Your Opinions On This PC??

[Tiger69]

Hello, im going to be getting a new computer soon. I have researched for ages and i have came up with the following system. Please be aware that i wont be building this system as i woulnt know where to start . I will be using it for some serious gaming and i wont be doing much overclocking - well not for a gd while until i learn how to. So here's the spec:

OCZ Modstream 520W OR AntecNeoPower 480W
Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe
AMD 64 FX-55
Thermalright XP-90 (NOT SURE ON A FAN FOR IT - See Below)
Corsair Twin X1024 - 3200 C2 Pro
XFX nVidia GeForce 6800GT Ultra
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS
Plextor Black PX-716A 16X
Sony 16X/48X
Sony 3½" Floppy
Western Digital Raptor 74GB 10,000 RPM SATA
56K Modem
Microsoft Windows XP
Some Arctic Silver 5 for between CPU and Cooler​

So what do you think ?

I live in the UK and im finding it very difficult to locate a 92mm fan for my XP-90... Most of the fans all say "Case Fans" and im not sure if they can be used on a CPU. I would prefer a Fan with control, like a control panel for a PCI slot or a 3.5" slot on the front of my case.

If you could maybe suggest some fans. Maybe it'd be better to get one without control. Im not sure and im hoping someone will help.

Also im not sure between the two PSU's, any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks 2 every1 who replies

 

[el_lance_o]

if you got the money then that's a swwwweeeeet build

 

[Epicenter]

OCZ Modstream 520W OR AntecNeoPower 480W

Go for the Antec True430 or Enermax Noisetaker 420w supply. It will be quieter and have more actual supplied power where it counts-- +12v -- than the ModStream, and the NeoPowers are noisier. Unless you REALLY need modular cabling, and if you aren't building it yourself odds are you don't care how perfect the wiring organization is.

Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe

Opt for the Gigabyte GA-K8N Ultra SLI or the DFI NF4 Ultra-D (if you ever do intend to do some serious overclocking.) There have been a LOT of reports of failing onboard components, random death and instability from the A8N-SLI, and I've seen it firsthand.

AMD 64 FX-55

The FX-55 is beefy but not much in terms of bang-for-your-buck. Opt for a 3200+, 3500+, both are easily overclockable too (easy to attain a 500 MHz overclock on stock cooling! )if you go that route.

Thermalright XP-90 (NOT SURE ON A FAN FOR IT - See Below)

This is unnecessary unless you do heavy overclocking. If you just want quiet, go wih a Zalman CNPS7000-AlCu which will be damn near silent AND allow overclocking headroom.

Corsair Twin X1024 - 3200 C2 Pro

This RAM is rather gimmicky, you don't get a noticable performance boost despite spending a LOT more for it. If you have money to burn, go with Corsair Value Select (2 sticks of 1024 MB, DDR400/PC3200) and still save money.

XFX nVidia GeForce 6800GT Ultra

There isn't such a thing as a 6800 GT Ultra, just the 6800 GT and 6800 Ultra. Of the two, the 6800 GT is the better value by far and does not use so much power, and cost far more than to be worth the performance gain.

Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS

If you aren't an audio fanatic or doing some serious recording, nForce 4 audio should serve you VERY well. I know firsthand from everyday use, NF4 audio is amazingly good and you still get full surround-sound support.

Plextor Black PX-716A 16X

A fine drive, but I recommend you opt for NEC's 3250A, which is a dual-layer DVD burner that is AMAZINGLY reliable and quiet, yet costs a mere $50 on average.

Sony 16X/48X, Sony 3½" Floppy

Sony drives have a time honored tradition of cataclysmic failure. Opt for an NEC model for both of these drives.

Western Digital Raptor 74GB 10,000 RPM SATA

Seeing as it sounds like you want quiet (with the XP-90 and all) this is not a good choice for you. The Raptors emit an irritating high pitched whine, have a lot of rotational noise and clicking and head chatter noise, run hot, and really are not at all much faster for the money. You are better off with Seagate 7200 RPM disks, which are fast, dead-silent and reliable, and MUCH less expensive. For the cost of one Raptor-74GB disk, you can get about 400 GB of silent, cool-running Seagate storage.

Most of the fans all say "Case Fans" and im not sure if they can be used on a CPU. I would prefer a Fan with control, like a control panel for a PCI slot or a 3.5" slot on the front of my case.

Fan control is universal, they work by changing voltage supplied to the fan, you do not need anything special. Just add a 5.25" bay controller device like Vantec's very nice ones, or use a $2 or so Zalman fanmate to set the speed of the fan nice and low (with an XP-90, it does NOT need to be very fast at all, you can thank the sink's giant surface area for that.) But for less complication just opt for the Zalman CNPS7000-AlCu like I recommended above.

For the record, a case fan will work on the XP-90.

If you could maybe suggest some fans. Maybe it'd be better to get one without control. Im not sure and im hoping someone will help.

