The (new) Official PC building thread!

I've had time to cool off a bit and after considering the PM's (thanks guys) I got urging me to come back, although I won't be posting on a regular basis, I felt the need to post this special CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...-IGNEFL012208-_-DesktopMemory-_-E0-_-20145034 $34.00 after $40.00 MIR and another $5.00 off with promo code EMCABCCAH plus free shipping. final price $29.00. even though I will probably go with crucial ballistics on my future build, that is a very good deal.

I agree but would probably move up to the HX620. I also agree about asus mobos but you'll usually pay a premium price for them. I'll most likely also go with an asus mobo on my future build. I like their bios layout and excellent OC capabilities.

 

ok heres the final draft on what im gonna build when i get to build it in the next few weeks..

GA-P35C-DS3R
E8400 cpu
corsair xm2 2x1gb mem
coolermaster extreme power 500w psu
CM cooler
some middle of the road 256 GPU
segate 500gb sata hdd
housed in a CM RC-631 case

with 3-5 red led fans

 

Its not Overkill for (2) HD3870's...which is what he is planning on...The 520 is to close...in my humble opinion...besides...you can never have to much power...

Good to see you Mort..

 

three pages in nine hours... impressive!

Bladerz05: The Intel system is the better one, mainly because the CPU is a good 50% faster. 700W is overkill for a PSU, but for the love of god don't use a Raidmax unit, they're awful.

The E8400s are in stock, hooray! Does anyone have them benched yet?

Greensman: Tough luck mate, I saw the post. What were you expecting me to say? The Apollo's a good, cheap case, and I was strongly considering getting one for my fileserver.

As for the Raidmax Sagitta, I'm just not very fond of Raidmax's looks, and they're not usually built very well.

On the crossfire front, a 750W PSU for a pair of 3870s? Please tell me that's a joke. A quad core with two 8800 Ultras will only draw 550W, and that's from the wall, let alone inside... The HX620 or VX550 will handle a pair of 3800s, or the 3870X2 fine.


Mort: Welcome back mate! That's an astonishing deal on RAM. I thought I did well buying some of it second hand for £30 in the UK!

 

On a 550 P/S...Now thats a Freak'in Joke...

 

Not really. Granted, I wouldn't use a 550W unit on that system for it being fully loaded most of the time, but the point is, if a 550W unit could potentially handle that much, the far lighter load of the 3870s would mean a standard 520 or 550W unit could easily handle the setup. 750W Units I think are massively oversold. That's not to say they're bad, but they're just unnecessary, and usually pretty expensive.
I think a good compromise here is something like the 620W HX. The 750W Quad or Corsair TX is taking things a little far.

Take a look at this graph:

Now refer back to my original statement.

A 550W unit for two 8800 Ultras would indeed struggle, but that was never in my OP.
Sorry for the rant, but that needed clearing up - I quite rightly can't appear to be suggesting you can use a really low rated PSU, it's against everything I stand for!

Something funny about triple SLI, I made this small chart describing at current UK electricity costs, how much extra you'd be paying to have three 8800 Ultras rather than just the one:
PC on 3 hours a day, 1hr gaming £42/year
PC on 6 hours a day, 1hr gaming £71/year
PC on 10hrs a day, 1hr gaming £110/year
PC on 16hrs a day, 1hr gaming £169/year
PC on 24hrs a day, 1hr gaming £248/year

PC on 3 hours a day, 3hr gaming £66/year
PC on 6 hours a day, 3hr gamig £96/year
PC on 10hrs a day, 3hr gaming £135/year
PC on 16hrs a day, 3hr gaming (this is probably where I fit) £194/year
PC on 24hrs a day, 3hr gaming £272/year

PC on 6 hours a day, 6hr gaming £133/year
PC on 10hrs a day, 6hr gaming £172/year
PC on 16hrs a day, 6hr gaming £231/year
PC on 24hrs a day, 6hr gaming £309/year

24hour gaming spree (lol): £1.45 each

So if you're a hardcore gamer (and let's face it with three 8800s you should be) and/or leave your PC on a lot of the time, you could be paying for one of the cards again every 18 months. That's steep, especially since they cost nearly twice as much as GTXs...



An interesting one I can't figure out though. Why does the second 8800 Ultra only use 184W, but the third one 249W? Where has the extra 65W come from, surely not the chipset?
@Bladerz: The freezer 7 pro is noisy at full speed, but no more so than any other normal heatsink. If you drop the fan speed in speedfan, you can get it quite enough. You also asked about HT technology. Since you'll be getting a dual core CPU, you really don't need hyper threading any more. It was only any use with P4s, and even then it wasn't that important.

 

LP, the link isn't working.

I got the numbers from Ray.

 

I think the tom's hardware site acts differently depending on which region you're from (even within the US) so you can't actually post links from it, you just have to tell people to visit their own version of the site, which sucks. I've no idea why they do it.
The reason the link doesn't work for me is because that article hasn't been published on my THG site yet, you can go to the page and it's there:

ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 - Fastest Yet!
January 23, 2008 00:01
AMD has taken back the crown for the most powerful graphics card. Read on to see how the company did it and how the HD 3879 X2 performs on a variety of benchmarks.
Click the link though, and you get a 404 because your server hasn't got the data yet...

