My Computer Upgrades

[FourScience]

I'm doing a minor upgrade because my friend wants to buy some of my current stuff off me.

Stuff staying the same:
AMD Athlon 64 3700+ (Socket 939, San Diego core)
OCZ 2GB PC3200 (2x1GB kit, 2-3-2-5 timings)
Sound Blaster Audigy2 PCI card
WD Raptor 74GB
NEC ND-3550A DVD Burner
Lian Li V1000A-Plus case

Stuff I'm selling to my friend:
Asus A8V (Socket 939, 2x1.5Gb/s SATA, AGP)
ATI AIW X800 XT AGP card
SeaSonic S12-430 (430W A1 version, no PCI Express connectors, 2xSATA)

Stuff I want:
$270 eVGA Geforce 7900GT (256-P2-N584-AR)
$107 DFI nF4 SLI Infinity (Socket 939, nForce4, 4x3.0GB/s SATA, SLI)
$136 SeaSonic S12-600 (600W, 2xPCI Express, 6xSATA)

I welcome comments/recommendations! If anybody knows of better prices, let me know. These prices are off NewEgg today.

More info:
I really like the SeaSonic power supplies. Very quiet because it runs cool, very cool because it's efficient. Not just bloated wattage either, the amps are placed on the rails that count. I don't plan on doing SLI anytime soon, but I think I should leave the door open for the future. I am moving to the S12-600 so I have PCI Express connectors and four more SATA connectors. I expect to go from 1 SATA + 2 PATA drives to 4 SATA eventually.

I use my rig for BitTorrent, Firefox browsing, anime, and BF2. I also use it to run Apache and to write software. My next upgrade is expected 2 years from now, maybe to a quad-core CPU after they come down in price. I've been unhappy with the stability on my Asus board. I am also looking at EPoX boards but I would like to get a DFI for once. It's not a LanParty but the Infinity is their low-end model and it has all the bells and whistles I need. I am happy with my CPU/memory so overclocking is only optional.

Also replacing my aging 2x160GB Maxtor ATA/133 drives with a Seagate Barracuda 7200.10. The new 7200.10 drive uses the perpendicular recording technology, carries a 5-yr warranty, and for 320GB only costs $100. Also runs at 3Gb/s and has 16MB buffer. Fastest 7200RPM drive to date.

[Blitzkrieg]

Good choice on the DFI board.  My current system is built on a DFI LanParty nF4 SLI-capable board.  I very much like the flexibility of the BIOS settings, and, if you've got a window and a lil blacklight, very cool looking  

Don't kid urself on the hard drives tho.  There is no drive out there, SATA or otherwise, that can saturate the bandwidth of so much as an ATA100 connection (until u start getting into the high-RPM SCSI and maybe some of the RAMDrives, haven't looked at them too much yet).  The mechanical limitations of the drive simply can't do it.  The 7200.10 drives are not bad drives, don't get me wrong, and the 16Meg cache is going to be nice (my move up from 4Meg to 8Meg was quite nice) but the SATA3.0Gb/s crap is just marketing hoopla.  It's what the connection is theoretically capable of, not what is actually transferring across it.

eVGA board looks good....  That's a hell of a factory overclock!!    Enjoy!!

Other than that, you've got a pretty decent setup going there, with nice choices for your upgrades.  Good Luck!!

Blitz

[FourScience]

Reporting back:

eVGA 7900GT (N584 model) ROCKS! All settings in BF2 and CS:Source on high, it cooks it just fine at 75+ fps. It isn't that noisy either, but I run a quiet PC so I will put a Zalman on it eventually. Stock HSF for the 584 model keeps things relatively cool, but it's no Zalman.

Antec TruePower II 550W. It's warmer than the SeaSonics, but the SeaSonic 600W has had a lot of issues lately. $85, can't go wrong with Antec PSU.

Foxconn Winfast NF4SK8AA mobo. This is SLI rated like the DFI Infinity, but at $73 it's a great bargain. Surprisingly good performer for a budget brand, it has solid reviews and I am happy with it. It's orange hue goes really well with my copper Zalmans too.

Also, I have had my 3700+ San Diego core for a while, but I FINALLY setup Cool'n'Quiet. This makes a big difference on temperatures when idling. Next week when AMD and Intel enter a price war I will pick up a dual-core 4200+ for what I expect to be $200 or less.

I'm monitoring temps with: AMD Cool'n'Quiet Dashboard, and DTemp, which is excellent at showing your hard drive temps at a glance.

Final Price List:
$240 eVGA Geforce 7900GT (256-P2-N584-AR, $270 - $30 MIR)
$73 Foxconn Winfast NF4SK8AA-8KRS (Socket 939, nForce4, 4x3.0GB/s SATA, SLI)
$85 Antec TruePowerII-550 (550W, 2xPCI Express, 4xSATA)
Saved: $115 off expected price