply..:)
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your getting a R9800XT as CPU ?
edit: unless i'm blind, i am seeing two IDE ports on that board.
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Chipset nForce2 Ultra 400 North Bridge/nForce2 MCP-T South Bridge
:nod:
edit: kasperl, it has SATA (even if it is a dodgy PCI implementation) so the lack of IDE ports isn't really a problem
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yeah, i know what SATA is, but i am seeing two ports on that mobo that almost have to be IDE.
First, you have the processor, then you have 1 purple and 2 green wide slots, mem as far as i can see, and below the mem, i see a red, a white, and a black slot. the red and white look like IDE to me.
edit: oh god, i feel dumb: 2x SerialATA can do Raid 0 or 1 (SiliconImage) and 2x Ultra DMA 33/66/100/133 2x SerialATA can do Raid 0 or 1 (SiliconImage) and 2x Ultra DMA 33/66/100/133
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Originally posted by kasperl
your getting a R9800XT as CPU ?
edit: unless i'm blind, i am seeing two IDE ports on that board.
#*$#&#&!! links...
fixed..
either way, i'm going to buy it (being the SATA conversion kit)if i have to might bode well if i need extra IDE ports to run the dvd & CD-RW drives i have (as well as any extra devices;) )
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you have up to 4 IDE devices with this mobo, plus 2 SATA, at least if i can read.....
edit: a PCI IDE card is like 30 euro's, might be better, that way you keep your SATA free.
edit2: i hope you have a seperate room for this, or you're going to water cool it. This thing is going to sound like a vacuum cleaner......
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kasperl, what are you on about? With two SATAs as well as the regular onboard ATA133 ports he shouldn't need an external controller.
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also, any suggestions on powersupplies?.. i'm looking at ones rated at 480watt+ i'm also considering buying an Antec model.. any comments on this?
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Originally posted by kasperl
edit2: i hope you have a seperate room for this, or you're going to water cool it. This thing is going to sound like a vacuum cleaner......
buh?.. WTF are you on about? :wtf:
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no, but he said that he might buy a SATA-->IDE converter. You don't need one here, but if he wants more IDE drives, i'd buy another controller for the same price. Gives you 4 connections instead of 1, and it saves you and SATA port.
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Originally posted by Turnsky
buh?.. WTF are you on about? :wtf:
that graph card has got a rather large fan, the processor looks like something that get's hot as well, so you'll have a lot of fans. meaning a lot of noise. now, some people don't mind it, but i get headaches from too loud PCs.
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But why save the SATA port? Why not connect the hard drive to it? That's what they put it there for...
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yeah, but if he has more then 4 ÍDE devices, he has 2 options:
pay 30 dollars and sacrifice a SATA slot
pay 30 dollars and sacrifice a PCI slot, and gain another 3 IDE slots
throw one IDE drive out.
now, if he doesn't want to throw anything out, the second option seems better to me.
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Originally posted by kasperl
that graph card has got a rather large fan, the processor looks like something that get's hot as well, so you'll have a lot of fans. meaning a lot of noise. now, some people don't mind it, but i get headaches from too loud PCs.
oookay.. well, i've got a fair few fans in my existing system.. (3 case, one psu, the cpu's and the fan on the radeon) and it's pretty quiet.
and kasperl, i have both my IDE ports on my current mobo taken up by devices.
Primary Port : 40gb primary drive & 120gb secondary drive
Secondary port: 16x LG DVD-ROM & LITEON CDRW drive.
i figure if i can plug both hdd's into the SATA, i can have a spare IDE port free.
EDIT: First things First, i'm getting a PSU before i do anything..
here's what i run on my 300w, aOpen powersupply
MSI KT3 Ultra 2
1.8ghz athlon (with its fan) + 256 pc2100 ddr ram
radeon 9000 pro
audigy 2 zs
4 USB ports
network card
2 hard drives
floppy drive
2 other IDE devices
3 case fans.
amazing the damn thing still works, innit it?
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Originally posted by Turnsky
oookay.. well, i've got a fair few fans in my existing system.. (3 case, one psu, the cpu's and the fan on the radeon) and it's pretty quiet.
and kasperl, i have both my IDE ports on my current mobo taken up by devices.