 

NOW Rob,
Come on, we was just razzin ya about NOT buying anything yet. ;P I don't know about Scott but I'm pretty sure everyone in here has had to wait here or there for something. I have 3 kiddies just like you do and something to pay for every month that wasn't "included" in the budget so I COMPLETELY understand what you're talking about. Remember it took me about 4 months to get my stuff together for my build.

If you remember I blew off the CM-631 cause of frikkin tree limbs on my house. :-( Didn't need the case anyway but that would have been sweet with GREEN LED's in it!!!

@Morty,
Thanks for the link!! Great buy and I think ROB should buy that while he can!! hehehe.

...gm

edit: to fix quotes...

add...Rob I'm not sure how sound the advice we give is but it's advice none the less. hehehe.

 

When I first wanted to build my PC, it's original specs were a 3500+, 1GB of RAM and an X1800XT. By the time I finished, that changed to an X2 4200+, 2GB and an X1900XT instead...

By the way, thought you might appreciate this.
It's a little overdone, but hey... each to their own!
http://www.quakeconpics.com/2003/da...case-mods--neon-green-with-biohazard-fans.jpg

 

Nice GREEN system there sam. Is that yours??

Where'd everyone go?? I guess some of these people actually have to work right now. lol.

I'd like to see the REDS guy do the same thing but with RED LED's. I think that's his plan but he's keeping everything hush hush.....hehehe.

Does anyone know the actual date the NEW 3000 series cards are gonna be available here in the states?? tia...

.....gm

 

so you guys think 750 watts is two much even though im planning to get 2 cards?
i read here that 2 3870's maxed out would consume 580 wats plus what was it like 90 wats for the cpu so that brings it up to 670 already plus you add fans, oc etc...
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/245029-29-power-overclock-3870-crossfire

heres a quote from that site "It handles a 580W (as the ATI website says) but I've just today had to put my CPU @ stock speed to get it to boot, so it is compliant however get a branded 700W+ to be able to overclock your CPU and 3870's. "

 

Blade,
You can go to maybe 650W but I think for about the same money after MIR and such you should go with the 750W. It's more future proof if you decide to go with the dual video cards and anything else you may decide to add (even water cooling). I think it would be different if we were to say get at minimum a 1000W (1kW) p/s, NOW that might be true overkill for the system that you're looking at.

jm2c on the deal...

.....gm

 

Greensman: Nope, my PC's in my blog. That's just someone's PC at a LAN party, a picture I found on the internet (from ages ago!)
Bladerz: 750w is overkill, the only reason the guy had problems was because his CPU uses loads of power, and he's overclocked his CPU to nearly it's limit. You ned absolutely stable power to do that, and the Hiper units just can't provide that much juice. I managed to get the fan speed on mine to max when drawing a mere 210W, so I'm dubious they're as powerful as they say they are. If you get a top notch 600W unit, like an HX 620W, you will have no problems, because people run pairs of 8800GTXs with those and quad core CPUs, and they don't have any issues.

 

this thing looks like a beast what do you guys think?

XCLIO A380PLUS-BK Fully Black High Gloss Finish 1.0mm SECC/ ABS ATX Full Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811103014

i also like this one but it is kinda pricey
Thermaltake Armor Series VA8003BWS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133021

 

Sam just touched on something that maybe we haven't voiced enough opinion about. TOP NOTCH components. Same thing with the case you were looking at.

I did some picking here and some of you will disagree but here's some choices for a p/s that would do you right imo.

601-700 Watt p/s These run from $105-$180 depending on discount and MIR.

701-800 Watt p/s These run from $70-$190 depending on discount and MIR.

I won't sway you either way on brand but there are deals to be had in both wattage categories. good luck choosing.

...gm

 

yeah Rob you know me and GM were just kidding i hope lol.

and yeah i kinda like the asus mobo better to Mort

 

If I were you I would get a Corsair 650W PSU.


Also I have the Armor case and it's excellent.

 

We all have our personal preference in cases. I personally think the A380 is hideous (I've seen it in person), and it's cooling is actually really medicore despite the two huge fans. The armor is far better, but not to my taste in aesthetics...

@Abuzar: The TX? Perhaps, but I'd still vote for one that was modular. The TX650 certainly is cheap though...

Greensman: Too right, we haven't, but then I don't think you could ever emphasise that enough!

 

don't let people get to on your new build..some things do take time we set are systems up on how we like them to work .remember.I'm always here as a friend and co-worker to help you as much as possible on your build.i'm not here to compete with others and there systems just get help and to help others in problems and get along with others some like video display me myself..I like the power of the cpu and a good quality Dvd burner but each his own he or she likes the most.Everybody i done met here been a great help thank you all for the help.don't worry robo we'll get it done.