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jobodaho · Mon Jul 24, 2006 2:27 pm

Ok, with the new lower prices on the X2's I've decided to build an AM2 system. I need the computer soon so I can start using a 3D rendering program before school starts so I know what I'm doing when I get my first project. My main uses for this computer are architectural programs (3D Vis, Autocad, Sketchup, Maxwell renderer, and alot of Photoshop), but it will also be used for some gaming.

The things I already have are monitor, case, speakers, Windows XP pro, mouse and keyboard. I also just bought a WD SE16 250 gig hard drive last night for $82 on Newegg.

Here's what I have lined up:

AMD 64 X2 3800 @ $169

ASUS M2N-E Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 Ultra MCP @ $98

eVGA 256-P2-N554-AX Geforce 7600GT 256MB @ 146 after MIR

CORSAIR ValueSelect 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM Unbuffered DDR2 667 @ $152

Enermax Liberty 500W power supply @ $95 after $10 combo discount with X2 3800

NEC ND-3550A 16x DVD burner @ $31

These come out to be $698 after rebates. Am I forgetting anything? Let me know if you see something that might not be right for this build. Thanks guys.

Mon Jul 24, 2006 2:41 pm

Floppy? Well, better leave the nVidia IDE drivers not installed anyways.

May want an extra fan? But that's easy too.

The build looks good to me. Great choice on that eVGA KO version as this one has a better HSF which covers the RAM.

jobodaho · Mon Jul 24, 2006 2:45 pm

Flying Fox wrote:
Floppy? Well, better leave the nVidia IDE drivers not installed anyways.

May want an extra fan? But that's easy too.

The build looks good to me. Great choice on that eVGA KO version as this one has a better HSF which covers the RAM.

Oh yeah the floppy was already in my "cart" but it's only $6.

I actually do want an after market CPU fan, I totally forgot that in my OP. What would you guys recommend? Do all the fans that would with the S939 boards work with the AM2 boards?

steelcity_ballin · Mon Jul 24, 2006 2:46 pm

Just a quick question: How muhc was the build before MIR?

jobodaho · Mon Jul 24, 2006 2:50 pm

pete_roth wrote:
Just a quick question: How muhc was the build before MIR?

Just $30 more, the only MIR was on the video card. Besides that there is the $10 instant savings on the power supply with the 3800.

EDIT: Also add the hard drive @ $82 as well. Although I think they are $89 now.

jobodaho · Mon Jul 24, 2006 2:58 pm

Would something like this work or does it have to say AM2 compatable?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835118118

Mon Jul 24, 2006 2:59 pm

jobodaho wrote:
I actually do want an after market CPU fan, I totally forgot that in my OP. What would you guys recommend? Do all the fans that would with the S939 boards work with the AM2 boards?

No. Either they have to include a new retention bracket for AM2, or they release a different SKU for you to buy that has the AM2 support. Check carefully.

What to recommend? You can look at Zalman, Thermalright, Scythe, etc.

SNM · Mon Jul 24, 2006 3:24 pm

You might want to step up to DDR2 800, but other than that it looks good to me.

Mon Jul 24, 2006 3:50 pm

jobodaho wrote:
Would something like this work or does it have to say AM2 compatable?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835118118

AFAIK only the 8000 and 9500 support the new socket. Check Zalman's site.

SNM wrote:
You might want to step up to DDR2 800, but other than that it looks good to me.

No Corsair Value Select yet for DDR2-800. Although with rebates I think the XMS is quite decently priced?

SNM · Mon Jul 24, 2006 3:59 pm

Flying Fox wrote:
SNM wrote:
You might want to step up to DDR2 800, but other than that it looks good to me.
No Corsair Value Select yet for DDR2-800. Although with rebates I think the XMS is quite decently priced?

Woah; the pricing structure has changed in the past couple days. So there are a few DDR2 800 kits that aren't too expensive, but...well, never mind that suggestion.

Wasn't XMS ~$180 not too long ago? :-?

Nullvoid · Mon Jul 24, 2006 4:16 pm

If this review is anything to go by then his 667 will run at ddr2 800 speeds without breaking a sweat.

jobodaho · Mon Jul 24, 2006 9:17 pm

Thanks for the suggestions!

Some more questions:

Would I see a performance boost in Photoshop going from 2gb to 4gb in memory? I do deal with some big files around 1.5-2.0 gigs. Would the performance loss in general applications be worth the benifit in Photoshop?

Other than that it sounds like it is a good build.

SNM · Mon Jul 24, 2006 10:43 pm

Hey, broken Newegg search pages strike again!
I was right about the cheapish DDR2 800:
Corsair XMS for $158AR!

