Final system...suggestions etc.

Dooom

Okay, here goes. I know I've been posting numerous threads about this, but this is the final one. Attached is a file containing all the parts for my new system. I've decided to go the ATI route, as I somewhat prefer them over Nvidia and the Crossfire looks to be quite nice.
Add to the list a new 19" monitor that I'll be picking up within the next month, and if I have any money left - hopefully a set of Z-680's
Anywho, if there's anything in there that looks somewhat dodgy, or if anyone has any advice/suggestions about any of the components, feel free to say so.

Thanks a mil.

Jammer

Brave man, buying a graphics card for that money, when the next gen is only days away...

Looks good otherwise

Dooom

I probably won't actually be buying anything till the weekend, and even so I wouldn't say the cards will come down in price that much. But hey, I've got money to burn*






*By "burn", I mean I don't really but I want this system as soon as I can

Sparky

Spike wrote:

I probably won't actually be buying anything till the weekend, and even so I wouldn't say the cards will come down in price that much. But hey, I've got money to burn*






*By "burn", I mean I don't really but I want this system as soon as I can

I wish i had money to burn (on my computer) i need a new GFX card and memory and a new keyboard and mouse.
BAH.

Dooom

Speaking of which, I'm contemplating picking up one of those Zboards aswell. Anyone any experience with them?
It's got the name Crossfire in it...so it'll go well with my future Crossfire setup

Nukem

I'd be wary. I reckon cross fire might have the same issues as SLi with config and all that; but holding out as well till Oct at least till i have a look at more upgrades.

EDIT: just noticed i hit 2k replying to you. Please feel honoured

rsynnott

You'd get a marginally lower-clocked processor for a good bit cheaper, you know...

Dooom

Congrats Nukem. I know that Crossfire will undoubtedly have teething problems, but I still think it will give SLi a good run for it's money. If not beat it into the ground.
Failing that, there's always the R520 to look forward to. That in Crossfire would just kick ass.

Rsynnott: I was contemplating that, but I decided to stick with the 4000+ mainly because I want this computer to last me a while on the CPU side. At least until I can afford an FX-55 or 57 anyway....

Ciaran500

You could always try the overclocking route. Some amazing results if you can get the right chip: http://www.hexus.net/content/reviews/review_print.php?dXJsX3Jldmlld19JRD0xMjU1 Then buy an X2/F-X57 when they drop to a more reasonable price.

Dooom

I was going to take that route, but decided against it. My next system I probably will overclock it, but for this one I'm going to keep it as is.

I've updated the list in my first post with one or two new things. And before anyone asks - I've gone for a CRT monitor because of the following:
a) I have plenty of space for one
b) I can't afford a 19" TFT at the moment
c) I still like CRT's

Looks like the Z-680's won't be appearing till sometime in August, ah well.

rsynnott

IF you've got the space, then there's no reason not to go for a CRT. They still generally give a better picture...

po0k

Just for comparison, this is what I'm going to be ordering by Wed evening:

www.comtech.de

DVDR IDE Pioneer DVR-109XLB schwarz bulk 121.62 EUR
256MB MSI RX800XL-VT2D256E PCIe Retail 308.07 EUR
GEH Cooler Master Stacker STC-T01 black 139.57 EUR
Kühlkörper Thermalright XP-90C o. Lüfter 47.85 EUR
Tastatur Cherry PS/2 G83-6105 schwarz 15.86 EUR
Lüfter Papst 3412/N2GLLE 92x92x25mm 12db 15.94 EUR
CPU AMD Athlon 64 3700+ S.Diego SSE3 Box 329.50 EUR
Creative SB Audigy 2 ZS bulk 57.97 EUR
Creative Labs Inspire T7900 7.1 85.07 EUR
2x Cooler Master Stacker HDD Einbaurahmen 31.88 EUR
3x Lüfter Papst 8412 N/2GLE 80x80x25mm 28.23 EUR
Maus Logitech MX518 Gaming-Grade Optical 42.89 EUR
Zalman ZM-MIC1 Microphone 5.88 EUR
Sub-Total==???

Komplett.ie
Arctic Silver 5 XL Thermal Compound 12 Gram 14Eur
Fortron/Source Powersupply ATX 550W 120mm, SATA, 24pin, EPS12V 145Eur
2x Samsung Spinpoint P120S 250GB SATA2 8MB 7200RPM NCQ 274Eur
Sub-total==??

shop4memory.com
2x 1Gb Redline XP4000 (PC4000) 2-2-2 Dual Channel kit - Mushkin 991440 474Eur

or

2x 1Gb kit EL DDR PC-3200 Platinum Rev. 2 - OCZ Rated 2-2-2-5 474Eur

There are a few other bits and bobs I'm getting (and will be getting).

Have a 19" CRT to do me.

Anyone care to suggest which ram would deliver more OC potential?
Are there any OC-friendly single-sided 512Meg dimms on shop4memory.com?

Dooom

I remember reading on the O'cers.co.uk forum that overclocking with 2GB of RAM wasn't a very good way to go. I can't remember all the details, and I'm not an expert myself so I can't back any of that up. I'm sure some other more experienced people on this forum could help you though

po0k

the 1T Vs 2T CPC thing won't bother me much. The timings will be tight enough, and the increased memory bandwidth and cpu clock I'll gain will outweigh the small performance hit of 2T.

