Hardware Advice

[GhostDive]

Hi, I'm building my first PC and I was hoping that you could give me some advice on the hardware.

I need it to be quiet, this is important as I use it all day for work, powerful enough for games, and stable.

This is what I have so far (prices from Tekheads.co.uk unless stated):

* Antec Anodized Aluminum Super Midi Tower P160 - No PSU £83.53 (amazon.co.uk)
* Globalwin Sapphire Super Silent 520W PFC ATX Power Supply £131.60
* AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Retail £109.00 (komplett.co.uk)
* Zalman CNPS 7000B-CU Cooler £29.38
* Asus K8N-E Deluxe, nForce 250Gb £89.30 (scan.co.uk) ??
* Patriot Dual Channel 1GB PC3200 Low Latency DDR Kit £137.48 ??
* 3.5 inch Floppy Drive Silver £5.29
* MSI X52-P DVD / CD-RW Drive – Retail £31.37 (pcworld.co.uk)
* NEC 3500A 16x DVD±RW Dual Format 4x Dual Layer – Retail £68.99 (specialreserve.co.uk)
* 2* Samsung SpinPoint P80 SP1614C - Hard drive - 160 GB £64.98 (daps.com)
* Galaxy Glacier GeForce 6800 GT 256MB DDR3 TV/DVI £311.38
* Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS - Retail £68.74

Price so far: £1,262.82

The things I need help on are:
Motherboard, is the Asus K8N-E Deluxe any good?

Memory I was thinking Patriot Dual Channel 1GB PC3200 Low Latency DDR Kit (£137.48) or Corsair ValueSelect 1GB KIT (2 x 512MB) PC3200 CL2.5 (£136.30). Will the system be more unstable if I use a Low Latency memory?

A quiet 120mm fan for the front of the case, any recommendations?

And finally a 56k PCI Modem, I'm looking for a Hardware modem so I won't have any problems using Linux.

Thanks,

[BUFF]

No real problems with anything that you have specced but watch out for carr. charges adding up with all the different sources.

PSU - you might want to look at the Antec Neopower - neater, probably quieter & £40 cheaper. Another very good PSU is the Tagan 480W.

Why do you need both a CD-R/RW when your DVD-R/RW will write CDs too?
imho you would be better with a DVD-ROM & DVD-R/RW.

The NEC3500 is £60 at komplett & if you are buying your CPU there you save carr. cost.

The latest BIOS for the K8N-E seems to have addressed most of the complaints judging by the forums (amdmb.com etc.)

No reason why low latency RAM should make it more unstablethat I can think of.

[GhostDive]

I'll have a look at the Antec Neopower, the reason I picked the Globalwin Sapphire is because it's advertised as 19 dBa. So the Neopower going to have to be very quiet.

Your right about the CD writer originally I was going to wait to get a faster DVD writer (before I saw the new NEC).

I will watch out for shipping charges, hopfully it won't negate the cheaper price.

[BUFF]

Don't forget an OS - XP Home OEM ~£50 ex. VAT unless you are planning on Linux or such.

[Allen]

Sod that, if you wanna spend that much on a PSU go for the PC Power & Cooling 510 Deluxe! Nothing beats it!

Also, the BFG 6800GT is better than the Glacier from PC World and is cheaper.

Dunno if there's much point getting a combo dvd player/cd writer and also getting a dvd writer. You'd be better off getting a DVD Writer (a cheaper one too, check www.aria.co.uk) and a DVD player for about £15-20 cheaper. :edit: Just noticed someone else said that! Sry...

[GhostDive]

I was plainning to get Win XP Home OEM, unfortunately it's needed for games.

The BGF Geforce may be cheaper but doubt quieter it doesn't mater when your crawling though the grass in Farcry but it does when you need to work.

I had a quick look at the specs of the PC Power & Cooling 510 Deluxe PSU, it says that the noise is 34-44dB(A).

[Allen]

Changing the fans will sort that out. On both GPU and PSU.

[GhostDive]

That may be slighly ambitious considering this is my first build. Isn't it dangerous to open up the PSU?

Also I don't have the spare cash to replace anything I brake.

[Allen]

Yeah, it can be. Ask the experts around here. I won't mention anything on that subject, as I don't wanna give any false information though. Basically, as long as you do it right, you won't harm yourself or the PSU.

[GhostDive]

I think I would be better off with unmodified parts till im more experienced with the hardware side of computers. Maybe the next system

[Byatt]

Why do you need both a CD-R/RW when your DVD-R/RW will write CDs too?
imho you would be better with a DVD-ROM & DVD-R/RW.

My question would be "Why not?"...I've been finding that my 2510A is a much slower cd-writer than my old lite-on 52x32x52...which I'd recommend over the MSI drive.

Go for the dual, maximum functionality.

[BUFF]

My question would be "Why not?"...I've been finding that my 2510A is a much slower cd-writer than my old lite-on 52x32x52...which I'd recommend over the MSI drive.

But a 3500 writes at 48x - a 2510 32x

[0iD]

The 480W Tagan is pure class. Mine runs solid, 24/7.
And do you really need a sound card. The on-board sound on n-force boards is good quality.

[GhostDive]

Buff is right 48x is fast enough, I think it would be a waste to spend £15 on something I probably won't use.

The 480W Tagan PSU does sound good and it a lot cheaper 21db doesn't seem to noisy compared to the Globalwin Sapphire 520W 19db for £131.60.

Yea I do want a sound card I like very good quailty sound. Wouldn't on board sound slow down games?

[0iD]

Buff is right 48x is fast enough, I think it would be a waste to spend £15 on something I probably won't use.

The 480W Tagan PSU does sound good and it a lot cheaper 21db doesn't seem to noisy compared to the Globalwin Sapphire 520W 19db for £131.60.

Yea I do want a sound card I like very good quailty sound. Wouldn't on board sound slow down games?

Not noticeably in my experience.

[Byatt]

But a 3500 writes at 48x - a 2510 32x

In which case, I shall shut up