New PC soon...what should I get?

[unbiased4u]

I haven't been on the forumz for a long time...I've found another forum that's pretty great...but now that I'm getting a new PC soon, I'd like to get advice from all the sites that I can. I probably missed a lot of exciting new topics on the forumz...but I really don't want to know >_> lol

So I'm finally seriously looking into getting a new PC. Yes! So what I want to do with this PC is not to go overboard in anything and want to experience some "extreme" over clocking first hand. Budget is preferably <$1000

This is a decent jump from a previous system, although I don't know if I really need it..but I want it :twisted:

Anyways, what I'm looking to do is to get a max OC on this system and be happy. However there are a few things I'm confused about...

Firstly, the CPU. I have two in mind for some extreme over clocking. The Core 2 Duo e4300 that just popped up on Newegg or the Celeron D 360 that is on other websites. With the e4300 I could reach maybe 3.5 Ghz which is real nice...or go for the Ghz and maybe get the 360 up to 7Ghz.

Now I know the e4300 probably still out-performs the Celly at that speed, but I kind of want to see if I can. I mean, I don't really need a C2D or even dual core processing. Heck, I could just scrap the whole project!

But I'm not going to...I'm going to do it and that's that! So which CPU should I get? I'm leaning toward the Celly because I'm cheap and want to spend the extra money on cooling...

Anyways, here's the wishlist before I go too far into this...

For my mobo, I'm looking at the Biostar 965PT because it has gotten good reviews and gotten some pretty high clocks. I don't like my current Biostar mobo very much, but that's only because I bought it when I was 13 (aka noob) and didn't research enough. I'm willing to give Biostar another chance because this is an "enthusiast board" and is based off a much better chipset. However, there are other contenders, namely the Gigabyte DS3 965P or the ASUS P5B or Abit AB9. However, I'm pretty much decided on the mobo, so if the others are significantly better in some way, I'll get that one instead.

PSU - I'm decided on this one. HIPER 580W FTW! Ok, maybe better options may sneak up here, please let my know if there are any...

Case - Interesting choice I know. I kinda put it there just to see what people's reactions to it would be. I dunno about a case, I want one with a side panel that has good cooling. The case I chose really is an XClio and has two enormous 250mm fans which should be good for cooling. The other cases I had in my mind were: CM Centurion 5 w/ window; Antec Nine Hundred; Antec P180B; Aerocool Aeroengine. Which is the best out of those? Looks matter a bit, but is not the deciding factor. Just nothing as ugly as the ABS Nighthawk or the ASUS Vento (just my opinion) or anything like that please ("gamer cases")

RAM - Decided...this is good RAM right? Do I need it though...

Video - I didn't want to go overkill. A 7800GT for that price seems good, although maybe a bit risky. But that's such a good deal! I want it!

So my question is, would a X1650XT, X1950Pro, X1900GT, or 7600GT be a better choice? The deal seems too good to be true though...X1650XT and 7600GT don't have 256-bit memory though...although the X1650XT has more pp.

The thing I also want to do is fold. I fold for my team and want to donate more! I've heard about GPU folding and heard that it is much more efficient than CPU folding. Because of this, I kind of want a X1xx0 series card to fold on. It's just another option for folding other than my CPU. Again, I want it! lol

KB/mouse - yeah, those may change...

Storage - Both Samsung products. They seem to be quiet products, so I decided these are good. Opinions?

Speakers - 7.1 seems like overkill, I'm gonna change those...

Monitor - I have a Samsung 205BW in front of my face I'm going to use that for the upcoming system

CPU Cooling - Yay, now for the first fun part. I got the TT Blue Orb II because it is large, quiet, and seems to cool pretty well with a lot of airflow. Also it is relatively cheap compared to some higher end coolers. I considered getting the Tuniq Tower 120. It's expensive, but is it worth it? Can I change the fan out?

VGA cooling - Fun part 2 - ZeroTherm? WTH is ZeroTherm? Well, from reviews, the heatsink/fan seems like a very good cooling solution, although the Zalman VF700 maybe a bit better. Well, I don't see any other people with it so I'd like something unique - seriously...it is uber quiet and cools decently, I'm really just looking into a faster CPU OC because it's harder to OC video cards (I learned that by busting up my 9500 Pro) Opinions? Recommendations?

