Antec Sonata II opinions please

Traducer

Traducer

Traducer

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4 Apr 2006
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346
I need some information on this case regarding fans and cooling, I am looking to put my system in this insted to save some cash, so I can spend the extra on the cpu and graphics.

Antec Sonata II Piano Black Quiet Case - 450W Smart Power PSU

I don't really want to have to buy any extra fans or anything, I just want it to be ready to go, but I looked on the spec of it from ocuk, and it says optional on some of the fans, does this mean I have to buy them? :confused:
Would just like some opinions and such on the case.
Anyway seems your the man to ask about cases round here hehe. :)
 
I'll be spending a good 1k on my rig, I just thought maybe I could save a few quid and get this case, meaning I could get a X2 4400 insted of the 3800 or a X1900XT/X insted of something like an X1800XT or 7900GT.
Its not what I would be using forever, just for the mean time, anyway just an idea.
Sorry about the thread name I did not realise it would cause an trouble. :o
 
Well really mate, I only got between 900 and 1000 maybe 1 or 2 pounds over and no more, this is just for the base unit, as everything else I will just have to cope with what I already got, untill I can afford more.
Not really got a budget for any certain part, just been doing it with an overall budget as such.
I did make a new build post in the general section and have had some nice replys with advice and friendly help.
But this is really a lot of money to me, hence me going over all the possible options.
The case would not be in use forever, maybe a few months if I went for the cheaper one untill I could afford to splash out.
 
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Yes its a gaming system, mainly for online gaming as thats all I tend to do with games, I never had the power to play them in decent detail in single player, I do use it a lot for other normal things though, work, music, downloading, the usual.
I was originally going to go with the Eclipse 62 with two Akasa Ambers, and a Tagan Modular 530w or 580w, but thats so damn expensive man, mean't I had to skimp on other stuff.
I don't play at crazy resolutions as I only have a 17" CRT ( I know, don't laugh. ) but thats not for long either, just wanted to build up a really strong machine first so thats what I am focusing on at the moment.
I know people will say no point getting an powerfull card like the X1900XT/X with that monitor, but there is also no point in getting a lesser card then upgrade my screen and wish I had the other card, then end up buying another one anyway.
If you want to spec me a machine thats fine by me mate, any help or advice is welcome.
 
I'd rather not go with a crossfire board, I was thinking more along the lines of an Asus A8N-SLi Premium nForce4 SLi (Socket 939) PCI-Express Motherboard or something.
I was planning to go with the X2 3800, but I also was looking at the 4400.
And the 3700 single core was my original idea, but that went out the window when I seen all these nice CPUs.
 
I would love to do that mate, but I have never clocked anything before and these guides seem complicated. :confused:
What speed does the 4400 and 4800 run at anyway?
 
Sounds interesting, I guess I can always ask for more help when I actually get the system up and running.
X2 3800 at 4800 speeds, really do like the sound of that though.
 
Looking for a stable 125fps for online gaming is the main thing, especially once I upgrade my monitor, and that will be to something like 19" 2ms 4ms 8ms or so.
Online gaming is the main thing for me, so I need it to perform the best as it can.
I thought the XT clocks to XT X speeds easy?
The PC7 uses 120mm fans?
Off topic but whats the spec of your machine out of intrest?
 
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I have no idea on that, last time I upgraded was 2003. :o
I am still running a xp2200 at stock with 9700 pro and 1.25gb of pants ram.
 
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Ok well I just put this one together, what you guys think about this?

AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 3800+ (Socket 939) - OEM
£169.95

Asus A8N-SLi Premium nForce4 SLi (Socket 939) PCI-Express Motherboard
£99.95 £99.95

GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC3200 Value Dual Channel Kit CAS3
£94.95

PowerColor ATI Radeon X1900 XT 512MB GDDR3 AVIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail
£259.95

Hitachi Deskstar 7K80 NCQ 80GB SATA-II 8MB Cache - OEM
£29.95

OcUK Value Floppy Drive - Black
£5.95

NEC ND4570 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM
£24.95

Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940)
£15.95

Lian-Li PC-7 PLUS Black Aluminium Midi-Tower Case (No PSU)
£48.95

Seasonic S12 500W Silent ATX2.0 Power Supply
£75.95

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound (3.5g)
£5.50

Subtotal £832.00
Shipping (City Link Parcel Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri)) £10.95
VAT £147.52
Total £990.47

Feel free to make any changes, Yewen look I even fitted the Artic Silver in there for you :p
Black or Silver case lol?
And I was thinking of changing the PSU for the Tagan TG530-U15 530W ATX2.01 Easycon SLi Compliant Modular Silent PSU its a couple of pounds cheaper aswell, plus its modular.
Anyway what you think!
 
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I won't ever go crossfire, saying that who knows. And the nForce4 chipset seems very nice.
Would it make any difference to the performance at the moment?
 
I need to find out if its easy to clock the X1900XT the brand I mentioned, to XT-X speeds.
And that at those speeds plus the X2 3800 at 4800 speeds, thats going to be one beastly machine.
 
I already made a topic in there but it was asking a different question, can't make another one or it will look well spammy, so I guess I got to wait untill someone notices the last post and answers me lol.
 
Yewen on the Lian Li case you know the two USB ports at the front, well I got the PC6 version of that case now the one I always complain about, well anyway I could never work out how to attach the two USB ports to the motherboard so that they would actually work.
I hope thats not the same in the PC7, I don't want them damn cables lose in the case this time, I want them to work.
 
No man, not on this case, its like a plug yes but all the wires are split, so I got no clue which is which, its hard to explain, but there all split into individual wires, its ridiculous, and I don't want this in the new machine. :confused:
 
THC_SsSsSnake said:
so you can use the ati card with the premium board in single mode??????????????????
Click to expand...

Yes mate, with no problem at all.
Personally I think those Asus boards with the nForce4 chipset are far better then the ATI ones, but thats my opinion.
I have used Asus before and they have been nothing but solid as a rock.

Thanks for all the help so far guys, and Yewen you got up earlier then I did. :o
 
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