Antec, Panaflo and iCute fans are all nice and quiet, but opt for a case with 120mm fans ONLY like Antec's Lifestyle/Sonata seriers, or Antec's Super Lanboy. You can also use Zalman fanmates to take their speed down a bit and find a nice middleground between performance and quiet.

Thanks 2 every1 who replies

You're welcome! I'm glad to help.

 

[Tiger69]

Hey Epicenter. Thanks very much for your long and thorough reply. Even though u basically took every component i chose and put it down lol . But i appreciate it and i have taken some of your comments into consideration.

Go for the Antec True430 or Enermax Noisetaker 420w supply. It will be quieter and have more actual supplied power where it counts-- +12v -- than the ModStream, and the NeoPowers are noisier. Unless you REALLY need modular cabling, and if you aren't building it yourself odds are you don't care how perfect the wiring organization is.

I know i wont be building it myself, but that doesnt mean im gonna settle for cables all over the place. I want good airflow and even if the builder doesnt organize them, then i will. I really like the way modular cablin looks in a tower - its just so much less clutter. So id prefer a PSU with modular cabling, preferably above 480W as i intend to add another 6800 in the near future. So if anybody can recommend a few of the best, they'd be very much welcomed

Opt for the Gigabyte GA-K8N Ultra SLI or the DFI NF4 Ultra-D (if you ever do intend to do some serious overclocking.) There have been a LOT of reports of failing onboard components, random death and instability from the A8N-SLI, and I've seen it firsthand.

Ive had a re-think, and im gonna go for the Gigabyte mobo. I had another search about and alot of peeps were recommending it over the Asus. However whats the difference between the GA-K8N ultra SLI and the GA-K8NXP-SLI, as i have opened the comparison sheets for both and they were exactly the same. However the GA-K8NXP-SLI has a wireless adaptor and in the UK seems more readily available as ive struggled to find shops doin the K8N ultra SLI. So would you recommend the GA-K8NXP-SLI also as being as good as the GA-K8N ultra SLI???

The FX-55 is beefy but not much in terms of bang-for-your-buck. Opt for a 3200+, 3500+, both are easily overclockable too (easy to attain a 500 MHz overclock on stock cooling! )if you go that route.

Yes i have re-considered this, and i have decided to go for maybe the 3500+ or 3800+. Coz im saving about £300 with either and thats a 300GB hdd and double the RAM for me

This is unnecessary unless you do heavy overclocking. If you just want quiet, go wih a Zalman CNPS7000-AlCu which will be damn near silent AND allow overclocking headroom.

Im an egit.. i have looked at the Zalmans before but as i was settled on the XP-90 i didnt even realise that it has everthing i wanted... a fan and control. But i wanna ask something. You recommended the CNPS7000AlCu, but the CNPS7700AlCu is bigger and (i think) newer and according to the comp mobo's it says the Gigabyte is ok.

So would i be better going for the CNPS7700AlCU (money negligable as its only like £10 of a difference). Or whats your thoughts on the CNPS7700Cu, which would u recommend, the AlCu or the Cu?

This RAM is rather gimmicky, you don't get a noticable performance boost despite spending a LOT more for it. If you have money to burn, go with Corsair Value Select (2 sticks of 1024 MB, DDR400/PC3200) and still save money.

Im thinkin about changing this, seeing as ive changed the Mobo. So if anybody could recommend the best makes for both the K8N ultra SLI and the K8NXP SLI. Thanks.

There isn't such a thing as a 6800 GT Ultra, just the 6800 GT and 6800 Ultra. Of the two, the 6800 GT is the better value by far and does not use so much power, and cost far more than to be worth the performance gain.

Sorry thats my Mistake.. but it was the 6800 Ultra i was referring to. Nah i think ill just keep this choice as the ultra, as when iv more money i was get a second one on SLI. However if the 512MB RAM graphics cards come out before these parts are purchased then im getting me one of those

If you aren't an audio fanatic or doing some serious recording, nForce 4 audio should serve you VERY well. I know firsthand from everyday use, NF4 audio is amazingly good and you still get full surround-sound support.

i like my sound

As far as the drives are concerned. The NEC was my second choice, and your right ill save about £50. Also ill change the DVD-ROM and Floppy to NEC if you think they're muhc better makes. I just assumed sony was a good make. But like this isnt major part of the system.

As for the HDD's, quiet isnt really what im after. I dont mind, however i dont want sum@ that sounds like an aircraft takin off everytime something big is saved. Ill think bout it.

And as for the rest of the things you said, they are all sorted if i go for this Zalman. But please, which one CNPS7700 or the CNPS7000??

Thanks again mate, you were extremely helpful

 

[Epicenter]

Grab the Gigabyte 'NXP-SLI, it'll be fine. You can also pick up Corsair Value Select rather than Kingston ValueRAM if you are so inclined.

The CNPS7000-AlCu is a better choice for an A64, as they don't get that hot and this cooler is much lighter-- and therefore the machine using it will be safer to transport. I'd go for it over the XP-90 but it's entirely your choice. I'd only recommend an XP-90 if you were trying to overclock a CPU Emitting twice the heat of the A64, like a Pentium 4.

