Which Case and PSU?

[Matt]

Hey guys.

Basically I'm looking for a new case to go with my new build. Problem
is I don't really know where to start and what to look for in modern
cases (the last one I bought was in 2000!). I'll also need a new PSU
as well.

The system I will be building is as follows:

CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 2.66GHz 12M Cache S775 1333MHZ
Motherboard: Gigabyte S775 Intel X48 DDR2 ATX Audio Lan 1600FSB
6xSATAII
RAM: Corsair 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 CL5(5-5-5-18) Heat
Spreader
Hard drive: 2 x Western Digital Caviar 500GB S300 16mb 7200rpm in RAID
setup
Graphics card: PowerColor HD 4850 512MB GDDR3 Dual DVI HDTV Out PCI-E
Graphics Card

I've bought cheap PSU's before and having put up with noisy fans and a
life expectancy of around 12 months it's just not worth the hassle and
potential damage to the rest of my PC. However, I also don't want to
spend £100 on a new case and PSU!

I'm not planning to overclock, so excessive levels of cooling will not
be required. However, I would like a case that is spacious enough to
work in, has room for the two hard drives comfortabely and could also
cope with having a second Radeon card attached in the future.

Two 5.25" and two 3.5" bays would be the minimum I would need.

Kind Regards,

Matt

 

[Matt]

Forgot probably the most important feature: I want to build a quiet
system.

Kind Regards,

Matt

 

[Matt]

The Antec 1200 comes without a PSU and retails around £110 so that is well
over Matt's budget.

I was going to suggest the Antec 900... I have three mates with them and
they are very nice cases, but again they come without a PSU, but are
available for about £70. The Antec EarthWatts PSUs are quite good and the
430W is available for around £45.

What is it that makes Antec PSU's good. Should they be the only
manufacturer I focus on?

Matt, you are obviously spending a lot of money on the other components of
your system (an X48 mobo and a Q9450 for example), and I think it would be a
great mistake to try to skim and save on the PSU.

I agree. I was hoping it didn't require me to spend £100+ though, but
if I must to get a good case and CPU then I will.


Basically, I'm struggling to see the difference between these Antec
1200, Antec 900 etc. cases you guys are keen on, and a much cheaper
case (EV Silver Mid Tower Gaming Case with Massive 14cm Front Fan - No
PSU) for £15:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/134797

Clearly I could get a good PSU for around £40 and be nowhere near
£100. Clearly doing this I would be cutting back somewhere, but where?

Kind Regards,

Matt

 

[Matt]

Which Gigabyte -- DS4, DQ6 or other?


Too slow for that CPU!  May become a chokepoint.

Sorry I meant to ask about this earlier. I was under the impression
that RAm speed is independant of the CPU? So a 1333MHz CPU will not be
affected unless the RAM speed is less than 666MHz (1333 / 2).
Obvilusly system performance would be a bit higher with faster RAM,
but I can spend the extra money better elsewhere (such as on the CPU).

Kind Regards,

Matt

 

[Matt]

Do all cases have variable speed fans dependant on the temperature?
The Antec 300 appears to have a manual switch on the rear and top fan
rather than being under any automatic control. Fiddling with the fans
would get pretty annoying, if they don't need to run at full speed I
would rather the computer did it for me!

Would I need to replace the fitted fans with new ones to get round
this switching problem?

Kind Regards,

Matt

 

[Matt]

Also, is the lack of a fan on top of the case on the Coolermaster
Elite 330 going to be something I would regret?

Kind Regards,

Matt

 

[Victor]

Hey guys.

Basically I'm looking for a new case to go with my new build. Problem
is I don't really know where to start and what to look for in modern
cases (the last one I bought was in 2000!). I'll also need a new PSU
as well.

The system I will be building is as follows:

CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 2.66GHz 12M Cache S775 1333MHZ
Motherboard: Gigabyte S775 Intel X48 DDR2 ATX Audio Lan 1600FSB
6xSATAII
RAM: Corsair 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 CL5(5-5-5-18) Heat
Spreader
Hard drive: 2 x Western Digital Caviar 500GB S300 16mb 7200rpm in RAID
setup
Graphics card: PowerColor HD 4850 512MB GDDR3 Dual DVI HDTV Out PCI-E
Graphics Card

I've bought cheap PSU's before and having put up with noisy fans and a
life expectancy of around 12 months it's just not worth the hassle and
potential damage to the rest of my PC. However, I also don't want to
spend £100 on a new case and PSU!

I'm not planning to overclock, so excessive levels of cooling will not
be required. However, I would like a case that is spacious enough to
work in, has room for the two hard drives comfortabely and could also
cope with having a second Radeon card attached in the future.

Two 5.25" and two 3.5" bays would be the minimum I would need.

Kind Regards,

Matt

Case- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119106
Coolermaster

Power supply- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004
Corsair 550

 

[Matt]

To the extent that RAM speed is not tightly tied to CPU speed any more, you are
correct.  However, to get advertised performance from a SYSTEM, you still need
the FSB operating at the designed speed for the CPU.  You should use DDR2 1066
(PC8500) RAM with that CPU.  Anything less is false economy, with a $35or less
price difference between 800 and 1066 MHz RAM.

I thought FSB speed and RAM speed are independant of each other in
current systems? Clearly if I cannot run the Q9450 at 1333MHz x
(whatever the multiplier is) then I will lose out quite heavily on
performance, so an extra $30 (well ~ £20) would be worthwhile.

Kind Regards,

Matt

 

[Matt]

How much does your room temp vary?  How close to the max (temp as well as
capacity) do you plan on running the system?

If you have a good system, set the fan on low unless the A/C fails in the
summer.  If you have a marginal system, set it on high and forget it.

As I'm in the UK I don't have any air conditioning!

No.  You may be able to use a software control such as SpeedFan if the case
supports it.

Anyone know if the Antec 300 does support Speedfan?

Kind Regards,

Matt