[Cobra]

So I went to Austin the other day... visit some friends in UT.  i brought this POS Pentium M 1.6 ghz, 512MB RAM laptop, which sucks.  after 6 hours of trying to install WoW, and then giving up and trying to play Wc3 instead, i realized i'd wasted all my time, because the computer was too slow.

That said, i got home 6 AM Saturday morning (left Austin at 3).  Woke up at 3 PM Saturday afternoon, and decided it was high time I got another computer.  Started buying yesterday, and today i've got most of the parts. 

This is the most powerful computer i've built to date, and i'm betting is the most powerful anyone on this forum has.  Pictures posted are of the actual item i bought.  What think:

-- Motherboard
Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe
http://usa.asus.com//100/images/products/744/744_l.jpg

Holy ****!

-- RAM
2 GB (2x1GB)PC-3500 Corsair TWINX2048-3500LLPro (RAM is designed for highest performance with the A8n32-sli deluxe, and vice-versa)
http://corsair.com/corsair/products/specs/TWINX2048-3500LLPRO.pdf

Holy ****!

-- Video Card (DO NOT HAVE YET)
nVidia 7800GTX

Can't you settle for something just a little cheaper, like a 6600?

-- Processor (DO NOT HAVE YET)
Athlon 64FX -55

Good luck on affording that.

-- OS (DO NOT HAVE YET)
Windows XP Professional

-- Optical Media
2x SONY Black DVD-R (16x DVD-R, 16x DVD-ROM, 48x CD-ROM, 48x CD-R, 24x CD-RW)
http://i15.ebayimg.com/02/i/05/71/db/d5_1_b.JPG

Holy ****!

-- Hard Drives
2x Maxtor 300 GB SATA drives in RAID 1 configuration (striped)
http://i10.ebayimg.com/03/i/05/81/78/a2_1.JPG

Holy ****!

-- Case and Power Supply
Mid-ATX case with 600W SATA ready power supply
http://images.channeladvisor.com/Sell/SSProfiles/30058001/Images/CA328BK.jpg

Holy ****!

-- Mouse and Mouse Pad
Razer Diamondback Plasma LIMITED edition with Razer Exactmat pad
http://www.razerzone.com/store/images/plasma/plasma6.jpg?zenid=1eedd7f417d3469b26781e6f73d9584b
http://i10.ebayimg.com/03/i/05/7d/5d/01_1_b.JPG

...FTW.

[Kosh]

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Pentium 4 2.4 GHz
78something MB ram
30 GB hard drive
16 MB moblility Radeon 7500

Doom 3 on its lowest settings pushed this machine to it's limits.

How much did that machine of yours cost?

[Stealth]

so far... processor and video card aside (and yes i know the two of them will probably cost more than half the computer) as well as OS, i've spent around $1k

EDIT: let me break this down.  just for fun:
shipping not included

mouse and mousepad = $70.00
case and power supply = $27.00
RAM = $320.00
motherboard = $250.00
dual hard drives = $250.00hipped)
dual DVD-R drives = $110.00
=======
$1027 total excluding shipping i guess :-/

[Stealth]

funds running low... going with a 64FX 51 instead :-/

[CP5670]

You don't need to spend all that much to get a pretty nice system if you choose your stuff intelligently. After my upgrades, which will come out to about $950, the total cost of my computer itself will still be under $1400 (which will include a processor running faster than an FX57 and most likely two 7800 GTs). And I would get back $350-400 by selling my existing video card, motherboard and processor on ebay. Although I guess the price is somewhat more when the monitor, headphones and other peripherals are added in.

funds running low... going with a 64FX 51 instead :-/

That's really not a good choice. The FX51 is very old, has a stock speed of only 2.2ghz, is not much of an overclocker compared to the newer CPUs and most importantly won't work with your selected motherboard and memory, since it's a 940 unit that requires registered memory.

Also, I would stay far away from a power supply included with a $27 case, especially for a setup like this. Spend $75 or so on a good separate one so you don't have to worry about it blowing up and taking down the rest of your stuff with it.

[Descenterace]

FX CPUs are overrated. They're just glorified Opteron 100s.

As far as I can tell, the only possible benefit of having an Opteron is the option of putting more than one into certain mainboards. Of course, the Opteron 100-series don't have SMP capabilities, which kinda defeats the object.

[Stealth]

You don't need to spend all that much to get a pretty nice system if you choose your stuff intelligently. After my upgrades, which will come out to about $950, the total cost of my computer itself will still be under $1400 (which will include a processor running faster than an FX57 and most likely two 7800 GTs). And I would get back $350-400 by selling my existing video card, motherboard and processor on ebay. Although I guess the price is somewhat more when the monitor, headphones and other peripherals are added in.

sorry but i just don't believe you.  two 7800 GTs is $600 right there.  and what processor are you going to use to beat the now legendary $700+ FX57?  an X2?

That's really not a good choice. The FX51 is very old, has a stock speed of only 2.2ghz, is not much of an overclocker compared to the newer CPUs and most importantly won't work with your selected motherboard and memory, since it's a 940 unit that requires registered memory.

Also, I would stay far away from a power supply included with a $27 case, especially for a setup like this. Spend $75 or so on a good separate one so you don't have to worry about it blowing up and taking down the rest of your stuff with it.

I know the guy that's selling me the case and power supply... it can be trusted.

hadn't thought about the 51 acutally... i'll have to go with the 53 instead.  my motherboard doens't even support the processor/RAM.  that, or i may just save up for another week and get a good single core processor, or *gasp* even a X2.  my motherboard supports both.  maybe i WILL get an X2. 