As for video-- get a 6800 GT, not an ultra. GTs provide almost all the performance (about 85% or more!) of an Ultra, yet cost hundreds less, and draw FAR less power. They are also very, very overclockable. I've seen them go from 300 MHz Core and 1000 MHz VRAM, to 440 MHz Core, 1300 MHz VRAM stably on some models, like Leadtek's A400 TDH.

 

[spine]

Go for the Antec True430 or Enermax Noisetaker 420w supply. It will be quieter and have more actual supplied power where it counts-- +12v -- than the ModStream, and the NeoPowers are noisier.

Why would a lower power Antec PSU be quieter than another Antec capable of more power?

Since the Antec PSU's have temperature regulated fans in them, I would have thought the higher power PSU would be more efficient and thus quieter at giving out the same power as the lower power psu.

Unless you actually know different from personal experience?

 

[Epicenter]

I may be wrong, but I don't think I am. I know Antec's True series to be quieter than their Neopower series.

 

[MrMitch]

i'm assuming your going SLi at some point. An antec 430 will not get the job done for an SLI rig. Your looking to need abotu 32A on the 12v rail, the mod stream and neo power are marginal. Stick with the A8N or get a DFI SLI board, hit anandtech for a SLI board roundup, the gigabyte is a rough overclocker. I would go with a 6800gt over an ultra, better bang for buck, but don't get the XFX, the heatsink on the xfx 6800gt is too big for 2 of them to work in SLI on anything other than the asus a8n. Skip the plextor and save some money, other than that, its a pretty good setup. So the only thing i would really change on your origonal build is to go with another brand other than xfx, maybe look at a higher-end psu too (certainly not lower).

EDIT: I WAS WRONG ON THE VIDEO CARD! I HAD THE XFX AND THE LEADTEK MIXED UP! THE LEADTEK IS THE ONE THAT HAS THE OVERSIZED HEATSINK, NOT THE XFX!!!!

 

[Epicenter]

i'm assuming your going SLi at some point. An antec 430 will not get the job done for an SLI rig. Your looking to need abotu 32A on the 12v rail, the mod stream and neo power are marginal.

Actually, you're overestimating the power draw of the system. Check it out.

http://www.shsc.info/powersupplyguide

Here is his machine spec'ed out as he seems to have decided, in +12V amps with a little extra horsepower tacked on for good measure and future expandability:

CPU (3800+): 5A
6800 GT: 2.9A
6800 GT #2 : 2.9A
2 7200 RPM HDDs: 4A
2 Optical Drives: 2A
Motherboard/RAM: 1A
Cooling: 1A or less

... a total of 18.8A. The True430 supplies 26A! As you can see, it'd be more than sufficient and provide the desirable headroom. Even a 350W supply can run most single-video card systems very well. BUT ...
With his insistance on modular cabling, the NeoPower 480 with modular cables would be a great choice-- it supplies 33A on twin 12V rails, and is a very high quality supply.

 

[MrMitch]

your right, a little research shows i was on crack when i wrote that. Minimium requirements for SLI are 25A's on stock speeds and "normal system loads". OCZ factory rep on dfi street says you should have 33A's (which happens to be the powerstream 520) for high end overclocking type stuff. I would go neopower over the OCZ, the ocz powerstreams seem to be top notch, but it seems like the skip out on quality a little bit on the modstreams.

 

[Epicenter]

I would go neopower over the OCZ, the ocz powerstreams seem to be top notch, but it seems like the skip out on quality a little bit on the modstreams.

People love to hang on the wattages nVIdia gives out, like "480w minimum with a 6800 Ultra", I believe it was. These are of course, just nVidia and ATi covering their asses-- they have to expect most users have trashy case-included PSUs where the scam-artist engineers build shoddy equipment and focus all the power onto 5.0v and 3.3v rails-- so that the real important one, 12.0v, is deprived, but they can still say their average wattage is higher. A "600 Watt" power supply from some bullshit manufacturer may actually be churning out less raw 12v amperage than an Antec or Enermax 350W supply.

This is what OCZ seems to like to play on as well. Though their supplies put out loads of juice, I don't think it's logical that the members here tend to hang on it like it was Jesus' second coming in power supply form just because someone achieved a good overclock on a system using it; where the PSU is a rather inconsequential element anyway. The simple fact remains that Antec and Enermax remain the two best values in the market for users who demand high build quality in addition to ample power and pretty lights.

 

[Tiger69]

Hey guys thanks for all your help. I choose the Ultra because after checking some shops the price difference between it and the GT wasnt that much. But ive had a more thorough look and some the XFX 6800 GT was going for £289 whereas the 6800 Ultra was £389. So i take your point

As for the heatsink.. my tower wont be moving much, if at all as its large and heavy and a big pain in the ass to move an inch never mind anwhere substantial.

So are you'se are saying that i should get the Anted NeoPower because of its high 12v rail output?

