Starting fresh, component suggestions?

smoothyuk

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Joined
29 Mar 2004
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Ok, the last time I built a PC for myself was a few years back, Had myself a cheap ass no brand case, MSI Neo-Fis2r 875p, Intel P4 2.6c, 2x256mb Corsair XMS pc-3200 (non matched pair), ATI 9700 Pro, WD 120gb caviar...not too shabby at the time, but a little dated now.

I need some suggestions on what to go for these days, I'm thinking I want an AMD Athlon 64 3800+ Venice but other than that I'm open to anything. I'm half inclined to go with an non SLI nForce4 board, probably the DFI Lanparty UT NF4 Ultra-D (are there any advantages to the SLI board if I never intend to buy two video cards?..I'm thinking no).

Video card will be an nVidia 6800 Ultra but what brand I have no clue, Gigabyte seems to be the cheapest, or I might go for the BFG OC, I'm not inclined to buy something for their software package so are there really any significant benefits between each company?..other than the fact BFG's are slightly over clocked of course.

For memory I was looking at OCZ's 1gb (2x512mb) Enhanced Latency PC3200 dual channel gold matched pair, the market for matched pair DDR memory has come a long way, there's just too many choices for me.

I'll probably slap in a 250gb Segate Barracuda S-ATA and an LG-4163B DVD Writer to finish it off, but what's really bugging me is the case, I have a list of wants rather than needs when it comes to this one. I would like 120mm front intake and rear exhuast fans, maybe a top blow hole and a side window (nothing extravigant, maybe mesh rather than a window) with another intake situated over the CPU's position. I would like something at least partially tool-less, removable motherboard tray and internal 3.5" cage...but I can't find anything offering all this, I think the Thermaltake Xaser III offers most of what I want, even though a part of me can't stand the astetics of Thermaltake cases.

One last thing, I don't plan on overclocking what so ever, so stock speeds and performance of components are what I'm really interested in. I'm into gaming for the most part, but I can't afford to replace any hardware down the line trying to get those extra 10 frames per second. :(

Anywho, that's probably longer than I wanted this post to be, I know most of you will quit reading about half a mile back, but I would apreciate any recommendations, even if it's finished off with a nag about the post size. :)

Thanks in advance.
 
Dont buy a Ultra, buy a GT instead. The price delta isnt worth it, you can buy an aftermarket cooler and OC it to Ultra speeds.

Memory is really a matter of preference/price. All the main manufactures are the same anymore. (Corsair, OCZ, Mushkin, Kingston, etc..)

As far as a case, there are a few I can think of that offer some of that. But, they really depend on what you like to look at. The Lian Li PC-65 is a great case, 2 80mm intake, 1 80mm exhaust and 1 80mm exhaust on the top. Has a nice window and is very well made. Oh, and its tool-less.

You can find it here
 
Cheers guys, the Lian Li was another case on my maybe list, for sure I prefer the clean styling but I was aching for those quieter 120mm fans (which the Xaser case does not provide either). Appreciate the suggestion though, I've given it another look and the PC65 has gained a few points in my book.

I really think I'll go for the Ultra in the graphics department though, as much as it makes sense to buy cheaper for the same performance, I'm a complete amature when it comes to overclocking, and even though I know the whole process has become a bit user friendly of late, I'm a bit reluctant to stress a card out more than it was guaranteed for. I had my 9700 Pro replaced twice at stock speeds because the memory failed on me, I'm sure graphics cards have something against me, but the 9700 never liked the 875p chipset so I'll blame that. :/

I'll check that other thread too, thanks again. :)
 

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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?
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Just did some crude math and I apparently joined almost 18yrs ago, how is that possible???
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