Request feedback for AMD system. MODERATOR KILL PREVIOUS

[Dannandale]

Sorry did not use preview effectively; previous note was unreadable.

Have read extensively at this site / forums and various others (including newegg). Need a silent & responsive computer for general purpose use; but also one that can be overclocked (OC) selectively for gaming. Have to get system up and running by 4 July 07.

CASE: Antec Solo $100
P180, 182, Sonata III, etc are too large for my needs

POWER SUPPLY: SeaSonic S12-380 ATX12V 380W– Retail $75
Read reviews at this site; seems like enough power?
Just saw that S12II-380 will be available soon.

PROCESSOR: AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Brisbane 2.6GHz AM2 Retail $159
Best value / performance per watt. 5000+ 65W just now available.

CPU COOLER: Scythe SCNJ-1100P Ninja Rev. B $40
Highly rated in SCPR; hope to use without CPU fan.

MOTHERBOARD: Asus M2N32 SLI Premium Vista Edition $209
OC flexibility & convenience features; SLI probably not needed;
8 phase cpu power regulation is more efficient

MEMORY: G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel 4-4-4-12 - Retail $90
Best value for this level of OC potential?

VIDEO CARD: ??2600XT
What "throw away" card should I buy in the interim because 2600XT not available until July 2007? Believe 8600GTS has idle power of over 40 watts, which is not conducive to silence. 2600 on 65 nm process, more power efficient - idle power alot lower than 40 watts.

REAR CASE FAN: Scythe S-FLEX SFF21E 120mm - Retail $20
Can either of these fans be controlled by proposed motherboard (3 pin vs 4 pin headers)?
FRONT FAN: Nexus Real Silent fan DF1209SL (92mm) 3 = $11

HARD DRIVE: 2 x SAMSUNG SpinPoint T Series HD501LJ 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB SATA II – OEM $115 each
Best performance & value for a really quiet hd
Planning to use Win Vista Ultimate Backup / Recover for 2nd backup HD

MOUSE: Logitech MX Revolution Black USB RF Wireless Laser Mouse - Retail $80 Supposedly the best?

DVD BURNER: LITE-ON Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X 2MB Cache SATA with LightScribe - Retail $42
Consistently the most recommended SATA burner; BIOS booting issue?

MEMORY CARD READER: Atech Flash Xm-4U 11-in-1 USB 2.0 Black Internal card reader - Retail $25

WIRELESS ROUTER: LINKSYS WRT150N Draft 802.11n, 802.11b&g, 802.3&u – N Home Router - Retail $100

OS: MS Windows Vista 32 bit Ultimate – OEM

PRODUCTIVITY APP: MS Office 2007 Home & Student

[bonestonne]

i wouldnt say get a "throw away card" i'd say get a card that fits the budget unless you're a very intensive gamer.

a workstation oriented graphics card will work you wonders. make it PCI-e oriented, and it'll give you the 32bit graphics, and everything else you need. if your a gamer, get a cheap PCI gfx card and wait...but i doubt you'd want a "throw away" card, get something with some temporary beef...you can always sell it when you're done with it.

[angelkiller]

A few comments.

Yes 380W is plenty for a PSU.

Second, why such a high end motherboard?? If I were building a single graphics card AM2 system, I'd get a 690G chipset. Actually I found this Gigabyte board and l think it looks very solid. If you do opt for a 590 board, why not a cheaper one? I really like Asus's non-Vista M2N32-SLI.

Can you get me a link to that DDR2-800 Cas4 RAM? K thanx

I don't like the idea of a "throw away" card only because that's also "throw away" money. (Which I don't happen to have.) I would advise you just to wait for the 2600XT. But if you must, I'd pick up a 8500GT. It is a cheap card (>$100) offers better-than-integrated performance, and features HD-Acceleration, which makes it useful in a HTPC after you get your 2600XT. And the 8500GT should be passive.

I don't really get your backup plan. Would it be simpler just to run a RAID 1 array? If a drive crashes, the other is identical, and there is no software to run and you don't have to remember to back up.

And for your wireless needs, I've heard good things about Belkin's Pre-N stuff. I'd at least consider it before you buy anything.

Everything else looks good. Hope this was helpful.

[Dannandale]

why such a high end motherboard?? If I were building a single graphics card AM2 system, I'd get a 690G chipset. Actually I found this Gigabyte board * l think it looks very solid. If you do opt for a 590 board, why not a cheaper one? I really like Asus's non-Vista M2N32-SLI.

Good question - convinced myself that 8 phase CPU power regulation was more stable (OC possibilities) and power efficient (silence possibilities) - consistent with reviews. Really liked the use of solid polymer capacitors for at least the critical applications (alot of electronic equipment fails long-term because of electrolytic capacitors). All the advanced BIOS features should make it easier to overclock (want to quickly change from normal BIOS config to gaming config). Liked the fact that the BIOS & drivers would support Vista out of the box. Even though I am usually not swayed by superficial features; the special directional microphone, remote control, integrated Readyboost USB flash drive, Screan DUO, motherboard header for Trusted Platform Module 1.2 (which I may purchase if I can find one - it works in conjunction with Vista Ultimate BitLocker). Sorry for sounding like an ASUS commercial, but I thought about this long and hard - and I am not that cash flow constrained.

Can you get me a link to that DDR2-800 Cas4 RAM? K thanx

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820231087

I don't like the idea of a "throw away" card only because that's also "throw away" money. (Which I don't happen to have.) I would advise you just to wait for the 2600XT. I'd pick up a 8500GT.

Unfortunately I cannot wait, but I do not intend to actually throw it away. Do not want to invest much - assumed that trying to sell a used low end card would not be rewarding. If someone is so inclined to coordinate with me, would be willing to buy something modest that they would purchase from me at a reduced cost in about 2-3 months (or sooner). If this does not play out, is there something from the previous generation of gpu technology that I should purchase (passive of course)?

I don't really get your backup plan. Would it be simpler just to run a RAID 1 array? If a drive crashes, the other is identical, and there is no software to run and you don't have to remember to back up.

Considered that, but the one weakness is isolation from viruses - and yes I have Zone Alarm Security Suite. If my primary drive is infected wanted to be able to unplug it and plug in my backup drive and continue on. The human in the loop to periodically update backup provides isolation. Hope this makes sense, definitely want feedback - perhaps there is a simpler way because otherwise RAID 1 is very attractive.

And for your wireless needs, I've heard good things about Belkin's Pre-N stuff. I'd at least consider it before you buy anything.

In my search perhaps 2 weeks ago they showed potential, but they had not released a firmware version that was compliant with the latest (and probably close to final version) of the 802.11n spec and so no reviews. They were the leaders a year ago with the previous draft, and they shined with respect to ease of use. Will check to see if any updates before I order.

Thanks for the great feedback - hopefully this addresses comments from bonestonne also.