# Total noobie at this, want to make super PC! Help pleeease...



## shinyblackkitty (Nov 12, 2007)

a) what do you want to do with this new system / if you game how serious a gamer are you ?
*either games, an alternate way of socialising or paint shop pro*

b) which level do you "want" your system to be mid-level / performance / ultra performance
*ultra!!! *

c) anticipated budget >>>> we can give suggestions for complete builds in the $1000.00 range all the way to the Uber $2,800.00 machine
*anything up to £4000 ($8000)*

d) what are the specs of the system you are using now ?
*horrible*


Ok I have lots to spend but really, really, don't know what I am going to do in the end.

Most recently I was asking about this on www.computerandvideogames.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=36550 

I was originally going to buy a Dell XPS ready made one (apparently they are really good) but I think I want to go with the "buy parts and make" route instead now because I can get a water cooled PC instead of refrigerated (like the dell one, electro-whatever same as fridges use)/ fan and pick all the best latest parts,
and because hopefully it will be easier to upgrade (I am guessing with the dell one opening the case would break the warranty so I would have to either lose that or buy a brand new PC when it ges out of date)
and less inflated price

I've flipped through these two guides
www.custompc.co.uk/features/100444/build_your_dream_pc.html
and
www.pcmech.com/byopc

Here's a complete newbie draft, done with the help of a few techy friends from the internet (I dont know many in real life, arg)


*Case:* Antec Super Mid Tower P190 Black 1200w Psu

*PSU:* Comes with case ("NeoLink 1200 Watt dual power supply system: One 650 Watt Neo Power is responsible for powering the motherboard and addin cards, while another 550 Watt, handles your drives and other peripherals")

*Mobo:* Asus Striker Extreme LGA775 nVIDIA nForce680i SLI 4xDDR2 ATX Gaming Motherboard with Onboard Audio, Dual Gb LAN, USB & Firewire

*Video Card:* BFG Tech® GeForce ® 8800 GTX OC 768MBPCI Express Graphics Card (maybe 2 SLI'd since I am going for complete overkill kinda thing)

*CPU:* Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 / 3 GHz ( 1333 MHz ) - LGA775 Socket - L2 12 MB with this heatsink: Thermaltake CL-P0401 V1 CPU Cooler

*Cooling:* Either water cooling (I have no idea how to set up or how to maintain though, and I've heard some horror stories about water leaking out and frying the whole PC etc...) or just the normal thing with fans, or one of those electro cooling ones that are like a fridge

*HDD:* Western Digital Raptor ones probably? They are the ones that most highend ready-built PC ones seem to have. I was thinking maybe I should do something like one for OS and pagefile, one for games/programs and one for everything else to minimise "MY COMPUTER IS WHIRRING ITS HARD DISKS FOR AGES LOOKING FOR STUFF AND DOING NOTHING ELSE" syndrome?

*RAM:* Corsair (TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX) 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 800MHz/PC2 6400 PC Memory non-ECC unbuffered 4-4-4-12 DHX Technology *--OR--* something DDR3? I have been told that not many motherboards work with those though?

*Pri Optical:* no idea. would like DVD+-RW

*Sec Optical:* no idea

*Sound Card:* undecided - maybe from Sound Blaster X-Fi range? Most of the "customise gaming PC and buy it" shops online seem to have one of those as the main or sometimes only option

*FDD:* Sony MPF920-Z/CU1 ?

*Keyboard:* LOGITECH G15 GAMING KEYBOARD *--OR--* yet-unreleased Razer Lycosa

*Mouse:* LOGITECH G7 W/LESS LASER MOUSE *--OR--* Razer Lachesis 4000dpi Banshee

*Modem:* undecided, I would like one though because I am moving in a year and would need to use dialup for a bit

*Monitor:* Dell 30" UltraSharp 3007WFP-HC Widescreen LCD Flat Panel Monitor

*Speakers:* Bose Acoustimass 16 home theater speaker system

*OS:* Windows Vista Ultimate (I was going with XP but was told that XP can only support 3GB of RAM and the rest would be wasted otherwise(!))

