Spec Check + Advice

Pain

Pain

Pain

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Joined
29 Mar 2004
Posts
481
Going to be pressing the buy button anytime soon, and just need a bit of advice on which Motherboard and Case to get.

I like the look of the Akasa 62, but it's just too big I think, maybe a Lian Li PC7?
Motherboard, well I don't want a Gigabyte and I was looking at 1 of these:

Asus P5W DH Deluxe WiFi (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £140.99
Asus Striker Extreme nForce 680 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £223.24
Asus P5N32-E SLi nForce 680 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £152.74

For the rest of the spec, I have gone for:

Corsair HX 620W ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant £99.86
Intel Core 2 DUO E6600 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.40GHz £191.51
Tuniq Tower 120 CPU Cooler £35.24
Corsair 2GB DDR2 XMS2 Dominator PC2-6400C4 TwinX (2x1GB) £176.24
BFG GeForce 8800 GTX OC2 768MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail £428.86
Western Digital Raptor 150GB £148.04
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 500GB £88.11
Samsung SM-226BW 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor £270.24
Samsung SH-183LBEBN 18x18 DVD±RW Dual Layer Serial ATA Lightscribe ReWriter £23.49
Samsung SH-183LBEBN 18x18 DVD±RW Dual Layer Serial ATA Lightscribe ReWriter £23.49
Logitech G15 Gaming-Grade Illuminated Keyboard £52.86
Microsoft HABU 2000dpi High Precision Gaming Mouse £36.41
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate 64-Bit Edition DVD - OEM £129.24

Total 1703.60 inc VAT

So if you guys could help me out with the Mobo & Case and any improvements you think I should make to the above spec I would very much appreciate it.
 
Last edited:
pc7 is nice... also consider a p180 ;) mint cases especially in black.

get the p5w unless ** gonna go sli in the future... in which case get the striker.
 
I'm not a fan on the P180. I think it's overpriced given its mediocre cooling. It's meant to vbe very quiet but it's not that quiet either. I'd rather have a PC-7 if you're interested in value or perhaps an Akasa Eclipse 62 if you're willing to shell out a little more cash.

/hugs PC-7

I second Masslac's RAM recommendation.
 
Yeah, the PC-7 is a great case (I have one myself), though I was just wondering about a little more room for the GTX etc. :)
 
masslac said:
Looking good, though I'd personally drop the overpriced Dominators and go for http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-058-GL

Also, Raptors are a waste of money too, tbh. Consider 2 Seagate drives in RAID 0, and a bigger Samsung unit for backup. (EG - 2x320 + 1x500)

As for a case - Antec P180 (silver).

Mobo - Striker.
Click to expand...

Hmm, Maybe I should drop the Dominators and go 4 4GB of the Geil Ram you recommend, after all it would only cost me an extra £70 over what I'm getting now, and to be honest if I am spending around £2,000 it don't make that much difference.

I've always wanted a raptor as I still think they are the fastest standalone HDD if you don't use raid.

For the Mobo, I too was thinking about the striker, but I have been reading that the Asus P5N32-E SLi nForce 680 is exactly the same without the flashing LEDs. The striker is also £70 more so that would pay for the different RAM in itself, but if the general opinion that the £70 is worth spending on the striker then I will.

Thoughts?
 
The Raptor is indeed quick, but the noticable difference in performance really is minimal, especially when the price premuim and the fact that they are quite noisey are also considered.

As for the RAM, I would personally drop 2GB GeiL in there then buy another 2 later in the year.
 
Yeah to fit a GTX into the P180 u've gotta remove the upper HDD bays... otherwise the card just wont fit lol... YES it is that LONG!!


Btw Black is better than ;) Silver
 
I just can't make up my mind on the case. I think I'll most probably go for the Akasa Ecplise 62 even though at first I didn't really want to. I think it seems to be the better case for cooling. Not to mention it looks more spacious inside.

