teh Z-Box

danz · Post by **danz** » Tue Aug 31, 2004 9:06 am

so I am working on putting together my own machine...

what do you think of these parts/deals??

IntelÂ® P4 3GHz (800FSB) Box CPU W/ MSI PT880-LSR Motherboard $200
Patriot 1GB PC3200 400MHz (2x512MB) Dual Channel DDR $140 (after rebate)
ATI 128MB AGP Video Card with RADEON 9800 PRO 3D Chip $180
NEC LCD1712 17" TFT Flat Panel Display $300 (after rebate)
Maxtor 200GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive $125

The Intel chip w/motherboard seems like a really good deal, although for $100 or so some bucks I could go for the ASUS "P4C800-E DELUXE" i875P Chipset Motherboard

what say you??

danz

McNevin · Post by **McNevin** » Tue Aug 31, 2004 9:53 am

You could look for one of those R9800 Pro's that are really an XT, and then reflash it with the correct BIOS, and have a 9800XT!

Seen patriot ram all over the place, but never heard if its good or not. It comes with a heatsink, thats good right!

Post by **enderzero** » Tue Aug 31, 2004 10:09 am

Whats happening Danz?! Looks like you've got a hell of a system lined up. What a deal on the MB/CPU combo. That CPU sells for almost $200 alone on Newegg. I've looked into it a bit and think you should definitely go with the MSI board.

[ MSI ] | [ Hard|OCP review ]

Hard|OCP raved about the board, saying this:

Not only did this board exceed my expectations, but in most cases, it easily kept up with the current reigning king of the P4 chipsets - the Intel i875P. What makes this even more of a shocker is the fact that this VIA PT880 chipset is being marketed as a value chipset, not the i875P killer that it is.

My only suggestion is to get the FISR version if it is around $10 of the price. The upgrade gives you Firewire and Gigabit LAN. But the board is the same and it sounds like a damn good board, so if those features don't turn you on go with the LSR.

The Asus board does sound like a winner, but for $100 extra you likely won't notice much difference. While I used to be a die hard Asus fan, these days I would much rather be rocking an MSI. Here is a review of the brand new (damn thing was posted yesterday) Asus P4C800-E. If you were planning to do a lot of harcore overclocking then you would want to go with the Asus board. But I think for everyday use and value it is the MSI all the way.

Good price on RAM. You might be able to save a tiny bit if you order online and avoid tax (not sure if you are already doing this). Seems hard to find 512MB PC3200 for less than $70, though, so might as well just go with that.

The video card gets a big thumbs up from me. That's what I am rocking, of course, and I love it. If you have some room in your budget, though, you might consider the X800 - but you're looking at spending another $200. Just be aware that you won't be able to play the games coming out a year from now in all the glory that you might like. Actually by then though the $200 you could have spent to upgrade now would buy you the same card and then some. I would feel comfortable buying the 9800. Good price too. You can get a non-ATI 9800 Pro for around $160, but the ATIs are usually still above $200.

Don't know too much about that particular LCD, but it sounds like a good deal and NEC is pretty reputable.

It may just be blind prejudice, but I would go with the Western Digital or the Seagate drives before the Maxtor. I have just never liked Maxtor drives. I have heard they have made improvements (and I never used to like ATI for similar reasons) but for the same price... Also both the WD and Seagate have lower posted seek times.

Well the system looks like a smoker. What are you doing for media? BTW - if you guys haven't checked lately, multi-format 12X DVD burners are mainstream priced these days. $66!?!. But the Sony has such a pretty face.

Good luck man, let us know how it goes. BTW - you still thinking about doin up a Z-Xbox?

McNevin · Post by **McNevin** » Tue Aug 31, 2004 10:19 am

Ask beeeph what a maxtor sounds like...

danz · Post by **danz** » Tue Aug 31, 2004 12:40 pm

hehe...will re-think the maxtor.

Thanks for the comments. The price seems right for the essentials, so I think I am gonna go for it.

ender- I still have that damn x-box controller sitting all alone in my room not getting any love. I am definetly still interested in having a ZX-box, but need to consider my $$$ situation when I make it out to seatown.

I am sure after tonight I am going to wish I had some topspin action at home. Got a free tic to the USOpen! Wonder if anyone is going to try my patented dropshot serve...

danz

R3C · Post by **R3C** » Tue Aug 31, 2004 2:12 pm

I make a habit of never using a VIA chipset no matter how good the reviews are. That's a really good deal though, and if you aren't super-picky, then I wouldn't worry. If you plan to do any tweaking, overclocking, etc. the i875 may be that much more stable. I don't trust the VIA AGP drivers, and there are other quirky things about them that I've never liked. In fact, these days I only use Intel chipsets for Intel CPUs and Nvidia chipsets for AMD CPUs. I suppose it's all about how into your system you are, and what level of tinkering you'll do with it. If you are just going to build it, and forget about everything inside the case once you get the OS installed, then I say go for that combo deal. Otherwise get an i875. Abit, ASUS, and MSI are the brands I'd recommend.

