The Building of Matt III

[Renzatic Gear]

AKA my 3rd computer.

I've been shopping around for parts recently, looking for that special something I can rub in all your faces later on down the road and secure my place as king dork around here, when I came across this...

Normally I don't put much stock in computer cases. Most of the ones I've seen look a little too much like some kid that doesn't know much about cars but still wanted to rice out SOMETHING so he blinged up a case instead. But this case is cool as all get out..there is no denying.

http://www.aone.zen.co.uk/imagesproduct/cases/large/csasusv3600blu.jpg

The Asus Vento. This is what I'm gonna be stuffing all my new crap into. Probably the sleekest comp case I've ever seen.

[Superior Beatslayer]

It's funny how you name your computers after yourself.

That is a nice looking case though, how much kabloons is this one costing you?

[Renzatic Gear]

I name everything after me, I have a big ego.

The case is just $120. The comp I'm building is gonna cost me about $1600 altogether.

[E.T.]

Cool...can I get one in billet aluminum w/ titanium gear drives for optics?

[moya]

That case looks like a sleek space probe or something. Very nice. Be sure to engage geek-mode and let us drool all over the specs when you finish pricing things up (as if I even needed to ask!).

[Mochan]

LOL, yeah I remember that case, I saw it some time back. Not my style, I don't like how thick the base is and according to the reviews I read the case has some ventilation issues, but on the otherhand it keeps the components quiet. But yes it does fit the "King of Dork" image very well. ;)

Renz, looks like we're building new rigs at more or less the same time. Not surprising since our PCs are almost carbon copies of each other.

My case is probably going to be this:

http://www.pcalpha.co.nz/images/thermaltake/va9000bws.jpg

Depends on availabilitiy though, I may have to settle for a lesser model. The PC I'll be building will probably cost me $1200 total.

[Renzatic Gear]

Ventilation issues? Well, anything I get will be better than I've got now...I'm using a case that was built for a PII and it's way too small for what I've got in there.

I've pretty much decided on everything cept the graphics card. I have to get one since the mobo I'm getting is PCI-E only, but I'm having trouble deciding if I should take the big plunge and get a Geforce 7800GTX or not.

But the current specs are:

Asus Vento Case (obviously)
AMD ATHLON64 3000+
ASUS A8N SLI Deluxe nForce4
1024 meg Corsair XMS DDR400
2x MAXTOR 80GB 7200 RPM ATA 133 HARD DRIVE
NVIDIA Geforce 7800 GTX 256MB
Creative Labs SB Audigy-2 ZS 7.1

I set a price limit of $1600, and altogether this comp costs about $1530. I could drop the graphics card and get a better CPU and another gig of ram, but on the other hand the graphics card will help out alot more with games like Oblivion and Gothic III than the CPU would...which is already fast enough as it is. But it'd also be cheaper to upgrade to another CPU than it would be a graphics card later on down the road....one of those hmmm moments.

[Mochan]

Why is it so expensive? The rig I'm putting together is something like this. I'll put in the Soprano instead since I haven't actually gotten a quote on a Kandalf around here yet.

DFI Lan Party NF4-Ultra - P8000
Athlon 64 3200+ Venice - P12000
Kandalf Case - ???
Soprano Case - P6000
2GB Kingston PC3200 RAM - P12000
480W Task PSU - P4400
CMV 17" TFT LCD - P13000

This goes up to 55,500php which translates to about $1030US. The only thing missing is the video card which I am undecided on, might me a GF6800GT which costs 21000php or $380US. So my total goes up to like $1400US unless I just get a GF6600GT which will cost about $180 (bringing my total up to $1200).

I'll just get my 160GB Seagate Barracuda from my current PC (leaving it with only its 80GB HD).

[BaneNWN]

Ventilation issues? Well, anything I get will be better than I've got now...I'm using a case that was built for a PII and it's way too small for what I've got in there.

I've pretty much decided on everything cept the graphics card. I have to get one since the mobo I'm getting is PCI-E only, but I'm having trouble deciding if I should take the big plunge and get a Geforce 7800GTX or not.

But the current specs are:

Asus Vento Case (obviously)
AMD ATHLON64 3000+
ASUS A8N SLI Deluxe nForce4
1024 meg Corsair XMS DDR400
2x MAXTOR 80GB 7200 RPM ATA 133 HARD DRIVE
NVIDIA Geforce 7800 GTX 256MB
Creative Labs SB Audigy-2 ZS 7.1

I set a price limit of $1600, and altogether this comp costs about $1530. I could drop the graphics card and get a better CPU and another gig of ram, but on the other hand the graphics card will help out alot more with games like Oblivion and Gothic III than the CPU would...which is already fast enough as it is. But it'd also be cheaper to upgrade to another CPU than it would be a graphics card later on down the road....one of those hmmm moments.


