right....lol.......sack it.

[sirius]

This is it peeps. next few days or even tomorrow, Im buying it. yes, its true. Its not the spec I was after, but Im going to have to go for a regular AMD 3000+ socket A.

Im looking at scan at the minute, im lost (again).

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Products.ASP?CatID=22&Category=Memory&Thumbnails=N o

Im looking for a regular 'mid to high end user' rated 1gb ram for my machine - as two 512s if necessary. Theres SO MUCH on this list, sheesh, its mind bending. Obviously, I wanta decent set of RAM, and would like the oppertunity to try my exsiting 512 RAM card as a top up, but not if its detremental to the purchase of something more suitable.

Which one am I looking for?

Cheers

Sirius.

[sirius]

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...roductID=75522

this looks like the one, right? lol.

I think so for now.

[JAZ]

Scans not that cheap, try Komplett as they have the same 1gb Corsair 400mhz for £109.
Why dont you tell us what you want parts wise (ie cd-rw/dvd-rw etc) & a price range (also do you want to play cutting edge games etc) and let a few of us suggest a system for you?

[sirius]

I thought Scan was pretty cheap....ah well. lol. Ive yet to look at Microdirect and the one you mention.......its taken me hours to just look at Scan gear. I need to shop around yet, it takes me ages looking at this stuff.

I do very intense CAD/CAM solid modelling and quite intense audio processing at times too.



Okay, heres the list so far: Taking onboard all past comments,unless Im mistaken,lol. Also bear in mind its supposed to be a all in one entertainment system thats very quiet and thermally cool too. Self build.



1) Case. Casetek 1019SA Silver Aluminium Case (no PSU)

2)Floppy disk drive. 1.44Mb Sony Ivory

3) Abit NF7-S (V2.0)-nForce2 -400FSB USB2+A133/SATA+Dual DDR400+AGP8x

4)CPU. AMD *Retail* Athlon XP 3000+ *333 FSB* Barton (2.17GHz)

5)Tv card. Avermedia DVB-T PCI Card. - not sure yet!

6)Dvdrw/combi. Pioneer DVR107 ± DVD +RW (x4) +R (x8) -R (x8) -RW (x4) CDR(x24) CDRW (x24) CDRead x32 DVD x8 OEM UK

7)PSU. 480W Tagan TG480-U01 Whisper quiet 21db Also support 12v EPS/SATA/XEON 3 Years Warranty.

8) Ram. 1.0Gb PC3200 (PC400) DDR ECC Registered Memory (Major)
I think this is two 512's, I dunno. Pc3200bis good too innit?.

9) Main Hard disk. 120Gb Seagate Barracuda Serial ATA (ATA-150) (7200rpm, 8MB Cache).
This was recommended before, the motherboard and psu I picked is supposed to allow them too.

10) cdrom. Sony x52 Speed (Version 2) CDROM Drive IDE

11) soundcard. Creative Labs Audigy 2 Platinum Pro ZS 7.1

This looks likes it kicks ass and will cater for all my needs. I think its fully surround sound, high bitrate etc etc and better than my Livedrive. I like the idea of a top box to freely plug lead in and out such as Spdf and MIDI etc.

12) graphics card. Asus 128Mb ATI Radeon A9600XT-TVD Tv/DVI + Half Life 2 Bundle


13) coolers and fans...........dunno, havent chosen yet. I want something or a pair of case coolers and chip coolers thats cold and also fantastically quiet. I dunno if I can stretch to a water cooler, but its still an option I suppose. I picked a zalaman flower last time I think, but there is none now at scan. Cool and high quietness is in order here, specially considering the power of the system.



Id rather get the bits from a maximum of two suppliers, as I dont mind paying an extra 30quid just for ordering simplicity etc, I wouldnt be able to cope with every bit coming from a different supplier. I find it hard on the phone, so emails the way to go and if I do have to don the phone, Id rather just ring one place up rather than have the ordeal (and it is an ordeal) of multiple places chasing bits etc.


Thanks for your thoughts on this lot.

Sirius.

