Updated Build Specification

nightkhaos · 23 Jun 2009 at 21:45

Hi there,

I posted a build plan about 2 weeks ago. Now it's almost coming close to the time when I can buy (get payed this weekend! w00t!). With that in mind and current *hemhem* economic changes. (Both personally and globally) I present for your review my updated builds (please note a few important things down the bottom of the post).

Now for the Heat-sink I have moved from the well reviewed TRUE to the even better reviewed Prolimatech Megahalems, which will cost me about £65 shipped from an overseas supplier (oh if only you supplied it OCUK!). I mean, just look at it!

Operating System will of course be Windows 7 RC1 x64. I also already own a WD Caviar Black and MX1100, but I have included them here for the sake of completeness.

If *crosses figure* the single PCB variant of the 295 comes out before I make the order, I will of course be getting one of those.

Some of you may recall I was getting a 27" last time. I did intend, with the jump in the price of said 27" to get 2x 22" E-IPS panels, however they appear to be out of stock. So I have hence settled for a well reviewed and good quality 24" which I am sure I will be happy with.

So? Thoughts? Opinions? Reservations?

RJC · 23 Jun 2009 at 21:55

Spec looks pretty good.

siumatfung · 23 Jun 2009 at 21:56

looks fine

Sparx · 23 Jun 2009 at 22:04

Not a fan of the case personally or the price of the monitor (!), but the rest of it looks good.

nightkhaos · 23 Jun 2009 at 22:06

Sparx said:
Not a fan of the case personally or the price of the monitor (!), but the rest of it looks good.

Alright then, any other suggestions for cases and monitors then? I am open to suggestions. Especially if it means saving some money while retaining the quality standard of the current components.

siumatfung · 23 Jun 2009 at 22:09

nightkhaos said:
Alright then, any other suggestions for cases and monitors then? I am open to suggestions. Especially if it means saving some money while retaining the quality standard of the current components.

that case is excellent IMO a lot better than the gaming 1200 and cheaper i wouldnt change it tbh

anyways monitor u cud try dual these

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-014-AS&groupid=17&catid=949&subcat=

Sparx · 23 Jun 2009 at 22:11

nightkhaos said:
Alright then, any other suggestions for cases and monitors then? I am open to suggestions. Especially if it means saving some money while retaining the quality standard of the current components.

Well personally I like to save money myself and although I'm gonna presume that Dell £400+ is one of those 'better end' panels, I'd get the Samsung T240 for £233..

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-086-SA

As for the case, I meant I wasn't a fan of it as in the design for that, not the price - it's personal opinion so go with what you want really it is purely your choice on the case (well, and the monitor but that was the extortionate price!)! I like the Coolermaster Cosmos S cases to be honest however they are a lot more expensive (another £50 I think?).. If you really do want to save money then maybe get the Coolermaster Storm 'Scout' case for £80? It's a great case.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-175-CM

cmndr_andi · 23 Jun 2009 at 22:20

I'd say stick with non-TN if you possibly can. Dual TN is still TN unfortunely.

An alternate monitor would be this, it doesn't look as swish as the dell but it has some rather good write ups, plus its a bit cheaper.

Buying a cpu cooler from overseas? You must be mad

nightkhaos · 23 Jun 2009 at 22:23

cmndr_andi said:
I'd say stick with non-TN if you possibly can. Dual TN is still TN unfortunely.

An alternate monitor would be this, it doesn't look as swish as the dell but it has some rather good write ups, plus its a bit cheaper.

Buying a cpu cooler from overseas? You must be mad

Oh really? What is that I see in your signature? Hmm?

I respond in kind sir, are YOU mad?

nightkhaos · 23 Jun 2009 at 22:26

Sparx said:
Well personally I like to save money myself and although I'm gonna presume that Dell £400+ is one of those 'better end' panels, I'd get the Samsung T240 for £233..

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-086-SA

As for the case, I meant I wasn't a fan of it as in the design for that, not the price - it's personal opinion so go with what you want really it is purely your choice on the case (well, and the monitor but that was the extortionate price!)! I like the Coolermaster Cosmos S cases to be honest however they are a lot more expensive (another £50 I think?).. If you really do want to save money then maybe get the Coolermaster Storm 'Scout' case for £80? It's a great case.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-175-CM

I notice that case you linked in Midi. Unfortunately considering what I intend to use my machine for, I will be a bit pressed for space in that particular case. The motherboard I am using is on the large size. If I was getting a smaller motherboard I probably would go for that case.

Sparx · 23 Jun 2009 at 22:28

nightkhaos said:
I notice that case you linked in Midi. Unfortunately considering what I intend to use my machine for, I will be a bit pressed for space in that particular case. The motherboard I am using is on the large size. If I was getting a smaller motherboard I probably would go for that case.

Okay then bud! Was just a suggestion, my main gripe was the monitor - especially since you wanted to save money.. But if you really want that expensive panel type go for it.

The case was just personal taste.

Plec · 23 Jun 2009 at 22:34

I'm doing a very similar build for a friend but i am waiting for the single PCB 295'S come out – but using an ASUS REII MB and maybe a different monitor.

