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Ordering within a week, need some last minute tips

Post Date: 2008-08-16
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NoobieHowzerMD View Drop Down
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Posts: 16 		  Quote NoobieHowzerMD Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Topic: Ordering within a week, need some last minute tips
    Posted: 16 Aug 2008 at 1:52pm
Planning on ordering by the end of next week.  Just need some last minute tips to see if there are any issues.  Not planning on doing any over clocking at all, so keep that in mind.  Thanks in advance!
 
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jimbos123 View Drop Down
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Posts: 13 		  Quote jimbos123 Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 16 Aug 2008 at 2:36pm
Looks like your trying to save some cash with the gtx 9800? For a little bit more you might want to get the radeon 4870 for better performance. 
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TomD View Drop Down
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Posts: 289 		  Quote TomD Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 16 Aug 2008 at 3:53pm

Just a few comments:

You didn't mention what you are using the rig for, so assuming you are building a gaming machine:
 
I agree with the previous poster on the videocard. If you can stretch to a 280GTX or 4870 you will get much better performance, and its more in line with the quality of the rest of your setup. The 280 seems more logical with your NVidia board, you could SLI later if you wanted.
 
Consider changing to 64-bit Vista to take full advantage of your 4GB RAM.
 
The keyboard and mouse isn't that great, but it will work and its only $30. You could upgrade later (I dig my Logitech G15 keyboard and G9 mouse).
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NoobieHowzerMD View Drop Down
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Posts: 16 		  Quote NoobieHowzerMD Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 16 Aug 2008 at 7:42pm

Yeah mainly for gaming.  I'll go with the 64 bit vista, was my original choice, but was trying to save some extra cash.  Basically my build is about the most I can spend right now.  I currently have a 5 year old alienware laptop, so I can't salvage anything sadly.  I figured having a monitor covered under a warranty for 4 years would be better than getting one from newegg for a few bucks cheaper.   I honestly have no need for two hardrives, Been dealing with one 40gig for the last 5 years, 500gb will be nice.  I might drop the keyboard and mouse, and go with gaming ones, planned on it sooner or later anyways.

Basically what I'm going for right now, is great gaming for the next two years or so, and the ability to go SLI when I need to.  One of the reps through the site told me I'd be able to include anything I added in later to my warranty (that I'd have left over by the time I upgrade).  So didn't want to splurge a bunch when I could upgrade later as needed.



Edited by NoobieHowzerMD - 16 Aug 2008 at 7:49pm
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NoobieHowzerMD View Drop Down
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Posts: 16 		  Quote NoobieHowzerMD Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 17 Aug 2008 at 2:17pm
Is there a major plus to having a dedicated HDD for windows only?  Never have had more than one and just seems complicated to me.

Edited by NoobieHowzerMD - 17 Aug 2008 at 2:17pm
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widdlecat View Drop Down
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Posts: 840 		  Quote widdlecat Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 17 Aug 2008 at 4:52pm
Originally posted by NoobieHowzerMD

Yeah mainly for gaming.  I'll go with the 64 bit vista, was my original choice, but was trying to save some extra cash.  Basically my build is about the most I can spend right now.  I currently have a 5 year old alienware laptop, so I can't salvage anything sadly.  I figured having a monitor covered under a warranty for 4 years would be better than getting one from newegg for a few bucks cheaper.   I honestly have no need for two hardrives, Been dealing with one 40gig for the last 5 years, 500gb will be nice.  I might drop the keyboard and mouse, and go with gaming ones, planned on it sooner or later anyways.

Basically what I'm going for right now, is great gaming for the next two years or so, and the ability to go SLI when I need to.  One of the reps through the site told me I'd be able to include anything I added in later to my warranty (that I'd have left over by the time I upgrade).  So didn't want to splurge a bunch when I could upgrade later as needed.



Sound reasons for sound choices. Thumbs%20Up  One area you might save some money on is going with the OCZ 800mHz ram instead of the corsair dominator. Kelly, one of the DSO staff, said in another post that they've had zero failure rate with them. That's impressive given the amount of sticks they must be going through.
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Posts: 36758 		  Quote DST4ME Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 17 Aug 2008 at 4:58pm
Originally posted by harleyman

To give a simple answer....Yes..
 

For a better explanation...

 

Most puters off the shelf are preloaded with lots of bloteware ...

 

Your DS machine will be free of all that as it will just have a clean Operating System.....

 

So you get a small HDD just for your OS and your applications( virus protection...spyware protection...Adobe Reader...Monitoring Tools...Editing  /  burning programe....etc)

 

Now this makes your OS clean and free of junk......And fast,uncluttered...It stays defragged longer and better.....  I suggest a 75gig  or  a  150 gig  Rator......

 

 

 

Your second drive will be for games ...Just games and possibly some storage..This will keep your game files better and defragged for faster access..

I suggest at least 150 Gig Raptor for this.....

 

 

But if money is an issue you can use regular 7,200 speed sata drives for both....

 

 

The only difference you will ever notice is when you install games to your second HDD..They will want to install with the OS drive,but they will give you an option during install to browse them anywhere you want.....

 

 

So say you're installing  FSx...Beforehand you go to your second drive and put a folder called FSX...hen when you browse your game install to the second drive you will selet it ti thr FSX folder you placed in there..(if not it will put the files all over the place,and by using a folder,everything will go into it..Keeps it clean and orderly,expecially if you install more that one game there...

 

 

 

It will look like this...And the drives are pre set in the bios and the OS will always go to C/ dive as the first drive for the OS

 

 

 

C/ drive     150 gig Raptor(or sata7,200)     OS    and   Applications

 

D/ drive      Games( you place a folder here before install and browse the game installer to install in that folder you placed and named)

 

 

It easy...You again do nothing but browse your installer as oppised to letting it go to default C/ Drive.....

