Going to have about £1500 to spend

[Lister2020]

Just the base unit not the monitor. The dvd drive and one of the hdds in this desktop are dead and im ready for a new build anyway.

I know the cases and psus cost mega bucks, but I want one that will give off as close to NO sound whatsoever. While I want a top end processor I dont want to overclock it that much because ill be getting the reserator 2 to eliminate most of the fans (with the exception of the PSU but the PSU makes the most noise in my current system anyway).

So Im talking pretty top end here. Getting either the Dell 2407"FP or the new sammy that just came in, so probably gonna want the best GFX card possible as well.

Thanks for your help

Also meant to say, I don't really believe in having dual graphics cards. I mean as far as I am aware the cost of two doesn't justify it. If it is justifiable and fits fine into my budget though then who am I to argue with the dudes in the know.

 

[BillytheImpaler]

This would be excellent and would leave cash to spare. It has a fast quad core, 4 GiB RAM, an excellent sound card, a fast quiet hard disk, a good solid case, and the best cooler. Add to it a few Yate-Loon D12SL-12 fans and 7V mod them for ultimate quiet and performance.

If you wanted to spend more you could get one of the faster Core 2 Quads or an 8800 Ultra. Essentially they'd come pre-overclocked and cost a lot more.

 

[Teaf]

To be honest, £1500 on the machine you'll probably end up finding is a major overkill for you want, unless you just spent money for the sake of it on the machine. You could get something REALLY nice only spending £1200. Mainly since you aren't including a monitor, and don't need any cooling due to buying a water cooling system seperately.

Billys spec is pretty much what I had lined up for posting, the only difference being no cooler due to water cooling. I'd also stick in some MX-1 paste for the sake of having some very good quality paste. If you wanted to spend more money on that spec, then you can upgrade the graphics to the Ultra and/or get another hdd for raid / space. Could also get a TV Card if you need one.

Other than that, it's a great spec and what I'd go for.

 

[Lister2020]

Ok kool thanks. Im not against just using fans to cool the system but surely they will produce more noise? You tell me you're the expert!!!

I'll prob be getting a 2nd HDD. Is that the best/quietest CPU I can get? And is it worth upgrading to a 8800 ultra.

Im looking at playing the likes of farcry2 at max res and settings, so ermm, GONNA NEED A BEAST! hehe

I saw a montherboard for like 500 quid, and the top range processor for similar price. Are they really worth that much money?

 

[Lister2020]

To be honest, £1500 on the machine you'll probably end up finding is a major overkill for you want, unless you just spent money for the sake of it on the machine. You could get something REALLY nice only spending £1200. Mainly since you aren't including a monitor, and don't need any cooling due to buying a water cooling system seperately.

Billys spec is pretty much what I had lined up for posting, the only difference being no cooler due to water cooling. I'd also stick in some MX-1 paste for the sake of having some very good quality paste. If you wanted to spend more money on that spec, then you can upgrade the graphics to the Ultra and/or get another hdd for raid / space. Could also get a TV Card if you need one.

Other than that, it's a great spec and what I'd go for.

Ok thanks. Yea I wanna use the reserator from the very start. So if that psu is quiet enough then thats fine. Honestly is a better/more expensive processor worth it or am I going to get all the performance I need out of it?

 

[Teaf]

Ok thanks. Yea I wanna use the reserator from the very start. So if that psu is quiet enough then thats fine. Honestly is a better/more expensive processor worth it or am I going to get all the performance I need out of it?

Your going to get all the performance you want from that processor. The only difference is graphics and if you want higher graphics and more futureproofing so you don't have to upgrade for longer, then get the Ultra. That PSU however is 22dBA. It's not silent, but it's quite close and I'm not sure if any other PSU can get lower than that unless they have a modded fan. You could I guess be a bit sneaky and fix the Corsair PSU with a Zalman Fan Mate so you can control the level of RPM/noise, and could turn it up in games and lower down when just browsing the web.

 

[BillytheImpaler]

If you were REALLY adamant about a passive system it would be possible to assemble something with no moving parts. However, this is not an efficient use of money. Yates at 7V are pretty much inaudible. If you biuld a system and discover it's too loud you can always go to work making it quiet. I think it's a better strategy to start off with what's a good value then move to perfection, so to speak.