I'm still undecided but i'm leaning towards the HP LP2475W as the reviews are very favourable but the DELL keeps coming back into the frame just because of their customer service. (i’ve also looked at the NEC MultiSync 24WMGX3 Professional Gaming 24".)

Basically, have you’ve considered the HP LP2475W or the NEC MultiSync 24WMGX3 Professional Gaming 24" as they may suit your needs more depending on what you primarily plan to use your new build for – especially the HP LP2475W?

It may be worth you looking at the reviews and comparing all 3 monitors - but, TBH, i can't fault the DELL, just because of their customer service – but if HP had the same level of customer care i doubt that i would be suffering from any indecision...

nightkhaos · 23 Jun 2009 at 22:34

Sparx said:
Okay then bud! Was just a suggestion, my main gripe was the monitor - especially since you wanted to save money.. But if you really want that expensive panel type go for it.

The case was just personal taste.

It's a good case! But like I said, too small, especially if you consider once I get some more money I intend to put another 5 HDDs into it. (Ahh 6 terabytes of strorage *drolls*) (2 in RAID 0, 3 in RAID 5, all Caviar Greens). With the front eSATA port, and the 2 optical drives that means I'll be using all 10 of the SATA ports on that motherboard! Go figure.

I also am thinking about a sound card later on as well, but the on board will do me fine for a quite a while yet.

nightkhaos · 23 Jun 2009 at 22:37

Plec said:
I'm doing a very similar build for a friend but i am waiting for the single PCB 295'S come out – but using an ASUS REII MB and maybe a different monitor.

I'm still undecided but i'm leaning towards the HP LP2475W as the reviews are very favourable but the DELL keeps coming back into the frame just because of their customer service. (i’ve also looked at the NEC MultiSync 24WMGX3 Professional Gaming 24".)

Basically, have you’ve considered the HP LP2475W or the NEC MultiSync 24WMGX3 Professional Gaming 24" as they may suit your needs more depending on what you primarily plan to use your new build for – especially the HP LP2475W?

It may be worth you looking at the reviews and comparing all 3 monitors - but, TBH, i can't fault the DELL, just because of their customer service – but if HP had the same level of customer care i doubt that i would be suffering from any indecision...

Ahh yes. The NEC and the HP, yes I HAVE looked into them both, and I must say it a very close race. But I have always had a thing for the way the Dell monitors look. I mean I just LOVE the stand.

So maybe I am a little bit biased in that regard. However it is important to note that if one day I sit next to someone at a LAN who has a NEC or HP, I want to be sure I made the right choice for me, so any advice of how to chose between the 3?

cmndr_andi · 23 Jun 2009 at 22:40

Plec, you are quite right, its a very close race between the three.

Unfortuantely it looks like the NEC is end of life now, OCUK now don't even show it. I hope they bring out their replacement smartish.

I have the dell and I was truly blown away by the customer service, a completely pleasant shock compared to previous RMAs I have done. I'm not sure HP can match that, it truly is a hard act to follow. Personally, for any future monitor purchases I will look at the dell lineup first simply due to the service.

The HP does look like a great monitor, I'm certain you would be extremely happy with the picture quality of either. So, on balance my vote remains with the dell.

nightkhaos · 23 Jun 2009 at 22:44

cmndr_andi said:
Plec, you are quite right, its a very close race between the three.

Unfortuantely it looks like the NEC is end of life now, OCUK now don't even show it. I hope they bring out their replacement smartish.

I have the dell and I was truly blown away by the customer service, a completely pleasant shock compared to previous RMAs I have done. I'm not sure HP can match that, it truly is a had act to follow. Personally, for any future monitor purchases I will look at the dell lineup first simply due to the service.

The HP does look like a great monitor, I'm certain you would be extremely happy with the picture quality of either. So, on balance my vote remains with the dell.

Ahh yes, but should I trust a vote coming from someone crazy enough to ship a heat-sink from overseas?

In all seriousness I am of the same opinion of Dell. Not only have I heard about great customer service, but I also notice that their monitors tend to last a long time. The office ones, sure they may be slightly crappy TN monitors, but my IT department hasn't need to replace any of them in the 3 years we've been there. And this is an office with over 200 machines!

wbc1 · 23 Jun 2009 at 22:55

Any reason why you're set on the gtx295? If you get 2 4890 in crossfire, it will be the same performance for £100 less. Or if you prefer single card, a 4870x2 would shave £120 off the cost.

user1453 · 23 Jun 2009 at 22:57

any thing I'd suggest is that if you want a single pcb 295 is it worth getting a 4850 in the interem and then getting a friend who already has a 4850 to buy it off you?

That way you can get the single pcb 295 and only be out of pocket £25 or so

nightkhaos · 24 Jun 2009 at 07:54

wbc1 said:
Any reason why you're set on the gtx295? If you get 2 4890 in crossfire, it will be the same performance for £100 less. Or if you prefer single card, a 4870x2 would shave £120 off the cost.

No reason really, in fact if the single pcb doesn't come out in time I might conisider 2x 4890. But I have faith.

froseph · 24 Jun 2009 at 19:57

Those speakers are great, got em back when they were 50 quid from microdirect. Powerful bass, clear, loud sound at half volume, and they look great. One gripe is that if you have a larger room you may have trouble stretching the cables for the back speakers. But apart from that, excellent speakers.