Home Build PC Spec. Comments?

[Stevie P]

Hi there,

Just finalised my component list for a new home build pc. Can anyone see
anything obviously wrong, considering this is supposed to be a high-spec
games unit? I'm not intending to overclock it in any way (shouldn't need
to) but it's likely to be left on for very long periods, so is it necessary
to install chipset cooling or should it be able to handle it?

Asus P5AD2 Premium Motherboard (Socket 775)
Intel P4 560 (Prescott)
Swiftech MCX775-V CPU Cooler
2 x 512 Mb Balistix DDR2 PC2-5300 RAM
ATI Radeon X800XT PE (PCI-Express)
2 x Hitachi Deskstar 7K250 250Gb SATA HDD
Sony 16 x DVD ROM / 48 x CD ROM
NEC ND-3500 Double Layer Duel 16 x DVD R/RW
7 in 1 internal FDD & Media Reader.
Antec Sonata Midi Tower Case

All this for £1100.00 Anyone do any better?

Thanks

Steve

 

[Dave C.]

Hi there,

Just finalised my component list for a new home build pc. Can anyone see
anything obviously wrong, considering this is supposed to be a high-spec
games unit? I'm not intending to overclock it in any way (shouldn't need
to) but it's likely to be left on for very long periods, so is it
necessary to install chipset cooling or should it be able to handle it?

Asus P5AD2 Premium Motherboard (Socket 775)
Intel P4 560 (Prescott)
Swiftech MCX775-V CPU Cooler
2 x 512 Mb Balistix DDR2 PC2-5300 RAM
ATI Radeon X800XT PE (PCI-Express)
2 x Hitachi Deskstar 7K250 250Gb SATA HDD
Sony 16 x DVD ROM / 48 x CD ROM
NEC ND-3500 Double Layer Duel 16 x DVD R/RW
7 in 1 internal FDD & Media Reader.
Antec Sonata Midi Tower Case

All this for £1100.00 Anyone do any better?

Thanks

Steve

What power supply? It better be 400W or better and a good name brand (antec
would be OK) to handle that rig. Otherwise, it looks fine. -Dave

 

[Ruel Smith]

What power supply? It better be 400W or better and a good name brand
(antec
would be OK) to handle that rig. Otherwise, it looks fine. -Dave

The Sonata comes with a 350 watt PSU from Antec, and Antec is more than just
an "OK" PSU, as they're one of the top brands in consumer PSU's. The 350
watt PSU should be plenty for that rig. My buddy just built something very
similar based on an MSI 925X Neo Platinum board and the PSU has given zero
fits.

 

[MrKoko]

Asus P5AD2 Premium Motherboard (Socket 775)

Intel P4 560 (Prescott)
Swiftech MCX775-V CPU Cooler
2 x 512 Mb Balistix DDR2 PC2-5300 RAM
ATI Radeon X800XT PE (PCI-Express)
2 x Hitachi Deskstar 7K250 250Gb SATA HDD
Sony 16 x DVD ROM / 48 x CD ROM
NEC ND-3500 Double Layer Duel 16 x DVD R/RW
7 in 1 internal FDD & Media Reader.
Antec Sonata Midi Tower Case

All this for £1100.00 Anyone do any better?

How much is that in American $$ ?

 

[Stevie P]

How much is that in American $$ ?

Erm. At the moment it's roughly $2000.00 but the $US is currently very weak
against £GB

 

[Stevie P]

What power supply? It better be 400W or better and a good name brand
(antec would be OK) to handle that rig. Otherwise, it looks fine. -Dave

Hi Dave,

The Antec Case case comes with a 350W PSU, which I was hoping was gonna be
enough but I appreciate that both the Prescott and X800 require extra
recources from the PSU. I think I'll try it wit the one that comes with it
and if it plays up, I'll get a 380W or 400W.

What do you think about chipset cooling on the Intel 925... Waste of time
or worth doing?

Steve

 

[Dave C.]

Hi Dave,

The Antec Case case comes with a 350W PSU, which I was hoping was gonna be
enough but I appreciate that both the Prescott and X800 require extra
recources from the PSU. I think I'll try it wit the one that comes with it
and if it plays up, I'll get a 380W or 400W.

What do you think about chipset cooling on the Intel 925... Waste of time
or worth doing?

Steve

That depends on the case. IF the video card has an active cooler (fan) on
it and IF the case has a fan in front pulling cool air in, then chipset
cooling would be redundant. Then again, with all that stuff crammed into
the case, there's going to be a lot of heat build-up. Still, I wouldn't
worry about the chipset as much as I would about the case itself. Try 2 or
more case fans (at least one blowing air IN). With the power supply exhaust
fan(s), that should be sufficient. -Dave

 

[Matt]

The Sonata comes with a 350 watt PSU from Antec, and Antec is more than just

Correction: it comes with the True 380S supply (380W). I believe the
'S' designates 'silent' or so.

 

[Matt]

2 x Hitachi Deskstar 7K250 250Gb SATA HDD

Hitachi's used to be junky, I heard. Maybe they're better now.

 

[Matt]

Hi Dave,

The Antec Case case comes with a 350W PSU, which I was hoping was gonna be
enough but I appreciate that both the Prescott and X800 require extra
recources from the PSU. I think I'll try it wit the one that comes with it
and if it plays up, I'll get a 380W or 400W.

Stateside (see newegg.com) the Sonata comes with a 380W supply.

 

[MrKoko]

Correction: it comes with the True 380S supply (380W). I believe the 'S'
designates 'silent' or so.

I'll second that, my Sonata has the 380w, silent because it has only one
fan.
MrKoko

 

[Ruel Smith]

I'll second that, my Sonata has the 380w, silent because it has only one
fan.
MrKoko

I stand corrected. Regardless, it's plenty for that combo and any power
supply from Antec is a quality one.