Help with AVA Direct Configs

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SouLXIV

Gawd
Joined
Jan 20, 2008
Messages
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For alot of people the wide variety of AVA Direct's options is a plus, but for a noob like me, it's just overwelming, so I was wondering if I could get some help. I was also wondering what the difference was between their ddr2 and ddr3 systems, since one is alot more expenssive than the other. I'm wanting to game at probably 1680x1050 for games like CoD4 and maybe Crysis. Please gimme some suggestions for the configuration below, especially for the case choice, PSU, and cooling/thermal compound, cause I got no idea about which one to get.

ANTEC, Nine Hundred Black Mid-Tower Case, ATX, No PSU
ANTEC, NeoPower 650 Blue High Efficiency Power Supply, 650W, 24-pin ATX12V EPS12V, SLI Ready, 120mm LED Fan, 5-Year Warranty
ASUS, P5N-E SLI, LGA775, nForce 650i SLI, 1066MHz FSB, DDR2-800 8GB /4, PCIe x16 SLI /2, SATA RAID 5 /5, HDA, GbLAN, FW /2, ATX, Retail
INTEL, Core™ 2 Duo E8400 Dual-Core, 3.0GHz, 1333MHz FSB, 6MB L2 Cache, 45nm, 65W, EM64T EIST VT XD, Retail
CPU Coolers: No cooling fan upgrade

KINGSTON, HyperX 4GB (4 x 1GB) PC2-6400 DDR2 800MHz CL4 (4-4-4-12) SDRAM DIMM, Non-ECC
eVGA, e-GeForce® 9800 GX2 600MHz, 1GB GDDR3 2000MHz, PCIe x16 SLI, DVI /2, HDMI, Retail
WESTERN DIGITAL, 500GB WD Caviar® SE16 (WD5000AAKS), SATA II 300MB/s, 7200-RPM, 16MB cache
RAID, No RAID, Independent HDD Drives
SONY, CRX320EE Black 52x32x52-16A DVD-ROM/CD-RW Combo Drive, OEM
MITSUMI, Black Internal 1.44MB 3.5" Floppy Drive
SAMSUNG, SyncMaster™ 206BW Black LCD Monitor, 20" TFT WSXGA+, 0.285mm, 1680x1050, 300 cd/m², 3000:1, 2ms, VGA+DVI
SAITEK, Eclipse Keyboard w/ Blue LED Illumination, 104 + 4 Keys, Detachable Palm Rest, USB
LOGITECH, G5 Laser Mouse, USB
MICROSOFT, Windows Vista Home Premium Edition 64-bit, OEM
WARRANTY, Silver Warranty Package (3 Year Limited Parts, 3 Year Labor Warranty)

Total: $2258.00

Thanks.
 
Here is what I have configured from doing quite a bit of research. I plan to buy in about a month.

CUSTOM COMPUTER, Core™2 DDR2 Performance Series System $1250.42
$1250.42
• ANTEC, Nine Hundred Black Mid-Tower Case, ATX, No PSU (Seems to get great reviews from everyone)
• CORSAIR, CMPSU-550VX VX Series Power Supply, 550W, 80 PLUS®, 24-pin ATX12V EPS12V, SLI Ready (Highly recommended on this website)
• ASUS, P5K, LGA775, Intel P35, 1333MHz FSB, DDR2-1066MHz 8GB /4, PCIe x16 CF /2, SATA 3.0 Gbit/s /4, HDA, GbLAN, FW /2, ATX, Retail
• INTEL, Core™ 2 Quad Q6600 Quad-Core, 2.4GHz, 1066MHz FSB, 8MB (2 x 4MB) L2 Cache, 65nm, 105W, EM64T EIST VT XD, Retail
• COOLERMASTER, Hyper TX 2 CPU Cooler, Socket 775/AM2/754/939/940, Copper/Aluminum, Retail (Included in a custom budget gaming rig on tomshardware.com)
• G.SKILL, 4GB (2 x 2GB) PC2-6400 DDR2 800MHz CL5 (5-5-5-15) SDRAM DIMM, Non-ECC
• eVGA, e-GeForce 9600GT KO 700MHz, 512MB GDDR3 1900MHz, PCIe x16 SLI, DVI /2, HDTV/S-Video Out, Retail
• WESTERN DIGITAL, 250GB WD Caviar® SE16, SATA 3.0 Gbit/s, 7200 RPM, 16MB cache
• RAID, No RAID, Independent HDD Drives
• LITE-ON, DH-20A4H-08 Black/White 20x DVD±RW Dual-Layer Burner w/ LightScribe, EIDE/ATAPI, Retail
• KEYBOARD, Black Keyboard, 107-Key, PS/2
• MOUSE, Black Optical Mouse, PS/2 + USB, Scroll
• MICROSOFT, Windows Vista Home Basic Edition 64-bit, OEM
• WARRANTY, Silver Warranty Package (3 Year Limited Parts, 3 Year Labor Warranty)

