Advice for a budget, gaming AM2 System

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Sparrow
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Joined: Sat Jun 24, 2006 8:58 pm

Advice for a budget, gaming AM2 System

Post by Sparrow » Sat Jun 24, 2006 10:16 pm

I'll be using this system for gaming and the usual other websurfing odds and ends. I'd like to get reasonable gaming performance but it doesn't have to be bleeding edge, more important is of course quiet and not too pricey with some room to upgrade. I'll probably be shopping at NCIX.com in Canada.

AMD Athlon 64 3500+ Processor Socket AM2
Scythe Mine Heatpipe CPU Heatsink
ASUS M2N-E ATX AM2 Motherboard
OCZ Gold PC2-5400 1GB 2X512MB DDR2-667 CL4-4-4-12 Memory
XFX GeForce 7600 GS 500MHZ PCI-E 256MB 128BIT 900MHZ DDR2 Passive Video Card
Seasonic S12-380HB Powersupply
Antec Solo Case
Nexus 92MM Fan
Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB SATA2 7200RPM 16MB 8.9MS Hard Drive
BenQ DW1655 Lightscribe DVD Burner

I'd originally wanted a passive ninja, if I go with the Mine should I go for a 120MM fan replacement? Other quiet heatsink options?
Is one 92MM fan enough, or should I fill both intakes on the SOLO?
I couldn't find much information on quiet optical drives, is the Benq quiet? Other options?

Can I save some cash in some places without impacting performance and noise too much and conversely any areas which will make a big difference for a small price increase?

Thanks for all the great information on this site.

~El~Jefe~
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Post by ~El~Jefe~ » Sat Jun 24, 2006 10:40 pm

best budget yet fast board is now the new Asrock boad with the VIA chipset. It is completely passive and has a very good following on ocworkbench.com

(all asrock products are fully discussed there)

just as fast as any ati or nvidia, really cheap, decent features. Asrock is like taking over the scene with their boards debuting at 70 dollars retail boxed.

newegg.com has it.

Pioneer retail, not the oem ones, some of them have are rubber incased and have a program that alters their speed. very good drives without being silent. Most quiet drive I ahve ever used.

some people like the new plextors. I havent check one out lately though. the pioneer is a safe bet.

I would say that all memory modules should be purchased in 1 gig pieces. I would 100% recommend that if you are on a budget, buy ONE chip, dont run it in dual channel (small performance hit) and then get the 2nd module later on. that Hard drive... i dont know if it is considered all that quiet?

Sparrow
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Post by Sparrow » Sat Jun 24, 2006 11:55 pm

The only AM2 Asrock board I could find was the http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php? ... ure=ASRock. Isn't that an Nvidia chipset though?

I'll definately change to a Pioneer drive. Is there a large difference between retail and OEM ones. I found it for $10 more retail, which is fine if its noticably quieter.

The only 1 gig pieces I could find at NCIX (Newegg doesn't ship to Canada)
Corsair XMS2 PC2-5400 1GB DDR2-675 CL4-4-4-12 240PIN DIMM Memory at $165.60
Mushkin XP PC2-6400 1GB 1X1024MB DDR2-800 CL 4-4-3-10 240PIN DIMM Memory at $171.00
The memory I'd originally planned on goes for $99.83. I could also just go directly a pair of 1 gigs
OCZ Gold PC2-5400 2GB 2X1GB DDR2-667 CL4-4-4-12 240PIN DIMM Dual Channel Memory Kit W/ Heatspreader at $193.42

I'm not certain on the hard drive, I'm considering it because of the spcr review on the 500GB WD Caviar SE16 hoping that low noise would extend to lower capacities in the lineup. Also there seems to be some debate about wether the Samsungs are still quiet in the Silent Storage section.

Thanks for the help

Le_Gritche
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Post by Le_Gritche » Sun Jun 25, 2006 3:00 am

Sparrow wrote:The only AM2 Asrock board I could find was the http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php? ... ure=ASRock. Isn't that an Nvidia chipset though?
I think El Jefe was talking about the ASRock AM2V890-VSTA AM2 board.
The Asus M2V is maybe easier to find, and is very similar to the ASRock : same VIA north- and southbridges. Besides, Asrock is just Asus's low-cost motherboard business.

I will second the advice to go for 1Gb RAM sticks if it's a gaming computer. BF2 for example has been widely reported to beneficiate from huge amount of RAM.
You can buy just one stick now, and another one later if you are short on money, but then that might be tricky to have them run in dual-channel if they are not identical.

