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Buyer's Guide II: Extreme, High-End, Mid-Range, Budget, and Entry Level Systems
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24-08-2005, 11:35 AM
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#1 |
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Arch-Supremacy Member
Join Date: Apr 2001
Posts: 20,029
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Buyer's Guide II: Extreme, High-End, Mid-Range, Budget, and Entry Level Systems
Updated on 1 September 2011
Please check Price Guides for latest prices A PC Buyer’s Guide that is everything to everyone is simply not possible. This is a simple guide to putting together a PC with a local flavour. Be sure to read PC Buyer’s Guide from other media. If you have any questions about why I chose a particular component you may ask in this thread or you could start a new thread. Bit-tech PC Hardware Buyer's Guide September 2011 http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/buy...ptember-2011/1 Sandy Bridge Buyer’s Guide http://www.anandtech.com/show/4456/s...e-buyers-guide Guru3D PC Buyers Guide Summer 2011 http://www.guru3d.com/article/pcbuye...e-summer-2011/ Techreport's Summer 2011 system guide http://techreport.com/articles.x/21164] Tomshardware System Builder Marathon, June 2011 http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...g-pc,2961.html TechSpot's PC Buying Guide http://www.techspot.com/guides/buying/ Best Graphics Cards For the Money: August 2011 http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...orce,2997.html VGA Charts Spring 2011 http://www.guru3d.com/article/vga-charts-spring-2011/ Complete Gaming System Extreme Systems Intel Core i7-990X Extreme Edition & GIGABYTE G1.Assassin ~ $2088 Intel Core i7-990X Extreme Edition & EVGA X58 3X SLI CLASSIFIED ~ $2057 Corsair DOMINATOR GT CMT6GX3M3A2000C8 DDR3-2000MHz 6GB (3X2GB) Kit~ $408 MSI HD 6990 CrossFireX or MSI GTX 590 Quad SLI or EVGA GTX 580 SLI ~ $1338 OCZ Vertex 3 Max IOPS 240GB or Crucial M4 256GB or Intel SSD 510 250GB Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 32MB for Storage ~ $66 HP dvd1270i SATA 24X DVD Rewriter ~ $37 Corsair Professional Series Gold AX1200 1200W PSU ~ $469 Cooler Master ATCS 840 ~ $400 Total ~ $6XXX Intel Core i7 2600K & GIGABYTE Z68X-UD7-B3 ~ $935 G.SKILL RipjawsX DDR3-1600MHz 8GB (2X4GB) ~ $136 MSI HD 6990 CrossFireX or MSI GTX 590 Quad SLI or EVGA GTX 580 SLI ~ $1338 OCZ Vertex 3 Max IOPS 240GB or Crucial M4 256GB or Intel SSD 510 250GB Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 32MB for Storage ~ $66 HP dvd1270i SATA 24X DVD Rewriter ~ $37 Seasonic X-850 850W PSU ~ $280 or Corsair HX850 850W PSU ~ $275 Cooler Master ATCS 840 ~ $400 Total ~ $4XXX High-End Systems Intel Core i7 2600K & GIGABYTE Z68X-UD7-B3 ~ $935 G.SKILL RipjawsX DDR3-1600MHz 8GB (2X4GB) ~ $136 MSI HD 6990 or MSI GTX 590 OCZ Vertex 3 Max IOPS 120GB or Crucial M4 128GB or Intel SSD 510 120GB Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 32MB for Storage ~ $66 HP dvd1270i SATA 24X DVD Rewriter ~ $37 Seasonic X-850 850W PSU ~ $280 or Corsair HX850 850W PSU ~ $275 Cooler Master ATCS 840 ~ $400 Total ~ $3XXX Intel Core i7 2600K & GIGABYTE Z68X-UD7-B3 ~ $935 G.SKILL RipjawsX DDR3-1600MHz 8GB (2X4GB) ~ $136 PowerColor HD 6950 2GB CrossFireX ~ $758 or Palit GTX 560 Ti 2GB SLI ~ $780 OCZ Vertex 3 Max IOPS 120GB or Crucial M4 128GB or Intel SSD 510 120GB Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 32MB for Storage ~ $66 HP dvd1270i SATA 24X DVD Rewriter ~ $37 Seasonic X-850 850W PSU ~ $280 or Corsair HX850 850W PSU ~ $275 Cooler Master ATCS 840 ~ $400 Total ~ $3XXX Intel Core i7 2600K & GIGABYTE Z68X-UD3P-B3 ~ $721 or AMD Phenom II X6 1100T & ASUS Crosshair V Formula ~ $603 G.SKILL RipjawsX DDR3-1600MHz 8GB (2X4GB) ~ $136 EVGA GTX 580 ~ $669 or Sapphire HD 6970 ~ $460 OCZ Vertex 3 Max IOPS 120GB or Crucial M4 128GB or Intel SSD 510 120GB Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 32MB for Storage ~ $66 HP dvd1270i SATA 24X DVD