Constructing a AMD 4800 X2 system

[[D]Duckstar]

Hey all, wondered if you could give me a few pointers on my new spec i am setting up
Try to leave discussions about ooo its Nvidia, ATi for teh win to another thread please. Because to be honest, i dont care.

Just kinda wanna know if the setup will work out, memory timings, motherboard support, water cooling support for the processor etc..

Motherboard :

DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 Ultra-D SKT939 DDR400 PCI-E SLI ATX

Memory :

[url=http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2VsZWN0X3Byb2R1Y3Rfb3ZlcnZpZXc=&product_uid=52391]2x Corsair (TWINX1024-4000PRO), 1024MB (2x 512MB Matched Pair), DDR500 / PC4000, non-ECC, Unbuffered, 3-4-4-8, Lifetime Warranty, Black Heatsink with 18 activity LED
[/url]

Processor:

[url=http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2VsZWN0X3Byb2R1Y3Rfb3ZlcnZpZXc=&product_uid=91326]AMD Athlon 64 (ADA4800CDBOX) X2 4800+ socket 939 Dual Core 2.4ghz 1Mb and 1Mb Cache
[/url]


Graphics Card :

[url=http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2VsZWN0X3Byb2R1Y3Rfb3ZlcnZpZXc=&product_uid=92419]2x XFX GEFORCE 7800GTX 256MB DDR3 TV + DUAL DVI PCI-E **the most powerful chip on the market**
[/url]

Gunna SLI them up

Hard Drives :

2xSeagate Barracuda 7200.8 300gb, Sata 3.5lp 8ms 7200rpm 8mb
no need for a link for that item.

Sound Card :

Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS
no need for a link for that item

Water Cooling :

going to have water cooling from VapourCool, thats a different story dont want to confuse the matter

PSU :

[url=http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2VsZWN0X3Byb2R1Y3Rfb3ZlcnZpZXc=&product_uid=64849]Antec Neopower 480 Watt - Power Supply ATX V2.0 24pin UK
[/url]

It says it has a PCI-E graphics power adapter.. has it got two ? do i only need one ?

And just the normal DVD-RW drives and a case which i havn't found yet.

Any infomation regarding "Errr that wont work" will be very handy !!!

Few probelms i can see so far is :
The memory is DDR500 and the motherboard only supports up to DDR400 any ideas on this ? my clan mate said i could clock the mobo to support it...
PSU doesn't have enough power i dont think to run two 7800s and a watercooling system...

incase your wondering, i am going to hook up two TFT 19 inches, or maybe 21 inches.

I am tyring to buy all the gear from one place, which is ebuyer at the moment.

Thanks in advance

[paco]

I'd think that you'd need a bigger powersupply and get 2x1gb of ram instead of 4x 512mb

[Joeg_7]

that power supply is not sli certified and no it does not have 2 pci-e connectors just 1.
heres an sli certified power supply for not much more.
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products ... _uid=95194

[[D]Duckstar]

that power supply is not sli certified and no it does not have 2 pci-e connectors just 1.
heres an sli certified power supply for not much more.
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products ... _uid=95194

Thanks alot mate i was sure i could see a few flaws there

[IntelMole]

I'd think that you'd need a bigger powersupply and get 2x1gb of ram instead of 4x 512mb

I dunno. The Rev E core supports 4 sticks of memory better than previous cores. Though I suppose you are just opening yourself up a little for problems loading the memory slots like that.

But more importantly than that, 4x512 might work out a little cheaper than 2x1gig. It's essentially a "free" saving if it works just the same. He hasn't specified it's going to be overclocked up the wazoo, so that may also be a bit of a moot point. Though again, the watercooling would at least nod towards that.

One more thing, 2 gig is a lot of memory to have unless you have reason to load the memory up like that. What are you doing with the rig Duckstar?

And yeah, agreed on the power supply thing.
-Mole

[paco]

that power supply is not sli certified and no it does not have 2 pci-e connectors just 1.
heres an sli certified power supply for not much more.
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products ... _uid=95194

That psu just got a very bad review Here

[[D]Duckstar]

Ahh you know a bit of word, powerpoint

Basicly i want to play Counter Strike Source, BattleField 2, Everquest 2 and other high end games without even having to worry about the graphics settings.

Also i do alot of music editting and compression. As well a the odd divx. To be honest, i got the money and i want a decent rig thats isn't going to be totally useless within 2 months.

[IntelMole]

Also i do alot of music editting and compression. As well a the odd divx. To be honest, i got the money and i want a decent rig thats isn't going to be totally useless within 2 months.

Well if you're going to be doing video editing, RAM is always good. Fast hard drive subsystems are too. Depending on how often you do the divx didgeridoo, it may be worth your while considering a Raptor/Barracuda setup rather than a dual barra one.

Just my 0.02,
-Mole

[Joeg_7]

well the enermax eg565p-ve fma got a good review here
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=a ... =263&num=1
where they used a digital multimeter instead of the inacurate motherboard readings.
anyway it works great for me.

[[D]Duckstar]

I will take your word for that one

Oh and btw, i have decided to change the hard drive options around

1 Raptor 75Gb 100krpm SATA
and one of those seagate barrcudas 300gb or so 72krpm

I still want the latest RAM, and i cant find any that is in 1gb sticks, but then 4 sticks of 512 :/ doesn't sound right to me .... although very tempting

[cheesyking]

I'm not sure I'd worry too much about having the "latest" memory. It'll really only be any use if you're going to overclock and running four sticks of memory can be a hinderance to overclocking so it doesn't really make much sense.

Anyhow, what part of brighton you in? That used to be my stomping ground, great place to live

[Joeg_7]

yeah i'd go for the 2x1g

[halfline]

I agree with most here: 2 GB RAM, raptor + seagate, diff PSU. Tho that modular Antec PSU is nice.

