New Gaming Rig

[xpronic]

Hi I'm new to the forums and I've been reading several topics regarding different hardware components (CPU, GPU, Mobo etc), and I've made a list of the components that I plan on buying to build my gaming PC.

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Case: Antec P180 - £96.23
PSU: Enermax Noisetaker 600W EG701 AX-VE PSU - SLI Ready - £98.63
Case Fan 80mm: Akasa Amber AK-182-L2B Case Cooling Fan - £7.98
Case Fan 120mm: Akasa Amber AK-183-L2B Case Cooling Fan - £11.31
Mobo: DFI LanParty NF4 SLI-DR - £141.41
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ - £399.34
HSF: Asetek VapoChill Micro - Ultra Low Noise (K8) - £40.23
Thermal Paste: Arctic Silver 5 3.5g - £12.92
RAM: Corsair TwinX 1GB DDR (2x512MB) XMS3200XLPRO - £153.28
GPU: Inno3D GeForce 7800 GTX - £362.09
Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS - £57.46
HDD (Apps/Games): 74GB Western Digital Raptor - £121.06
HDD (Storage): 300GB Maxtor Diamondmax 10 - £109.64
Cables: Akasa Serial ATA HDD Cable 60CM x2 - £17.02
DVD-ROM: Plextor PX-130A/T3 (PX130AT3) Internal DVD Drive - £32.01
DVD-RW: Plextor PX-716A (PX716ASW) DVD±RW Dual Layer Burner - £77.58
Cables: Vantec Rounded IDE Cable - 18" 2 Connectors (VT_IDE18-2-CS) x2 - £10.54
Keyboard: Saitek (PZ08AU) Keyboard - £36.48
Mouse: Logitech MX 510 Mouse - £29.95
Speakers: Creative Labs Megaworks THX 2.1 250D - £103.69
Monitor: NEC MultiSync LCD1970GX (Black) 19". Flat Panel LCD Monitor - £332.80
OS: Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP2 - £92.61
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TOTAL = £2248.03 (€3,224.36/$3,919.69) All the prices include VAT and delivery charges.

I have compared the above setup with similar setups from Whisper Computers, Wired2fire, Alienware (LOL! ), Scan etc, and a couple of mass PC producers like Mesh & Evesham, and I found out they cost about £200-400+ more unsurprisingly .

So what do you guys/girls think of the proposed new setup?

 

[trueplaya4ever8]

Welcome to the Forums

Looks good, Guess in the UK things cost a lil bit more than they do here. You should be able to enjoy a system like that quite well.

 

[Vulcan]

Hi I'm new to the forums and I've been reading several topics regarding different hardware components (CPU, GPU, Mobo etc), and I've made a list of the components that I plan on buying to build my gaming PC.

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Case: Antec P180 - £96.23 Nice choice.
PSU: Enermax Noisetaker 600W EG701 AX-VE PSU - SLI Ready - £98.63 Have you considered an OCZ PowerStream 520 or a Seasonic S12-600?
Case Fan 80mm: Akasa Amber AK-182-L2B Case Cooling Fan - £7.98 The VGA duct is pretty useless in the P180, your better off not using it.
Case Fan 120mm: Akasa Amber AK-183-L2B Case Cooling Fan - £11.31 I'd get a different 120mm fan... A Yate Loon D12SM-12 would be great.
Mobo: DFI LanParty NF4 SLI-DR - £141.41 Great choice.
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ - £399.34 Great choice.
HSF: Asetek VapoChill Micro - Ultra Low Noise (K8) - £40.23 Interesting, havent seen any performance info on it.
Thermal Paste: Arctic Silver 5 3.5g - £12.92 Good choice.
RAM: Corsair TwinX 1GB DDR (2x512MB) XMS3200XLPRO - £153.28 I'd go with OCZ myself.
GPU: Inno3D GeForce 7800 GTX - £362.09 Can you get a BFG or eVGA at aroudn the same price?
Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS - £57.46
HDD (Apps/Games): 74GB Western Digital Raptor - £121.06 Not worth the price IMO, you can get a larger drive that performs nearly as well for less.
HDD (Storage): 300GB Maxtor Diamondmax 10 - £109.64 Good. I would run two of these instead of using a raptor.
Cables: Akasa Serial ATA HDD Cable 60CM x2 - £17.02 Motherboard coems with SATA cables.
DVD-ROM: Plextor PX-130A/T3 (PX130AT3) Internal DVD Drive - £32.01
DVD-RW: Plextor PX-716A (PX716ASW) DVD±RW Dual Layer Burner - £77.58 Get either a NEC or a Benq.
Cables: Vantec Rounded IDE Cable - 18" 2 Connectors (VT_IDE18-2-CS) x2 - £10.54
Keyboard: Saitek (PZ08AU) Keyboard - £36.48 Great Choice. Look atthe Logitech Ultra X as well.
Mouse: Logitech MX 510 Mouse - £29.95 I'd get a mx1000, but maybe thats just me.
Speakers: Creative Labs Megaworks THX 2.1 250D - £103.69
Monitor: NEC MultiSync LCD1970GX (Black) 19". Flat Panel LCD Monitor - £332.80 Definatly better choices. Might want to ask specificaly about this in the display area.
OS: Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP2 - £92.61
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TOTAL = £2248.03 (€3,224.36/$3,919.69) All the prices include VAT and delivery charges.

