New system..what do you think ?Post Date: 2007-09-19 |
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Celedhring 
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Joined: 19 Sep 2007 Online Status: Offline Posts: 4 |
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 Topic: New system..what do you think ?Posted: 19 Sep 2007 at 12:16am |
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I had a specific budget to work with while replacing my AGP system..this is what I came up with.
I decided to go with 7900 over the 8600 because DirectX 10 isn't gonna be mainstream for a while yet which gives me time to upgrade later. One thing I'm not sure about is the temperature range for the 7900 video card since my present 7800GS AGP card only runs at 39C at idle with stock cooling as I generally like to have my systems as cool as possible while avoiding liquid cooling systems. I passed on Vista because I've personally witnessed compatibility problems with Vista and stuck with Windows Home. I'd give Microsoft a couple more years to work on Vista's problems, but Vista seems to me the OS version of "New Coke". What kind of thermal paste does Digital use for the CPU's ? The other thing I liked about Digital based on reviews is that they don't add on software junk like some other computer makers do as I use Black Viper's Windows recommendations to streamline my Windows even more. System Configuration: Case: Digital Storm Twister VALUE (Black Edition) Power Supply: 500W Thermaltake (Silent PurePower Edition) Processor: AMD Athlon X2 4200+ 2.2GHz (Dual Core) (1 MB Cache) w/HyperTransport Motherboard: Asus M2N-Plus SLI (Vista Edition) (nForce 5 series SLI Chipset) Memory: 2GB DDR2 Corsair at 667MHz (Dual Channel) Floppy / Media: Sony 1.44MB Floppy (Black Edition) Hard Drive 1: 160GB (Western Digital / Seagate) (16MB Cache) (7200 RPM) (SATA) Hard Drive 2: - No Thanks Raid Option: - No Thanks Optical Drive 1: DVD-ROM/CD-ROM (DVD Reader 16x / CD Reader 40x) Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks Network Card: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections) Modem: - No Thanks Video Card: nVidia GeForce 7900GT 256MB (Promotional Price) (While Supplies Last) TV Tuner: - No Thanks Sound Card: Motherboard Multi-Channel High Definition Audio (7.1 Channel) Physics Card: - No Thanks Cooling: Air Cooled Stage 2 (Silent Artic Cooling Heat-sink (Copper Heatpipes) Case Lighting: Blizzard Internal Lighting (Blue Edition) (Cold Cathode Tubes) Round Cables: - No Thanks User Manual: Personalized Platinum Digital Storm Binder (Includes Paperwork/Benchmarks/CDs/Manuals) Windows OS: Microsoft Windows XP Home (Includes Service Pack 2) Restore Kit: Digital Storm Specialized Recovery System (DVD Image Based) Protection: - No Thanks Office: - No Thanks LCD Display: - No Thanks Surge Shield: - No Thanks Speakers: - No Thanks Keyboard: - No Thanks Mouse: - No Thanks my keyboard comes with a mouse Warranty: 3 Year Platinum Care Extended Parts & Labor Warranty Support: Lifetime Toll-Free Platinum Care Technical Support Edited by Celedhring - 19 Sep 2007 at 12:19am |
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Tyler Lowe
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Joined: 14 May 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 0 |
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Posted: 19 Sep 2007 at 1:41am |
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That's a pretty solid looking budget build.
One thing I would wonder about, is whether the cooling would be better overall with the Twister Lite case and stock cooling, versus stage 2 cooling and a value case.
If you take a look at the side view of both cases, the value case is a bit more cramped inside, so it may not get as much benefit as it otherwise might from the stage 2 cooling fan. Also. the Lite has a 120mm fan pulling air from the case and 2x 80mm in front. Since the option for stage 2 cooling at +$49 and the option to go to the Lite case at +$55 are so close in price, I would definately ask.
That switch still leaves you at just under $900, if that was the budget you had in mind.
The other nice thing about having a larger case to work with, is if you do at some point intend to upgrade to Vista and a better graphics card with this machine, you'll probably appreaciate the extra clearance and finger room in a larger case.
