new build - sanity check please

[jamena]

Need to sort out a new build, buying sometime Sunday. Any comments, suggestions, etc, welcomed!

Got already:
ram: 2x1Gb OCZ pc6400 5-5-5-12 Gold
hdd: 320Gb SATA
psu: 600W OCZ cpu

thinking about getting:
case: antec p180 £87
gpu: msi 9600gt oc £117
dvd: Samsung DVDrw £13
mobo: Abit IP-35 Dark Raider £61
cpu: Q6600 retail £138
hsf: retail version but def open to suggestions?


I believe I could do some gentle overclocking with this ram/mobo/cpu and definitely interested in a good passive/silent HSF - some sort of tower hsf would probably be the way to go?

Main advice I'd like is whether Vista 64 bit is a good idea yet (I've seen a few things saying it's much improved since last year?)

perhaps a bit more ram?

perhaps a different gpu? the 9600gt looks pretty competitive and runs cool, quiet, etc, but the 8800gt does seem to be recommended a lot over it.
The price % difference (£115-£130 ~14%) seems similar to the %difference in [average] performance. It'd seem that both of them will last about as long as eachother before requiring an upgrade...

thanks in advance!

[mediaboy]

Vista would probably be better than XP for this build.

Definitely 64 bit... 32 bit is pointless... lacks support for lots of RAM and lots of other stuff as well (some mobos, some CPUs, some GPUs and other hardware as well)

Although Vista has had it's problems SP1 sorted out quite a few of them (for my friend at least) and the service pack is a mere 46p at the moment on scan. I wouldn't get anything better than Premium or Basic though, as I don't think that Ultimate adds on anything to Vista other than more marketing techniques.

Of course, it's open to debate...


More RAM = better performance. Generally.

can't remember how many gbs the Dark Raider holds, but I think it's 8 or 16, or get as much as you can afford.

4gb is excellent, 3gb is good, 2gb is alright and will see you through Crysis at low-medium detail without any problems (I think... not sure abuot Crysis - having not got the game yet... if I ever will)

2x2gb is only £40-90 (depending on speed) so is not THAT expensive (unless it's DDR3 or like... the highest speed you can get for any mobo) so you might as well get 4gb


anyhow, hope at least some of this is true, and not just mis-remembered things that people have thrown at me over the last two months or so....

[-iceblade^]

Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro for the cooler, if you aren't going to OC too much - that ought to keep it cool and stable at say 3-3.2 ghz

Personally i would get an Antec 900 as i can't see what the fuss is about the P182.

and yeh, Vista 64 bit is pretty good now. Still quite a few hardware glitches cos of drivers, but it works pretty well for what it's worth, not to mention allowing you to use more than 4gb of ram...

the GPU - go for the 8800GT. It's better, and will last longer... You'll be glad you did i a few months' time

[Hicks12]

First question, any sort of budget?.
For the graphics card i would recommend getting a bfg 9600 or 8800, the 9600BFG is £115(i think) so is cheaper and has 10year warranty as apposed too 1 -3years?
Samsung drive, that the one on today only? i suspect it too be good and am thinking of buying it xD, just need money >.<.

Case: antec 180, how about the p182? i think its the same price and has some edited parts too it.

Motherboard: always say that board is good , good choice.

CPU: again, good choice. Nothing wrong with it
Cooler: I have the arctic freezer 7 (&#163;15 i think) its good but is loud on full speed, if passive/noise is of concern i believe the scythe ninja and some others are highly recommended but are around &#163;20-&#163;30.

Ram: 2gb should be fine but as it is vista i would say bag another 2gb of ram since its dirt cheap now and with 64bit you will notice it. Look for the same model as your set already because that would mean less issues(normally), be aware you will need to up the voltages for the ram if its 4x1gb sticks, just dont go over stock rated volts(normally 2.1).

As i said above it depends on budget, if the 8800GT is in your price range then id say bag that because a 9600 is like a 8800gt but with the lesser price and performance and as you said are the same price for performance really, your choice. As long as you are not hopeing to play games like crysis(although you can ) in the future(crysis 2?) then expect too upgrade, thats the only thing i can think of ending the cards life short.

Any other questions?

[rufeo]

Looks good, the comments so far seem pretty reasonable as well.

Can't comment on 64-bit as I'm using 32-bit due to the fear of all the driver compatibility issues. But if they have fixed it then the extra 2gb will do wonders under vista.

Very much agree with the 8800gt, my friend asked if he should go for the 9600gt or 8800gt and I told him definitely the 8800gt without a doubt. There'll pretty cheap nowadays and with the budget you've set aside for the gpu you can actually get a 8800gt for that price. My friend got his on scan on the super special deal, think ocuk also have one at that price too.

Case wise is pretty much open to debate. The antec 900 is good for cooling, whereas the p182 is all about being as quiet as possible and the good cable management to inprove airflow within the case. You'll get alot of different opinions about cases. But the decision is down to you. One of my biggest requirements was that it had to look sleek and be quiet. I went for the p190 as soon as it came out over the p182 due to the bigger size, otherwise I was going to get the p182.

Sounds like to me that you don't seem to be looking to overclock like crazy and want a quiet pc, in which case I'd go for the p182. Oh and also it has fan filters! Keeps the insides of your pc relatively dust free! If you prefer one over the other on looks or another reason then I don't think it really matters, they're both good cases.

[Blitzen]

Ultimate adds on anything to Vista other than more marketing techniques.

It adds a fair bit on. WHether you would use the added features or not though is another question.

OP.
Lose the 9600GT. For &#163;130ish now you can get a 8800GT which is a far superior card.

