The (new) Official PC building thread!

well.. like i said its been a while, last i remember most people were recommending AMD to me, but to tell you the truth i dont really even know the difference anymore x.x

Ok, sounds good ill look into it. What does "modular" PSU mean? >_>

I'm not too picky on this so probably any one of those would be fine thanks for suggestions. :]

that looks awesome but it says price valid until 7/5/08 and idk if i wanna buy it by tomorrow >.<

looks good to me but then again i know nothing about PSUs x.x

 

If you aren't doing this to support AMD, then just get a Intel Quad Core. They perform much better. Something like this. You can get all these parts from newegg, but get the PSU from buy.com

Intel Q9450
Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3R
NZXT Tempest Case
Corsair 650TX PSU
Try to get 4GB of 1066Mhz ram with cas5

 

Xevlys..That PSU is pretty well RATED as an excellent unit in this forum

 

It's been a LONG time since AMD CPUs were worth buying for anything but an absolute budget build. While there's nothing exactly wrong with them, there are very few cases when having a Core 2 CPU wouldn't be better.
The Phenoms are particularly poor compared to Intel's quads, so for high performance, it's strictly Intel unless you already have everything required but the CPU to make a system.

Clearly the motherboard is out the window with a move to intel, I'd go with the Gigabyte EP35-DS3R on newegg, and the Core 2 Quad Q9450.
EVGA graphics cards have a dodgy reputation, especially superclocked ones - and for that money you could buy a vastly superior Radeon HD4850.
The case and HDD choices are fine, though you will need an extra case fan, since coolermaster only provide one. I recommend the SFF21F for that. Alternatively you could buy the again vastly superior NZXT Tempest.
Acer monitors are alright, but the quality of them seems sub-par compared to almost all other brands I've seen.
The Corsair TX 650W PSU is fine, though if you're looking for modular, go with a 520W HX instead. 520W is still ample power for both the system originally envisaged, and the one I recommend - and you have less cable clutter to worry about.


Links:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139001
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128086
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115042
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146047
slightly better RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145197

 

Xevlys,

What are you gonna do with this computer?? If you plan on keeping it a while (about 10x longer than BOOZER...lol) and OC'ing a little bit then I would go Intel for sure. I know there are some AMD fans out there but Intel is leading the race right now and it's my choice by far.

The suggestions about cpu and mobo from sammy are pretty nice but if you can spend some more on a mobo then I would consider the NEW ASUS P5Q Deluxe... it's been "tested" by a very knowledgeable member here and I trust his findings completely. This is a solid mobo and a good OC'er as well.

The ODD's that LOCO recommended are stellar. I would consider SATA as well and get the Sony/NEC/Optiarc AD-7200S and the Pioneer 215D!! Both excellent performers and I have the AD-7200S and LOCO has the Pioneer 215D.

I like the case that sammy posted as well as the Cooler Master 590. Really nice features and /me likey too much.

A psu is NOT just a psu. lol. The Corsair psu's these guys linked you to are very good!!! Antec Neo Power 650W (modular) to look at for the price (outright no MIR) it's a good deal and a good psu to boot.

I would look at the Q9450 along with the Q6700!!! The Q6700 was over $500 just a few months ago IIRC.

btw if you're gonna go with a Quad I would look at the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro for a minimum hsf cooler!!! I would personally get the Thermaright TRU or TRUE!! (Ultra 120 or Ultra 120 Extreme)

Well there's some info to confuse even the best of guides. LOL. Good luck and happy hunting....

...gm

 

GM, I hate to fall behind, that's why I sell my computers! lol
I also hate losing money, and every single one of my computers has made me money, so I feel good. Oh and your sig rocks! lol

 

If keeping up means rarely having anything but an old celeron though, the system's flawed...
You should have made enough money buy now to have your own PC to keep and sell others!

