My First Build - Final Specification After Opinions

sitalchauhan

sitalchauhan

sitalchauhan

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Joined
2 Jul 2006
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28
After many opinions and help along the way of getting together a system, here is the final spec I have come up with:
  • Thermaltake Tsunami Dream With Side-Window
  • Asus P5W DH Deluxe WiFi
  • Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 Retail
  • Zalman CNPS9500-LED
  • Seasonic S12-600W
  • Corsair 2GB DDR2 XMS2-6400C5
  • Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB SATA II
  • HIS Excalibur ATI Radeon X1800-XT 512MB
  • BenQ DW1655
  • 3.5" Floppy Black
  • Arctic Silver 5
  • ArctiClean Thermal Material Remover and Surface Purifier
  • 2x Scythe S-FLEX 1200RPM Ultra Quiet 120mm Fan (20.1dB, 49CFM)
  • AcoustiFan DustProof Quiet 80mm Fan (15.6dB, 19.9CFM)
  • Akasa Rounded Floppy UV DAY-GLO Cable (0.45m) Blue
  • 3x Akasa Serial ATA 45cm DAYGLO Blue Data Cable
  • Akasa Rounded Ultra ATA133/100/66 IDE UV DAY-GLO Cable (0.45m) Blue
  • 2x Akasa Dual Blue Cold Cathodes 1 Inverter
  • Belkin 8-Socket SurgeMaster with Telephone & Network Protection

These are the components that I have already got that I will be using:
  • Logitech MX1000 Laser Mouse
  • Logitech X-530 5.1 Speakers
  • IBM Enhanced USB Performance Keyboard

Basically, I am trying to build a great looking system that is very powerful, yet very quiet. I have heard the the gfx card is very loud, but I only need the system to be silent when idling, so I just want to check out the idle noise before I order a Zalman VF900-CU.

I will not be overclocking initially, but will almost certainly in the future once most warranties have expired and I am more confident with it.

I have already checked the price with OcUK, and I get a discount, and they have every component in stock. It is £1001.27 for everything (incl delivery)

Any last-minute opionions or recommendations before I (pre-)order these components?

Many thanks for all the help,
Sital
 
Can't see anything wrong with that really...people will reccommend the PC7+ instead of the tsunami, but I really like the design of it, the built quality isnt meant to be top notch though.
 
All parts are compatible as far as I can tell, I don't think the graphics card will be loud though, it has an Arctic Cooler on it which are generally near silent, some X1800XT cards with the standard coolers are a bit noisy apparantly.

I might change the DVDRW to either an NEC or Pioneer but that probably just comes down to personal preference :)
 
Why go for the latest CPU etc and really decent ram and then get a 2nd level card - I understand you want it relatively quiet but even so it just doesnt make sense to me?

I would personally spend the extra and get a 7900 / X1900 based card instead

BenQ DW1655 - whats this? IS it a TFT, I just dont recognise that model number for anythign and if it isnt a screen what TFT are you planning on using?
 
FrankJH said:
Why go for the latest CPU etc and really decent ram and then get a 2nd level card - I understand you want it relatively quiet but even so it just doesnt make sense to me?

I would personally spend the extra and get a 7900 / X1900 based card instead
Click to expand...

I'd still put the X1800XT well up there in terms of graphics cards, it doesn't come all that far behind an X1900XT(which is more like a speed bump than a truely new card) and will beat a 7900gt. I suppose it depends on the resolutions used but it is a very capable card.

FrankJH said:
BenQ DW1655 - whats this? IS it a TFT, I just dont recognise that model number for anythign and if it isnt a screen what TFT are you planning on using?
Click to expand...

The BenQ is a DVDRW which is why I was suggesting an NEC or Pioneer although I'm sure it is perfectly fine. A lack of monitor is a good point however I wouldn't assume that a TFT is required, some people still think that a CRT is better for colour reproduction etc, I personally doubt I could tell the difference but that might just be me being unobservant.
 
Fair points, all I was meaning was that if you are going for the latest cpu/mobo/ram then why not go for the latest generation of card - but either would be a good point

And again when I said TFT I meant "monitor" but most seem to be going for TFt nowadays - even though you are correct in CRT being better in colour reproduction - even though most would be hard pressed to see any difference unless you did a side by side comparison

I would certainly concur with the choice of NEC or Pioneer though
 
Thnks for the reply's.

cobxx:
I think the Lian-li cases are amazing build quality aswell, but I dont like the look of them, considering their cost :( I chose the tsunami because it looks amazing, and the build quality is good, but not great, so as long as I look after it, it should last me a while hopefully.

semi-pro waster:
Ive used a BenQ and a Pioneer before and I preferred the BenQ. Never had a NEC before. The BenQ is supposed to be one of the best out at the moment. However, I am planning to get a SATA DVD-RW drive in the future when they are cheaper and more common so its only a temporary solution for a few months to be honest.

FrankJH:
I had a look at the benchmarks of the X1800-XT and it seems to be more than sufficient for me. I would not call myself a hardcore gamer, more of a leisurely gamer, so went for a gfx card that was good, but not too expensive. I do a lot of encoding videos and editing graphics aswell. I went for the top intel core 2 processor (instead of skt939) to be futureproof but didnt want to spend the extra for the E6600 because I dont think the difference in performace is worth the extra cost for me.

I have already got a TFT monitor, but would like to buy a new larger one later on. I have got around £1000 saved up, which is all going towards this base unit. After building this computer and when it is fully set up, I will start saving for a decent widescreen monitor.
 
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personally i find the stock cooler on the X1800XT excellent and very quiet... the only time it annoys me is when it starts up initially and goes full pelt.

it gets a bit louder in gaming but nowhere near as loud as my old 6800gt or x800xl.

idling wise my case fans (120mm fans set on minimum) are still louder.
 
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