[blue jammer]

Microdirect Microdirect Microdirect Microdirect Microdirect Microdirect Microdirect Microdirect Microdirect Microdirect Microdirect Microdirect Microdirect Microdirect Microdirect Microdirect Microdirect Microdirect Microdirect Microdirect

Get them to build it for you £50 fee

Microdirect Microdirect Microdirect Microdirect Microdirect Microdirect Microdirect Microdirect Microdirect Microdirect Microdirect Microdirect Microdirect Microdirect Microdirect Microdirect Microdirect Microdirect Microdirect Microdirect

[sirius]

They dont sell the case I want or the PSU I want for starters, lol. Unless I mitch and match suppliers.

Im comfortable building a PC up......if I do get stuck I know two peeps who can come around and build it.

Is OSA sponsored by Microdirect?

I know I have to look there yet! its 1.00 inthe morning ffs. Ive been looking at computer components since about 6.00 . Ill have a look tomorrow.

Its too much money at the minute, so a cut down or change of suppliers for some parts is on the cards, so to speak.

Sirius.

[sirius]

Right, I have thought about it this morning, and decided that I dunno enuogh about TV cards. The graphics card I chose above may do all I need anyway - I have a digibox unit here already, so aslong as I can record and watch the digibox TV on my graphics card Id be happy enough. I like the idea of hard disk recording and sheduling the recording etc..... I dunno if this will do all that though. I have a 'serial' and regular tv arial 'out' sockets on the digi box.

Also, I dont think I will need the 40gb IDE secondary hard disk - especially if I can get my existing one fixed up. Seeing as I'll have mega storage capacity on DVDRW discs, I can regularly back up on there.

Im just browsing around at the minute.

Sirius.

[JAZ]

To record you will need either a dedicated TV tuner card or at the very least a card with VIVO (Video in Video out) as that vid card you chose only has a TV out, however Komplett has a 256mb Radeon 9600XT VIVO for £125.
Im out this afternoon but I'll have a look for a system for you later, the parts you have chosen are decent (ie I have that m-board you chose) but I think you can spend your money more wisely.

[sirius]

Thanks Jaz. I appreciate that.

I know Ive been whinging and asking so many questions in this bit regarding a PC for what must seem an eternity lol, so applogies for that.


The graphics card I chose doesnt say VIVO on the name, but according to the detail list it does have Video In, Video Out and "ASUS Digital VCR" facilities .
I had read a review of this brand and model number on Sharkeys's site (cheers myk) and thought it looked okay. Ofcourse if there is a model above (256 ram rather than 128) for a fraction more with equally high reviews Id be foolish not to get it.

Im trying to keep below £900 if possible. I could probably afford more, but I think over a grand for just a tower and no monitor is getting a bit silly. I am planning on recycling my network card if I need to, my SBLive card as a double whammy, and If theres any way to recover my 80gb hard disk I wanna use that too. Also, if my existing RAM card is acceptable I wouldnt mind the option of adding that in there too. I dont really need a 120gb new hard disk, but the pricing strategy makes it foolish to get anything else. An 80gb seagate SATA would easy suffice.

Thanks Jaz for any more info. Im needing to order something in the next two days so hopefully it will be here for next week.


Some stupid questions I have include:

What importance is the bus speed? It it worth extra for 400 rather than 333?. For example, the 2.17ghz 333fsb is about 30 quid less than the 3200 2.20ghz 400fsb.
Does this affect other 400fsb rated components in the system I picked so far?

Sirius.

