New Pc - Plz Check Specs For Me!

[cjsavvy]

Got a budget of about £1200 but I am reasonably flexible. I am a noob at overclocking but I am going to give it a go when this is built ;) I already have a DVD-R and CD-RW drive, speakers and soundcard. Anything could be improved on? Anything I have forgotten?

AMD Athlon XP 2800+............£97.88
CoolerMaster Jet 7 CPU Cooler................£25.95
Abit SoA nForce 2 NF-S...........£74.05
Western Digital Caviar 120 GB...........£67.24
Hercules 9800 Pro 128 MB DDR...........£195.00
TwinMOS 1 GB DDR PC3200.............£119.00
Thermaltake Xaser III Supertower (Aluminium with window)............£104.69
Hercules ProphetView 920 PRO 17" TFT...........£269.00
Sony 1.44 MB Internal 3.5" Black...........£7.44
Microsoft Intellimouse Optical OEM..........£14.00
Microsoft Multimedia Keyboard...........£19.00
Xaser III Fireball Front Panel...........£8.00
Q-Tec 550W Dual Fan Gold PSU...........£24.90
D-Link Network Card..............£6.90
Sunbeam Window Applique - Girl.........£4.64
Asaka AK - 172 12" Cold Cathode - Red.........£9.95

Total minus VAT £1047.64
Total inc VAT £1230.98

Would the 9800XT give any noticeable performance increase over the 9800 pro?

[Kunal]

where are you getting these parts from? i would be tempted to get a A7N8X Deluxe SKT A NForce2 Chipset Motherboard VER: 2.0 motherboard as ive heard great things about them. The 9800XT is better than the PRO but its more expensive, just stick with the pro.

[cjsavvy]

What percentage increase does the XT give over the pro? worth 150 quid or whatever the difference is?

[ck-uk]

Originally posted by Kunal@5 November 2003 - 18:44
where are you getting these parts from? i would be tempted to get a A7N8X Deluxe SKT A NForce2 Chipset Motherboard VER: 2.0 motherboard as ive heard great things about them. The 9800XT is better than the PRO but its more expensive, just stick with the pro.
Mate i just killed the same mobo last week..i cant even get it to post now.It is a good mobo thou but when i first had it i had to take the ram back three times..it seems its very picky.If you go to asus site they have a certified ram module list the board will run with.You also got to have at least to seperate ram modules to benefit from the twinbank ddr.On the board the ram banks are divided into two channels anyway so you cant get confused. :D

[cjsavvy]

So shud i stick with the Abit? Is this a good performing mobo?

[superdick]

it sucks :P

[Virtualbody1234]

Go with Asus.

[cjsavvy]

OK thanks for that guys. Now for the graphics card! Should I go for the Hercules 9800 PRO or the Hercules 9800XT? Worth the extra money? Also what will the chosen processor overclock to with that cooling system?

[Kunal]

i'd stick with the pro personally, altough the XT is better, i doubt it worth the extra £150! where are you getting your parts from anyways?

[cjsavvy]

Im getting most of the parts from www.dabs.com/uk and a few from www.overclockers.co.uk. Ive just seen an article on the web about flashing a 9800 pro to an XT. Anyone used this method? Any feedback would be appreciated.

[Kunal]

mate try http://www.ebuyer.co.uk they might be cheaper on a few things :)

[cjsavvy]

Thanks I'll take a look

[ck-uk]

Yeah mate ebuyer are quite good & reliable..ive rma'd(when you return goods) quite a few times and they been good about it.As for flashing just read up about it and see what you think.Flashing always means some xtra performance thou imo,but currupting a bios aint to good especially on mobo because it normally means re-programming the eeprom or sending the chip away.But it may not be to bad with a video card because you still have your pc to tri and re-flash it.But ts best for things that if it fails it means cuput to decide yourself mate,,but it is pretty safe if you do it properly.

[cjsavvy]

I had a look on there - there prices seem pretty good, but they dont offer an interest free credit payment option. I need to pay over 12 months as I dont have 1200 quid lying in my back pocket. Do you know of anywhere that does 12 month payment schemes and offers better prices than Overclockers or Dabs?

