final spec choice

[psalliss]

below is my final spec after a lot deliberation. the only thing i am yet to decide on is the graphics card. its going to be either a 9800pro or 9800xt. but either way im going to wait a couple of weeks or a month for the inevitable drop in price of both the cards.
am going to order part of the order now as ive decided on the coolermaster 220 case but after reading all the stuff about supply levels of the coolermaster stock, i want to make sure i get one. my question is what other stuff should i order now that isnt likely to drop in price over the next few weeks till i order a card.

choice 1 amd

Shopping Cart (Prices in British Pounds) DESCRIPTION QuANTITY PRICE COST
AMD Athlon "Barton" XP3000+ 333FSB (Socket A) CPU - OEM (CP-043-AM) 1
£146.50 £146.50
Leadtek nForce2 Ultra400 (K7NCR18D Pro II) Limited Edition (MB-001-LT) 1
£84.95 £84.95
OCZ 1GB (2x512MB) PC3500 Dual Channel Series EL-DDR (ME-006-OC) 1
£235.00 £235.00
Pioneer DVR-106 4x DVD±RW - OEM (CD-011-PO) 1
£95.90 £95.90
Pioneer DVD-120 Tray Load - OEM (CD-009-PO) 1
£21.50 £21.50
Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 120GB 7200RPM ATA100 8MB Cache - OEM (HD-005-SE) 1
£69.00 £69.00
Vantec EZ Swap MRK-102FD Removable HDD Rack - Silver (PD-003-VT) 2
£28.90 £57.80
Coolermaster Aero 7+ (Socket A) (HS-006-CM) 1
£24.90 £24.90
Coolermaster ATC 220C-VX1 (No PSU) (CA-033-CM) 1
£84.90 £84.90
Globalwin Super Silent 22dBA 520W ATX Power Supply (CA-002-GW) 1
£105.00 £105.00
Creative Audigy 2 - OEM (SC-015-CL) 1
£49.95 £49.95
Microsoft Windows XP Professional - OEM (OS-002-MS) 1
£95.00 £95.00
Sapphire ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB TV-Out/DVI - Retail (GX-017-SP)
£239.90 £239.90
Subtotal £1,070.40
VAT £187.35
Total £1,557.75

choice 2 intel
Shopping Cart (Prices in British Pounds) DESCRIPTION QUANTITY PRICE COST REMOVE
Pioneer DVR-106 4x DVD±RW - OEM (CD-011-PO)
£95.90 £95.90
Pioneer DVD-120 Tray Load - OEM (CD-009-PO)
£21.50 £21.50
Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 120GB 7200RPM ATA100 8MB Cache - OEM (HD-005-SE)
£69.00 £69.00
Vantec EZ Swap MRK-102FD Removable HDD Rack - Silver (PD-003-VT)
£28.90 £57.80
Coolermaster ATC 220C-VX1 (No PSU) (CA-033-CM)
£84.90 £84.90
Globalwin Super Silent 22dBA 520W ATX Power Supply (CA-002-GW)
£105.00 £105.00
Creative Audigy 2 - OEM (SC-015-CL)
£49.95 £49.95
Microsoft Windows XP Professional - OEM (OS-002-MS)
£95.00 £95.00
Abit IC7-Max 3 "Canterwood" (Socket 478) Motherboard (MB-039-AB)
£141.25 £141.25
Intel Pentium 4 'Northwood' 2.6CGHz (800FSB) with HT Technology - Retail (CP-025-IN)
£147.95 £147.95
Adata 512MB DDR PC4000 CAS 3 (MY-006-AD)
£107.50 £215.00
Sapphire ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB TV-Out/DVI - Retail (GX-017-SP)
£239.90 £239.90
Subtotal £1,323.15
VAT £231.57
Total £1,554.72

cheers

[Platty]

IMO the P4 system would be the better option. Should overclock very well. I had a AMD 2800+ system and switched to a P4 2.8. Gained 1000 3d marks at stock speed.

I would go with the 9800pro at the moment as I dont think that the extra cost of the XT is worth it IMO.

[Spritzup]

I agree about the 9800 pro, but I would go with in the Intel system the 2.4c (clocks amazingly high) or in the AMD system Barton 2500+, also becuase it will clock as high as the top end chip. Just my 2cents.

[Korky]

the intel will walk all over the amd when both are overclocked to the limit, but i think hitting high 3d mark scores with amd is much more satisfying

[Sweeney!]

choogie