Fun Stuff > CLIKC
The PC-building/hardware knowledge thread
Melodic:
If you are getting a case, get an Antec P900 to live my dream.
Bane:
--- Quote from: Statik on 20 Apr 2008, 21:41 ---So I am able to start building a brand new PC, from the ground up, and Ive been looking at the following:
CPU: AMD Phenom 9850 (Black Edition)
Mobo: MSI K9A2 Platinum or ECS A780GM-A The ECS is about half the price of the MSI board, but I have no experience with ECS as a company anyone have any info on them? Good/Bad/Ugly?
-- Also, just the core in general; would I be better off going with a cheaper/different CPU/Mobo combination, or stick with the phenom and one of the few boards that supports it? (Im fairly partial to AMD, and I have read about their recent woes, mainly invoved with the previous Phenom launch, but Id still prefer an AMD CPU) Money is a concern, but not THAT much of a concern. (Meaning, Im not trying to break the bank, but I do have pretty good leeway on parts cost) is there anything anyone reccomends? This is going to be a gaming system, but also something that needs to run 3D programs (3D studio, bryce, w/e)
Ram: Lots.
Vid: BFG Nvidia 9800GTX - most of the 9800s were about the same price, and I have a good history with BFG.
I am however, looking into DVD burners, preferably SATA (to keep the wires down) But every review Im reading says that all the 20x DVD burners are stupidly loud. Can anyone confirm/deny this? Are they only loud while burning? If so, I can tolerate that, but if they are loud while just reading, thats a bit problematic.
Also, if anyone knows of an ATX (not micro) case thats fairly spacious inside for $100 or less, with good cooling, looks arent particularly important (id rather it look nice, but if its functional, thats primary focus)
and Im looking for:
Drives mounted with brackets (so they slide in and out), HDDs would preferably be mounted with the plug side towards the side panel)
Front USB ports, 2+
CompUSA had this case, I cant remember what it was called, or even what brand it was, but it had the power supply mounted on the BOTTOM of the case, and basically had all the different stuff segregated and removable. I think it was ~$125, if anyone knows wtf Im talking about, help me out.
--- End quote ---
ECS is a mid-range company. Not likely to be a good overclocker, and I would guess you intend to overclock, considering the Black Edition processor. The chipset of the ECS, judging by the name, is the 780G, which means it has integrated graphics available, if you're skipping a graphics card. Since you're not, the MSI K9A2 is definitely the better board from an overclocking standpoint. For the video card, you get about an average of 5 FPS more from a 9800GTX as compared to an 8800GTS G92 (512MB), but for a cost of another 100 dollars or so. The major advantage for a 9800GTX is improved SLI performance, but the AM2+ motherboards for SLI, namely, 780a, are not available yet. As for the memory, try picking up a 2x2GB kit. That should be plenty of memory, and 2x2 kits are better than 4x1, as running all four DIMM slots full is a major strain on the memory controller. As for any concerns about the processor itself, B3 revision (which is obviously the 9850 and its ilk) performs fine, they don't have the long list of TLB errata that destroyed virtualization.
You have a Best Buy near you? Call up any Best Buys that you can get to, and ask them about the Rocketfish case. Per the Best Buy website, it costs $120, but many of the stores have it for much less. The Rocketfish is actually a revision of a Lian Li case, and thus is built with the full quality of Lian Li. For hard drives, you screw a small rubber padded screw (provided with the case, about twenty of them I believe) into the drive, and then slide it into metal rails. They are as quiet as possible, the rubber takes vibration. The 5.25" drives, such as your DVD drive, slide in, without screws, and clip in with plastic mounts. They do touch metal, which adds a little noise when they vibrate. It appears that you could screw the 5.25" devices in if you so desired, I can't check that with my machine running now. Link is provided to the Best Buy site on the next line.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8428604&st=rocketfish&type=product&id=1183160363476
dennis:
High speed optical drives are all loud, because discs are rarely perfectly balanced. The difference in the amount of paint in the label can unbalance the disc.
The best thing to do to quiet the drives down is to mount them on silicone grommets, rather than directly to the frame. They'll still be loud, but not nearly as loud.
Personally, I don't use my DVD drive very much--basically only to install software and write discs, so the noise isn't really a big deal. When you're spinning a DVD movie in there, they spin at 1x, so the noise isn't big.
NeoNorm:
I just got a new comp a month ago. Specs:
Intel Q9300 = 45nm 2.5 Ghz Quad core (Will be overclocked to 3.0GHz but I haven't done it yet)
Gigabyte GA-P35-D3SL MB
8GB Corsair DDR2 800 low latency
150GB Western Digital Raptor 10,000 RPM SATA HD
1TB Seagate SATA HD
EVGA GeForce 9800GTX
BenQ G2400W 24" Widescreen LCD
Sennheiser headphones
Cooler Master Case w/7 fans
Vista Ultimate
Yeah, this thing is a monster. :-D I love it, but it cost about $2.5K.
--- Quote from: Statik on 20 Apr 2008, 21:41 ---Also, if anyone knows of an ATX (not micro) case thats fairly spacious inside for $100 or less, with good cooling, looks arent particularly important (id rather it look nice, but if its functional, thats primary focus)
and Im looking for:
Drives mounted with brackets (so they slide in and out), HDDs would preferably be mounted with the plug side towards the side panel)
Front USB ports, 2+
CompUSA had this case, I cant remember what it was called, or even what brand it was, but it had the power supply mounted on the BOTTOM of the case, and basically had all the different stuff segregated and removable. I think it was ~$125, if anyone knows wtf Im talking about, help me out.
--- End quote ---
I think you are describing the case that I got ... Its a Cooler Master.
::checks newegg::
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137
This case is awesome.
Statik:
Im following Bane's advice and getting the rocketfish case. Full tower, aluminum, etc etc
Also, the advice on the video card, comparing specs, and some tech stuff, Im making a small step down on my vid card to the 8800GTS
Also, ASUS released a new 780a chipset board for the Phenom CPUs, so Im getting that
Full rundown as follows:
Rocketfish Full tower case
ASUS M3N-HT - has integrated NVIDIA 8 series GPU, which WILL work in conjuction (or independantly) of a graphics card
AMD Phenom 9850 Black Edition 2.5GHz quad core
BFG Geforce 8800GTS
ASUS Xonar DX PCI-express sound card
Antec 1000W PS
Corsair Dominator 4GB (2x2GB) RAM
2x Seagate 500GB HDDs
Lite-On 20x DVD burner
I am curious if anyone has any experience with ASUS Xonar soundcards? All of the reviews I have read of them seem to be favorable, and they don't carry the bloated software issues around like creative cards.
Also I didnt specifically find anything about this (to be fair, I only spent a few minutes searching, as Im working on finals stuff) With PCI-express, are there still IRQ conflicts (possible)? Is it a thing of the past? Still a problem when you have a lot of stuff? Granted, Im not putting much stuff in the computer, but Im still curious.
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