Computer-construction tips please!

[Geoff]

A Dell XPS 1530 with a few choice upgrades (like a 1920x1200 display) would probably do very well. Mind you though I just got to 930 quid being "conservative"

Oh and it seems that notebook is a good base model to benchmark against. Trusted reviews like it.

Actually that was all very helpful. I think.. looking around.. it'll be 3 months or so before the 8800 and a blu-ray drive is in an affordable (ie less than 1000 quid) package for a notebook.

 

[Xander]

No. You guys have scared the hell out of me.

It's the same as anything technical... you can spend your cash and get a fast system... it's just that any decent tech would probably pick fault with the choices. All I'm saying is you can either just go out and pick out the candy or you need to understand that you don't necessarily buy the latest sweetheart of the geeks to get a good machine (the prime example being raptors imo).

I'd think that if you got an X38, some OCZ 1150mhz reaper, whatever dual or quad core you can afford, say an HD3870X2 and two of them velociraptors if you really like the idea or maybe two of the Samsung 500Gb Spinpoints... that should make a decent machine. The thing is that unless you spend out on ALL the top tech you just won't get a bulletproof machine with years of life left in it. Not if you want to play the top games at the highest resolution!

Oh and if you ask me, pick your monitor first and make sure to see them all running before you choose. The place where I never ever skimp on price is those pieces of equipment which I use to interact with the computer. After all what's the point of having a ten thousand pound computer if it gives you eyestrain or rsi?

Actually that was all very helpful. I think.. looking around.. it'll be 3 months or so before the 8800 and a blu-ray drive is in an affordable (ie less than 1000 quid) package for a notebook.

Well there's always the same temptation I fell for when they suddenly announce a buy now pay.... deal

I think my bill trebled when I noticed that at E-Buyer!

 

[Geoff]

I'd certainly echo the monitor recommendation. Even without a brand new computer, it's still a joy to use my full HD 24" Dell monitor. It just looks beautiful, and is great for image editing etc.. and just super comfortable on the eyes when browsing MBTIC!

 

[JivinJeffJones]

My trusty laptop is dying after ~6 years of faultless service, so it looks like I'm gonna have to get off my ass and start buying my new system. Thanks for all your recommendations. The order of the day is definitely "overkill". The cost for the order of the day is a lot of money and my first-born child. Ath's system looks like it's gonna cost ~$5500, which I could live with, I guess. We Australian do indeed get rudely buggered when it comes to buying tech stuff. I'm not even sure if some of the recommendations are available in this country, which means I'll probably have to import some stuff. I don't imagine that'll be a huge problem (postage aside) except for the power supply, which will have to be local. We have 240V power sockets here. Oh, and I noted that one site had a note on the velociraptor saying it will not fit into any hard-drive enclosure. What the hell is up with that? A Jurassic Park reference?

Yes, I'm afraid.

 

[millerm277]

I don't imagine that'll be a huge problem (postage aside) except for the power supply, which will have to be local. We have 240V power sockets here.

Shouldn't matter, probably 99% of all Power Supplies are compatible with everything from 100V to 240V. A few (of the really cheap models), still have switches on the back for choosing between 120V and 240V, everything else does it automatically. Let us know what you're picking, and we'll check to make sure.

 

[JivinJeffJones]

Shouldn't matter, probably 99% of all Power Supplies are compatible with everything from 100V to 240V. A few (of the really cheap models), still have switches on the back for choosing between 120V and 240V, everything else does it automatically. Let us know what you're picking, and we'll check to make sure.

I'm going for the Corsair HX1000W Ath recommended.

I've been looking into her RAM recommendation (OCZ Reaper HPC 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333), and I'm a bit concerned by this comment I read on a vendor page:

"For a 4 gig configuration, it works fine since you can easily mount to dimm 0 and 2. Attempt to install 8 gigs on a nForce 790i Ultra SLI Motherboard and you will find that the housing, which attaches the pipe on either sides of the module, protrudes into the adjacent slot making mounting to dimm 1 and 3 difficult to impossible."

I think that's the RAM she recommended. It looks like a pretty bulky unit, so I could see how it could cause space problems. And I'd hate to find myself restricted to 4gig of RAM. Or maybe the motherboard she recommended wouldn't have that problem? I dunno how I could check that out without actually buying them.

Also, I've been looking into the ASUS video card she recommended and I'm not sure if I can find it. I've found ones that look like it, like this one, but I can't see SLI on there anywhere.

Okay, I'm a bloody newbie.

 

[JivinJeffJones]

Oh, and I was looking into the velociraptor hdd here and saw this disconcerting addendum: ****WILL NOT FIT IN ANY HARD DRIVE ENCLOSURE****

 

[millerm277]

I'm going for the Corsair HX1000W Ath recommended.

That PSU will run on anything from 90V to 264V. (So it's good for your purposes)

 

[Xander]

Why on earth would you want an external velociraptor? It'd be like having a phone on vibrate on your table!! If you want to place it in safety then put it in a cooper.

Oh and I think I've found the ultimate case... esp if you fancy your hand at water cooling... The Cosmos S. It'll fit a tripple radiator and a single with no modifications. That's frickin awesome!

Btw, why run a 790 board? Are you going to use SLi? (I'd caution against it as it's a pain and rarely worthwhile.. just get one good graphics card and save the hassle) I think that performance wise the Intel chipsets have the edge at the moment. Just because a board is crossfire compatible doesn't mean you can't run Nvidia graphics cards in it... it just means that SLi won't work.

 

[JivinJeffJones]

That PSU will run on anything from 90V to 264V. (So it's good for your purposes)

Cheers, mate. Good to know.

Why on earth would you want an external velociraptor? It'd be like having a phone on vibrate on your table!! If you want to place it in safety then put it in a cooper.

