Is my new spec any good to go? Or should I alter it?

[jaysbarbq]

Here we go again!

This card Asus Nvidia 9600GT card looks rubbish! - http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews.php?/gpu_displays/asus_9600_gt_-_g94_unveiled/9

Also, as for the fan - cool, quiet, fits well. That's the criteria.

So far, my local supplier has the parts I need. I use a local shop because if anything goes wrong, he is just down the road and has a speedy turn around:

2 x 4 GB OCZ Reaper 1066 KIT – 79.25 each + vat

1 x SATA Sony DRU-190S 20x DVDRW Black & Silver Bezel Retail – 14.10 +

1 x SATA LiteOn 20x Int. L/S DVDRW LS-20A1L-14C – 15.50

1 x Intel core 2 quad Q9450 2,66GHZ 1333FSB – 175 +

1 x Western Digital WD5000AAKS 500GB SATA II 7200RPM 16MB CACHE – 45+

2 x Seagate ST3500320AS 32MB cache - 44.65 each + vat

1 x Asus 1GB 9600GT Nvidia card - £96 + ???????????

1 x Asus Rampage Formula board - £155 +

 

[lamboman]

As you have said yourself, it fits the criteria. As you are not running a gaming system, it doesn't matter too much.

 

[jaysbarbq]

Hmmmm, I am a puppy for a good review! Makes me feel better about what I buy!

My supplier also has a ATI for roughly the same price. This is what he has:

VG/ATI/X1550/512 Powercolour ATI X1550 512Mb PCi-X TVOUT DVI 19.65

VG/ATI/X1650PRO/512/PCIX POWERCOLOUR ATI X1650PRO 512mb PCiX, dvi, tvout 25.65

VG/ATI/3870/ASUS Asus ATI 3870 512mb, HDMI, pciX, crossfire, dvi 84.20

VG/ATI/3870/1024MB Asus ATI 3870X2 1024mb, HDMI, pciX, crossfire, dvi 207.25

PCIX GeForce

VG/GEFORCE/7200GS/PCIX/256 Sparkle 256MB GeF 7200GS TV/DVI PCI-E RET 15.55

VG/GEFORCE/7300LE/PCIX/256 GeForce FX7300LE 256MB TV/DVI PCI-E RET 17.50

VG/GEFORCE/8400GS/512 XVISION/SPARKLE GF8400GS 512MB, DVI, TVOUT, SLI, DX10, HDCP 21.00

VG/GEFORCE/8500GT/1024/SPARKLE SPARKLE 8500GT 1024MB PCIx,TVOUT,DVI 32.00

VG/GEFORCE/8600GT/512/ECS ECS 8600GT 512MB PCIx,TVOUT,DVI SLI, ECS 32.00

VG/GEFORCE/8600GT/1024/XVISION XPERT VISION 8600GT 1024MB PCIx,TVOUT,DVI SLI 36.00

VG/GEFORCE/9600GT/512/ASUS ASUS 9600GT 512MB PCIx,TVOUT,DVI SLI CALL

VG/GEFORCE/9600GT/512/GIGA GIGABYTE 9600GT 512MB PCIx,TVOUT,DVI SLI 77.50

VG/GEFORCE/9600GT/1024 XVISION 9600GT 1024MB PCIx,TVOUT,DVI SLI 93.00

 

[lamboman]

No offence to your supplier, but he needs to change some of that info...

The 3870 is going to be a better buy that the 9600GT, especially at that price.

 

[jaysbarbq]

Lamboman,

Are you saying that I should go with the ATI 3870 w 512MB RAM at £84 instead of the Nvidia 9600 w 1GB RAM for £96?

Again, I really appreciate all of your help this week. Have no doubt that I will send you photos of the build and ask you for advice on the tweaking! You seem to have the respect of other members of this forum! That's a winning review in itself!

Jay

 

[lamboman]

These are in £ then. Ah, I thought that they would be in euros. Ignore that last comment

But, you have said in your other thread that you only wanted a card that has accurate colours and is sharp. Any graphics card that you buy will do that. A decent display is VITAL for these requirements, but not the graphics card, which only needs DVI. But, if you are playing with HD video, you will want something with a little more punch. Why not just go with a lower end 8600GT or something?