Monitor (from amazon most likely)

Acer AL2216Wbd Or HP w2007
 
SouLXIV said:
For alot of people the wide variety of AVA Direct's options is a plus, but for a noob like me, it's just overwelming, so I was wondering if I could get some help. I was also wondering what the difference was between their ddr2 and ddr3 systems, since one is alot more expenssive than the other. I'm wanting to game at probably 1680x1050 for games like CoD4 and maybe Crysis. Please gimme some suggestions for the configuration below, especially for the case choice, PSU, and cooling/thermal compound, cause I got no idea about which one to get.

ANTEC, Nine Hundred Black Mid-Tower Case, ATX, No PSU
ANTEC, NeoPower 650 Blue High Efficiency Power Supply, 650W, 24-pin ATX12V EPS12V, SLI Ready, 120mm LED Fan, 5-Year Warranty
ASUS, P5N-E SLI, LGA775, nForce 650i SLI, 1066MHz FSB, DDR2-800 8GB /4, PCIe x16 SLI /2, SATA RAID 5 /5, HDA, GbLAN, FW /2, ATX, Retail
INTEL, Core™ 2 Duo E8400 Dual-Core, 3.0GHz, 1333MHz FSB, 6MB L2 Cache, 45nm, 65W, EM64T EIST VT XD, Retail
CPU Coolers: No cooling fan upgrade

KINGSTON, HyperX 4GB (4 x 1GB) PC2-6400 DDR2 800MHz CL4 (4-4-4-12) SDRAM DIMM, Non-ECC
eVGA, e-GeForce® 9800 GX2 600MHz, 1GB GDDR3 2000MHz, PCIe x16 SLI, DVI /2, HDMI, Retail
WESTERN DIGITAL, 500GB WD Caviar® SE16 (WD5000AAKS), SATA II 300MB/s, 7200-RPM, 16MB cache
RAID, No RAID, Independent HDD Drives
SONY, CRX320EE Black 52x32x52-16A DVD-ROM/CD-RW Combo Drive, OEM
MITSUMI, Black Internal 1.44MB 3.5" Floppy Drive
SAMSUNG, SyncMaster™ 206BW Black LCD Monitor, 20" TFT WSXGA+, 0.285mm, 1680x1050, 300 cd/m², 3000:1, 2ms, VGA+DVI
SAITEK, Eclipse Keyboard w/ Blue LED Illumination, 104 + 4 Keys, Detachable Palm Rest, USB
LOGITECH, G5 Laser Mouse, USB
MICROSOFT, Windows Vista Home Premium Edition 64-bit, OEM
WARRANTY, Silver Warranty Package (3 Year Limited Parts, 3 Year Labor Warranty)

Total: $2258.00

Thanks.
Click to expand...

DDR3 isn't really worth the extra money it cost,I'd stick with DDR2.Personally,I'd avoid the SLI motherboards,seen too many complaints about their stability.But if you do go with SLI,you could probably save money by getting two 8800GT's,from the review [H]ard did on the 9800 GX2,they actually come close to matching it in performance.
 