Also im really confused about the mobo.. some people are saying the DFI, some the ASUS and some the Gigabyte. I need help....

I really aprreciate all your help, i wasnt expecting this much replies

 

[kirbyrj]

Motherboard: I'd stay away from the A8N-SLI and anything with Gigabyte on it . The DFI is nice and all, but if you're going with the FX-55, the MSI K8N Diamond/Platinum (not sure what's available over there). If you were OCing a Winchester, I'd say the DFI, however you have to do a lot of research to set the DFI up right. The MSI was a piece of cake for me and I get a decent OC out of my Winchester, but there are some voltage issues with Winchesters that aren't a problem with Sledgehammer/Newcastle core CPU's.

Oh, and don't listen to all that smacktalk about the OCZ Powerstream and how everyone who uses one is a Fanb0y. It is a much better PSU than the NeoPower, but it's not modular like the Modstream. Just make sure you get a native 24-pin PSU. I understand all the arguments Epicenter was making with total wattage but in terms of stable rails that don't fluctuate much and have the amps necessary to power what you need, the OCZ does a great job.

 

[Epicenter]

If you want to overclock a lot, get the DFI, hands down. I have no idea what Kirbyrj means about it being hard to set up, it isn't any more so than any other NF4 board. The PSU does NOT need to be 24-pin native; you can grab an adapter with no harm done, and most boards run great with just the 20 pins and the last 4 unfilled with no problems, as long as the PSU has a very strong 12v rail. Hell, some boards have the last 4 pins covered up with a sticker.

As for the board brands ... I don't know what Kirbyrj has against Gigabyte; I buy their boards all the time and they're great. They aren't supreme overclockers but they are very capable, reliable and feature rich boards. MSI boards, on the other hand, are pretty hit or miss. Some of their boards are great, and some are built shoddily and are unstable and failure prone. You don't see much of that with Gigabyte boards. ASUS boards aren't usually bad, but the A8N-SLI is plagued by various problems and a LOT of reports of integrated component failure, or total board failure with no obvious reason.

I'll reiterate. The NeoPower is a fantastic supply; the Powerstream and Modstream are overhyped, horribly expensive supplies that are NOT worth what you pay or them, just because some overclockers decided "YOU BUY POWERSTREAM, THREAD OVER" without any real substantiation. If you've ever used an Antec True-series supply, you know the rails are dead on and the power supplied is amazing-- more power than the PowerStream equivalent, much cheaper, and quieter, too. It sh ould be clear that the Antec True's are the better value here.

.. especially when Antec's True430 could run this machine fine with plenty of extra headroom! Get a True480 if you really want some headroom, and if you demand modular cabling get the NeoPower 480. Alternatively, there's the Enermax Noisetaker series, which are even beefier and just as reliable and quiet.

I have not yet been given ONE good reason why the OCZ is a better supply, when it costs more, delivers LESS Power than its Antec or Enermax equivalents, and is from a less-established, and less-experienced name in computer power solutions.

 

[Wally]

hey there matey, just a few words of advice - Antec haven't gotten themselves a reputation for being the best PSU manufacturers for nothing - the Neopower is prime, one of the few with native PCI-E support (though you could google the Enermax AX for less - also a very good PSU brand).

Also, the PCU fan, the thermalright is good, but the Akasa AK913 came out tops IN CustomPC's HSF comparison, and it cost less & has its own fan. Give that a try instead

EDIT: and yeah i agree - a winchester 3500+ would offer similar perfomance for far less - they can be had off Aria.co.uk for £175. Also, if you're planning on gaming, the Raptor HDD would still be worth it i reckon for all your games etc, as a primary partition, but with a second HDD, maybe 120GB/160 for music, movies, work files etc. I mean, if you really wanted it to be quiet, i'd assume you'd be looking at watercooling; as it is, i reckon you'd need no more than to whack an arctic cooling HSF on your 6800, and make sure your case has at least two 120mm fans

DOUBLE EDIT: and if you're having any probs sourcing stuff in the uk, or need advice, i recommend you visit www.dearwandy.com - if someone there can't tell you the cheapest place to find the obscurest item, it's not worth looking for ;D

 

[Stugots]

OCZ Modstream 520W OR AntecNeoPower 480W
...Both good powersupplies, id go with the OCZ just because its higher wattage.

Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe
...Expensive, but your probobly looking to upgrade to SLI in the future.

AMD 64 FX-55
...Expensive, is this worth the extra cash vs an athlon 64 4000+?

Thermalright XP-90
...Look into the Thermalright XP-120, or the Zalman 7700cu.

Corsair Twin X1024 - 3200 C2 Pro
...Good quality ram, make sure the latencies are low.

XFX nVidia GeForce 6800GT Ultra
...GT and Ultra are 2 different cards, about 100-150$ price difference. Which one are you talking about?

Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS
...No comment.

Plextor Black PX-716A 16X
...NEC's and LiteOn's are cheaper and just as good.

Sony 16X/48X
...I'd buy matching make burner/readers.