*Extras:* none that I can think of


----------



## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

Despite the fact that you have lots to spend, I firmly believe you shouldn't go burning money on things that won't help you.

Intel Core 2 Quad Extreme Edition QX6850 "LGA775 Kentsfield" 3.00GHz (1333FSB)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-154-IN&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=793

Asus Striker Extreme nForce 680 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-208-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=174

OCZ 4GB (2 x 2GB) PC2-6400C4 800MHz Reaper HPC Enhanced Bandwidth Edition Dual Channel DDR2 (OCZ2RPR800C44GK)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-096-OC&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=813

Samsung MCAQE32G5APP-0XA00 32GB 2.5" Solid State Hard Drive
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-043-SA&groupid=701&catid=14&subcat=910

Startech 2.5" to 3.5" IDE Hard Drive Cable Adapter
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CB-002-OK

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB SATA-II 16MB Cache x 2
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-078-SE&groupid=701&catid=14&subcat=768

Pioneer BDC-202BK 5x BD-ROM + 12x12 DVD±RW Serial ATA Dual Layer ReWriter - (Black)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CD-048-PO

Pioneer DVR-112DBK 18x18 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter - (Black)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CD-044-PO

EVGA GeForce 8800 GT 512MB Superclocked GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) x 2
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-039-EA&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1008


PC Power & Cooling Turbo Cool 1KW-SR 1000W Power Supply
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-000-PP&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=928

Thermaltake VA8003BWS Armour Super Tower - Black
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-046-TT&groupid=701&catid=7&subcat=715

-or-

Antec P190 Gaming Case - 1200 Watt Neo Link PSU (Gun Metal Black)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-072-AN&groupid=701&catid=7&subcat=160


----------



## blackduck30 (Sep 7, 2004)

Nice build Matt,
I like the solid state drive as well, nice touch
I would go with the thermaltake case as I still hold reservations on the dual power supply in the P190.


----------



## scharnhorst (Apr 6, 2007)

I would say PLEASE WAIT!! spending this much money will still make you out of date if you spend it now since in a month or two new gfx cards and mobos will be out, along with the new TT armor case.


----------



## blackduck30 (Sep 7, 2004)

If you are considering water cooling take a look at this

Swiftech H20-220 Apex Ultra Watercooling Kit (Socket 462/478/LGA775/754/939/940) $130

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=WC-014-SW&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=193

DangerDen 8800 GTX Block $78 X 2

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=WC-004-DD&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=193

Also as far as I know the only card that will topple the 8800GTX off it's throne is the 8900GTX and it is not supposed to be released till next year, maybe feb/march from what i have heard.
If he wants the nvidia chipset and SLI any ATi releases are irrelevant.
I have also not heard of a successor to the 680i chipset as yet either
Intel may have some new X48 boards coming out soon but they will be of no use for a dual 8800 setup


----------



## linderman (May 20, 2005)

from what I can see and have been digging; there is no big buzz on the horizon


the X38 has little to offer if "anything" over the p35 and the X48 is called nothing over the X38 

so it looks like if you spend now, you will be good to go for at least two more years before the new "buzz"

thats too much money to spend on a computer IMHO


----------



## shinyblackkitty (Nov 12, 2007)

blackduck30 said:


> Nice build Matt,
> I like the solid state drive as well, nice touch
> I would go with the thermaltake case as I still hold reservations on the dual power supply in the P190.


what is wrong with the power supply? i've been told it may be too much (i've read that it is basically THE BEST CASE), but the case itself is really good, and you can't buy the case without it


----------



## blackduck30 (Sep 7, 2004)

well to clarify one thing, you can never have too much power, your system will only draw what it requires and if you have a larger than needed power supply it does not have to work as hard than a power supply working at it's limit.
I am not saying it is a crap power supply, I just do not see the need to have 2 power supplies, it is a waste of space to start with and generates more heat than a single unit and really offers not real performance gains over a single unit because the supplies each handle specific functions if either one fails the whole system still fails. The only place a see advantage in two power supplies is in a server were 2 power supplies are setup as a redundancy system so if one fails the other one kicks in to stop the system from going down.
The quality of the power supply Matt listed is way better than the Antec units. I would take a PC Power and Cooling power supply over two antecs any day of the week.
the case is still only a mid tower and I like the advantages of a full tower. A full tower gives you more room to play and keeps things less cramped. It is also better for cooling as you can get good air flow. I have owned all types of cases and I will not go back from a full tower.