Primary Port : 40gb primary drive & 120gb secondary drive
Secondary port: 16x LG DVD-ROM & LITEON CDRW drive.
i figure if i can plug both hdd's into the SATA, i can have a spare IDE port free.
EDIT: First things First, i'm getting a PSU before i do anything..
here's what i run on my 300w, aOpen powersupply
MSI KT3 Ultra 2
1.8ghz athlon (with its fan) + 256 pc2100 ddr ram
radeon 9000 pro
audigy 2 zs
4 USB ports
network card
2 hard drives
floppy drive
2 other IDE devices
3 case fans.
amazing the damn thing still works, innit it?
why pay 2 times 30 bucks, giving up both your SATA ports, instead of paying one time 30 bucks, and giving up a PCI slot?
anyway, USBs generally don't draw power, network cards draw almost nothing AFAIK.
And it depends on what you call quiet, i geuss.
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i'll only get it if i have to..
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Originally posted by kasperl
why pay 2 times 30 bucks, giving up both your SATA ports, instead of paying one time 30 bucks, and giving up a PCI slot?
Using a PCI card takes resources unnecessarily and on nForce2 boards they're already in short supply as it is.
nForce2 boards already have fairly decent onboard LAN so you can ditch the PCI NIC. Same with USB, the board should have at least 6 USB ports as standard.
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oh, didn't count in any resource usage.....
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Originally posted by Turnsky
The linch-pin of the system ;) (http://www.auspcmarket.com.au/index.php?redir=http://www.auspcmarket.com.au/show_product_info.php?code=VI-ELSA-F980XT)
=$545.603 USD
Good Choice :cool: :yes:
Overall your Upgrade is Good
:)
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[color=66ff00]Dude isn't the 9800pro 128 or 256 a better buy at the moment, from what I've read the amount of extra welly you get out of an XT is pretty small given the price difference.
I've got a 9800pro 128 and it's a veritable monster, it was also notably cheaper than the XT.
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I wouldn't spend $500 on a Video Card, even if it had star trek holoprojectors and did Pixar quality rendering real-time.
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9800 Pro 128 is the best bet out there, at about $220 right now. 9800 Pro 256, however, is a bit useless, as it costs as much as the faster clocked 9800XT, IIRC.
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Originally posted by Maeglamor
[color=66ff00]Dude isn't the 9800pro 128 or 256 a better buy at the moment, from what I've read the amount of extra welly you get out of an XT is pretty small given the price difference.
I've got a 9800pro 128 and it's a veritable monster, it was also notably cheaper than the XT.
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future-proofing my friend, i want that vidcard to last a while.:nod:
'sides, they're including a HL2 voucher in the box.;)
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So you're paying $500 for a card that is only minimally better than a $200 card because it has a voucher for a $50 video game?
Even if it is THE game of the century, you're overspending by $250. :wtf:
If it was me, I'd wait until the middle of June to consider dropping that kind of dough on a video card, we're on the verge of release here.
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Don't get the 9800XT. If you really feel the need to run at the speed, just overclock it or flash the BIOS. I have a friend who has a 9800 non-pro running at XT speeds. Why bother buying a more expensive card for no reason?
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Originally posted by Liberator
So you're paying $500 for a card that is only minimally better than a $200 card because it has a voucher for a $50 video game?
Even if it is THE game of the century, you're overspending by $250. :wtf:
If it was me, I'd wait until the middle of June to consider dropping that kind of dough on a video card, we're on the verge of release here.
the game would be worth close to $90 bucks here..
and i'm looking into the considerations.
that, and the XT has 128 extra meg of DDR..
this is a step-up from the radeon 9000 i already have, mind you.
AND, the fact that i DON'T overclock my system at all.. might actually mean something..
i don't have a lot of money lying about, so i can't just grab the step-down just 'cause it's cheaper.. so i need to invest in the one card, 'cause i'll prolly end up spending just as much on a replacement down the road when the old one starts to show its age.
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The performance increase you'll get from the extra 256MB and the extra clockspeed is negligeble. Go check reviews. The only reason the 9800XT even exists is because the R420 was delayed. You'll be paying over 250 USD for HL2 and about a 4% performance increase? That won't lengthen the lifetime of the card at all for you. 20.8 FPS isn't much more playable than 20. You'd be better off putting the money aside for either your next upgrade or something else.