Hello there, I'm thinking of buying a whole bunch of hardware to build a new PC including a new case and other bits which would not otherwise be necessary to buy such as keyboard and mouse, and I'm after some advice as to what you think will be good choices for me, or even whether I should be considering getting a new PC. First of all I better tell you what I'm currently running, as that could factor in some of your answers.
1x Antec P180 Case w/ 4 120mm case fans running at highest speed (very noisy!)
1x Tagan 550w PSU with modular cables
1x Microsoft Keyboard and Mouse (ps/2) (from old Dell)
1x DFI LanParty SLI-DR motherboard (such a nice motherboard)
1x BFG nVidia 7800GTX SLI OC DVI-Out
1x AMD Athlon Dual Core 3800+ Socket 939
1x Samsung SM348-B CDRW/DVD (from old Dell)
1x Maxtor 7200rpm 60GB HDD (out of a Sky+ box!)
1x Western Digital WD600BB 7200rpm 80GB HDD (from old Dell)
2x 512mb Single Channel DDR Memory (some Maplin bargain)
2x Harman/Kardon Speakers (from old Dell) using onboard sound
1x Creative Webcam Go Plus
1x Dell LCD 17" Monitor supporting resolutions up to 1280x1024
Now I'll tell you why I'm looking to get a new PC. One of the things that I really want to change about what I've got is the cooling system. A major problem I'm having is dust which is undoubtedly caused by the air cooling. One of my 120mm fans (case rear) works only occassionally and is extremely stiff when you try to move the rotor manually. I took that apart and cleaned it and can't see any dust clogging it up, its probably an oil thing. Any advice for that, and how to curb the immense tide of evil evil dust? I really am looking to change to a water cooling system and bring down my temperatures which are between 25C-30C at the moment. I don't feel that my current rig can support it as the case (although its a really good case) is really lacking the space I need, despite it being quite so huge and heavy (I blame it on the ridiculous compartmentalising feature which seperates PSU from Motherboard and feeds modular cables through a plastic sliding door which I accidentally broke whilst trying to figure out what its purpose was).
I can't find another BFG 7800GTX anywhere (I bought it at a steal price early last year on eBay for just £160), they just seemed to vanish for some reason, so I want to sell it and get dual top of the line overclocked 8800GTXs. As for processors, it seemed that I should've waited a little longer when it came to choosing one as well as the motherboard. I bought the DFI Lanparty SLI-DR because it overclocks really well, has got some very good features and I believed it to be THE best motherboard available early last year, so I had to get a processor to fit, but I didn't have much money so I bought a 3800+ Dual Core (I was determined to get a dual core). As soon as I bought the two, AMD bring out a new socket in what I think they called "AM2", and DFI brought out a Lanparty SLI-DR with AM2 socket! I was sick, because I thought this thing would be quite futureproof for at least two more years. Now Intel seem to be leading with QuadCore technology and I have to have it. The price of what I want doesn't really matter, I can save up for it easily. I want to be running a beasty high end system that runs all the games on top resolutions with full anti aliasing and all that lark. It has to be the mutt's nuts!
I doubt my 550w Tagan PSU will be enough to handle what I want, so how much power do you think I'll need to run a water cooled beast of a system with SLI 8800 GTXs and Dual Channel 4gb memory and a Quad Core processor? As for motherboards, well, I want the best one that supports all of what I want. I'll want dual channel memory (ddr2 or ddr3). I've seen a few reviews for new ASUS Republic of Gaming motherboards with engaging words such as "Extreme" or "Formula" inserted into the game, they seem to support what I want, what do you think about those? From what I've worked out, the ideal sort of system would cost as much as £2250 if I included things such as new keyboard, mouse, beasty sound system, Creative gamers sound card, new 500gb hard drive, and new monitor.
Speaking of which, Monitors... I really want to be able to run games at 1280x1600, what sort of monitor do I need for that? I'm after a wireless keyboard and mouse, both optical, and I really want a wristpad for the keyboard because the corners or my palms have become shall we say... somewhat... hardened from extended keyboard usage, I would like this to stop! As for sound, I want surround sound with a subwoofer, so 5 speakers or more, with a decent sound card.
I'll show you a picture of what I've picked out for myself, so please comment on my selections and don't let it affect what you think I should be getting, just focus on listing me the specification for the most pimped out hyperdrived beasty PC ever.
Beast?
Notice I didn't add in water cooling features on that list, and I'm not even sure that the Lian Li PC-767 case is sufficient in size and capacity for it. Anyone think thats a bad case choice? I think the case is hugely important. I want my PC to look cool. I don't need a side window or UV lighting, although thats cool. The case must be mostly aluminium. Please advice me on watercooling hardware and the best supporting hardware including motherboard, I don't know anything about it! I want to be cooling my graphics and processor with water, and the rest of it with beasty 120mm fans, so whats the best hardware I can get for that. Remember, price is no object.
If you want to add anything else I've not mentioned, please do. This is now as much your project as it is mine! Also if you believe that my current PC still has life in her yet, feel free to say what sort of hardware I should be getting to upgrade it.
Thanks for all advice in advance
-Adam
1x Antec P180 Case w/ 4 120mm case fans running at highest speed (very noisy!)
1x Tagan 550w PSU with modular cables
1x Microsoft Keyboard and Mouse (ps/2) (from old Dell)
1x DFI LanParty SLI-DR motherboard (such a nice motherboard)
1x BFG nVidia 7800GTX SLI OC DVI-Out
1x AMD Athlon Dual Core 3800+ Socket 939
1x Samsung SM348-B CDRW/DVD (from old Dell)
1x Maxtor 7200rpm 60GB HDD (out of a Sky+ box!)
1x Western Digital WD600BB 7200rpm 80GB HDD (from old Dell)
2x 512mb Single Channel DDR Memory (some Maplin bargain)
2x Harman/Kardon Speakers (from old Dell) using onboard sound
1x Creative Webcam Go Plus
1x Dell LCD 17" Monitor supporting resolutions up to 1280x1024
Now I'll tell you why I'm looking to get a new PC. One of the things that I really want to change about what I've got is the cooling system. A major problem I'm having is dust which is undoubtedly caused by the air cooling. One of my 120mm fans (case rear) works only occassionally and is extremely stiff when you try to move the rotor manually. I took that apart and cleaned it and can't see any dust clogging it up, its probably an oil thing. Any advice for that, and how to curb the immense tide of evil evil dust? I really am looking to change to a water cooling system and bring down my temperatures which are between 25C-30C at the moment. I don't feel that my current rig can support it as the case (although its a really good case) is really lacking the space I need, despite it being quite so huge and heavy (I blame it on the ridiculous compartmentalising feature which seperates PSU from Motherboard and feeds modular cables through a plastic sliding door which I accidentally broke whilst trying to figure out what its purpose was).
I can't find another BFG 7800GTX anywhere (I bought it at a steal price early last year on eBay for just £160), they just seemed to vanish for some reason, so I want to sell it and get dual top of the line overclocked 8800GTXs. As for processors, it seemed that I should've waited a little longer when it came to choosing one as well as the motherboard. I bought the DFI Lanparty SLI-DR because it overclocks really well, has got some very good features and I believed it to be THE best motherboard available early last year, so I had to get a processor to fit, but I didn't have much money so I bought a 3800+ Dual Core (I was determined to get a dual core). As soon as I bought the two, AMD bring out a new socket in what I think they called "AM2", and DFI brought out a Lanparty SLI-DR with AM2 socket! I was sick, because I thought this thing would be quite futureproof for at least two more years. Now Intel seem to be leading with QuadCore technology and I have to have it. The price of what I want doesn't really matter, I can save up for it easily. I want to be running a beasty high end system that runs all the games on top resolutions with full anti aliasing and all that lark. It has to be the mutt's nuts!
I doubt my 550w Tagan PSU will be enough to handle what I want, so how much power do you think I'll need to run a water cooled beast of a system with SLI 8800 GTXs and Dual Channel 4gb memory and a Quad Core processor? As for motherboards, well, I want the best one that supports all of what I want. I'll want dual channel memory (ddr2 or ddr3). I've seen a few reviews for new ASUS Republic of Gaming motherboards with engaging words such as "Extreme" or "Formula" inserted into the game, they seem to support what I want, what do you think about those? From what I've worked out, the ideal sort of system would cost as much as £2250 if I included things such as new keyboard, mouse, beasty sound system, Creative gamers sound card, new 500gb hard drive, and new monitor.
Speaking of which, Monitors... I really want to be able to run games at 1280x1600, what sort of monitor do I need for that? I'm after a wireless keyboard and mouse, both optical, and I really want a wristpad for the keyboard because the corners or my palms have become shall we say... somewhat... hardened from extended keyboard usage, I would like this to stop! As for sound, I want surround sound with a subwoofer, so 5 speakers or more, with a decent sound card.
I'll show you a picture of what I've picked out for myself, so please comment on my selections and don't let it affect what you think I should be getting, just focus on listing me the specification for the most pimped out hyperdrived beasty PC ever.
Beast?
Notice I didn't add in water cooling features on that list, and I'm not even sure that the Lian Li PC-767 case is sufficient in size and capacity for it. Anyone think thats a bad case choice? I think the case is hugely important. I want my PC to look cool. I don't need a side window or UV lighting, although thats cool. The case must be mostly aluminium. Please advice me on watercooling hardware and the best supporting hardware including motherboard, I don't know anything about it! I want to be cooling my graphics and processor with water, and the rest of it with beasty 120mm fans, so whats the best hardware I can get for that. Remember, price is no object.
If you want to add anything else I've not mentioned, please do. This is now as much your project as it is mine! Also if you believe that my current PC still has life in her yet, feel free to say what sort of hardware I should be getting to upgrade it.
Thanks for all advice in advance
-Adam
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