Ok guys, need help with this rig....someone please

[big_mike]

I need some help, Im buying a new comp and I want to know your imputs on certain parts. I will list 2 for each, and I want you all to tell me which is better, and is it worth it. This is all going in an athlon FX-55 system.

Motherboard:
Abit a8v
or
Asus Av8

vid card:
GEforce 6800 ultra
or
x800 xt pe

hard drive:
160 Gb sata 0 7200 rpm
or
74 GB western digital raptor 10,000 rpm w/ 16mb cache

power supply
480 watt ps
or
650 watt ps


thanks guys

 

[joule]

I don't know too much about this, but...

Motherboard: Asus Av8
vid card: x800 xt pe
hard drive: 74 GB western digital raptor 10,000 rpm w/ 16mb cache
power supply: 650 watt ps

I hope I am helpful, or at least right.

 

[ShadowBlade]

Asus A8V, x800 XT PE, 160gb sata 480 watter will do tbh but if u have the extram oney go for the 650... I suppose same goes for the HD.

 

[SidewinderX]

What are the brands and models of the PSUs?

 

[blackeye]

Are those two motherboards your only options? Because The nforce 3 motherboards tend to be faster in games. If not I would go with the Abit motherboard.

And the Raptors only have 8mb cache.

If you need the space get the 160 gig hard drive but if you want speed get the raptors. If you play more RTS games then FPS I would recommend getting the 160 gig hard drive because the extra speed of the raptor isnt worth it. I know when im playing warcraft 3 im waiting a couple minutes sometimes for other people to load. 74 gigs used to be enough space a year or go but now IMO you should get atleast 120. So you only option is the 160gig unless you want to raid two raptors to still get great performance.

The 480 watt powersupply should be enough and there is no sense in getting a 650 ps. What brands are they, because some 480 watt powersupplies wont run what they are advertised to run at.

And as for the videocard I would wait a 3 weeks untill we start see half life 2 bencmarks coming around. The two videocards seem to be very close to each other and you wont go wrong with either one. Im still not to sure about ATI having a 20% leed in half life 2 though so if you can hold of 3 weeks then do so.

 

[big_mike]

Are those two motherboards your only options? Because The nforce 3 motherboards tend to be faster in games. If not I would go with the Abit motherboard.

And the Raptors only have 8mb cache.

If you need the space get the 160 gig hard drive but if you want speed get the raptors. If you play more RTS games then FPS I would recommend getting the 160 gig hard drive because the extra speed of the raptor isnt worth it. I know when im playing warcraft 3 im waiting a couple minutes sometimes for other people to load. 74 gigs used to be enough space a year or go but now IMO you should get atleast 120. So you only option is the 160gig unless you want to raid two raptors to still get great performance.

The 480 watt powersupply should be enough and there is no sense in getting a 650 ps. What brands are they, because some 480 watt powersupplies wont run what they are advertised to run at.

And as for the videocard I would wait a 3 weeks untill we start see half life 2 bencmarks coming around. The two videocards seem to be very close to each other and you wont go wrong with either one. Im still not to sure about ATI having a 20% leed in half life 2 though so if you can hold of 3 weeks then do so.

well, the power supply is from Alienware...so if they advertise that it's good, then im hoping it's good. The PE ATI card is a lot more expensive now than the 6800 ultra. For what reason I don't know. I guess i'll stick with the 160 gig hard drive...but for now, I think alienware only offers the Abit motherboard....so i have no choice.. So....why do you think the ATI card is so much more expensive than the Nvidia card?

 

[Fil]

The X800XT P.E. is faster than the 6800 Ultra. If i were you i would get the X800XT P.E., but it doesnt make that much of a difference its not faster by much.

 

[big_mike]

ok thanks bro, if you don't mind..im going to create another thread dedicated to the 6800 ultra and ati card...please respond to my question in there if you don't mind.

 

[RussianEmpire]

6800 ultra // 74 gig raptor // 650 watt power

 

[Borealis]

Keep in mind about the video cards....supply and demand. I'm pretty sure if I wanted I could get ahold of a 6800 ultra alot easier then a xt-pe...hence the higher price. It also depends on the game and A.P.I that you're talking about with the vid. cards. Personally I'd go with the ultra since I've seen less price gouging on them compared to ati's top offering. I'm also mad @ ati about that, even though it's the retailers gouging them.

Dunno much about the mobo's...not an expert there, HD = 74GB Raptor. Are there brandnames associated with the PSU's?

 

[Mujuro]

Wait a little bit, nForce 4 motherboards are coming out soon.

 

[Asus]

Both the X800XT PE and 6800Ultra are rare. ATI might not be selling Alienware as many now though. They gave them a number of them right when they were launched. X800XT PE for me. The 6800Ultra will do but it depends on your preferences.

The raptor is a hard drive to justify for. If you don't need more than 74GBs of space but would really like the extra performance then go for the Raptor.
Both drives are quick and if the 160GB drive is fast enough for you and you could use the extra space then go for it.

Asus makes great boards, Abit does as well. Abit tends to have an extra option or two aimed at the extreme OCer.

What's the brand and amps on the 12V rail? Either of those are more than enough for power. The 480Watt will probably be a better pick if you don't use all of that power. It's probably more efficent anyway.

 

[big_mike]

Both the X800XT PE and 6800Ultra are rare. ATI might not be selling Alienware as many now though. They gave them a number of them right when they were launched. X800XT PE for me. The 6800Ultra will do but it depends on your preferences.

The raptor is a hard drive to justify for. If you don't need more than 74GBs of space but would really like the extra performance then go for the Raptor.
Both drives are quick and if the 160GB drive is fast enough for you and you could use the extra space then go for it.

Asus makes great boards, Abit does as well. Abit tends to have an extra option or two aimed at the extreme OCer.

What's the brand and amps on the 12V rail? Either of those are more than enough for power. The 480Watt will probably be a better pick if you don't use all of that power. It's probably more efficent anyway.

thanks bro, this is what I was looking for. Now maybe you can help me here, I don't have a comp that will run HL2 right now....and I like the sound of the SLI mode with the new Nforce 4 boards coming out in 2005...but I really want to play hl2 and cs:s....so in other words, I need a computer now...what can I do later to be able to use SLI if I buy a computer today with the given hardware?

 

[Mujuro]

Supposing your price range is a high, I'll recommend the following computer.

AMD Athlon 64 FX-53
Asus A8V Deluxe
2GB Corsair PC-3200 DDR
Sony DRU-700 DVD-ROM
Plextor 52x32x52 CD-RW
Samsung 3.5-Inch 1.44MB Floppy
Western Digital Raptor 74GB 10,000RPM Harddrive
Creative Labs SB Audigy 2 ZS Platinum
ViewSonic/NEC 22-Inch CRT
GeForce 6800 Ultra 256MB
Creative Labs GigaWorks 7.1 Surround Sound

Your total will be really high, but hell, it's worth it.