Check my new" system

[Mama Sumae]

ok i am gonna build a system using some parts i already own.

So i have:

P4 3.06 socket478
Toshiba 80GB and 160GB western digital external hard drive
1GB Value Ram DDR333
External LG Dual layer rec so no need for more optical drives.

since i am happy with onboard sound, network and dont need Floppy i am buying a mobo, GPU, case,monitor and a new cooller mine is far too noisy.

I have a tiny student budget so think i will go to these parts:

Asus P4V800D-X bout 29£ in ebuyer with SATA PCI-E and dual channel DDR400 (no onboard video)

Xerox Display XA7 17" 8ms bout 170 near my place look great check it out here:
http://www.xerox-displays.info/product_display_xa7.html

XFX 7600GT XXX Edition 256mb DDR3 590mhz Core bout 150 in ebuyer

Asus TA-37 Midi case bout 33.24£ in scan with 360W aPFC PSU
check it here http://uk.asus.com/products4.aspx?l1...40&modelmenu=1

No idea about the cooler though i am tired of my noisy one any suggestions?

For 382 + delivery in some items what do u think about the parts? i am not sure if the GPU will be a overkill for my P4, will the case psu be enough?

[sawyen]

You'd probably want to stretch the graphics to a 7900GT for £200-220 or if u dun mind OCuk.. u can have an X1800XT 256MB (7900GT equivalent) which is TONS better than a 7600GT for £170..

The CPU wont be a terrible bottleneck if you'd overclock that Northwood.. When you get it to around 3.4ish, which should be fairly easy.. then it should be fine..

And you woudnt want to skimp on the PSU.. I'd dedicate some real money for a good PSU.. say a 400W Seasonic or a 430W tagan for se..

[Mama Sumae]

Sadly i am stretching my budget already was originally going for the 256MB XFX 7600GS bout 88£ and if i get a new PSU then...

Probably i will oc the cpu so any idea for a good cheap s478 cooler?

[nichomach]

As far as the graphics go, the landscape's shifted a bit. There's been fairly whacking price cuts on the X1800GTO, and check the head to head between it and the 7600GT at The Register. The Sapphire incarnation of the GTO can be had for £140 inc VAT at Microdirect. LowestOnWeb are listing the GeCube version at £131 all in, but they're not expecting stock until the 19th.

[Mama Sumae]

cheers nichomach i always had good results with ati but someone told me the 7xxx series were good.

The register says the GTO has a full 256-bit memory interface, anyone can confirm that all models of the 7600 are 128-bit.

Also the mobo i am buying ( Asus P4V800D-X ) seems quite compact for the X1800.

http://uk.asus.com/products4.aspx?l1...42&modelmenu=1


hum... Right i after i finished this post i saw this strange thing :

http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=5158

[Lobro]

A heat-pipe makes a lot of sense. It's most famouse use was the cooling of the exhaust valves of the Merlin engine of the Spitfire. The valve stems were hollow with a small piece of metallic sodium sealed in. As a means of cooling the PCI card in question, both ends of that pipe will be cooling the GPU and transferring the heat to the D-section of the "handle" - which is presumably immersed in the air-stream from the fan. The filling is probably alcohol. This will evaporate from the hot spots and condense in the cooled handle. A wick will move the liquid back to the heat! The thermal conductivity of the pipe will be far better than diamond even!

[Mama Sumae]

A heat-pipe makes a lot of sense. It's most famouse use was the cooling of the exhaust valves of the Merlin engine of the Spitfire. The valve stems were hollow with a small piece of metallic sodium sealed in. As a means of cooling the PCI card in question, both ends of that pipe will be cooling the GPU and transferring the heat to the D-section of the "handle" - which is presumably immersed in the air-stream from the fan. The filling is probably alcohol. This will evaporate from the hot spots and condense in the cooled handle. A wick will move the liquid back to the heat! The thermal conductivity of the pipe will be far better than diamond even!

lol took me a while to understand what u were speaking about have u send a postcard to hexus even they called it a carry handle.

[Lobro]

lol took me a while to understand what u were speaking about have u send a postcard to hexus even they called it a carry handle.

As a newbie, I don't really know what you mean by have u send a postcard to hexus even they called it a carry handle. I didn't know that "Hexus" have called it a handle - 'cos I don't know who answers for Hexus and I don't know how to send a postcard.

I apologise for my use of punctuation (BBG).

[sawyen]

all 7600GT are 128bit.. AFAIK..

the X1800GTO will be a super buy if its under £130..

[Mama Sumae]

As a newbie, I don't really know what you mean by have u send a postcard to hexus even they called it a carry handle. I didn't know that "Hexus" have called it a handle - 'cos I don't know who answers for Hexus and I don't know how to send a postcard.

I apologise for my use of punctuation (BBG).

bottom of the article u will read this about the heat pipe:

" In that case then, given that we can't see how it helps cooling, our guess it's for use as a carry handle.

If anyone has a better idea, answers on a postcard. "

they are at E3 in Los Angeles that explains the postcard.

................................................

The x1800GTO does look great my 1 option now, might change the cooling system in future if too noisy.

bout my s478 cooler i will go artic sure it cant go wrong

[MadduckUK]

all 7600's are 128bit by definiton unforunately. whilest iv been a staunch follower of nvidia (Riva TnT, geforce 2 mx, geforce 4200, geforce 5900xt, geforce 6600gt) i have to say the 9700mobile in my laptop has been a pleasure to use. i read the comparison of the 7600gt and the x1800gto earlier today and came away with mixed feelings. for an out of the box solution i go with the ATI option, whilest for someone that likes to dabble in overclocking it gets a lot less defined. the 7600gt is quieter. smaller. and gives off less heat. and can have its clock speeds ramped up quite a lot. the GTO on the other had "could" have its pipelines unlocked. while being moderately overclocked.

its too close to call? dont think you will be dissapointed with either. they both seem fantastic value for money. i think i'll got with the 7600gt tho as im aiming for a SLI motherboard.

[sybrows]

My absolute top ceiling on graphics is £150 and it is next on list at the mo, so if what has been said before is true then I'm on tinned spaghetti for the month

BrOw

[MadduckUK]

My absolute top ceiling on graphics is £150 and it is next on list at the mo, so if what has been said before is true then I'm on tinned spaghetti for the month

BrOw

thats about mine too. id be interested to know how many other people think likewise

[sybrows]

My last purhcase on the gfx front was a nvid 5700 ultra (150 ish at the time) ... that was usurped later on by the 5900 or summink on the nvidia range (gainward, and off topic ) i was annoyed by that so hopefully I will not be caught out again lol
BrOw

[Mama Sumae]

Well i do believe that mid range is the way to go in almost everything in electronics, first because it’s longer in the market and normally will have design and drivers problems fixed, the technology used will be bit older thus more reliable and stable.
Financially u won’t pay the extra £ for state of the art technology that in 3to6 months time will be common.

In case of GPUs many times u can buy a mid range card that plays well all games in market instead of buying a top 350+ £ card, when the card u bought becomes outdated just buy another mid range card that will be better or rival the 350+ £ card. This way u will save money stretch the warranty in your GPU probably get some money back from your first card (ebay) but specially have the fun to buy twice
Another issue right now its slim (no doubt better than crossfire) if u buy for example two slim 7600GS u will have similar performance when compared with 7900GT.
Hum… I had a review bout it cant find it though.

sorry for the english