 

[jaysbarbq]

Sure I could go for the 8600 - as long as it is good, has great reviews and I can at some point attach 2 monitors to it?

I have an award winning Samsung 226BW. I am extremly happy with it, which is obvious as my previous monitor - AOC (although an award winner) is good but not as great!

So which do you reckon? 1GB 9600, 512 9600, Or one of these:

VG/GEFORCE/8600GT/512/ECS ECS 8600GT 512MB PCIx,TVOUT,DVI SLI, ECS 32.00

VG/GEFORCE/8600GT/1024/XVISION XPERT VISION 8600GT 1024MB PCIx,TVOUT,DVI SLI 36.00

As you can see, with the video card, I am a tad at your mercy for a reccomendation before I check the reviews....

Currenty I edit DV video. But at some point in the near future, I may move to HD.

PS - seems to be difficult to find a great review on any sub £100 Nvidea card!

 

[lamboman]

Moving to HD, thought so. TBH, I would move up to an HD4850. If you plan to do some video transcoding, this beast will do it really quickly. It might seem overkill, but it is fast. The budget supports it, so why not.

Looks like you are ready to buy to me

 

[jaysbarbq]

It's been a long road to this great spec! But I think we're there!

I assume most people order parts like this online? If so, what happens is a part goes wrong after the first month? You send it back and wait for them to test and send you a new one? Which means you are without a pc (potentially) for that period of time?? Do they not offer an advanced replacement??

2 x 4 GB OCZ Reaper 1066 KIT – 79.25 each + vat

1 x SATA Sony DRU-190S 20x DVDRW Black & Silver Bezel Retail – 14.10 +

1 x SATA LiteOn 20x Int. L/S DVDRW LS-20A1L-14C – 15.50

1 x Intel core 2 quad Q9450 2,66GHZ 1333FSB – 175 +

1 x Western Digital WD5000AAKS 500GB SATA II 7200RPM 16MB CACHE – 45+

2 x Seagate ST3500320AS 32MB cache - 44.65 each + vat

1 x ATI 4850HD - circa £100 +

1 x Asus Rampage Formula board - £155 +

1 x Antex Nine Hundred 900 case - £67

1 x Corsair 750w TX PSU - £65 +

1 x Toshiba external 320 drive - £59 +

1 x Waicom Bamboo pad - £43 +

1 x Logitech keyborad & mouse S510 - £28 +

1 x Thermalright Ultra-120 EXTREME CPU Heatpipe Heatsink - £29 +

1 x Xilence Red Wing 120mm Quiet Fan - 3&4pin connection - £4 +

1 x external USB floppy -£15 +

Total = £1063 + VAT = £1249 Inc

 

[lamboman]

Yep. Everything looks pretty good to me.

Usually, that is the case. RMAs. Usually they are pretty quick, and test it as soon as they get it anyway, so it shouldn't be a huge delay. 4 or 5 days usually.

 

[Rastalovich]

Just to stick a big pair of hands in the middle here and interupt things..

If ur ok spending 1k+ on pc components, I`d want the best gfx card.

/2ȼ, if u posed "build me the best pc for 1k" u`d probably get a slightly different line-up.

 

[lamboman]

Just to stick a big pair of hands in the middle here and interupt things..

If ur ok spending 1k+ on pc components, I`d want the best gfx card.

/2ȼ, if u posed "build me the best pc for 1k" u`d probably get a slightly different line-up.

You see, what I have been recommending and what I would have recommended in the first place are COMPLETELY different. It is only because Jay doesn't want a P45 board for instance, which is what I would recommend in the first place.

 

[monkey7]

And he needs his video card for video, nog gaming. So anything stronger than the 4850 would be a waste.

And jaysbarbq, if you can purchase the components at a local store for not much of a price difference (my standard is 10% increase max.), I'd do it. The local store over here has great support and would probably give me a temporary card if something went wrong and then handle the RMA with their supplier. Only problem is my local store cannot supply about half of the computer components regularly used For example: it cannot supply Zalman or GigaByte

 

[jaysbarbq]

Folks,

Most of the items below arrived today. The rest I will collect tomorrow.

