PC thoughts...

[divine]

Been pondering over getting a new PC and have looked at the following options:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v299/richyj/options.png

Anyone got any suggestions to make?

[Mark]

Never had experience with Biostar, but if you ask a lot of people around here (me included), they'd suggest you get the Gigabyte motherboard. I've got two and I fully intend for my next to be Gigabyte as well. Much of the rest is personal choice. I do note you picked the Fenrir for three options, so why the Akasa in the fourth (apart from being cheaper).

Scan's support seems to be fairly well regarded (much improved on how it used to be). I'm not sure I could say the same for eBuyer though I don't recall an RMA for either of them (which either means it didn't happen or it was uneventful).

Finally, I've always sourced components from multiple suppliers and never had any bother. The risk you take with that, of course, is that if something goes wrong they could end up arguing against each other.

[Pumpkinstew]

I've made a few returns to e-buyer and it's generally been hassle free.
If you stay away from their value range and stick to brands where you know what you're getting they're fine.

[divine]

Akasa because eBuyer don't sell the Fenrir and that's the other cooler i'd be happy with, the Noctua's et al at £50 are too expensive for not much gain.

Gigabyte is my second choice of boards as Biostar currently are making fantastic boards that overclock exceptionally well. I'd normally recommend Gigabyte (and I have done on here several times) except to someone looking specifically for overclocking performance like I am, where Biostar make the better product :p

[Mark]

I rarely overclock, so I wouldn't know. :p

I think you have to select what best suits your personal requirements. As you seem to know what those requirements are and what does the best job of meeting them, get what fits. :)

[divine]

I'm surprised no one picked up on the fact there isn't a graphics card :p

[Davey_Pitch]

I did, but assumed you were just going to use the one you currently own :p

[loki]

Any reason to go Quadcore ??

If Quad is necessary would the AMD route be a better option cost wise. Alternatively if your budget was for the scan 2, then I would go for Scan + Ebuyer and get another 4gb RAM

[Mark]

I didn't notice the lack of graphics card, but tend to assume, like Davey, that that tends to mean you'll re-use existing hardware.

[divine]

Why not go Quadcore?

AMD would be cheaper but also much slower and nowhere near as overclockable. The Q9550 can hit 3.8GHz+ given the right poking around in the BIOS. I probably won't push it that far but still...

I didn't have a budget as such but the £391 bundle was what caught my eye and made me start thinking - the fact I can pretty much match the spec for £580 just means i'd rather do that.

[Desmo]

Anyone got any suggestions to make?
Sign up to AVForums and get free delivery from Scan :p

[Jingo]

Divine I'm currently running a Q9550, intel extreme series DS mobo, 6gb corsair xms3 1333 ram amongst a number of other sparkly bits & pieces and I must say I am so impressed with it's ability thus far.

Without overclocking at all I haven't found anything it will not run, and the majority of the architectural programs I use support quad core so long render times, pauses, and general sluggish activity when undertaking high demand work is now a thing of the past :D

[divine]

Sign up to AVForums and get free delivery from Scan :p

Do you still get it from HeXus?

[Burble]

Do you still get it from HeXus?

Yep.

[divine]

I always used to have it from being a HeXus member so I should imagine it'll switch to free when I log in.

[divine]

Right, can someone just give this a once over in case i've chosen something utterly stupid? It looks ok to me but I like to be sure :p

Q9550
Gigabyte EP45-UD3L
4GB Corsair XMS2
650W Corsair TX (overkill maybe but the 550 is out of stock and this is £5 more)
Coolermaster CM-690 (plus extra 140mm and 120mm fan)
640GB Western Digital Caviar Blue
Titan Fenrir CPU Cooler
Pioneer 216 DVD-RW
(and my existing 8800GS)

edit- well it better be ok, cos i've ordered it now

[Admiral Huddy]

I've had a few experiences with the TP45 mobo It's pretty good but had initial problems with newer graphics cards. Turned out that a BIOS flash was needed so you may need to flash BIOS unless it comes shipped with an up to date version pre installed.

Lots of options in BIOS and really decent build.. The heatpipe is quite high and touches the freezer i put in. Any bigger you are going to run into problems. Also it comes with 8 PIN (P8) EPS12V connector but you can plug the 4pin in it's right most connectors.

Try also Novatech :)

[divine]

I swapped the TP45 out in the end, as it wasn't in stock. Tried Novatech but it was a fair bit more.

It should all be here tomorrow, but i suspect it will actually be somewhat later.

[divine]

Because i'm excited at my new things but I can't actually get to building it yet, have some pictures.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v299/richyj/DSC00013-S.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v299/richyj/DSC00012-S.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v299/richyj/DSC00014-S.jpg
Sadly, the Q9550 is only a C1 stepping, not an E0, so in theory it won't clock as well but it should still be able to hit decent numbers.

Other thoughts:
Corsair PSU = quality, comes in it's own little cloth bag and everything.
Titan Fenrir is HUGE on a whole new level beyond the Freezer 64 I have.
My new Sony Ericsson C902 has an awful camera, even worse than the K850i. They need to stop cramming in so many MP. Stick to 3.2 and less noise correction, it ruins the photos now.

[divine]

http://i40.tinypic.com/qrj9c5.jpg

\o/

[Haly]

Nice :)
I quite miss building PCs but I think it might be rose tinted glasses as it's been so long :p

[Mark]

But does the side go on afterwards? (it's hard to judge depth) :)

[divine]

Yes, though if I had a side intake fan on the upper of the two available vents, no it wouldn't fit.

There is about 1-2cm clearance between the top of the heatsink and the side panel :D

It looks like this now, as I moved the audio header cable so it didn't go over the top of the graphics card.

http://i43.tinypic.com/xeifdx.jpg

[LeperousDust]

Swish! :D