£70 GPU, in stock @ scan, advice ?

[Cornholio]

Although, im now not sure if i should buy this psu

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/400W-...-pin-120mm-Fan

instead of the corsair.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

This unit is better:

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Compo...roductId=39205

Unlike the CX400W it uses mostly Japanese capacitors and is made by CWT.

This Samsung drive in stock at Aria:

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Compo...roductId=33292

I still think that the 9800GT is a better choice for gaming TBH.

[Cornholio]

This unit is better:

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Compo...roductId=39205

Unlike the CX400W it uses mostly Japanese capacitors and is made by CWT.

This Samsung drive in stock at Aria:

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Compo...roductId=33292

If i go for that PSU over the corsair, it frees up £10, which could then be put into a gfx card, purhapse...this ?

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Compo...roductId=38671


Or the 9800GT

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Compo...583#moreImages

Would that PSU power it though ? Ive heard things about OCZ PSU's cat...
?

Or theres the gainward 9800gt from scan.

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/512MB...112-Cores-HDMI

"Green Edition" though ?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

If i go for that PSU over the corsair, it frees up £10, which could then be put into a gfx card, purhapse...this ?

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Compo...roductId=38671 ?

It looks good for the money. I am not sure how quiet the cooler will be though!

The card is supposed to be a nit noisier than the reference one:

http://www.elitebastards.com/index.p...7&limitstart=9

OTH, it maybe possible to adjust the fan speed using software.

Regarding the OCZ 400W StealthXStream it is the only OCZ PSU made by CWT AFAIK - the others are made by FSP and Sirtec. CWT is a better OEM IMHO than FSP and Sirtec as they are simply more consistent. It also seems that unlike the more expensive units many of the capacitors in the 400W version are from Japanese companies. There seems to be cost cutting in the more expensive units as they tend to use Chinese and Taiwanese capacitors. IMHO the units above the 400W version are actually lower quality due to the capacitor choices.

If you want to stick with the Corsair since you feel better about it then fair enough. At least with Corsair there seems to be more consistency along their whole range.

The Green Edition 9800GT cards are slightly underclocked over normal 9800GT cards as they are bus powered. I know someone with the Zotac 9800GT Green Edition 512MB and it can run most games at 1440X900 and 1280X1024 fine.

The XFX 9800GT you linked to is the normal version although again I cannot comment on how much noise it produces.

[Cornholio]

It looks good for the money. I am not sure how quiet the cooler will be though!

The card is supposed to be a nit noisier than the reference one:

http://www.elitebastards.com/index.p...7&limitstart=9

OTH, it maybe possible to adjust the fan speed using software.

Regarding the OCZ 400W StealthXStream it is the only one made by CWT - the others are made by FSP and Sirtec. CWT is a better OEM IMHO than FSP and Sirtec as they are simply more consistent. It also seems that unlike the more expensive units many of the capacitors in the 400W version are from Japanese companies. There seems to be cost cutting in the more expensive units as they tend to use Chinese and Taiwanese capacitors. IMHO the units above the 400W version are actually lower quality due to the capacitor choices.

If you want to stick with the Corsair since you feel better about it then fair enough. At least with Corsair there seems to be more consistency along their whole range.

The Green Edition 9800GT cards are slightly underclocked over normal 9800GT cards as they are bus powered. I know someone with the Zotac 9800GT Green Edition 512MB and it can run most games at 1440X900 and 1280X1024 fine.

The XFX 9800GT you linked to is the normal version although again I cannot comment on how much noise it produces.

Whilst i try to do product research before a build, i never seem to come up with as much information as you (hence why i ask you ).

If it was you..what would you use to finish this build off then, as i value your opinion.

AM3 245
2GB Corsair ddr3 1333
Coolermaster 341 case
Asus M4A78LT-M LE
Coolermaster 120mm fan (as intake on front of 341 case).
DVD-RW

Im undecided on the GPU, PSU and HDD, i seem to read mixed reviews everywhere, and like mummy always told me, dont believe everything you read.

What makes it worse is i dont have long to make my mind up, buying the parts tomorrow morning. Budget £335 quid, £340 TOPS.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Regarding power supplies a decent 400W should be enough for your build!

My primary desktop is a Shuttle SD37P2 SFF with a 975X Crossfire motherboard,a Q6600,4GB of DDR2, a pair of SATA hard disks,an HD4830, an IDE DVD rewriter and an internal card reader.

I am running this off a 400W PSU!

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Whilst i try to do product research before a build, i never seem to come up with as much information as you (hence why i ask you ).

If it was you..what would you use to finish this build off then, as i value your opinion.

AM3 245
2GB Corsair ddr3 1333
Coolermaster 341 case
Asus M4A78LT-M LE
Coolermaster 120mm fan (as intake on front of 341 case).
DVD-RW

Im undecided on the GPU, PSU and HDD, i seem to read mixed reviews everywhere, and like mummy always told me, dont believe everything you read.

What makes it worse is i dont have long to make my mind up, buying the parts tomorrow morning. Budget £335 quid, £340 TOPS.

I assume you want to avoid using Aria as much as possible??

The case is on Scan Today Only as well as the fans:

http://www.scan.co.uk/todayonly/

The RAM will run in single channel as you need a pair of DIMMs for dual channel but it should not be a major issue in this case.

I suspect you want to avoid MSI too on the motherboard front so the motherboard looks OK.

The CPU looks fine as Scan has run out of cheap X3 425 processors it seems.

Have you considered going for a DDR2 based build at all??

