My New Build

D

danmec

n00b
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Feb 13, 2008
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I'm starting on a new build having endured the same PC for a good 4 years now which as you can imagine has become unusable when it comes to games. I'm upgrading from a P4 3.2 with an X800 pro so I'm sure I'll see a pretty good increase in speed! Although I built this old PC myself, it was simply made up of purchased components (stock coolers, case with low powered PSU and one fan) so this is my first build where I'll be doing a bit more customisation.

The main purpose of this PC is for gaming (mainly sports, FPS, RTS etc) but not exclusively, though considering the components below it should be fit for most other purposes anyway.

Another key thing is my old PC is unbelievably loud and hot so I want this one to be quiet and cool (on air).

I haven't listed any links to the components below, primarily because I live in the UK so the likes of Newegg, Buy and Tiger Direct etc. are not an option. However I can get the main components through my work for slightly cheaper than retail so have listed the prices.

I only need to buy the main components as I already have a keyboard, mouse, speakers and a 17" 1280x1024 monitor. I also have a DVD writer and Windows XP 32bit. I plan on keeping this PC for as long as possible (3 years?) whilst still being able to play the latest games at a reasonable quality.

My budget is around the £500 mark which at the current exchange rate is around $1000 US, however due to the UK being overpriced greatly, the components I've selected are probably comparable to that of a $750-800 build.

So here's the components I've picked out...

CPU - Q6600 (£120 / $240)
- I plan to overclock this to around the 3GHz mark
- Plenty of power for the future when quad core can be fully utilised

CPU Cooler - Arctic Cooling Freezer Pro 7 (£15 / $30)
- Read good things about this and the general consensus is that it is cheap, quiet and keeps the CPU nice and cool

Case / PSU - Antec Sonata Plus 550 (£85 / $170)
- Case same as Antec Solo so keeps the noise down and has reasonable airflow
- PSU is plenty powerful, modular, quiet and I've read good reviews about it

GPU - 8800GTS 512Mb (£130 / $260)
- Overly powerful for my monitor but I may upgrade it in the near future, and will be able to play the latest games for a while. Also quite quiet even with the stock fan

Motherboard - Gigabyte-GA-P35-DS3L (£50 / $100)
- Should allow my CPU to hit 3GHz right? Else I'd get the DS3R instead. I don't think I'll need more than 4 SATA ports as shouldn't ever have more than 2 hard drives and 2 optical drives - unless there's anything else the SATA could be useful for that I haven't thought of?

Memory - 4GB DDR II 800MHz from Corsair or Kingston (£45 / $90)
- This should be plenty fast enough for the Q6600 from what I read

Hard drive - WD 6400AAKS 640Gb, 16MB, 7200RPM - (£45 / $90)
- Quiet and spacious

Total = £490 / $980

So that's what I have so far - is there anything else I need or anything that should change? Perhaps I need an additional fan (or fans) although I've read the one which comes with the Sonata is quite good.

All comments and advice is welcome

Cheers
Dan
 
If you have the money I suggest the Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme (TRUE 120). It might cost more than that cpu cooler but It will outperform it with a low speed Yate Loon 120mm fan. The DS3R is if you need raid otherwise get the DS3L its around $50 less. Corsairs are great ram for overclocking.

The Sonata has quiet Tricool fans with switches on them, but for me these are still too loud and I do perfer the low speed 600rpm Yate Loons from petra.

make sure you have some Arctic Silver 5 as well.
 
Does whatever store you're buying from have the GA-EP35-DS3L? It's the newer and energy efficient version of the DS3L. Should be cheaper too.

Your build looks good to me. However I recommend ditching the AC7 Pro. It's not good enough for OCing with a quad-core CPU. Any of these HSF would be better than the AC7 Pro for overclocking with a quad-core:
Xigmatek HDT-S963 92mm Rifle HSF - $25
Scythe SCNJ-1100P Ninja HSF - $36
Xigmatek HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle HSF - $37
Tuniq Tower 120 HSF - $50
ZEROtherm Nirvana NV120 120mm HSF - $50
Thermalright Ultima-90 HSF - $46 & Panaflo FBA09A12M 92mm Fan - $3
Noctua NH-U12P HSF - $60
Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme HSF - $57 & Scythe S-Flex SFF21E 120MM Case Fan - $14

Other than the HSF, looks like a solid build to me.
 