[CP5670]

sorry but i just don't believe you.  two 7800 GTs is $600 right there.  and what processor are you going to use to beat the now legendary $700+ FX57?  an X2?

Opteron 146 for $200 off ebay, as I said before. I got to go for college now but can post a list of everything later.

The nice thing about the Opteron 100s (the new 939 ones) is that they can run on a lower stock voltage than the normal A64s and supposedly go under slightly more stringent stability testing, so they overclock better in general. In some cases they are also cheaper than the equivalent A64s. Certain batches of Opteron 146s (stock 2ghz) can go to 3ghz on air cooling easily, which would be unthinkable on the equivalent A64s. The one I got has a very good chance of it, although there are two better revisions out there. One batch was actually made of rebadged FX57s and could regularly go to 3.2ghz on air cooling, but those are practically impossible to find now.

[Stealth]

in THEORY, an opteron 1xx series processor SHOULD work on this motherboard, right?

maybe i should just go with an opteron.  but without clocking it to the extreme, how would it compare to the 55?

[Stealth]

http://cgi.ebay.com/WC-202-Cooler-VGA-CPU-Water-Cooling-Kit-100-98-Total_W0QQitemZ6821915779QQcategoryZ80150QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

i'm looking into a water cooling system to expand my clocknig capabilities.  something that can sit inside the computer case, kind of like this thing.  don't want to have something outside the case.

also would LIKE (if this is possible.  i'm new to water-cooling) to have a fan too, that i can turn on when i'm doing some extreme gaming, to help the watercooling aspect out

if i go with an opteron, and clock it so it'd beat out a 55 or 57, then i can afford a decent water-cooling setup

[Stealth]

or this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ZALMAN-CNPS9500-LED-New-in-retail-box_W0QQitemZ6823161789QQcategoryZ80147QQssPageNameZWD1VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[Flipside]

Man, I like my Boil in the Bag Intel 3Ghz, and yes, sometimes it is literally Boil in the Bag

It's a lovely looking system Stealth, though, personally I don't need a system like this since it would spend 99% of the time not being used to a fraction of it's potential, however, at least you won't have to worry about upgrading for a good long time

As for me, well, anything that doesn't run on a 3Ghz with a 9600 is far too obsessed with graphics imho. I wonder, as an aside, how much percent of processor time in a modern game is spent graphically compared to actually executing non-graphics related code? It seems more and more 'games' are the shortest unit of code possible executing between two frames of graphics.

[Janos]

my computer has ms paint

[Taristin]

my computer has ms paint

mine doesn't. And for that it's superior.

[Stealth]

let me guess... you're one of those "Linux" users, that makes you special.  right?

[Stealth]

got this fan

CNPS9500 LED
http://www.ccsolutionz.com/ebayimages/CPUs/Fans/Zelman.jpg

[Taristin]

let me guess... you're one of those "Linux" users, that makes you special.  right?

Actually, no. Win XP tablet edition. I just deleted the paint exe

[CP5670]

in THEORY, an opteron 1xx series processor SHOULD work on this motherboard, right?

maybe i should just go with an opteron.  but without clocking it to the extreme, how would it compare to the 55?

I would imagine so. They work on my older A8V board with the latest BIOS, so other Asus boards probably support them too. You may need to update the BIOS though (which can sometimes require an older CPU temporarily).

If you don't overclock, the 939 Opterons are identical to A64s with the same frequency and 1MB cache. (146 has no exact equivalent, but 148=3700, 150=4000/FX53, 152=FX55 and 154=FX57) Same goes for the dual core ones.

got this fan

CNPS9500 LED
http://www.ccsolutionz.com/ebayimages/CPUs/Fans/Zelman.jpg

That's a very good one. Expensive compared to other similar options, but I guess it looks much cooler than the rest.

As for me, well, anything that doesn't run on a 3Ghz with a 9600 is far too obsessed with graphics imho. I wonder, as an aside, how much percent of processor time in a modern game is spent graphically compared to actually executing non-graphics related code? It seems more and more 'games' are the shortest unit of code possible executing between two frames of graphics.

There are still a few genuinely good modern ones like SCCT amidst all the other junk. Although I mainly want to upgrade in order to play my older games with maxed out settings. I want to be able to play FS2 open with the high poly models at 2048x1536 with 4xSSAA and 16xAF and get 85fps at all times. I can play at that resolution with my existing card and get borderline okay framerates but only without the high poly models and no AA or AF.

[Stealth]

If you don't overclock, the 939 Opterons are identical to A64s with the same frequency and 1MB cache. (146 has no exact equivalent, but 148=3700, 150=4000/FX53, 152=FX55 and 154=FX57) Same goes for the dual core ones.

and wow, whadaya know, the 150 opteron is $800+ retail  ...   and it has 3 hypertransport channels, whereas my motherboard only takes advantage of one.

Guess there really is a reason why AMD says the 64FX is a true gamers PC... don't think they'd lie to the public, when they could just package an overclocked Opteron 148 and call it the "gamers CPU"... wouldn't hurt them any, in fact they could charge more for it than the 64FX they call the "gamers CPU" at the moment.  i think i'm going to go with what they suggest for gamers, and get the 64FX, or maybe the 64FX X2, depending on my funds.

plus overclocking voids the processor warranty, and most other parts in the computer

plus in the grand scheme of things, nowadays, it's not all about "Mhz" anymore.

^^^^^ all this after biting the bullet and talking to my comp sci major friend

[Turnsky]

The PC-Powerplay beast gaming PC > your new computer