So...that was pretty long...as you can see I've looked into this new PC for a while now and really don't want to make the same mistakes I made when purchasing my old system. I did a lot more research than I did 5 years ago so it'd better pay off!

So an overview of my system:

A+ Case
Biostar 965PT
Celly D 360 or C2D e4300
HIPER 580W PSU
1GB DDR2 1066 Patriot
7800GT or X1650XT or X1950Pro
250GB HD Samsung + 18x DVDRW
TT Blue Orb II 120mm
ZeroTherm GX700
Other parts

$1050

 

[unbiased4u]

Bump...I need help...sorry if this was too long, here are the Cliffnotes

Highlighted is what I'm confused on...oh and I'm also changed the parts a bit from the wishlist

Case: Xclio (A+) OC Case or Aerocool Extreme Engine
Mobo: Biostar 965PT
CPU: e4300 or Celeron D 360?
PSU: HIPER 580W PSU
RAM: 1GB DDR2 800 by G.Skill (4 timings)
Video: 7800GT or X1650XT or X1950Pro
250GB HD Samsung + 18x DVDRW
TT Blue Orb II 120mm or Aerocool Dominator 140mm?
Thermalright HR-03 + Fan
Other parts

$1000-$1050

With a please and thank you of course

 

[Syntonic]

I don't really know about the biostar personally but people have said it's not that great of an overclocker on the forums. Might want to do some searching but you can expect moderate ocs I imagine. If you aren't going to overclock at all, I guess this doesn't apply. You might want to try the gigabyte ds3 instead or the p5b-e depending on your budget limit.

Or, if you really want to be on the rare side, go nvidia with the p5n-e. Not much reason to do this unless you: can't afford any decent memory, need ide hard drive support but don't want to buy an extra controller, or want SLI one day in your life. Oh, it has e-sata! Can't forget that.

Honestly, if you are going with an e4400, get two sticks of 2x1gb ddr2 800 instead for a little bit more and it should be enough for you if you decide to overclock. If you aren't going to oc at all, you can go even cheaper on the RAM. You can find some brand names right now (OCZ and Corsair) around 200 dollars after rebate or less than 200 dollars if you buy it from somewhere else.

Your video card should be what you can afford. Obviously. That 7800 GT is kinda nice especially for that price even if it is an open box. If you are looking to save some money, you can do so there and wait for the dx10 cards to become the norm when dx10 games come rolling out in full force.

How about an arctic freezer pro 7 for your cpu cooler? Uh, not sure if you should go with open box for those (but damn, only 14 bucks?? If that was free shipping, I'd order another one just to have it sitting around) but considering you can get mx-1 and an open box freezer pro for cheaper. I do recommend buying retail though.

Depending on what video card you get, you might not need additional video card cooling unless you are looking to replace northbridge/southbridge cooling with that.

 

[unbiased4u]

I don't really know about the biostar personally but people have said it's not that great of an overclocker on the forums. Might want to do some searching but you can expect moderate ocs I imagine. If you aren't going to overclock at all, I guess this doesn't apply. You might want to try the gigabyte ds3 instead or the p5b-e depending on your budget limit.

Or, if you really want to be on the rare side, go nvidia with the p5n-e. Not much reason to do this unless you: can't afford any decent memory, need ide hard drive support but don't want to buy an extra controller, or want SLI one day in your life. Oh, it has e-sata! Can't forget that.

Honestly, if you are going with an e4400, get two sticks of 2x1gb ddr2 800 instead for a little bit more and it should be enough for you if you decide to overclock. If you aren't going to oc at all, you can go even cheaper on the RAM. You can find some brand names right now (OCZ and Corsair) around 200 dollars after rebate or less than 200 dollars if you buy it from somewhere else.

Your video card should be what you can afford. Obviously. That 7800 GT is kinda nice especially for that price even if it is an open box. If you are looking to save some money, you can do so there and wait for the dx10 cards to become the norm when dx10 games come rolling out in full force.

