Spec Check

Captain_Slick

Captain_Slick

Captain_Slick

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Joined
30 Nov 2003
Posts
2,211
Got myself a job recently, so I'm planning an upgrade just after christmas.

Here's what I've got planned...

Antec Sonata III + 500W Earthwatts PSU
Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 2.33Ghz (1333Mhz FSB)
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Skt 775 Cooler
Asus P5K-E WiFi Motherboard
GeiL 2Gb (2x1Gb) DDRII 800 CAS 4-4-4-12 Dual Channel Kit
Asus GeForce EN8800GT 512Mb GDDR3 PCI-E Graphics Card
Samsung SpinPoint T 500Gb SATAII HDD
LG 18x DVD-RW SATA Dual Layer Drive

Should come to about £600~.

What do you guys think? Compared to my current computer, it should be pretty slick.
 
Mmm, changed my mind.

Going to get something like this instead:

Abit IP35 Pro
Intel Core 2 Duo E6750
Corsair TwinX XMS2 DDR2800 2GB
Sapphire HD 3850 PCI-E
Samsung 500GB SATA
Samsung DVD-RW
Zalman ZM600-HP 600W PSU
Thermalright Ultra 120 eXtreme HS + 2x Scythe S-Flex 120mm Fans
Akasa Fan Control Pro
3x Scythe Kama Bay Coolers
1x Scythe S-Flex 120mm fan

All in the rather large Sharkoon Rebel 12 Economy case:

sharkoonrebel12s1tc6.jpg


About £740, for the lot.
 
Slight upgrade from the original, but a lot better. Got the Thermalright Ultra, makes my PC freezing :p IP35 is great... ummm... looks nice, £200 cheaper than mine and potentially the same :(
 
karma bays are nice but the stock fan in them pushes about as much air as a colander, would definately replace them

and if you are putting high CFM fans in them remove the dust gaurd my delta sucked it is and spat it out the otherside took me and age to remove the bits from my case
 
Your basket
Product Name Qty Price Line Total
Sharkoon Silent Eagle 2000 120mm Fan - 3/4 Pin £6.99
(£8.21) £20.97
(£24.63)
Corsair HX 520W ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU (CMPSU-520HXUK) £57.99
(£68.14) £57.99
(£68.14)
Intel Core 2 Duo E2180 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.00GHz (800FSB) - Retail £49.99
(£58.74) £49.99
(£58.74)
Samsung SpinPoint T 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD501LJ) £56.99
(£66.96) £56.99
(£66.96)
Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme CPU Cooler (Socket AM2/LGA775) £34.99
(£41.11) £34.99
(£41.11)
OcUK GeForce 8800 GT 512MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail £139.99
(£164.49) £139.99
(£164.49)
OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-6400C5 Dual Channel Vista Gold Series DDR2 (OCZ2G8004GK) £69.99
(£82.24) £69.99
(£82.24)
Pioneer DVR-212DBK 18x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
(£21.14) £17.99
(£21.14)
Akasa AK FC-03 Fan Controller Pro £24.99
(£29.36) £24.99
(£29.36)
Abit IP35 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £69.99
(£82.24) £69.99
(£82.24)
Scythe Kama-Bay System/Hard Drive Cooler - Silver £10.99
(£12.91) £32.97
(£38.73)
Sub Total : £576.85
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
City Link Parcel Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri)
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £10.95
VAT is being charged at 17.5% VAT : £102.87
Total : £690.67

if you are willing to OC, then the e2180 will reach beyond 3GHz with that MB
the corsair HX520 is one of the best PSU available at the moment.
i picked sharkoon silent eagle fans due to their good noise to airflow ratio.
i assume you are getting the case elsewhere or already have it, but there is some money left over from the 750 from your 2nd spec to help towards the case if it is needed.
finally i hope i got everything you need including the correct number of fans
 
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Right, I'm going to hold on a month till I buy the components. Should be a better selection of stuff to select from by then and hopefully prices should have gone down.

For now, I might just get a new case and psu as well as a fan controller that I've wanted for a while, into which my new system will go at the end of Jan.

For £200 total, is this a good deal?

setupef4.png


Changed my mind on the case, but that Armour super case looks brilliant. Any thoughts on that? How are those Coolermaster Real Power PSUs as well? I've seen reviews for a 550W model, but they appear to be dated.

Thanks guys!
 
considering the fact that the corsair seems to be one of the highest recommended PSUs on the forum, and has been recommended countless times since they were released i would say they are a better make, also seasonic who can be regarded as one of the best PSU manufacturers around is the company responsible for the manufacturing of the HX520.
 
Cheers man. What about the Armour tower case? Is that recommended? Any good?

I just need plenty of space in a stable tower that can be used over and over for different systems.
 
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although i havent seen the armour in the flesh, other thermatake cases i have seen disapointed me in terms of build quality. they seemed to be poorly constructed and more emphisis aws put into how flashy can we make this rather then the quality itself.

TT cases ive used/seen
eclispe DV, avoid at all cost. i had one and it was quite nice lookign in my opinion but too poorly made and too small.
shark, this is alright but again seems poorly constructed in my opinion.
xaser III, the only thermaltake case i would actually use, but i dont have one myself, friends and relatives do.

for a well constructed case i would say look at lian li cases
 
I've had a Thermaltalke Kandalf for over a year, it is basically the same as the armour.. Well its kept my temps down to reasonable levels and its fairly spacious. Althlough the PCI slot attachments are fiddley, there isn't a motherboard tray, my one is made out of steel, although they might be making the black ones out of aluminium now..Which makes it a very heavy case if it is steel. Also the 12cm fan holder at the back is very difficult to fit in a better 12cm fan. I couldn't do it in the end so I took that out and just stuck one with sticky pads to the back. If you get it with the 25cm fan you'll collect dust very quickly, although it does keep your pc a little bit cooler. Also you'll find yourself cleaing the front panels of dust quite frequently, which is best done with a can of compressed air, blowing from behind them inside the case.

However, as stated earlier its a very large case, has plenty of room for M-ATX, ATX, E-ATX and BTX motherboards which will all fit and are accepted. There is a lot of room for fans and lights etc. The locking mechanism is also very well thought out imo, as there is little to no trouble of removing the door using the lock and key. The case is also quite high quality build, although they may say the metal edges are rounded, I can tell you now there are a couple which aren't ;)

Lol I'm making a mini review...well overall for the price/performance, I'd give the armour an 8/10..although now I'm off to buy my Coolermaster Stacker 830 Nvidia Edition Evolution :P

HyBrId
 
K, I'm looking at getting the Gigabyte 3D Mars in black. Looks pretty good. Aluminium construction, tool-less throughout, 5 fans included as standard, and plenty of space.

Also, if I buy my PSU now (whilst I have the money), if I leave it in it's box for the next few weeks till I'm ready to buy the rest of my new system, will it be ok? I mean, I know that sounds newbie-ish, but I was thinking it might like... leak or corrode or something if it's just sat there. Or would it be best just to buy it later?
 
the only difference it may make is how much you pay for it, as buyign later could give you a this week only offer.
i say save up as much as possible and get everythign at once. if it not possibel ge the case and PSU first as they will hold thir value for a longer time then most other parts
 
Right, I've ordered the black Gigabyte 3D Mars, so I'll put some pictures up when it arrives in a couple of days. Was only able to find one proper review of it. Is this case brand brand new?

Looks like it should be a good home for my future computers. :cool:

I'll get the PSU with everything else.
 
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