First build specs - Advice and Recommendations Welcome

MrJB

MrJB

MrJB

Associate
Joined
22 Oct 2008
Posts
117
Hi there,
after a little more than 24 hours of waiting i finally got my account validated.

The situation is as follows, i need a new PC and this time i want to built it myself. Below is what i haev got so far in my shopping cart, however i would like to ask a few questions.
First of all the screenshot:



There is a couple of things that i definately want to keep. First it is the GTX 280 i just always liek Nvidia so please no discussions about that. Secondly i have decided for that processor as i will not only be gaming but also running photoshop and some video editing stuff at the same time.

OK so here are my questions:
1) I would like to save some money on the motherboard really. Which one coudl you recommend with DDR3 ram and X48 that is the closest to it?
2) IN total i woudl like 4 gb of ddr3 ram, but im not sure whether i might be overlooking a cheaper option that is compatible with the motherboard. If you suggest another motherboard please be so kind as to suggest some fitting ram as well.
3) Will the power supply unit be powerful enough? If not pleas suggets any other modular one.
4) And finally will the GTX280 and the motherboard fit into the case?

Also if i have made some stupid mistake or forgotten something obvious or chosen a crap component such as the HDDs then please mention it.

Thanks in advance
Jerome
 
Why DDR3? By ditching that you could save at least £300-350. I would go with a Asus P45 P5Q Pro or Deluxe along with 4Gb of G.Skill 4GB DDR2 PQ PC2-8000C5. That is excellent ram. DDR3 is not worth the premium and you certainly do not need a X48 motherboard with a single card. Especially an Nvidia one. I would swap the hdd's to Samsung Spinpoint F1 640mb as they are faster.

The psu will be fine and everything will fit in the case ok.
 
Ok thank you
what you are saying makes quite a lot of sense. The only reason i wanted an X48 is that i would like the motherboard to be realtively future proof for possible further upgrading in half a year or so.
Is there any link that explains the performance difference of ddr2 vs ddr3?
regarding the harddrive what difference does the cache make?
 
j.bucka said:
Ok thank you
what you are saying makes quite a lot of sense. The only reason i wanted an X48 is that i would like the motherboard to be realtively future proof for possible further upgrading in half a year or so.
Is there any link that explains the performance difference of ddr2 vs ddr3?
regarding the harddrive what difference does the cache make?
Click to expand...

An X48 board would only be worthwhile if you were using ATI graphics.
 
thanks guys i will take your advice into consideration once i get home (working on Computer science project right now in the lab)
Oh and i think i will buy a couple of noctua fans or are the antec case ones quiet enough?
 
Last edited:
That CPU cooler is very good, I wouldn't ditch it for the Asus (not sure how good the Asus is cooling-wise).

The Noctua P12 fans are fantastic. Just got 3 for my Lian Li PC-A70B. Gradually getting round to replacing all 6 Lian Li fans.

Silent but powerful :) (but pricey...)
 
Right thanks again for your input, i have now updated my basket to a Asus P5Q Deluxe Intel P45 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard and the RAM
G.Skill 4GB DDR2 PK PC2-8500C5 (2x2GB) CAS5 Dual Channel Kit (F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK)
I am also considering just to replace all but the top fan with noctua ones as i have heard only good things about them before. Somewhere i heard that filters are quite important so any suggestings for that?

And how do i get the hard drives silent as the samsung is supposed to be quite loud?
I am even considering to get 2 1TB drives.

Thanks jerome
 
Don't buy that 900.

Especially as you want to replace all of the fans = waste of money. Antec 900 is a dust magnet; filters do not make 1 iota of of difference.

Buy an Antec P182 or a Lian Li A17.

However, if you're set on the looks of the 900, then at least buy a 1200 instead.
 
Right i have taken to you advide about the case, as i think i read somewhere else that the 900 is a dusty one. IN terms of the harddrives i twice had smasungs in my laptop and both failed in under a year now i have ahd my current seagate one for more than 2 years and it is just fine. Which ones from Seagate coudl you recommend?

Anyway here is the current screen:


Also will i need any additional cables or thermal paste?
 
*Little Bump*

I would like to order tomorrow so couly anyone pleas have a quick look over my basket and tell me whether im missing any essential parts/cables?
 
ok thanks, only thing im still undecided is which harddrive to get. Is there any good site with reviews and speeds etc?
oh and i just noticed the screen shows 2 500gb ones i atm goot the 2 1 tb ones
 
j.bucka said:
ok thanks, only thing im still undecided is which harddrive to get.
Click to expand...
Storagereview has very good reviews.
SilentPCReview has best noise measurements.

Seagates, while apparently quite reliable, are also in noisier end and have never been good in most practical benchmarks.
Samsung ang WD are both quieter and faster, SPCR has found Samsungs to have worser vibration than WDs meaning higher total noise.
640GB and 1TB are good sizes because those use highest density platters.
 
OK i have changed to the Smasungs, i am willing to take the risk and i can raise any issue with the warranty anyway.

Oh and i also noticed that i completely fogot to put a DVD drive/writer in so i jsut opted for a relatively cheap samsung one.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom