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My dream pc????

C

cantbprince

Senior member
Hey guys i am looking for advice on some parts for a system i am trying to put together. The restrictions i am working with are:

* AMD based 939 system
* Not going down the SLI road (haven't seen benchmarks that validate
having 2 video cards for the price over one good card)
* 1 GIG of ram
* as SILENT as possible
* parts from a canadian retailer if possible (if not thats kool too)

MOTHERBOARD
I think for the most part i have the motherboard picked out (DFI LANPARTY UT nForce4 Ultra -D Motherboard). Open to other suggestions if anyone knows anything better than this.

RAM
Also for ram i have heard OCZ is the best for tight ram timings so i am looking at OCZ EL Platinum Revision 2 1GB or OCZ 2x 512 MB DDR RAM @ PC3200 / 400Mhz GOLD Dual Channel VOLTAGE EXTREME

VIDEO CARD
Chose an ATI Radeon X800XL 256MB GDDR3 PCI-Express x16 Video Card. I love BFGs lifetime guarantee but the price/performance ratio on the ati card seems pretty good......suggestions on this also welcome

COOLING
I would love to try and do watercooling as i want the system to be as silent as possible but fan based options are fine to...

CASES
something windowed , modern look Smile


PSU
???? i got no clue what to choose but somethign with over 450, so that the video card is well powered


budget is about 1500 - 2000 or so

Thanks guys...
 
So you're planning on some heavy overclocking?

Seasonic makes great powersupplies that are extremely quiet.

EDIT:

The S12 series is the quietest. I have the 430watt and It's amazingly quiet.
 
Now a lot of people will flame this suggestion, but its what I am going to go with in my new build to be purchased in the next few days.

If you are not interested in SLI (me too), then why go PCI-E at all? It's not faster then AGP (at least the cards out there now, as matter of fact, the AGP cards still aren't using the full speed avaliable to them as is). By going AGP all you lose is upgradability in the future, as in probably a year from now. I'm willing to bet though that those next gen cards that are to be released wil come out with AGP as well still too. That x800xl you mentioned can be found as low as $270 ($250 if you catch a deal). Or you can go with a 6800GT AGP for $290 and gain more performance, you get that beloved SM3 that some love here, and you can overclock it with that stock heatsink fan to ultra speeds (most likely, if not pretty close).

That card will last you 2 years+ and still play the games in the future on good settings. If you do what I plan on doing, in 2-3 years and just upgrade the entire setup again, saving what components I can, like speakers, keyboard, mouse, you get the idea.

AGP 6800GT $280 (FREE SHIPPING)

Now if you went the AGP route I would highly suggest the MSI Neo2 Platnium which is s939 and a great overclocker.

I'm gonna be able to help you a lot about silence since that is what my new build is focuses on so I know the components to go with. You want a case with 120mm fans, a few cases highly suggested, although not all have window:

Antec SLK3700-BQE
Antec P160 (the one I got, CompUSA still has a good deal on it I think)

And others I'm sure people can suggest, although these two are on the quieter side. I wish I could offer advice on water cooling, but I am not going that route. No matter what if you go with Fans, no matter the brand, you will want a fan controller, the nice thing is the ability to make it louder maybe during gaming to give extra cooling, then when you arent demanding much of your computer, you can turn them almost off to an inaudbile sound. Nexus fans are THE fans for quietness, they are second to none, although pricey.

For power supply, this is where noise really can be a factor. My current setup my power supply is THE loudest thing in the case! If you want high efficency, good power that you can trust, and known to be the quietest PSU, then look no further then the Seasonic S12 series. to be honest, 430W will be plenty for your build, and same thing I am getting.

Let me know if anything needs more clarification or you have questions.
 
If you go air or actively cooled water (you can actually get away with passive water-cooling so long as your radiator has a lot of surface area, and that's a good way to go if you can manage it):

- Get as few fans as possible. You might be able to get away with 1 + PSU + video card, worst-case is another on the CPU heatsink.
- Get the slowest, highest-quality fans available. Papst and Nexus fans are widely recommended for this; Panaflos are good, but their L-series fans are still a little too fast and loud unless you undervolt them.
- Set things up such that you never have to use fans smaller than 92mm (preferably 120mm).

Silencing your computer is probably the hardest task you'll face. It's well worth it, though.
 
Originally posted by: cantbprince
The only reason i am going PCI-E is that newer cards will mostly be going that route.... as far as i know
Click to expand...


True, but the my idea was based on the fact you can get a faster card for cheaper, and then in the future just get new stuff. But if you plan on upgrading that card in a year, then go PCI-E
 
Originally posted by: Stokes
Originally posted by: cantbprince
The only reason i am going PCI-E is that newer cards will mostly be going that route.... as far as i know
Click to expand...


True, but the my idea was based on the fact you can get a faster card for cheaper, and then in the future just get new stuff. But if you plan on upgrading that card in a year, then go PCI-E
Click to expand...


Yeah i see your point but iam also settled on that board.... it's a good one from what i have read..
 
NP, just offering what I thought was something you might be interested in. Otherwise, take a look at some of the cases, fan controller, and other stuff. Nexus are truely the top brand but can cost $15 a fan.

The are plenty of other cases as well, I was told, and I would say to the same to anyone else. Find a case you like to look at, make sure it has 120mm fans, and just buy a fan controller and suspend you hardrives. www.silentpcreview.com has some excellent guides on suspending your hardrive if it vibrates too much.
 
The G70 is the next gen line of nVidia video cards (there are only 3 in the GeForce 7 series I think). The DFI Lanparty is the best overclocker so far, and you'll definitely be happy with it if you're doing some heavy overclocking. Which CPU are you getting? I would recommend the 3200+ Venice core. It's a great bang for your buck, and an excellent overclocker. The G70 cards won't be out for another couple of weeks, so if you really want this PC now, then just get the X800XL and wait for the prices to drop on the next gen cards. PCI-E is the way to go, since you're going to need to buy a new mobo like 2-3 years later if you choose AGP.
 
Originally posted by: t3h l337 n3wb
PCI-E is the way to go, since you're going to need to buy a new mobo like 2-3 years later if you choose AGP.
Click to expand...

Most people in 2-3 years will buy a new motherboard and processor, and most likely that processor is for a different socket. Even if it's the same socket, most people will want new features motherboards provide and upgrade anyways.

 
Originally posted by: t3h l337 n3wb
The G70 is the next gen line of nVidia video cards (there are only 3 in the GeForce 7 series I think). The DFI Lanparty is the best overclocker so far, and you'll definitely be happy with it if you're doing some heavy overclocking. Which CPU are you getting? I would recommend the 3200+ Venice core. It's a great bang for your buck, and an excellent overclocker. The G70 cards won't be out for another couple of weeks, so if you really want this PC now, then just get the X800XL and wait for the prices to drop on the next gen cards. PCI-E is the way to go, since you're going to need to buy a new mobo like 2-3 years later if you choose AGP.
Click to expand...


Yes i am planning on the 3200+ venice core... i have heard of the san diego but is it worth it??? And what about the 3500+ is it a good cpu for overclocking?
 
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