[mooseman2070]

how do you overclock

[Wizzandabe]

The CoolerMaster Jet 7 CPU Cooler is a big bastard, you need some scafolding. :lol: Its heavy if I remember.

[cjsavvy]

Does the job though! :P Anyone know how noisy this fan is as its going to be on 24/7 only a couple of meters from my bed lol! :blink:

[Wizzandabe]

:lol:
Same here, my bed is right by my pc, you get a fan controller, so you can jsut turn it down, it only gets loud from about 2700rpm max is 3500 i think :o

[lynx]

It's not called the Jet 7 for nothing.

I've used this (http://www.cclcomputers.co.uk/specs/cooler/akasa/ak824cu-bl/spec.htm) regularly, and when combined with speedfan (http://www.tucows.com/preview/226226.html) my system stays cool and quiet. As always, I recommend replacing the thermal transfer pad with Arctic Silver III compound (or better).

[cjsavvy]

I love the look of the Jet 7 though! :P It'll look sweet in my silver Xaser III lit up by a Red Cold Cathode :) :) :)

[clocker]

Originally posted by cjsavvy@6 November 2003 - 04:39
I love the look of the Jet 7 though! :P It'll look sweet in my silver Xaser III lit up by a Red Cold Cathode :) :) :)
It's good that you like the look since you won't be getting any sleep next to that rig.

You can admire it all night.

With an overclocked 2800+ and that video card in that big case you are going to run into heat issues.
You can either get bigger fans ( those orange Thermaltake fans are very quiet, but don't move much air) or water/Peltier cool that beast.

[cjsavvy]

Which CPU fan do you reccomend then clocker? For around 30 pounds please. Have also added Zalman ZM8OC - HP Heatpipe cooler + fan, and a Thermaltake RAM cooler to my shopping list. I am NOT goin to try water cooling - this is the first PC I have built and I would most likely spill water all over it :unsure: lol!

[cjsavvy]

Just seen this:
://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_Zalman_121.html

Anyone got any experience of the Zalman CPU coolers? How well do they shift air and how loud are they?

[Kunal]

i shouldnt see you having any problems with the jet 7 cooler you chose as i beleive it has a speed adjustment thingy, like the aero 7/7+ (which i have and its silent at lower rpms, my 2000+ is at around 40c)and there only one zalman cooler on the link you gave that is compatible and i beleive clocker has that one or a similar one. the cheapest 80mm fans on ebuyer are suprisingly quiet and shift a fair amount of air (the four pin ones)

[RGX]

Originally posted by mooseman2070@6 November 2003 - 00:19
how do you overclock
www.overclockers.com

[Kunal]

Originally posted by mooseman2070@5 November 2003 - 23:19
how do you overclock
if you have to ask dont bother mate

[Kunal]

i just found a ace cpu cooler! its Volcano 11+ Xaser (http://www.dabs.com/uk/productview?quicklinx=2N2F) looks far better than the coolermaster one you pointed out before (in terms of air flow etc). i wish i knew of this cooler before i bought my coolermaster aero 7 lite :angry:

[_John_Lennon_]

Originally posted by Kunal@6 November 2003 - 15:22
i just found a ace cpu cooler! its Volcano 11+ Xaser (http://www.dabs.com/uk/productview?quicklinx=2N2F) looks far better than the coolermaster one you pointed out before (in terms of air flow etc). i wish i knew of this cooler before i bought my coolermaster aero 7 lite :angry:
I always did like the thermaltake ones, and Im not good with Pound> US dollars conversion, but 15 for that cooler, with two fan controllers, which is nice, both a rear slot one, and a 5.25 is handy.