How about an arctic freezer pro 7 for your cpu cooler? Uh, not sure if you should go with open box for those (but damn, only 14 bucks?? If that was free shipping, I'd order another one just to have it sitting around) but considering you can get mx-1 and an open box freezer pro for cheaper. I do recommend buying retail though.

Depending on what video card you get, you might not need additional video card cooling unless you are looking to replace northbridge/southbridge cooling with that.

Hey! First I want to thank you for helping me out...I really appreciate it. I knew after I typed that whole shpeal in the OP that no one was going to read it...but I typed so much that I didn't just feel like deleting it all...cheers to those who did read the whole OP!

The Biostar seems good, although I've also heard great things about the ASUS and Gigabyte. I can stretch a bit, but not too much. Maybe $1250 max. Is the ASUS really worth the extra money? I've seen the Biostar go up to 510 FSB which is way more satisfactory than I need. I expect to keep the CPU @ around 333 FSB or so to keep stability. I mean, I'd like the Celly 360 so I can hit 7Ghz, which will definitely be mad fun, but I don't know if I'm going to be losing a lot if I double (ok, well 2.5x the price) and get the e4300. The reason for me wanting the 360 is because later I'm going to drop in a Quad-core.

Yeah, the 7800GT seems like a really good deal. However, I don't know if I want to risk the Recertified business. I kind of want to fold with my GPU so I'm leaning towards an ATI, but the 256-bit memory interfaces are all $160+ (X1900GT/X1950Pro). So I was thinking of just getting an X1650Pro and wait for the 8600 Ultra or heck, even the ATi R600. I might not even upgrade after the X1650! So right now I'm pretty confused...is it better to just get a decent enough card now or to get a cheap card (i.e. 7300GT, X1300 or X800GTO) and upgrade to DX10 later?

As for the CPU cooler, I truly want something "exotic." I saw the Artic Cooling's but they have lower CFM or airflow so I wanted something bigger. The TT Blue Orb II and the Dominator are both HUGE and move lots of air, and it should fit in the case I chose. I was considering a TT BT but I'd have to replace the fan for better cooling (although it is pretty darn good already!)

Speaking of cases, are the two choices of cases decent? I wanted good airflow out of a sub-$110 case so those two seem very good. I looked into the Antec 900 and it looks great, especially in stores . Well, IMO it's ugly but the cooling seems to be very good. But it is more expensive than the other two...so which case should be better?

Thanks for all the help! I'm really excited and confused at the same time! I just don't want to make the same mistakes as last time...

 

[SirCoolness]

Go with a smildoon case, cheaper ram (Your selected RAM has 5-5-5-5 timings and thats not good for C2D Overclocking), a cheaper power supply, and a X1950 XTX gfx card, $279 for the best (yes better than 8800) consumer graphics.
Here's my wish list use the selected Power supply cpu, and case (its $2k, because of the 8800): https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.asp?ID=4767666
PS: I'm in high school too, freshman!

 

[unbiased4u]

lol and I'm a 2nd semester senior! w00t!

Hmm...the RAM has 5-5-5-9 timing at 1066 though, so it should have tighter timings at 800 FSB right?

Either way, I'm beginning to think the RAM is overkill...I'm going to switch the RAM to either G.Skill or Geil or the more expensive tighter timing PNY I'm thinking G.Skill ATM

A cheaper power supply? Hmm...which one then? I was thinking that Hiper is very high quality and it was a good deal. Is this PSU good enough?

And a $250 X1950XT would be great, but IMO it's overkill for me. A X1900GT would be enough for me. And I thought X1950XTX's were $400+?

And what is a Smildoon case? I can't find them on Newegg...

Thanks for the help!

edit: btw: I can't see your wishlist

 

[SirCoolness]

For Smilodon (Spelled it wrong)
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811156062
For $229 Ati x1950pro (the xtx version used to be $279):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814195029
Use wusys guide under cpu overclocking to discover that ddr2 800 with 4-4-4-4-xx timings are good for overclocking. Your RAM is overdoing it.
For a good, cheap PSU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817182017
BOOM! If you take all my advice your computer might be a few 100 cheaper.

