Final Setup & Thoughts

T

thekiefs

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 16, 2005
Messages
480
Well, here it is. Sorry for the long ass post. I spent about a month lurking these forums, looking up answers, reviews, etc. You'd be amazed how well the search button works. Anyway, I was hoping for some final thoughts on this setup, which I will be building with this guide. I am just starting out in the hardware sector, and am a bit of a nub. Here are my componenets



Lian Li PC-60APlus.....................................................................$124.99
Intel Pentium D 820.....................................................................$284.99
Asus P5WD2 Premium LGA 775 Intel 955X...................................$225.00
Corsair XMS2 1GB (2 x 512MB) DDR2 675 PC2 5400 TWIN2X5400UL $272.95
Nvidia Geforce 7800 GFX..............................................................
HDA X-Mystique 7.1 Gold.............................................................$99.95
Maxtor DiamondMax 10 250GB 7,200 RPM 6B250S0.....................$139.00
Western Digital Raptor 74GB 10,000 RPM WD740GD....................$166.00
Samsung Black 16X DVD 48X CD TS-H352A/BEBP........................$24.50
BenQ DW1625.............................................................................*$69.99
Antec NeoPower 480W.................................................................*$116.00
Thermaltake Thunderblade 120mm Blue LED..................................1x 10.99
80mm Panaflo L1A Fan.................................................................2x 11.98
Dvico FusionHDTV5......................................................................$149.00
Microsoft Windows XP Home.........................................................$91.95

Components:
Dell 2405FPW 24".......................................................................$899.25
save up for audio
Zippy EL-722...............................................................................(inquiry)
Logitech MX518...........................................................................$37.00
Sennheiser PC150.......................................................................$55.00
OKGEAR Cable Sleeving Kit - UV Blue..............................$11.95

*1 Retail or OEM? Whats the difference, besides the price?
*2 Will that be enough for everything, including watercooling?

For case cooling I was thinking of putting the 2 80mm fans in and the 1 120 mm fan in, and then using my water cooling radiator that goes in the 120mm front slot for exaust as well as the blowhole (120mm) on top.

Heres what I was thinking for water cooling:

Aqua Computer Aquastream Modified Eheim 1406 12V....................$114.95
Black Ice Pro 120mm ...................................................................$64.95
Aqua Computer Aquatube .............................................................$64.95
Aqua Computer Aquabay ..............................................................$34.95
Danger Den Copper TDX Block for Intel 775 Processors....................$52.95
Tygon R-3603 Lab Grade 1/2" Tubing..............................................$2.65
(GPU cooling to be done when it comes out for GTX)

Total Price as Shown (without gpu and gpu water block):
3,124.05

Total Froogle Price(without gpu and gpu water block):
2,951
 
If you can squeeze out another $60, even by going down to the 250 or 200GB Maxtor drive, you should get the 73GB Raptor. It is MUCH faster than the 36GB. Actually, if you're looking at 16MB Maxtor drives, you shouldn't consider the 36GB Raptor at all. The 16MB Maxtor drives are faster, bigger, quieter, and cheaper per gig than WD360GD. However, the 73GB Raptor will leave any other ATA drive in the dust - only super expensive SCSI drives are faster than it. As an added bonus, the 73GB Raptor runs cooler and quieter than the 36GB.

Also, check out pricing at ZipZoomFly, Monarch, and other reputable dealers. Newegg is a great dealer, but you may be blowing a lot of cash needlessly if you automatically presume that Newegg is the cheapest on everything. Also, ZZF is a much better place to pick up hard drives, as they do a better job of packing them for shipping than Newegg does. I will gladly pay a premium (of at least a few dollars :p) to get the extra peace of mind in buying a HD from ZZF.

I will not comment on the other parts of the build, as other members know much more than me. I do know however that you don't need to worry about buying extra drive cables if you get an Asus "Premium" board - they come with everything but the kitchen sink.
 
The only difference between those two drives is the warranty. The DM10 has a 3 year warranty, while the MLIII is warranted for 5 years. They have the same geometry and features, but the ML drive is marketed to enterprise customers that beat hard drives to death, while the DM10 is a consumer drive. Most people here on the [H] go with the cheaper one, as they usually sell or retire their drives before three years is up anyway.
 
DougLite said:
If you can squeeze out another $60, even by going down to the 250 or 200GB Maxtor drive, you should get the 73GB Raptor. It is MUCH faster than the 36GB. Actually, if you're looking at 16MB Maxtor drives, you shouldn't consider the 36GB Raptor at all. The 16MB Maxtor drives are faster, bigger, quieter, and cheaper per gig than WD360GD. However, the 73GB Raptor will leave any other ATA drive in the dust - only super expensive SCSI drives are faster than it. As an added bonus, the 73GB Raptor runs cooler and quieter than the 36GB.

Also, check out pricing at ZipZoomFly, Monarch, and other reputable dealers. Newegg is a great dealer, but you may be blowing a lot of cash needlessly if you automatically presume that Newegg is the cheapest on everything. Also, ZZF is a much better place to pick up hard drives, as they do a better job of packing them for shipping than Newegg does. I will gladly pay a premium (of at least a few dollars :p) to get the extra peace of mind in buying a HD from ZZF.

I will not comment on the other parts of the build, as other members know much more than me. I do know however that you don't need to worry about buying extra drive cables if you get an Asus "Premium" board - they come with everything but the kitchen sink.
Click to expand...

I agree on the 16mb Maxtor from www.ZipZoomFly.com . I would firmly recommend to ANYONE to get EVERY hard drive from ZZF rather than newegg. However, I feel that with large capacity 16mb Maxtor drives you don't need raptors. I'd just get one or two of the Maxtors.

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also, who did you observe getting an Intel and TT fans??? j/k ;) kinda...

If you are set on an intel I won't try to dissuade you. Of course, I have no idea what you are gonna be using this monster for.

If you are gaming, definitely switch to an AMD X2 4400+ and an ASUS A8N-SLI mobo. Oh, and 2 sticks of this Crucial Value 1GB ram. You won't regret it.

Get more Panaflos rather than Tt. You won't regret it.

That's awesome that you are getting a 2405FPW. See this site for a good deal:
http://www.bensbargains.net/ktalk/1121627367,8700,.shtml

Get that 7800!

----

About the watercooling:
Aqua Computer Aquastream Modified Eheim 1406 12V....................$114.95
Aqua Computer Aquatube .............................................................$64.95
Aqua Computer Aquabay ..............................................................$34.95

This stuff is for small diameter loops.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Black Ice Pro 120mm ...................................................................$64.95
Danger Den Copper TDX Block for Intel 775 Processors....................$52.95
Tygon R-3603 Lab Grade 1/2" Tubing..............................................$2.65

This stuff DEFINITELY isn't , especially the 1/2" ID Tygon. I suggest 3/8" ID Tygon. Also, head over to www.DangerDenStore.com and look at their stuff. If you could mod your case or something to fit a dual 120mm rad, that would give you much better cooling. If you have the money, 2 single 120mm rads might also do the trick.

Anyway, we need to replace that low-flow, small ID Aquacomputer stuff. Get the DD deal where they sell their TDX block and DD12V D5 pump for $108 (check the special delas section). Also, just get a plain drive bay (5.25 or 3.5, single or dual, whatever you want) reservoir.

That should take care of everything. Be sure to get fittings for 3/8" ID tubing (3/8" OD barbs and such).
 
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