New Comp!!!!!!

[the wombat]

This is my second post like this (A system critique) and I think this setup might be a little better. This is my first system build and I'm looking for something easy to put together, nothing too complicated (RAID etc..). Anyways could you try and give me some thoughts about the configuration and maybe some advice as to what to look out for when building a PC.

My Plan:

Case Coolermaster Centurion 5 W/Window

PSU OCZ Modstream 450w

Mobo DFI Lanparty UT NF4 Ultra-D

Processor AMD Athlon 64 3000+

Heatsink Thermaltake Silent Boost K8

RAM OCZ PC-3200 DDR400 Premier Series 1GB (2x512MB)

Hard Drive Seagate 80GB SATA

DVD Burner LiteOn 1633s 16x DVD+/-RW (Black)

Floppy Panasonic 1.44MB Floppy Disk Drive (Black)

Video Card MSI GeForce 6600GT 128MB DDR3 PCI-E

Keyboard Microsoft Multimedia Keyboard

Mouse Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer

Monitor NEC FE771 Black S. Bright

Speakers Altec Lansing VS2121

If you can see any incompatibilities or issues that may arise with a setup like this please tell me. Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[ComatoseDelirium]

How Much are the speakers? i looked at the altec lansing line, and only saw 2 products worthy of buying and I got one, it was was the Vs3121. Their has been some talk of the dual layer burners being the way to go, but I will let people more knowledgable about that post info.

 

[Loop2kil]

nope, everything you got here looks like a nice setup.

 

[ComatoseDelirium]

Oh yeah the rest of it looks solid! How much $$ altogether?

 

[the wombat]

Speakers are about $45 CDN and the burner is a dual layer... In total comes to about $1670 CDN.

 

[fireontheway]

You might as well stick with the Retail HSF(and save some $) if its getting replaced only by a silent boost(unless you like it's bling effect).

 

[the wombat]

Alright, saving some cash is always good. Any idea what kind of overclock I could expect on the stock hsf?

 

[ComatoseDelirium]

ahh im unsure about how much your spending, is this being built by you? The big brother version of your speakers are great, I got is mostly because im not an audiophile and wanted something decent for movies

 

[Amplifier]

Your CPU rocks .

The PSU is a bit of an overkill. I ran my system on a 250 Antec with no glitches(before my 400watt Antec).

I have the same setup (Chaintech mobo/card) and it played DIII/HL2 perfectly. You might want to ask around about the X800XL. I've heard it's working extremely well for some people. It's ~$80-$90 more (American).

The retail heatsink/fan work just fine for me and I OC. So save some money there .

 

[the wombat]

Yeah, its being built by me. I guess the money i save on not getting the silent boost will go to better speakers. I'll be spending about $1670 CDN (About $1400 USD) on the whole system.

 

[the wombat]

The CPU does rock! As for the PSU, i was looking for one with a 24 pin ATX connector and the Modstream looks so damn cool (Heard its quiet too..) So what'd you get out of the 3000+ on stock HSF? x800 xl kicks @$$ but costs $400 in Canada....(out of my price range)

 

[Zincq]

That's one solid system. Sure beats the hell out of mine.

Have you considered a Zalman heatsink? I have one and those things are as quiet as a bunny.

 

[fireontheway]

It cooled cpu@2.6 just fine,only reason i replaced it is i just wanted to get biggest baddest hs.

PS

Im not talking about that Star Ice 'k :laugh:

 

[the wombat]

Hehe....bunny....hehe... Ummm...sorry about that. Anyways, what zalman heatsink do you have? Would the Zalman CNPS7000A-Cu be a good choice?

EDIT: People keep on posting while im writing and watching CNN at the same time! Anyways 2.6 is fine for me...money for the heatsink would probably be better spent on better speakers.

 

[the wombat]

How about these speakers? They any good?

 

[airfoil]

I'd get an NEC 3520A instead of that Lite On, a Logitech MX 700 instead of the M$ and a Mitsumi 7 in 1 floppy drive/card reader instead of the Panasonic floppy drive.

 

[akugami]

You can probably go with cheaper RAM and only see a slight dropoff in performance. I have an A64 3000+ and using the retail HSF I'm able to reach 2568mhz which is a nice boost from the stock 1800mhz. I didn't use the gunk that comes with the stock HSF though. I'm using Arctic Ceramique. I'd definitely go with an NEC 3520A. Maybe take the money that you saved from not buying a different heatsink and getting the OCZ Modstream 520w instead of the 450w. You can never have too much juice as that helps to future proof part of your purchase.

