First Build

phaded · 23 Sep 2008 at 14:46

Bought a few of these things for my first build, the rest i've yet to get.

Antec 900 Gaming Case (Bought)
MSI P45 Neo-F Motherboard (Bought)
Intel E8500 Core2Duo
Zalman 9700 CPU Cooler (Bought)
Arctic MX-2
4gb G.Skill DDR2 PC2-8500C5 RAM
2 x Seagate 500gb HD's
Corsair 750 TX PSU
Vista Home Premium 64 bit OEM
Antec TriCool 120mm fan (Bought)
Asus Xonar D2 PCI

One thing i'm still stuck on is the GPU, i'le be playing on a 22" monitor so I don't see the need to buy a GTX 280 or 4870 X2 so instead i'le be going for a GTX 260 or normal 4870. I think i'd prefer the 4870 because it's cheaper but I like that Sapphire Toxic version if that's out anytime soon.

Only looking to keep this PC probably for about 2 years in which case i'le then probably upgrade to the new Intel chipset etc when it's come down in price a little.

manic111 · 23 Sep 2008 at 14:54

Go with the 4870. It's cheaper and outperforms the 260 a lot of the time. Otherwise the build looks fine! I would recommend Samsung's F1 HDDs over the Seagates though.

phaded · 23 Sep 2008 at 14:56

manic111 said:
Go with the 4870. It's cheaper and outperforms the 260 a lot of the time. Otherwise the build looks fine! I would recommend Samsung's F1 HDDs over the Seagates though.

Ok thanks, I was thinking of getting the 1gb PowerColor version of the 4870 but I hear there is overheating issues on the reference cards, I probably won't get the gpu for a few weeks so is it possible this Toxic edition with better cooling will be out before long?.

Also the 500gb SpinPoints have a 16mb cache, does this make a difference over Seagate's 32mb cache?.

pastymuncher · 23 Sep 2008 at 16:11

phaded said:
Ok thanks, I was thinking of getting the 1gb PowerColor version of the 4870 but I hear there is overheating issues on the reference cards, I probably won't get the gpu for a few weeks so is it possible this Toxic edition with better cooling will be out before long?.

Also the 500gb SpinPoints have a 16mb cache, does this make a difference over Seagate's 32mb cache?.

You could always get the cheapest 4870 you can find and stick a better cooler on it. Same results and it might even work out cheaper.

The Samsung F1's are the fastest 7200rpm drives you can get bar none. Just don't go for the 500Gb version. The 320 and 640Gb versions are faster due to the 320GB platters.

phaded · 23 Sep 2008 at 16:18

pastymuncher said:
You could always get the cheapest 4870 you can find and stick a better cooler on it. Same results and it might even work out cheaper.

The Samsung F1's are the fastest 7200rpm drives you can get bar none. Just don't go for the 500Gb version. The 320 and 640Gb versions are faster due to the 320GB platters.

I'le get 2 640gb one's then thanks

. I'm kind of a beginner so would it really be wise to mess with the cooler on the GPU?. I'd be afraid i'd mess it up >.<.

ACESHIGH · 23 Sep 2008 at 18:49

The 4870 is indeed the better option. Changing a gpu cooler isnt terribly difficult but still an easier option is to simply adjust the profile and increase the fan speeds on the cooler to about 40% under load. Keeps the card relatively cool, shouldnt be loud and quite a bit easier to do as its just a software change.

pastymuncher · 23 Sep 2008 at 18:53

phaded said:
I'le get 2 640gb one's then thanks . I'm kind of a beginner so would it really be wise to mess with the cooler on the GPU?. I'd be afraid i'd mess it up >.<.

Changing a GPU cooler is no more difficult than changing a CPU cooler. A few more screws to undo but that's it. The coolers come with instructions too.