Help needed on new computer!

[DuffMan]

Hey guys, havn't been on for some time, but thats also due to the fact I havn't had a machine - anyhow I was wondering if you could help me out on a slight predicament - Ive got a budget of £750 max, and have to get everything for the new machine, minus monitor, speakers, s/card and peripherals - and have thought about the following specs possibly...but want to know what you think and if, where possible could improve on it by exchanging any parts:

XFX 128Mb GeForce 6600GT SLi PCI-Express
HiperPower 425W PSU (20/24 pin)
Gigabyte GA K8NXP-SLI
80Gb Seagate Barracude SATA NCQ HDD
CoolerMaster Centurion 5 case (black/silver)
AMD Athlon64 3500+ Winchester
1Gb Corsair TwinX, DDR, 3200C2PT Cas2
Sony Silver Floppy Drive
Sony Silver DVD Drive

Any assistance would be appreciated!

 

[psd99]

Welcome back, DuffMan

I like the look of that system

Also I would consider getting a larger harddrive go for 200GB or even 350GB
In the long run it will be worth it for sure, there will be no need to get a new harddrive for some time.

Your motherboard? Is it top of the range, I would recommend looking into either Asus or Abit as they are regarded as the leading motherboard manufactures.

Have you considered buying a full tower instead of a case? I have a Chiftech Tower here its very spacious and great to work it, which is an added bonus


Well let me know your thoughts also
best wishes
psd99

 

[ChristopherP]

Regular towers are big enough!

PSD - why not a RAID 0 array as opposed to a single bigger drive

 

[DuffMan]

Cheers psd for your speed in replying!

To my knowledge it is the current top spec motherboard that Gigabyte sell for the AMD platform, with *pretty much* the same features as the other large manufacturers Sli equivalent, and I suppose there is some manufacturer preference for choosing Gigabyte. I havn't really considered a full tower, what are the major benefits over say the case i mentioned? as I would definitately willing to look into that as an alternative.
<Also> point taken about HDD...that was me just trying to save a few £

 

[Ian]

I agree with PSD99, the 80 gig hard drive seems small compared to the high spec of the rest of the system. If you are going to be using a graphics card like that, you must be playing a few games, so hard drive space is a must. At the current prices of hard drives, a 160/200 gig seems about right - as they are quite reasonable now.

It might also be worth getting a DVD/RW Drive or at least a CDRW/DVD combo drive, as it will only cost around £15 more but will allow you to back up documents etc...

The Power Supply seems a little suspect, I haven't heard of them before - perhaps they are a good make though! Its worth getting a good powersupply if you can

 

[floppybootstomp]

Looks like a fine system to me, can’t really fault it.

Except for the Hiperpower Power Supply, I don’t know anything about them, so can’t comment.

Couple of other options to consider:

Asus

DFI

And a review of your chosen board, it looks excellent. Only thing missing is a RAID controller but if you’re not interested in RAID, no probs.

Gigabyte Review

Keep us posted on your build

 

[DuffMan]

Cheers so far for the help guys,

I would consider the DVD/RW but...i have my trusty 120gig external HDD which has everything on it i need, however I will definitely get a DVD/RW as soon as my credit card recovers!
As for the PSU, im not sure where I read it but Im certain that CoolerMaster recommended them....perhaps for the wavemaster...though would have to double check that.
Which PSU would you recommened for a reasonable price, ive looked into the other major brands such as Antec's True Power and the Tagan power supplies and have all had good reviews. However I am trying (in vain) to keep everything down to £750 max.

 

[floppybootstomp]

More comments:

A midi sized tower is fine.

Yes, agree, HDD a little on the small side if you're going to be loading lots of games.

And also agreed, it's really worth considering a DVDRW drive for about another 25 to 30 pounds.

 

[floppybootstomp]

The only good PSU's I've used and can recommend are: Tagan, Antec, Enermax and, oddly enough, Jeantech (PC World sell them).

 

[crazylegs]

Hi Duffman

Yeah the 6600gt sounds good and the gigabyte motherboard is an excellent proven overclocker if thats your bag, money could be better spent elsewhere on another case, and as for your psu you couldn't do much better than an aerocool 450 watt unit, seriously stable under any load.

http://www.overclock.co.uk/customer/brandsearch.php?substring=Aerocool

Also i'd go for a 200 gig sata rather than your 80 gig, corsair memory sounds good, but upgrade to a dvd-rw dl-9 around the £45 mark very cheap nowadays.

hope that helps you out................happy building dude...............

 

[floppybootstomp]

and the gigabyte motherboard is an excellent proven overclocker

Is it? Have there been any reviews of that aspect of the board?

Reason I ask is that my Gigabyte GA700N Pro 2 is complete crap at overclocking.

And the board mentioned here hasn't even been released yet so I was wondering how it's overclocking aspect can be proven Unless, like I said, reviewers have overclocked review samples.

But - Gigabyte make fine boards, imo, and if you don't want to overclcok are generally stable and chock full of features.

 

[DuffMan]

What case would you guys recommend then as I'm keen to get a simple, yet stylish case - also not a fan of the fridge look of the Thermaltakes, the silverstone Temjin looked okay, as did the coolermaster cavalier 3 and wavemaster, thats the kind of look im aiming for (if that makes sense!)
Looking already to replace the HDD for larger capacity as well as PSU (also, what Wattage would you recommend, bearing in mind I intend to purchase another SLi card in a couple months time?)

