Suggestions - Building a PC

Spawn

I dont know much about PC's but I am building a PC after christmas with the help of my brothers. Below are the parts I will be getting for it and I want your opinion wheather they are good or should I get better :-

I am buying all from http://www.overclockers.co.uk

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AMD Athlon "Barton" XP3200+ 400FSB (Socket A) CPU - OEM (CP-058-AM) ( http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_AMD_CPUs_51.html#aCP_2d058_2dAM ) Cost £170


PowerColor Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB - Retail (GX-006-PC) ( http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/powercolor_ati_graphics_cards.html#aGX_2d006_2dPC ) Cost £234


Antec Plus 1080AMG Metallic Gray File Server Case - 430W TruePower PSU (CA-001-AT)
( http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_Antec_160.html#aCA_2d001_2dAT ) Cost £107


Corsair 512MB DDR XMS3200C2PT Platinum Registered CAS2 (MY-032-CS) ( http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_Corsair_65.html#aMY_2d032_2dCS ) Cost £92


Abit NF7-S v2.0 nForce2 (Socket A) Motherboard (MB-028-AB) ( http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Abit.html#aMB_2d028_2dAB ) Cost £75


Creative I-Trigue 2.1 3300 - Retail (SP-016-CL) ( http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/creative_speakers.html#aSP_2d016_2dCL ) Cost £74


Western Digital Caviar 120GB Special Edition 8MB Cache - OEM (HD-001-WD) ( http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_Western_Digital_Hard_Drives_74.html#aHD_2d001_2dWD ) Cost £72


Coolermaster Aero 7+ (Socket A) (HS-006-CM) ( http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_Coolermaster_122.html#aHS_2d006_2dCM ) Cost £23

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I will be getting the CD Rom Drive, Keyboard and Mouse, DVD Rewriter, Printer and Scanner about a week or two after I order the above. I only have £900 to spend at the moment. Do you recommend me to go ahead and order the above?

Do you think that is the best way to spend the £900 or have you got any suggestions where I can improve..

Also when would be the best time to buy these parts? Will they go down in price after christmas for the January sales do you think?

joePC

Some very good choices there.

The only thing is the Aero CPU cooler if you want a quite system dont get that --> Its like a dam hover.

One more thing your choice of case I would go for a cooler master very nice, Alu.

I dont think much is going to drop in price in the new year. The CPU will but not for a while......

I cant think of a better way of spending £900

Good luck joe..........

Spawn

Hey thanks Joe,

About the Aero CPU cooler I will change it then. I think my brother got that same one when he was building his PC so I guess thats why I wanted to get it.

But I like the case I have chosen it has a very good power supply and looks well but I will take a look at the other ones.

OfflerCrocGod

Get a better MB to take advantage of the fact that you are getting CPU and RAM with a 400Mhz FSB speed, something using the KT600 chipset, there is an ABIT KV7 on the same page that will do, it also includes S-ATA connections. Dont get the WD HDD it's as noisy as hell get a Seagate Barracuda dont go near that Cooler Master get a thearmalright big copper HS and a quiet fan.

Spawn

Instead of changing Motherboards I changed RAM, My brother told me to keep the Motherboard and I dont know who to believe

He told me to get the Corsair 512MB DDR XMS2700LLPT TwinX (2x256MB) Platinum CAS2 (MY-015-CS) which costs £92

If you were to get spaekers which would you go for? I am not too fond of the ones I have listed because the big speaker looks a bit out of place
:dunno:

Apart from that I should be ordering my new pc Tuesday 23rd

Its my birthday 22nd and going to The Thrills in Dublin

Thanks for your advice....

joePC

Get this motherboard: Asus A7N8X Deluxe nForce2

Stay away from KT600 chipsets they stink, I have this mb never had a problem Im running 1gb of Pc3200, what a preformer "outstanding"

Another thing if your getting a XP3200 ((400Mhz)) then get PC3200 RAM ((400Mhz)) It will run in sink with your Processor "Faster".