I would select another motherboard.
The 650i chipset isnt good enough to support overclocking at all.
The PCI-e slots are 1.0 and will offer no advantage to your GPU.
The cooling solutions (heatsinks) on this board are poor.
I could not get this board to support 4GB of RAM in a 4 x 1 fashion.

I have one of these boards, currently running SLi with two 8800GTs. The overall setup is fast and solid, but only at all stock speeds.

If you are not going to OC then the board might be OK, but it will not give you any room to upgrade.
 
so if I were to stick the 9800X2, which selections should and change and what to?

motherboard->?
memory from kingston->?
cooling->?
PSU->?

the reason I chose that motherboard is because under the configs it only had nforce motherboards for some reason.

but ya I'll probably do little or no overclocking.
 
SouLXIV said:
the reason I chose that motherboard is because under the configs it only had nforce motherboards for some reason.
Click to expand...

When configuring a system at AVA Direct, the base config you choose determines some of your choices. So if you chose, for example, GAMING PC, Core 2 Duo SLI Gaming System, your choices will be motherboards that support SLI. For the most varied choices, you might want to start with GAMING PC, Core 2 Duo DDR2 Gaming System.

As someone else mentioned, it's not worth going with DDR3 memory right now. It's just too expensive since it's so new. If you won't be going with SLI and dual video cards, I'd suggest a P35 motherboard. If you want an SLI motherboard, just don't get a 680i, they have problems. The 650i is ok, though.

In any event, even if a particular base config doesn't give you a choice for a particular part, you can always speak with Misha at AVA Direct to get exactly what you want.

In regards to your other questions...
Memory: Go with the G. Skill 4GB (2 x 2GB)
Cooling: Unless you will overclock your CPU, the stock cooler will be fine. If you have heat problems in your house or will go with a slight overclock (3.6GHz), maybe go with the Arctic Cooling 7. If you are going to push an overclock, go with the ThermalRight Ultra 120.
PSU: I don't know how much power the 9800 GX2 wants. However, if 550W is enough for the whole system, go with the Corsair. If you want to go up to 750W, the Corsair or the PC Power & Cooling Silencer are both good.

These are my opinions, and others may disagree :) You can always just talk with Misha, though, he'll do you right. He can help you config your system and won't push unnecessary/expensive parts.
 
GAMING PC, Core 2 Duo DDR2 Gaming System
INTEL, Core™ 2 Duo E8400 Dual-Core, 3.0GHz, 1333MHz FSB, 6MB L2 Cache, 45nm, 65W, EM64T EIST VT XD, Retail
SERVICE, Do Not Overclock
GIGABYTE, GA-P35-DS3L, LGA775, Intel P35, 1333MHz FSB, DDR2-1066 8GB /4, PCIe x16, SATA 3Gb/s /4, HDA, GbLAN, ATX, Retail
G.SKILL, 4GB (2 x 2GB) PC2-6400 DDR2 800MHz CL4 (4-4-4-12) SDRAM DIMM, Non-ECC
XFX, e-GeForce® 9800 GX2 600MHz, 1GB GDDR3 2000MHz, PCIe x16 SLI, DVI /2, HDMI, Retail
WESTERN DIGITAL, 500GB WD Caviar® SE16 (WD5000AAKS), SATA II 300MB/s, 7200-RPM, 16MB cache
RAID, No RAID, Independent HDD Drives
MITSUMI, Black Internal 1.44MB 3.5" Floppy Drive
LITE-ON, LH-20A1L Black/Beige 20x DVD±RW Dual-Layer Burner w/ LightScribe, SATA, Retail
ANTEC, Nine Hundred Black Mid-Tower Case, ATX, No PSU
CUSTOM WIRING, Standard Wiring with Round Cables
CORSAIR, CMPSU-620HX HX Series Modular Power Supply, 620W, 24-pin ATX12V EPS12V, Triple +12V, Multi-GPU Ready
MICROSOFT, Windows Vista Home Premium Edition 64-bit, OEM
SERVICE, OEM System Recovery (secure HDD partition only)
SERVICE, System Binder
SAMSUNG, SyncMaster™ 206BW Black LCD Monitor, 20" TFT WSXGA+, 0.285mm, 1680x1050, 300 cd/m², 3000:1, 2ms, VGA+DVI
SAITEK, Eclipse Keyboard w/ Blue LED Illumination, 104 + 4 Keys, Detachable Palm Rest, USB
LOGITECH, G5 Laser Mouse, USB
GAMING PC, Silver Warranty Package (3 Year Limited Parts, 3 Year Labor Warranty)
SERVICE, Standard Shipping (UPS, DHL, or Fedex)

