is it the best system of the $

[duffyone]

…. I’d like to get some advice on a new system that I’m about to order (first one in a long time). Anyway, there are budget constraints so I’m looking for the best with this $ amount. Here we go;

Asus P4C800e Deluxe
P4 2.8C
OCZ EL PC4000 gold 2x256 (512 for now)
Antec case w/400 watt PSU
Sapphire ATI Radeon 9800se 128mb
Pioneer DVD +/- RW 106d
Pioneer DVD rom 16x (48x CD)
Sony 3.5

Things I wonder about;

Should I go with a 9600 pro instead of the 9800 non-pro?
Maybe I should use the Corsair XMS 4000… $20 cheaper than the OCZ?
Is 400 watts enough? … or should I do 450?

I’m not a major gamer, but want a fast system without compromising stability (now that’s the trick, isn’t it).

[butch81385]

well you succeeded in making me jealous....

it looks good to me...
9600 or 9800 are both great cards... supposedly you can OC the nonpro to the pro..

i think either RAM would be ok, so i would go with the cheaper.

and 400 should be ok IMO but you might want the 450 if adding lights or more stuff

[wallie_x]

What do you have right now? It maybe worth the money and time to wait. Why lock your self into 32 bit architecture when in a year the Athlon 64 will better, faster (than current) and with a larger selection of mobo's and equipment, software and what not to support it?

Worse I think, is that the system you’re proposing is locked into limited upgrades in the future. The current P-4 architecture is at the end of its line. You’ll be building an expensive machine that can only be replaced with another whole machine if a real increase in performance is what is desired.

Just something to think about.
PAX wallie

Everything about this PC is fast and all the components we used in it are the kind that would receive our Must Have Editor’s Choice award as for each being right at the top of their various fields. For this reason we don’t have any trouble recommending any of these products to you, what-so-ever.....
AMD have the performance crown right now and things will only get better once the 64-bit architecture can really be taken advantage of with mass supported software, other than Linux-based.

Review: HERE!

[John Prophet]

Well, lol..does the Dell allow for 800 fsb processors? If so he has some room for growth

[duffyone]

Dell? No Dell! We be building this one. It's the "Duffer Plus." The P4C800e, while I don't have a crystal ball, will support Intel's new Prescott coming out 1st Q next year (in quanity)... and I'm told that the Prescott has 64 bit capabilities.

Nevertheless... once I've got a good case, psu, drives, etc. the mobo and processor can always be changed. I wouldn't buy a new processor, one that just came out, it would be too over priced!

So it's a while before the future processors are here, then a while before they are priced right... I thinking this system will be good enough for me for a year or so.

Yikes, my first processor was an 8088 rocketing out at 4.2 mhz or something like that... then the XT, then had to have the 286, then the 386... passed on the 486, went to the Pentium, now the P4. Oh yes, I've seen 'em come and go... If I would have waited for the newest and greatest to come out... I'd still be waiting...

Doesn't matter when you buy, just buy the best you can aford right now, 'cause no matter when you buy, you'll need a new one in about two years!

[John Prophet]

Sorry, I have no clue where I got Dell from, lol...I think I was thinking of another similar thread, lol.

I agree too about the whole "wait for 6 months" deal. At some point you gotta jump on in and enjoy the water. The whole "it'll be obselete by the time you boot it up" is mostly just industry hype that they use to try to keep the upgrade cycle rolling. That machine you liad out there...95% of comp users couldnt even coem close to making it sweat lol. There just arent THAT many killer apps out there unless you are into the game of the week club.

until a few months back I was using an athlon classic slot a....and it was just fineeeeeeee for what I needed. Think how many generations I was backwards, lol.....think how old a "thunderbird" athlon sounds...but a thunderbird was NEWER than what I was using! lol. Why did I change at all?? The main IDE controller died, lol. Now I am just using a PC Chips duron board with onboard vid..ewww yuck....but it does what I need. I mean, hey, a barton wont print out that word doc but SO much faster, lol.

JP

[Juan Sanchez]

Switch that P4 2.8C with an Athlon XP 2500+ and an Abit NF7-S and SET (not Overclock, but SET) it at 3200+. It works and is stable. I did it on 3 systems (Myself and 2 friends) and it worked with out a hitch, an AthlonXP 2500 and NF7-S together are cheaper then the Pentium 4. If you get those 2 you can use the $$$ you saved for a full blown 9800 Pro. If you want the 2.8c and wont budge on it, then the Connect3D 9600 Pro gets my whole hearted recomendation, I got one for one of my friends and it OCed to 500/700, I thought those were the spec of the 9600XT but in fact they are above and beyond what the XT is. I know I coulda taken the core high but, with a 3dmark03 score of 4300 I wasnt gonna complain. It totally outscored my 9500 Pro handsomley, wich is awsome, my Connect3D 9800 Pro gets 6340 in 3DMark.

[ArcticFox]

I have to attest to what Juan is suggesting. Although I didn't take my 2500+ straight from 333Mhz FSB to 400, that's what it's running at now (400 FSB/3200+) and I recently upped the voltage .005 or something like that, even though it wasn't necessary.

3DMark2001 score with a Ti 4200 at 275/525?

12545 (stupid nVidia 5x.xx drivers stole 300+ points from my score, was almost at 13000)

[Dooin' it]

Just curious as to what Juan means by "SET, not o/s, but SET"???

Jumper, bios, soft?? O/C in my book *is* "SET". (Well, I prefer jumpers, but regardless, I assume set=o/c and vice versa!?!

But I haven't played with an Abit NF7-S so maybe it's unique??