I included that CPU cooler because first off it's huge and as such could easily work passively in a system. Second because before the Reserator comes in he'll want good quiet cooling and third because he'll be able to sell it for a large percentage of its purchase price when it gets replaced.

I do not think the Ultra would be a wise choice since it costs a lot more and offers comparatively little more performance.

 

[Teaf]

I do not think the Ultra would be a wise choice since it costs a lot more and offers comparatively little more performance.

I'd agree, I'd rather take the GTX for about £180 less because the performance difference isn't huge. But for his cash budget, he could get it and still be under, but it's kinda just spending for the sake of it I'd think

 

[Lister2020]

Hmmm.... if I upgraded one, the cpu or GFX card, which should I get? I really want this system to last me like 4-5 years which is why im willing to fork out on it. I suppose what I could do is not get the reserator and fork out more on a system with soundproofing and gt that passive CPU cooler and maybe a couple of ultra quiet fans?

 

[Teaf]

Hmmm.... if I upgraded one, the cpu or GFX card, which should I get? I really want this system to last me like 4-5 years which is why im willing to fork out on it. I suppose what I could do is not get the reserator and fork out more on a system with soundproofing and gt that passive CPU cooler and maybe a couple of ultra quiet fans?

Could do mate. Take my system for example, P180 with a 2900XT inside, should sound like a hoover but due to good fans in the case and better regulation of the graphics cards fan it's sitting at 20/22dBA which is very quiet. I'd personally just get a P182, use the Antec Tricool's that you get with that case on a low setting which is barely audible, then get the HR-03 PLUS for the 8800 GTX and slap a quiet fan on that. For CPU, get the thermalright ultra 120 extreme and use a Scythe S-FLEX 120mm 1200 RPM fan.

Also, definetly buy a good fan controller and / or a couple of Zalman Fan Mates so you can regular the speed (and essentially, noise) of both the fans by the turn of a dial.

In respects of the CPU/graphics... if I was gonna upgrade one or the other I'd say get the Q6600 and GTX, but in Jan/Feb 08 time sell the GTX and get a new Nvidia / ATI series card which will last you for 2 years or so. The problem with the 8800's now is that they are a year old, and Nvidia is replacing the high end cards in a few months. Could pick up about £220-£240 for the GTX around that time, then stick another £60 in and get a much better card that will last a lot longer. The Q6600 is already future proofed due to the 4 cores. The speed isn't really high, but it's not going to bottleneck the graphics which is the main point.

 

[Lister2020]

Could do mate. Take my system for example, P180 with a 2900XT inside, should sound like a hoover but due to good fans in the case and better regulation of the graphics cards fan it's sitting at 20/22dBA which is very quiet. I'd personally just get a P182, use the Antec Tricool's that you get with that case on a low setting which is barely audible, then get the HR-03 PLUS for the 8800 GTX and slap a quiet fan on that. For CPU, get the thermalright ultra 120 extreme and use a Scythe S-FLEX 120mm 1200 RPM fan.

Also, definetly buy a good fan controller and / or a couple of Zalman Fan Mates so you can regular the speed (and essentially, noise) of both the fans by the turn of a dial.

In respects of the CPU/graphics... if I was gonna upgrade one or the other I'd say get the Q6600 and GTX, but in Jan/Feb 08 time sell the GTX and get a new Nvidia / ATI series card which will last you for 2 years or so. The problem with the 8800's now is that they are a year old, and Nvidia is replacing the high end cards in a few months. Could pick up about £220-£240 for the GTX around that time, then stick another £60 in and get a much better card that will last a lot longer. The Q6600 is already future proofed due to the 4 cores. The speed isn't really high, but it's not going to bottleneck the graphics which is the main point.

Just how long will it be until the new cards are out? If necessary I could get a new system and just use the graphics card I have now and then get the new one.

 

[Teaf]

Just how long will it be until the new cards are out? If necessary I could get a new system and just use the graphics card I have now and then get the new one.

It's kinda speculative on when they are coming out... most people think that they'll appear in Q1 2007 but it's not confirmed.