Building a new system!

Electronic Punk

willalwaysbewithyou
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After 3 years I am finally close to building a new system!

For Christmas I got my Coolermaster Cosmos which I am really thrilled about as I am going for silence and power over pure power this time around. My current system has been getting noisier and noiser, so close to my bed its sometimes annoying (having said that I now have a fish tank thats closer and noisier - woo!)

The day before yesterday I ordered two 150gig Raptor-X drives (why the X? I am not sure they were 7 quid more expensive and I thought I may as well even though they won't be visible)

Now I am stuck waiting for technology to catch up and confused about what direction to go in.

Graphics card will be easy, once the 9800 GTX is announced I will either go with that or the fastest single GPU solution. Whether thats an 8800 Ultra or otherwise. I told a friend at NVIDIA of my intent to buy at the start of April and he said it was a good time to buy but wouldn't say why. Meh.

Power supply is dependant on other choices but will have to be quiet and suitable. I am also really digging modular power supplies these days.

Do I need more HDDs? Whats the best configuration. The Raptors will be raid 0 but I may well get another 2 drives for a bit of storage. My old system will do most the archiving tho (with 2008 and exchange 2007 for giggles)

RAM depends on the motherboard, 4 gig tho - most likely 4x 1 gig dimms?

Motherboard... AIIEEE Intel or NVIDIA? And then DDR2 or DD3 ?

Any suggestions welcome :D
 
Intel boards mostly outperform Nvidia and don't share Nvidia's occasional manufacturing hiccups, but it's really a just personal preference (I have an Intel). DDR2 is fine, and you're probably best off buying the cheap stuff because the performance increase between top-o-the-line RAM and middle-of-the-road just isn't worth paying thrice for it when you could invest that sixty pounds in picking up a slightly better processor or video card.
 
Seriously considering an ASUS board really. Still domn't know about Intel or NVIDIA - I don't intend on going SLI but the onboard sound solution might be better.
 
i have an asus nvidia amd board and an asus nvidia intel board, both seem to be going along nicely :)
 
Man...gutted. Typed a nice detailed long reply and session timed out.
Logged back in, and hey presto the lot has gone. deep joy.

Don't have time now, but will try and get something done :/
 
Sesision timed out? Do you tick the box to stay logged in?
Not sure why this happens for some people - the site has never logged me out :(
 
could be net issues - speed and connections to various sites here is bad this morn
 
I'm of the mindset it's pointless going for a bespoke/minor mobo chip manufacturer.
If ATI release the killer-must-have card that will change your life next year, you might have problems when you switch etc.
Futureproofing? I'd go Intel in a heartbeat aside from the reasons relating to nVidia's known issues with some 3rd party vendor products.
Still this is more in relation to 1 maybe 2 chipsets not all.
If you're considering SLI then you might find some advantage in the nVidia options, but even that considered....Intel ;)
The x38 is an awesome chip plain and simple.

I say Intel as I assume you're going for Core2?
Currently there's no advantage to go VIA etc unless going with AMD, and well, you'd have to be pretty crazy or like having hotter and slower CPU core that suck well over 400W :eek:

Personally I'm wary of Asus. I've had several boards from them in the past. My most significant memory of them? reliability issues.
They kinda fall over and die after a year or so lol.
I find their products aren't the best value like for like.
Also find their BIOS update support isn't too great in comparison to other vendors, and looking at the recent heatpiped options and having read people opened the anti-static bag to find the heatpipe assembly rattling round in the bottom having come away from the board in transit.
The reports of this were too common to render this mere coincidence.
These are all horror stories though. That said you may be absolutely fine with one and experience no problems of any sort.
As for recommended, there's a lot in all honesty, but my fave current mobo manufacturer is Gigabyte.
A few years ago the ASUS/Gigabyte argument was reversed and I'd have gone ASUS every time.
That is no longer the case.

For modular PSUs look no further than the Seasonic M12 series. They simply rock.
They're tier 2 PSUs and are of amazing build quaility. (>85% efficiency :D)
I seriously cannot recommend this series of PSUs enough!
They have some over at Aria .co.uk (PSU link) currently in different flavours.

