Last thread on the topic, honest ...

[DaKid]

Hi guys,

I started a thread at the weekend about my new PC and received loads of good advice about the spec and about where I buy it.

Because Overclockers seem to be numpties, I'm now planning on going through a mixture of MicroDirect and Kustom PCs with the following specs. I'm not after loads of advice any more, just someone to shout "oi, you'll gimp yourself if you do that" if I've made any really daft oversights.


PC (MicroDirect)

COST DESCRIPTION

£ 59.35 Antec Sonata Piano Black Quiet Case - 380W TruePower Silent PSU
£ 199.00 AMD Athlon 64 3500 (Socket 939)
£ 75.95 Asus A8V-Deluxe/wifi-g AMD Skt939 K8T800PR 8X AGP DDR400
£ 99.95 Geil® Value 1Gb PC3200 Dual Chan DDR Kit (2x512MB) (5ns Cas 2.5 8-4-4 )
£ 304.95 Gigabyte GV-R80X256V ATI Radeon X800 XT 256MB VIVO TV-Out/DVI (AGP) - Retail
£ 53.75 Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 160GB SATA 8MB Cache - OEM
£ 36.89 Sony DWU-18A 8x DVD±RW ReWriter (Black) - OEM
£ 15.99 Sony DDU1612 DVD-ROM (Black) - OEM
£ 6.00 Sony Black 1.44MB 3.5" FDD
£ 60.00 Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS 7.1 THX - Retail
£ 77.00 Creative Inspire 7.1 T7700 Speakers - Retail
£ 61.00 Logitech Cordless Desktop MX - Retail
£ 58.00 Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition - OEM
£ 4.00 Thermal Compound Silver based high performance AK450

£ 1111.83 Subtotal
£ 16.78 Shipping (Pre 12 Noon next day)
£ 197.51 VAT
£ 1326.12 TOTAL

Accessories (Kustom PCs)

COST DESCRIPTION

£ 31.49 Zalman 7000BCu Copper
£ 30.49 AcoustiPack™ Sonata Kit
£ 21.23 Icemat Black 2nd Edition
£ 16.00 AcoustiFan 120mm

£ 99.21 Subtotal
£ 6.64 Shipping (3. Interlink Couriers)
£ 18.52 VAT
£ 124.37 TOTAL



Thanks y'all

[Stoo]

Looks good other than the thermal compound.. you really need some good arctic silver in there.

Not sure about the HSF either, I'd be tempted to go with a nice Thermalright lump instead.

[Shogun]

I would go for a thermalright hs with a 92mm fan in there for silence. Also get some artic silver Will work better than the stuff you have put on your first post.

[DaKid]

Can't find any other heatsinks that will fit Socket 939 (please point me at the right place if you know of some) and according to one review I saw on the web, the difference between various types of thermal compound tends to be pretty minimal normally??

[Stewart]

Socket 754 coolers are compatable with socket 939. Go for a nice SLK900U or something, with a 92mm Vantec Tornado for max performance, or a Thermoflow if you want to be able to sleep in the same room.

As others have said, get some proper thermal comp; Artic Silver 5 or Artic Ceramique.

As its a bit of a tasty gaming rig, you might find a nice Razor Boomslang 2100 will suit, more than an optical mouse; you can't beat it for gaming, and I use mine with an IceMat; its in a different world to anything else I've used.

Finally, note that you can get 200gb drives for £75 now, if you look around; not very much more than you're paying for the 160gb.

[SilentDeath]

Razor boomslangs lol. Nothing good about them, atall. the manuf. even recommends not to use tehm for FPS games like cs because they only work well with uber high sensitvity - at such a level any quick reaction would spin you round 3 times. Ive tryed both, I know what there like. I prefer my £3 optical.

And if you are using a razor theres plenty of improvements to make. First switch the ball to a standard white one - bigger and makes better contact, something mine lacked.
Also file off the plastic around the feet - it is taller and makes movement less smooth.


And yes I know its still in my sig, havent had time to edit it yet :E

[Stewart]

The Boomslang is the finest gaming mouse I've ever used, end of story. And its not close either, its the best by a mile.

Once you get used to them, they are in a different world. Trust me DaKid and ignore SilentDeath, he's just bitter that I beat him 1527 frags to 0 in our last game of Counter Strike.

He cried. I tried to comfort him, but he simply said he wasn't worthy to be in the same room as me, and ran away screaming.

I don't think he'll ever get over it. Poor lad.

[Shogun]

The Boomslang is the finest gaming mouse I've ever used, end of story. And its not close either, its the best by a mile.

Once you get used to them, they are in a different world. Trust me DaKid and ignore SilentDeath, he's just bitter that I beat him 1527 frags to 0 in our last game of Counter Strike.

He cried. I tried to comfort him, but he simply said he wasn't worthy to be in the same room as me, and ran away screaming.

I don't think he'll ever get over it. Poor lad.

nath- says:
You actually play cs?
Stewart says:
No.

But seriously i have used both and have no preference. I did find it harder to move the boomslang tho compared to an optical and can frag equally well with both

[Stewart]

Well, I don't really play Counter Strike of course. Its the ultimate Chavs games. Chavs and AOL users.

I've a bit more class.

[DaKid]

Heh, in mouse terms I've always used an intellimouse and I used to be rather handy at the ol' CS. It's been a while though :S

Anyway, I'm gonna go with the Arctic Silver, upgrade to 200Gb and stick with the silent fan (and change it later if it doesn't cool enough).

Thanks again for the help