Now, A suggestion to anyone who gets a new heatsink, is read this article about lapping the heatsink, for better contact with the processor to heatsink, and processr to thermal paste to heatsink.

http://www.themodfathers.com/modfatha/articles/lapitup.php

[clocker]

Originally posted by cjsavvy@6 November 2003 - 07:59
Which CPU fan do you reccomend then clocker? For around 30 pounds please. Have also added Zalman ZM8OC - HP Heatpipe cooler + fan, and a Thermaltake RAM cooler to my shopping list. I am NOT goin to try water cooling - this is the first PC I have built and I would most likely spill water all over it :unsure: lol!
I would start with a stock AMD HS and remove the 60mm fan. Use an adaptor like this one (http://us.st7.yimg.com/store1.yimg.com/I/directron_1766_297751841) and mount a good 80mm fan with external speed control.

Most HSF assemblies mount the fan right on the heatsink itself which creates a big hot spot in the center where the fan hub is. This setup avoids that configuration so you should be able to achieve good temps with less noise.

The other issue rarely addressed in the advertising for aftermarket HS assemblies is that they are really only effective if they have access to (relatively) cool air to blow. If your case is hot your temps will be high no matter which HSF you use.

[Kunal]

Originally posted by _John_Lennon_+7 November 2003 - 02:43--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (_John_Lennon_ @ 7 November 2003 - 02:43)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-Kunal@6 November 2003 - 15:22
i just found a ace cpu cooler&#33; its Volcano 11+ Xaser (http://www.dabs.com/uk/productview?quicklinx=2N2F) looks far better than the coolermaster one you pointed out before (in terms of air flow etc). i wish i knew of this cooler before i bought my coolermaster aero 7 lite&nbsp; :angry:
I always did like the thermaltake ones, and Im not good with Pound> US dollars conversion, but 15 for that cooler, with two fan controllers, which is nice, both a rear slot one, and a 5.25 is handy.

Now, A suggestion to anyone who gets a new heatsink, is read this article about lapping the heatsink, for better contact with the processor to heatsink, and processr to thermal paste to heatsink.

http://www.themodfathers.com/modfatha/articles/lapitup.php [/b][/quote]
thats about &#036;21 us, so its pretty cheap

[cjsavvy]

Now, A suggestion to anyone who gets a new heatsink, is read this article about lapping the heatsink, for better contact with the processor to heatsink, and processr to thermal paste to heatsink.

http://www.themodfathers.com/modfatha/articles/lapitup.php

Wow&#33; Great Tip John&#33; I think ill give that mod a go after Ive set up my PC, see what difference it makes.
What is the Thermaltake Xaser III case like cooling-wise? Is it a fairly well cooled case by those 7 fans?

[clocker]

Originally posted by cjsavvy@7 November 2003 - 01:26

What is the Thermaltake Xaser III case like cooling-wise? Is it a fairly well cooled case by those 7 fans?
See my thread " New PC", I&#39;ve done a bunch of work on the cooling in that case.

The stock setup is not particularly efficient.
Seems like it should be with seven fans, but it&#39;s not.

[Kunal]

@ cjsavvy, are you still going for the jet 7 cooler, i was reading reviews for it and it sucks, seriously, the older aero 7 is far better and the other one i posted is even better than that (i just dciding where to get it from now or if the volcano 12 is worth the extra £3 :D )

[cjsavvy]

I&#39;ll prob get the Volcano 12 Kunal - looks like a good buy and is only 17 quid&#33; Bargain&#33; Which CRT would you suggest from www.dabs.com/uk ? Ive given up on the idea of a LCD. Want a 19" CRT pref. around 200 notes and black if possible.

[abu_has_the_power]

yes, i notice that he is goin towards air cooling, so don&#39;t bitch at me virtualbody, but i would recommend water cooling. u got a monster pc, and ur gonna oc, so wc would be nice. saves u all those fans and stuff. and some parts u can even get used, like the tubes, and water blocks. used is cheaper, and the quality is the same.

but, if u insist with the air cooling, then wat u got should be fine.

and yea, ebuyer has some cheaper stuff.

[clocker]

Abu,
Is your system water cooled?

If so, details please.

[Virtualbody1234]

so don&#39;t bitch at me virtualbody

I won&#39;t bitch at you if you post information that is factual and thought out. Just posting about something you don&#39;t really know about or even think about then you&#39;ll likely hear from me, abu.