Rewriter ~ $37 FSP Aurum AU-600W ~ $135 or FSP Aurum AU-500W ~ $115 Cooler Master CM690 ~ $129 Total ~ $2XXX Mid-Range Systems Intel Core i5 2500K & Gigabyte Z68A-D3-B3 ~ $492 or AMD Phenom II X4 965 & ASUS M5A99X EVO ~ $419 Kingston DDR3-1333MHz 8GB (2X4GB) ~ $56 PowerColor HD 6950 2GB ~ $379 or EVGA GTX 570 Superclocked ~ $449 or Palit GTX 560 Ti 2GB ~ $389 OCZ Vertex 3 120GB or Corsair Force GT 120GB or Crucial M4 120GB or Intel SSD 510 120GB Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 32MB ~ $66 Samsung SATA 22X DVD Rewriter ~ $24 FSP Aurum AU-500W ~ $115 Ikonik EN2 ~ $55 Total ~ $16XX Intel Core i5 2500 & GIGABYTE Z68A-D3-B3 ~ $479 or Intel Core i5 2500 & BIOSTAR TP67B+ ~ $380 or AMD Phenom II X4 955 & Biostar A880G+ ~ $265 Kingston DDR3-1333MHz 8GB (2X4GB) ~ $56 PowerColor HD 6950 2GB ~ $379 or Palit GTX 560 Ti 1GB ~ $300 OCZ Vertex 3 60GB or Crucial M4 64GB or Crucial C300 64GB Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 32MB ~ $66 Samsung SATA 22X DVD Rewriter ~ $24 FSP Aurum AU-500W ~ $115 Ikonik EN2 ~ $55 Total ~ $14XX Intel Core i5 2400 & BIOSTAR TP67B+ ~ $360 or Intel Core i5 2300 & BIOSTAR TH67+ ~ $350 or AMD Phenom II X4 955 & Biostar A880G+ ~ $265 Kingston DDR3-1333MHz 8GB (2X4GB) ~ $56 Sapphire HD 6950 1GB ~ $319 or Palit GTX 560 Ti 1GB ~ $300 Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 32MB ~ $66 Samsung SATA 22X DVD Rewriter ~ $24 FSP Aurum AU-500W ~ $115 Ikonik EN2 ~ $55 Total ~ $9XX Intel Core i5 2300 & BIOSTAR H61MH ~ $314 or AMD Phenom II X4 955 & Biostar A880G+ ~ $265 Kingston DDR3-1333MHz 8GB (2X4GB) ~ $56 EVGA GTX 560 1GB ~ $255 or Sapphire HD 6870 ~ $246 or Sapphire HD 5850 Xtreme ~ $218 Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB ~ $52 Samsung SATA 22X DVD Rewriter ~ $24 FSP Aurum AU-500W ~ $115 Ikonik EN2 ~ $55 Total ~ $8XX AMD Athlon II X4 640 & Biostar A880G+ ~ $200 Kingston DDR3-1333MHz 4GB ~ $28 PowerColor HD5770 1GB ~ $149 or Palit 450 512MB ~ $143 Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB ~ $52 Samsung SATA 22X DVD Rewriter ~ $24 FSP Aurum AU-400W ~ $95 Ikonik EN2 ~ $55 Total ~ $6XX AMD Athlon II X3 445 & Biostar A880G+ ~ $165 or Intel Pentium E6500 & ASUS P5KPL-AM ~ $186 Kingston DDR3-1333MHz 4GB ~ $28 PowerColor HD5770 1GB ~ $149 or Palit 450 512MB ~ $143 Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB ~ $52 Samsung SATA 22X DVD Rewriter ~ $24 Antec Neo Eco 450W PSU ~ $69 Ikonik EN2 ~ $55 Total ~ $5XX Budget Systems AMD Athlon II X2 250 & Biostar A880G+ ~ $143 or Intel Pentium E6500 & ASUS P5KPL-AM ~ $186 Kingston DDR3-1333MHz 4GB ~ $28 PowerColor HD5750 1GB ~ $135 or Sapphire HD 5670 512MB ~ $120 Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB ~ $52 Samsung SATA 22X DVD Rewriter ~ $24 Antec Neo Eco 450W PSU ~ $69 Ikonik EN2 ~ $55 Total ~ $5XX Entry Level Systems AMD Athlon II X2 250 & Biostar A880G+ ~ $143 Kingston DDR3-1333MHz 4GB ~ $28 Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB ~ $52 Samsung SATA 22X DVD Rewriter ~ $24 Antec Neo Eco 450W PSU ~ $69 Casing ~ $40 Total ~ $3XX Last edited by adrianlee; 01-09-2011 at 04:08 PM.. |
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24-08-2005, 11:36 AM
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#3 |
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Arch-Supremacy Member
Join Date: Apr 2001
Posts: 20,029
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Processor
Intel Core versus AMD's K8 Architecture http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets...oc.aspx?i=2748 Buying memory for a Socket AM2 system http://techreport.com/reviews/2006q2...2/index.x?pg=2 AMD Socket AM2 Dual Core CPU Reviews http://forums.hardwarezone.com/showthread.php?t=1303415 Sempron AM2 3000+ vs S754 3000+ http://www.hkepc.com/hwdb/am2sempron-1.htm AMD 3500+ Mid-Range CPU - AM2 vs S939 Comparison http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=getarticle&articID=454 Intel's Conroe E6300 & E6400 vs AMD's FX-60 http://forums.hardwarezone.com/showthread.php?t=1310538 Intel's Conroe spanks