My new Monster PC

[Cov]

Alright guys ... I'm not an impatient person at all, but I just cannot wait any longer. Seriously ... the time has come now, in fact it is now by far overdue.

The CPU Yorkfield Q9450 45nm might come out sometimes in March - sorry, too late for me.

The CPU .......... Wolfdale E9200 45nm is now in stock at scan.co.uk .......... £ 115.78

The CPU Cooler .......... Zalman CNPS8700-NT ... I know it has failed the test in Tom's Hardware Cooler test Feb 2008, but it has a 4-Pin PWM controlled fan .......... £ 32.89

The PC Case .......... Lian Li PC-A05A in silver ... there's no other alternative .......... £ 77.54

The Case Fan .......... Noctua NF-S12 1200 RPM .......... £ 12.33 x 2 = £ 24.66

The Memory .......... GeIL 2x2GB PC-6400C5 800MHz Black Dragon .......... £ 58.74

The Graphics Card .......... OcUK GeForce 8800 GT 1024MB .......... shut up ... £ 176.24

The VGA Cooler .......... Zalman VF900-Cu .......... £ 19.38

The Motherboard .......... Asus P5E-VM HDMI .......... the best mATX there is ... £ 87.17

The Northbridge Cooler .......... Noctua NC-U6 Dual Heatpipe Cooler .......... £ 15.15

The Power Supply .......... Corsair HX520W .......... £ 63.20

The Hard Drive .......... Samsung HD753LJ Spinpoint F1 .......... 750GB .......... £ 98.84


I will order CPU, Motherboard, HD, PS, VGA & NB Cooler and Case Fans from Scan.co.uk and PC Case, CPU Cooler, Memory and Graphics Card from Overclockers.co.uk

Any comments ?


I hope the E8200 is good enough bang for bucks.
If I don't have to, I won't overclock to avoid heat & noise issues.
Of course I will experiment around.

The chosen CPU cooler looks good in my eyes. It has been hard to chose cause there are so many.

No negotiation about the PC Case. That's my favourite. (Yes, it's not perfect)

The Memory is basic but have you seen how awesome the LED Dragon eyes look ?

I doubt that there is much difference between the many graphics cards on the market. Just different vendors. Probably a matter of taste really.

Having read so many reviews, the VGA cooler seems to be a reliable and efficient performer.

Because I want an mATX (I know the PC case has enough space for full ATX) the Asus one is the best, even if I have a few points to complain about.

And I have chosen this NB cooler because the one which comes on the motherboard is ever so ugly.

Power Supply, hmm ... there are not many modular ones on the market.

And regarding the Hard Drive, I have read that the Samsung 750GB has only 3 platters, I wonder if the 500GB version has only 2 ?
It would mean less noise & heat.
But I wished SSD would be more affordable. I'd go for the 64GB version ... absolutely silent, quick and energy efficient.

[TooNice]

I can't comment on the CPU cooler, since you are using a comparably smaller case, so I would imagine that it won't fit some of the 'favourites'. Though the Scythe Mini Ninja is worth a look.

I am why you wouldn't want to hear it about the graphic card. I have no issue about the GT (excellent performance/cost compromise - assuming you go for one priced toward, preferably under £150), but 1024MB version doesn't make sense (at that price, you get getting too close to a 'cheap G92 GTS'. Few games are memory bottlenecked at 512MB, even Crysis is GPU rather than memory bottlenecked until you ramp the resolution at 2560x1600 and switch on the eye candy. And even then, it's so slow that it's not playable. Well, check the review here and if you still want to go 1GB, enjoy.

As far as I know, there are no Samsung F1 500GB to be found (at least in store). The 500GB T166 is three platter as far as I remember (3x166).

[KiMi-Tech]

As you pointed out the case takes full ATX so why bother with uATX. If you aren't overclocking buy something cheaper.. Abit IP-35 maybe. Better chipset, you can overclock with it and just seems far more sensible.. It's cheaper, better and doesn't require you to change NB coolers etc..

A proper size cooler like the thermalright ultima 90 will fit no problem. You can pick the fan you want and make it as quiet as you like theres no point picking a £32 piece of junk just because it has a pwm fan.

