I'm just about to buy a new pc...

[colm]

Hi follks,

the time has eventually come (well half life 2 was eventually released!) so I'm going to buy a new PC, I wonder does anyone have any input on this system I've been thinking about with all components from overclockers.co.uk

I notice that the new nforce4 (which isn't actually out quite yet...) has 3Gb SATA, but I can't find any hard drives to match...

lots of upgrade potential with the SLi, the processor, Ram and the hard drives (Raid and 3Gb SATA) will keep the machine fresh over the years

graphics Leadtek GeForce 6800 GT 256MB DDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-049-LT)

mobo Asus A8N-SLi Deluxe nForce4 SLi (Socket 939) PCI-Express Motherboard (MB-087-AS)

proc AMD Athlon 64 3500+ Winchester 90nm (Socket 939) - Retail (CP-101-AM)

boot Western Digital Raptor 36.7GB 10,000RPM SATA 8MB Cache - OEM (HD-007-WD)

store Western Digital Caviar Special Edition 250GB 2500JD SATA 8MB Cache - OEM (HD-010-WD)

ms tax windows XP home oem

case+psu Antec Sonata Piano Black Quiet Case - 380W TruePower Silent PSU (CA-003-AT)

ram Corsair 1GB DDR XMS3200XL Pro TwinX (2x512MB) CAS2 (MY-050-CS)

monitor Sony SDM-S94 19" LCD Monitor - Black (MO-001-SO)

speakers Creative Inspire 7.1 T7900 Speakers - Retail (SP-039-CL)

dvd writer AOpen DUW1608 Chameleon 16x DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter inc. Ivory/Black/Silver Bezels - Retail (CD-007-AO)

dvd writer AOpen DUW1608 Chameleon 16x DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter inc. Ivory/Black/Silver Bezels - Retail (CD-007-AO)

keyb&mouse Microsoft Wireless Optical Desktop Elite - Retail (KB-032-MS)

tv card Leadtek Winfast TV2000 XP RM (Inc. Remote Control) TV Card - Retail (GX-047-LT)

--

Colm

[Astalavista]

nice system... u

[colm]

oops - meant to paste in the urls too - overclockers don't have a page per product, so you'll have to scroll for some of the items...

graphics Leadtek GeForce 6800 GT 256MB DDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-049-LT) http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/cop...800_Series.html

mobo Asus A8N-SLi Deluxe nForce4 SLi (Socket 939) PCI-Express Motherboard (MB-087-AS) http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/asu...therboards.html

proc AMD Athlon 64 3500+ Winchester 90nm (Socket 939) - Retail (CP-101-AM) http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/AMD...#acp_2d096_2dam

boot Western Digital Raptor 36.7GB 10,000RPM SATA 8MB Cache - OEM (HD-007-WD) http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/wes...gital_sata.html

store Western Digital Caviar Special Edition 250GB 2500JD SATA 8MB Cache - OEM (HD-010-WD) http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/wes...gital_sata.html

ms tax windows XP home oem http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Onl...Systems_20.html

case+psu Antec Sonata Piano Black Quiet Case - 380W TruePower Silent PSU (CA-003-AT) http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Antec_Cases.html

ram Corsair 1GB DDR XMS3200XL Pro TwinX (2x512MB) CAS2 (MY-050-CS) http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Corsair_XL.html

monitor Sony SDM-S94 19" LCD Monitor - Black (MO-001-SO) http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/lcd18.html

speakers Creative Inspire 7.1 T7900 Speakers - Retail (SP-039-CL) http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/nTech.html

dvd writer AOpen DUW1608 Chameleon 16x DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter inc. Ivory/Black/Silver Bezels - Retail (CD-007-AO) http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/DVD...#acd_2d020_2dpo

dvd writer AOpen DUW1608 Chameleon 16x DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter inc. Ivory/Black/Silver Bezels - Retail (CD-007-AO) http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/DVD...#acd_2d020_2dpo

keyb&mouse Microsoft Wireless Optical Desktop Elite - Retail (KB-032-MS) http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Onl...nations_54.html

tv card Leadtek Winfast TV2000 XP RM (Inc. Remote Control) TV Card - Retail (GX-047-LT) http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/TV_Cards.html

[Drazick]

Wouldn't it be better look for FX-53?

Is the "AMD Athlon 64 3500+ Winchester 90nm" features SSE 3?

[XtremeMaC]

wtf is 3gb sata?