AMD FX-62's botty - for real!!! http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=5692 Intel Conroe Performance Previews http://forums.hardwarezone.com/showthread.php?t=1314520 AMD Roadmaps have socket 939 end of life (EOL) in Q4'06 http://forums.hardwarezone.com/showthread.php?t=1259801 Athlon 64: Background to the new E6 Stepping http://216.239.39.104/translate_c?hl...26as_qdr%3Dall Revision Guide for AMD Athlon 64 and AMD Opteron Processors http://www.amd.com/us-en/assets/cont...docs/25759.pdf How to read the ordering part number (OPN) of AMD Athlon 64  ADA3500DKA4CG – 90nm Venice E4 Stepping ADA=AMD Athlon™ 64 Desktop 3500=Model Number D=939pin K=Vcore 1.35V A=Max Tcase=Variable 4=L2 512KB CG=Rev E4 ADA3500DAA4BW – 90nm Venice E6 Stepping ADA=AMD Athlon™ 64 Desktop 3500=Model Number D=939pin A=Vcore Variable A=Max Tcase=Variable 4=L2 512KB BW=Rev E6 ADA3500DAA4BP – 90nm Venice E3 Stepping ADA=AMD Athlon™ 64 Desktop 3500=Model Number D=939pin A=Vcore Variable A=Max Tcase=Variable 4=L2 512KB BP=Rev E3 ADA3500DIK4BI - 90nm Winchester ADA=AMD Athlon™ 64 Desktop 3500=Model Number D=939pin I=Vcore 1.4V K=Max Tcase=65C 4=L2 512KB BI=Rev D0 ADA3500DEP4AW - 130nm NewCastle ADA=AMD Athlon™ 64 Desktop 3500=Model Number D=939pin E=Vcore 1.5V P= Max Tcase=70C 4=L2 512KB AW=Rev CG ADA3700DKA5CF – 90nm San Diego E6 Stepping ADA=AMD Athlon™ 64 Desktop 3700=Model Number D=939pin KA=Vcore 1.35V A=Max Tcase=Variable 5=L2 1MB CF=Rev E6 ADA3700DAA5BN – 90nm San Diego E4 Stepping ADA=AMD Athlon™ 64 Desktop 3700=Model Number D=939pin A=Vcore 1.35 to 1.4V Variable A=Max Tcase=Variable 5=L2 1MB BN=Rev E4 SDA3300AIO2BX – 90nm Palermo SDA=AMD Sempron™ Desktop 3300=Model Number A=754pin I= Vcore 1.4V O=Max Tcase=69C 2=L2 128KB BX=Rev E6 SDA3100AIO3BO – 90nm Palermo SDA=AMD Sempron™ Desktop 3100=Model Number A=754pin I= Vcore 1.4V O=Max Tcase=69C 3=L2 256KB BO=Rev E3 SDA3100AIO3BA – 90nm Paris SDA=AMD Sempron™ Desktop 3100=Model Number A=754pin I= Vcore 1.4V O=Max Tcase=69C 3=L2 256KB BA=Rev DO AMD and Intel CPUs Guide http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets...oc.aspx?i=2418 Thermal & Electrical Specfication of AMD Athlon™ 64 Processors http://www.amd.com/us-en/assets/cont...ec_Rev_ENG.pdf AMD Product Date Codes http://www.amd.com/us-en/assets/cont...koptions_1.pdf Athlon 64 Revision E: Unofficial DDR500 Support http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets...oc.aspx?i=2469 Q3'05 AMD Roadmap; DDR2 and New Sockets for AMD http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets...oc.aspx?i=2476 AMD Desktop Processor Quick Reference Guide http://www.amdcompare.com/us-en/desktop/default.aspx F.E.A.R. CPU Shootout: AMD vs. Intel http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/...u_performance/ AMD Opteron Processor Quick Reference Guide http://www.amdcompare.com/us-en/opteron/default.aspx AMD Athlon™ 64 Processor Power and Thermal Data Sheet http://www.amd.com/us-en/assets/cont...docs/30430.pdf AMD Athlon X2 3800+ and Athlon 3800+ Review http://www.penstarsys.com/reviews/cp...939/index.html Motherboards ATI RD580 Reviews http://forums.hardwarezone.com/showthread.php?t=1234713 DFI Lanparty UT RDX200 CF-DR http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2572 Sapphire PURE Innovation - ATI's Chipset for the AMD Enthusiast http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2481 DFI LANParty UT nForce4 SLI-DR Expert http://www.dfi.com.tw/press/press_he...90.jsp&SITE=US ASUS A8N32 SLI Deluxe - nForce 4 SLI X16 Unleashed http://hothardware.com/viewarticle.cfm?articleid=739 MSI K8N Diamond Plus nForce4 SLI X16 http://www.msi.com.tw/html/newsrelea...K8NDiamond.htm nForce4 SLI Roundup: Painful and Rewarding http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2358 nForce4 Ultra Roundup: Charting the Mainstream http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2465 Memory 1GB DIMMs: FAST 2GB DDR Kits from Corsair, Gigaram, and OCZ http://www.anandtech.com/memory/showdoc.aspx?i=2560 Corsair TwinX2048-4400 PRO PC4400 DDR