I would think twice about getthing the 7800 GTX especially since your only getting a 3000+.Your processor will be bottlenecking a 7800 GTX believe it or not.I doubt you would see much of a difference between that and a 6800 GT.Even the FX-55 Processors are bottlenecking those cards.Id go with either a 6800 GT or Ultra.IMO you would probably be wasting alot of money just to get a few extra FPS.

[Mochan]

Renz is used to his CPU bottlenecking his GPU, he's been playing a Radeon 9800 Pro on an Athlon 1700 for years. ;)

[Renzatic Gear]

Why is it so expensive? The rig I'm putting together is something like this....
It's the video card. If I subtract the 7800GTX then it drops me down to about $1080 or so....the same price as yours.

[moya]

Geez... Drop the video card definitely! $500! No way!

[Mochan]

Oh yeah, I forgot, that vidcard costs some $500-$700. Funny that we're both even considering similar system specs (videocard not withholding). Guess we're on the same PC path. Aggh I'm sorely tempted to get a 256MB card since I think Oblivion will be needing one for maximal effect but at the moment 256MB cards just aren't in the sweet spot for cost. At about $380 they're still a little too pricey for my liking. It sucks that I intend to shift to PCI-E, my Radeon goes to waste but it's time I got off my antiquated chipset.

[Renzatic Gear]

Well I want the graphics card simply so I don't have to upgrade for another couple of years at least. The 7800GTX is way ahead of the curve right now, so it should last me a good long while.

Even with a potential bottleneck with the CPU it'll still chew through just about anything I throw at it.

[BaneNWN]

By the way renz that is a cool looking tower real spaceagey looking.Looks like its going to fly away by itself heh.I guess what would decide whether i got the 7800 GTX would be when u plan to build another PC after this one.If its like a year or 2 id say go for it.But any longer might be kind of a waste.I know the 6800 GT can be had for as low as $270.00 now.

I have to ask though renz is your 3000+ a venice??If so then the 7800 GTX would be a nice card if you planned to overclock the processor .The venice preform quite alot better then a regular 3000+ and i dont think there much more.I believe a 3000+ venice can overclock to about 3800+ speeds id check into getting one of those instead of a plain one.I believe a 3200+ can hang with a 4000+ and are close to fx-55 speeds as well.There sweet proccesors and overclock to crazy numbers.

[Renzatic Gear]

Yeah, it is a Venice, and yeah, I am gonna upgrade the chip about a year down the road. The 3000+ is just a placeholder, something to tide me over til I get it paid off and decide to make the jump to the 4000+ chips. By then they should be a bit cheaper, even with the cost of the 3000 taken into account, so I'll save a bit of money in the long run.

And I'll probably pawn off the 3000 whenever I upgrade, thus recoup a bit of money in the process.

[BaneNWN]

Man with a venice and a 7800 GTX you wouldnt have to upgrade for atleast 2 years.I wish id bought one of those instead of my 2800+.should have done more resaerch before i built mine:( good choice on the system BTW im sure u will really like it

[Mochan]

The 3000+ and 3200+ are definitely the sweet spots for CPUs right now. The 3000+ is probably the best, it retails really cheaply and you can get it up to something like 2.8ghz. I'm opting for a 3200+ though if I can find one. I'm not buying a 64 unless it's a Venice core or better. They're rather hard to find over here but I found a dealer who has them, a bit inconvenient but when the time comes I'm getting from him.

You could say that the 3000+ will just be a placeholder but for now I think it's good enough, especially when overclocked. I'm sure it'll run anything you throw at it for at least a year.

[Superior Beatslayer]

Geez... Drop the video card definitely! $500! No way!

You think thats bad?? Try pricing up a PC in CDN prices, I was building one that I was seriously gonna invest in, 3200$.

[Mochan]

But Canadian dollars are worth less than US dollars! And you think that's bad? Try building one in Philippine prices, or get a any kind of electronics in the Philippines. The XBox was priced at 34,000php in the Philippines a year after it came out in the States.... that's about $620US. And the launch price in the US was $300!!!

[Renzatic Gear]

I'm going ballswild on this one. You might've heard me say that I'd never spend more than $300 for a graphics card...WELL I'M TAKING THAT BACK!

Bascially I have a good bit of cash to spend and I want to build up my credit. After I get my digital camera, I'm gonna invest in the new comp.

[Mochan]

LOL, go for it, man! A man can never spend too much on his hobby!

I just blew my paycheck on a TFT LCD. Sometime around October/November or December after either Oblivion or Stalker come out, I'm expecting to buy a new PC as well.