If I were u i'd get a bigger PSU. since u're looking at overclockers.co.uk i got the impression that u're going to oc it so get bigger!

and definitely get 10000rpm WD! (i know its in there...)

and I'd get samsung 19"

also u can get some hdd coolers and ram coolers if u want thermaltake has fancy ones but i dunno about quality..

and u want to get 2 dvd writers?

anyways since u're spending so much i'd get a plextor no matter what anyone else says!

and i'd get rid of that wireless crap. I had mouse & joystick, sick & tired of changing batteries, and i dunno if u know this but when u don't move the mouse and don't press buttons on the keyboard they both go into power save mode, and when u move the mouse after wards it lags. from what I see from your config, u're a gamer right? so that a pretty big deal!

either get a logitech mx1000 or 1 below that (the one that has a stand to recharge) or avoid wireless...

get XP pro has some more features and about the same price these days.

well I just bought samsung 910T(newegg.com) and leadtek 6800gt AGP (ebay.com)

is that pci express card UK specific? I cannot seem to find it??? 6600 series have pci-x? wtf?

[Astalavista]

checkout www.asus.com check out the new pci express video cards they have out. to copy DVD i would suggest getting liteOn 16.

but i hear that the newer drives have higher dual layer burning speed.

checkout www.cdfreaks.com

[colm]

Thanks for the replies folks, I'm still waiting on my mobo to get released...

one slight worry I have is a rumour I heard/read somewhere that the new nForce4 will require a different type of power supply connector? Anyone heard about that?

>Wouldn't it be better look for FX-53?

The processor I've chosen is a cost/benefit decision, by buying a very modern mobo and slightly dated proc, I keep the proc price down and keep an upgrade option open

> does AMD64 3500+ have SSE3?

Just a rumour I think - features listed as:

3DNOW!, 3DNOW!+, Intel MMX, Intel x86 Compatibilty, SSE, SSE2

> wtf is 3gb sata?

SATA = Serial ATA current versions run at 1.5 Gb/sec - the new SATA runs at 3GB/sec, hecnce 3Gb SATA. Unfortunately the HDDs I've chosen run at 1.5 Gb/sec, but I like the redundancy and upgrade path.

> get a bigger PSU

Power supply was chosen specifically because it is silent. Not actually planning to overclock - getting h/w from overclockers because of service&price, but I'll consider power requirements for fans - read that I can o/c the processor quite a bit to make it run as a 3800+ Cheap upgrade path later when the machine gets tired (and after adding a new PCI Express to the SLi mobo)

> u want to get 2 dvd writers?

I like to have 2 drives, one for a current game say and one for music, dvd writers are so cheap these days

>get a plextor

Why?

>get rid of that wireless crap.

I'll stick with the wireless - I do play games - it's obv a hl2 machine! but I also have a desire to play in front of my tv that I've got cabled up to the pc, got an x10 mouse remote for playing media at the moment, but game playing is not possible, without huge trailing cables or a kvm solution - wireless makes this so easy - rechargable batteries make wireless painless I hope... Anyone else have experience of wireless they can share - is it really a no no no - or ok, but watch out for...

logitech mx1000 - but I _like_ ms hardware.... ;-)

> get XP pro

afaik pro has nothing that I need - is there something specific that you know about that would be a benefit?

> get samsung 19"

considered a lot of monitors before the sony, I like and trust sony, my mate has a 10 year old sony 15" that is as bright as the day it first went on. I've got a sony 29" tv and a sony stereo and they both have long service medals. With that much trust built up in Sony, what overriding reason would make me choose a samsung monitor? (Just say it will play hl2 better and I'm probably sold!)

>is that pci express card UK specific?

Dunno, I just spotted it on oc's site - don't really know too much about it...

> checkout www.asus.com check out the new pci express video cards they have out

I'll have a look, I have great faith in Asus, my old Asus FX5200 in my current machine has given me great service

[prathapml]

> wtf is 3gb sata?

SATA = Serial ATA current versions run at 1.5 Gb/sec - the new SATA runs at 3GB/sec, hecnce 3Gb SATA.  Unfortunately the HDDs I've chosen run at 1.5 Gb/sec, but I like the redundancy and upgrade path.

Please read up more about it. XtremeMaC is right, I really don't think such a standard exists.

SATA 1x = 150 Mbps

SATA 2x = 300 Mbps

SATA 3x = does not exist (not yet even formed a committee to create that standard).

Nowhere does 3Gb exist!

one slight worry I have is a rumour I heard/read somewhere that the new nForce4 will require a different type of power supply connector? Anyone heard about that?

They did want to move to BTX power-supplies, but in all likelihood, compatibility with ATX will still be maintained.