I need to test this all whilst in the UK before I take it back to Spain with me (I work from Spain).

Any tips on what/how I should test everything would be appreciated. Apart from that, building the pc is a breeze, installing the O/S on a RAID 1 set is also easy. Any tips on the setup of the Rampage Formula (i.e BIOS / Asus software)?

2 x 4 GB Kingston 8500 1066mhz HyperX memory modules

1 x SATA Sony DRU-190S 20x DVDRW Black & Silver Bezel Retail

1 x SATA LiteOn 20x Int. L/S DVDRW LS-20A1L-14C

1 x Intel core 2 quad Q9450 2,66GHZ 1333FSB

2 x Samsung Spinpoint F1 HD103UK 1TB 32MB cache SATA HD's

1 x ATI 4850HD

1 x Asus Rampage Formula board

1 x Antex Nine Hundred 900 case

1 x Corsair 750w TX PSU

1 x Toshiba external 320 drive

1 x Trust graphics pad

1 x Logitech keyborad & mouse S510

1 x interal USB card reader

1 x Noctua NH-U12P fan

* I already have a Sumsung 226 monitor and external USB floppy as well as O/S (Vista Ultimate and WIndows XP (32 and 64bit))

 

[lamboman]

It is great to see that you finally have everything! The settings in the BIOS are pretty complex for beginners. My advice is to set the memory quite a bit below the requirement first, and overclock the processor first, bringing the multiplier down when you get to high FSBs, and not bringing the voltage past 1.4v. Check that you have mounted the cooler properly (you should have really cool temps at stock). Also make sure that you never leave any settings on auto. To start, put them all at their lowest settings. Feel free to PM me if you want!

 

[Silentsnake]

we hope to see a few pics of the ins and outs of your new computer

 

[lamboman]

we hope to see a few pics of the ins and outs of your new computer

QFT. Do it. Now

 

[jaysbarbq]

Folks,

Glad to see it's sunny in London! Although not the 35 degrees as it is in Spain!

I have all the parts except the board If it does not arrive by Monday I will have no option but to order online or ask my supplier what he has in stock). My guess is that he has all Gigabyte and MSI boards. I leave the UK on Wednesday and desperately need to build and test the machine before I return to Spain. So worse case - if the Asus Rampage does not materialise on Monday, should I order online, hope it arrives on Tues morning and spend a few hours testing before I leave on Wednesday? or try an MSI or Gigabyte?

Finally, I was most shocked when I say the Noctua fan that Lamboman reccomended!! I have always seen the small fans on AMD and P4 cpus. The Notcua fan reccomended and received is the size of a windmill!!! Hope it fits in this Antec 900 case.

Also the case has 3 fans, the CPU will have 1 fan, the GPU has 1 fan and I guess the Corsair power supply has 1 fan... Will this sound like an F1 engine in my office?? And with so many fans, will the pc not take off???!!!!

Jay

 

[lamboman]

Folks,

Glad to see it's sunny in London! Although not the 35 degrees as it is in Spain!

I have all the parts except the board If it does not arrive by Monday I will have no option but to order online or ask my supplier what he has in stock). My guess is that he has all Gigabyte and MSI boards. I leave the UK on Wednesday and desperately need to build and test the machine before I return to Spain. So worse case - if the Asus Rampage does not materialise on Monday, should I order online, hope it arrives on Tues morning and spend a few hours testing before I leave on Wednesday? or try an MSI or Gigabyte?

Finally, I was most shocked when I say the Noctua fan that Lamboman reccomended!! I have always seen the small fans on AMD and P4 cpus. The Notcua fan reccomended and received is the size of a windmill!!! Hope it fits in this Antec 900 case.

Also the case has 3 fans, the CPU will have 1 fan, the GPU has 1 fan and I guess the Corsair power supply has 1 fan... Will this sound like an F1 engine in my office?? And with so many fans, will the pc not take off???!!!!

Jay

Yup, the enthusiast coolers are always huge. The system shouldn't be that loud if you set the case fans to minimum. The power supply is virtually silent, and the graphics card won't be that loud either.