Possible new PC

[browser]

Was looking for a new PC for around £1500, already have screen.

AMD Athlon 64 FX55 1MB L2Cache 939pin Retail Boxed
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=79188

Asus A8V Deluxe Socket-939 VIA/KT800Pro
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=72725

Corsair (VS1GBKIT400C3) 1024MB (2 x 512MB Matched Pair), DDR400 / PC3200
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=54472

2 x Maxtor Diamondmax 200GB SATA 150 7200rpm 8mb Cache - Retail
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=57067

Sapphire Radeon X800PRO
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=62510

Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 4 Pro Retail Boxed
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=85046

Creative Labs Inspire T7900 7.1 Speaker System
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=73617

NEC ND-3520A
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=83151

Sony 52x32x52x16 IDE Drive (combo)
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=59332

These, to me seem like very good components but I am sure some of you will point me in the right direction if I am wrong.

2 Additional questions are;
What case should I use since it seems like I'm putting in quite a bit of hardware (also what PSU)?
What would be the advantages of using a PCI-E system?

Thanks

[Formula1]

I'd recommend getting a a motherboard with an nvidia nforce 4 chip set.and also getting a motherboard with pci-e 16x expansion slot not agp 8x, because agp 8x will be out of date soon, pci 16x is the latest and greatest expansion yet...

I'd also recommend a low cas latency ram, seeing that you can afford it with that kind of budget. But overall great selection on items. Wish i could have a pc as great as yours , but damn , my pc (in my sig) was about 1/3rd the cost of that; in USD's of course..

[learncracking]

i'd recommend waiting a month and a half and getting dual core or the fx57

[Duffman]

i'd recommend waiting a month and a half and getting dual core or the fx57

And in a month and a half will you reccomend getting the the new dual core with higher mhz?

[lynx]

Why on earth would you want that combo drive? IMO they are the worst of both worlds. You can do all your burning on the 3520 (FYI, the 3540 is now available) so if you really need a second drive for reading just get a standard DVD reader. The only reason I can see for getting a second burner is for burning high capacity CD's (90/99min), and the combo won't do that anyway.

Check out CCL (http://www.cclonline.com/) for some of your components. They are quite a bit cheaper for some parts (mobo, hdd), or you can get a higher grade product for about the same price (ram CL2.5).

[Samurai]

As Lynx stated above the NEC 3540 is available (for roughly the same price)... I bought one on Monday and it's running pretty sweet.

You haven't got a mouse with that rig either, and if your funds allow, I can recommend the Logitech MX1000 :01: - I also got this on Monday and it's amazing. I can operate my PC from the other side of my room lol and it's VERY accurate!

As for the PSU, I've been looking at the X-Connect for some time now. Something about it just makes me want to go out and get one now. Apparently they're very stable and easy to use, tidier than a normal PSU - see review here (http://www.hardcoreware.net/reviews/review-231-1.htm).

On a last note, don't neccessarily get all your goods from ebuyer. I regularly shop at Aria and their service is above and beyond anywhere else I've purchased from. Great prices and one set postage rate (£6.95 per WHOLE order). Oh, they also price match too ;) Any problems, and their support is A+

Whatever you decide, good luck and let us know how you get on :)

[clocker]

As for the PSU, I've been looking at the X-Connect for some time now. Something about it just makes me want to go out and get one now. Apparently they're very stable and easy to use, tidier than a normal PSU - see review here (http://www.hardcoreware.net/reviews/review-231-1.htm).


Although the Ultra PSU has fine rail stability and works well, the cabling is quite stiff ('specially the ATX cable) and was a major PITA to run nicely.
The Ultra does not come with the 24 pin ATX connector you will want for the new board, either.
The Antec Neopower or the OCZ Modstream series are both nicer units IMO.

DO NOT go AGP on your new build.
PCI-e is what you want.
Whether you want SLI is up to you (I didn't), but AGP is a dead horse, so don't invest your cash there.

My personal preference for HDs would be a small guy for the OS and apps with a large storage drive.
A Raptor ( either size) would be ideal for the OS disk, but any SATA (Seagate!) drive will do.

