war's card requirements and upset gamers

Hescominsoon, Ralvardar and any other interested techs,

**** Be forewarned that this is a long post with techie junk. Skip if you don't want to read a lot of tech blabber.****

Here's what I got specd out so far with questions below.

Amd Mobo: ASUS M3N72-D AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA nForce 750a SLI ATX AMD Motherboard (I dont care about sli and I want to use XP - nice to have tho)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131323

mobo onboard video - NVIDIA GeForce 8 series

CPU: AMD Phenom 9550 Agena 2.2GHz Socket AM2+ 95W 65nm Quad-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103251

Fan and Heat Sink: (paranoid so want a good one. someone pffts the out of box fan)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185125

PSU: Thermaltake Purepower W0129RU 600 W ATX12V SLI Ready Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153042

Arctic Silver

RAM: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) SDRAM DDR2 1000 (PC2 8000)(cpu supports RAM speed)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231145

Case: CHIEFTEC AEGIS CX-05B-B-M-OP Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case (case seems to have a good rep.)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811160015

Hard Drive - whatever..the least of my concerns.

I'm trying to do a few things here. Save as much money as possible but not sacrifice upgradability and 'hope' it can support next-gen video cards.

Questions (keep in mind that my tech level is maybe a 4 out of 10):

The mobo has a capacity of 12 usb 2.0 ports! Do I need to be concerned about the case I buy to support all of those and its extra gadgetry?

In spite of good customer reviews, I'm worried if I'm gonna get another stripped down onboard video card or will it have true GEForce series functionality?

I plan to use windows xp on this thing. Are there known issues with building an advanced system like this and XP? I checked Asus web site and see that there are xp drivers so I hope that it is enough. I don't need any vista specific goodies and am looking for XP stability right now.

600 W power supply too little? If I did go the SLI route, I'm guessing that I'd need more.

Finally, do I need to be concerned with mobo/chip stability? My nephew built his own computer about a year ago and had random reboot problems. I would blame it on the stability of his cpu and mobo and/or bad ram. From your experience, can I do anything to minimize the possibility of this problem?

Of course, the things that I am concerned about could be way off the mark. So please comment freely.

Thanks uber techs.

Zeb
 
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http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131340 I would get something like that. Alot cheaper than your choice, but still has enough punch to do what you want. Plus, it doesn't have Onboard Video (IMO a huge plus). I'm an intel guy, so i'm unfamiliar with the chipset used.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161252 This video card should greatly outperform your onboard choice, but at the same time remain in the budget area.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703005 This power supply is of much better quality than the one you chose, but at the same times remains in the same price range. And should do just find SLI. i believe it's certified for 8600gt SLI, but in reality could handle more.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227178 Since you are still running XP 2 gb should do just find, and will be an easy upgrade if you find yourself coming up short in the future.


Also, on a side note. With the CPU that you chose, you should not have heating issues with the stock cooler. Unless you are gonna try to OC it, you should be more than fine.
 
Also, are you completely against going the Intel Route?
If you decided that intel was a possibility then i would get these.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131329 This is a good Budget motherboard.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115036 I personally own this one, performs very well. No overheating issues, and i run on stock cooling 45C. And with very little of the video game market utilizing the four cores, this is the best bang for your buck.





Also, you should look into this case http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021&Tpk=antec 900 It has mixed reviews due to some PSU's not reaching everything, but with the PSU i linked it should be fine. Reason i linked it is due to it's superior air cooling design. NZXT mimicked the design but added screwless installation. Just something to look into.

I hope i've been some help.
 
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If you're gaming on a budget, you should also look into getting a duel core processor rather than a quad core. The vast majority of games and applications are only able to run on one core, so getting 25% more speed for the same money (by switching to dual) will make your games run around 25% faster.

There are exceptions of course. Hard-core rendering, some mathematical processing and video editing can often run faster on 4 cores even if they're each 25% slower.

Other than that, I like your choices.
 
I agree with all of Inkelis's recomendations, except for one. I would also go with the intel choice instead of the amd one. The intels are clock for clock faster in almost all instances then the amds. I would rather use nvidia video cards then amd, but that is a great deal on the 4870. The power supply from pc power and cooling will be the best. They have a great warranty, and have always been very reliable for me. The intel cpu can be overclocked very easily to the same speeds as chips that cost 100 more. I would go with the Intel cpu and 2gb of ram. With that video card you could play whatever you wanted, other then crysis at max settings, but there is not much out there that can.
 
first off..nvidia is having defect issues so anything by them is suspect. NEVER use onboard graphics. With that said I would recommend the current video card:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121253

If you are not running 64 bit do not instlal more than 3 gigs of ram due to the 32 bit address limit and windows's memory allocation scheme. Every bit of memory(including video card) is counted towards your total pool and if you go over 4 gigs the system's counter wraps around.

Also I would reccomend an 2.6 or faster intel dual core cpu right now instead of a AMD anything. AMD's run hotter, and preform less work per clock than intel's chips. AMD purely competes on price right now. Source based games and many newer games can take advantage of more cores so a 2.2 ghz quad intel may server you well.
 
The defect issues for nvidia only effect laptop cards, not desktop ones.

Here is a recommended build.

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115036
MB: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131333 or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130185
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145040
Video Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814122046 or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121253 or some other brand with same chip
Hard Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152096 or larger up to you.
Power supply: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341011 if you go SLI http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341011 if not.
Case whatever you want, just make sure to have a fan in front and 1 or 2 in back. 120mm preferably.
 