Edited by Tyler Lowe - 19 Sep 2007 at 2:10am |
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sundowner
Senior Member 
Joined: 11 Sep 2007 Online Status: Offline Posts: 501 |
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Posted: 19 Sep 2007 at 2:36am |
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What is your budget max? What are you going to be mainly using the PC for?Future upgrade considerations?
Also, in my mind if i'm buying a new computer and I have to buy an OS along with it I'd rather take Vista than XP because it's relatively the same price and you won't have to pay for the upgrade later.
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Pro case with extra fan
Quad Q6600 2.4 OC'd 3.1! Nvidia 8800GT Asus Maximus Formula Mobo 2xgb 800mhz corsair xfire - xuntiltheendx |
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Celedhring
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Joined: 19 Sep 2007 Online Status: Offline Posts: 4 |
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Posted: 19 Sep 2007 at 2:47am |
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Budget was 850ish max.
Gaming and surfing the Internet mostly. The game I most play frequently is WOW. I normally don't play first person shooters at all..mostly MMORPG's. Video card only as far as upgrade would be Nvidia 8800 320MB at best. I didn't pick it due to budget and DirectX 10 games aren't gonna be widely played for quite a while. Vista is a OS I'd sooner avoid until MS works out all the kinks with it especially after seeing some complaints that guildies have had about Vista compatibility with WOW...particularly with patch 2.2. At least until Microsoft irons out the kinks with Vista. From past experience with Microsoft OS's that'll be about 2 years..give or take. I didn't know if the case had a top fan vent since hot air rises - it's not even mentioned in specific for any of the cases that I looked at. I generally prefer cases with a top fan vent since that's more efficient cooling IMHO. The current system I have has a top vent fan opening..and with a 7800 GS, it only goes up to 44C under load. (that's AGP though) with a side, rear and front fans as well. So no need to even bother installing an aftermarket cooler on the VGA if it's that cool with stock cooler. Celedhring Edited by Celedhring - 19 Sep 2007 at 2:51am |
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commast
Guest 
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Posted: 19 Sep 2007 at 3:06am |
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Seemed like you just hit your budget with the current configuration. I don't think the twister Value case has a top fan but you do have 2 fans blowing air out back plus the PS fan. You may want to go with the 800Mhz RAM for better performance.
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skyR
Newbie
Digital Storm Apprentice 
Joined: 08 Oct 2007 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2220 |
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Posted: 19 Sep 2007 at 8:09am |
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Why buy a complete new PC for a minor upgrade? Seems like a waste of
money if you are just going up one performance tier in the same
generation and not switching to Vista -.- Your current PC should be
able to run WoW perfectly fine.
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4261
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Joined: 26 Aug 2007 Online Status: Offline Posts: 99 |
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Posted: 19 Sep 2007 at 12:38pm |
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OPTICAL DRIVE!!!!!!!!!!
You selected a reader, not a burner.
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Alex
Admin Group 
Digital Storm Supervisor
Joined: 04 Jun 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 16314 |
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Posted: 19 Sep 2007 at 8:50pm |
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Thermal Paste: Depends on what cooling system you go with, Stage 1 comes with the default AMD/Intel Thermal Compound (not pads), and anything higher has high quality Artic Silver compound.
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Celedhring
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Joined: 19 Sep 2007 Online Status: Offline Posts: 4 |
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Posted: 20 Sep 2007 at 12:29am |
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My present system is a Pentium 4 Prescott 531 3.0 GHz processor with a 7800GS AGP video card.
According to both the CPU and the VPU charts on Tom's Hardware, the Digital Storm system's performance should *significantly* exceed my present system. However, the Digital Storm system has some huge shoes to fill considering that my present system has lasted nearly four years without any major glitches aside from bad RAM. Now that's reliability. Celedhring |
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Alex
Admin Group
Digital Storm Supervisor
Joined: 04 Jun 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 16314 |
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Posted: 21 Sep 2007 at 12:09am |
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That wont be a problem. We use various stress testing tools to test the stability of your machine in a strict 72-hour run. This will weed out any problematic issues that could arise in the future.
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