COMPLETE New PC

[Clstrphbc_donut]

Now I'm simply awaiting a trust fund so I can buy one hell of a PC. ETA is January, ETA last January was 2 months, but this time I know for a fact its in the final stages. Anyway, the current hardware list is as follows....


Coolmaster CMStacker Blue Trim (STC-T01) ATX/BTX

Asus Black 16x DVD-ROM + 48x CD-ROM IDE Retail

NEC ND-3500A Black x16 Dual Layer DVD-Writer, OEM UK

AMD Athlon 64 FX-55 32/64Bit CPU S939 Retail inc Heat Sink Fan

256Mb MSI PCI-E GF6800GT DDR3 Dual DVI (OEM)

2x 300Gb Maxtor Plus 10 (7200rpm,16MB) SATA

Microsoft Wireless Desktop Comfort Keyboard Mouse

Logitech MOMO Racing Force Feedback Wheel

Asus A8N-SLi Deluxe (Raid5, extra SATA, extra GBit Lan) Socket 939 nForce 4

480W Enermax Coolergiant AX Series EG485AX-VHB(G)(SFMA) ATX PSU, 12V Version 1.3,

1 Gb (2 x 512 Mb) Corsair TwinX-XL, DDR, PC3200XLPT, Cas 2, Lifetime Warranty

17" Iiyama PLE435S-S Silver, 15pin D-sub, DVI-D, Speakers, 10msec, 1280 x 1024

HP PhotoSmart 635 Digital Camera - 2.1Mpix

HP DeskJet 3550


As you can see from above, theres printers, camera's, game controllers etc. Most of this hardware has been throughly researched but I'd just like a final nod from you lot before i go ahead and make this the final list.

The camera and printer do not need to be the best, nor the input devices. Looking at raw hardware here.

One area i do need help with is how to AIR COOL this. I CANNOT afford watercooling, nor do I trust it. In my books, water + electric = hazard, so im gonna stay away from that. It needs to be quiet, unlike this PC. The stacker takes 120mm fans, i thought of papst (i think they are?)

CPU cooling, Thermalright 120 and 120mm silent fan, or should i go for more CFM for the CPU? Considering I'm going to overclock, and would like as much silence as possible, I'm unsure as what fan to buy for the heatsink.

Graphics cooling, Artic cooler, don't think there will be much disagreement there.

PSU, Powerful enough? Reliable? Not keen on the reports of the ticking Tagans TBH. The stacker has 2 PSU bays from what ive read so i could always put my 360w Thermaltake PurePower in there if it can't cope alone.

Monitors, TFT or CRT?...Well, i never have wanted a TFT TBH, but my friend recently got a 435S, and i love the thing. Cant spot ONE dead pixel, and its got a nice display through D-sub. Plus, add to that its Iiyama and i love their products, its 10ms, and looks great, this seems the best choice to me, for me.

RAM, Now this is an area that I'm currently changing, OCZ 4000 or higher being top of the list. Read on here that AMD64's love low latencies so Im looking for 3700/4000/4200 with low latencies.

Hows it looking? Really wish they wouldnt piss about with trust funds, really want this new machine yesterday.

[5cupa]

decent soundcard and speakers?

[Clstrphbc_donut]

Gah, yeah, you caught me out.

OEM SB Audigy 2 and POSSIBLY Z-680's?

[StormPC]

You mean 2 videocards, not one, right?

[myth]

well, it looks like the storage is too big and the CPU is too powerfull... perhaps you could spread that cash around for another GT and a raptor or two...

[speedy_s]

good system. for cpu go for the zalman 7700 alcu/cu it has 120 fan onboard so it will save you some time and a lot of effort while assemnling ur pc, panaflo fan are very good, but nexus(kustom pc) are the quietest fan 14.1 db i think.

[weebroonieuk]

all that on a 17 incher moniter lol come on mate 20 inch lcd atleast or a very ood 21 inch crt to really make your hardware shine if u dont want the bigger screen u wont see the benefit of such a powerfull card and cpu
get an sli board and one or two cards if u can afford it
bigger better screen
decent sound setup
raptors are a must ! if u can buy one of the 74 gb models there not too expensive these days

how would you like to future proof your expensive cpu which soon we will be able to overclock past ??
phase change cooling , toss in another 500 quid or so and you can get your moneys worth out of that cpu for a long time yet , plus it will be stupidly fast if clocked well

[LeeumH]

Tbh mate, i'd go for 1 300GB 16MB Cache Maxtor and get yourself a 74GB WD Raptor for your boot I think everything else is fine.

As for water cooling, it's as safe as you make it. Remember it is de-ionised water so it doesn't conduct, if anything does go wrong your hardware will most likely come around after a day or two in the airing cupboard.

For your case fans, change them all for Panaflo's, they really are the cream of the crop in my books, best place to buy them is Dorothy Bradbury.

Personally, it's a bad time to buy a computer, especially on the graphics card front. The X850's are ETA'd for the next few weeks so hold onto your cash and wait for the benchmark results

[Clstrphbc_donut]

i have a maximum of £2500 and i have spent up using that list. I cannot afford Raptors, a bigger screen, SLi etc.

I would downgrade the CPU but I'd want something with a little more oomph than a 3500+ and 3800+'s are about £400, so the FX-55 seems more reasonable.

So, SLi and a 3500 or an fx55 and a 6800GT?

EDIT: Storage is needed.

[speedy_s]

go for the fx55, as you can easily upgrade to another 6800gt, as you have the a8n-sli later
btw where are you buying this from

[Clstrphbc_donut]

Scan...a friend is taking me down there to see if we cant get a bit knocked off the price/Free gifts Always bught my hardware from there.

But if i get the FX55, it will be coming from ebuyer as its £25 cheaper there. So will the RAM if its OCZ.

[LeeumH]

Wait for the X850's! Don't be swayed by SLI

[speedy_s]

ebuyer have a8n-sli @98 unstocked. but they should apperar in 2-3 days so i would recommend you buy from there.

[Clstrphbc_donut]

Not overly keen on Ebuyer. May even buy my CPU from Scan too, at least i know RMA (if needed) will be good.

[Clstrphbc_donut]

Right, changed it to 3800+ and SLi'd 6800GT's. Better?

[Firelord]

Go for the Tagan 480w PSU as they are dead silent and are utter pack horses when it comes to surviving sustained heavy loads. I loved my Tagan until I got a PCP+C 510w Dlx which is better but bvery expensive!

I would consider waiting and getting a decent digital camera larger than 2.1mp as thats not a lot of pixels....

Why do you need a seperate DVD Rom drive if you have the DVDRW? It just adds mess to sys cabling and not much help....

Get 2 250GB drives and get a better screen. I recommend the VX912 monitor as it is DVI and 12ms and 19" of godliness

Stick with the thermalright XP120 though as their fantastic sinks...