If you aren't overclocking then I would get the E8400. Only £15 more and its 3.0ghz.

Western Digital AAKS models are the most silent HDD's i've come across.

PSU is fine.

[noTHINGface]

Agree with TooNice - that graphics card is a bad idea full stop. This summary on Hardocp kinda summarises it well;

The big question was does having 1GB of video RAM really make a difference on a GeForce 8800 GT GPU based video card? We tested this by comparing the Palit GeForce 8800 GT Super+1GB to a reference NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT with 512MB of RAM, both of which had the exact same clock frequencies. What we found was that there basically wasn’t any gameplay differences at all. In only one game did we even detect a slight performance advantage, and that was UT3 in an SLI configuration.

The simple reason is that in some instances the GeForce 8800 GT is just not a fast enough GPU to realize the potential of 1GB of RAM. It doesn’t have the performance needed to push high settings in today’s games that will benefit with 1GB of RAM. Crysis is the new kid on the block, the one by which all gamers are judging video card performance. This game puts every video card to shame. The GeForce 8800 GT by no means is the fastest GPU out there, and in this game it just can’t push the game fast enough to utilize the full 1GB of memory available. With SLI performance currently underperforming in Crysis, the potential there is also not realized.

More here ->[H] Enthusiast - Palit GeForce 8800 GT Super+1GB

[freddie]

The cooler is just ok, Scythe do a number of coolers around £25 that perform really well and are quiet, the Mine revision B comes to mind. Alos on scam the Thermalright Ultima-90 is £21 excluding fan - but it's right there with the best.

Apart from that it seems good. If you've overclocked before I'm sure it wouldn't matter too much temp wise going past 3ghz.

If you havn't then I agree with Kimi-Tech and get the E8400.

[Cov]

I thought, after I had a good look around before I made my mind, the Zalman 8700-NT was a good choice.
The low profile, the blue LED and the 4-PIN header convinced me.
The performance is not the best but not bad either.
Only thing is the noise at high speed. It is very loud.

Well, since I found that most of you guys don't like this CPU cooler, checked more models and more reviews.
CPU cooler which fascinated me so far:

1. Scythe Ninja Mini
110 x 110 x 115 / 2300 rpm / 24.4dB / 32.2 CFM / 580g
Not only is small but delivers good results too, the big brother however is a Monster of PC cooler.
Check the Scythe Ninja Copper (limited edition) on youtube ! A massive beast !

2. Scythe Mine
109 x 105 x 150 / 1500 rpm / 42.69 CFM / 22dB / £ 24.08
Very interesting

3. Thermalright SI-128 (120mm fan recommended)
125 (L) x 145 (W) x 91.5 (H) / 510g
Totaly different with very good results.

4. Zalman CNPS 8700-NT (horizontal)
120 x 123 x 67 / 1150 - 2100 rpm / 17.5 - 30 dB

5. Zalman CNPS 9700-NT (vertical)
90 (L) x 124 (W) x 142 (H) / 19.5 - 35 dB

6. Cooler Master Hyper TX2 Universal
90 x 44 x 136.5 / 1800 rpm / 41.76 CFM / 22 dB

7. Cooler Master Vortex 752 Universal
112.3 x 108.4 x 75.4 / 2200 rpm / 18 dB

There are so many coolers that I wished I had enough space and money to build at least 5 different PCs.
It's very difficult to make my mind up and it seems the only good way would be to touch, feel and check the look of each and every cooler by myself before I place an order. Or, as I said, just order 10 different coolers and build 10 different PCs. That would be awesome.
That is so greedy, isn't it ?

Well, I was surprised to find some good videos on youtube about some CPU coolers.
Especially Cooler Master is represented very well with little demonstration clips ... very good.

Gosh ! There's so much more good stuff out there ... and so little money

[s_kinton]

Check out this link for a massive Intel cooler comparison:
HEXUS.net - Review :: LGA 775 CPU Cooler Mega Test : Page - 1/120

I ordered the Scythe Mine for a Q6600, should be coming tomorrow.