Tue Jul 25, 2006 12:08 am

You can use up to 3GB with the /3gb switch, Photoshop is aware of that switch. But I think there may be issues with other apps.

jobodaho · Tue Jul 25, 2006 8:55 am

Well I made the purchase, with a few changes. The eVGA card was sold out when I tried to order so I went with this MSI card instead. It's the same price and has a non reference cooler. Also I did decide to go with the XMS2 Ram because of the MIR and the reviews I read.

Hopefully all goes well.

steelcity_ballin · Tue Jul 25, 2006 9:06 am

jobodaho wrote:
Well I made the purchase, with a few changes. The eVGA card was sold out when I tried to order so I went with this MSI card instead. It's the same price and has a non reference cooler. Also I did decide to go with the XMS2 Ram because of the MIR and the reviews I read.

Hopefully all goes well.

Good luck wiht your build I think I am ordering my parts around Friday-ish. I get paid again soon so I might revise a little...

Tue Jul 25, 2006 9:58 am

jobodaho wrote:
Well I made the purchase, with a few changes. The eVGA card was sold out when I tried to order so I went with this MSI card instead. It's the same price and has a non reference cooler. Also I did decide to go with the XMS2 Ram because of the MIR and the reviews I read.

If you are ok with the dual slot setup, then it is supposed to be a good card.

jobodaho · Tue Jul 25, 2006 11:28 am

Flying Fox wrote:
jobodaho wrote:
Well I made the purchase, with a few changes. The eVGA card was sold out when I tried to order so I went with this MSI card instead. It's the same price and has a non reference cooler. Also I did decide to go with the XMS2 Ram because of the MIR and the reviews I read.
If you are ok with the dual slot setup, then it is supposed to be a good card.

Well as of now I do not have any other PCI cards to use, because I will be using onboard sound I should be alright.

jobodaho · Tue Jul 25, 2006 11:40 am

Can anyone point me in the direction of an article that shows the performance of going from 2gb to 4gb of ram? I would like to know if I would see a noticable difference in Photoshop or any of my rendering programs. Thanks.

cappa84 · Tue Jul 25, 2006 11:55 am

jobodaho wrote:
Can anyone point me in the direction of an article that shows the performance of going from 2gb to 4gb of ram? I would like to know if I would see a noticable difference in Photoshop or any of my rendering programs. Thanks.

If any of your programs are using filters that take advantage of OpenGL (for example), you may want to invest in a better video card…

Like for me, I use Adobe After Effects when I make/use filters over video that I’ve edited. Filters (some filters anyway) that are optimised for OpenGL can run in real time if you have a 7900GT or greater…however, we’re talking about 25FPS here…so maybe for Photoshop, CAD, et al, a higher end 3D card may not make much of a difference at all…just thought I’d suggest it though.

As for your 2GB vs 4GB question…I’ve been searching for an article…but one thing I’ve noticed among other video editors/graphic designers is that they all believe that “you can never have enough RAM”…so I dunno, the system I’m getting will have 2GB in it, which I personally think is enough…though if you can afford more then go for it

cappa84 · Tue Jul 25, 2006 12:02 pm

Found this on another forum:

http://luminous-landscape.com/forum/lof ... t9441.html

One guy there says:

"for PS to access more then the 2gb you need to edit the boot.ini file"

Looks like PS can't access more then 2GB anyways...dunno how true this is though...

Also, are 32Bit software apps/OS’s limited to 2GB's...?

Thought 32Bit XP can go up to 4GB’s RAM…?

Tue Jul 25, 2006 12:07 pm

cappa84, read my post above and you should find more info with the right keyword.

jobodaho · Tue Jul 25, 2006 12:23 pm

Here's another question, is it worth going to Windows XP 64 bit edition? I have XP Pro, and I don't think I have any components that won't work with 64 bit. What do you guys think?

Tue Jul 25, 2006 12:31 pm

Games is the biggest PITA.

Kurama · Tue Jul 25, 2006 2:39 pm

The only reason to go 64-bit is if you have more than 4gb of ram in my opinion. Games usually actually run a little worse on it in 64-bit mode.

thecoldanddarkone · Tue Jul 25, 2006 3:14 pm

Well I don't see why you shouldn't run xp64 besides the fact you have professional. There might be a very small diference in how it runs the games, but when I ran xp vs xp64 I didn't notice a difference in games. (maybe benchmarks, but I don't play benchmarks so 1/2-2 frames probably won't make or break the game).

Tue Jul 25, 2006 4:29 pm

Are there still games out there with 32-bit Starf**** drivers that crap out XP-64? That's the biggest problem.

jobodaho · Tue Jul 25, 2006 5:21 pm

I'm not concerned with gaming performance, just with the other programs that I mentioned. Would I see any benefits in like 3ds max? Photoshop? I would only do it if I would see a significant amount of improvement, because that's another $160 or so dollars that I would have to spend.

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