$2306.16

That's how I would do it =)
G.Skill RAM, Corsair Modular PSU, P35 chipset. Throw in a heatsink if you want to OC, basically... take Andonsage's advice!
 
I have that Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L as well. I have had a bunch of cold boot issues with it.
If it runs 24/7 no problem.
If you cold boot, you get issues.
If you are not going to SLi, then I would get a nice Intel brand P35 or P38 chipset board.
If you plan to SLi then XFX 780 or 790i board would be excellent, my next choice would still be the EVGA 680i board.
 
My vote for motherboard would be the Abit IP35,I'm going with the IP35 PRO,but if you're not overclocking one of the less expensive versions might suit you.As someone else mentioned,Corsair's PSU's are very good,the 620HX should handle the 9800GX2 no problem.
 
I will add in my opinion to go with the Abit IP35 Pro motherboard. It gets great reviews.
 
AndonSage said:
I will add in my opinion to go with the Abit IP35 Pro motherboard. It gets great reviews.
Click to expand...

I looked for the Abit IP35 motherboard but I couldn't find it in the configurations. It only had Abit AB9 pro, intel p965 LGA 775. I also switched ram to G-skill, but why is the 4 gig Gskill the same price as the Kingston 2 gig, I thought G-skill was better? Also what do the numbers after it mean? like 4-4-4-12 and 5-5-5-12?

And regarding the case issue, I've see alot of people with this case. But is this case pretty loud with all the fans? Are there any other good cases you would recommend? I'm not that conservative when it comes to the looks, cause since it's gonna be a gaming PC it should have some flare it.

So here's what the updated one looks like

ANTEC, Nine Hundred Black Mid-Tower Case, ATX, No PSU
CORSAIR, CMPSU-620HX HX Series Modular Power Supply, 620W, 24-pin ATX12V EPS12V, Triple +12V, Multi-GPU Ready
ABIT, AB9 Pro, LGA775, Intel P965, DDR2-800 8GB/4, PCIe x16, SATA II RAID 5 /9, HD Audio, 2x GbLAN, ATX, Retail
INTEL, Core™ 2 Duo E8400 Dual-Core, 3.0GHz, 1333MHz FSB, 6MB L2 Cache, 45nm, 65W, EM64T EIST VT XD, Retail
G.SKILL, 4GB (2 x 2GB) PC2-6400 DDR2 800MHz CL4 (4-4-4-12) SDRAM DIMM, Non-ECC
eVGA, e-GeForce® 9800 GX2 600MHz, 1GB GDDR3 2000MHz, PCIe x16 SLI, DVI /2, HDMI, Retail
SEAGATE, 500GB Barracuda 7200.10, SATA II 300MB/s, 7200-RPM, 16MB cache
RAID, No RAID, Independent HDD Drives
SONY, CRX320EE Black 52x32x52-16A DVD-ROM/CD-RW Combo Drive, OEM
SAMSUNG, SyncMaster™ 206BW Black LCD Monitor, 20" TFT WSXGA+, 0.285mm, 1680x1050, 300 cd/m², 3000:1, 2ms, VGA+DVI
SAITEK, Eclipse Keyboard w/ Blue LED Illumination, 104 + 4 Keys, Detachable Palm Rest, USB
LOGITECH, G5 Laser Mouse, USB
MICROSOFT, Windows Vista Home Premium Edition 64-bit, OEM
WARRANTY, Silver Warranty Package (3 Year Limited Parts, 3 Year Labor Warranty
 
SouLXIV said:
I looked for the Abit IP35 motherboard but I couldn't find it in the configurations.
Click to expand...