[Webby]

I have to go with others here if you can fit it then the Thermalright Ultima 90 with a 120mm fan is the best cooling you are going to find. On Scan today only for a little over £21 plus fan of your choice.

And I'm with others on the graphics card as well you can get a 512MB GT for ~£145 or a 512MB GTS for ~£175 pretty sure you will see better performance/£ with the GTS at the £175 mark over the 1GB GT.

And finally mitherboard wise if you can fit a full ATX board then you would be better off doing that the Abit IP35 dark raider is a better board and is often on Scan today only for £60 you also wouldnt need to change the north bridge cooler.

If you really want to chnge the NB cooler then the Thermalright HR-05 IFX is potentially a better option over the Noctua offering, and cheaper to boot!

[vicar]

Why not swop the 750gb had drive for two 500gb samsung harddrive.

[Cov]

Many people may have even several hard drives in their PCs but I intend to have one only, to keep the noise down.

Besides that, I would go so far - if SSDs become affordable - to use the SSD for the OS and currently used software, and switch the HD completely off ... to use it as a storage and to be switched on only on demand.

Not sure if that would put too much strain on a drive which is constructed to run non stop, but I like the idea to have a silent PC.

The question to have either 2x 500GB or 1x 1TB is easily answered.
I rather pay more money for the 1x 1TB SATA solution, the only smart way - if you need so much storage though.

Well, in the moment I still work with my 100GB E-IDE HD and I wonder how could I possibly fill a 500GB one ?

[staffsMike]

Pretty much any CPU cooler will fit in that case so I can't see why you would limit yourself with a zalman low profile jobby.

The mini ninja is certainly quite small in depth but be under no illusions it is exactly the same length and width as it's big brother so it's not tiny.

I have a scythe ninja and its a great cooler for a silent system. If you don't want to overclock you can probably run it passive

The case is nice but I don't really see the point in getting it with a uATX board.. its designed specifically for combat the problem of fitting an ATX motherboard in a small form factor case.. seems a bit of a waste especially when uATX boards are inherently flawed. The asus in particular is really expensive, doesn't look like it will be a great overclocking board, you are planning the change the chip set cooling too which pushes it's price over £100.. for what?

The abit IP-35 dark raider/ asus P5K-E is a much better board and the abit could be as cheap as £60.

[Cov]

@ staffsMike

Alright, so the Minja has the same footprint like the big brother.
In that case I'd rather go for the Scythe Ninja Copper - the BEAST of a cooler.
And if it's able to be run passively ... that would be awesome and shows at the same time that a low rpm fan would be fine and absolutely quiet.
It does look very funny to see this chunky heatsink on a mATX board though.

I don't intend to overclock, unless the performance gain is well noticeable and needed too. Only real life tests will show.
See - I need to stop researching around and start collecting real life experiences.
For this I need the bloody CPU to be available - but it isn't ... yet.

This particular motherboard is in fact very good (I wouldn't have chosen it otherwise), and regarding the question if this board is a good overclocker or not - reviews and forums say ... YES IT IS.

Just check this: Asus P5E-VM HDMI ... Forum

or this: Asus P5E-VM HDMI ... Review

[staffsMike]

I'll trust you on the overclocking front but a standard board will still make lighter work of it for less moeny

Here is a ninja on a uATX.. my ninja on my uATX in fact

[Zak33]

I'll trust you on the overclocking front but a standard board will still make lighter work of it for less moeny

Here is a ninja on a uATX.. my ninja on my uATX in fact

Mike...is that a Large Biscuit tin in there...or a heatsink ?

[Cov]

Seeing this cooler I just wonder something ...

... in theory ... wouldn't the cooling quality improve somehow if the heatsink were connected with the PC case chassis ? I mean the whole PC case could be used as a heatsink then - couldn't it ?

Imagine that The components would be placed within a massive heatsink ... imagine a Scythe Uber Ninja ... haha.

And that in pure copper !! New stuff for PC case designers !

[staffsMike]

This may suprise you but there are a couple of cases that already do that.. sort of.

I think it's zalman that have done one