I have compared the above setup with similar setups from Whisper Computers, Wired2fire, Alienware (LOL! ), Scan etc, and a couple of mass PC producers like Mesh & Evesham, and I found out they cost about £200-400+ more unsurprisingly .

So what do you guys/girls think of the proposed new setup?

Woah. that Vapochill Micro is pretty crazy. Anyway, that will be a sweet setup man. I made a few reccomendations above...

 

[xpronic]

Thanks for the welcome trueplaya4ever8 .

Vulcan I've read your suggestions and checked a couple of UK hardware sites, and I can get the upgrades you've mentioned.

PSU: I've heard good things about the Enermax Noisetaker 600W, but if I find the OCZ PowerStream 520 cheaper, I'll get that instead.
GPU: The Inno3D 78000GTX is the cheapest 7800GTX I've found due to it's lack of VIVO which I don't need . But with the money I'll save from not getting the Raptor, I may just get it .
Case fan: I did a google search on Yate Loon case fans, and everyone seems to love them lol. I'll get it instead of the Akasa fan.
RAM: I'll stick to Corsair, 'cos it's cheaper than the OCZ 2x512MB sticks I found!
HDD: Would I notice a performance gain if I ran 2 Maxtor Diamondmax 10 300GB HDD in raid0 over just having 2 seperate HDD?
DVD-RW: It was either the Plextor or the NEC, but I will get the NEC. Just that the Plextor had all those extra features which I probably wouldn.t even notice lol.
Monitor: Are you sure the NEC monitor is not that good? It got rave reviews in PC Gamer [UK] & Custom PC . Anywho, I'll check Imaging and Display Devices forum for suggestions .

 

[darksparkz]

Considering the components your getting, maybe the OCZ Powerstream 600 would work better.

You might want to get a different type of ram, OCZ or Mushkin maybe.

Theres this Plextor that comes with everything you need, all the CD/DVD burning and reading capabilities.

For gaming, I would personally get the AMD FX series, maybe a FX-55 or FX-57 if you have enough money.

Since your using phase change cooling, just get the quiest fans you can find, therefore you'll still be at below zero temperatures with almost absolutely no sound.

And definitiely try to get a different brand of video card, maybe a eVGA, ASUS, or BFG.

 

[xpronic]

Considering the components your getting, maybe the OCZ Powerstream 600 would work better.

You might want to get a different type of ram, OCZ or Mushkin maybe.

Are OCZ memory sticks that good?

Theres this Plextor that comes with everything you need, all the CD/DVD burning and reading capabilities.

For gaming, I would personally get the AMD FX series, maybe a FX-55 or FX-57 if you have enough money.

I was considering the FX-57, but it was pushing me over my budget. I plan on overclocking the 4400+ to 4800+ speeds , and maybe even further if I'm lucky.

Since your using phase change cooling, just get the quiest fans you can find, therefore you'll still be at below zero temperatures with almost absolutely no sound.

And definitiely try to get a different brand of video card, maybe a eVGA, ASUS, or BFG.

I will get a 7800GTX BFG since they are pre-overclocked, and only about £50-60 more.

