Buy or build?

[techjunkie]

C2D E4300@3Ghz / 4Go RAM / GigaByte DS4 / Raid 1 + 0 / 8800GTS

Impressive! So you use this motherboard;

I'm consider that, but also;

and

[Tipperton]

Does anyone in the forum use one of the following cases,

* Antec Nine Hundred

I have one of these and I really like it.

Some things to be aware of though:

• the 3 1/2 to 5 1/4 bay adapter for the floppy drive is a plastic piece of junk! Do your self a huge favor and get a metal adapter of the type used for hard drives
• Make sure you have a magnetic screw driver, you'll definitely need it to mount your hard and floppy drives
• I replaced the stock fans with ones of my own choosing because I don't like lighted fans
• Depending on where the connections for front panel stuff is on your motherboard, the case wires may be too short, I had to order a 6 inch extention for mine (http://www.frontx.com)

[Tranquil]

Does anyone in the forum use one of the following cases,

* Antec Nine Hundred
* Antec P180B
* Antec Sonata II

Antec P180B seems really good.

I dont use one of this, but I use a Thermaltake BigTower. Its really massive and has lots of place for components. I like the "slot" method. You do not have to screw anything.

[Tipperton]

I like the "slot" method. You do not have to screw anything.

My previous case was a tool-less case, I didn't care for it, the card holders were flimsy and barely worked and the drive bays were difficult to use because you had to line up the screw holes in the drives with hidden pins for it to work.

[Bonne_den_kule]

Hey AMD? Whats going on there? You are still alive?

The AMD Athlon64 X2 6000+ is quite cheap now.

[Tipperton]

This is the motherboard I'm looking at when I upgrade:


Currently the system specs I am looking at upgrading to are:

• ABIT KN9 ULTRA NVIDIA nForce 570 Ultra
• AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Windsor
• Leadtek GeForce 8800GTS 640MB
• Antec NeoHE 500 ATX12V 500W Power Supply
• Seagate Barracuda 80GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
• Seagate Barracuda 160GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

Might decide to get two 160GB drives instead of one 80GB and one 160GB though I hardly need the space, I have an 80 and 160 now and both are only about 33% used.

[techjunkie]

I dont use one of this, but I use a Thermaltake BigTower. Its really massive and has lots of place for components. I like the "slot" method. You do not have to screw anything.

Cool! What I like about the Antec P180B is the five separate cooling zones, the three-layer sound-deadening panels and that the PSU is in the rear bottom of the case. As it says in one review,

Innovative three-layer side panels and front door (aluminum, plastic, aluminum) dampen system noise, making this one of the quietest cases available

I'm one of those guys that prioritize a quiet system before a mega-super-ultimate-speedy one... that's why I'm choosing to go with a Asus GeForce 7600GS 512MB DDR2 Silent graphic card. :roll: I will also try to build the system with 7 - 17 dB:s fans.

(I remember Silicon Graphics Octane (93 - 96). You couldn't be in the same room as the machine... )

[Thalius]

This is the motherboard I'm looking at when I upgrade:

an ABIT ! Good Choice - actually i had never problems with ABIT even under extreme conditions ( temperature wise ). Very Stable and they have great Debug tools and facturing. Mainproduction comes from Japan ( not the cheap China electronics ).

@techjunkie
Might wanna check em out: http://www.abit.com.tw

Thalius

[Tipperton]

and that the PSU is in the rear bottom of the case. As it says in one review,

FYI: The Nine Hundred also has the PSU in the bottom of the case.

Innovative three-layer side panels and front door (aluminum, plastic, aluminum) dampen system noise, making this one of the quietest cases available

I have never liked case doors, to me they're just "in the way". One case I had though, had an opening in the door for that allowed CD-ROM access without having to open the door, seems like nobody does that anymore...

an ABIT ! Good Choice

Yup! My previous motherboard was also an ABit and other than some minor "issues" they have been flawless.

The issues were:

They do a crummy job with the heat sink compound for the north-bridge, so I take the cooler off and re-do it.

Since the stock north-bridge fan is crap that will fail within a year, at the same time I replace it with a quality fan which is easier to do before mounting the board in the case.

The south-bridge on both boards runs pretty hot even at stock speeds so I mount a passive heat sink to it, that's all it needs to stay cool.

There are a number of complaints about this (KN9 Ultra) board in that if you over-clock it and have USB devices attached, the only way to shut down Windows is to hit the power button. The reports say there's zero problems if you stay at stock speeds. Since I don't believe in over-clocking, I'm not worried about that issue.