DDR3 while very nice, is far from necessary. DDR2 is adequate for todays needs, and when DDR3 prices drop you can use that.
Beware mobos that only support the 1 standard if you intend to wait it out for DDR3.
Failing that if DDR3 is what you really want then get it from the outset imho.
The other alternative to keep your current DDR2 until DDR3 becomes more widely available at a reasonable price is:
Gigabyte to a board that supports both DDR2 and DDR3.
Whilst not a behemoth of a power/feature monster it's a nippy little board and may help if funds get tight and you're waiting for DDR3 to drop in price etc etc.

Also if you intend on keeping Vista, you might want to consider 6GB ram as opposed to 4GB :)


Finally do you intend to overclock at all?
If so this will dramatically change the scope of kit you're looking for.
 
Sesision timed out? Do you tick the box to stay logged in?
Not sure why this happens for some people - the site has never logged me out :(
Yeah that was it. I hadn't been in and set any sort of login session features of any kind, nor was I 'remembered'
Kinda forgot about all that. Did it yonks ago on my old PC too >.<
 
Kudos for taking the plunge with Nehalem just around the corner :smoker:
 
It isn't just around the corner -- and who needs 6 damn cores?

Just read some info on the 8.3 Catalysts thats interesting..

Crossfire and multi-monitor !!! Oh and support for 2x 3870X2 ;)
 
I'll check out what I can on Seasonic, modular at least :)
Will hopefully be going for the Intel 9450.
I will be keeping Vista but haven't decided on RAM yet -- could just go for 8 gig with the price of RAM these days ;)
I don't think I will be attempting to overlcock as I really want this thing to be fast, but quiet.
 
Seasonic are a superb brand. They excel at what they do.
The M12 is fully modular. It offers loads of fully sleeved(braided) modular cables.
It is guaranteed to work with either 1,2 or even 4 GPU units (depending on Wattage rating PSU) and offers steady clean reliable power.
Look at the two models at the bottom of this page

Regarding the RAM. Many users have had issues with Vista and 4GB. It's a well documented problem, although not a global one.
Depends what you throw in the case I guess.

Pity about the over-clocking.
You can get DDR3 performance pretty much with a decent quad CPU and good DDR2 high speed RAM.
You may find the Noise factor isn't as much as of an issue as you 1st thought too.
With a decent HSF arrangement the minor noise level increase really isn't noticeable in my current setup.
It would run 4degs hotter if I reverted to standard CPU fan speed, and the noise level difference in the 2 speeds is barely audible.
So I leave the CPU fan on full (It's 120mm so pretty quiet anyway) and tolerate the negligible noise level increase :D

Still each to their own :)
 
Well the Cosmos has all kinds of stuff going on in there to keep noise down.
 
I'm of the mindset it's pointless going for a bespoke/minor mobo chip manufacturer.
If ATI release the killer-must-have card that will change your life next year, you might have problems when you switch etc.
Futureproofing? I'd go Intel in a heartbeat aside from the reasons relating to nVidia's known issues with some 3rd party vendor products.
Still this is more in relation to 1 maybe 2 chipsets not all.
If you're considering SLI then you might find some advantage in the nVidia options, but even that considered....Intel ;)
The x38 is an awesome chip plain and simple.

I say Intel as I assume you're going for Core2?
Currently there's no advantage to go VIA etc unless going with AMD, and well, you'd have to be pretty crazy or like having hotter and slower CPU core that suck well over 400W :eek:

Personally I'm wary of Asus. I've had several boards from them in the past. My most significant memory of them? reliability issues. They kinda fall over and die after a year or so lol.
I find their products aren't the best value like for like.
Also find their BIOS update support isn't too great in comparison to other vendors, and looking at the recent heatpiped options and having read people opened the anti-static bag to find the heatpipe assembly rattling round in the bottom having come away from the board in transit.
The reports of this were too common to render this mere coincidence.
These are all horror stories though. That said you may be absolutely fine with one and experience no problems of any sort.
As for recommended, there's a lot in all honesty, but my fave current mobo manufacturer is Gigabyte.
A few years ago the ASUS/Gigabyte argument was reversed and I'd have gone ASUS every time.
That is no longer the case.