Sony 3½" Floppy
...Who needs floppies?

Western Digital Raptor 74GB 10,000 RPM SATA
...74GB for a system this powerfull seems awfull small, id get a bigger 7200rpm drive, 200+gb maybe.

56K Modem
...Who needs modems?

Microsoft Windows XP
...No comment

Arctic Silver 5
...While your at it, think about appling it to your GPU also.

 

[Wally]

oh, and also, if you're in the UK, go to www.overclockers.co.uk and go to This Week Only - they have a Gig of GeIL RAM (PC3200) for £70 - previously going £100+; it's a good saving over corsair, as unless you're overclocking, all you're paying for is the name, and GeIL is very good stuff any, as far as i've heard

 

[spine]

oh, and also, if you're in the UK, go to www.overclockers.co.uk and go to This Week Only - they have a Gig of GeIL RAM (PC3200) for £70 - previously going £100+; it's a good saving over corsair, as unless you're overclocking, all you're paying for is the name, and GeIL is very good stuff any, as far as i've heard

http://www.crucial.com/uk/store/listmodule.asp?module=DDR+PC3200&Attrib=Package&cat=RAM

Right now crucial's ddr 3200 at £34 just flatout CANNOT be beat. And this is crucial mem here, not generic shite. Crucial's ram tends to be highly overclockable, just not at ludricrously tight mem timings.

 

[Wally]

GeIL isn't generic, GeIl is also good overclocker's RAM - however if he wants to overclock, there's no point looking at PC3200 anyway, as to increase the FSB speeds he needs to adjust the RAM timings too, which you can't actually do with PC3200 on a CPU like that - he needs at least PC4000

 

[spine]

GeIL isn't generic, GeIl is also good overclocker's RAM - however if he wants to overclock, there's no point looking at PC3200 anyway, as to increase the FSB speeds he needs to adjust the RAM timings too, which you can't actually do with PC3200 on a CPU like that - he needs at least PC4000

Yeah I know Geil isn't generic, I didn't mean to imply that.

 

[Drucifer]

Just to further chime in on the Antec vs. OCZ PSU debate...


I am a Sonata owner, and the True380 PSU that comes with it is fantastic. Rails are solid and stable, and the damn thing is quiet. And by quiet, I mean QUIET. I'd use an Antec PSU over anything else out there. Reliable, solid, and built to last.

Just my $.02 worth.

 

[Epicenter]

OCZ Modstream 520W OR AntecNeoPower 480W
...Both good powersupplies, id go with the OCZ just because its higher wattage.
Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe
...Expensive, but your probobly looking to upgrade to SLI in the future.
AMD 64 FX-55
...Expensive, is this worth the extra cash vs an athlon 64 4000+?
Corsair Twin X1024 - 3200 C2 Pro
...Good quality ram, make sure the latencies are low.

Not a criticism, but maybe you should read the thread; we covered most of this. We established the 3500+ is a better bang for the OP's buck, low-latency RAM is NOT needed and will not benefit him, and the A8N-SLI has quite a track record for random failure-- most votes are chiming in for the DFI NF4 Ultra-D SLI. It is also the supreme overclocking board on the market.

As for the PSU ... I went over this. The Antec supply provides more raw power-- 12v Amps are the real deciding factor, wattage is IRRELEVANT (see: http://www.shsc.info/powersupplyguide) ... and it will cost less, and be quieter.

 

[Epicenter]

Also, if you're planning on gaming, the Raptor HDD would still be worth it i reckon for all your games etc, as a primary partition, but with a second HDD, maybe 120GB/160 for music, movies, work files etc. I mean, if you really wanted it to be quiet, i'd assume you'd be looking at watercooling; as it is, i reckon you'd need no more than to whack an arctic cooling HSF on your 6800, and make sure your case has at least two 120mm fans.

Raptors don't do much at all for game load time or performance-- for the money, they don't run much faster at all except in some sustained read processes and rapid seeking of large files (See: Video editing). They also run hot, and emit a lot of annoying platter whine and head chatter. For what he could get 1 Raptor for, he could get 3-4x as much storage at almost the same speed, with Silent, cool-running Seagate disk(s). Other than that, great advice.

GeIL isn't generic, GeIl is also good overclocker's RAM - however if he wants to overclock, there's no point looking at PC3200 anyway, as to increase the FSB speeds he needs to adjust the RAM timings too, which you can't actually do with PC3200 on a CPU like that - he needs at least PC4000

This is COMPLETELY UNTRUE. RAM timings and Clockrate are entirely different. Athlon 64s have no FSB, just a Clock Generator frequency. You can lock down the RAM divisor to raise CPU clock without raising RAM clock past PC3200/DDR400 speeds. And RAM timings have nothing to do with raising or lowering RAM clock. He only needs DDR400/PC3200. Not 4000.

