Finalising Self Build

kifi

Im gonna order tonight from overclockers.co.uk so please stop me if I am to make a grave mistake!!

Antec P180 SPCR Advanced Super Midi Tower Case -
£79.95
MSI 945P Platinum (LGA775) PCI-Express Motherboard
£94.95
Corsair 2GB DDR2 Value Select PC5300 Dual Channel Kit (2x1GB)
£114.95
XFX GeForce 7900 GT 256MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail £184.95
Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 400GB ST3400633AS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM
£116.95
NEC ND4570 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM 1
£22.95
Intel Pentium 4 960 Dual Core "LGA775 Presler" 3.6GHz (800FSB) - Retail
£329.95

Any thoughts?

hopeful

I don't see a PSU on that list...unless its bundled with the case. Possibly the most overlooked bit of kit in a lot of builds.

conzy

The mistake is Intel:D

Get a S939 AMD system for gaming.....

A X2 4400 or 4800 is a lot more CPU for the same money

And a Asus A8N-SLi Premium is only £84 this week...

You also need to get DDR instead of DDR2 this is great and DDR500:eek:

Everything else looks good

And you need a PSU, an enermax liberty is a very good PSU for the money..

If the new Ram or PSU is stretching your budget, you can go for a slower CPU as the 4400 and 4800 are beasts, even a 3800 or a 4200 would be loads.....

Optikus

conzymaher wrote:

The mistake is Intel:D

Get a S939 AMD system for gaming.....

A X2 4400 or 4800 is a lot more CPU for the same money

And a Asus A8N-SLi Premium is only £84 this week...

You also need to get DDR instead of DDR2 this is great and DDR500:eek:

Everything else looks good

And you need a PSU, an enermax liberty is a very good PSU for the money..

If the new Ram or PSU is stretching your budget, you can go for a slower CPU as the 4400 and 4800 are beasts, even a 3800 or a 4200 would be loads.....

I agree, Intels aren't great for gaming and dual core AMDs are nearly beat their Intel counterparts at other CPU intensive activities.

The RAM conzy suggested is the best value OC'ing RAM available at the mo. However if you are taking the overclocking route, id recommend an Opteron as they are cheaper and OC really good. Also you will need a Motherboard to take advantage of the RAM and CPUs OC'ing abillities.. go for a DFI nF4, they are the best OC'ing boards on the market.

conzy

I agree with Optikus, If the op mentioned overclocking I would have mentioned DFI

An opteron 165 or 170 would overclock nicely, most reach FX-60 speeds of 1.6ghz and beyond....

I would also recommend a X1800XT over the 7900gt depending on budget.....

Even if you are not overclocking, I would still get that Gskill because you can run a divider to have the ram at DDR500 while keeping the HTT at 200mhz.

So you have the performance of overclocked ram at stock;)

awhir

well i was looking at cases reasently and its ment to a really god case anyone who has got it loved it.here i dont know the real name of it but this is it on komplett.http://komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=311890

also the ati x1800xt 512 is a better bang for the buck then the 7900gt if your not looking to go sli.

kifi

Not Ocing, ( 1 of the reasons I have gone for Intel). Thanks for the input.
Forgot to mention the PSU, its a Seasonic S12 500W. (Would I get away with a 430W version??)

Thanks guys

Optikus

kifi wrote:

Not Ocing, ( 1 of the reasons I have gone for Intel). Thanks for the input.
Forgot to mention the PSU, its a Seasonic S12 500W.

Thanks guys

Thats a good PSU. Even if your not OC'ing i would still recomment AMD although they have a slower clock then Intel, it is more efficient and uses less power. So a X2 at stock would still out perform a dual core intel at stock, you would also get lower temps which means a quiter system.

awhir

so what have you compliled now.

conzy

Go AMD or you will be sorry, they are alot more future proof and have a better upgrade path.

They perform better than the Intels at stock, they cost less, they run cooler and quieter......

segasega

Is sterling not crap at the moment, why not go with komplett.ie?

conzy

Overclockers have a better, more performance orientated stock,

And they still work out cheaper even with the crap sterling/euro rate

astrofool

That Intel chip is gonna be quite a heater in that system. Make sure that its well cooled, or else it's gonna be throttling itself all the time (reducing its clock speed due to overheating). Also, you'll most likely need that 500w supply with the power draw the chip will take.

You could also get an AMD 4600+ for cheaper, or a 4800+ for slightly more which will blow the Intel system completely out of the water. Really, unless you're going ultra cheap, and need dual core, then getting an Intel chip now given that they've given up on this architecture themselves (and admitted its sh*te) is "not the cleverest decision" to put it eloquently .

kifi

Im not interested in overclocking and my primary use is heavy number crunching applications and 3D design, CAD, CAM etc.

I game in moderation.