For modular PSUs look no further than the Seasonic M12 series. They simply rock.
They're tier 2 PSUs and are of amazing build quaility. (>85% efficiency :D)
I seriously cannot recommend this series of PSUs enough!
They have some over at Aria .co.uk (PSU link) currently in different flavours.

DDR3 while very nice, is far from necessary. DDR2 is adequate for todays needs, and when DDR3 prices drop you can use that.
Beware mobos that only support the 1 standard if you intend to wait it out for DDR3.
Failing that if DDR3 is what you really want then get it from the outset imho.
The other alternative to keep your current DDR2 until DDR3 becomes more widely available at a reasonable price is:
Gigabyte to a board that supports both DDR2 and DDR3.
Whilst not a behemoth of a power/feature monster it's a nippy little board and may help if funds get tight and you're waiting for DDR3 to drop in price etc etc.

Also if you intend on keeping Vista, you might want to consider 6GB ram as opposed to 4GB :)


Finally do you intend to overclock at all?
If so this will dramatically change the scope of kit you're looking for.

Reps + to this post...

I have to disagree to the portion I bolded and changed the text color of...

ASUS is in my opinion the single BEST Mobo maker out there... I have NEVER had an ASUS board die... one which I gave to my best friend is still working and one which I sold for a steal is still working in another OSNN members PC as I type this...

I know many people have favorites; however, I will tell you why I think this:

I have owned:

Abit
Aopen
ASUS
ECS
Micro Star (MSI)
Soyo
Tyan

All of the above brands with the exception of ECS and ASUS had issues... many of them granted were simple, however, they were things which should have been fixed before I ever had my hands on the boards...

I also need to point out I am a speed freak... I have been overclocking ever since I built my first PC a Cyrix 6x86 on a Tyan board... I am sure some of the problems I experienced were encountered because I O.C...

With ASUS I always knew what I was getting into and as companies go, for overclocking... ASUS is simply one of the best out there...

One of the same reasons why I am a HUGE Corsair fan... Out of the last 5 boxes, corsair has been in 4 of the 5 OCZ being the other, which did very well... (getting off track)...

EDIT: Also for ANY power hungry PC dont build a monster with a weak heart...
My suggestion: PC, POWER and COOLING!!! http://www.pcpower.com/power-supply/turbo-cool-1200-esa.html
Here is some info on one its workhorse of a PSU:

· 1.2KW Continuous (1.3KW peak) @ 50°C
· Fits Std. ATX Cases (20" min. depth)
· +12VDC @ 90A (115A pk) (Massive Single Rail)
· High Efficiency (83%); .98 Active PFC
· Rock-Solid, Super-Clean DC Output
· 24-pin, Dual 8-pin, 4-pin M/B Connectors
· Six PCI-E and 17 Drive Connectors (8 SATA, 1 mini)
· NVIDIA® SLI Certified (Up to 3-Way SLI)
· ESA Connector (USB 2.0 Cable)
· Individual 14-point Certified Test Report
· 7-Year Warranty; Unbeatable Support

Whatever mobo you go with, make sure the reviews on that board are top in the sector, and it goes without saying... give us the pics and your new toy's name!!

Mike A!
 
Last edited:
i have an asus p4 board here that has (say has still is) going fine after 6 years of near 24/7 usuage
 
Reps + to this post...

I have to disagree to the portion I bolded and changed the text color of...

Thanks :)
I did state it's my personal experience with the boards of late.
Not a statement of fact.
Glad you've had better luck with ASUS than I had :)
 

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Also Hi EP and people. I found this place again while looking through a oooollllllldddd backup. I have filled over 10TB and was looking at my collection of antiques. Any bids on the 500Mhz Win 95 fix?
Any of the SP crew still out there?
Xie wrote on Electronic Punk's profile.
Impressed you have kept this alive this long EP! So many sites have come and gone. :(

Just did some crude math and I apparently joined almost 18yrs ago, how is that possible???
hello peeps... is been some time since i last came here.
Electronic Punk wrote on Sazar's profile.
Rest in peace my friend, been trying to find you and finally did in the worst way imaginable.

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