[techjunkie]

What I like about the Antec P180B is the five separate cooling zones, the three-layer sound-deadening panels and that the PSU is in the rear bottom of the case.

I've changed my mind - it is going to be an Antec P182,

Beautiful...

[PureLust]

If you are still looking for a dealer, I can advise http://www.redcoon.de/.

Even though we are a Dealer we can't get some Parts as cheap from our wholesaler as redcoon is selling it to cusomers.
Further we've allready bought from redcoon and they are quite fast, reliable and accommodating if you have trouble with something they've delivered.

Further http://www.alternate.de is one of the most awardwinning Internet-Shops in the net.
Alternate was 4 times most trustes Electronic Internet shop of the year in sequence.
They are very good and they have a quite good tech-support if you need some help.

Regadring to the Hardware:
- If you are looking for a mainly quiet PC instead of getting the most possible power, have a lock at the Chipset-specs.
A High-End Chipset or a Board with several "Deluxe" Funktions needs more power (=produces more heat = need more cooling) than a lower-End Chipset/MBoard.
- Regadring to the passiv Grafikcard: Even this produces heat, which has to be transportet away from the grafikkart so it does not overheat.
So you need a very good airflow inside your PC to get this heat out of the case.
I although thought about a passive GraKa but I endet up at a Radeon-X800 with Zaalman-Cooler. Using ATI-Tool, I'm underclocking this Card while working on the Desktop and automatically highclocking (or overclocking I must say) it, if I need 3D-Power.
Because of the ATI-Tool and the Zaalman-Cooler running at 20% fanspeed all the time, it's absolutely noiseless.
- if you are looking for a quiet Case, have a look at the Cases from Artic-Cooling. Their CPU-Coolers ar famous and their new caseconcept is great.
They thought about the heatingproblems which will appear within a case and designed cases with a whole new concept.
We recommend these cases quite often and the customers are very happy with them. I have one myselfe and I'll never miss it again.

If you want to get some more Info on CPU's, Chipsets, Grafikkarts, Mainboards etc., have a look at famous Tom's Hardware Site:
( http://hardware.thgweb.de/ or http://www.tomshardware.com/).

Greets and good luck, PureLust.

[techjunkie]

I have to thank you all guys (where are the gals?) for all information and tips.

I had forgotten how funny / amusing it is to build your own computer. I have surfed the web for days now, looking at reviews, checking hardware, compatibility matrixes, power calculations, looking at prices and so on...

I'm very greatful for the tips about dealers and webstores, but that's really a decision about,

* price vs warranty vs closeness

IMHO deciding the,

* case = easy
* memory = easy
* cpu = easy
* fans = easy
* psu = hard
* motherboard = very hard
* graphics card = in my case easy

but all is very funny!!!
(I love it!!!)

[Tipperton]

I've changed my mind - it is going to be an Antec P182

One problem I see with this case is that it appears they use some kind of power supply holder instead of the usual four screws in the back to mount the power supply, this means you'll have to make sure the power supply will fit in the holder.

I also don't care for the door but that is personal taste.

* psu = hard

One of the things I really like about the Antec NeoHE power supplies is their modular cabling. With this the only cables permanently attached are for mortherboard power, all the rest plug into sockets on the power supply.

The advantage is you only put in the cables you need which helps keep the inside from being cluttered with extra cables and that helps cooling by not cluttering up air flow through the case.

I believe Antec was the first to introduce modular power supply cabling with their NeoPower series, but I notice that there are several manufactureres offering it now.

* motherboard = very hard

You can simplify this rather easily, think back to the various brands of motherboards and chipsets you've used and pick the brand that has proven to be the best overall for you.

That's how I chose the components for my system upgrade. Those brands have always been solid reliable performers for me.

I had forgotten how funny / amusing it is to build your own computer.

Not sure where you find the humor, but I agree, it is fun shopping for the parts for your new "beast"!

[techjunkie]

I've changed my mind - it is going to be an Antec P182

One problem I see with this case is that it appears they use some kind of power supply holder instead of the usual four screws in the back to mount the power supply, this means you'll have to make sure the power supply will fit in the holder.

You can remove the PSU holder if the PSU doesn't fit in the holder and the mounting will fit a "normal" mounting. Antec have thought about everything!

[techjunkie]

Not sure where you find the humor, but I agree, it is fun shopping for the parts for your new "beast"!

Hehe... Maybe amusing wasn't the right word?!?! It's very pleasant, thought...