Also Building A New PC

ozalon · Jul 11, 2006, 11:43 PM

Here's the hardware i found. (all from tigerdirect.ca) if you've found something cheaper, or might suggest something better please do so.

Motherboard: Asus A8N 32-SLI-Deluxe nVidia Socket 939 ATX $253.99
Processor: AMD Athlon 64 FX-55 $761.97
Case: Thermaltake Kandalf (Silver Aluminum) $273.99
Power: Ultra X2 Connect-550 Watts $126.99
Memory: Kingston 2048MB (2x 1024) PC 3200 Duel Channel DDR, 400MGz $241.99
GPU: BFG GeForce 7950 GX2 $793.99
Storage: Seagate 250GB-7200RPM-8MB-SATA 300 (x2, Running in a RAID 0 Configuration) $229.98
Sound Card: Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic $139.99
Disc Drive: Plextor PX-230A-52x32x52x CD-RW $68.99
Floppy Drive: Ultra 3.5" Floppy Drive With 6-1 Flash Card Reader $38.99
CPU Heatsink: Thermaltake-Blue Orb II $50.99
Thermal Paste: OCZ Ultra +5 Thermal Compound (99.9% Silver) $7.99
Keyboard: Logitech G-5 Gaming Keyboard $82.99
Mouse: Logitech G-5 Gaming Mouse $57.99

TOTAL: (INCLUDING TAX-S+H) $3,421.14 CND

The printer, UPS, Moniter, ect ill be getting locally to save on shipping. This is my first build so any advice helps. TY!

Zelig · Jul 12, 2006, 12:24 AM

I wouldn't do tigerdirect.ca for top prices, here are the same components, or my alterations for them, with prices from ncix

Motherboard: Asus A8N 32-SLI-Deluxe nVidia Socket 939 ATX $211.98 [Thought of going AM2?]
Processor: AMD Athlon 64 FX-60 $981.24 [$200 more for an extra core. Dual-core is where it's at. Conroe will best this in price/performance probably quite easily though]
Case: Thermaltake Kandalf (Silver Aluminum) $245.10
Power: [NCIX doesn't stock ultra PSUs, and I'm not a fan of them. You can get a 700 watt OCZ GameXstream for $150.99 after rebate.
Memory: [You can get the OCZ EL Platinum PC3200 2GB 2X1GB DDR400 CL2-3-2-5 for $206.98 after rebate. At DDR400, this is the best ram available for 1GB sticks. I have a set, works marvelously, good for a bit of overclocking too.]
GPU: Swap in the EVGA card for $656.98.
Storage:Seagate 250GB-7200RPM-8MB-SATA 300 (x2, Running in a RAID 0 Configuration) [For 2x 320GB versions of this drive, $227.98]
Sound Card: Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic $139.15
Disc Drive: No reason to not get a dvd burner, you can get a Samsung, Pioneer, LG or BenQ all for under $50.
Floppy Drive: Mitsumi FA404A-BK 7-IN-1 Floppy Drive & Flash Reader CF/SM/SD/MMC/MS Black - $30.20 Not much of a difference, but it's available at ncix.
CPU Heatsink: Thermaltake-Blue Orb II $48.38
Thermal Paste: Arctic Silver 5 HIGH-DENSITY Polysynthetic Silver Thermal Compound 3.5 Gram $12.47 Again, the same product isn't on ncix, very little difference here.
Keyboard: Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard $71.82
Mouse: Logitech G-5 Gaming Mouse $57.99 [Actually more expensive at ncix, you can pricematch though]

This places you at $3091.26 before taxes or shipping, pretty close to your original price, but with better components.

Where in Canada do you live? I wasn't sure what you were factoring in for taxes and shipping, obviously less than the 14% tax I'm stuck paying on everything over here in NS.

ozalon · Jul 12, 2006, 12:46 AM

Alberta, 0% PST baby!

ozalon · Jul 12, 2006, 12:48 AM

oh and, i was wondering what the differance was between BFG, and all the other manufacturers of nVidia cards

Randomletters · Jul 12, 2006, 11:12 AM

Just different PCB Designs (Possibly just color,cooler), Possibly different core/clock speeds, different Extras (Games, Programs, etc)

Zelig · Jul 12, 2006, 12:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ozalon

oh and, i was wondering what the differance was between BFG, and all the other manufacturers of nVidia cards

BFG offers lifetime warranties on everything except their Fuzion line of cards. I haven't had any BFG products, but I hear they're pretty good for support and stuff.

EVGA is my personal favorite, they offer lifetime warranties on select products, a 90 day step-up program, and awesome support.

Judas · Jul 12, 2006, 12:38 PM

since when do you pay PST buying over the internet?

Zelig · Jul 12, 2006, 01:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Judas

since when do you pay PST buying over the internet?

Depends on the site. It's HST I'm paying anyway, I'm pretty sure every major site charges 14% HST to New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland customers.

H3X4D3C1M4L · Jul 12, 2006, 01:16 PM

HST is harmonized sales tax... Ontario is being moved over to that too methinks.

