choices choices... need help

[kadajawi]

Ok, I am going to upgrade my system (Celeron 366, GF2MX, well cooled big tower etc.).
Now I'm wondering what to get...
Abit NF7-S Rev. 1.2 (or is there anything against this board?)
2x256 MB RAM (brand? timings?)
PSU (should be powerful enough and long lasting..., this special ATX connecter should be there too)
CPU cooler (no clue... but I got 2 Panaflo's (92mm, the H variant ) )
Athlon XP1700 (JIUCB 70?, JIUGB 71?, JIUHB 73??)
I intend to overclock, and I would like to get a high FSB 166 to 200... oh, and of course safe money

Oh, and any experiences with Abit's RMA in Europe?

 

[TAL0N]

Intial reports on the NF7-S v1.2 seem to be good.

PC-3200 Corsair, Crucial, Samsung, Twinmos or PC-3500 Kingston HyperX should all run 200/400 at tight timings.

Antec true power are good but expensive, I'm impressed by the FSP's (FSP= Fortron, Sparkle, Powerman) they delivered well beyond their rated capacities in Tom's recent tests, they're also rebadged as AOpen/InWin and PC Power and Cooling!

Thermalright SLK-900, SLK-800 are probably the best, but think they're limited to 80mm fans.

I'd get the XP2100+ it's only about $30 more and should get you a couple hundred Mhz higher.

 

[kadajawi]

I'm very much about the price. Corsair etc. are excellent, but VERY expensive. They cost very much. Eventhough I'd like to get a high fsb... not at that price

Hmm... what about the SK7? The SLK 800 is too expensive (and heavy). And which fan for the HS (I have a Papst 8412/12, 56 m³/h (I think about 34 cfm), will that work? The Panaflo is much more powerful, but too big (could a fan adapter work?).

Ok, I'll check the FSPs.

Hmm... the JIUHB 1700+ should do around 2200 to 2400 MHz... would the 2100+ be better?

 

[KidChaos]

Abit NF7-S Rev. 1.2

Corsair XMS if ya can afford it. But TwinMos PC3200 is good also.

 

[KidChaos]

what about the SK7

That will get the job done. No doubt. Pick a 80mm x 25mm fan (i.e. YS-Tech, Thermaltake) and you'll be all set.

 

[kadajawi]

hmm, wouldn't the Papst fan be enough?

The Corsair RAM made my mouth drop on the keyboard 115? for 256 MB??? What about Samsung DDR400 for 69?? Of course the timings wouldn't be so good, but if it works... or even better the Samsung DDR333 CL2.5 for 41? (about my price range ). They should be able to do DDR333 CL2, so what about DDR400 CL2.5? Or maybe similar modules from Infineon (1? less ) ?

 

[KidChaos]

Originally posted by: kadajawi
hmm, wouldn't the Papst fan be enough?

Not too familiar with Papst 8412. What are the diminsions (80mm x 80mm x 25mm, for example)?

What about Samsung DDR400 for 69??

Sounds like a reasonable alternative. Twinmos, if you can find it, would also be good.

 

[kadajawi]

yes, 80x80x25. 35dB, 56 m³/h, 95g. But the problem with it is that engine is huge. So the blades are on the outer side of the fan... maybe its a problem because the center of the heatsink doesn't get a lot of air... pic

One guy told me that out of 6 Infineon PC333 CL2.5 sticks 4 did PC400 CL2 perfectly stable. Even if I don't have so much luck I think PC400 CL2.5 should work perfect. For a 40? per 256 MB stick its great I think

 

[KidChaos]

Originally posted by: kadajawi
yes, 80x80x25. 35dB, 56 m³/h, 95g. But the problem with it is that engine is huge. So the blades are on the outer side of the fan... maybe its a problem because the center of the heatsink doesn't get a lot of air... pic

The dimensions show that it should work with the thermalright. The engine size may be an issue but I would try it and see how it goes.

One guy told me that out of 6 Infineon PC333 CL2.5 sticks 4 did PC400 CL2 perfectly stable. Even if I don't have so much luck I think PC400 CL2.5 should work perfect. For a 40? per 256 MB stick its great I think

Looks like there's a lot of good alternatives in the memory department.

Good luck, Sir!

 

[kadajawi]

Are there alternatives to the SK7 (same or lower price)? And I guess I can't fit a fan adapter and use a 92mm fan... What about the mounting? Issit dangerous? Can I transport the case?

 

[KidChaos]

Originally posted by: kadajawi
Are there alternatives to the SK7 (same or lower price)? And I guess I can't fit a fan adapter and use a 92mm fan... What about the mounting? Issit dangerous? Can I transport the case?

I'm not aware of any lower-priced/same-priced, similar quality alternatives to the SK7.

The SK-7 has the ability to use 60mm, 70mm or even 80mm cooling fans. I guess ya could find an adapter but I have no experience in that area.

 

[kadajawi]

Hmm, what about the Thermaltake Volcano 7+ or 9? Albeit loud they seem to perform pretty well...