I don't want an external velociraptor. I'd constantly be watching my flanks. Why on earth would they make an internal hdd that doesn't fit in cases, though?? It makes no sense.

Oh and I think I've found the ultimate case... esp if you fancy your hand at water cooling... The Cosmos S. It'll fit a tripple radiator and a single with no modifications. That's frickin awesome!

Noted. It looks like a nuclear device. Me like.

Btw, why run a 790 board? Are you going to use SLi? (I'd caution against it as it's a pain and rarely worthwhile.. just get one good graphics card and save the hassle) I think that performance wise the Intel chipsets have the edge at the moment. Just because a board is crossfire compatible doesn't mean you can't run Nvidia graphics cards in it... it just means that SLi won't work.

Isn't SLI the way of the future? I thought the geeks were getting extremely aroused by it?

 

[mooky]

Isn't SLI the way of the future? I thought the geeks were getting extremely aroused by it?

Hi, I’m as knowledgeable as Xander, but thought I’d chip in my 2 cents.
I have 2 graphics cards running in SLI and I disagree with Xander.
My father has 1 card exactly the same, and if he plays LOTRO he has to have his graphics down or it’s a bit blocky, however I can play with EVERYTHING on max and its Smooth.
Worth it to me

 

[JivinJeffJones]

Your post

Interesting. What video cards and motherboard are you using?

 

[mooky]

Interesting. What video cards and motherboard are you using?

u'd have to ask me a tech-y question *sigh*

Intel E6600 Core2Duo 2.40GHz.
2 x NVIDIA 512mb 7800 gtx graphics cards running sli

Its a few years old now

 

[JivinJeffJones]

Man, I tried rereading this thread and had another anxiety attack before I was even halfway through. So many factors to consider. Definitely seeing the benefits of the peace-of-mind offered by premade systems. If only they weren't so expensive and crappy!

 

[Xander]

I don't want an external velociraptor. I'd constantly be watching my flanks. Why on earth would they make an internal hdd that doesn't fit in cases, though?? It makes no sense.

There are these things called hard drive enclosures... I'm presuming it is those they are talking about and not cases/ enclosures/ chassis. Besides even if it was hinky... if you've got a Cosmos or other stacker clone then simply mount it in a 5 1/4".

Noted. It looks like a nuclear device. Me like.

Cold nuclear device though

Isn't SLI the way of the future? I thought the geeks were getting extremely aroused by it?

SLi is a work around the same as crossfire (don't ask for comparisons it doesn't work).

The problem with SLi is that it's software dependant so Battlefield will run quicker but 'something like a game I can't think of right now but does exists' won't. There's a list of games which do support it but what they don't tell you is that it's not always full support.

Oh and mooky, it's not just the graphics card which defines the frame rate... there's lots of factors. Plus mine will clock a 3D06 mark of 18,000+ with a couple of tweaks (like a 50% overclock on the CPU ) that ain't shabby.

3J..
If you want real speed then keep your eye on the FSB rate. There's stuff out there now that'll do 1600mhz and memory to match. That 1333 stuff is barely any improvement over DDR2. If you are going for DDR3 you may as well do it in style

Oh and at the moment I'd advise HD4870s anyway. Bin Nvidia and go with ATi. The boards are better IME.

 

[Xander]

Man, I tried rereading this thread and had another anxiety attack before I was even halfway through. So many factors to consider. Definitely seeing the benefits of the peace-of-mind offered by premade systems. If only they weren't so expensive and crappy!

It's simple... Buy a quad core, one of the new ATis, a velociraptor (2 if you've got enough cash left... 2 velociraptors striped would be cool), get the cooling stuff (check Anandtech for that unless you want watercooling in which case Xtreme Systems is better). If you get DDR3 then go as high speed as you can otherwise stick to DDR2. Get everything non legacy and SATA connections (inc the DVD-ROM) it makes a neater job of the wiring.

Invest in some Arctic Silver AS5 and some ceramique... then start building. Definitely the Cosmos S IMO and for a monitor why not an HP w2408h (I've found little to complain about).

Oh and whether you're aircooling or not, maybe some fan controllers? Having plenty of fans at full speed will create lots of noise... which reminds me, if you want air cooled and you want it to look swish then just buy an Antec 1200... job done.

Just go select a motherboard and then start from there. May I suggest sir checks out the GA-X48T-DQ6 from Gigabyte?

 

[Xander]

Oh and final note... if you're going to use Vista then you won't need a floppy drive.

So long Legacy

 

[JivinJeffJones]

Places where you lost me:

It's simple... Buy a quad core, one of the new ATis, a velociraptor (2 if you've got enough cash left... 2 velociraptors striped would be cool), get the cooling stuff (check Anandtech for that unless you want watercooling in which case Xtreme Systems is better). If you get DDR3 then go as high speed as you can otherwise stick to DDR2. Get everything non legacy and SATA connections (inc the DVD-ROM) it makes a neater job of the wiring.

Invest in some Arctic Silver AS5 and some ceramique... then start building. Definitely the Cosmos S IMO and for a monitor why not an HP w2408h (I've found little to complain about).

Oh and whether you're aircooling or not, maybe some fan controllers? Having plenty of fans at full speed will create lots of noise... which reminds me, if you want air cooled and you want it to look swish then just buy an Antec 1200... job done.

Just go select a motherboard and then start from there. May I suggest sir checks out the GA-X48T-DQ6 from Gigabyte?

*reaches for the whiskey+coke*

 

[mooky]

He lost me at "There"!

*joins JivinJeffJones in a whiskey and coke......with ice*

 

[JivinJeffJones]

I've decided to justify a lengthier spell of procrastination by waiting to see what the Radeon HD 4870 X2 can do. I'll call it "prudence". Just a couple more weeks at most, I think.