Ralvardar said:
The defect issues for nvidia only effect laptop cards, not desktop ones.

Here is a recommended build.

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115036
MB: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131333 or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130185
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145040
Video Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814122046 or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121253 or some other brand with same chip
Hard Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152096 or larger up to you.
Power supply: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341011 if you go SLI http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341011 if not.
Case whatever you want, just make sure to have a fan in front and 1 or 2 in back. 120mm preferably.
Click to expand...
only quibble with this config is the ram..needs to be 2 x 1 gigabyte..otherwise i would use anything here except the nvidia gpu.
 
nVidia (even though I did switch to them) has been the best and worst: they have had some of the worst issues, but have some of the best compatible cards (Linux FTW!!!)....
 
*** BIG MESSAGE. Not for the non-techno geek! ***

Big thanks to all the input and comments. Proverbs says something about there is wisdom in a multitude of counselors. Trust me, I am appreciating all of this advice and feel that I will have the coolest computer in all of Philadelphia!

I picked AMD originally because the computer I have had is an AMD and it lasted me 6 years of gaming with only vid card upgrades. However, I have zero objections to an Intel and will accept Ink's suggestion to switch.

Hescominsoon, I assume that your approval of Ralvardar's spec is fairly close to what you would choose so don't worry about spending the extra time to come with another build. (unless you are psyched to do it!)

So being the OCD info guy that I am, I've been comparing some of the recommendations. I do have a bottom line of around $700 + shipping. I figure that the motherboard, cpu, and case are the greatest of concern for spending more money while taking the cheaper route on the other choices.

There were 3 suggested Intel mobos. I'm down to two but they both seem very close:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130185
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131329
I'm not sure what they mean about 3 x USB connectors supporting additional 6 USB ports. Does that mean that 4 x USB connectors support 8 USB ports?

The overall recommendations as pointed out by Deamiter seem to point to sticking with dual core for now. Since the mobo has quad core support, I suppose I could upgrade it in the future assuming I'm daring enough to remove the heat sink, heh. Intel cpu's are a bit more pricey than AMD.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115036

In terms of RAM, I think I like the idea of getting 2 gig sticks. It's about $30 more. Inkeli's suggestion:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227178

I am not preferential to ATI or Nvidia. Whether the conspiracy theory is true or not per the Inquirer, I'll just stick with a radeon. This one will seem to do fine for the cost:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161252

Hard drive - sounds great! SATA connectors I hope aren't much different then the old IDEs.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152096

PSU - (Ralv you cited the same one twice.) The 750W seems fine but it's a little pricey. I 'think' I read that XP doesn't support SLI. Considering that I'll need to upgrade vista as well as check power supply requirements at that future time, I'll just wait to buy the more pricey PSU.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703005

Case and fans - Per Ralvardar and Inkelis' recommendation. This one has lots of cooling. I checked for others and many do not have a lot of fans. One thing that I'm concerned with is how complex it will be to hook up all the gadgetry from the mobo to the case.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021&Tpk=antec 900

Ok so the other items left out are the CPU Fan/Heat sink and arctic silver. All of that and I have a new computer!

And the sum total is....drum roll please.......................$725.91.

Based on comments, there doesn't seem to be any concerns about mobo and cpu compatibility quirks.

So waddaya think computer connoisseurs? Time for the shopping cart?
 
I have to reccomend against 4 gigs in a 32 bit system. Windows counts all memory as system memory and 32 bit mahcines are limited to 4 gigabytes. You'll be intalling 4 gigs of main memory in addition to the memory on the video card. You'll only be able to address 3-3.5 gigs at most and may suffer stability problems. Stick with 2 gigs of main memory. Also XP does support SLI but IMO it's not worth the extra costs for such a relativly small benefit. Your machine dokesn't relaly require 750 watts..500-600 is plenty. The case you specced already had a 1kw psu bundled.
 
HesCominSoon/Ralvardar,

Understood. The actual ram that I linked up in the last post were 2 x 1 gig although I typed it kinda goofy. I appreciate the caution big time as that is something I could have overlooked. Thanks for the breakdowns of SLI and windows XP limits. It's improbable but all things constant, putting in a monstrous 1 gig card in like in 3 years would probably be a bad idea with 3 gigs of RAM. At that point, hopefully, I've upgraded to vista.

The case I linked has an option to bundle up the 1gw but it's pretty expensive so I'm just going to stick with the 610W.

I'm going to go with this build then! Thinking of any more questions...

Do you think that I will have problems with decommissioning my old XP desktop in favor of this system in terms of the windows genuine validation tool?

Zeb
 
if it balks clal MS and let them know you moved the xp install to the new mahcine..they'll give you a new code.

vista 32 bit has the same memory limitations and addressing scheme as xp. The only way around the 4 gig limit is to go 64 bit xp or vista.
 
I would go with the Asus board just from my past experience. The usb thing means that there is 6 on the back of the computer, and 3 spots on the motherboard to plug in up to 4 or 6 more on the case, or add in card or what not, giving you 10 or 12 usb plugs. The SATA hard drives are actually a bit easier to plug in that the old ones, just be careful not to break the plug. That goes for all parts really. That case will work wonders, and it has a lots of front panel connectors to plug in. It also has lots of room for more drives later on. The directions for antec cases are usually pretty thorough. The fans should either have a hard drive like 4 pin connector, or a 3 pin one to plug into the motherboard. Just in case you need a dvd burner, this is one of the best: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151171

Any questions feel free to ask.
 
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