[JAZ]

Sorry didnt see that tv card you picked above
To be honest that system looks great if your not willing to wait a couple of months max for the new n-force3 250 but its not cutting edge, all I would change if you want to buy now would be get better memory (ie not cheap pc3200) and spend an extra £30 or so on some low latency Pc3200 (like the £205 1gb corsair xms on this page http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Corsair_XMS.html)
You could also take the small risk & just buy an XP2500+ (1.83ghz) and then just change the cpu FSB to 200mhz in the bios to match the memory thus changing it into an XP3200+ with a 400mhz ddr FSB (2.2ghz).
Thats what I did with mine & it works fine and most 2500+ chips will do this easily but theres a small risk the chip wont be good enough to handle it but the NF7-S allows cpu voltage changes incase a small cpu voltage increase is needed to stablize the system.
Also I would never spend that much on a soundcard and the NF7 comes complete with a built in soundcard (I know this sounds bad but the Soundstorm chip is very good & rivals most standalone soundcards) it also has a built in lan so you wont need a network card.
Forget about the ram in your old machine as its useless now & will be no good in a new system, you can also save another £70 by just buying the 9600xt vivo in stead of the 9600xt & tv card but Im not sure of the quality differences between these stand alone tv cards & a vivo card.
Doing the above will save you lots of money with little difference in overall quality, as for a heatsink & fans I would buy the Thermalright ALX800 or 900A & a low rpm 80mm fan as this will be very quiet when the case is closed.
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatal...right_120.html
I havent heard of that psu but if its got good reviews go for it, all I can say is if you want a quiet one also check out the Zalman range
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Zalman_psu.html

[sirius]

Cheers JAz.

The Zalmans were interesting........quite a price drop for the lower model....but I think ill still splash out on the other one. It promises 28db max and is a bit more future proof I think.

I havent checked the fans yet. So Ill have to look at those tomorrow.

Ive dropped my spec from a 3200+ 400fsb cpu to a 3000+ 333fsb to save a bit of money - is this wise?. Id probably move to 64 bit computing in less than 3 years. I reckon if I can do without a TV card,although it will be a shame not to be able to record scheduled TV, - i may just get a cheap analogue signal one if the graphics card allows the digibox I have to be piped into it for regular use.

The graphic card looks alright, I dont think I need higher than 128ddr for quite some time, and it seems to have some great additions of technology and connectvity for its price. Im still open to a change, but this seems okay so far......

Theres still a few things to compare and investigate, I want to just cut down a tad and then may be able opt for a more expensive crosair RAM if you think its gonna be a wise investment.

I have spotted a few variations in price, so I may have to multi source afterall - I just hope they arrive without hitches. Im definately placing an order this week cos Im currently computerless. I was waiting for the 64 939's and new stuff, but its too far off. Im just hoping I can salvage a lot of gear in this list to upgrade to 64bit in the future and not have too many redundant parts sat in a box like I do now.....

See ya laterz,

Sirius.

[Jimmy]

Scan are ok but only if it all goes well their customer service department is totally shite, I bought a 120GB HDD, they sent me a 60GB I sent it back and it took 8 weeks to get the replacement !!, thats after they admitted receiving even though I have the signed for reference, name, etc

Like everything its a risk I use www.tekheads.co.uk/ in sheffield brilliant in every way.

[sirius]

Some quick quezzies:


1) Is there any real noticable difference between 'cass2' and 'cass3' RAM?

2) Is it worth paying for a 'brand' RAM set of boards?

3) Is it true that Aluminium Cases are upto3 times cooler than Steel?

4) Do I need 400fsb cpu, or would a 333fsb be virtually un noticable in difference? If my ram/other components are 400fsb, my processor doesnt have to match does it - 333 will be ok?

5) Have you any more recommendations for a heatsink and fan, and a set of case fans that operate on full power at under 25decibels?

The fans/heatsink must be cheapish though cos they start getting silly prices. Im looking at Microdirect etc, and review sites -the SilentX brand sounds good but I need to get one with the other gear from Scan and MicroDirect if possible and they dont selll em . Reviews have been mixed on these sorts of hardware products.
The cooling aspects of the case is all thats left to price up, and I cant finda good solution thats quiet (under 25db full), dont know the best heatsink, or dont know what case fan. Ive been looking at some cheap 90mm or 120mm case fans.

Ta

Sirius.

