The (new) Official PC building thread!

IF you going to blow that kind of money go for this:

a silverstone case. either the TJ07, TJ09 or TJ10

for SLI, wait for the new 7 series nvidia mobos.

get 2 9800GTXs (which will cost way less than the two ultras)

get 8GB of RAM (4x2GB), if you do ALOT of PS, or video and audio HD encoding. if your just gameing and whatnot, 4GB will be more than enough, and get vista 64 bit if you are goign for 4+ GB. it is a good OS that works perfectly for alot of people, and is very stable. most drivers have come out for it aswell, so dont worry. just check before had if there are drivers for what you need.

and by god, if you are wasting so much money, then why limit yourself to a crapper CPU. go for an intel Extreme QX9650 which will OC like mad, and a very good cooler, to OC, like a tuniq tower, or a zalman 9700, or a Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme, which a good fan (yate loon, shark eagle, etc)

and to finish ti fo a nice 30" screen for the 9800GTX, or two 30". id go for the dell ultrasharp version. (3007)?

 

I was gonna go with the antec "ultimate gamers" case, but realised how bad having a PSU at the bottom is. Im looking into Silverstone atm

 

Mort: Indeed I do, so I certainly wouldn't use a stock heatsink. For most people however, I think they're adequate.
Frank: Hehe, yep, me too! Just one though, for me. As for cleaning, I agree. Dusting out your PC is important, but using an aftermarket cooler is not going to make the PC last longer, provided it isn't overheating.

Oddly enough, I don't think having the PSU at the bottom is a terrible idea, for low load levels it works out quite well, hence why it's used in Antec's P182 case. However, for an 'ultimate gaming case' (IMO the 900 is far from ultimate) then the sort of heat the PSU produces may cause a rise in fan speed (unless you get a decent PSU like a Corsair or PC P&C) in which case the airflow route is disturbed. The problem is never that bad, however, since the bottom intake fan draws air to the power supply section, isolating the components at the bottom of the case from the hothouse chipset and graphics card in the middle, which are fed by the second intake fan, higher up. Overall, I don't think it's a bad idea at all, but it's still not my favourite case. As for it being quiet though, don't make me laugh. I run the fans on such a low voltage the LEDs barely light up.
As for the CPU cooler for a high end PC, I think the Zalman 9700 is a waste. It's very big, very expensive, a pain in the proverbial to clean,and doesn't cool anywhere near as well as a Tuniq or better still, an Ultra 120 Extreme. I'm pleased to see REAM knows about good fan choices. How about adding Scythe and Nexus to that mix?
On the CPU front, whilst the Phenoms are the fastest AMD CPUs to date, they are woefully slow compared to any of the Intels, so if you're going for an ultimate performance build (and let's face it Funk, you are) you will want an Intel Quad core instead. Think of the Phenom as like a Quad core version of the X2, so whilst it's got 4 cores to play with, they're still far slower than the Core 2 offerings.
Didn't want to confuse anyone on the stock cooler front. I would never keep one (my last two CPUs have had proper coolers right from the word go) and for overclocking they're useless. I would always Arctic silver my heatsinks too, and I currently use an Ultra 120. However, I'm not saying they're of no use to people. As long as its kept clean, any PC left stock will run fine for many many years using a stock cooler. Don't be under the illusion that if you don't buy an aftermarket cooler your PC will break. It just doesn't happen.

 

Do motherboards come with the parts needed to connect to the internet? Or do I need to buy an additional network card for that? I'm not talking about wireless, btw). In case the specific motherboard matters, here's the one I'm looking at: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128050 .

 

jtan89 go to the specs section of the board you chose and you see this...
Onboard LAN
Max LAN Speed 10/100/1000Mbps

I think you'll be just fine.

...gm

 

Thanks. Still a relative newb in the field of computers. Would any of you be able to decipher what 10/100/1000Mbps means? I know that it will meet my needs, but I'm curious as to what it means exactly.

 

it means it supports 10Mbps, 100Mbps and 1Gbps networks. That is, 10Meg, 100Meg and Gigabit networking.

 

ok. thanks. i guess that was actually kind of self-explanatory.

 

Just finalising my system and with talk of a case with a psu being at the bottom being bad, im gonna rethink about the antec. Im basically searching for a black case with a tool less design(so a motherboard tray etc). And good airflow. Any ideas?

For my b-day in March, im gonna purchase a quad core over the e6750 if the temps on that are low.

 

this is the case I plan on getting when I build my pc in the summer: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811233013

 

oh crap, i just ordered a Thermalright U120, I didnt know I needed a fan too! For some reason I figured it came with one, my last HSF did. Man I gotta wake up...

You guys recommend any specific models from the higher quality fan companies?

Thanks

 

Sammorris uses these, (well i think)

120mm Scythe S-FLEX SFF21F Fan 1600 RPM

thus, im using them

 

hydro you can find some good ones here... I like SVC and you'll get some positive comments from some of the other US members.

good luck with your choices.

...gm

 

Yep, that's correct. I actually use a Scythe Kaze White fan for my CPU heatsink, the S-Flexes are case fans, but both types are pretty much identical and will work fine in either role.

 

the dominator case is superb for around £50 give or take a coupla quid.

also i would recomend the p182.

 

@He_Man
Look at the Cooler Master 830 EVO...$149 with $50 rebate $99...
at PC Club...has everything you requested...M/B Tray...a Ridiculous number of Fan options for Extreme Air Cooling...its available in Black but not at this price...that will cost you more...I personally prefer the Silver...This is the cheapest I have ever seen this case...
COOLER MASTER Stacker 830 RC-830-SSN3 Aluminum ATX Full Tower Case Retail...
http://www.pcclub.com/product_details.cfm?itemno=A1306830&email=LA&dt=1207e

@Sam
I read an article the other day were they stated that the New Corsair P/S are Not Manufactured by Seasonic...they are CWT or Channel Well Technology...and that your Multi Rail Corsairs are in actuality a Single Rails P/S...None of the Corsairs are true Multi Rails...just like the Thermaltake 750 that you have is Not...Corsair used the Multi Rail so they could market the P/S as having a Higher Amp Rating then they actually have...and all this was confirmed by Corsair...except the last line...like they would ever admit to that one...

 

so i shouldnt go with the case with the PSU at the bottom, or dont go with the corsair 520W PSU?

 

I'm looking for the cheapest good hsf I can buy. I'd also like it to include a decent thermal compound with it, so that I don't have to buy AS5 on top of it. What do you think of this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134
Or any other suggestions? Take into account shipping too...that can be just as expensive as the part at times.

 

that is an awesome deal on that stacker evo. I happen to prefer the silver too. I don't need a case right now but that deal is just too good to pass up.

 

@Mort81

You can't let a little thing like not needing it now...stop you...I am going to have to snag one...No shipping was the clincher...I have a PC Club within 1 mile so ordered it for store pick-up...My total cost after rebate is $112...You just cannot beat that price...I quess I have my New Gaming Case...