The Official PC building thread -3rd Edition

omegaman7,
You need to keep in mind that Laptops are generally slower than desktop computers. Most run a slower 667MHz FSB and memory! Also most have slower 5400 rpm hard drives!

Russ

 

mmm hmmm. I dont doubt that. Never owned one, but I suppose that would have to be true.
1. Your obviously an expert
2. To be mobile, cant be too power hungry.
Until they get some SERIOUS battery capabilities going on. I read about some water based battery a while back. Sounded promising. The only downfall to it was water is 33%(i think) heavier than what they're using. Gonna have to search on that I have no need for a laptop though. I suppose when I start professionally fixing/building computers for others, it could come in handy indeed.

 

no coolermasters are!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

LOL, ive looked at a few Cooler masters. They seem quite nice as well. Apevia sure has some sharp looking cases too. But I also heard they're cheaply made(Apevia). Any thoughts on that.

 

Oman7,
Take a close look at what you getting. The Cheapest Cooler Master has tool-less drive bays, while the Aptiva has to have all it's drives screwed down. Having to do the 2 screws on each sides is a bummer, but if you don't, the drives will move when you eject a disk The quality, fit and finish is better all around on the CMs!

Russ

 

I may just consider this one Linky for the next build. It supports E-atx! LOL, I just measured my current case. It comes in at 16.5 tall, by 17 depth, 7 wide. This is a baby by comparison. NOW im salivating. And this is one of their cheaper cases im looking at. OMG, I REALLY want to get going on it now. Cant wait til tax return time. I thought my current tower was good size! Its a monster next to my pavilion. Well guys, Ive got some work to do.
Now im gonna be dreaming of my next computer, LOL.

 

O-man7 the HAF by CM is a sweet case indeed. I've drooled over one since they came out. I have the RC-690 and it's great but NOTHING like the HAF. IIRC bigwilly has one so you might ask him about it. Rob did you ever get your order in for one??

.....gm

 

not yet but the time is getting close let me tell ya....thinking m gonna get one of them and a lappy for the wife. maybe this one here
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9155594&type=product&id=1218038121606

just for internet and email..

 

cincyrob,
Almost all lian Li cases are Aluminum, and compared to many other brands, are superior in terms of product quality, fit and finish even in their inexpensive models! Lian Li is probably the best rated overall cases on the market today. I know, I looked up their cases on Newegg and was astonished to see that out of 47 Mid-Tower cases, 37 of them earned 5 Eggs, 6 earned 4 and 4 Models had no image available! Out of over 2000 Reviews, the lowest overall rating was 4 Eggs! That's remarkable!

Apevia makes the most models at 111, Lian Li is second at 67 and Cooler Master is third at 53! Which would I choose? I'd pick the Cooler master because it gives me more of what I'm looking for in a case, for generally less money! Apeiva makes some nice looking cases, but are mostly made of lighter grade steel, lacking in features, and finish can sometimes be very poor!

I can buy a Lian Li case that pleases me for $79, but for the same price I get a Cooler Maser that pleases me for the same reasons, plus I get a decent quality 460w PSU as a bonus! Coolermaster's are generally right up there in terms of what you get for your money, compared to many other brands, but I would never call them the Ferrari. I think Lian Li stands alone as the Ferrari of computer cases, as the quality is head and shoulders over pretty much everything else! You can see the Craftsmanship in the way things fit together and the finish both inside and out!

Best Regards,
Russ

 

Hey russ, didnt you say that stock PSU's are usually poor? I know the one that came in my barebone, went out. See, I didnt wanna trust it with all that I had to run. So I put it in a significantly lesser system, MY BRO's. IT DIED, about a month ago. I would think powering a poor system would be EASY even for a Cheap PSU. Guess I was wrong.
Russ, Ferrari is a car I can only DREAM of even looking at, let alone owning one. Thats why I said "the ferrari of cases" Its a compliment Although, To each his own. I suppose for some people its eh hem cough sneeze MUSTANG eh hem, LOL. Not a ford fan. I call them muskrats! They dont deserve the name in my opinion. Although the one in gone in 60 seconds was AWESOME, I can respect that one. I love muscle cars. Eleanor, If im not mistaken

EDIT - Do I keep scaring people off, LOL. I swear, everytime I post (probably just my luck) people disappear for a while. Then again, most of you have family. Im a bachelor

 

Stock PSUs that come with cases are generally poor, but Cooler Master, Thermaltake, antec and others make decent quality PSUs as well as cases. You don't see any of the good name brands selling $13-$16 PSUs like Rosewill and Apevia do. Antec makes a Basiq 350w model for $20, but I wouldn't use it in anything I might build! There's not very much worth buying in the $40 and under range, but you can find good quality PSUs in that price range with an MIR on occasion. I paid just $39 for my Thermaltake W0093RU 500w PSU with a $40 MIR when I bought one for Oxi! It would be my first choice if it was available on sale right now! You just have to look around and see what's available at the time you're looking for one! Right now, for me it's go ahead and get the CM Case with the PSU! I'm on a tight budget here and there's some things in my order that I won't change, like the MB, CPU, Memory and CPU cooler. My choice of 2 Samsung SH-S203N DVD burners should be good, and I have the HDDs already! That pretty much leaves only the case and PSU, which is only subject to change if MicroCenter still has the Antec Media center case I wanted, in stock come next Friday! LOL!!

