Perhaps you could get a cheaper aluminum case? Can you choose from this for a cheaper, yet good case?: http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_attrib.php/page_id=41
Cutting Costs...
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Yes, trading that 3500+ Processor with a 3000+, or 3200+ while upgrading your Hardrive to 10,000 RPM (you can get the second one later) would make a pretty big performance increase. I reccomend getting just a plain DVD-R and a cheaper case. Cut down on the case and buy a nice heatsink. Oh and if you checkout www.pricegrabber.com for "Windows XP Pro" you can get your OS OEM version for $52, if the guy selling it has some in stock. Worked for me.
Screw the AMD Athlon 64 3500+. Unless you get a 3500+ Winchester, it isn't worth the extra money. Get an AMD Athlon 64 3000+ for $175 and then overclock that to 2.6 GHz. Most of the Winchesters don't have trouble passing 2.55 GHz. I also suggest you tune down the RAM to value if you are an experienced memory overclocker and will take the risk as most people call it the risk of not knowing whether RAM will oc right.
One more thing. Your graphics card is not compatible with your motherboard. The AGP version of the 6600GT is $50 more than the PCIe version. The AGP version comes around $239. I suggest you switch the mobo to the Abit AX8 on Via K8T890 PCIe chipset and get the GeForce 6600GT PCIe $189 on that or the Abit RX600Pro-Guru will do great also.
One more thing. Your graphics card is not compatible with your motherboard. The AGP version of the 6600GT is $50 more than the PCIe version. The AGP version comes around $239. I suggest you switch the mobo to the Abit AX8 on Via K8T890 PCIe chipset and get the GeForce 6600GT PCIe $189 on that or the Abit RX600Pro-Guru will do great also.
Ok, so PCIe is faster then and AGP slot correct? Also, you said by switching to a 3200+ and getting the RAID 36GB 10000RPM I would see a big performance difference then getting the 3500+ with a 80GB 7200RPM. Im not an expert on hard drives by any means, but I still don't understand why this would be. Could you please help?
It's pretty simple, and here's a good comparison for you.
Burning a CD at 40x is faster than burning one at 24x correct? Consider it the same thing when dealing with hard drive rotation. A 10,000RPM (rotation per minute) is going to access data faster than a 7200RPM drive.
If you purchase two drives of the same type and size, you can connect them in way that both drives are considered one drive. Half the data is stored in one drive and half the data in the other, so in theory you should be able to access the data twice as fast. This is called a RAID 0 array, and should dramatically increase computer performance.
Putting two 10,000RPM drives in a RAID 0 array will lead to incredible data access speeds your computer will run much faster than a single 7200RPM drive.
Keep in mind however that if one of the drives fail, the data on both drives will become inaccesible since half the data is stored on the failed drive and the file becomes unusable when cut in half.
Burning a CD at 40x is faster than burning one at 24x correct? Consider it the same thing when dealing with hard drive rotation. A 10,000RPM (rotation per minute) is going to access data faster than a 7200RPM drive.
If you purchase two drives of the same type and size, you can connect them in way that both drives are considered one drive. Half the data is stored in one drive and half the data in the other, so in theory you should be able to access the data twice as fast. This is called a RAID 0 array, and should dramatically increase computer performance.
Putting two 10,000RPM drives in a RAID 0 array will lead to incredible data access speeds your computer will run much faster than a single 7200RPM drive.
Keep in mind however that if one of the drives fail, the data on both drives will become inaccesible since half the data is stored on the failed drive and the file becomes unusable when cut in half.
Gaara is right, 2 x 36.6 GB Raptors in RAID 0 will limit disk space, but it will increase performance and speed and most important of all security. Get an A64 3200+ and overclock that and you will have a system better than a 3500+. Get an Abit AX8 3rd-Eye, I love that board. I'm going to use it on my next and first A64 build.
That's correct. If you do get the faster HDs the only things it will increase are loading and saving times. In-game will not be affected (noticeably, or however you spell that) because all the in-game data is stored in your RAM and GPU memory. Still, the processor isn't that big of a deal if you're choosing between 3000, 3200, 3500 etc. because you can always overclock and they are very similar processors.
I dont think telling him to OC is a good idea. He doesnt understand Raid, nor rpm speeds. Plus having a cooling system capable to OC a 3200 with those speeds, will have to be top of the line. You just dont tell people that dont understand the first thing to OC, to just OC. OC unit with those resualts will be expensive.
But with those 10000rpm drives, you will notice a difference while loading a game/saving. Thats always important. I only suggest these because your asking about proformance lack, while droping the 3500. So im trying to increase it.
But with those 10000rpm drives, you will notice a difference while loading a game/saving. Thats always important. I only suggest these because your asking about proformance lack, while droping the 3500. So im trying to increase it.
Apokalipse
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the 3200+ is IMO the best CPU for the money; it has a winchester core, so it is 90nm, uses less power, runs cooler, and overclocks better
a Raid 0 will not limit the disk space you have, it combines the total space of the 2 drives
a Raid 0 writes half the data to each hard drive at the same time, thus increasing read and write time
if you do get a Raid, do not use software to control it; it ends up being unreliable
a hardware controlled Raid is much better than a software controled Raid, it also makes it a bit faster (due to less load software wise)
for the motherboard: I would get an Abit AV8 3rd eye, it is a good quality board, less expensive than the Asus A8V, and it is designed for overclocking
as far as RAM goes: Corsair is way too expensive IMO, Kingmax has good quality RAM, at much lower cost than the Corsair
you can get a gig of PC3700 (2x512) for $79 at newegg, which will perform better than the XMS RAM, and be much less expensive
in reality, low latency RAM makes very little difference
corsair's PC3200 XL RAM at 2-2-2-5 timings only gets about 4% better performance than their value PC3200 RAM at 3-3-3-8
a Raid 0 will not limit the disk space you have, it combines the total space of the 2 drives
a Raid 0 writes half the data to each hard drive at the same time, thus increasing read and write time
if you do get a Raid, do not use software to control it; it ends up being unreliable
a hardware controlled Raid is much better than a software controled Raid, it also makes it a bit faster (due to less load software wise)
for the motherboard: I would get an Abit AV8 3rd eye, it is a good quality board, less expensive than the Asus A8V, and it is designed for overclocking
as far as RAM goes: Corsair is way too expensive IMO, Kingmax has good quality RAM, at much lower cost than the Corsair
you can get a gig of PC3700 (2x512) for $79 at newegg, which will perform better than the XMS RAM, and be much less expensive
in reality, low latency RAM makes very little difference
corsair's PC3200 XL RAM at 2-2-2-5 timings only gets about 4% better performance than their value PC3200 RAM at 3-3-3-8
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