So, what exactly do I need?

Ucof

Ucof

Ucof

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Wales.
Birthday coming up at the end of June and I'm trying to think of something I want, without taking the **** on price. Will probably be combining a bit of my cash with the 'rents and family, so I reckon that £200 is the top price. So please don't give suggestions costing more than that, unless it is truly warranted and everyone else agrees! :D

Here are my full current specs:
Case - Antec TX1050B - http://www.legitreviews.com/article/200/1/
CPU - AMD Athlon 64 x2 4400+
MoBo - Asus A8N-SLI SE
RAM - 4gb
GPU - ATI Sapphire 4870 1gb
480w Antec TruePower 2.0
1x IDE DVD Writer
3x IDE HDDs (with molex power plug)
1x SATA HDD (with both SATA and molex plugs)



Y'see I really want a new case. And a modular PSU. And watercooling as the PC shutdown the other day as the CPU had hit 99 degrees! :eek: This was unexplained, and I have since put in an exhaust fan at the back, and one for the hard drive which definitely seems to have cooled the entire thing down.

However, I don't think I could get all of the above for <£200.

I want a case that:
Dampens sound.
Has good cable management.
Has sideways HDD bays as opposed to front/back (not essential)
Doesnt have shedloads of blinding LEDs shooting out the front.
Is "future proof" (will let me add more stuff, and possibly water cooling if I don't go for it this time)
Has a window (not essential)

I want a PSU that:
Is modular (for sexy cable management)
Has the correct wattage for the gear I have (the computer takes about 5 seconds from initially turning it on, to the BIOS beep, which I assume is due to the relatively low wattage of the PSU with regards to the hardware inside).
Has room for/ will be able to handle future purchases such as more hard drives, or another GPU to crossfire with.

I want water cooling that:
Will do the CPU and GPU (not bothered about the North/ South bridges, though might add hard drive cooing at some point perhaps?
Is preferably neon green :)

Can anyone suggest what I should go for please? I haven't done water cooling before. However, I am confident with all other aspects of computer tinkering though.

I am also quite happy to get a decent CPU cooler, not go watercooled and save some cash. Quietness is really my first want.

Over to you guys, you are the experts after all :)
 
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I'd personally leave the watercooling for another time when you have a bigger budget.

As for the case, I'd perhaps go for something like this.

CA-157-CM_400.jpg


Along with maybe this PSU

CA-150-CM_400.jpg


And then get yourself a decent CPU HSF, something like this

HS-002-SB_400.jpg


Total price £205.62 shipping should be free if you link your forum account to the shop account.
 
erm ill have a look
here is a rough idea cant think of a psu atm havent actually opened up the site so this is off the top of my head:
the antec 300 case or maybe the silverstone fortress
and the arctic cooling arctic 7 CPU cooler (comes preapplied with MX-2 Thermal compound)
maybe a corsair psu :)
 
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i'd start with a case and psu first.

have a look at the antec p182 and coolermaster 620w psu, takes it to just over £211 with delivery but will be a decent place to start.

what are the 3 ide drives for and what size ?, maybe change them for a bigger drive if there for storage.

as for the temp problem, theres some sort of issue more than likely with the cooler seating or similar for that temp unless the case is in an oven :D

cooler wise have a look at the Sunbeam Core Contact Freezer.
 
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I'd buy some thermal paste. Clean your CPU and re-attach the sink. Possibly get a new HS/Fan combo. A Zalman flower type.
Turn on CPU scaling and/or underclock your CPU. This will meet your sound needs and may allow you to remove some case fans.

Spending 200 quid on your current rig will be a waste unless you get a new case with a mind to upgrading the internals in the future.
 
Thanks for the ideas so far.

I have look at the Silverstone Fortress, and the more I look at it, the more I like it. I'm not a fan of the HAF cases due to the massive branding on the side of it.

Not sure about the wattage on the PSU. I was probably going to go for 600w minimum really.

I wanted a sexy looking CPU cooler. One like the Zalman CNPS9900 http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-036-ZA or even the Zalman CNPS9700-NT http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-027-ZA&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=1395

I basically just want a truly outstanding CPU cooler.

The 4 drives include the Sata OS one, as well as a backup drive, the videos and films and a MP3 drive. All are between 120 and 200 GB. however, I don't store/download much stuff anymore so dont have needs for Tb's of space.

I don't think there is any problem with CPU cooler seating, I think that it was just a day where we had stoked the coal fire up a bit and the room got quite hot because of that.

Any more suggestions for PSU and cooler? I think I have decided on the Silverstone Fortress, unless someone can suggest a case that makes me go "Oooooooooh!".
 
Ucof said:
I don't think there is any problem with CPU cooler seating, I think that it was just a day where we had stoked the coal fire up a bit and the room got quite hot because of that.
Click to expand...

unless the room is a furnace and the case has no air flow there is summat else up temp wise to hit 99o.

cooler wise get one that does the job like the noctua', tuniq etc not one that just looks nice :)

i'd maybe think of swapping the 3 ide drives for 1 sata drive 500/640gb.

case wise have you had a look at the Akasa Eclipse 62 ?
 
Ucof said:
Noctua Turiq you say? Do you mean this one: http://overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-002-NC ? I think that would indeed be quite good.

Thanks fo the idea of that Akasa, however, I think I'm looking for something a little larger.

Agree with you on the idea of swapping the 3 storage drives for one larger one. that would surely drop the temps somewhat :)
Click to expand...

yeah not sure as the noctua is only am2/775 socket, your mobo is 939, have a look at the Titan TTC-NK85TZ Fenrir:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-008-TI&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=1395


have a look in the case forum for the akasa thread, not sure what you mean by larger but pics etc in there might be worth a look.
 
Go for parts that will make it through into the next build. So a good case, respected power supply. Reseat the cpu cooler anyway, as odds on it's come slightly askew. Going from 3 hard drives to one might drop running power by 20 watts if you're lucky. That's 1/3rd of a lightbulb. You managed to hit just under 100 degrees, a lightbulb's difference isn't going to do anything.

200 would be a waste if it isn't parts that'll last for years. I'm hoping for a decade out of my case, and half that for my power supply. They came out at almost exactly 200 quid combined thinking about it, akasa omega and ocz 800W
 
Good points, I'll have a look at the CPU heatsink when I get home and make sure it is on correctly.


After shopping around online, I think I can get the above bits for £210.41 (not inc P+P though) from 3 different places.

Edit - Hmmm.. that Fenrir does look tempting.
 
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