I pay PST on my orders... GST and PST (which is HST). My 2 UPS's I just ordered off of Best Buy I payed 14% in GST and PST (6% and 8%).

Anything is taxable goods.

ozalon · Jul 12, 2006, 06:07 PM

i guess everyone asks this, but whats AM2? i know its basically 1 pin but what advantages does that give? its the new "thing" so i looked at it and i only found like 3 or 4 CPU's that were AM2 slot

ozalon · Jul 12, 2006, 08:36 PM

hmm... im wondering if i should get 2 250GB drives in a RAID 0 config, or 2 320GB drives in RAID 1. ive had drives crash on me before, and i dont like it, and the information shairing thing on RAID 0 looks risky (in the way that one teeny tiny error could screw you) any of you guys got an opinion? (by the way, i ordered my case 5 min ago, so i dont bail on buying the rest

Dyre Straits · Jul 12, 2006, 09:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ozalon

hmm... im wondering if i should get 2 250GB drives in a RAID 0 config, or 2 320GB drives in RAID 1. ive had drives crash on me before, and i dont like it, and the information shairing thing on RAID 0 looks risky (in the way that one teeny tiny error could screw you) any of you guys got an opinion? (by the way, i ordered my case 5 min ago, so i dont bail on buying the rest

I've had hard drives go bad, too. Very, very frustrating. However, I've been fortunate to be able to extract the data I wanted from them in most cases. Not a fun job at all, but mostly doable.

Zelig · Jul 12, 2006, 09:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ozalon

i guess everyone asks this, but whats AM2? i know its basically 1 pin but what advantages does that give? its the new "thing" so i looked at it and i only found like 3 or 4 CPU's that were AM2 slot

AM2 will support more future cpus, and supports DDR2 ram. There is little current advantage to the socket. However, it should have just as many cpus available for it, and they're usually even a few dollars cheaper.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ozalon

hmm... im wondering if i should get 2 250GB drives in a RAID 0 config, or 2 320GB drives in RAID 1. ive had drives crash on me before, and i dont like it, and the information shairing thing on RAID 0 looks risky (in the way that one teeny tiny error could screw you) any of you guys got an opinion? (by the way, i ordered my case 5 min ago, so i dont bail on buying the rest

That's why I run RAID 1 for everything. Everyone should honestly have backups of anything they can't afford to lose at any time.

ozalon · Jul 12, 2006, 10:50 PM

i might just do RAID 1, i meen, 320GB is quite alot (considering you might have 5, 6 games instaled at a time) and my case has 8 hard drive slots so i can upgrade anytime

ozalon · Jul 12, 2006, 10:52 PM

wait... could you like run 2 or more RAID 1 configs? like have 2 320GB drives as drive C, and another 2 320GB drives as drive E and so on?

ozalon · Jul 12, 2006, 11:09 PM

and one last question for today: do you guys think i should get one GeForce 9750 gx2 (with plans to SLI it later) or get 2 SLI'ed GeForce 7900 gtx's for $400 more?

H3X4D3C1M4L · Jul 13, 2006, 03:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zelig

AM2 will support more future cpus, and supports DDR2 ram. There is little current advantage to the socket. However, it should have just as many cpus available for it, and they're usually even a few dollars cheaper.

Ermm...let me correct you... they have Virtualization!!!!! Pacifica!

If you're a Xen fan...you'll know why that's important

Jul 11, 2006, 11:43 PM	#1
ozalon DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Edmonton AB, Canada Posts: 32 Rep Power: 0	Also Building A New PC Here's the hardware i found. (all from tigerdirect.ca) if you've found something cheaper, or might suggest something better please do so. Motherboard: Asus A8N 32-SLI-Deluxe nVidia Socket 939 ATX $253.99 Processor: AMD Athlon 64 FX-55 $761.97 Case: Thermaltake Kandalf (Silver Aluminum) $273.99 Power: Ultra X2 Connect-550 Watts $126.99 Memory: Kingston 2048MB (2x 1024) PC 3200 Duel Channel DDR, 400MGz $241.99 GPU: BFG GeForce 7950 GX2 $793.99 Storage: Seagate 250GB-7200RPM-8MB-SATA 300 (x2, Running in a RAID 0 Configuration) $229.98 Sound Card: Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic $139.99 Disc Drive: Plextor PX-230A-52x32x52x CD-RW $68.99 Floppy Drive: Ultra 3.5" Floppy Drive With 6-1 Flash Card Reader $38.99 CPU Heatsink: Thermaltake-Blue Orb II $50.99 Thermal Paste: OCZ Ultra +5 Thermal Compound (99.9% Silver) $7.99 Keyboard: Logitech G-5 Gaming Keyboard $82.99 Mouse: Logitech G-5 Gaming Mouse $57.99 TOTAL: (INCLUDING TAX-S+H) $3,421.14 CND The printer, UPS, Moniter, ect ill be getting locally to save on shipping. This is my first build so any advice helps. TY!

