need user opinions on this system

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sdot

what is everyones opinion on this system i intend:
-please let me know of any compatibility issues
-anything that is not required, ie: due to bottlenecks
-any improvements without much cost increase
-any other info i should be aware of
-i have done alot of research on these parts..and seem to be satisfied
with them
i just want a set of opinions before i start bulding it...i read this
forum alot..and i want the ppl on it to say its good to go.

thanks

here goes:
----------------
Motherboard: ASUS P5WD2-E Premium
CPU: I was thinking of getting the Pentium D 805 or 930, but few ppl
have told me to wait
for conroe and get that as they wont be too expensive, what are
your opinions
Memory: Corsair DDR2, PC4200, 533Mhz, 1GB
Harddrive: Maxtor Diamond Max 10 SATA, 300GB/7200RPM/16MB Buffer
Video Card: ATI Radeon x1600 (or x1900 xt) Pro 512 MB PCI-E
TV Tuner: ATI TV Wonder Elite
DVDRW: Pioneer DVD RW
Case: Antec P160W
PSU: OCZ Modstream 450W (is this too much, too little, or just right)
+ Floppy
 
sdot said:
i just want a set of opinions before i start bulding it...i read
this forum alot..and i want the ppl on it to say its good to go. ....
Motherboard: ASUS P5WD2-E Premium
CPU: I was thinking of getting the Pentium D 805 or 930, but few
ppl have told me to wait for conroe and get that as they wont be
too expensive, what are your opinions
Memory: Corsair DDR2, PC4200, 533Mhz, 1GB
Click to expand...

Okay as long as you have a least one open memory slot and you don't
play Battlefield 2. I would buy a 1 GB module.
Harddrive: Maxtor Diamond Max 10 SATA, 300GB/7200RPM/16MB Buffer
Click to expand...

I really like my Raptor 10,000 rpm hard drive.
Video Card: ATI Radeon x1600 (or x1900 xt) Pro 512 MB PCI-E
Click to expand...

I don't like my X1600Pro video card. Don't even think that 512 MB of
video memory means a fast video card.
TV Tuner: ATI TV Wonder Elite
DVDRW: Pioneer DVD RW
Case: Antec P160W
PSU: OCZ Modstream 450W (is this too much, too little, or just
right)
Click to expand...

Maybe 375 W would be enough.
+ Floppy
Click to expand...

Probably not necessary.

Good luck.
 
sdot said:
what is everyones opinion on this system i intend:
-please let me know of any compatibility issues
-anything that is not required, ie: due to bottlenecks
-any improvements without much cost increase
-any other info i should be aware of
-i have done alot of research on these parts..and seem to be satisfied
with them
i just want a set of opinions before i start bulding it...i read this
forum alot..and i want the ppl on it to say its good to go.

thanks

here goes:
----------------
Motherboard: ASUS P5WD2-E Premium
CPU: I was thinking of getting the Pentium D 805 or 930, but few ppl
have told me to wait
for conroe and get that as they wont be too expensive, what are
your opinions
Memory: Corsair DDR2, PC4200, 533Mhz, 1GB
Harddrive: Maxtor Diamond Max 10 SATA, 300GB/7200RPM/16MB Buffer
Video Card: ATI Radeon x1600 (or x1900 xt) Pro 512 MB PCI-E
TV Tuner: ATI TV Wonder Elite
DVDRW: Pioneer DVD RW
Case: Antec P160W
PSU: OCZ Modstream 450W (is this too much, too little, or just right)
+ Floppy
Click to expand...

I'm not crazy about Asus, and that board in particular looks like overkill.
Unless you know that you will be buying two video cards for one system
within the next several months, check out the MSI 955X Platinum, instead.
Better board, less money:
http://www.msicomputer.com/product/p_spec.asp?model=955X_Platinum&class=mb

Also, how did you skip straight from a 533fsb processor with 1MX2 cache to
an 800fsb processor with 2MX2 cache? That's quite a leap. A Pentium D 820
is in the middle somewhere, though I must admit, the 2M cache of the 930
looks tempting, for a little more money.

Me, I'd probably go with the 930, and the MSI board I listed above, and I'm
still saving money. :)

But then you'll need that money to upgrade your RAM to something DDR2 667.
(PC2 5300) Oh, and buy that 1GB in one stick.

I'd probably go with a 7600GT for graphics (256MB), but I'm an nvidia fan.
With the money you would save by switching to the MSI mainboard, after
upgrading RAM (to 5300) and video card (to 7600GT), you'll probably be back
where you started, money-wise.

The modstream 450W is about right. It's a funny PSU to build with, though.
There are two connections for each line, and it's not as secure
(mechanically) as a non-modular PSU. But it should work OK if you don't
plan to do a lot of upgrades and don't plan to physically move the system
much (like from room to room, or to lan parties) -Dave
 
sdot wrote:

[snip]
here goes:
----------------
Motherboard: ASUS P5WD2-E Premium
CPU: I was thinking of getting the Pentium D 805 or 930, but few ppl
have told me to wait
for conroe and get that as they wont be too expensive, what are
your opinions
Memory: Corsair DDR2, PC4200, 533Mhz, 1GB
Harddrive: Maxtor Diamond Max 10 SATA, 300GB/7200RPM/16MB Buffer
Video Card: ATI Radeon x1600 (or x1900 xt) Pro 512 MB PCI-E
TV Tuner: ATI TV Wonder Elite
DVDRW: Pioneer DVD RW
Case: Antec P160W
PSU: OCZ Modstream 450W (is this too much, too little, or just right)
+ Floppy
Click to expand...

The ASUS MB has its technical difficulties. Instead of purchasing a
massive HD, purchase two smaller HDs and config them asa a RAID 0 disk
array. It has doubled my disk performance with some operations. But
you need WinXP SP2 to load the PC with Windows XP and the correct RAID
driver on a diskette. The Corsair memory is a good choice. No
signficant advatages until you get to the PC6400 memory, which is
expensive. Just make sure you get a pair of matching memory sticks that
are 512M apiece. Significant performance advantage this way with the
PC4200 memory.

The ASUS board's main strengths are its overclocking support, 8 USB
ports, support for up to 8 SATA drives, including simultaneous support
for PATA IDE drives with the SATA drives. The board also can handle
1Ghz memory. So there is room for future expansion and upgrade.

IMO the Antec case is a good choice. Make sure it has enough drive
bays. I would use an Antec power supply. OCZ power supplies were tested
in an article I came across on the Internet and did not fare well.

The question as to support for future Conroe CPUs has conflicting
answers in the ASUS forums.

On my computer using this board, I have a cold boot delay problem that
I am troubleshooting. Otherwise it works very well with the latest BIOS
upgrade, IMO which is required.

Bob Graham
 
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