 

[KidChaos]

Users seem pleased with their Volcano 9s. I would still go with thermalright though.

 

[bgeh]

i own a Volcano 7+ and i'm getting a high of 52C on low fan setting with the ambient case temp of 41C with no case fans running(only on the PSU) and my ambient temp is 28-35C(yes, malaysia is hot and humid)
it's quite a good cooler, but it's slightly noisy even on low fan(to my ears)

 

[kadajawi]

hehe, yeah, malaysia is quite hot Have to know that, my mother is Malay But here its quite cold... I keep the room at around 20-21°C.
About the fan... hmm, its out of stock. But the Volcano 9 is available, and its 10? cheaper than the SK7 and has a fan (a quite powerful one I might add). Allthough the SK7 definately looks great. How about the mounting? Is the Volcano 9 using all "noses" or just one? Is that save?

About the PSU... which one? Toms article calculated 350+ Watt for a high end system... eventhough my system isn't that high end, it is not very far and will probably need more power in future. The 300 Watt HEC is out of stock. I can get a 350W/CE TSP Dual FanPFC for 48?, which seems ok. But is the PSU good? Tom only reviewed the 420W modell...

 

[drewski]

Originally posted by: kadajawi

Hmm... the JIUHB 1700+ should do around 2200 to 2400 MHz... would the 2100+ be better?

i think those are the "best case" #'s.

avg seems to be more around the 1900 - 2000 MHz range. the 2100+ seems to have best # in the 2400 - 2500 range (air-cooling) and avg 2200 MHz.

YMMV

 

[KidChaos]

Someone else may chime in who is more familiar with those brands. But, I'm sure if you can get Enermax or Antec, you will be quite pleased. At least 350W.

 

[drewski]

oh, and i've got a vantec aeroflow HSF on my 2100+ @ 2.17GHz with idle temp of 30 & full load of 34. room temp is ~18 (65 F)

 

[kadajawi]

vantec aeroflow? Don't know that one Need to check
well, Enermax and Antec are for sure not bad, but actually Tom found the TSP, FSP, HEC etc. to be better... and some other reviews have said the same. AND: The Enermax and Antec are damn expensive.

 

[TAL0N]

Sparkle = FSP shouldn't have too much trouble finding one.
The Vantec Aeroflow is a great hetsink for the price and includes the TMD fan review

 

[Bonesdad]

Regarding the HSF and fans...SVC.COM has great prices...$20 for an SK-7. Not sure if they ship to your location tho...

 

[kadajawi]

hmm, even if they ship to my location, the shipping and tax would be very high, higher than buying it here I guess.
The Vantec shoulds pretty good, and I even found a place where I can order it. But for 40?, which is even higher than the SK7! (10? more and twice as much as the Volcano 9!!!). Is it worth it? The Volcano 9 should perform well too, even if its a bit louder (ok... 70 to 45 dB... for almost the same performance :-/ ). And after all as far as I can see the Volcano 9 uses screws to fix the fan... if neccessary I can buy a fan adapter and install my Panaflo...

The TSP 2 fan silent 350W active PFC PSU:
+3.3V: 26A
+5V: 35A
+12V: 15A
-5V: 0.5A
-12V: 0.8A
+5VSB: 2A

combined power (?) +3.3V & 5V: 220 W

Is that ok? The advantage is that the shop I wanted to buy the mobo from has this PSU and the Volcano 9 for a good price. Disadvantage is that this shop ran out of stock on the NF7-S 1.2 :| (ok, they managed to have enough boards for quite a while (2 days or so ), the other shop ran out of stock in less than 24h). But afaik there is no other shop, so I have to wait until they get new boards.
ARGH! Now THIS is ridiculous! The JIUHB 1700+ has gone up to 76?!!! Holy s***!!!

 

[kadajawi]

Ok... so atm it looks like I'm going to order:
Athlon XP1700+ JIUHB
2x256 MB Infineon PC2700 CL2.5 RAM
Abit NF7-S Rev. 1.2
Thermaltake Volcano 9 CoolMod
Levicom 420 Watt black PSU

Any comments (esp on the PSU... found pretty good reviews, and users seem to be happy to opposing to the HEC)?

Oh, and a question to the Volcano 9 CoolMod owners... is it possible to mount the lighted fan guard to a blowhole in the front (in front of the hdds)? Esp. cable length etc.?

 

[Slickone]

OK, FSP = Forton, Sparkle, or Powerman. What is TSP and HEC?
Any certain model #s?

Is 350 enough for a P4 2.4->3Ghz overclock (GF4 TI 4200, one HDD)?

 

[kadajawi]

tsp is... eh, tsp and hec... eh, hec?

Finally I ordered:
Athlon XP1700+ JIUHB
2x256 MB Infineon PC2700 CL2.5
Abit NF7-S Rev. 1.2
LEVICOM 420 Watt 2 fan black PSU
Thermalright SK7
Artic Silver 3

Wish me luck...