By the way I've also changed the CPU cooler above also. Instead of the Tunic Tower, I have decided on the Noctua NH-U12F. I figured I'd also go 2 of the Noctua S12 1200rpm fans for the eclipse.

So Final spec will be the following unless I've made a mistake:
Akasa Eclipse 62 Aluminium Case £93.99
Noctua NF-S12 1200RPM 120mm Silent Case Fan £14.09
Noctua NF-S12 1200RPM 120mm Silent Case Fan £14.09
Corsair HX 620W ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant £99.86
Asus Striker Extreme nForce 680 £223.24
Intel Core 2 DUO E6600 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.40GHz £191.51
Noctua NH-U12F (Socket LGA775/754/939/940/AM2) Heatsink £36.41
GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC6400C4 800MHz Ultra £117.49
GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC6400C4 800MHz Ultra £117.49
BFG GeForce 8800 GTX OC2 768MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail £428.86
Western Digital Raptor 150GB £148.04
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 500GB £88.11
Samsung SM-226BW 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor £270.24
Samsung SH-183LBEBN 18x18 DVD±RW Dual Layer Serial ATA Lightscribe ReWriter £23.49
Samsung SH-183LBEBN 18x18 DVD±RW Dual Layer Serial ATA Lightscribe ReWriter £23.49
Logitech G15 Gaming-Grade Illuminated Keyboard £52.86
Microsoft HABU 2000dpi High Precision Gaming Mouse £36.41
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate 64-Bit Edition DVD - OEM £129.24

Total £2108.91 Inc VAT
 
the P5N32-E SLi nForce 680 is pretty much a strike without the bells and whistle for £70 cheaper. Its your call whether you want to that much extra for LEDs and LCDs
 
masslac said:
The Raptor is indeed quick, but the noticable difference in performance really is minimal, especially when the price premuim and the fact that they are quite noisey are also considered.
Click to expand...
Agreed, TBH most of the performance is purely benchmark. Something like a Hitachi or Samsung will be plenty quick enough and a LOT quieter and cheaper.
 
Pain said:
I just can't make up my mind on the case. I think I'll most probably go for the Akasa Ecplise 62 even though at first I didn't really want to. I think it seems to be the better case for cooling. Not to mention it looks more spacious inside.

By the way I've also changed the CPU cooler above also. Instead of the Tunic Tower, I have decided on the Noctua NH-U12F. I figured I'd also go 2 of the Noctua S12 1200rpm fans for the eclipse.

So Final spec will be the following unless I've made a mistake:
Akasa Eclipse 62 Aluminium Case £93.99
Noctua NF-S12 1200RPM 120mm Silent Case Fan £14.09
Noctua NF-S12 1200RPM 120mm Silent Case Fan £14.09
Corsair HX 620W ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant £99.86
Asus Striker Extreme nForce 680 £223.24
Intel Core 2 DUO E6600 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.40GHz £191.51
Noctua NH-U12F (Socket LGA775/754/939/940/AM2) Heatsink £36.41
GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC6400C4 800MHz Ultra £117.49
GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC6400C4 800MHz Ultra £117.49
BFG GeForce 8800 GTX OC2 768MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail £428.86
Western Digital Raptor 150GB £148.04
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 500GB £88.11
Samsung SM-226BW 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor £270.24
Samsung SH-183LBEBN 18x18 DVD±RW Dual Layer Serial ATA Lightscribe ReWriter £23.49
Samsung SH-183LBEBN 18x18 DVD±RW Dual Layer Serial ATA Lightscribe ReWriter £23.49
Logitech G15 Gaming-Grade Illuminated Keyboard £52.86
Microsoft HABU 2000dpi High Precision Gaming Mouse £36.41
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate 64-Bit Edition DVD - OEM £129.24

Total £2108.91 Inc VAT
Click to expand...

did the
Noctua NH-U12F (Socket LGA775/754/939/940/AM2) Heatsink

fit ok on the
Asus Striker Extreme nForce 680
 
2100.jpg


kept most of your stuff but got an 8800 ultra and £10 diffrence
 
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