Build Noob and Case Advice

[Pob255]

The p45 chipset is the current chipset of choise for socket 775 motherboards, these are an intell chipset with crossfire support (ati's version of sli, although now ati uses internal links I think it's a bit better the sli). you can still use nvidia cards on a crossfire motherboard, just not 2 linked together.

I'm not up on which are the best p45 motherboards, after a quick look the Asus P5Q Pro looks good http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=818514

I'd stick with a ddr2 memory motherboard, as ddr3 is still a bit too expensive and the small boost you get from the extra speed is not really worth it. (the performance of faster memory tends to fall off quickly after it runs quicker than the FSB)

[Orpheus22]

Woot two pages! Yeah that looks good. Anyone else got any opinions on boards? As long as it works and is very nice and stable then thats all that matters to me. Im probably not going to be overclocking but i am going to be plugging 8GB of DDR2 into this sucker along with my Q9550. I want them to live as long as possible...

[Webby]

I second the P5Q-Pro, will do everything you want and more

I also concur with Pob that you probably don't need a GTX 280 and either the 260 or HD4870 would be better value for money.

Finally on cases if quiet is something you can see yourself relishing then the P182 would be a worthy case indeed, or possibly the Antec SOLO which is smaller but has good sound deadening properties (you may need to check the length of the graphics card though). Or if you like the slightly more gamey look then perhaps the NZXT Hush would be up your street or maybe the NZXT Whisper (with space for 9 thats right 9! hard drives), both incorporate sound deadening material and are reasonably quiet (it all depends on the fans you use of course).

[Orpheus22]

Right well it looks like thats the motherboard sorted. Thanks lads.

Do you know your the only person to have recommended me NZXT cases? I have read loads of reviews and they are highly praised and i really wanted one, but no-one seems to use them on the forums im on. Im very tempted by the Hush, i doubt i would ever have 9 HDD's to be honest. Iv really grown to like the Coolermaster 690 though. Damnit! I know most people wouldnt care, but this is my first build and im so excited about it, i just wanna get a kick as case i can do some sweet simple mods to later on.

I really think it might be the 690...
What are those cases like cooling and noise wise? 690/Hush/Whisper?

Thanks guys, your advice is wicked.

[Webby]

I only recommended the NZXT cases because you were saying about liking the 690 over the 590 and it is obviously more stylised like the NZXTs.

As to temperatures the 690 is very good my brother has one and his 9750 phenom under full load is something like 45°C (using the Xigmatek S1283) which is not to shabby he has replaced the fans with some akasa ones and runs them all at ~5v off a fan controller so it is basically silent, he does have every fan slot filled though, you could definitily do some mods to the 690 no doubt.

As for the NZXT cases most reviews seem to concentrate more on how the build process goes rather than thermal performance and since I don't have access to one I can't really comment. Both are considered quiet and i see more modding potential in the Whisper I would say that their thermal performance will suffer though compared to the 690 due to lack of venting but they will be quiet.

Finally in this particular item it really is down to you, people can make suggestions but if you don't like the look of it then don't buy it!

[Pob255]

Just had a look at the NZXT Whisper it looks very impressive
http://www.nzxt.com/products/whisper/
I like the black monolith look of it, 9 hard drives in vibration dampened trays, vibration damping for the PSU, which is all in a lower walled off section (like the antec p180/p182)
Tool-less slots for seven 5.25" drives, decent thick sound padding and pop-up audio+usb+esata ports.
All looks very good, question will be price.

Down side is I can find no reviews for it, so it going to be a bit of guesswork as to what it's like.

The Hush, is a little long in the tooth now, from what I know of it it's pritty decent but nothing amazing, it was great when it first came out but now that 120mm fans are becoming standard in cheap cases it's lost a lot.
USB + head phone plugs on the side (which personally i never like)

cm690, from personal experence it's a nice case, pritty user friendly for first timers with it's very exelent tool-less systems. the fans that come with it are a nice ballance of sound vs air flow.
It's smaller than the Whisper but still plenty big enough for most needs, The internal layout is supeburb and the cable management stuff in there is a very nice addition, although if could of been better and is slightly clunky/overly simplified in places
I do have a couple of minor complaints on it.
Ripping off the front pannel, that's basically the way you remove it which you'll need to do to fit a dvd/cd drive and you want to do it every couple of months as well to clean it as it acts like a giant dust filter. I do like this removeable front and the fact that it's a seperate unit (no buttons or led's are actually attached to it, just the way you have to pull it off (a couple catches would of been much better)
2 too many fans, the upper fan vent on the side pannel is basically useless with anything other than a stock cooler and with any of the larger coolers you'll not have the space to fit a fan there.
Even with a stock cooler a simple air duct would probably be better.
The bottom fan vent with dust filter is another fairly pointless vent, fans blowing into the case work best when blowing cool outside air over hot components (focusing incoming air to the hottest parts) and this fan basically points at nothing. and with so many other input fans all this will do is unballance the air flow.
USB + esata + firewire + audio on top, I love the amount and range of connectors just putting on top in the middle of the top makes them a pain to get too and a potential trap for dust, crumbs and other stuff, if they were angled or had a lid to cover them it wouldn't be so bad.