Memory http://www.pcstats.com/artvnl.cfm?articleID=1862 OCZ PC4000 2x1024MB EB Platinum Edition http://www.3dxtreme.net/index.php?id=oczebpc4000p1 Crucial PC4000 Ballistix Tracer 2GB http://www.benscustomcases.com/index...1742&Itemid=40 Corsair TWINX2048-3500LLPRO 2GB Kit http://www.driverheaven.net/reviews/...00LL/index.htm Corsair TWINX2048-4000PT 2GB kit http://www.corsair.com/corsair/news.html 2x1GB/1x1GB OC Database http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...ad.php?t=67762 Patriot Memory PDC1G5600ELK PC5600 DDR Memory http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1846 OCZ PC4800 Dual Channel Platinum Limited Edition Memory http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.c...id=1810&page=1 Corsair TWINX1024-4400C25 http://www.anandtech.com/memory/showdoc.aspx?i=2312 G.SKILL F1-4400DSU2-1GBFC PC4400 http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/GSkill/4400-1GBFC OCZ Gold 3500 Gamer eXtreme 1GB Kit http://www.bleedinedge.com/reviews/m...xtreme_01.html Kingston HyperX, Crucial Ballistix and Corsair XMS Expert 1GB Kit http://www.sudhian.com/showdocs.cfm?aid=707 Value 512MB DDR400 CAS 2.5 Memory Shootout: Corsair Vs OCZ http://www.amdzone.com/modules.php?o...tid=181&page=1 Value RAM Roundup: Computing On a Budget http://www.anandtech.com/memory/showdoc.aspx?i=2392 Last edited by adrianlee; 24-06-2006 at 06:26 PM.. |
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24-08-2005, 11:37 AM
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#5 |
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Arch-Supremacy Member
Join Date: Apr 2001
Posts: 20,029
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Power Supply
Which Power supply? http://www.overclockers.com.au/wiki/Power_Supply_Unit ATX Power Supply Units Roundup. Part IV http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/oth.../atx-psu4.html ATX Power Supply Units Roundup: 9 Powerful Models Tested http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/oth...u-roundup.html PC Power and Cooling Turbo-Cool 1KW http://www.pcpowercooling.com/produc...php?show=TC1KW Enermax Galaxy 1,000 Watt PSU http://translate.google.com/translat...language_tools OCZ 1,100 Watts Power Supply Prototype http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/186 PC Power and Cooling Turbo-Cool 850 ETX (SSI) http://www.pcpowercooling.com/about/whatnew_850_ETX.htm PC Power and Cooling Turbo-Cool 510 Express / SLI http://www.pcpowercooling.com/produc...hp?show=T51SLI OCZ PowerStream Power Supply http://www.ocztechnology.com/product...m_power_supply OCZ PowerStream Power Supply, 600W/520W, SLI Ready http://www.ocztechnology.com/product...ply-sli_ready_ Casing Last edited by adrianlee; 05-05-2006 at 09:49 AM.. |
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24-08-2005, 11:37 AM
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#6 |
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Arch-Supremacy Member
Join Date: Apr 2001
Posts: 20,029
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Heatsink-Fan
AMD Athlon 64/FX and Intel Pentium 4 Zalman CNPS 9500 LED Zalman CNPS7700Cu Thermalright XP-90 Thermalright XP-90C Thermalright XP-120 Thermalright Copper Heatsink SLK-948U Coolermaster Hyper6 Universal 4 in 1 solution, Intel LGA775. P4 and AMD K7, K8 Thermaltake Tower 112 Thermaltake Silent Tower AMD Opteron and Athlon 64 / Athlon 64 FX / Sempron Socket 754 Thermaltake Silent Boost K8 AMD Athlon XP up to 3400+ & AMD Sempron up to 2800+ Thermaltake Silent Boost K7 A1889-01 Ball Bearing Thermaltake Silent Boost K7 A1889 Hydro Wave Bearing AMD Athlon 64, AMD Athlon XP and Intel Pentium 4 ZALMAN CNPS7000A Intel Pentium 4 Heatsink Roundup Intel Pentium 4 Heatsink Roundup The LCD Buyers Guide http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...ad.php?t=71226 Monitor Technology Guide http://www.necdisplay.com/support/cs...m#introduction Last edited by adrianlee; 20-10-2005 at 03:34 PM.. |
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24-08-2005, 01:05 PM
