Final speed machine specs.....

Nic Miller · 21 Mar 2007 at 12:28

Hi guys.....

Am just about there with chosing all the bits for my new build - have to say that I have changed my mind about each component about 5 times there's so much choice!

Could you cast your eyes over it and confirm it all looks compatible and suggest some alternatives to any suspect pieces......I also include a few specific questions at the bottom. It will be a gaming rig. No immediate plans for SLi or overclocking, but will probably overclock at some point. Want Sli capability.

Cheers!

CPU - Intel core duo E6600 Conroe c£200
CPU cooler - Tuniq Tower c£35
Motherboard - Asus P5N32-E SLI nforce 680 c£153
Memory - GeIL 2x1Gb PC6400C4 800Mhz GX22GB6400UDC - c£123
Graphics - NVidea BFG 8800 GTX - c£400
HDD - 2 x WD Raptor 150Gb in RAID 0 - c£321
Power supply - Enermax Galaxy 850 Watt modular - £175
Case - Silverstone TJ-09 Black with window
Monitor - Dell 2407WFP 24" - c£517
Sound card - Creative X-Fi Xtreme - c£26
Opitcal - Samsung SATA SH-183LBEBN - c£24
Mouse - Logitech G5 (2007 edition) - £50
Keyboard - Logitech G15 gaming keyboard - c£53
o/s - Windows XP professional c£94
Office - Office 2007 home and student - c£94
Fans - c£20
Fancing cables -c£20
Carriage - c£50

Total - £2,535

- Are the CPU/memory/motherboard all compatible and a decent choice?
- I want a decent case and power supply that will last and be as future proof as possible. Is the Silverstone case the best under £200 with decent cooling and looks?
- Is the Enermax Galaxy a top drawer power supply? Looks it!
- Need a few fans for the case - want LED ones that are silent (120mm) - can someone recommend some? Cheers!
- Keyboard - Want a decent gaming keyboard. Want illuminated keys and some macro keys. Decent short key strokes would be good as well - I have gone for the Logitech G15 - is this decent? How do people find it? Which other gaming keyboards are they?
- Have gone for XP professional - wise?

Thanks very much......getting very excited !!!

Nic

Nic Miller · 21 Mar 2007 at 16:32

a lot of Corsair fans out there! Just don't think in a couple of years time that 620 watts will be enough! The Enermax at 850 watts seems much more future proof.

Still undecided about the keyboard...tempted by the following:

- Raptor K1 Professional Gaming-Grade Keyboard
- Logitech G15 gaming
- Saitek PZ30AU Eclipse Illuminated Keyboard
- Razer Tarantula Advanced Gaming Keyboard

What do you think?

Also may ditch the Raptors for a normal drive - that way I can stretch to the 27" Dell monitor !!!!! Would that be over kill or would 27" make gaming awesome?!

Nic Miller · 21 Mar 2007 at 17:20

It's a gaming rig but I also work on it as well, so need office.

Cheers

Nic

Nic Miller · 22 Mar 2007 at 10:29

Only decision left is which keyboard and whether to go for the 27" Dell monitor !

Nic Miller · 22 Mar 2007 at 13:17

Good point about the 27" - would probably need it further away as well meaning I might as well have got the 24" !!!

Okay, so am going for the 24" monitor
2 x 150Gd raptors - expensive - but quick ! Or should I just get 1 not in RAID and another large but cheaper.......too hard to know!

Just the keyboard left......and the HDD........

Help!

Nic Miller · 22 Mar 2007 at 14:41

Would you recommend a couple of these bad boys in RAID 0 then? Will I notice much difference?

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 500GB ST3500630AS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM

Thanks

Nic

Nic Miller · 22 Mar 2007 at 16:11

what does 4TW mean ?!

Nic Miller · 22 Mar 2007 at 16:41

Can you use 4Gb in XP? Just wondering as I have the money now and won't be upgrading again for a long time, so makes sense (to me) to put in 4Gb and forget about it.

Also is an E6600 easy to overclock for a beginner - nothing major, just up to E6700 speeds to prevent me from buying that chip!

Thanks

Nic

Nic Miller · 22 Mar 2007 at 22:39

Cheers! 2Gb it is!

Has anyone used this keyboard ?

Razer Tarantula Advanced Gaming Keyboard - Black

Thanks!

Nic

Nic Miller · 22 Mar 2007 at 22:55

Yeah the case looks great - did you get black or silver?

Just need to decide on this damn keyboard! down to either the G15 or the razor tarantula...............pls help !

Nic Miller · 22 Mar 2007 at 23:19

Personally I think the Tarantula looks tha canines cajones ! Very stylish which is important. Gets good writeups - only down side is the lack of lit keys - but then there is some add on which you can get.

I think the G15 looks a bit naff to be honest! Looks a bit cheap and gimmicky. Would never use the LCD. The macro buttons are on the wrong side of the keyboard as well!

Nic Miller · 22 Mar 2007 at 23:26

Would really like someone who has used one to confirm that they are a great keyboard though!

Cheers

Nic

Nic Miller · 24 Mar 2007 at 00:26

Damn! I had decided on 2x500Gb seagates.......

Which do I do....1x 150 raptor or 2x500Gb Seagate......seems a no brainer for the same price considering the tiny speed increase!