Need advice on new rig

[elite marksman]

I'm considering buying or building a new rig this summer, but I need some advice. I am considering Cyberpower's Ultra SLI Basic for either $900 or $1000
nForce 4 SLI
XP Media Center
512 Corsair
250GB SATA
2 7600GS
16x DVD-RW
600W subwoofer system
liquid cooling
Athlon 64 3200+ (900) Athlon 64 X2 3800+ (1000)

their Infinity 8000 Dream ($900)
nForce 4 SLI
XP Media center
512 Corsair
200 GB SATA
7600GS
16x DVD-RW
Intel High-Def 7.1 sorround card (thought audio was Hi-Fi)
Logitech X530 5.1 sorround
802.11g adapter
Pentium D 3.2GHz

or building my own of comperable specs.
My problem is that I'm leaning toward the AMD, as I'm partial to AMD tech, and the specs are a bit better. I can live without the surround sound for a while, or at worst I can move my X-680 from my Xbox over. However, I am wary of their liquid cooling on the AMD model as I've heard horror stories from people who had a hose blow in a water cooled system.
A few questions that I have are
1, is it worth $100 for a gain of only 600MHz and a dual-core, or should I stick with the single core?
2, is 900-1000 a reasonable price for a system of this caliber?
3, Could I build a comperable system cheaper, and if so, how much. I may not go this route unless it saves me a significant sum as I will need alot of time to put the thing together, taking away from the time I have to get enough money to pay for it.

I know they aren't the top-of-the-line, but I can't afford the best system if I want a car in 6 months.
Thanks for any help.

[ctjoyce]

Well for the price both rigs are overpriced.

AMD Athalon x64 3700+ Socket 939
ASUS A8N-SLi Premium Socket 939
1GB OCZ Gold Edition PC3200 2-3-3-6
Western Digital 200GB SATA3
eVGA nVidia 7900GT PCI-Express x16
Samgsung DVD +/- RW
Thermaltake Soprano
Hiper Type R PSU
Linksys 802.11G SpeedBoost WiFi
Windows XP Home Edition
2.1 Surround Speakers
Zalman CNPS-9500LED

That should run you something to the tune of $1300

Now its $300 over your budget, but useing a
$50 Case
7800GT
120GB HDD
$100 Motherboard
insted of the higher end stuff will bring you back to arund $950. It will also be much faster to build than have Cyberpowerinc build for you. It will take them 5 days to build, and another 5 to ship, where as Newegg takes 3 to ship (usually will get there in two), and it will take you mabe 3 houres top to build the system itself.

As for watercooling. Its expencive, and worth it. Also nowadays the only liquid on the market is "Non-Conductive." So should you have a leak your going to flood the bottom of your case, yes, however none of your hardware is going to be rouined. We also must remember that watercooling is very expensive (Mid level setups costing anywhere from $250 ~ $300). If you want the ultamate cool without the hastle,

Zalman CNPS-9500 CPU
Zalman VPN-700Cu GPU

I use both along with a Zalman ZMNB-45J for my Northbridge, and get about the same temps as a watercooled setup. I compaired my Temps to ktmdref's watercooling.

His / Mine
CPU: 25C / 26C
GPU 38C / 32C

Now its not totally accurate because he is running an AMD / nVidia while I have a Intel / ATi, but its a good show of how well Zalman stuff works

Cheers
Cameron

[elite marksman]

Mother of God! How do you keep your cpu 1 degree above room temp?
I can live without a case, for awhile at least. I have a case from an old (athlon k6 500MHz) computer that I may be able to salvage. But it will definatly need a power supply, and I dont need the hdd either. My current comp has two, a 40GB that I could clean up, and my 160GB, which would follow me to my new comp, so were down to about 8-850 now. I do some shopping at newegg and post my final specs and price to see if I'm on the right track.

[elite marksman]

I've started looking at components, but I'm lost. For starters, a vid card.
Would 2 7600GTs be better than 1 7900gt ko, and if so how much? The 79gt ko goes for $290 while 2 7600GTs will run me about $340.

[congo]

A 7900GT would be a good choice.

[ctjoyce]

Ya one 7900GT will provide more power than 2 7600's in SLi. Esp if their on an older board, and only useing 16 of the 32 pipelines.

Think of it this way. Two stock honda civics vs one stock Aston Martin V12 Vanquish. Its jsut not a fair competition.

Cheers
Cameron

[elite marksman]

I dont know if thats really a fair analogy. In a race, two cars won't go any faster than one car, but one car with two motors will. But I understand what you mean.

[elite marksman]

After looking for awhile I came up with this.
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103539]AMD

64 3700+ San Diego[/url]
MSI K8N Neo4 (nForce 4)
eVGA 7900GT
WD 200GB SATA 3GB/s
Kingston DDR400 (2x1GB)
LITE-ON DVD-ROM/CD-RW
I still have a few questions.
1. Am I missing any components (excepting case/fan)
2. Is everything compatible? I think it is but a second opinion never hurts
3. How powerful of a PSU will I need to run this system. I was thinking 400-500W, but agian, a second opinion never hurts.
4. How many fans will I need? I'm looking at Arctic Cooling's 90mm heatsink/fan combo for socket 939, but know I will need at least 2 case fans.
3 and 4 are the reasons I left case out of the list.

Also I'm looking at NEC's AS-900 19" CRT, dows anyone have this and if so what do you think of it? And any monitor suggestions for a similar price.

I'm up to about $900, what I had planned to spend in the first place. Case will add anywhere between 50 and 200, and probably another 25-50 for cooling. Monitor isn't a neccesity for the moment as I have an older comp that I can slavage one from. Case doesn't have to be pretty for the time being either, it just has to work. I may even be able to find a PSU depending on how much I need.

[ctjoyce]

I still have a few questions.
1. Am I missing any components (excepting case/fan)

Yes. PSU, OS

2. Is everything compatible? I think it is but a second opinion never hurts

Yes

3. How powerful of a PSU will I need to run this system. I was thinking 400-500W, but agian, a second opinion never hurts.

Your going to need a good PSU. Look at the Hiper Type R

4. How many fans will I need? I'm looking at Arctic Cooling's 90mm heatsink/fan combo for socket 939, but know I will need at least 2 case fans.
3 and 4 are the reasons I left case out of the list.

NOOOOOOO!!!!!! Not that cooler. The Zalman CPNS-7000Cu Only $35 and by far the best cooler for a 92mm (with the exception of the 9500)

Also I'm looking at NEC's AS-900 19" CRT, dows anyone have this and if so what do you think of it? And any monitor suggestions for a similar price.

We sell those at work. Very nice, and crisp. Also look at sceptre.

And about that RAM. Just say no to value RAM kids. I know you want 2GB, but its better to get one good 1GB stick now, and follow it with another later, then get two sticks of crappy RAM. Use Corsair XMS or OCZ Gold Series (Platnum for overclocks).

Cheers
Cameron

[elite marksman]

Which CPNS, the Aluminium/Copper or the pure Copper? From a chemist's standpoint, the copper will be more efficient, but at a difference only .515 J/g*C, we're talking 3, maybe 5 *C, depending on the mass of the heatsink, difference? How critical is 5 *C to a CPU?

I knew the PSU was missing as it looked like a PSU/case combo would be cheaper than getting them separatly.

Ill look more tomorrow. Can't think straight after I pulled an all-nighter last night.

[ctjoyce]

The all copper. The Half and Half will cool just a tad better than stock.

Also to the whole Case / PSU combo, uh NO! The PSUs tend to be shite. My Raidmax PSU burned out on me in less than a year forceing me to upgrade to the hiper.

Cheers
Cameron

[wealthysoup]

im quite certain that 600w subwoofer system is measured in pmpo (which is just to make it look fancy it doesnt mean much) find its wattage in rms, or choose speakers that are measured in rms (rms will always be lower numbers than pmpo but will be the correct ones) the higher the wattage in rms the better the sound quality of the speakers are.

[Delta_]

You can get 600W RMS systems,
here is a 700W RMS (70W per speaker and 210W for the sub) one i found on newegg.com: SL750

[Sukhoi_37]

You can get 600W RMS systems,
here is a 700W RMS (70W per speaker and 210W for the sub) one i found on newegg.com: SL750

Those speakers look awesome, but will cost a pretty penny..

[elite marksman]

I don't need a 600W system. I get yelled at enough for my 80W X-680 on my Xbox and my 250W stereo. I think I'll be getting a 200-300W 2.1 for my comp.