[fkdup74]

indeed with the PCI-E
yer gonna shell out the dough for an FX-55...
why cheat yourself on the video? :P

I didnt see the X800 Pro in PCI-E at that site, but...
you can save a few bucks and go X800XL
(what are you gonna lose? a few clocks? pfffft)
or you can spend a few more bucks and go X850XT or 6800GT
(about 40 more pounds for 6800GT, or an extra 80 or so for X850XT)


-edit-
for cases, heres a few....

these guys are makin a name for themselves, but I have yet to see one up close & personal:
http://www.silverstonetek.com/products-tj05.htm

this I have seen in a local shop, they're sweet:
http://www.thermaltake.com/xaserCase/tsunami/tsunamimenu.htm

look here at the Performance II/Plus SOHO cases, they're built solid, plenty of cooling
I have one, wouldnt trade it for anything (except it's beige :sick: ) :lol:
http://www.antec.com/us/pro_enclosures.html

[clocker]

I would also seriously reconsider your choice in chips.
For around half the cash you could get 95% of the performance by going with either the Venice or San Diego core (rev.E, in AMD-speak).
Overclocked Venice chips have already broken 3.3GHZ (albeit with phase-change cooling) and who knows how the San Diegos will do.
Not only do these processors have improved memory controllers, but the 90n technology, coupled with a vCore of only 1.4v, make for very cool running machines.

If you insist on splurging, go for one of these babies. (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150093)
At least for one day you'll have absolute state-of-the-art tech and indisputably the biggest e-penis around.

[browser]

Taking all you said into account, how is this?

Gigabyte GA-K8NXP-SLI Skt939 nForce4 SLI Chipset DDR400 PCI-E USB2.0 LAN SATA Retail Box
Connect3d Radeon X800 XL 256mb DDR with VGA DVI-I+TV PCI-E
AMD Athlon 64 3800+ Rev' E3 Socket 939pin 512K L2cache retail Box
Corsair (VS1GBKIT400C3) 1024MB (2 x 512MB Matched Pair), DDR400 / PC3200, non-ECC, Unbuffered, CL3, Memory Modules With Lifetime Warranty
NEC ND3540A 16x16x DVD R/RW Dual Layer Internal IDE Black
Seagate L14S250 250GB 7200rpm 16mb SATA Retail Kit
Seagate Barracuda ST380013A 80gb 7200RPM ATA/100 2Mb Cache - Retail Box
Lg 16x52 IDE DVD-rom Black Drive - OEM 62587 £12.42 £12.42
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 4 Pro Retail Boxed
Creative Labs Inspire T7900 7.1 Speaker System

Changed mobo to PCI-E SLI
Changed graphics card to X800XL PCI-E
Changed processor to Athlon 64 3800+ Rev' E3 (not sure if that's what you meant clocker)
Changed hard disks to Seagate
Changed combo to standard DVD-ROM.

Comes to £1000...still no case which is the most important (Can get mouse keyboard easily).

I was under the impression that the FX55 is a much better card, I saw it's results and it beats Intel in video and audio processing (and obviously gaming as well).

Opinions?

[clocker]

I was under the impression that the FX55 is a much better card, I saw it's results and it beats Intel in video and audio processing (and obviously gaming as well).

Opinions?
Of course it's a better chip.
The relevant question is whether it's twice as good as a Winnie, Venice, etc.
You are paying a huge premium for a small increase in performance.
If you got the dosh, go for it.

[lynx]

Rumour has it that the FX55 will be renamed the 4200+ to bring it into line with the rest of the models. There's already a 4000+ running at 2.4GHz with 1MB L2cache, which sounds remarkably like the FX53 to me.

[Snee]

If you really want to spend the extra £500, and then some (maybe), you could get two geforce 6800U SLis, since the mobo supports it. There are even 512MB versions in the product lineup already on one or two manufacturers' sites.

The increase in performance isn't really that big, but it's a big-time e-penis enhancer.