Help building machine....

[korin]

OK, I know what kind of machine/cpu I want but I need to determine what is the best match for type of RAM/CPU/Motherboard/Viedo card.

What I want is:

1. AMD X2 4400+
2. Motherboard = Asus, just don't know which or recommend something of similar or greater quality if it exsits
3. Max out the RAM of the Motherboard (probably 2 GB or 4GB)
Need to know aht kind of ram: speed, company/Brand, type
4. Video card just need to be able to play movies (alos some editing), a few games here and there, web.

I would like to be able to overclock, but only as an option, not menditory.

Budget is around $1,500 canadian plus tax.

Also, if you can recommend a canadian website with good prices.

Still debating if I go Linux or windows on this one based on games mostly.

Thankx

 

[Mr. Switch]

well, i'm in the U.S. of A, so i can't give you rpices. BUT if your going to OC, use a DFI motherboard (The Ultra-D would be fine)OCZ platnum 2x1GB dual channel kits are great. you don't need 4GB of ram because winXP 32-bit doesn't even support all of it. as for the videocard, since you only play games occasionally, i'm guessing that you dont' need alot of horsepower for anti-aliasing or anything, so a 6600GT or a 6800GS would do fine.

 

[korin]

well, i'm in the U.S. of A, so i can't give you rpices. BUT if your going to OC, use a DFI motherboard (The Ultra-D would be fine)OCZ platnum 2x1GB dual channel kits are great. you don't need 4GB of ram because winXP 32-bit doesn't even support all of it.

What about WinXP 64-bit, does it support 4Gb of ram?

Are DFI motherboard the same quality/build as Asus? Should I be even looking at Asus IF I decide to OC?

Thanks for the info.

 

[macdude425]

Yeah, XP64 supports 4GB of RAM, but driver support is so crappy right now it's not really worth the hassle.

DFI are of a HIGHER quality than Asus; they OC better and have a higher user satisfaction rating.

 

[korin]

Ok so DFI motherboard. Is the Ultra-D the best for AMD x2 chips if I OC?

Do I need 2 video card or do the PCI-E work with just one? Is there a difference between the companies that make the 6800GS? Which company should I take for best result with the DFI motherboard?

What really bugs me is all the choices to make.... Grrr...

 

[thebleakness]

If your going to be OCing, look into the Opteron 165 or 170. Those are dual core and people are overclocking them alot better than the X2s. As for the video card, look into to the eVGA 6800GS. The DFI ultra-D is a great mobo, i have one and i love it so far. They have a great forum at www.dfi-street.com I got the g.skill extreme series 1*1gb RAM from newegg and it was a really good deal.

 

[reggie_da_man]

www.cancomputer.com
www.ncix.com
www.canadacomputers.com
www.oemexpress.com
www.tigerdirect.ca

Where abouts do you live, what province?

 

[korin]

I live in Ottawa. Oemexpress is the likely choice but they don't have DFI motherboard.

 

[korin]

OK this is what I am looking at:

1 x DFI LANParty UT NF4 SLI-DR Expert - $255
1 x OCZ EL Platinum PC3200 2GB 2X1GB DDR400 CL2-3-2-5 184PIN Pin Dual - $325 (25 cash back with Ncix.com)
1 x EVGA e-GeForce 6800 GS PCI-E DDR3 256MB - $233
1 x AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Skt 939 - $480

Total: $1300 plus taxes.... a bit steap when I consider that the ram is ~$300, and I don't want to skimp of the motherboard....

1. Could some one tell me if I really need 2 video cards to get 16x?
For the amount of games I play, I am happy with the graphic I currently have from a Sapphire Radeon 9600 Atlantis and it would mostly be for playing movies or video.

2. What is the major difference between SLI-DR Expert and Ultra-D?

The motherboards seem to be almost identical and I don't see much of a difference except the price, an extra PCI slot, SLI control, and Silicon image3114~RAID5 ready (Ultr-D already has Raid just different chip I think....). If I only want to use one video card (budget issue and actual component use vs price), should I even care to pay more for the SLI-DR Expert when I don't need the extra PCI slot or SLI control....

 

[NosBoost300]

no you don't need 2 graphics cards.. thats only if you want to use sli.. and it doesnt sound like ur going to overclock or anything... so just get kingston value ram, and since ur not gonna use sli i say you go with something without sli, considering your getting an ati graphics card