[colm]

> They did want to move to BTX power-supplies, but in all likelihood, compatibility with ATX will still be maintained.

Oh thank goodness for that - it would be heartbreaking to wait on a component getting released, sent to the supplier and then shipped to me to find that I couldn't plug it in!

>I really don't think such a standard [sATA 3Gb] exists.

Sorry for not being precise, I checked the Serial ATA website, the correct name for the extensions to serial ATA is SATA II. Aka SATA 3Gb/s and SATA-300

However, I haven't named the spec at all thus far, I'm talking about the _speed_ of transfer.

from the Mobo specs:

- Supports AMD Socket 939 Athlon 64FX/Athlon 64

- PCI Express Architecture

- SATA 3Gb/s

- Dual RAID

- Dual Gigabit LAN & AI NET2

- NV Firewall

- AI NOS™

- AI Audio (8-channel Audio)

cheers!

[XtremeMaC]

as for the monitor I just find it cheap and supports digital output, and i had some friends who complained about a line that appears in their sony monitors.

u're in UK but US price i've found and recently bought was $509 from newegg. I know electronic prices are pretty high in UK....

with xp pro its easier to keep up with this forum (that's mainly why I've switched, then i've seen other small parts where i could benefit , like gpedit.msc and etc.., networking to me isn't really that important since we just have 4 comp)

I tend to buy the best(actually cost/benefit) products and thats why I've preferd lite-on, I mentioned plextor bc its always the best if u check the reviews, but its pretty expensive...

some stuff about sony: I have 2 friends that had sony laptops, 1 just died, came out of no where, the other one's ram slot burned.

I know a brand cannot be perfect in every category of electronics.. my tv at home is also sony but thats bc my parents did not ask me when they were buying it:) frankly it was okay bc i don't have much info on the Tv's but those plasma pioneers look awesome

anyways i don't think u need to wait any longer to buy a system its good as it gets

ow 1 word on the psu, there are higher watt psu's that have silent capability as well, enermax, thermaltake etc... (I've bought enermax 470W silent as well)

[colm]

Cheers XtremeMaC!

The line in sony monitors (and in others) is only on CRTs - they are the horizontal wires that hold the vertical shadow mask in place.

for more info on horizontal lines appearing on monitor:

http://www.monitorworld.com/faq_pages/q28_page.html

The doa laptops does sound like a problem with sony's qa - I'm hoping that the monitor will have the same quality one expects from the TV

I'll look into plextor - cheers, see if I can find SATA II fast drives.

XPpro does offer (with a little persuasion) the ability for me to log on as a PowerUser, which could be useful for old games, but I tend to happily use runas at the moment. The majority of my development is in cygwin or coLinux so no XP pro requirements there - and I only have 3 computers on my network - well 4 when I get my new boy :-) so domain login isn't quite required - and if it was I wouldn't use a windows server anyway... I'll happily save the £50 for home. My work laptop has 2Kpro on it - that's necessay for work.

<frustrated>

I just need to wait for the asus nForce 4 board to be released - currently early december, but that could slip...

</frustrated>

Cheers for those other silent higher power psu's I'll deff change over to one.

--

Colm

http://dearbbc.blogspot.com

[cydine]

graphics  Leadtek GeForce 6800 GT 256MB DDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-049-LT)

mobo Asus A8N-SLi Deluxe nForce4 SLi (Socket 939) PCI-Express Motherboard (MB-087-AS)

proc AMD Athlon 64 3500+ Winchester 90nm (Socket 939) - Retail (CP-101-AM)

boot Western Digital Raptor 36.7GB 10,000RPM SATA 8MB Cache - OEM (HD-007-WD)

store Western Digital Caviar Special Edition 250GB 2500JD SATA 8MB Cache - OEM (HD-010-WD)

ram Corsair 1GB DDR XMS3200XL Pro TwinX (2x512MB) CAS2 (MY-050-CS)

You know, I was looking into components for a new pc yesterday and that is the exaxct spec I picked out myself.

Scary...

[Porn Loader]

going back to the psu... if it doesnt have a pci-express 6 pin on it, you'll have to use up 2 seperate (but ive heard you can get by on one line) 4 pin molex conn's.

[colm]

Thanks for the tips!

Ah, is that what the six pin thing is! I saw that recently on a new psu for another machine (300W... but it only cost me £4.50 from eBuyer!).

Any ideas what the 4 pin square connector is for? It has the same moulding as a mobo connector, but just 2x2.

Still waiting for Asus nForce 4 - 2nd or 3rd week of December....

--

Colm

http://dearbbc.blogspot.com