 

[Sshadow]

You could go over to http://pc-memory-upgrade.co.uk and buy some Mushkin Redline's or OCZ. Some of my friends have had problems with different lines of OCZ on their DFI SLI-d boards. Error in memtest 5 etc. 2 of them has gone with the redline and haven't had a problem yet.
For fans, you can get Sunons at http://overclock.co.uk and at good prices
The NEC3520 is a good DVD-rw, the plextor is also a good one. Personal choice.
As for the NEC monitor its a good one, but i would take the Benq or Samsung 12ms instead. It all comes down to personal preferences on monitors.
4 choices on PSU, Seasonic S-12, OCZ Powerstream 520, Fortron AX500 (or 550) or a tagan 530. (Both OCZ and Tagan are Topower builds)

And last.. WELCOME TO THE FORUMS

//Christian

 

[Vulcan]

Considering the components your getting, maybe the OCZ Powerstream 600 would work better.

The 520w has a single 12v rail, while the 600w has dual 12v rail. Its nto worth the extra cost for the 600w.

You might want to get a different type of ram, OCZ or Mushkin maybe.

I agree. Potential problems using corsair with the DFI? Might want to check that out.

For gaming, I would personally get the AMD FX series, maybe a FX-55 or FX-57 if you have enough money.

I'd get an X2. But, my computer is nto used solely for gaming. Even if you have the money its not worth it for an fx. The highest single core I would get is a 3700 San Diego.

Since your using phase change cooling, just get the quiest fans you can find, therefore you'll still be at below zero temperatures with almost absolutely no sound.

Uh. Its NOT phase change. Its a somewhat unusual heatpipe based cooler.

And definitiely try to get a different brand of video card, maybe a eVGA, ASUS, or BFG.

I'd get a BFG or eVGA.

 

[Vulcan]

You could go over to http://pc-memory-upgrade.co.uk and buy some Mushkin Redline's or OCZ. Some of my friends have had problems with different lines of OCZ on their DFI SLI-d boards. Error in memtest 5 etc. 2 of them has gone with the redline and haven't had a problem yet.

erm.. You mean corsair was giving them problems? I havent heard about any problems using ocz. Just some issues with using corsair.

 

[Vulcan]

Are OCZ memory sticks that good?

Yep, great support too.

I was considering the FX-57, but it was pushing me over my budget. I plan on overclocking the 4400+ to 4800+ speeds , and maybe even further if I'm lucky. great

Not worth it. If I went single core I would get a 3700 San Diego.

I will get a 7800GTX BFG since they are pre-overclocked, and only about £50-60 more.

Good move, BFG is another one of those great companies.

 

[Sshadow]

erm.. You mean corsair was giving them problems? I havent heard about any problems using ocz. Just some issues with using corsair.

No, i meant OCZ, else i would have wrote Corsair.
One of them tried Corsair Value and it worked flawless, until he started to overclock. The OCZ VX, rev2, platinum and so on, all was screwing it up, could be bad luck, bad shipment etc. But all revisions they tried, was screwy, and the Mushkins were fine. Sure the Mushkins where the only onces ordered from PCMU.co.uk.

//Christian

 

[Vulcan]

Thanks for the welcome
PSU: I've heard good things about the Enermax Noisetaker 600W, but if I find the OCZ PowerStream 520 cheaper, I'll get that instead.

Is quietness a concern? If so the Seasonic S12-600 is one of the (is not the quietest) quietest 600w power supplies you can get.

Case fan: I did a google search on Yate Loon case fans, and everyone seems to love them lol. I'll get it instead of the Akasa fan.

Yeah, good fans.

HDD: Would I notice a performance gain if I ran 2 Maxtor Diamondmax 10 300GB HDD in raid0 over just having 2 seperate HDD?

Maybe? You will notice it in a benchmakr, but I doubt theres a true performance gain for a single user in a desktop enviroment.

DVD-RW: It was either the Plextor or the NEC, but I will get the NEC. Just that the Plextor had all those extra features which I probably wouldn.t even notice lol.

NEC and Benq make the best dvd burners. I was amazed to learn that certain drives/media actualy end up with less errors etc... If you are interested in learning some more you can find some cd/dvd burning forums (haha, yes they exsist).

Monitor: Are you sure the NEC monitor is not that good? It got rave reviews in PC Gamer [UK] & Custom PC . Anywho, I'll check Imaging and Display Devices forum for suggestions .

I'd get something with a very fast refresh rate. Toms Hardware did some decent lcd reviews, might want to read those.