Is this still not a good argument for the Intel bearing in mind that this is the newly released 960 with 3.6Ghz?

Is it possible to buy a mobo now that will suit the upcoming Conroe processor? Maybe I can buy a cheap Pentium D now and just buy a Conroe to upgrade when they come out? I hear they are due out in July.

Gilgamesh

conzymaher wrote:

Go AMD or you will be sorry, they are alot more future proof and have a better upgrade path.

future proof me arse, at this stage nothing is future proof when it comes to the CPUs.


if you want to save money, get a Pentium D 805. There are several tests in the Web where this new baby was clocked to 4 GHz on AIR!!!! and only costs a mere 130 Euros.

Tests have also shown that at these specs it is outrunning both Intel's and AMD's Flagships.

will also be trying this out myself ofver the next weeks,

kifi

Maybe I should buy now top quality stuff except for mobo and get a Pentium D 805? Try and OC this until the Conroe is launched. Then just replace my motherboard and 805 with a new Conroe and Mobo while keeping everything else. This sound like a good idea?

The only thing is will i be able to easily OC the 805 with a relatively cheap mobo?
I suppose I can invest in a good cpu heatsink and cooler and use this now and for Conroe?

uberpixie

kifi wrote:

Maybe I should buy now top quality stuff except for mobo and get a Pentium D 805? Try and OC this until the Conroe is launched. Then just replace my motherboard and 805 with a new Conroe and Mobo while keeping everything else. This sound like a good idea?

The only thing is will i be able to easily OC the 805 with a relatively cheap mobo?
I suppose I can invest in a good cpu heatsink and cooler and use this now and for Conroe?

Have a think about buying in the mid range, this will give you a good year to year and a half of performance in either AMD or Intel.

(personally I would go AMD due to them using less power and giving off less heat)

Get a dacent motherboard, doesn't have to be the most expensive, but get one that will overclock: do your research.

Then if you feel the need up grade in a year or so and re-use as many of your parts as possible.

In all honesty the new CPUs are not going to be a big speed jump for the first gen or two.

Also if you do buy a cpu cooler today, chances are it won't be compat with the new cpus.

Do buy a good quiet CPU cooler though. They are worth it.

Gilgamesh

kifi wrote:

Maybe I should buy now top quality stuff except for mobo and get a Pentium D 805? Try and OC this until the Conroe is launched. Then just replace my motherboard and 805 with a new Conroe and Mobo while keeping everything else. This sound like a good idea?

The only thing is will i be able to easily OC the 805 with a relatively cheap mobo?
I suppose I can invest in a good cpu heatsink and cooler and use this now and for Conroe?

the only thing you need to make sure of is that the Mobo has a 955 or 975 chipset on it.

it is easy enough to overclock as the FSB is the only thing you have to increase (maybe the voltage too but only slightly) the 805 has a multiplier of 20 and a FSB set to 133 MHz, the test I have seen have shown that this thing will easily keep up with up to 200 MHz FSB

I personally think that your idea is the better solution, and yes, the next gen PRocessors do kick ass, big time, and in every way.

astrofool

Most motherboards available now don't/won't support Conroe.

AlmightyCushion

Gilgamesh wrote:

the only thing you need to make sure of is that the Mobo has a 955 or 975 chipset on it.

it is easy enough to overclock as the FSB is the only thing you have to increase (maybe the voltage too but only slightly) the 805 has a multiplier of 20 and a FSB set to 133 MHz, the test I have seen have shown that this thing will easily keep up with up to 200 MHz FSB

I personally think that your idea is the better solution, and yes, the next gen PRocessors do kick ass, big time, and in every way.

Will overclocking it to 4Ghz reduce the life span of the chip by much?
I'm thinking of getting a new rig during the summer and I was going to get
x2 4400 or 4200 but 130 euro for a chip better than an fx-60. I want to have the computer for at least 1.5 or 2 years.

Gilgamesh

@astrofool, a lot of the boards with the 975 chipset are apparently just going to need a BIOS upgrade, but then again getting a cheap board now will help you save for a better system in the near future.

@Almightycushion, Oc'ing can reduce the lifespan of a chip, but this is normally caused by increasing the voltage afaik. the 805 is aktually designed to run on higher FSBs than it is at the moment, it's based on the 65nm architecture, like the 900 series, which have a lower multiplier but a higher FSB, so it shouldn't make that much difference to the chip's lifespan.

I guess if you take care of the cooling system, and keep a good airflow in the case, there shouldn't be much of a problem.
if you do want to go very safe, with the money you saved you could either get some watercooling or buy the Mach2 cooler off Gline

KamiKazi

check out this damn sexy case !!!

Gilgamesh

KamiKazi wrote:

check out this damn sexy case !!!

got myself this one

GrumPy

Gilgamesh wrote:

got myself this one

ewww