 

[Wally]

...low-latency RAM is NOT needed and will not benefit him,

fair enough, i may be wrong, but why bother to correct me? I am agreeing with you, after all

 

[Tiger69]

wow... alot has happened since i was out! Firstly i wanna clarify what i intend to do with regard to storage - Im want the 74GB raptor for the main system/game files and i have a 120GB already in which ill pop in temporiarly for all the d/l'd crap. Then when the sata II's come out ill get one of them with some substantial capacity (250 or 300GB) for all my other stuff

Also the components for this computer arnt being bought now. prolly within the next 3 months, so even though posting current offers is appreciated, they're no use to me. Im posting the spec and getting your thoughts so that i dont go ahead and build something with the first spec i come up with. I wanna thoroughly research different components and try to come up with the best combination that suits my requirements and within my price range (~£1800). So im thinking in advance here to prevent myself from buying components that ill regret buying. I dont update often (still on my P4 1.5GHz for the past 3 years) and even though im in dying need of a new system i want this new comp to be well built with quality components so it'll last me ages before new games start to lag again

As for this huge debate about the PSU's, i think after reading all the posts i have settled on a PSU made by antec, whether it be a NeoPower or TruePower Series. Thanks for all your input

Also, if you're planning on gaming, the Raptor HDD would still be worth it i reckon for all your games etc, as a primary partition, but with a second HDD, maybe 120GB/160 for music, movies, work files etc. I mean, if you really wanted it to be quiet, i'd assume you'd be looking at watercooling; as it is, i reckon you'd need no more than to whack an arctic cooling HSF on your 6800, and make sure your case has at least two 120mm fans.

Umm, i was hoping to use my empty thermaltake v1000 tower, as its still sitting there from last year when i wanted a new system - but the shop made an absolute mess of it. So its just gatherin dust......

And i wanna thank every1 who has replied. You all are providing me with a wealth of knowledge and i really appreciate it

 

[Wally]

ok, well, the GeIL Dual channell 1 GB has been reduced anyway - it's now selling on OcUK for £80 anyway

 

[Epicenter]

Are you really dead set on the Thermaltake V1000? The Athlon 64s don't need that much cooling compared to say, Athlon XPs or Pentium 4's. You can run a system with just 1 120mm fan and good ventilation and be golden, even for overlocking. All the 80mm fans in that case will produce a horrible whine from all the air turbulance, and be entirely unnecessary.

I'd really recommend switching up to a case with 120mm fans, 1 or 2 of them. If you do insist on using the V1000, I'd take all the fans to very low speeds, and your temperatures should still be fine without producing sound capable of waking the dead and then killing them again.

As for the Raptor .. the performance gains are so minimal, it's really not worth the heat, noise, and cost. You can use the money you'd spend on a 74GB raptor on 2 160 GB Seagate disks that are almost entirely as fast. That's 4.3 times as much space, for about the same cost. And the disks will be so silent you'd think they were dead (I own one of them), emit barely any heat and be extremely reliable. Do think it over.

fair enough, i may be wrong, but why bother to correct me? I am agreeing with you, after all

No offense meant to you at all; I'm just trying to clear up a common misconception around HardOCP, that RAM timings are essential to everything, when they aren't. It's certainly nothing against you, I just feel it's my job to point out inaccuracies.

 

[Tiger69]

well im not set on it m8. At the time - last year when i wanted a new compy built i wanted it. So i got it, but the company made a mess of the computer so i got a refund and as i bought the case, i got that back. So its been sittin in my room gatherin dust and at the time it cost me £100 and i just thought it'd be a terrible waste not to use it for the new system....

About the Hdd's. I want a small capacity for the main system/game files, so the 74GB suited perfectly and as its "suposidly faster" then i thought id get that, it just suits - but you are much more knowledgeable than i am - so ill re think about it. I know your dead keen on Seagate's but whats your thoughts on Maxtor?

Again Thanks

 

[Epicenter]

Maxtor disks have a time-honored tradition of premature or near-immediate failure right out of the box, horribly hot operation, and producing a terribly irritating and headache inducing whining noise. You get what you pay for, unfortunately. I highly recommend sticking with Seagate.

If you want a small managable disk for just the OS (to image it I assume?) just partition off about 10 gigs at the start of one of the 160 GB Seagates for the OS. Bear in mind a lot of program files have to go there too, and won't cooperate if they aren't. You can move My Documents to another partition though (phew).

 

[Tiger69]

Yeah okay, i have a maxtor 120GB and it does make alot of noise. No i just like havin a small hdd like an 80GB which holds all the necessary files for the compy like the OS, game files, program files. And then ill use a seperate, larger hdd for storing stuff so that the main hdd doesnt get bogged down with crap.

Ive done partitioning before with Partition Wizard 8. But i think for this system a smaller hdd, dedicated to required files only is what i want. then ill get a 300GB for all my downloaded and stuff in My Documents. Know what i mean ?