So, answer clockers question. Is your system water cooled?

Edit: (I know it isn&#39;t) <_<

[abu_has_the_power]

Originally posted by clocker@8 November 2003 - 01:26
Abu,
Is your system water cooled?

If so, details please.
if i had &#036;, i would have it. (sigh)
if ur gona go on about this post being not thought out, it was a recommendation. considering he said he will oc, and he might get a 9800 xt. y do i seem like a dumbass to u. not all my posts are idiotic. u have to agree that my last post wasn&#39;t idiotic.

[Kunal]

Originally posted by abu_has_the_power@8 November 2003 - 01:22
and yea, ebuyer has some cheaper stuff
you dont even live in the uk, to know that....

but might have looked at it :huh:

[Kunal]

Originally posted by cjsavvy@7 November 2003 - 23:26
I&#39;ll prob get the Volcano 12 Kunal - looks like a good buy and is only 17 quid&#33; Bargain&#33; Which CRT would you suggest from www.dabs.com/uk ? Ive given up on the idea of a LCD. Want a 19" CRT pref. around 200 notes and black if possible.
im still deciding which one is the better of the volcano 11 and 12 (someone tell me if they know ;) ) i know the heatsinks better and the 12 and i think the fan however is better on the 11 as it has more fins (am i right in thinking that) :huh:

im not to good with monitors but will look for you, i think ebuyer is really cheap on them however

[clocker]

Originally posted by Kunal@8 November 2003 - 03:45
i know the heatsinks better and the 12 and i think the fan however is better on the 11 as it has more fins (am i right in thinking that) :huh:


Not necessarily.

Blade depth and pitch has more to do with how much air a fan can move than the number of blades.
At any given rpm the fan with fewer blades will make less noise also.

[Kunal]

Originally posted by clocker+8 November 2003 - 11:44--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (clocker @ 8 November 2003 - 11:44)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-Kunal@8 November 2003 - 03:45
i know the heatsinks better and the 12 and i think the fan however is better on the 11 as it has more fins (am i right in thinking that) :huh:


Not necessarily.

Blade depth and pitch has more to do with how much air a fan can move than the number of blades.
At any given rpm the fan with fewer blades will make less noise also. [/b][/quote]
clocker which one do you reccomend it get?

Heres the link form the thermaltake site

Volcano 12 Extreme (http://www.thermaltake.com/coolers/volcano/rs/a1745.htm), that ones £16.99

Volcano 11 Xaser Edition (http://www.thermaltake.com/coolers/volcano/rs/a1725.htm) and that ones £15

[clocker]

Of the two I&#39;d definately go with the Volcano 12.

I&#39;d also get the Thermaltake Ducting mod and move that nice three bladed fan off the top of the heatsink. Mount the duct so the fan is facing the front of the case and you might have a very effective combination.

If you try it let us know how it works.

[Kunal]

so i think ill get the volcano 12(unless someone else knows a better cooler for a similar price), i doubt ill get the Ducting mod becuase ive read reviews online and does very little for the cpu temp

Edit: and will this be better than my current aero 7 lite? :huh:

[clocker]

Originally posted by Kunal@8 November 2003 - 06:37
i doubt ill get the Ducting mod becuase ive read reviews online and does very little for the cpu temp


Although the reviews I&#39;ve read are pretty evenly split on the cooling performance benefits, they all mention that the noise level was decreased.

This alone makes it worthwhile in my mind.

I also think that swapping out the fan and experimenting with different ones would make a big difference. For Instance, the three bladed fan that comes with your Volcano 12 looks like it might work quite well.

[mooseman2070]

Originally posted by RGX+6 November 2003 - 18:20--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (RGX @ 6 November 2003 - 18:20)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-mooseman2070@6 November 2003 - 00:19
how do you overclock
www.overclockers.com [/b][/quote]
obviously im a n00b

[abu_has_the_power]

Originally posted by clocker@8 November 2003 - 12:47
Of the two I&#39;d definately go with the Volcano 12.