If you start with this configuration, the Abit IP35 Pro listed, it's the first line in the list: GAMING PC, Core 2 Duo DDR2 Gaming System

SouLXIV said:
I also switched ram to G-skill, but why is the 4 gig Gskill the same price as the Kingston 2 gig, I thought G-skill was better? Also what do the numbers after it mean? like 4-4-4-12 and 5-5-5-12?
Click to expand...

I don't know why it's less expensive. I assume it's because they use the G.SKILL most often, therefore sell it the most, and therefore get better discounts. Or I could be totally wrong, and it's some other reason :) The numbers are the "timings" for the memory. Lower numbers are faster. However, and someone can correct me if I'm wrong, CPUs like the E8400 or Q6600 don't require very fast timings, and CL5 memory is perfectly fine. The benefit of CL4 is that you can relax the timings when doing overclocks. I'm sure someone like silent-circuit or HardwareGuru could explain this, if you wanted to post the question in the Memory or General Hardware section.

SouLXIV said:
And regarding the case issue, I've see alot of people with this case. But is this case pretty loud with all the fans? Are there any other good cases you would recommend? I'm not that conservative when it comes to the looks, cause since it's gonna be a gaming PC it should have some flare it.
Click to expand...

Personally, my current favorite case is the Antec Performance One P182. But cases are like cars, and everyone has their favorite.

SouLXIV said:
So here's what the updated one looks like
Click to expand...

Looks good, my only suggestions are

1. Change to something other than the ABIT AB9 Pro P965 motherboard. You can choose any motherboard that you want, even if it's not listed in the web site configurator. Just e-mail or talk with Misha or Joe, and ask for the Abit IP35 Pro, or at least another motherboard with the P35 chipset. The important thing is to get the P35 chipset. If you want a less expensive motherboard than the Abit IP35 Pro, the Microstar P35 Neo2-FR, or any of the Gigabyte P35 motherboards are perfectly fine. The GA-P35-DS3L will be the least expensive.

2. Saitek also has the Eclipse II keyboard. You might want to check and see if AVA has that one. Of course, keyboards are another personal preference, so if you like the Eclipse, that's fine :) Personally I like the Saitek Cyborg, but other people hate the look.

Everything else looks fine to me :) Good case, RAM, CPU, memory, video card, HDD, etc.
 
The reason why I didn't choose the gaming PC ddr2 system option was because the choices are even more overwelming with like cooling and stuff :D And in the end it came out to be like $200 more expenssive, which I don't know why.

But ya thanks for your help!

EDIT: Nvm I figured out why it's more expenssive, I chose the E8500 instead of the E8400. Why is there so much of a difference between these 2 processors in price? Cause I remember VM replaced the E8400 with the E8500 without increasing the price in their config list.
 
One thing to remember is,if you don't see a particular component in one of the configurators,you can put in a request by e-mail to make it available,the Abit IP35 wasn't originally in the gaming system options until I made a request.They are very willing to work with you to get the system you want.
 
SouLXIV said:
And in the end it came out to be like $200 more expenssive, which I don't know why. ... EDIT: Nvm I figured out why it's more expenssive, I chose the E8500 instead of the E8400.
Click to expand...

Well, that's part of the price difference. It looks like the price difference at AVA between the E8400 and E8500 is about $123, which pretty much matches the price difference I see at retailers selling the single chip ($100 to $130 depending on where you buy).

I have noticed that when pricing out the exact same system using the Gaming PC Core 2 Duo DDR2 configurator vs. the Custom Computer Core 2 DDR2 Mainstream configurator, that the Gaming PC configurator is a little more expensive, due to some extras they add in (like the System Binder and the System Recovery secure HDD partition).

SouLXIV said:
But ya thanks for your help!
Click to expand...

You're welcome :) I look forward to seeing what system configuration you decide on.
 
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