Building A Gaming Rig - A Living Document. (A HEXUS Project)

[malfunction]

However the Zalman 7700 has greater height clearance than the 7000 so might fit some mobos that the 7000 won't (and it's great for cooling the MOSFETs too).

Which brings me onto another point - for all the fancier HSFs - check to make sure it's compatible with your mobo and case.

[SilentDeath]

Cheap as Chips - 360W ThermalTake Dual Fan PSU. £35
The Sweet Spot - 380W Enermax Coolergiant AX Series v1.3. £50
Pricey Perfection - 480W Enermax Coolergiant AX Series v2. £70

I wouldnt agree. There are much better psu's for the money, in terms of technical perfomance.
Secondly I would not recommend anyone building a new high end pc, to get a psu of any kind, if its rated less than 450w.
Where you say
"Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever buy a cheap PSU."
I think I should point out there are two definititions of cheap:
1) That which is cheap, shiny box, lots of marketing crap, and the words q-tec.
2) That in a considerably less shiny or even brown box, OEM, with the words CWT.

*note* 2 refers to cheap for what you get, where as stupidly CHEAP (I.E psu for £15) is always a bad idea. 1 refers to overpriced carp, which does not seem cheap and crap, becuase they are overcharging so much for it.

OR

1) buying from pc world
2) buying from any retailer (expect certian ones, which I wont mention )having researched a good product, knowing there will be no suprises.

Im unsure of the current situation of CWT's at scan, however.

And yes, a CWT 550w ADP is a lot better, from a technical point of view, than a 380w enermax, yet (used to be) the same price.

[Stewart]

Oh yeah, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying avoid all cheap PSUs, there are bargains to be had, like you say. But when its obvious, like a 600w Q-Tec for 9p, then you need to wonder why they are selling at that price.

I just feel its the one area where you can't take chances or risks on new brands or 'decent' brands, and have to go for a small core of established, respected PSU makers.

[Stewart]

Ok, added OCZ to the list of reliable PSUs and DiamondMax 10s now get a mention in Hard Drives. Before I make more changes - the 3000+ or 3200+ for the sweet spot of AMD Socket 939 CPUs? The 3000+ is cheaper and overclocks to the same level, but the 3200+ isn't much more and if not overclocking gives you a bit more grunt at stock.

What do we think?

[mike_w]

Ok, added OCZ to the list of reliable PSUs and DiamondMax 10s now get a mention in Hard Drives. Before I make more changes - the 3000+ or 3200+ for the sweet spot of AMD Socket 939 CPUs? The 3000+ is cheaper and overclocks to the same level, but the 3200+ isn't much more and if not overclocking gives you a bit more grunt at stock.

What do we think?

Perhaps you could put both - have suggestions for people who just want a fast system, and a suggestion for enthusiasts/overclockers?

[r1zeek]

Oh yeah, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying avoid all cheap PSUs, there are bargains to be had, like you say.

You just have to make sure that you word it correctly (just like the way you previously explained in this thread)

[PhilvRS]

Great thread!

Just what i've been looking for, look forward to the rest (eg. RAM, DDR/DDR2? etc)

[Stewart]

Great thread!

Just what i've been looking for, look forward to the rest (eg. RAM, DDR/DDR2? etc)

Cheers mate. Makes it all worth it.

Mike - Both sort of goes against what I'm trying to do - I want recommendations, if someone wants to buy a new CPU, recommending both doesn't really solve the problem.

[Howard]

Keep picking though mate, that's what I'm looking for.

Hard drives don't need their own cooling to run efficiently. They get hot, but they're designed to take it. Unless you have 5 Raptors spinning away, of course.

[Stewart]

I know Howard, but they do get hot, and at the end of the day, cooler is better. I'm not saying you have to have a hard drive cooler or anything, but at least giving a thought to the fact that they do get hot, and maybe making sure there is a decent air flow in that area, or a fan positioned to blow onto them isn't the worst idea you might have.

[Howard]

The best thing to do is not have them right on top of each other. Put a drive bay's worth of space between them. Same goes for optical drives.

[Stewart]

But if you've not got the room, then a decent air flow will do just as well. Anyway, 1 small IDE drive running for a few hours a day, or 5 RAptors running 24/7, air flow is key. Its the contribution they make to the overall temp. I like to feel the air coming out of my case, and not burn the skin off my hands.

[r1zeek]

Here's an idea:

You have written about building the gaming rig, but shouldn't you talk to them about making the right software choices (albeit only a few software options available)

[Stewart]

Windows XP, the latest drivers for your graphics card... erm, anything else?

[ed^chigliak]

If you're buying hardware then you are entitled to OEM software which is much cheaper. Pick up a copy os Nero OEM for £3 with your optical drive. I built a PC recently and found I was missing Nero & PowerDVD. Same for Anti-Virus although I tend to use the free ones.

[Stewart]

This is, specificaly a gaming rig though remember, your choice of anti-virus is not really a concern.