Thanks for all the help epicentre, you've been invaluable Ill be researchin more components, and maybe look into the DFI mobo more thoroughly as every1 seems to be recommendin it. Hopefully ill get a descent spec sometime before the summer holls

Oh aye.... so what about my thermaltake. What make would you recommend that i research or what models to check up on. Coz maybe i could sell this case onwards and get sum@ for it

Cheers,
Tiger69

 

[Epicenter]

Antec's Mini-towers like Sonata are very solid and very quiet, and you can usually run even a hashbrown-frying Prescott machine in one with just the 120mm fan, not even a second one. Thermaltake also makes some nice cases with 120mm fans. Antec's Lanboy is also very nice, portable and uses 120's as well.

 

[SS_Wehrwolf]

Memory = waste of money
follow the advice for the value select brand from corsair.
Sound card = waste of money
just get the zs gamer soundblaster audigy 2. Its a gaming rig yer building, not a recording studio.
Case = waste of money
You said yer building a gaming rig, nothing more, so eye candy means little.
Video Card = weak
Yer buying a gaming rig where you are spending all this money one asthetics, just skip them and the high end stuff and get a BFG 6800 Ultra OC.
56k modem = why?
Do you connect to BBS boards or just have dial up? Otherwise i really cant see why youd have a modem unless you only have diial up. If you have braodband, just skip that purchase all together.
Floppy drive = why?
No real need for a floppy anymore, i havent had one for like 5 years now, but im not sure how england is with regards to software availability and whether they still use 3.5" disks or not. Everything here is on CD now or just downloadable from the net.
I like the CPU and the ASUS board, asus is the best brand mobo IMO. The Raptor drives are nice, i have two of them myself, but they do make a bit of a racket. Get a hitachi 250 gig SATA drive instead. Some great prices out there, $130 on newegg, roughly.
What do you have for a monitor? no sense in buying all this tech if you have a 10 yr old monitor that cant go about 800x600 resolution. Everything else is fine.

 

[Epicenter]

What alternate universe do you come from where a 6800 GT is 'weak'? If you consider going from 6800GT to 6800 Ultra for about $200 more, and getting <15% performance boosts is a good deal, say hi to Bizarro Epicenter for me.

Also, any Audigy 2 is a ripoff. Onboard nForce 4 audio is amazing; I'd recommend it to anyone who isn't in need of extreme high end recording.

 

[erichui]

Maxtor disks have a time-honored tradition of premature or near-immediate failure right out of the box, horribly hot operation, and producing a terribly irritating and headache inducing whining noise. You get what you pay for, unfortunately. I highly recommend sticking with Seagate.

If you want a small managable disk for just the OS (to image it I assume?) just partition off about 10 gigs at the start of one of the 160 GB Seagates for the OS. Bear in mind a lot of program files have to go there too, and won't cooperate if they aren't. You can move My Documents to another partition though (phew).

well maybe it does, but i'v e had my maxtor for more than 2years and i have to say that my maxtor doesn't have any problems that you have mention above. i now have 2 maxtor in my comp , a 60gb D740X and a DiamondMax10 300gb with 16mb cache.

 

[erichui]

What alternate universe do you come from where a 6800 GT is 'weak'? If you consider going from 6800GT to 6800 Ultra for about $200 more, and getting <15% performance boosts is a good deal, say hi to Bizarro Epicenter for me.

Also, any Audigy 2 is a ripoff. Onboard nForce 4 audio is amazing; I'd recommend it to anyone who isn't in need of extreme high end recording.

i agree that onboard nforce4 audio seems pretty good, however maybe i didn't set it up properly, it seems that say when i load anything from the harddrive the audio just skips.........
ive got an ASUS A8n SLI Deluxe board.
which doesn't happen on my few years old soundblaster live... (ok i know that it does sound crap but well my speakers aren't that good so wouldn't matter too much)
so any advice??

 

[Wally]

About the Hdd's. I want a small capacity for the main system/game files, so the 74GB suited perfectly and as its "suposidly faster"

Thinking about it, it'd only offer faster load times (God knows the likes of Battlefield: Vietnam and HL2 need it) if you used a no-cd crack on it, so it loaded from the HDD at 7,200/10,000 rpm, otherwise it wouldn't make a difference, as it loads form the disc anyway.

 

[Tiger69]

Sound card = waste of money
just get the zs gamer soundblaster audigy 2. Its a gaming rig yer building, not a recording studio.

Untill now i had never heard of an Audigy ZS Gamer. Ill look into it.

Case = waste of money
You said yer building a gaming rig, nothing more, so eye candy means little.

Please read previous posts. I already have the Thermaltake v1000.... i aint buying it. Its my case from last year and i was hoping to use it for this system. Btw i want this thing lukin good as well as performin good.

56k modem = why?
Do you connect to BBS boards or just have dial up? Otherwise i really cant see why youd have a modem unless you only have diial up. If you have braodband, just skip that purchase all together.
Floppy drive = why?
No real need for a floppy anymore, i havent had one for like 5 years now, but im not sure how england is with regards to software availability and whether they still use 3.5" disks or not. Everything here is on CD now or just downloadable from the net.

As for the 56K modem, im not purchasing it anymore.