Never get Maxtor drives. I only use Seagate (even when there are faster drives available.) They are reliable, quiet, and they bumped their warranty back up to 5 years.

Nice choice for the video card. I loved my 9x00 cards. They're fast, and ATI writes nice drivers these days. There are some GeForce 6800 cards in or around that price range though, so if you think you'll be doing a lot of OpenGL gaming, (Doom 3, Q3A, and games based on them,) then you may want to take a look at the 6800s. Definitely don't buy Nvidia though if you are thinking of anything less than anything from the 6800 line. The 5xxx series absolutely sucks. In that case go with the ATI 9x00.

Goemon · Post by **Goemon** » Tue Aug 31, 2004 3:48 pm

Make sure you get one of those old style temperature gauges for the front like we done seen in Akihabara. But try not to break it like you did with the display model (I thought the shop assistant was going to cry). "I built this!"

Post by **enderzero** » Tue Aug 31, 2004 3:58 pm

Yeah Danz - what are you gonna do about the case? Do you want to go walk around Akihabara for 4 hours trying to pick out the perfect case to match your home decor? (BTW - did you resend whatever that was you sent to my hotmail to another email?)

Goemon · Post by **Goemon** » Tue Aug 31, 2004 5:30 pm

When you involve Mrs. G in the equation, questions of decor will inevitably enter into the discussion...but you have to admit that it does match the curtains perfectly.

danz · Post by **danz** » Tue Aug 31, 2004 10:05 pm

actually...I was just going to ask if Mrs. G wouldnt mind picking out my case for me. Goemen, I am sure you wouldnt mind helping her out with that

yah...cases are not a big deal for me...would rather save the extra cash for some fernos, or maybe some temp gauges..hehe

just watched roddick give a clinic to some 17yr old wild card entry...ranked like 1414....6-0,6-2,6-2 in 1hr12 min

highlight was watching him top 150mph TWICE on serves!!!!

danz

Goemon · Post by **Goemon** » Tue Aug 31, 2004 10:27 pm

Mrs G was just down in Akihabara Monday, so you missed your chance!

150mph?!?

He must've really had his ITZ bar filled to the brim!

mistasparkle* · Post by mistasparkle* » Tue Aug 31, 2004 10:46 pm

My ITZ bar is at about 25 percent right now...

danz · Post by **danz** » Tue Aug 31, 2004 10:46 pm

yah...roddick was heavy on the White Attitude too...but no racket tossing...

the match kind of reminds me of how I shut down Mr* when we play topspin

danz

mistasparkle* · Post by mistasparkle* » Tue Aug 31, 2004 10:47 pm

yes... because you never got owned by my netgame danz...

Goemon · Post by **Goemon** » Tue Aug 31, 2004 10:50 pm

I must admit that Mr*'s netgame is second to none, but I see that more as a weakness than a strength: He's addicted to his netgame. It's a crutch, a crutch that I shall kick out from under him the next time we play.

My ITZ is off the screen!

<white button>
<white button>
<white button>

Post by **enderzero** » Wed Sep 01, 2004 12:20 am

<white button>!!
<white button>!!

I don't think there is any question about who owns the back of the court around here... and with those sick slice serves!! Actually playing a lot of doubles lately has really improved my net game. I am teh all around top spinnar!!

mistasparkle* · Post by mistasparkle* » Wed Sep 01, 2004 12:30 am

<white button>
<white button>
<white button>

G-mon... u down for some top-spinnin? Dims? Perhaps Mitch will step up and be the 4th person needed for a doubles showdown....

Goemon · Post by **Goemon** » Wed Sep 01, 2004 12:38 am

As Lendl used to say, "Breeeng eet awn!" I'm down except for Saturday and Sunday daytime.

Goemon · Post by **Goemon** » Wed Sep 01, 2004 12:40 am

I'm also finally down for some CoD multiplay. I finished CoD and Far Cry single player modes, so I'm waiting on Doom3 nightmares.

mistasparkle* · Post by mistasparkle* » Wed Sep 01, 2004 12:50 am

ohhhh... i'm down for some Call of Duty Multi ANYTIME!

I'll Doom3 you this weekend.

Goemon · Post by **Goemon** » Wed Sep 01, 2004 2:20 am

I <heart> you bringing me Doom3 this weekend.

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