Jul 12, 2006, 12:24 AM	#2
Zelig DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Canada Posts: 3,167 Rep Power: 53 System Specs	I wouldn't do tigerdirect.ca for top prices, here are the same components, or my alterations for them, with prices from ncix Motherboard: Asus A8N 32-SLI-Deluxe nVidia Socket 939 ATX $211.98 [Thought of going AM2?] Processor: AMD Athlon 64 FX-60 $981.24 [$200 more for an extra core. Dual-core is where it's at. Conroe will best this in price/performance probably quite easily though] Case: Thermaltake Kandalf (Silver Aluminum) $245.10 Power: [NCIX doesn't stock ultra PSUs, and I'm not a fan of them. You can get a 700 watt OCZ GameXstream for $150.99 after rebate. Memory: [You can get the OCZ EL Platinum PC3200 2GB 2X1GB DDR400 CL2-3-2-5 for $206.98 after rebate. At DDR400, this is the best ram available for 1GB sticks. I have a set, works marvelously, good for a bit of overclocking too.] GPU: Swap in the EVGA card for $656.98. Storage:Seagate 250GB-7200RPM-8MB-SATA 300 (x2, Running in a RAID 0 Configuration) [For 2x 320GB versions of this drive, $227.98] Sound Card: Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic $139.15 Disc Drive: No reason to not get a dvd burner, you can get a Samsung, Pioneer, LG or BenQ all for under $50. Floppy Drive: Mitsumi FA404A-BK 7-IN-1 Floppy Drive & Flash Reader CF/SM/SD/MMC/MS Black - $30.20 Not much of a difference, but it's available at ncix. CPU Heatsink: Thermaltake-Blue Orb II $48.38 Thermal Paste: Arctic Silver 5 HIGH-DENSITY Polysynthetic Silver Thermal Compound 3.5 Gram $12.47 Again, the same product isn't on ncix, very little difference here. Keyboard: Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard $71.82 Mouse: Logitech G-5 Gaming Mouse $57.99 [Actually more expensive at ncix, you can pricematch though] This places you at $3091.26 before taxes or shipping, pretty close to your original price, but with better components. Where in Canada do you live? I wasn't sure what you were factoring in for taxes and shipping, obviously less than the 14% tax I'm stuck paying on everything over here in NS. __________________ --

Jul 12, 2006, 11:12 AM	#5
Randomletters ))<>(( Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 2,326 Rep Power: 36	Just different PCB Designs (Possibly just color,cooler), Possibly different core/clock speeds, different Extras (Games, Programs, etc) __________________ Main Rig to the Left http://www.myspace.com/rnaodmnick <-- Yea I did it...

Jul 12, 2006, 11:09 PM	#16
ozalon DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Edmonton AB, Canada Posts: 32 Rep Power: 0	and one last question for today: do you guys think i should get one GeForce 9750 gx2 (with plans to SLI it later) or get 2 SLI'ed GeForce 7900 gtx's for $400 more? __________________ Hello! I'm a signature virus. Copy me into your signature to help me spread.

Jul 12, 2006, 12:46 AM	#3
ozalon DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Edmonton AB, Canada Posts: 32 Rep Power: 0	Alberta, 0% PST baby!

Jul 12, 2006, 12:48 AM	#4
ozalon DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Edmonton AB, Canada Posts: 32 Rep Power: 0	oh and, i was wondering what the differance was between BFG, and all the other manufacturers of nVidia cards

Jul 12, 2006, 01:16 PM	#9
H3X4D3C1M4L DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 6,818 Rep Power: 0	HST is harmonized sales tax... Ontario is being moved over to that too methinks. I pay PST on my orders... GST and PST (which is HST). My 2 UPS's I just ordered off of Best Buy I payed 14% in GST and PST (6% and 8%). Anything is taxable goods.

Jul 12, 2006, 06:07 PM	#10
ozalon DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Edmonton AB, Canada Posts: 32 Rep Power: 0	i guess everyone asks this, but whats AM2? i know its basically 1 pin but what advantages does that give? its the new "thing" so i looked at it and i only found like 3 or 4 CPU's that were AM2 slot

Jul 12, 2006, 08:36 PM	#11
ozalon DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Edmonton AB, Canada Posts: 32 Rep Power: 0	hmm... im wondering if i should get 2 250GB drives in a RAID 0 config, or 2 320GB drives in RAID 1. ive had drives crash on me before, and i dont like it, and the information shairing thing on RAID 0 looks risky (in the way that one teeny tiny error could screw you) any of you guys got an opinion? (by the way, i ordered my case 5 min ago, so i dont bail on buying the rest

Jul 12, 2006, 10:50 PM	#14
ozalon DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Edmonton AB, Canada Posts: 32 Rep Power: 0	i might just do RAID 1, i meen, 320GB is quite alot (considering you might have 5, 6 games instaled at a time) and my case has 8 hard drive slots so i can upgrade anytime

Jul 12, 2006, 10:52 PM	#15
ozalon DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Edmonton AB, Canada Posts: 32 Rep Power: 0	wait... could you like run 2 or more RAID 1 configs? like have 2 320GB drives as drive C, and another 2 320GB drives as drive E and so on?