Best Regards,
Russ

 

I hope im not hexxing but... Samsung burners from my experience are awesome. My DRU sony drives are branded sony but actually samsung. NEVER a problem. Never bought a TRUE samsung, but given the DRU track record, you should be very good. CM is definetely gonna be where my eyesight is fixed!

 

Unless I can get two AD-7200s models, I'll stay with the Sammi's! I know it's a good drive. I always wanted to try Lite-Scribe anyway! LOL!!

Russ

 

Ehhh... litescribe is plain compared to printables. And printables are cheaper too. Myself, i'd rather not waist my burners life, on burning an image. Just my 2 cents though. Expecially since burners just dont last as long as one would hope. Unless we get one built on a wednesday, LOL

 

Oman7,
You are probably right so I switched my order to two of the Samsung SH-S222A's. I wanted IDE anyway as I have the Round "True" 133 Cables that fit perfectly in the case I'm getting, so why not? No sense wasting the IDE interface! LOL!!

Russ

 

Hmmff. am I the only one that believes that 6 sata ports just isnt gonna cut it? I REALLY want this <-----board for more than one reason. It comes highly recommended, ehhh russ It has the ability for sli or crossfire, which ever the case may be, LOL. Thats another reason why I want it. Never messed with Dual GPU cards. I love tackling new setups. Hmmm... I just noticed it has onboard ati graphics. This could be a problem. Ive heard that ati and nvidia dont mesh well together, and im somewhat an nvidia fanboy. Your opinions are VERY welcome guys. Tell me how it is, LOL. Graphics, are gonna be one of the strong points of my next build.
Hmmm... I heard that the upcoming phenom 2nd, is supposed to address an issue, when they're paired with one another on the same board. That tells me, that dual socket phenom 2nds(am3) could be in the works. Yes, I realize that will be QUITE expensive upon release. Ehhh... I can wait on that release. I'm not dropping 500 bones on a board, even if it is godlike, LOL.

 

Well, one things for sure. Im NOT going for this one.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131339
TOTAL gamers rig. In my opinion, it seems like a waist of the pci slots too. Most if not all cards will block the pci slots. What good is a rig like that but ONLY gaming. Not for me. Decided to look at some of the other manufacturers models like the gigabyte, asus has ONE, and its TOTAL gamer rig. Russ recommended the 790 amd north bridge, so thats what im reading up on.

Heres MSI's version of the 790 north bridge.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130190
LOL, its got 5 sata ports. What is that, COME ON! 5!!!

Well... I think I have my winner. The gigabytes getting good reviews, price is right, enough sata ports for now, should be a good gamers rig. A little disapointed to not see manufacturer responses in the negative reviews. GSKILL is all about that. But then, that COULD be a BOT most the time. Who knows.
From what im reading, it should be a good overclocker too
another task im itching to try

 

They are probably talking about Server boards. I doubt that you will see any Dual CPU MBs for mainstream computing. The MB is great, but why would you want one if you are planning on heavy duty graphics? I mean, you can turn the OBG off completely and use an nVidia card, but the MSI (with the heatpipe cooler) I linked you a while ago will work much better, especially with two in Crossfire.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127370
Did I miss something here? I'm not sure, but I don't think you can use two nVidia cards in crossfire! The only computer that supports both that I know of is the Dell XPS 730, with the 730i chipset, and Dell uses Hacked Drivers to pull it off according to nVidia Forums! It can run both SLI and CrossFire! Quad SLI is a total flop at this point. http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/QuadSLI. In many tests a single 9200GTX often beats the Quad SLI, and more often than not CrossFire is the big winner! Think ATi!

Russ

 

Oman7,
One thing is for certain, Mine is being ordered Friday so It won't be too long before I can see just how good the GB is! I'm going to try the On board Graphics, as they should be good enough for my use. I won't bother with Hybrid CrossfireX, so if I'm not happy with them, There's an MSI HD 4850 in my future! LOL!!

Best Regards,
Russ

 

i hear what your saying Russ, and what all the reviews say. as for the reviews someone here has said a few times,"you gotta look at them reviews with the idiot factor insight"..lol
myself i have yet to see a Lian-Li case that "I would buy".
i have with my own eyes seen a couple Lian-Li cases next to a couple coolermaster cases...in MY eyes coolermaster wins hands down...now thats just me....

no i agree with you also.on my GA-P35-DS3R it had 8 sata ports 2 were eSata,but they were sata. i have only 6 now and if i had all sata burners all of them would be used up. 4odd and 2 hdd.