 


I also like to add, that when you have a dedicated HDD for the OS, its real easy and quick to clone and if anything happens to it you can just copy the clone back and continue as if nothing ever happened.

this also makes it faster to keep your OS drive clean since, defrag will take just minutes also.

If something happens and your windows goes nuts you won't lose all your personal files which are on another HDD.

I have a dedicated HDD for my OS also, its great.

Nvidia Drivers----AMD Drivers
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NoobieHowzerMD View Drop Down
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Posts: 16 		  Quote NoobieHowzerMD Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 17 Aug 2008 at 6:17pm
Okay, so taking widdlecat's advice I changed to the OCZ.  Now, is there a huge difference between the 800mhz and the 1066?  Because the 1066 OCZ is not much more than the 800mhz corsair.
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Tyler Lowe View Drop Down
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Posts: 0 		  Quote Tyler Lowe Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 17 Aug 2008 at 6:37pm
1066MHz RAM is speed binned 800MHz RAM. That is to say, they are the same thing, except one was tested at the factory and they found it would run at a higher than standard speed, so they stamped a higher number on it and charge you more. Basically, one is a garanteed overclocked number and the other is more of a crapshoot. Performance wise, you will notice very, very little difference, if any. The real advantage comes when overclocking the CPU. That garanteed higher speed RAM gives you more places where you can matxh up with a divider in your FSB setting to arrive at a stable overclock. As far as brands go, you mainly pay for the reputation and product support, which since you're buying from DSO is a non issue. Kelly of DSO has actually stated on these boards that they are currently havinfg better luck with the OCZ. If you would like better OC results, grab that 1066MHz OCZ. It looks like a good buy. If you're at the edge of your budget, and are looking for a place to trim, this is also the first place I would look. RAM is very easy to upgrade later if you really want the faster binned product.
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NoobieHowzerMD View Drop Down
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Posts: 16 		  Quote NoobieHowzerMD Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 17 Aug 2008 at 6:42pm
Yeah I'm not really planning on overclocking at all.  So I'll just go with the 800mhz OCZ to save a few bucks over the corsair.
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Posts: 16 		  Quote NoobieHowzerMD Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 17 Aug 2008 at 6:46pm
Ok, so i took everyone's suggestions and this is the build I'm currently at:
 
Chassis: Antec 900
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Interior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Power Supply: 750W Corsair HX (Dual SLI Compatible) (Silent Edition)
Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 2.66GHz (1333MHz FSB) (12MB Cache)
Motherboard: NVIDIA 780i Core 2 Quad (Chipset: nForce 780i SLI)
System Memory: 4GB DDR2 OCZ at 800MHz
Card Reader: - No Thanks
Hard Drive 1: 500GB Western Digital (16MB Cache) (7200 RPM) (SATA)
Hard Drive 2: - No Thanks
Raid Option: - No Thanks
Hard Drive 3: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: DVD±R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 20x / CD-Writer 48x)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Wireless Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 9800GTX+ 512MB
TV Tuner: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer
Extreme Cooling: Air Cooled Stage 2 (Silent Artic Cooling Heat-sink Upgrade (Copper Heatpipes)
Internal Lighting: Blizzard Internal Lighting (Blue Edition) (Cold Cathode Tubes)
Modifications: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my processor
Boost Video Card: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Boost Memory: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory
Tweak Windows: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium (64-Bit Edition) (For Enthusiasts)
Restore Kit: Digital Storm Specialized Recovery System (DVD Image Based)
Protection: - No Thanks
Office: - No Thanks
Benchmarking: - No Thanks
Install/Test Game: - No Thanks
LCD Display: Acer 22 inch (Widescreen) (Black) (High-Performance Gaming Display)
Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: - No Thanks
Mouse: - No Thanks
External Storage: - No Thanks
Warranty: 4 Year Platinum Care Extended Parts & Labor Warranty (Highly Recommended
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Posts: 840 		  Quote widdlecat Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 17 Aug 2008 at 9:29pm
Originally posted by harleyman

Thats looking real good...If you need to shave some edges off from here do it with the Barracuda sound card.....
 
But its nice now...And is upgradable too....Clap


From an audio reviewer's point of view, I would choose the barracuda over the creative xfi soundcard. It just sounds better. I can't comment on the xfi effects as I don't play 1st person shooters that require the surround audio cues. I just use my speakers for sound on RTS and MMOs etc... and stereo music.
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Alex View Drop Down
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Posts: 16314 		  Quote Alex Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 17 Aug 2008 at 9:35pm

The new Asus sound card we carry is my favorite choice. It simply sounds amazing.

Regards,
Alex
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NoobieHowzerMD View Drop Down
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Posts: 16 		  Quote NoobieHowzerMD Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 17 Aug 2008 at 10:02pm
From what I read in the PCGamer magazine, only the X-Fi has onboard hardware to do the audio computing, thus increasing frame rates.  It said cards like the Asus Xonar and the Razor's Barracuda compute the math using the CPU and merely pump out the sound to your speakers.  Only reason I wanted the X-Fi.
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Posts: 16 		  Quote NoobieHowzerMD Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 18 Aug 2008 at 6:12am

The reason I added it was because it wasn't there a couple weeks ago, and completely over-looked it.  I was planning on just buying one from newegg since before DS only had the X-Fi with the I/O faceplate, and I'm not interested in that at all.  But since they now have the basic X-Fi, I made sure I grabbed it up. Big%20smile
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