questions questions questions

[Wraithlok]

Hello!

 

Well just getting back from the Gulf and have a ton of combat pay to spend. I am looking at building my own rig again (last comp I bought was alienware.. ok I was lazy). Anyhow I love the features and the DFI has, and am looking to make a sick sick machine, HOWEVER, a little concerned with not being able to use the frickin thing for months as I try to get the settings correct.

 

I am looking at spending about 3k total on the system.. so far here is what I am looking at:

 

Thermaltake Armor VA8000BWS

Soundblaster Audigy 4 Pro 8

DFI Lanparty nf4 SLI-DR

Enermax all in one Noisetaker EG701AX-VE (ATX12V) 600W

10k RPM WD 40GB hardrive IDE x 2 Raid 0

300GB backup drive (whichever works best)

4GB of whatever is the best RAM I can find (that works.. checking forums! )

Either the 3800 X2 or the FX55 (haven't decided yet.. heard both were good).

2x SLI 6800's .. not sure what brand yet.

Water Cooling system

and of course the typical DVDRs and CDRWs etc etc..

 

 

Now my questions:

 

1) What is the difference between the NF4 SLI-D and SLI-DR and of course the UT variant. I have heard conflicting info on the differences between all of them.. which one is best?

 

2) OK it's a toss-up between a DFI board and the ASUS A8N SLI premium. The only reason why I would go with the ASUS is again my concerns that the DFI would be MUCH too intensive to get it right. I hear the ASUS has some overclocking features but the interface is a tad easier to use. Again I want to eventually learn the ins and outs of overclocking but am deffintely looking to start slowly in this realm. The last thing I want to do is burnout a perfectly good piece of hardware due to inexperience. If this is not the board to learn on please let me know

 

3) is there a specific type of RAM one should go with once you get over the 2gb realm?

 

4) Chipset: I have seen again tons of conflicting reviews on the X2's and the FX-55's.. which one is best to go with? I am looking at making a speed demon machine for gaming..

 

 

Appreciate any help you guys can provide in making my decision process easier.. thanks in advance!

[loc.o]

Goodies (LP), SATA 4/8, for the rest its same board.

 

DFI or Asus, thats up to you. Its a killer board, but will recuire some finetuning. I would go for it, loads of info here to get you started.

 

I would stick with 2gb max (in fact i would go for 2*512)

 

Future game engines (UT 2005 to start with i thought) will like the X2, for now it will not make a diff, in fact i think FX55 will outrun it in todays games.

 

Have a look at nVidia's new 7800 cards instead of the 6800ultras.

 

Good luck building your rig!

[fartonmyear]

dr has 8 sata ports

d has 4 sata ports

 

ut has ultraviolet stuff

non ut comes with frontx and led stuff

 

UT SLI-D and UT SLI-DR costs the same for some reason and there is no nf4 SLI-D

[oliveryochest]

Originally posted by Wraithlok

Chipset: I have seen again tons of conflicting reviews on the X2's and the FX-55's.. which one is best to go with? I am looking at making a speed demon machine for gaming..

The FX series is definately still the dog when it comes to gaming. You can look forward for an FX-57 in a week or two. For the X2, we won't truely realize the potential of the X2 unless running an application with dual processor support.

is there a specific type of RAM one should go with once you get over the 2gb realm?

There is really no reason to be putting anything more than a Gig of memory unless you are using certain applications such as CAD, CompilingAudio/Video Encoding, etc....Stick with 1 gig for now. The OCZ Gold Edition are excellent.

10k RPM WD 40GB hardrive IDE x 2 Raid 0

Instead of paying that much for 2 raptors, i would suggest you look at the Hitachi 80G Sata II in a Raid Array... Saves you a little funds. Check out the results for the Hitachi's on page 4. http://www.dfi-street.com/forum/showthread...77&page=4&pp=15

[kempez815]

Agree with the above, but I feel you should get the GSkillz PC4800 TCCD LE modules. And I think 2 x 512 will do you fine.

 

Raptors are just nice to have and if you've got the cash....

 

As fopr the LANPARTY...unless you're gonna be rocking like 8 HDD's then get the SLi-D LANPARTY UT

 

PS: Get 2 x 7800GTX's instead of the 6800's - the benchies are looking pretty good so far and not too much more cash

 

I would get an OCZ 600w SLi or a PCP&C 510 SLI (or the 850 if you can afford it). Enermax are good...but they're not THE best.