----------



## shinyblackkitty (Nov 12, 2007)

I see... so does anyone know if that antec case can be bought without the PSU?

Or if it can be removed without damaging the case or anything? And if the case isn't specially designed for that particular PSU and wont accept that other one..? :S if so maybe I could buy it and sell off the PSU I don' know...


----------



## blackduck30 (Sep 7, 2004)

I will have a look at some reviews and see if they say anything. I dare say they are just standard antec power supplies and i do not see any reason they can not be removed and sold if you really want to. I would still consider a full tower tho


----------



## blackduck30 (Sep 7, 2004)

From what i can see they are just standard power supplies and i'm sure you can replace them with a single unit if you wish.

I do agree tho it is a nice case but i am just a big fan of space

The 650W unit is worth around $90 and the 550W is worth around $60
The only thing you would have to check would be the length of the PC&P&C power supply as it is a little longer than the antec's


----------



## shinyblackkitty (Nov 12, 2007)

blackduck30 said:


> From what i can see they are just standard power supplies and i'm sure you can replace them with a single unit if you wish.


cool! thanks



blackduck30 said:


> I do agree tho it is a nice case but i am just a big fan of space


what do you mean? you think it's too small? it looks quite big



blackduck30 said:


> The only thing you would have to check would be the length of the PC&P&C power supply as it is a little longer than the antec's


how can I check that without buying the case firsT? :S


----------



## blackduck30 (Sep 7, 2004)

Ok I will look into the P190 and see if i can get some bottom bay dimensions for you.

As far as size goes, the P190 is a mid tower. You really need to get a look at a full tower to appreciate the size difference. Compare some case dimensions or go into a computer shop and ask to look at a full tower case.

So far I can tell you that an Antec Neo is 149mm deep and the PC power and cooling is 230mm deep so there is a 79mm difference in length.

I have yet to track down any dimensions yet but from looking at the pic's on newegg I am pretty sure it will fit

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ShowI...ntec+Performance+One+P190+Black+Computer+Case



check out the size of these full towers

*Tagan Aplus Black Pearl Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail $250*

Dimensions 8.2'' x 23.6'' x 23.2''

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811294001


*Thermaltake Armor Series VA8000BWS Black Aluminum / Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail $129 ( 90 after rebate )
*
Dimensions 20.9" x 8.7" x 22.1" (H x W xD)
Weight 35.7 lbs.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133154


*SILVERSTONE SST-TJ07-BW Black 4.0mm ~ 8.0mm uni-body aluminum outer frame, 2.0mm aluminum body ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail $329*

Dimensions 22.2'' x 8.7'' x 22'' (DxWxH)
Weight 28.5 lbs.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163067


*ANTEC P190 dimensions*

Dimensions:
- 20.28" (H) x 8.07" (W) x 23.35" (D)

It is actually a good size for a mid tower but i am still a full tower guy :wave:


----------



## linderman (May 20, 2005)

full tower for me too ! :wave:


----------



## scharnhorst (Apr 6, 2007)

shame new armor is out in december


----------



## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

I also prefer full towers and get them whenever possible. The P180, P182, and P190 are massive mid towers though, and I wouldn't mind one.


----------



## FreoHeaveho (Aug 22, 2006)

great advice guys, but wouldn't he be better (with no experience) just getting a custom commodore or something?


----------



## linderman (May 20, 2005)

thats also a great option Big Fella ray:


----------



## FreoHeaveho (Aug 22, 2006)

thanks linderman, i just think, if you are new to this, practise on a 500 quid unit, if you make a mistake, it sucks, but not as big as 4 grand mistake.

look here man, you can get a monster pc CUSTOM paint and a pretty blistering performance for a lot less hassle http://www.commodoregaming.com/pcshop/home.aspx


----------