Alright thanks for the replies guys.

So ditch the AC7 then. I'd chosen the AC7 over the Ultra 120 Extreme before as it was £15 compared to £50. However I hadn't checked the Ultra for a while and I see I can get it for £35 ($70) shipped which is pretty decent so I'll go for that instead.

I see you're both suggesting different fans for that - the Yate Loon 120mm (D12SL-12) retails around £5 ($10) here and the Scythe S-Flex SFF21E is around £12 ($24) - any reason to go for the more expensive one?

Is the Arctic Silver 5 always preferable to whatever comes with the Ultra?

With regards to the case fans, I think I'll perhaps wait and see how it sounds once everything is up and running and if it's too noisy then I'll get some Yate Loons.

I don't need RAID so sounds like the DS3L will be fine. The EP35 doesn't appear to be available anywhere in the UK, or at least I can't find it - Google shopping returns no results and that almost always finds something. Perhaps the product number wasn't changed here, I guess I'll see once I get the board.

Thanks for the advice
Dan
 
The more expensive fan S-Flex fan has a theoritically longer life and is quieter than the Yate Loon. However I would not recommend getting the S-flex for case fans. Too expensive for that use IMO. But for a HSF, get the S-Flex if you can.

As for the AS5, from what I've read so far, the stock TIM that comes with the Ultra works pretty well.
 
Go for the P180 (or P180B or P182) if you can -- more room to work with and better airflow/heat management. Replace the tri-cools with Yate Loons, slow or medium speed. Use the S-Flex on the HSF. If you can get any of the other HSFs Danny listed for cheaper, go for those instead (Xigmatek or ZEROtherm).
 
I'd also suggest picking a different cooler than the AC Freezer 7 Pro. It tends to spin up and down and twitch occasionally depending on temperatures (I think) so that could lead to annoying noises. I can't hear mine in my P182 though, so it was a good, cheap choice for me for minimal overclocks.

The 8800GTS 512MB can get noisy if the fan speed gets above 60% or so, but it's much better than single slot coolers. There aren't many quiet alternatives at this performance level other than water cooling though. If you keep your ambient temperatures low, the card might not ever have to ramp the fan up.

The other parts sound great, but make sure you start saving up so you can dump that old 17" for something that can put that 8800GTS 512 to good use. 17's make good secondary monitors.
 
Ok I've done a bit more investigation and I think I'm going to go for the Xigmatek HDT-S1283 for the following reasons:
- It's much cheaper at only £22 here, compared to the Ultra which is £35 + £12 for the fan
- It sounds like it's a great performer even when the fan is on low speeds (based on review at http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=2233)

I assume these big coolers fit into the Sonata ok? And are there any expert suggestions on the thermal paste that comes with the Xigmatek - is the stuff that comes with it acceptable or is the AS5 required?

I did look at the P180/182 series before but I have to rule it out because 1) It's too big for the space I have available and 2) It costs more than the Sonata and I'd need to splash out an extra £50 or so on a PSU.

Think I'll play it by ear (literally ;) ) and wait and see about the case fans, then go for the Yate Loons if necessary

Cheers
Dan
 
The Xigmatek HDT-S1283 shouldn't have any problem fitting inside the Sonata case. The TIM that comes with the S1283 is just as good as AS5 from what I've seen so far.
 
Also, see if you can find a Thermalright LGA775 Universal Bolt-Thru kit to use on the Xigmatek.
 
I can get the Bolt-Thru kit from the same site as the Xigmatek for £4.

Is it a necessity, or more of a 'just to be extra sure instead of push pins' ?

Again thanks for the answers guys.

Cheers
Dan
 
danmec said:
I can get the Bolt-Thru kit from the same site as the Xigmatek for £4.

Is it a necessity, or more of a 'just to be extra sure instead of push pins' ?

Again thanks for the answers guys.

Cheers
Dan
Click to expand...

Extra sure. The push pin system is a bit weak sometimes.
 
Ok sounds like its worth getting then.

Thanks for the help guys

Cheers
Dan
 
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