And our software doesnt come on floppies either, but i still like it as a means of transferring small files between computers.

What do you have for a monitor? no sense in buying all this tech if you have a 10 yr old monitor that cant go about 800x600 resolution.

Oh aye i left out the monitor.... im not buying one, i already have a 19" Relisys TE988 which can reach resolutions up to 1600x1200 i think. And i aint changin it

Cheers m8.

 

[kirbyrj]

If you want to overclock a lot, get the DFI, hands down. I have no idea what Kirbyrj means about it being hard to set up, it isn't any more so than any other NF4 board.

The DFI has more options available that are hidden in other manufacturer's BIOSes. More tweakability for the user. More research needed to set up the right combination of settings.

The PSU does NOT need to be 24-pin native; you can grab an adapter with no harm done, and most boards run great with just the 20 pins and the last 4 unfilled with no problems, as long as the PSU has a very strong 12v rail. Hell, some boards have the last 4 pins covered up with a sticker.

I'll tell you what. You go try that one in the PSU section of the forum and you'll be laughed out of it . I agree that the 12v rail needs to be strong and that some 350W PSU's are better than no-name 500W, but you're going to have stability issues without a 24-pin PSU. I've tried the adapter...didn't work for me. Much more stable with the native 24-pin PSU when running SLI.

As for the board brands ... I don't know what Kirbyrj has against Gigabyte;

They aren't as good as other boards. It's pretty simple. Yes, they have nice features and extras, but "most" enthusiasts don't buy boards for the extras, they buy boards for stability/OCability and Gigabyte doesn't have a good reputation on either account. Once again, don't take my word for it. Go research in the rest of the forum.

I'll reiterate. The NeoPower is a fantastic supply; the Powerstream and Modstream are overhyped, horribly expensive supplies that are NOT worth what you pay or them, just because some overclockers decided "YOU BUY POWERSTREAM, THREAD OVER" without any real substantiation.

It's simple. I've used Brand X PSU, and I've had problems. I use OCZ and problems go away. Plus, I did give substantiation. It has stable, adjustable, powerful rails. AND (this is my favorite part ), the overclockers haven't decided OCZ is the PSU of choice. The "$70 more than the OCZ" PCP&C is the PSU of choice (although they do say favorable things about the OCZ). I suggest reading more in the PSU area of this forum and see what people are really saying. I respect the opinion of Epicenter. I just think you need a "second opinion" before spending all kinds of money.

 

[Epicenter]

"The overclockers" are not who you should trust on parts, it's someone who builds computers constantly for stability AND performance, and overclocks on the side. People who do nothing but overclocking oftentimes have a tendency to throw things together or draw rapid (invalid) conclusions .. like about the OCZ. Stability comes first in everything I do, and I can vouch personally that the use of a 24-pin adapter is not a problem whatsoever, and the OCZ Powerstream isn't the Jesus Christ of power supplies because I ring of overclockers said so. When a supply costs more and doesn't supply as much power, and is noisier, I tend to avoid it, even if it has gimmicky adjustable rails. THE RAILS SHOULD REGULATE THEMSELVES. It's a pointless feature.

And as for your claims about Gigabyte, they're unsubstantiated claims based your own anecdotal experiences-- show me large-scale Gigabyte board failures and I'd believe you. I've never, ever seen a Gigabyte go bad on me. Not once. And barely ever on the internet. Interpret that as you will.

 

[kirbyrj]

Have you used an SLI system? I have and the adapter didn't work for stability. Stability came when I switched to a native 24-pin PSU. I've heard they are ok with single card, but not for two cards. I've built like 10 computers in the past year. I'm not some know-nothing high school kid with nothing better to do with his parent's money (not that you are either by any means). I can vouch just as personally if you will that the adapter isn't as stable with SLI.

So if OCZ isn't the J.C. of PSU's then I guess the PCP&C is even though it costs $70 more , and is what the OCers will tell you to get was my point. And the adjustable rail is a good thing. If your rail is a little low at 11.8V or so, rather than just living with it like you have to do with the self-adjusting non-gimmick Enermax or Antec, you can boost it up a little bit. Sounds like a good idea to me especially when stability is your main concern. And I've personally had an Antec die on me, and haven't had an OCZ do that (yet).

And as for Gigabyte...I'm not even going to argue that one other than to say this. It comes down to personal preference. I wouldn't build a board with them, but I would build one with some other brand you may not like. Granted I've heard lots of bad stories about Gigabyte boards and their failure to meet the expectations of the enthusiast/OCer. This is quite substantiated if you care to look into it. Here's a quote from a Gigabyte board review from right here on hardocp.com

"Overclocking on this motherboard was a big letdown when compared with most of the other nForce 4 boards we have recently reviewed. A maximum stable 250MHz FSB, as Morry pointed out, is not acceptable in the enthusiast realm. That said, this is the first Gigabyte review you have read on HardOCP in quite a while, and the reason is that this is the first “reviewable” board we have seen from Gigabyte in quite a while."