 

[ComatoseDelirium]

Wombat, how much are you willing to spend on the speakers, we can give you recommendations, also check out NCIX.com for parts, I live near toronto, and they happen to be one of the best canadian computer stores, and.. no offense.. but I somehow feel you are not getting your best bang for your buck..

 

[Bonesdad]

Looks good to me...very similar to my new setup...had to RMA my Leadtek 6600GT, so I am still waiting.

Check the motherboard carefully when you get it...see if they are still doing a crappy job packing it. I had to RMA mine 2 times due to damage from the audio module crushing the motherboard. Hope they have fixed it.

You will like the case, the Centurion is shweeet.

 

[the wombat]

It seems that the NEC 3520A is everyone's recommendation...Is there a differece between that and the NEC 3520?

I'll probably get some Arctic Silver.

I don't think that I'll ever need as much power that comes from the OCZ Modstream 520w.

I'm willing to spend about $80 on speakers, and i would like some recommendations.

As for NCIX, I live in Toronto and I figured the shipping from B.C. would kill any savings that I might get from NCIX. I'm getting all of my components from www.canadacomputers.com. One of their retail stores is quite near to me, and they have quite reasonable prices.

Bang for buck? Not really sure if I got the best prices, but here's the breakdown:

Case Coolermaster Centurion 5 w/window $115

Power Supply OCZ Modstream 450w PSU $99

Motherboard DFI Lanparty UT Ultra-D $189

Processor AMD Athlon 64 3000+ $189

RAM OCZ PC-3200 DDR400 Premier Series 1GB (2x512MB) $189

Hard Drive Seagate 80GB S-ATA, 8MB cache $82

DVD-RW LiteOn 1633s 16x DVD+/-RW (Black) $69

Floppy Panasonic 1.44MB Floppy Disk Drive (Black) $16

Video Card MSI GeForce 6600GT 128MB DDR3 PCI-E $249

Keyboard Microsoft Multimedia Keyboard $19

Mouse Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer $20

Monitor NEC FE771 Black S. Bright $135

Speakers Altec Lansing VS2121 $43

Total w/ Tax $1666.35

I'm gonna get the board from a retail store, and i doubt they'll sell me one that's damaged but I will most definitely look out for that. As for the Centurion, does the blue version ever look sorta purplish? Some of the pictures I have seen lead me to believe that the hue changes depending on the lighting.

 

[ComatoseDelirium]

Wombat, I would check out ncix and build a similiar system, they only charge pst so you should beable to get a better deal their, tally it up, it won't hurt to check out. The prices at canada computers are a tad inflated, I live in hamilton and know guys who could build a better system for a smaller price tag.

 

[ComatoseDelirium]

http://secure.ncix.com/pcbuilder/index....tion=config&id=1961579&platformid=1000 check that out.. and configure a system i made one better than yours.. cheaper.. factor in the tax, and anything else seperate you want to get.. iono.. just check out the avenue.

 

[imported_X]

Go with Corsair Value RAM instead, and use the extra money to upgrade your 6600 to an X800XL.

 

[Fresh Daemon]

Wombat, I also live near Toronto. Have you tried looking at Price Network? It's like Pricewatch, but for Canadian stores. I guarantee that you can save money and buy locally to save on shipping.

If you really don't want to pay GST you could try going to Buffalo and sneaking it back in over the border. I've gotten away with that in the past. Works well if it's small stuff like RAM or hard drives that you can put in your pockets. It's hard to hide a case in your car.

 

[ComatoseDelirium]

Originally posted by: Fresh Daemon
Wombat, I also live near Toronto. Have you tried looking at Price Network? It's like Pricewatch, but for Canadian stores. I guarantee that you can save money and buy locally to save on shipping.

If you really don't want to pay GST you could try going to Buffalo and sneaking it back in over the border. I've gotten away with that in the past. Works well if it's small stuff like RAM or hard drives that you can put in your pockets. It's hard to hide a case in your car.

I like the way you operate Fresh, I have done that before too.. with.. not only computer supplies.. *dont ban me lol* See sig for further details.