Cooler master 590
You wanted to know the differences.
reviews
Short, but shows a nice way to fit water cooling into this case http://techgage.com/article/cooler_m...centurion_590/
Longer more detailed http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/C.../Centurion_590
Now compaired to the 690 it does look a bit more blocky, they've replaced the very nice hard drive tray system for a cage personally I prefur the 690 tray system.
They moved the usb+esata+audio to the front which is much better.
the side pannel and top fan vents now can take 140mm fans, which means better air flow at lower sound levels. (although the larger pointless top side pannel fan vent is annoying, they should of just removed it)
The top of the case is slightly higher giveing a bit more room above the motherboard when fans are fitted to the top (I missed than on the 690, it can be a bit tight with a large cooler)
They replaced the U shaped cable guides with holes and a pack of cable ties (this is an improvement)
Removed the bottom fan vent, good as it was pointless
The feet don't look as large or as good, I do like the feet on the 690
Only 2 fans included (not that 1 fan make much differnce as I'd buy extra for both)

I find it really annoying I want something half way between the two, I want the overall 690 looks, feet and hard drive trays, but with the front plugs of the 590, 140mm fan vents and slightly lower motherboard placement.
And without the top side pannel fan vent of ether of them.

[Webby]

Price for the Whisper is around the £95 mark

Ebuyer have it http://www.ebuyer.com/product/149351 and that is all that google shopping comes up with, although it was only released this month, (announced start of august) so maybe will become more widely available and get some reviews soon.

Oh and I found this review/preview in German (translated by Google ) Clicky Here!

EDIT

Found it here as well
http://www.cclonline.com/product-inf...id=nzxt-wisper £87 but delivery is ~£9 so that is a bit more than eBuyer assuming you can get free delivery from them (I think any order over £50 qualifies)

[Pob255]

Thanks webby but next time please reduce the link size

Like so, replaceing {} with []
{url="http://www.bigold.multi.phrase.web/adress/here"}clicky link{/url}

Edit:I've read through that now, some great translationn made me chuckle

the disturbing noises from the ears of the user is away.

Shame that review didn't go on to show a build in that case, because I think I've spotted a nasty problem, psu cables, some of the psu's with shorter cables can struggle with a lower psu, the whisper adds an additional 2 hard drives height between the psu and motherboard.
On top of that there doesn't seem to be any decent hole to run cables round behind the motherboard

but the price of £90 is a little high to me, I think I'd prefur the sharkoon rebel 12 (version without the silly 230mm side fan) for £57.50 (from scan) then get my own fans, rubber grommets and soundproofing foam to go in it
But that's probably because I'm a modder at heart

I do think the cable issues of the whisper will be bad for first time building and at £90 you'd be better off with an Antec p182

Or here's another option for a slightly more funky looking case
Thermaltake Shark £83
http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=763575
it's an older case, with the more conventional psu above the motherboard layout, but it does have a removeable motherboard tray (although pci slots are fixed so you'll still have to take your cards out) which can make it eaiser to put together outside the case.
http://www.overclockercafe.com/Revie...ark/index.html

EDIT2: ok I'll admit it I'm a bit of an air flow snob, I really prefur the psu below design as it leaves the top clear for additional output fans, which is a big advantage in high air flow cases.

[Webby]

What are you saying, that is what I did

Mwahahaha stealth edit (well apart from it saying when I edited it!)

[Orpheus22]

Funnily enough back in the day when i was totally sold on building a PC (bout 4 years ago now) that was the case i had my heart set on. I just think it looks a bit OTT nowadays.

I still think im looking towards the 690. It just seems really simple and classy without looking like a big server box. The whisper looks wicked but maybe a bit daunting for a first time build.

[samir883]

I've been in the same position looking to build for ages and finally pulled my finger out. I've done months of research, learning and reading reviews and it doesn't get any easier. Got stuck on the case part myself. It's really getting to crunh time now as i need to start working on Maya for character animating. I looked into the Coolermaster dominator and think it is a rocking case, looks simple yet stylish and has great features for it's price range. The only thing i don't want is to get a case which feels cheap and too plasticky. It's hard to choose a case when there aren't any shops you can go to and compare and analyse them lol. Luckily i got some cheap OCZ 4GB ReaperX RAM from PC World for like £33 saving me enough to put more towards a case and now i'm gonna go for the lian-li pc-p60 armorsuit. Love the look of it personally and it's got great cooling and excellent workmanship in it's build. Not much plastic

It won't be quiet but i'm gonna make do. I think for you the P182 is the best case to go for, it has real good sound deadening properties and cooling will be pretty efficient. Price isn't too bad either for a case of that quality, love the chamber design in there.

Also i know it's been mentioned but don't waste your money on the Nvidia 280 or Sli. Unless you want to play games then maybe but the line of work ur going to do will not utilise sli so it is a waste and like mentioned the gaming cards aren't recommended for that kind of work compared to the oh so expensive professional cards i.e. quaddro. Just go for something decent which is an all rounder like an 8800 GT or maybe a 9800 GTX.

[Orpheus22]

Hi lads, me again,

Has anyone got any idea what wattage im going to need to power this beast? I was looking at a Corsair 750W TX PSU, thinking that 650 might not cut it for a Quad core, two hdds, and the gtx. If i can get away with a 650 it would be nice, would save me a little dosh.

Thanks guys

[staffsMike]

500W would cut it with room to breathe as long as it was a good PSU. 650W is ample.

[Orpheus22]

Yeah i just used the Corsair calculator and it said i need a 550 at the most so i will probably get a 650 just to be on the safe side. Screw the electric bill.

[Webby]

apart from the 550W being slightly more efficient in the range you will be operating it will only draw as much power as is required so don't worry about the electric bill

[Orpheus22]

Haha Ta Webby