As for the speakers not bad, have a look @ the logitect ones there better...

Well happy BB have a good one,

joe...........

Mutant_Fruit

I noticed that your prices are in sterling, have you priced all those parts in Komplett. I've always found them cheaper/same price.

Woden

right let me get my teeth in here your pc is going to by very similar to mine

if i was you i wouldn't waste my money on the xp3200+ i'd get a xp2500+ and overclock it to xp3200+ speeds its what i did and it wasn't that much trouble

the motherboard you choose is probably one of the best if not the best nforce2 motherboards on the market. there is also the newer AN7 nforce2 motherboard by the same manufacturer which you should take a look at.

the ram is quality stick with the pc3200 especially if you getting a 3200+

the graphics card is quality i have one of those

i also like the case and psu, i have the same case with the transparent side window and an antec 480W psu.

antec make very good psu's

some of the best aircooling heat sinks on the market are made by thermalright they are available on overclockers and you can get them from www.hitide.ie you then stick your choice of an on top and the high end ones will take up to a 92mm fan

western digital hdd are noiser then others but are good performers, you could go s-ata if you wanted to. i went for a 160gb seagate s-ata and i don't think its as quite as everyone made it out to be but it is 7200rpm. my main recommendation with a hdd would be 8mb cache and you have that.

don't know much about speakers but the onboard sound on the abit nf7-s is highly rated so you don't need soundcard.

happy shopping and btw you'll bench about 17500 in 3dmark01 with that spec

Spawn

Hey Dataisgod thanks for your reply but I would rather take the safe way and pay for what you get and not bother about overclocking. Ok sometimes it might work but its a big risk :dunno: My brother overclocked and since that believe me I dont want to even try it. For a extra couple of quid you can have the same pc :dunno: I guess if you know what your at then overclock away

About the RAM you can thank my brother... Hes only 14 and he knows ****ing more than me :dunno: I know nothing about PC's but once you got a 14 year backing you up I guess you cant go wrong

He also says he wants me to get Dual channel memory <<--- What is this ****? Should I get it.....

I will think about getting a Serial ATA Hard-drive but will have to look into it more. I know its faster for using multiple drives but is it much better for the only one drive?

Thnaks again for helping me,
Its just I want to buy the best there is and I do need the help and guidence

:dunno:

OfflerCrocGod

Listen your RAM will be 200Mhz your CPU will be 200MHz and your MB will be.....166Mhz. Tell me this what's the point off that!:dunno:, use what you have to the max get a MB with a nForce Ultra 400 chipset so that way everything will be humming along at the full 200Mhz. The easiest way to gain a little extra performance in benchmarks is to increase the speed of the RAM <--> CPU bus, by limiting yourself you are crippling your computer. There is no point in you getting such top of the range RAM and CPU if you dont use it properly. Click here (twice there are some probs with the web site) for a --HOLD IT-- overclockers made a mistake:mad:. The board you are going for DOES support 400Mhz, they dont mention it on the web site but if you go to the Abit site it does.....the board I suggest is the same you are buying:D DOH!. Anyway I suggest buying from Komplett (the linked site), you dont save anything shopping from OCs (€107 each) and delivery is cheaper.

went for a 160gb seagate s-ata and i don't think its as quite as everyone made it out to be

YOU have never heard a western digital have you?:D.

OfflerCrocGod

Originally posted by Spawn
He also says he wants me to get Dual channel memory <<--- What is this ****? Should I get it.....

Yes get it, it's RAM sticks that are identical to each other, it can increase performance by up to 10%:D.

I will think about getting a Serial ATA Hard-drive but will have to look into it more. I know its faster for using multiple drives but is it much better for the only one drive?

Not really, a little, in reality ATA-133 and SATA-150 are pretty much the same, drives can't quite saturate ATA-133 interface so it's pretty pointless getting SATA drives for better performance, get them for better airflow.