 

[crazylegs]

In response to flopp's question what i mean is, the reviews that i have read generally report that the board is a half decent overclocker, although the board has not been on sale for that long in this country.

People have reviewed and tested this board.

Okay mate..

http://www.neoseeker.com/resourcelink.html?rid=86526

 

[floppybootstomp]

In response to flopp's question what i mean is, the reviews that i have read generally report that the board is a half decent overclocker, although the board has not been on sale for that long in this country.

People have reviewed and tested this board.

Okay mate..

http://www.neoseeker.com/resourcelink.html?rid=86526

Seen

 

[psd99]

Regular towers are big enough!

PSD - why not a RAID 0 array as opposed to a single bigger drive

because my friend I am not familar with conecpt of RAID 0 array to store the data! Still have to learn about this RAID array options,
Does sound good though so please take a note of this option

 

[psd99]

Cheers psd for your speed in replying!

To my knowledge it is the current top spec motherboard that Gigabyte sell for the AMD platform, with *pretty much* the same features as the other large manufacturers Sli equivalent, and I suppose there is some manufacturer preference for choosing Gigabyte. I havn't really considered a full tower, what are the major benefits over say the case i mentioned? as I would definitately willing to look into that as an alternative.
<Also> point taken about HDD...that was me just trying to save a few £

your welcome
one of my biggest regrets before getting into this pc hassle was coming here on pcreview to do the same thing that you are!

well firslty i have been off of the motherboard scene for a long time, but i do reccomend looking at Asus or Abit, Gigagbyte are up there too, but second for me to the first two i mentioned. If it is their latest board, prehaps u could get some detailed reviews and let some other twits buy and review it b4 u do

not about your midi tower/ full tower, if you go into this forums, modding forum u will see my form 'have u modded your pc..... if so please describe' on this i have posted some pics of my chiftech full tower. please feel free to see these pics, but bear in mind i have not finished modding this case to its full extent
I did not specifically look at your choice of case, but i do reccomend a full tower for the following reasons:

1. you could fit up to six 5.25inch drives, such as 2dvd roms and 2 cdrws!
2. could easily fit 6 hardrives in your case should u wish to!
3. so much easier to work inside and open up at your will
4 much better ventilation, less dust too
5. the most important, bigger is better, everything is bigger nowadays even we r bigger then out ancestors even lots of blokes prefer big women nowadays
when someone comes to see your new pc, the sheer size of your full tower will already make a big impact upon your visitors eyes! everyone will be pleased,
how many of these massive pc companies sell full towers as per normal?

well just my opinons my friend, please dont take it to heart!


i like the idea of the Admin requesting that a DVD RW Drive is also added very nice idea, a great way to back up your files incase of a emergency


best wishes

 

[psd99]

Which PSU would you recommened for a reasonable price, ive looked into the other major brands such as Antec's True Power and the Tagan power supplies and have all had good reviews. However I am trying (in vain) to keep everything down to £750 max.

DuffMan go for Enermax, their PSU's are very very silent u can hardly hear that they are on!

I have one myself had it well over 2 years now its only 365W and i run sometimes 5 different devices off of it too! So far I have been impressed with this I do not know about their prices but I would definetly reccomend this company!

p.s have u considered having silenced parts in your new pc to minimise the noise the pc makes?
im the number one fan on this site for true true silent pcs! the ones u can get a good nights sleep with!

 

[floppybootstomp]

5. the most important, bigger is better, everything is bigger nowadays even we r bigger then out ancestors even lots of blokes prefer big women nowadays

lol, psd, sometimes, you are really quite precious

gimme one o them big women, when dey wobble I can really make ma gravy..... lol

Big cases are good if you need one, if you don't, shuttles are really very very popular right now

each to his own

thanks for giving me a smile late on Saturday night

 

[psd99]

lol, psd, sometimes, you are really quite precious

gimme one o them big women, when dey wobble I can really make ma gravy..... lol

Big cases are good if you need one, if you don't, shuttles are really very very popular right now

each to his own

thanks for giving me a smile late on Saturday night

lol, no thank you please! nice to know my comments are appreciated in some form, which gravy do u use then Bisto eh?

did u know that the average dress size of a British women is getting bigger and bigger!
people are eating more and more, even women too.
we are now 3 almost 4 weeks into the new year, meaning that most peoples new year resoultions are out of the window.

I have so far felt that a women of size 10 is perfect for me, I could not find a gurl in a better, finer shape, form or manner in my eyes.

Anyways I guess you cant compare a Size 10 to a Computer Case, totally imappropiate.

 

[DuffMan]

Righty o, been doing some looking around and have found the Tagan 420W Whisper in stock, however the Enermax equivalent isn't. How would that fair in my system and would that be more than enough? Also, just curious as to whether these PSU companies have any warranty policy if their PSU causes your computer to quite literally 'blow up'?

Havn't really found a tower case I like, but what are your views on the CoolerMaster Cavalier 3 and the WaveMaster case, as both look quite understated and smart looking?

Also, have doubled HDD to 160gig, still keeping the SATA and NCQ options - that will be more than enough for gaming right?