[lizer]

This is meh current spec

Pioneer 8x Dvd Dual R/rw Ide Burner
Sony 52x32x52x16 IDE Drive

Thermaltake VM2000A Lanfire Silver aluminium ATX Case With Side Window
(modded with uv cathodes,uv cables and spiral wraps and Aqua el wire)

Super Flower Real 520w Quadruple blue led Fan Psu

Maxtor Diamondmax Plus 9 120Gb 7200rpm UDMA133 - OEM

Crucial 512 DDR333 PC2700 DIMM x 2

AMD Athlon XP2500 333FSB 512 L2 Cache Barton (over clocked to a xp3200)400fsb) running @40c

Thermaltake A1745 Extreme Volcano 12 Heat Sink & fan

MSI K7N2 Delta-L SKT A 8xAGP DDR400 Nforce2 6ch Sound LAN USB 2.0 Motherboard (dual banked ram)

Sapphire Atlantis Radeon 9800 PRO 128 MB DDR 8x AGP DVi & TV-Out (overclocked to 420 core /faster than a 9800xt


2) Is it worth paying for a 'brand' RAM set of boards(carnt go wrong with
crucial)
---------------------------------------------

3) Is it true that Aluminium Cases are upto3 times cooler than Steel?
(cooler and a lot lighter mine weighs 4kg,and it is worth paying the money for one of the one i got)
---------------------------------------------

4) Do I need 400fsb cpu, or would a 333fsb be virtually un noticable in difference? If my ram/other components are 400fsb, my processor doesnt have to match does it - 333 will be ok?

5) Have you any more recommendations for a heatsink and fan, and a set of case fans that operate on full power at under 25decibels?
---------------------------------------------
(the 2500 chips are 333 fsb,but are underclocked 3200 chips,the mobo i got i run the cpu at 400fsb which gives me 3200 speeds,along with the volcano cooler its running steady at 40c and about 45 under load. Thats with fan on about 50%,and 4 case fans built in 2x80mm,2x90mm each one 21db,The volcano is nosiy on full its like a hoover infact but cos of design u dont need it on full speed.
The psu i have has 3 speed settings on med and high that is also like a hoover,the 4 case fans are controlled by the digital readout on the case.




CHEAP!!
http://www.lowestonweb.com/Products/...C-A87E1FC6F022

[JAZ]

1) Is there any real noticable difference between 'cass2' and 'cass3' RAM?

Yeah if you set it to cas 2 in your bios then your memory acsess will be faster (equivalent of upping your FSB 3 or 4mhz) also cas2 memory is made from the better memory chips and this is a good thing.

2) Is it worth paying for a 'brand' RAM set of boards?
I'd say yes, but I would rather pay a little bit extra for better quality stuff.

3) Is it true that Aluminium Cases are upto3 times cooler than Steel?

No its marketing bollox, the heat from the cpu gets conducted through the heatsink then into the air then is absorbed into the aluminium and dispersed lol it doesnt sound very feasible writen down like that does it..

4) Do I need 400fsb cpu, or would a 333fsb be virtually un noticable in difference? If my ram/other components are 400fsb, my processor doesnt have to match does it - 333 will be ok?

You dont need a 400fsb cpu if your willing to overclock from 333mhz to 400mhz (all AMD cpus will acheive this for example I had an old Athlon1000 that was a 10x (multiplier) 100mhz fsb (2xddr = 200mhz) and I ran that at 200mhz (400ddr) which is 100% over stock) but Im prob just confusing you with that answer so the easy answer is if your not going to overclock & your buying a 400mhz board & memory then yes you should buy a 400mhz fsb cpu or you might as well buy a 333mhz board & 333mhz memory because it will just be wasted memory speed as the cpu wont be able to use it.

5) Have you any more recommendations for a heatsink and fan, and a set of case fans that operate on full power at under 25decibels?

Just get one of those Thermalright heatsinks I suggested below as you can get one that takes an 80mm fan (or even 92mm) because 80/92mm fans can spin slower they wont make loads of noise, you can find 80mm/25db fans on that site as well.
If you want quiet I would buy a single 80mm case fan & try it at the front and back to see which end cools the best & if temps are still too high buy another.
I have that thermalright heatsink & I can easily get cpu temps of mid 20's with a few case fans so I wouldnt be suprised if you didnt even need any case fans with it to have a mid/high 30's cpu temp.