Spawn

Ok Offler I will do more research into it, Even though it is better is it safe in the long term? I dont mind paying extra money as long as what I buy works perfectly :dunno:

But then again your the experts I know nothing

Will look into it thanks mate

OfflerCrocGod

Originally posted by Spawn
Ok Offler I will do more research into it, Even though it is better is it safe in the long term? I dont mind paying extra money

What extra?, it should be practically the same cost wise(an extra €10 - big deal), if your MB supports it go ahead get a SATA drive - just dont expect any leaps in performance by using it. By the way I suggest you price up your PC on the komplett site including delivery, to make sure you get the best deal.

Spawn

Sorry Offler my reply yesterday didnt make much sense I actually didnt read all the stuff you had posted I must of scrolled down by it. Thanks for the time to explain all that to me and I will actually go for a new MB but I would rather buy from overclockers than komplett cause I wanna get all the stuff from the one place unless I cant help it. What MB would you recommend me to get in the Overclockers website?

I am also changing my hard drive to a Seagate Barracuda Serial ATA V 160GB - OEM (HD-009-SE) Link >http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Seagate2.html <<-- Would you recommend this hard drive or is there better ones?

And about pricing the parts on komplett I think it works out more expensive. The processor itself on komplett cost around €400 and its only €220 on overclockers :dunno:

I think the delivery on overlockers is only £20

Spawn

My biggest problem at the moment is where to buy my Monitor :dunno:

I cant see any good ones on the overclockers website

Willing to pay around €250-€300 CRT or TFT <<-- Looking for 17" - 19"

logistic

Dont think overclockers will ship monitors over here coz the weight and cost. Next best bet is komplett.

MadKevo

Was looking at your choice of memory - I'd be inclined to go for PC3200 rather than 2700 memory e.g. Corsair 512MB DDR XMS3200LLPT TwinX (2x256MB) Platinum CAS2 (MY-017-CS) - this is designed to give CAS2 performance at 400MHz, rather than the 2700 which gives CAS2 at 333MHz, assuming no overclocking...
Of course it's a little more expensive
/MK

Spawn

Originally posted by MadKevo
Was looking at your choice of memory - I'd be inclined to go for PC3200 rather than 2700 memory e.g. Corsair 512MB DDR XMS3200LLPT TwinX (2x256MB) Platinum CAS2 (MY-017-CS) - this is designed to give CAS2 performance at 400MHz, rather than the 2700 which gives CAS2 at 333MHz, assuming no overclocking...
Of course it's a little more expensive
/MK

Sorry MadKevo I copied and paste the wrong memory the one actually in my shopping list in overclockers is 'Corsair 512MB DDR XMS3200C2PT Platinum Registered CAS2 (MY-032-CS)' Thanks

logistic im actually going to keep my current Monitor its a 19" Gateway which I like a lot

Spawn

I have also changed my motherboard to 'Abit NF7-S v2.0 nForce2 (Socket A) Motherboard (MB-028-AB)'

Also changed hard-drive to 'Seagate Barracuda Serial ATA V 160GB - OEM (HD-009-SE)' <<--- Is this the best hard-drive or what would you recommend?

Spawn

I am going to get the 'Coolermaster Jet 7 ACB-V83 Cooler (Socket A) (HS-011-CM)' Link >> http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_Coolermaster_122.html#aHS_2d011_2dCM

Is this the best or which one would you recommend on the overclockers website

ixoy

I just got the Seagate Barracuda 160GB but it's not working - so so far, it's rubbish.

I then proceeded to blow up my old PC - flash, bang, and smoke - so right now I'm in a filthy mood :mad:

Spawn

Hmmm now you've left me all confused

But if you only got it im sure you have at least 12 months guarantee? If so why not just leave it back or change it for another one?

I really dont know what hard-drive to get but im sure there cant be much of a difference between them all

ixoy

Well my mate got one at the same time - he had no problems with it. It could be I have a dud or am doing something wrong. Dunno! He seems to think it's a good drive.