Overall your computer parts seem very well chosen for a not too pricey gaming computer (especially because I have exactly the same setup on my mind for my next buy :wink: )

The main differences would be the single 1Gb RAM stick, a Samsung hard-drive, and a Scythe Katana. I think the Mine is the one with the fan in between two towers, right ? It might cause more turbulence noise with the fins blocking the intake airflow.

EDIT : I forgot to point the main difference : I'm waiting to buy it, because DDR2 RAM is still expensive and AMD is supposed to do some price cuts in July when Intel releases Core 2 Duo.

~El~Jefe~
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Post by ~El~Jefe~ » Sun Jun 25, 2006 12:02 pm

the difference in speed of a computer with 2 gigs to 1 gig is huge.

I can have all the bloat possible, maxing out to like 500 megs used by background stuff and things I enjoy, then I can load up BF2. I will ahve 1.5 gigs free for it :) youll ahve, if you skimp, 180 or so megs used, and after a year, 200+ so youll never have more than 700 megs free. thats half the memory = no good for future things.

I say a 250 SATA samsung is a safe and cheap bet. as well as decently performing unit. it also is known for the least heat output.

CA_Steve
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Post by CA_Steve » Mon Jun 26, 2006 6:00 pm

Nice build. 3500+'s are getting pretty cheap, now. Too bad dual cores are still so darn expensive - and the reason why I'm waiting a bit for my next build. I agree with the 2GB RAM comments.

cyberspyder
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Post by cyberspyder » Mon Jun 26, 2006 6:08 pm

ALWAYS get OEM. it is ALWAYS cheaper than the retail thing, minus the flashy packaging, and the software, but it's CHEAPER.

cyberspyder
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Post by cyberspyder » Mon Jun 26, 2006 6:10 pm

as to the AM2 proc's, wait till July 30 (i think), that's when intel's coming out with the Conroe! :lol: Amd is going to slah most of the prices in half since early benchmarking shows that a cheaper Conroe extreme edition can OWN an AM2 FX-62.

Sparrow
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Joined: Sat Jun 24, 2006 8:58 pm

Post by Sparrow » Mon Jun 26, 2006 11:21 pm

Thanks alot for the input guys. I put the order in today, so we'll see how it goes once I put it together.

I did end up sticking with the 2X512MB ram only due to the availability and prices at my store. I'll probably look at upgrading them in a year once I see how memory prices and my finances go.

From the AMD price sheets I've seen around the web, it looks to me like we've allready seen most of drop in single core prices. I mean the 3500+ has dropped alot since I started researching this build. How much lower then $127 Cdn is it really going to go? The duals for sure are going to drop tons, but that will have to be a much later upgrade.

I think I'm going to put off the Mine. I really want a Ninja, so I'll see how loud the stock heatsink is. If it's not earsplitting I'll wait till Scythe releases its AM2 Ninja.

kenji
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Post by kenji » Thu Jun 29, 2006 11:37 am

oops, saw it too late and didn't catch it fast enough, but I would have suggested going with a video card that utilizes GDDR3 instead of GDDR2. It's a better memory interface. But that card should still suit you. If you aren't satisfied, on the next vidcard purchase make sure to stick with GDDR3
As far as the ram goes, I agree halfheartedly with the other guys about 1 gb increments. The other half of me would dissent and say to stick with your guns because you can utilize the dual channel increase now, and in the future when you can afford to bump up to 2x1gb, the DDR2 tech will be much better anyhow. With amd just jumping on the bandwagon, the memory companies have only just now really gotten the support they need to step it up in latency reduction. (Because more gamers use amd systems I believe) Anyways, it's likely in a year or whenever you bump up to 2gb that you wouldn't be able to find the same memory anyhow, since we are at DDR2 infancy when it comes to latency right now, and with micron and mushkin leading the way, you can bet ddr2 is going to be much faster come '07.

mongokitten
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Post by mongokitten » Tue Jul 18, 2006 8:03 am

Sparrow>>

I have the following:

Antec P180 with three Nexus 120mm Real Silent
ASUS M2N SLI Deluxe (AM2)
Athlon 64 3800+ Orleans with Scythe Mine HS and Nexus 120mm RS
GF 7900GT with passive cooling VM-102
2Gb Kingston DDR2
mCubed T-balancer BigNg (fan controler)
Samsung Spinpoint P120 250Gb in the new Scythe Quiet Drive
Antec Phantom 350W fanless PSU
NEC DVDRWDL

The Mine is ok but the included fan is quite noisy and if I were you I would wait for the Ninja. The stock cooler is horrible but the heat sink works if you put a 80-120mm fan adapter and a silent 120mm fan on it.

Good Luck! :D

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