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#7 |
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Supremacy Member
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 13,762
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Hope it's safe to reply now
 anyway why never consider the ASUS Extreme for the Extreme Systems? Though it's durability is questionable. |
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24-08-2005, 01:18 PM
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#8 |
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Member
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 340
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How about an extreme system option of an Asetek Lightspeed or some other kind of phase change cooling? Maybe you could include an overclockers extreme system.
PS: I've got the MSI K8N Diamond with TWINX1024-4400C25 (2GB, 4x512) and I can't get them to run above 250MHz/DDR500. Even at 4-4-4-8 timings. Also, the mainboard BIOS (which is the latest from MSI) doesn't seem to have an CPU:RAM ratio setting.  Well done by the way, I don't know how you do it.  |
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24-08-2005, 01:22 PM
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#9 |
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Arch-Supremacy Member
Join Date: Apr 2001
Posts: 20,029
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Hope it's safe to reply now  ASUS Extreme N7800GTX TOP/2DHTV. Give me price and I will put it up I am waiting to include this one  Last edited by adrianlee; 24-08-2005 at 01:34 PM.. |
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24-08-2005, 01:38 PM
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#10 |
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Arch-Supremacy Member
Join Date: Apr 2001
Posts: 20,029
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How about an extreme system option of an Asetek Lightspeed or some other kind of phase change cooling? Maybe you could include an overclockers extreme system. This one good PS: I've got the MSI K8N Diamond with TWINX1024-4400C25 (2GB, 4x512) and I can't get them to run above 250MHz/DDR500. Even at 4-4-4-8 timings. Also, the mainboard BIOS (which is the latest from MSI) doesn't seem to have an CPU:RAM ratio setting. Last edited by adrianlee; 24-08-2005 at 01:47 PM.. |
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24-08-2005, 01:47 PM
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#11 |
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High Supremacy Member
Join Date: Oct 2001
Posts: 31,347
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y no X2?
__________________
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24-08-2005, 02:01 PM
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#12 |
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Arch-Supremacy Member
Join Date: Apr 2001
Posts: 20,029
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y no X2? |
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24-08-2005, 02:06 PM
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#13 |
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Member
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 340
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I would get 2 X 1GB |
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24-08-2005, 09:55 PM
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#14 |
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 995
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Nice buyer's guide... Care to include X2, Pentium D or Pentium Extreme Edition (PEE)?
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24-08-2005, 10:18 PM
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#15 |
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 995
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After reading again huh, i find tt i see less info leh...
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