Do you really need 2x 7800 GTX? Just get one. The difference is not worth half a grand by a long shot. Rather save that money for the next card, at least. That fata1ity sound card is also not worth the price. When you decide on a case, tell us what you picked.

And what in the world is VapourCool? link?

[cheesyking]

Another quick thought...

Be cautious of ordering anything from ebuyer where they show less than 10 in stock as their stock keeping isn't 100% (they almost got investigated by trading standards )

You should be OK with relatively slow moving items like the graphics cards. It's not like you never get the item you order is just you can end up with a bit of a wait.

I'm not trying to put you off ebuyer, I currently buy almost everything from them myself and excluding this problem they're excellent. Just be aware of their limitations!

[liquidsquid]

I will also warn you, I have the same motherboard and the X2 4200, I bought 4x512Mb and could not get the timing to that which was specified (and one stick was bad). The two 1G stcks work great though! Stick with two 1G sticks, then you have room later, even if you need to reduce timing a bit.

Also I would not SLI the big cards, I would get two 6600s and SLI them since it is a good price point for that. However the 7800 by itself will kick but, and take names. Also take less power than two lesser cards running at the same time which translates to less noise. Take the money saved and spend it on a nice digital camera.

-LS

[gratuitous]

[morphine]

Moved to System Builders forum.

[mattsteg]

well the enermax eg565p-ve fma got a good review here
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=a ... =263&num=1
where they used a digital multimeter instead of the inacurate motherboard readings.
anyway it works great for me.

Did you happen to actually look at the article linked? The power supply you recommend just crapped out well short of its rated power consistently.

[Joeg_7]

all i really know is i like the unit its serving me well.

[Flying Fox]

My take:

- RAM: yes, Rev E core will take 4 sticks, but only in 2T command rate. At that price point, try to get something 1T. I think I have been reading that command rate makes a bigger difference than cas 2.5 -> 2. However, I don't think there's any 1gig stick that can do 1T? That you will have to find out. But then of course, more sticks = harder to troubleshoot in case of problems. And btw, BF2 needs as much RAM as possible.
- Even the mighty FX-57 has a hard time saturating a 7800GTX, so getting 2 gives you virtually no benefit. The best you can hope for is ultra hi-res (beyond 16x12) in games and turn everything way up. Still the CPU will be your limiting factor. IMO you may be better off with 2 7800GT with some overclock. 7800GTX may be the "most powerful chip on the market", but no CPU can drive it to its full potential yet.
- HD, with that budget, might as well just take the 2 Barracuda's plus a Raptor as the OS drive. If $$ is really no problem then stick with the dual theme and get 1 Raptor for OS and another for swap.
- PSU: with all that $$, don't be cheap. PC Power and Cooling or Seasonic should be the only brands that you are looking at.
- monitors: SLI @1280x1024 TFTs? Seems like a waste.

[[D]Duckstar]

Thought i will keep you update of my beings.

1. I live outskirts brighton, practically live there tho since its the nearest relativly decent place to go and get drunk .

Ok back to computers..

I have decided on the following case .. you may think i have gone crazy..

Vapochill Complete Extreme Edition II - AMD (Socket 754/939/940/478) Titanium with Side Window (01-L-4010) (FS-019-VP)

Its the top one. My friend at work has it, he clocked his 2800 AMD XP to 3500 and he thinks its the best thing he has ever brought. incase you dont know what it is, it is a freezer built into your case, it sucks all the heat off the processor like a fridge/freezer making your processor run on average about -20c overclocked or more in the case of the following picture :



ok ram wise, i am going to buy 2 x 1gb Crucial RAM PC3200 and then clock it a little

Not a huge one for keep massive amouts of data on my hard drives so i am ordering 1 raptor (75gb) and a seagate (300gb)

Sorry about the link not working *edit*It is working.. such a bad liar *, i will take a look at it in a second, Your buying in dollars (your on the american ebuyer) there and your including VAT

oh and PSU wise, since the VapoChill thing uses up half my local electric boards power, i will need a high watt one with *high volt rails... apperntally...* so i think this one is the one for me :


Seasonic S12 600W Silent ATX2.0 Power Supply (CA-002-SS)

Top one..

Any objections, i am ordering this all wednesday night... (28th) /today !!

[cheesyking]

YOU HAVE FAR TOO MUCH MONEY!!!

rather than splurge it all on that thing, why not give some to me

that PSU looks a bit more suitable, I've never heard of the make but at this end of the market that isn't too surprising!

EDIT

In fact I've just been thinking about this... The only reason for buying the vapochill thing is if you are going to overclock the nuts off of that cpu. Doing that means you might well need that DDR500 memory. I'm not a keen overclocker and I've never done it on a SKT939 chip, but in the process of overclocking you may need to overclock the memory too (not too sure how much you can adjust the memory dividers to keep the speed of the memory down as you raise the HT speed, that's assuming you can't adjust the multiplier on the cpu).

Anyhow if you really only plan to "overclock a little" then I'd go with a plan water cooling solution (or even just a fan?). I can see that Vapochill thing be a nightmare to fit and maintain.

[JustAnEngineer]

Seasonic S12 600W Silent ATX2.0 Power Supply (CA-002-SS)
Top one..

I'm pleased with this power supply.

[b3n113]

Seriously, ditch the vaporcool and use your credit card to buy a case of Lagavulin, it'll make the building project more entertaining and hell, you'll enjoy the system that much more in the end.

[rogue426]

PC Power and Cooling 510 watt PSU,it's SLI certified,if thats not enough power they also make a 850 watt one.I have an older 400 watt model that I bought used off of Ebay that has been rock solid over the last year for me.
They are more expensive than other PSU's but IMHO are the best on the market.