 

modular cabling means that the only cables on the psu that are permanent and can not be removed are the 24 pin mobo cable and the 4/8 pin cpu power cable. you use only what you need in the way of 4 pin molex cables, sata power cables, and 6 pin gpu cables. you get an assortment of different lengths and they plug into the power supply. makes for a much neater build and better cable management.

both the corsair HX and TX series PSU's are very good. I personally use and recommend the corsair 620HX. lots of power and you get a better selection and more cables than the 520HX. best place to buy from is buy.com. they usually have the best price plus a nice mail in rebate.

if you're not wanting to go all out and would like to save a little money but still would like a quad core cpu, you can't go wrong with an intel Q6600 quad core cpu.

edit: sorry LOCO, you posted while I was writing

 

i dont know if they have expanded their market to the US, but BeQuiet make AMAZING PSUs (their Dark Power Pro series) are nothing short of amazing.

my next build (when the 4870X2 comes out) will have the 650W verison (£100)

 

Ah, shaffaaf really does like overspending on PSUs...
Unless I was using two 4870s in the old style (two separate cards) I'd stick with my 520W HX. If I was using a pair of 4870s though, it'd probably be the 750W TX, since it's so cheap. Not modular but to be honest, saving so much money is nice. (Note that neither the HX620W or Darkpower 650W can run a pair of 4870s because they lack the four 6-pin connectors required, only the Modu82 625W, TX750, HX1000 and typical 750W+ units can pull this off). Even then the Modu82 625W is the same price as most 750W modular units, so it's still a questionable purchase.

As for an HD4870X2, I thought you liked your PC quiet? With a TDP pretty close to 300W, that card will have a noisy cooler, no questions asked. The HD3870X2's was nasty, and this is even worse. Since aftermarket cooling isn't an option for dual cards it's watercooling or earbuds - the main reason why I went traditional for crossfire.

 

edit double post.

 

that's true with a lot of Asus boards, the dreaded P5N-E SLI included. It's not really Asus' fault, the Arctic is too large at low heights. However, Gigabyte's compatibility with it is excellent. Not sticking a note in for either company here, but it just tends to be the way with the shape of the heatsinks.

For what it's worth, for all standard configs with the exception of HD4870s in crossfire, the HX520 and VX550 units are sufficiently powerful.

 

sam, most 4870s come with a molex to 6pin.

and yes i like to over spend on PSUs, if not them, then nothing. they are extremely quiet, and stable. its the same price as the modu625.

and with the option of putting 3pin fans into it so they can spin for another 20s after shutting down cools the hot components better than the fans jsut stoping once power is off.

for me its either a HX620 or the darkpowerpro

and the 4870X2 has once 8 and one 6, so itll be fine.

ill see the reviews for it then ill decide between xfire 4850 HIS ICEQs OR the 4870X2s

 

shaf,

I know it's not as powerful as the top dog GPU's out now but my HIS HD3850 ICEQ TURBO is silent.

 

thanks for that morty old chum, but i realised my spellign mistake and corrected it

 

Sam, yeah and I am considering a new build. To be fair though, I use a Core 2 Duo, not a Celeron D.

Rob, your sig is driving me crazy. I always think there is a frekin bug on my screen!

 

even so, would you want a case filled with adapters? Kind of defeats the object of modular connectors...
As far as overspending, I know that's not the reason why, it's just to be safe in the knowledge you have a PSU that's more powerful than you'll ever need. I agree with that notion, for example for the moment I have a 520W PSU that I run a max of 180W off. To say you need to spend £100 on a PSU to get it quiet and stable is nuts though when you think about units like the S12-M430 and VX450.

I personally would save the 20 quid and go for the HX620 and as you say, either a pair of 4850s or the 4870X2. For quietness, the pair of 4850s will be the only option. For performance clearly the 4870X2 will win out, but it'll probably cost quite a lot more - hence why you should save by getting a more reasonable PSU! With a pair of 4850s in a system loaded with an overclocked quad, you'll be looking at around 420W from the mains at full load, so about 370Wish DC, no problem for a 620, hell even a 520, but if you're considering the 4870X2, the 620 would be wiser for the breathing room.

Abuzar: Really? When did you ditch the celeron, I'm out of touch! lol

Mort: Not surprised really, HIS' ICEQ coolers are excellent.