Here is comparison of an HD5670 and a 8800GT underclocked to the same clockspeeds as the 9800GT Green Edition:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...70,2533-6.html

[Cornholio]

I assume you want to avoid using Aria as much as possible??

The case is on Scan Today Only as well as the fans:

http://www.scan.co.uk/todayonly/

The RAM will run in single channel as you need a pair of DIMMs for dual channel but it should not be a major issue in this case.

I suspect you want to avoid MSI too on the motherboard front so the motherboard looks OK.

The CPU looks fine as Scan has run out of cheap X3 425 processors it seems.

Have you considered going for a DDR2 based build at all??

I dont mind aria..its an extra 30mins ish to get there, it stinks and the service is CRAP, i mean terrible. IF i have to go then i will, but its so much easier to just go to scan (when they dont have me waiting 40mins for them to get my goods).

Is it worth doing DDR2 build now ? Given the price of DDR2 memory against ddr3..., i would happily use MSI as they have seem to have sorted things out over the years and arent too bad now, but i cant see any MATX MSI AM3 boards on there. If ive been told to spend £335-£340, i might aswel spend it all and get the best performing system i can for her.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

There is this 785G based motherboard for a few quid more:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/MSI-7...Board-Graphics

I would stick with the Corsair PSU if you feel more confident about it. It is made by Seasonic so it should be a solid unit AFAIK.

[Cornholio]

There is this 785G based motherboard for a few quid more:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/MSI-7...Board-Graphics

I would stick with the Corsair PSU if you feel more confident about it. It is made by Seasonic so it should be a solid unit AFAIK.

Full size though cat, need UATX

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Full size though cat, need UATX

The 785G is mATX though?? It does cost more than the Asus but has more RAM slots.

BTW, you did see this comparison between an HD5670 and a 8800GT underclocked to a 9800GT Green Edition:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...70,2533-6.html

[Cornholio]

If i bought everything from scan :

AM3 240
Asus mobo
coolermaster 341 case
coolermaster led fan
2gb 1333
9800gt green
corsair psu
dvd-rw
WD blue 320gb

It comes in at £347.77 .

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Is it including the Today Only offers??

Does the build need to be mATX??

[Cornholio]

Is it including the Today Only offers??

Does the build need to be mATX??

Thats including the case/led fan on Today Only.

Regarding the mATX..not at all, why..you got something in mind champ ? (ooh sounds like a sex name that.)

And yeah i read through the toms hardware link, it seems the 5670 is priced wrong for it to compete.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

What about the following:

Coolermaster Elite 330 ~ £23

http://www.scan.co.uk/TodayOnly/Index.aspx

MSI 770-C45 ~ £49

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/MSI-7...dio-GB-LAN-ATX

AMD Athlon II X2 245 ~ £49

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/AMD-A...che-65W-Retail

2GB Corsair 1333MHZ DDR3 RAM ~ £45

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/2GB-C...d-CAS-9-9-9-24

Akasa 120MM fan ~ £4

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/120mm...value-case-fan

SATA DVD rewriter ~ £15

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Samsu...SATA-Black-OEM

512MB Gainward 9800GT Green ~ £81

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/512MB...112-Cores-HDMI

320 GB Western Digital WD3200AAJS Caviar Blue ~ £34

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/320-G...8MB-Cache-9-ms

400W Corsair CMPSU-400CXUK Power Series PSU ~ £39

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/400W-...-year-warranty

The total cost of the build comes to £339.16! If you get the X2 240 the build will cost £336.95 which means you could probably get the HD4850 512MB within the £340 budget. The only problem is that you need to go to Aria!! OTH, you could also get the Samsung hard disk from there too:

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Compo...roductId=33292

Edit!!

You maybe able to get one of the Coolermaster 120MM case fans instead:

http://www.scan.co.uk/TodayOnly/Index.aspx

I cannot say how noisy the build will be though.

[Cornholio]

What about the following:

Coolermaster Elite 330 ~ £23

http://www.scan.co.uk/TodayOnly/Index.aspx

MSI 770-C45 ~ £49

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/MSI-7...dio-GB-LAN-ATX

AMD Athlon II X2 245 ~ £49

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/AMD-A...che-65W-Retail

2GB Corsair 1333MHZ DDR3 RAM ~ £45

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/2GB-C...d-CAS-9-9-9-24

Akasa 120MM fan ~ £4

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/120mm...value-case-fan

SATA DVD rewriter ~ £15

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Samsu...SATA-Black-OEM

512MB Gainward 9800GT Green ~ £81

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/512MB...112-Cores-HDMI

320 GB Western Digital WD3200AAJS Caviar Blue ~ £34

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/320-G...8MB-Cache-9-ms

400W Corsair CMPSU-400CXUK Power Series PSU ~ £39

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/400W-...-year-warranty

The total cost of the build comes to £339.16! If you get the X2 240 the build will cost £336.95 which means you could probably get the HD4850 512MB within the £340 budget. The only problem is that you need to go to Aria!! OTH, you could also get the Samsung hard disk from there too:

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Compo...roductId=33292

Edit!!

You maybe able to get one of the Coolermaster 120MM case fans instead:

http://www.scan.co.uk/TodayOnly/Index.aspx

I cannot say how noisy the build will be though.

Hmm, see..if i ended up going to aria, i could get the 4850 and the OCZ PSU, so would save a tenner on the PSU.

But man, if you have ever been..it smells like off socks. Scan really dont seem to have much choice in the way of GPU's in stock. And the Today Only offers are pretty crap today too. Hmmm