Add another 2gb of memory aswell if you are going Vista 64Bit (which you really should be)

Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro for the cooler, if you aren't going to OC too much - that ought to keep it cool and stable at say 3-3.2 ghz

Personally i would get an Antec 900 as i can't see what the fuss is about the P182.

and yeh, Vista 64 bit is pretty good now. Still quite a few hardware glitches cos of drivers, but it works pretty well for what it's worth, not to mention allowing you to use more than 4gb of ram...

the GPU - go for the 8800GT. It's better, and will last longer... You'll be glad you did i a few months' time

That Arctic Freezer wouldnt keep a Q6600 at 3.2ghx all that cool. Even if you did manage it, it certainly wouldnt keep it very quiet. They are budget coolers, that, i grant you are ok, they certainly arent for a good rig like that.
YOu can get good collers from Scythe for under &#163;30 (Mine, Ninja)
I can also vouch for the Antec 900. All the case fans are set to low and the temps are fantastic. It is also very quiet.

[jamena]

thanks for the replies, all sounds like good advice (the mobo I picked based on lost of other threads in here!) So...

Vista Home premium 64-bit will be the OS (gulp) and as I already have 2x1Gb DDR6400 I'd just get something similar again to take the total up to 4Gb (four 1Gb sticks). OCZ gold 5-5-5-12 should be more than about £30 at the moment.

wrt the gpu I'm still leaning toward the 9600gt in some ways... Yes, the 8800gt is like 10-15% better for only 10-15% more £, but the reviews indicate that the 9600 at load doesn't reach the temps the other card hit at idle! I suspect that either card would last about as long as the other before I felt the need to upgrade it. On the other hand I have an unused Zalman vf900 that needs a place to sit... Maybe I'll flip a coin

with the case it's a bit of a personal choice really as you say - Sleek, relatively unimposing and quiet is what I'm after (the antec 900 is just too much). I'm actually leaning towards the Antec solo now...

I think one of the fancy "silent" tower cpu coolers would do nicely. I'm happy to pay £30 for a cpu cooler if it's going to be practically silent. This lot look pretty good? I have little idea of which would be good (and reasonably easy to fit..?)
Computer hardware and software at amazing prices, available online from Scan Computers UK

[staffsMike]

The ninja gets my vote. I've used it for 3 different build and it can be run passive even for mild overclocks on some chips.
The included fan is quieter than antec tri-cools on low anyway so it won't make any noticeable noise with or without the fan.

I like the antec solo too. The 92mm fans on the front shouldn't be too much of a problem as long as you don't skimp on them (if you plan on using fans in the front).

If you didn't already have a PSU i'd recommed the antec sonata plus which is just the the solo with a 550w modular psu which is supposed to be damn near silent

I'd probably be tempted by the 9600GT over the 8800GT due to temps unless you plan on changing the cooler on the 8800GT which is just more cost or getting one with a different cooling solution.
Leadtek do a pretty nice one which can be had for around &#163;145 on scan.

[matty-hodgson]

wrt the gpu I'm still leaning toward the 9600gt in some ways... Yes, the 8800gt is like 10-15&#37; better for only 10-15% more &#163;, but the reviews indicate that the 9600 at load doesn't reach the temps the other card hit at idle! I suspect that either card would last about as long as the other before I felt the need to upgrade it. On the other hand I have an unused Zalman vf900 that needs a place to sit... Maybe I'll flip a coin

go for the 8800GT..
EVGA from Scan could be a good idea. - &#163;137
i have my fan speed at 60% with an OC of 700 / 1750 / 2000 and it runs at 63'C max temp..
it's at least worth looking at.

and the thing about the 9600GT at full load not even reaching the 8800GTs idle temps is a little extreme..
i'm sure it'll be cooler, but 40-ish'C at full load?!
that's cool!

the Antec P182 is also a great case.. pretty much silent case, but that depends on what you put in it i suppose.. but the case on its own is very quiet/silent. and has more space than you'll ever need!

Vista Home Premium, also a very good plan.. just don't expect anything like XP..

hope this helps in some way


edit: CPU fan.. Scythe Mine is a great cooler imo, not had the ninja though.. but it's silent and i've got my Q6600 at 3.2GHz atm.. with temperatures of 25 - 23 - 24 - 25 at idle right now.
at full load they haven't broken the 45'C barrier yet.. on any core!

[jamena]

The gpu is about the only bit I'm still undecided on but I thank you all for your input - it's been very helpful.

and the thing about the 9600GT at full load not even reaching the 8800GTs idle temps is a little extreme..
i'm sure it'll be cooler, but 40-ish'C at full load?!
that's cool!

Nvidia's GeForce 9600 GT graphics processor - The Tech Report - Page 9
Madness isn't it

edit: CPU fan.. Scythe Mine is a great cooler imo, not had the ninja though.. but it's silent and i've got my Q6600 at 3.2GHz atm.. with temperatures of 25 - 23 - 24 - 25 at idle right now.
at full load they haven't broken the 45'C barrier yet.. on any core!

Your room must be cold! That's be like 3-1-2-3 over ambient in this room! Mine is cheaper that the ninja though the ninja is supposedly practically a passive cooler which does appeal...

I'd probably be tempted by the 9600GT over the 8800GT due to temps unless you plan on changing the cooler on the 8800GT which is just more cost or getting one with a different cooling solution.
Leadtek do a pretty nice one which can be had for around £145 on scan.

I have a vf900 in it's box (intended years(s) ago for a 9800pro but it was an AIW and didn't fit) so that'd probably do quite nicely I understand? The BFG warranty is a nice little bonus maybe - I'll check out the 8800gt options.