And 2Gigs of ram is a nice round figure, and higher than BF2's recommended specs.

Forgot to mention that I'm getting a DFI LanParty NF4 SLI-DR mobo.

On-Topic:
Why are you getting an X850?
Just get an X800XL and overclock it a bit. Save yourself the 30% price premium for 10% performance increase which is easily attainable with the X800XL anyways.

sionnach

spike, if you're going for the quietest fans you can get ditch those silenX fans and get nexus ones, they're quieter and cheaper.

po0k

Or Papst NGLE / NGMLE

po0k

Spike wrote:

Speaking of which, I'm contemplating picking up one of those Zboards aswell. Anyone any experience with them?

They suck. Utter gimick.

Get a decent keyboard.

Dooom

The reason I'm getting an X850, is because I want to hang on to it for Crossfire. Although, I think I'll pick up the OcUK X850XT PE version instead, works out at about €387 so tis a bit cheaper. Althought they mention that their version doesn't have ViVO, what is ViVo could someone tell me?

As for fans, the SilenX spec said they were a lot quieter than the Nexus or Papst and they pushed more air. Or maybe that was me just being naive..
Finally, SyxPak any chance you can recommend me a decent gaming keyboard?
Thanks for the help so far folks

sionnach

Spike wrote:

As for fans, the SilenX spec said they were a lot quieter than the Nexus or Papst and they pushed more air. Or maybe that was me just being naive..

that's the old naivety there. SilenX make thermaltake look like honest folk when it comes to product specifications. Their fans are quiet enough, but absolutely nowhere near 14dba, nexus fans are quieter, not sure about the papsts though

WizZard

Papst are ultra quiet, but don't push as much air as, say, Panaflo Low Noise fans (which are the dogs!)

Spike, nice system - since you've got money to burn, but I don't like the case. Personal opinion only. It's gimmicky and placticky.
Good luck with it.

DemonOfTheFall

Why the SilenX case fans if youre using a YS-Tech screamer on the CPU ? Seems like a bit of a waste...

po0k

Spike wrote:

The reason I'm getting an X850, is because I want to hang on to it for Crossfire. Although, I think I'll pick up the OcUK X850XT PE version instead, works out at about €387 so tis a bit cheaper. Althought they mention that their version doesn't have ViVO, what is ViVo could someone tell me?

ViVo is Video-in, Video-out.
Basically S-Video+Composint and and out, lets you output to a TV or display/capture from a console. I'm my experience there is a bit of lag, and the audio will be out of sync. It's very noticble when trying to play something like Burnout3 on the Xbox.

Finally, SyxPak any chance you can recommend me a decent gaming keyboard?

www.cherry.de - Cherry are legends.

po0k

where might one find Panaflo fans?

WizZard

I got mine from www.performance-pcs.com item #FBA12G12L

Well worth it.

po0k

Thanks, I see they have red and orange UV fans too...

WizZard

Yup, everything is top class! Shipping here is no problem and is done via USPS. They will even custom mod things for you - he is now selling one of my idea's!

Dooom

Cool, thanks for the links. I think I'll replace the fans I was going to get with Panaflo ones, low noise ones by the looks of it - but is 68.9 a high enough air-flow rating? What are the Vantec fans like?

I've re-done the spec list again (for the last time, hopefully) so it's got a few ammendments.
Amongst some other stuff, I'm going for the Asus A8N-E - anyone advice on that?
And a few more things:
Will the Xp-120 fit nicely on the A8N-E?
Is the RAM ok?
PSU should be grand enough yes?
Does anyone have those T7900 speakers? And if so, how are they for music and games etc?
Thanks a mil

jc94062

Not sure on that mobo, and coming off a 16.5hour shift I'm really not going to check :P but most come with darn good sound these days and burning €58 + tax on something thats less than or as good as something your already getting...?

Anyways yeah, other than that £250 on a gfx card is indeed brave (I balk at spending over £50 tops :P) but heh if should last a few years.

I hope OcUK works out for you.
For me they were fine, I returned the cooler I'd ordered wrongly (my mistake, not theirs, it took a few days \ week to refund it but they did it and I just had to chip out for the postage (which on a 918g cooler is a fortune :P)) but with all the recent horror stories...

My main suggestion would be to use a credit card as they give much better protection against online theft \ "problems" than switch\delta.
Plus OcUK has an issue with switch cards that don't have an issue number, you have to use 0 for it to actually process the order even if you don't have "0" on the card??

Just 1 HD? Why not get 2 and raid0 mirror em?

Let us know how you get on with the dual core chip, and remember, you'll almost certainly need to flash the bios on the board to get it to work at full efficiency.


[Edit]
I use 4xVantec and 1xcoolermaster that came with the case cause OcUK ran out of the Vantec 80mm ones. They are quiet (not silent) but only if you turn em down to < 1500-1600 using a fan controller, I use 2xAerogate3's for this purpose, they control 4 fans each so if you want to control your CPU one as well you really need 2 unless you use a couple of 120mm fans.
In retrospect? I'd probably cash out a few £\€ 's more for the more truely quiet Nexus ones, if you can find em. Think they are 4db or so quieter, depends how quiet you want it