Phil's PC (July 2006)

Will probably order from Nintek or PC Maniacs.

See my post on Atomic forums.

Use StaticIce to find best prices on components.

Socket 939 vs Socket AM2. AM2 is newer, runs cooler, required DDR2 memory, but no real performance advantage. Apparently AM2 will be compatible with the upcoming AM3, and AM3 will accept either DDR2 or DDR3 memory.

Could also wait for Intel Conroe which is supposed to be coming out soon

7900GT or X1900XT

• Silverstone SG01B
  • Hardware-Review.net
  • 3D Game Man review

• Coolermaster Stacker 830
  • 3D Game Man review

• Antec NSK6500

• Antec P180
  • review 1

• Thermaltake Matrix
  • Tweaknews Review

• Lian-Li PC-767
  • at AusPcMarket $300.30

Here are some possible system designs.

PC Configurations:

• Nintek: Socket AM2 mini system, AMD 3800+ dual core, 7800GT, 2GB DDR2, Silverstone SG01B case, $2349
• Nintek: Socket 939 system, AMD 3800+ dual core, 7800GT, 2GB DDR2, Antec P180 case, $2305
• Nintek: Socket AM2 system, AMD 3800+ dual core, 7800GT, 2GB DDR2, Antec P180 case, $2569
• Nintek: Socket 939 system #2, AMD 3800+ dual core, 7800GT, 2GB DDR2, Antec P180 case, $2290.05
• SecretNet: Socket AM2 system, AMD 3800+ dual core, 2GB DDR2, X1900XT 512MB, Antec P180 case, $2361 + $80 delivery
• SecretNet: Socket 939 System (part of which is this system). $2481.50 + $77.50 delivery.
• SecretNet: Socket 939 System #2 $2423.00 + $87.50 delivery

From Nintek:

• Silverstone SG01B Black Aluminium MicroATX HTPC Case $179.00
• Zalman ZM460B-APS 460W Noiseless SATA ATX12V 24Pin Power Supply $135.00
• AMD Athlon64 X2 AM2 Dual Core 3800+ Processor - 2.0GHz, 2x512KB L2 Cache, ADA3800CUBOX $479.00
• Zalman CNPS7700-AlCu Aluminium & Copper CPU Cooler - for Socket 478/754/775/939/940 $55.00 (will this fit AM2?)
• MUSHKIN PC4000 XP Samsung UCCC 2GB Kit (2x1024Mb) DDR500, 2048Mb, 3-4-3-8, XP4000, eXtreme Performance $329.00 (needs DDR2)
• Asus M2NPV-VM microATX Motherboard - Socket AM2, NVIDIA nForce 430 Chipset, DDR2 800, Integrated NVIDIA GeForce 6150 Graphics, HDTV, PCI-Express x16, 4xSATA 3GB/s, RAID, 6ch HD Audio, GbLAN $149.00
• XFX 520MHz 7900GT 256MB Extreme Edition NVIDIA GeForce PCI-Express Graphics Card $475
• Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 160GB 7200rpm PATA Hard Drive - 8.5ms, 8MB Cache ST3160812A $99.00
• Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB 7200rpm SATA II Hard Drive - 16mb Cache, NCQ ST3320620AS $165.00
• Pioneer DVR-111D Internal Dual Layer DVD Writer - Black $65.00
• Nintek - Full System Build - Hardware only $99.00
• Nintek Direct 12 Months Onsite Warranty $0.05

TOTAL: $2229.05

From PC Maniacs:

• Coolermaster CM Stacker 830 $325.00
• Zalman Noiseless 460w PSU$130.00
• Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe AM2 $349.00
• AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ AM2 Retail Box Dual Core*** $475.00
• Zalman CNPS7700AlCu $49.00
• Corsair TWIN2X 6400 (800Mhz) DDR2 2048Mb/2Gb (2x1024Mb) 5-5-5-12 $346.00
• XFX nVidia 7900GT 470mhz 256Mb TV/2DVI PCI-E $475.00
• Seagate 7200.9 160Gb 8Mb IDE $110.00
• Seagate 7200.9 250Gb 16Mb SATA II $139.00
• Pioneer 111 Dual Layer 16x DVD+-RW OEM NO SOFTWARE Black $59.00

Sub-Total: $2,457.00

As ordered from AusPcMarket on 7/7/2006 at 12:30am:

• Coolermaster Stacker 830 silver tower case, 9x 5.25 bays, slideout M/B tray, front IO ports, no PSU $330.00
• Zalman 460W quiet ATX P4 power supply, 20/24pin ATX, 120mm fan, 2x PCI-E video power, 8-pin $143.00
• MSI K9N Platinum AMD SktAM2 nF570 board, PCI-E x16, 3x PCI, DDR2, SATA/RAID, Firewire, 2x Gigabit, audio w/SPDIF $205.70
• AMD Athlon64 X2 AM2 3800+ (2.0Ghz) 64-Bit Dual-Core CPU, 2x 512K SocketAM2 DDR2-capable CPU w/AMD fan-heatsink $506.00
• OCZ 2048Mb Gold Enhanced Latency PC-6400, 2x 1024mb 240-pin DDR2 sticks, 5-5-5-10, not for DDR boards $372.90
• Powercolor Radeon X1900XT 512mb PCI-E x16 video card w/2x DVI & video in/out $632.50
• 120Gb Western Digital JB 7200 RPM ATA/100 IDE Hard Drive, 8mb cache $129.80
• 320Gb Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 7200RPM SATA-II hard disk, 16mb cache $203.50
• Pioneer DVR-111D Black OEM IDE DVD-RW, 8x DVD+/-DL, 16x DVD+/-R, 6x DVD-RW, 8x DVD+RW, 40x CD-R w/software $88.00
• Arctic Cooling Freezer64 Pro Heatpipe cooler, quiet fan, w/thermal paste, for AMD Socket 754/939/940 $48.40

TOTAL: $2659.80

They didn't have the Zalman PSU or the OCZ memory in stock and the nearest equivalents that I was happy with were substantially more expensive, so I cancelled the order.

On Fri 7 July 2006 ordered this system from SecretNet.

• Antec “Performance One” P180B Medi-tower ATX Case w/ *NO PSU* - Black $222.00
• Antec 500 Watt “Neo High Efficiency” ATX 2.0 Power Supply $159.00
• MSI K9N-Platinum: nForce 570, 1000MHz FSB, 4xDDR2/800, 1xATA/133, 6xSATA/300, 16xPCI-E, 2xGigaLAN, 7.1 Sound, Firewire, ATX $194.00
• AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ CPU + Fan - SAM2, 2.0GHz, 2x512kb, 1000MHz $466.00
• Corsair 2Gb XMS2-6400 800MHz 5-5-5-12 DDR2 Memory Kit (2 x 1Gb) $350.00
• Powercolor Radeon X1900XT 512Mb 16xPCI-E Video Card - 2xDVI, VIVO, HDTV Out $590.00
• Zalman VF900-Cu Copper VGA Heatsink + Heatpipe + Fan $54.50
• 120Gb Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 7200rpm Hard Drive - P/ATA, 8Mb - 5Y $94.00
• 320Gb Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 7200rpm Hard Drive - S/ATA-II, 16Mb - 5Y $162.00
• Pioneer DVR-111D 8/6/8 DVD+RW/-RW/±DL Internal IDE - Drive Only - Black $63.50

Sub-Total: $2355.00 Delivery: $85.50 Total: $2440.50