Spec Check Please :) - £800 - £1000 Quiet PC

sushi_fiesta_57

sushi_fiesta_57

sushi_fiesta_57

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28 Mar 2008
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This is what I've come up with (for a powerful but quiet PC):

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.00GHz (1333FSB) - £187.99
BFG GeForce 9800 GTX 512MB - £205.61
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-Bit Edition - £70.49
Zalman CNPS9700-LED CPU Cooler - £42.29
Zalman VF1000-LED VGA Cooler - £31.71
Corsair HX 620W ATX2.2 Modular PSU - £88.11
Asus P5K-E WiFi Intel P35 (Socket 775) Motherboard - £93.99
G.Skill 4GB DDR2 PK PC2-8500C5 (2x2GB) CAS5 Dual Channel Kit - £105.74
NZXT Hush Classic Series Silent Midi-Tower Case - £66.96

Total : £908.11 (inc. VAT and delivery).

The main two questions I have are about the motherboard and Graphics Card. a) Is the 9800GTX now the card to buy for the best single GPU solution? b) Should I be looking at a nvidia chipset even though I'm not really interested in SLi/Crossfire (should I be interested in SLi/Crossfire?).

Apart from that, am I looking at the right sort of parts to get performance in games, but also a PC that I can sit with and not be deafened to do work etc. I'd probably prefer to spend a bit less than this, so any suggestions are much appreciated :)!
 
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Agreed on the GTX. What size monitor are you going to be using though as a 512MB GTS might be a sensible choice too depending on the size. With the savings, go for a X38 motherboard :)
 
I'd pick the GTS anyday over the GTX unless you're playing with very high resolutions, else the GTX ain't worth it (how much extra, for what?)
 
The Seasonic S12 Energy+ 650W Silent ATX2.0 Power Supply (£91.64) is a quiter PSU.

And the Noctua NH-U12P is a better cooler I think? Though it can be a tight fit in the NZXT Hush:-

installed.jpg


Not to sure which direction the air you'd have the air blowing? Would it be blowing air outwards and downwards or sucking it in upwards?
 
Personally don't like the look of that, you've got the CPU fan blowing air across the cooler straight into the PSU, which in that instance is correct. I would prefer a setup which blows the air straight out the back, although I wouldn't have thought the small amount of heat off the CPU would cause the PSU fan to speed up any more.
I would save a few pennies on the memory too, you could get:-
G.Skill 4GB DDR2 PQ PC2-6400C5 (2x2GB) CAS5 Dual Channel Kit (F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ)
£58.74 inc VAT
or
G.Skill 4GB DDR2 PK PC2-6400C4 (2x2GB) CAS4 Dual Channel Kit (F2-6400CL4D-4GBPK)
£75.19 inc VAT
or even as a compromise, this
G.Skill 4GB DDR2 PQ PC2-8000C5 (2x2GB) CAS5 Dual Channel Kit (F2-8000CL5D-4GBPQ)
£82.24 inc VAT
 
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Thanks for all your replies. To answer the questions/comments:

1) I'll be using a 22" monitor @ 1680 x 1050. I appreciate that an 8800GTS/X will be good enough for my needs, but would I be able to stick with it for as long as a GTX? Also, is there likely to be improvements/additions to the 9 series or something new from ATI soon?

2) Is there a better quiet case to use instead of the NZXT Hush? I'm not too worried if the case fans are noisy because they can be replaced, but I'd like a case that doesn't let much sound out. Also, that picture above makes it look like everything is a tight fit.

3) Does anyone else have opinions on Corsair vs Seasonic PSUs? I'll do a bit of searching around myself as well. I'm more interested in how loud they are than anything else.

4) Is there a noticeable difference between P35 and X38 motherboards? I see they support higher FSB and memory speeds...

Lastly, I think I should point out that I don't have a real need to buy a new PC until around August. Obviously it would be nice to have some more time to play with it, but if there's something worth waiting for on the horizon, I don't mind being patient!!!
 
If you are going to purchase in August then I wouldn't get a spec check now. in 4months the computer market will have changed quite considerably I would have thought. Prices will have changed too.

X38 will have dropped which means DDR3 would also have, meaning this is probably a good route to go down. X38 supports PCI-E 2.0, DDR3 and the newer 45nm CPU's.

With the Seasonic vs Corsair situation, I would go for Corsair probably they are cheaper and made by the same company. Either way though both solid PSU's with very good reputation.

How much are you looking to spend on the case?
 
No more than £100 on the case, and preferably much less.

When I say August that is the latest deadline, I can buy now as well. I just want to make sure a major change isn't a couple of months away (e.g. new CPU socket or major improvement in a component).
 
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Ok, thanks for the advice. I think I will wait, at least until the graphics card market settles down a bit. At the minute the choice between 8800GT/8800GTS/8800GTX/9800GTX seems very difficult! I guess at some point ATi or Nvidia will release a clear winner again...
 
They are all very similar in performance too, theres nothing revolutionary about the GPU's on the market at the moment we are just around the corner to something good.
 
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