Pimp my computer

[Sapper-FIN]

Ok, was planning to build myself a new computer, 19th of june... Here´s what i have in mind... let me know what you think, or if i have forgotten something:

Computer case: Nexeus Breeze with 400W power (should be reaaally quiet)

Hard drives: Two Samsung SpinPoint P120, 250GB
(or should i get more? )

Motherboard: ASUS A8N-SLI Premium Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD

Processor: AMD Athlon 64 Tray 3500+ (0.09) "Venice", S939, 2.2GHz
(From a friend, with very cheap price)

RAM: Two 1024MB Kingston ValueRAM, CL3 400MHz.

Cooling: Zalman CNPS7700-Cu, 1000-2000 RPM, 20-32 dB (Also, the case has somekind of Nexus´s cooling fan)

Display: Probably Philip´s 19" LCD with DVI

Operating system: Windows XP pro x64

And of course dvd+rw drive, keyboard, and other misc stuff...

You dont see a graphics card on my list? Right, that´s because i just cant decide... I mean there are so many Graphics cards to choose from... How about: Sapphire X850 XT PCI-E 256MB VGA+DVI+TVO? At least it has a pretty reasonable price... Or should i go with GeForce? If so, then 7800 or 7900 Series card? So many choices...

[Nightcat]

I have a AMD 4000+ Athlon 64 bit processor in my newest comp. I was torn between that and those motherboards that take 2 cpus (mighta been interesting)

Now I've still not upgraded to Win 64 to get the most from it for a couple reasons...

One - being that alot of software / programs arn't compatiable with it, I hear its still quite buggy (like any OS isn't?)

Two - I would have to format the hard-drive, back things up and all that jazz!

NC





(Three: Spent so much on the computer didn't have enough pennies for Win64)

[:FI:RULES]

Nvidia=SLI and ATI=crossfire....right?


And 400W might be a bit on the short side of safe....500w is ok for one Gforce7*** and if you go with 2 you should aim for 600+W


Or am I wrong?

[:FI:Macca]

I agree with Lars, take more powerful power supply, Sapp.

Both the 6***and 7*** series like to consume a lot of power, so if you happen to connect some USB thingies, printer,etc you better have about 600 W power supply to avoid problems.

ATI-crossfire, nVidia - SLI - u're right, Rules.

good luck with your new rig, Sapp!

S!

Macca

[Finbar1]

Nice rig agree about the PSU.
I'd go for the GeForce either would do.
Ive got the same MOBO ...nuff said.

[:FI:Heloego]

...

Since most of the higher-end cards require their own slice of the power pie, an absolute minimum PS shoud be 400w.

Additionally, if you go for a GForce 7800 or 7900, it is imperative that the 12volt rail used to power the card carry a minimum current protection of 20amps.

I have the GForce 7800 hooked up to an Enermax Whisper 535 and love it!!!

[Sapper-FIN]

Now I've still not upgraded to Win 64 to get the most from it for a couple reasons...

One - being that alot of software / programs arn't compatiable with it, I hear its still quite buggy (like any OS isn't?)

Hmmm, so i should also go with 32-bit windows? Well... Maybe it´s safer...

And more power? Roger that...

Here´s a link for Nexus´s 500w breeze.. Does it have that 12v rail-thingy, Heloego talked about?

http://www.nexustek.nl/breeze500.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And you guys think that i should go with GeForce 7XXX, instead of Radeon x850?

[:FI:Macca]

I would go for the GeForce to be honest. Pixel Shader 3.0, etc.

I think the case will do, make sure it is as quiet as it should;))

S!

Mac

[:FI:Moe]

...

Since most of the higher-end cards require their own slice of the power pie, an absolute minimum PS shoud be 400w.

Additionally, if you go for a GForce 7800 or 7900, it is imperative that the 12volt rail used to power the card carry a minimum current protection of 20amps.

I have the GForce 7800 hooked up to an Enermax Whisper 535 and love it!!!

The great thing about the new generation of power supplies (PSUs) is that now they have multiple 12V rails to handle the sudden increase in graphics card power requirements. If you had an older style power supply with a single 12V rail, then absolutey you would require a minimum of 20A to cover all your 12V needs, maybe even 25A.

Newer PSUs have 2 or even 3 12V rails to feed your SLI rigs. When there are multiple rails then the requirement drops to say 15A per rail to ensure stability.

However, to add to the mix, the 12V supplied must remain within an acceptable range +-5% and after reading a few reviews of the Nexus power supply, it seems the 12V rail doesn't supply strong enough voltage to be reliable if you have multiple HDDs and optical drives as well as a powerful graphics card.

I would suggest a Seasonic, Akasa, Antec, Enermax or Tagan PSU in the 500-600W range and then buy a case without a power supply from someone like Thermaltake, Lian Li or Antec.

You will not regret spending extra on a good case and power supply but you will regret it if you don't.

Check out http://www.slizone.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. Ok, you might say "Moe, I don't want SLI right now, are you crazy?" But if you just look at the list of certified SLI power supplies, you will see the sort of brand names Nvidia recommend for stable power.

Moe

[Menace]

I recomend the OCZ powersupplys in the 580 Watt range. The bigger the fan, the less noise, the lower RPM, the more air moved, the better cooling. I don't know about the ATI boards, but everybody and thier brother is coding for the NVIDIA chipset. NVIDIA seems to have the more robust driver set. I really cant recomend bleeding edge tech myself, my mobo went through six BIOS revisions and my ATI card just started to behave itself when I stuck that gonzo Zalman Heat sink kit on it. Oh and I cooked two power supplies too, and one was an ANTEC 480 watter. I had one of the first PCIexpress graphic cards in town, and man was it ever a headache. Mind you that's pretty old hat now. Almost made me a luddite.

Anyway, good luck and have fun with it. Try not to let the smoke out of it, they don't work very well unless it's still inside.

[:FI:TacticalS!]

Almost made me a luddite.

Almost?

Hey I know you, we use to fly together with Spooky and your Dad Keppoch.

[Sapper-FIN]

Try not to let the smoke out of it, they don't work very well unless it's still inside

Oh, it´s the smoke that meke those things work?

Okee, Here´s an development update:

I switched that Nexus case to Antec´s P180, and i´m gonna put Nexus´s Real silent 500W, NX-5000, ATX 2.0-power in it... That should do the trick...

Also, i´m gonna go with Geforce 7900GT...

Damn... Sky is the limit for how much one can use money for these things

[:FI:RULES]

Good case...Got one my self Only problem with it is that it is tal...might get problems with the power-cords being to short...

[Sapper-FIN]

Only problem with it is that it is tal...might get problems with the power-cords being to short...

Oh man... So it´s not that easy after all?

Now my biggest problem is the case...

Nexus would be the easy way... It already has a power supply, so i would save time and money. I looked for some user reviews about Breeze from the internet, and found plenty of them... The problem is that people seem to disagree, whether it´s a good case or not.. Some say it doesn´t provide enough cooling, others say it does... damn...

Is there an easy way to extend those power cords?

[:FI:Sneaky_Russian]

You should be able to get an IEC male/female adapter to extend the existing leads