I'm just pi55ed off because I literally killed my old PC - only of 3 years - and have destroyed hundreds of euro worth of equipment.

j0e9o

did u check this weeks deals on o/c's 9800pro and hl2 worth checkin out m8

Spawn

Originally posted by thomasmckinless
did u check this weeks deals on o/c's 9800pro and hl2 worth checkin out m8

I think you mean 'Hercules 3D Prophet 9800 Pro 128MB DDR & Half Life 2 Bundle - Retail (GX-017-HE)'

I am ordering the PC Tuesday so I will be looking for 'Next weeks only' hopefully its a good one

OfflerCrocGod

Well the MB is just great the RAM (PC3200) is swell the 160Gb SATA HDD is excelent - overall it would rock. One thing, komplett DONT have an Athlon3200+ for sale, they do have an Athlon64 3200+ for sale; that is a very diffrent beast all together the €400 price for a 3200+XP sounded mad:D. Go ahead with that h/w it will be a very nice Box:cool:

Spawn

Originally posted by OfflerCrocGod
Well the MB is just great the RAM (PC3200) is swell the 160Gb SATA HDD is excelent - overall it would rock. One thing, komplett DONT have an Athlon3200+ for sale, they do have an Athlon64 3200+ for sale; that is a very diffrent beast all together the €400 price for a 3200+XP sounded mad:D. Go ahead with that h/w it will be a very nice Box:cool:

Hey thanks offler means alot. Ya see one minute im happy with what im getting next minute my brothers are down my back saying its not worth it but I know it is My brother thinks his PC will be mopre powerful and it cost him £1300 last year... Like cmon he only got a 2500+, same grahics card... only thing is he overclocked it... I dont like to overclock... Way I see it pay for what you get

Mutant_Fruit

Think of the 2500+ as an underclocked 3000+. You can easily bring it back to its normal operating speed of 3000+ and if ya want, overclock it a bit to 3200+. All perfectly safe (providing you remember to attach a fan to the cpu :P)

Woden

howdy there is not a massive amount of risk to o/c a 2500+ with the help of a boards member i got to 3200+ no bother and saved myself a packet. however if your not happy with o/c go with the 3200+ if you can afford it and you will have piece of mind. again if your not overclocking your cooler doesnt matter a massive amount. once its rated for your processor and you have good airflow in your case you should be fine.

with regards to the ram you have to get at least pc3200 ram this ram runs at the same frequency as your processor i.e. 200mhz FSB. and for this i recommend the low latency (LL) ram that you have picked out already it think. don't work about the PT suffix that just indicates the colour of the heat spreader on your ram, which in this case is platinium

the abit NF7-s rev2.0 is a quality motherboard and supports 200mhz processors so there is no issues there. you are looking at a s-ata drive now i believe. as mentioned i use a 160gb seagate s-ata drive. with regards to performance at the moment s-ata drives don't outperform current p-ata (i.e. ide) drives but they do come with the advantage of nice thin cables which can give better airflow. just one thing to take note of with seagate s-ata drives they are full s-ata drives and don't use a molex connector to power them you have to molex - s-ata adaptor to power them don't worry there not dear i got mine off komplet for €6 or so just check around overclockers for them

i believe the case you are going for comes supplied with two rear exhaust 80mm antec fans, you should consider investing in some front intake fans to give yourself good airflow. you can get quiet vantec stealth fans on overclockers no problem and i use two of these as intake fans

Spawn

I know thats what my brothers all say but like whats £40/£50 <<--- I rather be safe than sorry

Woden

well £40/£50 is €56/€70 and thats your call to make as the 3200+ have come down a lot in price even since two months ago when i got my 2500+.

regardless of this issue aside the other points hold true for your if you get the 3200+ 200mhz processor. be under no illusion though this will not perform equivalently to a 3.2Ghz intel processor it will be more around the 2.8-3.0Ghz mark

data