Okay... i think I have replied anough times to this thread

 

[Vulcan]

No, i meant OCZ, else i would have wrote Corsair.
One of them tried Corsair Value and it worked flawless, until he started to overclock. The OCZ VX, rev2, platinum and so on, all was screwing it up, could be bad luck, bad shipment etc. But all revisions they tried, was screwy, and the Mushkins were fine. Sure the Mushkins where the only onces ordered from PCMU.co.uk.

//Christian

Weird. I will still be geting OCZ when I build up my system. Did they try the OCZ support forum?

 

[xpronic]

Revised parts:

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Case: Antec P180 - £96.23
PSU: OCZ PowerStream 520w - £94.75
Case Fan 80mm: Papst N/2GL Case Fan - £18.80
Case Fan 120mm: Papst 4412 F/2GL Case Fan - £29.84
Mobo: DFI LanParty NF4 SLI-DR - £141.41
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ - £399.34
HSF: Asetek VapoChill Micro - Ultra Low Noise (K8) - £40.23
Thermal Paste: Arctic Silver 5 3.5g - £12.92
RAM: OCZ 2 x 512 MB EL DDR PC-3200 Platinum Revision 2 - £132.98
GPU: BFG GeForce 7800 GTX OC 256MB - £423.29
Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS - £57.46
HDD: 300GB Maxtor Diamondmax 10 - £109.64
DVD-ROM: Plextor PX-130A/T3 (PX130AT3) Internal DVD Drive - £32.01
DVD-RW: NEC ND-3520A 16x DVD R/RW Dual Layer - £32.33
Cables: Vantec Rounded IDE Cable - 18" 2 Connectors (VT_IDE18-2-CS) x2 - £10.54
Keyboard: Saitek (PZ08AU) Keyboard - £36.48
Mouse: Logitech MX 510 Mouse - £29.95
Speakers: Creative Labs Megaworks THX 2.1 250D - £103.69
Monitor: BenQ FP937S+ 19" TFT Silver 8ms DVI Monitor - £281.04
OS: Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP2 - £92.61
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TOTAL = £2175.54 (€3,123.11/$3,796.14) All the prices include VAT and delivery charges.

 

[Sshadow]

One question thou.. Do you need the extra soundcard? And there is a equal to the audigy z2 its the HDA mystique 7.1 and its cheaper.
On the forums http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=396438

//Christian

 

[darksparkz]

Gaming=needs good sound+video.

Oh, and I thought it was phase change, didn't look at the new vapochills yet.

Are you planning to get a second video card? If not, you can save about $40-50 by not getting SLI. The BFG is a great choice, it's company OC-ed, so you can still push it farther if you want, but I think it has lifetime warranty, so you might not need to.

I recommended the Powerstream 600 because I thought he would be getting two 7800GTXs.

I think this is the Plextor I was thinking about, it comes with every type of DVD/CD burning or reading, that'll save you money by only getting one drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827131351

I duno, I would still get the FX-57: http://www.tomshardware.com/cpu/20050627/athlon_fx57-06.html

 

[KillrBuckeye]

Hmm, I've heard nothing but good things about the 10k RPM hard drives. Most people report a very noticeable increase in performance. I plan to use the 74GB raptor for the system I'm building in a couple weeks. This is the first time I've heard someone recommend AGAINST getting one.

 

[Vulcan]

I think this is the Plextor I was thinking about, it comes with every type of DVD/CD burning or reading, that'll save you money by only getting one drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827131351

It doesn't do anything special...

I duno, I would still get the FX-57: http://www.tomshardware.com/cpu/20050627/athlon_fx57-06.html

Unless you have unlimitied funds, the fx57 is just way too much money.

 

[Vulcan]

Hmm, I've heard nothing but good things about the 10k RPM hard drives. Most people report a very noticeable increase in performance. I plan to use the 74GB raptor for the system I'm building in a couple weeks. This is the first time I've heard someone recommend AGAINST getting one.

I really don't think raptors are worth it...

 

[KillrBuckeye]

I really don't think raptors are worth it...

Okay, we are aware of your opinion. Would you mind expanding on your statement? Do you have personal experience using a Raptor vs. a 7200RPM hard drive while your other hardware remained the same? Is it just Raptors, or all 10K-rpm hard drives that you don't think are worth it? Do you have any sort of objective data to back up your opinion, or are you basing your statements on "feel"?