 

As for the Water-cooling I would suggest DD Dual pumps and dual 120mm Rads...can't go wrong with DD stuff

 

CPU: Are you heavily into gaming...or are you into gaming + heavy CAD apps?

 

If just gaming and using ordinary apps then FX-57 (out soon)

 

If Gaming + Heavy apps like CAD=X2

 

[Wraithlok]

Thanks for the great feedback so far

 

I am primarily into gaming. I have been known to branch out into random stuff once in awhile but no big time CAD apps.. so I guess the 57 looks like a safe bet (any due dates on it? Looked on the AMD website and didn't see anything on it off the bat... my internet connection underway is SLOW at best).

 

A couple of more questions (of course you didn't think you would get off that easy eh?)

 

-Is it worth it to get a hardware RAID board? I have one from my last computer, but wondering if that would make a lick of difference in the performance area (or if the built in raid controller for the board is plenty).

 

-DFI plug and play ability: If I get the UT SLI DR and all of the above mentioned items.. and DON'T screw with the settings initially how labor intensive are we talking about to get it up and running.. basic settings to get it started and from there branch out , barring any hardware problems.. or are we looking at having to change 17 different voltages and tweak them based on the individual configuration of the board due to the different components... i.e.. hours and hours and hours.... A broad question I know.. just trying to get a basic feel for it

 

thanks again!

[Pihrana]

Ive built over 20 systems in my time (and im not old yet <26) not only for myself but for family members etc. Im not an UBER expert but i know my way around etc.

 

On Monday of this week i put together a PC with my first ever DFI motherboard and it took me 3 days to get it running (4 days if you consider i was still typing my "YES IVE DONE IT POST" at just gone past midnight)

 

Im not saying that these boards are useless and you should steer clear, but i am saying be prepared to put some time and effort (and possibly frustration) into getting your system stable. All the Hardware websites that touch this/these board(s) are amazed by its/their ability. Its just your likely to have to tinker a little to get where u want be.

 

Its unfair to say you only have to look at all the threads in this forum to see how many peeps are having issues. I wouldnt have even bothered to look for the forum if it wasnt because i had issues. Therefore most people here have issues and need help.

 

The important thing is, that the forum is here, and there are hundreds of people available to assist you if things do not go as planned the first time round !!

[red930]

If you are looking for a rig that will boot the first time top speed and not require any tweaks, your best bet is to buy a fully assembled rig from a vendor.

 

If you don't mind a bit of a challenge setting up a rig, get the DFI and you will be rewarded with one of the fastest rigs around.

 

Of the dozens of DFI rigs I've built I haven't had to return any hardware. A couple of setups caused me to spend extra time tweaking but it was mostly due to the RAM selected by the customer.

 

I have four DFI rigs at home(the three in my sig and a media PC built on an nF2 mobo) and all run 24/7.

 

Hardware selection is the critical step in building a great rig.

-DFI plug and play ability:

[Webzter]

I am currently serving in the UK and just finished my new system. See my signature for the specs. It reaally screams. Setup was a breeze.

[pafsm]

Hi,

 

This is the first time I´ve bought a DFI product. The first time I put all things together the rig work just fine. I did and still have issues with the overclocking process, which is absolutely understandable.

 

Even though, during the process I found stable intermediate configurations, thanx to the help of this forum and the quick response of its members.

 

I cannot give you advise on which things u should buy or not, but I can tell u that it´s not very common to find places with this quality and response.

 

Best of the lucks with your rig

[tatts]

most peoples problems with dfi boards are down to psu & ram (they dont like value ram)

if it was me, i would be looking at a 2gb dual channel kit, something like the ballistic pc4000 or similar tccd ram

as for the case, i just got one and love it

psu, theres a nf4 guide to them on here so make sure you get one on the list if you want a problem free set up

also the graphics, have a look at the 7800's

as for the cpu, have a look at the opterons, ive got a 146 running 3ghz (faster than a fx57) for a small fraction, may aswell make use of the best OC mobo and i would forget about asus, i had 2 before my ultra-d and sold them after a week.

 

my first dfi set up went like a breeze and not had any problems yet due to doing my homework on parts & bios versions