i destoryed my x1900XT by Vmod :(

but i was a reckless 15 year old then.

ad yeah, with a budget lie that, firstly one one be playing crysis, and one will be playing on 1280x1024 or less. in which case, the 3850 will be more than adequate. even the 256 one.

Indeedy, the HD3850 can manage most games except Crysis at 1280x1024 full detail.

most cards cant handle crysis at that res on dx10 very high EVERYTHING either, tbh.

and no one would get a £400 comp for crysis.

Most cards won't need to, because most people will be using XP and therefore DX9. An HD3870 can make 1280x1024 High, and two 3870s can do 1680x1050.

quite true! then theres no need to buy 9600GT...

i'll go for CM690 over P182, i'm on an extremely tight budget

Well that's it, that's the logical choice, because good though the P182 is, it's not inexpensive.

Quote:

---

I'll go for CM690 over P182, i'm on an extremely tight budget

---

If you want a cheap but quality case, get the Cooler Master Centurion. I used one for my parents' build and they even like the looks of it. Fits even bigger cards well and cools nicely. Fully rolled edges, open mesh front with a dust filter, very quiet with the right PSU...

Quote:

---

quite true! then theres no need to buy 9600GT...

---

I just saw a 9600GT in action. They're about equal to an HD3870 and faster than an HD3850 by far. Sometimes matching the 8800GT. That and they're only $20 more than the HD3850 at newegg :) Maybe it's already been said, but what kind of prices do you have in the UK? Is the 9600GT also cheaper than the HD3870?

And the HD3850 256MB won't play most games nearly as well, even OC'd. Don't vMod it if you get it, that'll kill it quick. The 9600GT will really matter in Crysis. So if that's what you want to play, get the 9600GT. Anything else you can probably max at 1280 res with the 3850, even CoD 4 and Oblivion(very rare case where the HD3850 does as well as other cards).

The HD3850 is a good card either way. I just feel that the 9600GT is faster for the money. I might even get one for my parents in the months ahead if I save my money.

Hey what's your opinion on COOLER MASTER RC-690 VS Antec 900.

I'm a Cooler Master fan right now. The Antec 900 is a bit more extreme and aggressive. The Cooler Master 690 is more elegant and streamlined. They're both awesome cases. It comes down to preference.

How about cooling performance? I like the side fans on the CM so the GPU gets air directly from the outside. Also I HATE clear side panels now and LED fans. The light annoys me and I wont like see my computers wire clutter through the clear panels.

Even cooling-wise, I think the RC-690 can best the 900.

I would go for the RC960 every time. I beleive the cooling is better, but i also talk from Bias, i think the Antec 900 is a very ugly case, and im an avid hater of side windows and LED fans.

I currently have the P182, which is great looking and cooling is good, 24 idle, and 35 load air cooled with E4500 O/C to 3.2Ghz.

But what weird is i had a cheap Antler SK case which i doubt anyones heard of

And that actually cooled better at 20 idle and 30 load.

Alright because they are both about the same price and I was wondering which one to get. My first priority is cooling ability though. So you think the CM will cool better also?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...Tpk=antec%2b900

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137

@abuzar1
as you know i also have the CM RC-690. you get 3 120mm fans with it from the factory.1 that is a blue led.blue led is in the front and then 1 on the side panel just infront of the cards and 1 in the rear.

as you know from the other threads it will take 2 140mm fans on top which work great set as exhaust. the nyou ca nadd another 120mm or smaller if wanted on the side panel to have 2 fans there. and then 1 120mm fan on the bottom of the case(which i think should be set as intake) alot of air can be moved in this case.

i myself was looking at the Antec 900 along with the 690 i got the 690 cause of price plus i can put 5 ODD in it only 3 in the antec 900 if you leave both the front fans hooked up on it.

the RC-690 is a lttle heavy with alot of ODD and HDD in it just ask GM..lol you say you dont like the side window panels or led anymore.. if you get the 690 you do have the option if wanted to later to buy window side panel..

here ya go a better price on the RC-690
http://www.svc.com/rc-690-kkn1-gp.html
also you can add a 140mm fan to the side panel. i didnt realise that until i just read the info on it.

im not trying to sway you to the 690, but i have one and can inform ya on it the best. like i said i was gonna get the 900 first until i found the 690 and the price was a big difference. i actually paid $59 for mine with a $40 mir(that i havent gotten yet) so $19 for it i couldnt pass it up..lol

talk with zoso he has the antec 900 he can tell ya about the cooling on it first hand

well well i talked that rebate up..lol
i just checked the status of it and it has been mailed.

now that all rebates are back it has cost me $685 for my build
GA-P35-DS3R
E8400
EVGA 7600GT
SEGATE 250GB SATA HDD
CM RC-690
CRUCIAL BALLISTIX DDR2 1066
LITEON LH-20A1S
ARTIC COOLER FREEZER 7 PRO
CORSAIR TX650 PSU

not bad at all huh?

The P182's not designed for top end cooling, it's designed for quietness, so it's expected that cheap cases could beat it.
Personally I would recommend the RC-690 above all other reasons for quality of design. The Antec 900 is a pain in the backside to do certian things with (namely install the hard disks) and when I built a PC in a coolermaster case I just didn't have that option.

I owned an Antec 900 for a while and got rid of it mainly because of the noise.

the P182 is in no way quite, even with the fans on the lowest setting it's still a loud bastard.

Ah, now that's why you use Scythe fans instead and undervolt them... ;-) Of course, that makes the cooling situation even worse, but Nick's file server has five 500Gb drives in it, and its almost entirely inaudible from more than a couple of feet away. My PCs are quiet, but they aren't quite that good! :)

Too be honest, on a personal level, im not too bothered about my PC being quiet, the noise from my pc doesnt bother me. if i am playing games i usually have headphones on and because its not in my bedroom i cant hear it if i leave it on all night.

why do people sometimes insist on having silent pc's?

I do because I can watch films on it and not have to struggle to hear quiet sections (and put up with ambient noise) but also because my PC is in my bedroom and if it's quiet it can stay on all night if it's for example torrenting, without keeping me awake. Plus it's useful when you're working.

Rob, thanks for the link. I will probably buying that case on Friday. Also any recommendations on good but cheap 140mm fans?

Remember, I don't care about quiet, but more about how much air it moves.

having a noisey pc isnt an option if you use it for audio recording work, mine is dual purpose but a have a fan controller so i can toggle the fan speed for when im gaming / recording down accoustic guitar and other mic'd up sources, you realy dont want to have to filter out any ambient background noise as it also strips out the harmonics on alot of sounds. plus as sam says , doing a long stint on a noisey computer is far more tiring than if you worked with a silent pc. something about a constant whir or hum that drains you mentaly.

yate loon D14SL-12 its not realy the best for output though only about 46cfm, but only 1000 rpm too.

AeroCool do some 14cm fans too but they only output about 55 cfm,

the larger fans dont realy kick out that much, I think the idea was to increase the fan size to reduce the rpm to lower the noise level, look for a 14cm to 12cm converter and put on a sythe kaze jyuni 1900rpm @ 110 cfm if you dont mind noise lol

Oh well, I wont be building another computer for a couple of months. I will just buy that case and put my old computer parts in it until I get better parts.

Aerocool Streamliners are the ones to have, because they're quiet and put out a reasonable amount of air. If you want lots of air though you should try and track these down: http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductIn...roductID=756696
The 140CFM figure is complete bull, but they should manage almost 100 without making your ears bleed.