New Pc - Plz Check Specs For Me!

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?

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.

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

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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.

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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

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

it sucks :P

Go with Asus.

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?

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?

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.

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

Thanks I'll take a look

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.

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?

how do you overclock

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

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:

: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

It's not called the Jet 7 for nothing.

I've used this regularly, and when combined with speedfan my system stays cool and quiet. As always, I recommend replacing the thermal transfer pad with Arctic Silver III compound (or better).

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 :) :) :)

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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 :) :) :)

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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.

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!

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?

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)

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

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www.overclockers.com

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Originally posted by mooseman2070@5 November 2003 - 23:19
how do you overclock

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if you have to ask dont bother mate

i just found a ace cpu cooler! its Volcano 11+ Xaser 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:

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Originally posted by Kunal@6 November 2003 - 15:22
i just found a ace cpu cooler! its Volcano 11+ Xaser 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:

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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/modfath...es/lapitup.php

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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!

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I would start with a stock AMD HS and remove the 60mm fan. Use an adaptor like this one 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.

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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 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:

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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/modfath...es/lapitup.php [/b][/quote]
thats about &#036;21 us, so its pretty cheap

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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/modfath...es/lapitup.php

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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?

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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?

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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.

@ 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 )

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.

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.

Abu,
Is your system water cooled?

If so, details please.

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so don&#39;t bitch at me virtualbody

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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) <_<

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

If so, details please.

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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.

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Originally posted by abu_has_the_power@8 November 2003 - 01:22
and yea, ebuyer has some cheaper stuff

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you dont even live in the uk, to know that....

but might have looked at it :huh:

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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.

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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