I&#39;d also get the Thermaltake Ducting mod and move that nice three bladed fan off the top of the heatsink. Mount the duct so the fan is facing the front of the case and you might have a very effective combination.

If you try it let us know how it works.
yea, get the volcano 12 for sure. it&#39;s really good. 5500 rpm, fan controller knob thing. and it&#39;s only &#036;2 extra. get it 4 sure

[Kunal]

Originally posted by abu_has_the_power@8 November 2003 - 15:17
5500 rpm and it&#39;s only &#036;2 extra.
although its 5500rpm abu, the volcano 11&#39;s 4800rpm fan shifts more air, CFM wise that is. its a extra £2 not dollars :lol:

[clocker]

5500rpm?
Even the other fan at 4800rpm must make a hell of a racket.

[Kunal]

Originally posted by clocker@8 November 2003 - 15:22
5500rpm?
Even the other fan at 4800rpm must make a hell of a racket.
yep&#33; 48DB at full felt, both are i think :unsure:

[clocker]

Jeez,
Why not just hook a leaf blower up to your HS?

[Kunal]

Originally posted by clocker@8 November 2003 - 15:52
Jeez,
Why not just hook a leaf blower up to your HS?
i was thinking of doing that :lol: , then i remembered by system is in my bedroom&#33; its quiet at lower rpms, though (like my aero 7 lite that i have at the moment)

[clocker]

Kunal, I have been doing a lot of research into HSF hardware of late, and frankly, the state of the art is pretty pathetic.

No one seems to have come up with a good combination that dissipates heat and is quiet. At least using straight fan cooling.

It&#39;s way too easy to simply hang a big fan spinning at high rpm&#39;s on a copper heatsink and claim that your HSF assembly really works. Most of what I&#39;ve seen is designed more to look cool than to really work effectively.

Even the Zalman HS that I finally settled on sacrifices thermal efficiency for low noise.

We are faced with a number of problems that have to be dealt with.

My CPU sits directly under my PSU, for instance. The whole area is one giant heattrap.
Even assuming that your HS is really functioning well ( and ignoring the sound issue momentarily) where is all the heat supposed to go?
In order to make an effective heatsink, copper is the material of choice and the bigger the better. But really, how big can it be and how heavy a HS can you hang on a mobo?

Basically, air cooling sucks I&#39;ve decided.

[Kunal]

Originally posted by clocker@8 November 2003 - 16:18
Basically, air cooling sucks I&#39;ve decided.
i cant afford water cooling though :( (im only 15 you know&#33;) :lol:

thanks for all your help clocker, ive ordered the volcano 12, and ill post my temps when i get it, ill try quite a few setups and see which is best. ive been testing out the best setup for my sytem temp and ive decided that one front intake, top extractor and side input is best, i tried a rear extractor, but that increased the temp :huh:

[clocker]

It&#39;ll be interesting to see what you come up with.

I arrived at the same conclusion about the rear extractor fans. They really didn&#39;t seem too effective. Everywhere you go people are always recommending a intake fan in the lower front and an extractor fan high up in the back, but my testing has shown this to be myth.
Hot air doesn&#39;t travel horizontally and unless you have monster fans spinning very fast, you don&#39;t generate a flow of air that travels all the way across the length of your case.
Try taping some string to your case roof with little bits of paper on the free end and see what moves and what doesn&#39;t. You might be surprised. It helps ( in fact it&#39;s mandatory&#33;) if you have a window in your side panel, as your results are only valid if your case is closed as normal.

I think that VirtualBody is on to something by cutting air intakes into his case floor.
He just screens them, I installed fans, but either way you are taking advantage of the natural tendency of air to rise when heated. If you go with the flow (sorry) instead of trying to direct it, your results may be very good.
Pictures and stats if and when possible, please.

[Kunal]

clocker well my temps at the moment (in a 26c room&#33;) are 28c system and 42c cpu and im still working on a better setup im hopefully a dual fan psu and find a better setup of fans, ive got 6 80mm lying around (somewhere&#33;)