 

[unbiased4u]

Yeah, but do I lose over a few $100 of quality though...

I still want the Aerocool or the Xclio. Great airflow for those cases. I suppose I could get the cheaper $75 Aerocool instead

- $30

Cheapest X1950XT I could find was this one. I don't think they are worth it...

So I'm looking to get the X1900GT, specifically this one because it has VIVO. I want VIVO

And honestly, I don't trust that PSU. I'd rather spend a little bit more and get a more reliable one. So I'm considering these PSUs:

Cooler Master

Sunbeam Nuuo

Hiper 580

So which one is best?

 

[SirCoolness]

I would go with the one I chose, but fine go with the sunbeam. Also go to the PSU mod case forum and find the guy who has a signature that has a link to a list of trusted brands in PSUs. I used his list for my build, to be built when I buy the parts...

 

[unbiased4u]

I would go with the one I chose, but fine go with the sunbeam. Also go to the PSU mod case forum and find the guy who has a signature that has a link to a list of trusted brands in PSUs. I used his list for my build, to be built when I buy the parts...

Do you have a link to this guy? I don't know which one he is...

The PSU you linked looks pretty good, I'm just wary of it because they aren't known for making superior products. It's nothing against the company, it's just I want peace of mind. I'm leaning towards it, but I think I'm going to need a second, or third opinion.

edit: nvm found him lol

 

[SirCoolness]

check the list he made and see how the companies of the PSU we want rank on the teirs.

 

[architecture1]

what other forums are there?

 

[unbiased4u]

wow...all the good ones are expensive for the wattage

So I've compiled the ones I feel meet my needs (3.5Ghz 1.75 Voltage e4300 = 370W by itself!)

Xclio Greatpower

Mushkin

edit2: eliminated down to two

I want these because I want the most stable OC's possible with good protection.

 

[unbiased4u]

what other forums are there?

Quite a few, here are the ones I know about. Some of them I'm in, while others I'm not.

Anandtech
TG Forumz
Overclock.net
XtremeSystems.org
[H]ardForum
HotHardware Forum
Tech-forums
Cnet (lol)
VR-zone (I think)
And a whole bunch of user created ones...

 

[unbiased4u]

I should probably wait for another opinion in the morning, but I'll summarize the basic components that I have decided upon thus far:


Case: AeroCool Engine -or- Xclio A380
PSU: Mushkin Enhanced 550W -or- Xclio Greatpower 550
Mobo: Biostar 965PT -or- EVGA 650i SLi (I don't need SLi)
CPU: Core 2 Duo E4300 -and/or- Celly D 360
RAM: 1GB G.Skill DDR2 800 4-4-4-12 -or- PNY Optima 1GB 4-3-4-8
Video: Connect3D X1900GT VIVO
Cooling CPU: Thermaltake Big Typhoon -or- Thermaltake Blue/Ruby Orb II -or- Scythe Ninja
Cooling VGA: Thermalright VR-03 w/ 120mm fan -or- Zalman VF700/VF900

 

[snake_pliskin]

I just want to say the Biostar P965pt is great I have one and running a E6300 at 2.8 on Corsair XMS2 800 on stock volts and ram timings. Lots of cool features

Oh AND DONT GET A "CELEY D" JUST SPEND LIKE $10 AND GET A E6300. But i guess the E4300 will do just fine too just not to keen on 800 fsb

Also you should save your money and get a 7600GT because your going to be wanting DX10 soon im sure and it would be a waste to get a top of the line DX9 card then have to get a 8800 or R600

Here is my rig and I very happy with it

E6300 @ 2.81/1.325V
BIOSTAR P965 T-FORCE DELUXE
BFG 7900GS-OC
CORSAIR XMS2 PC6400 4X512
CORSAIR 520W/ TRIPLE RAILS
WDC1200JC 120GB
ACRTIC COOLER PRO 7
SB AUDIGY SE 24BIT 7.1

 

[unbiased4u]

I just want to say the Biostar P965pt is great I have one and running a E6300 at 2.8 on Corsair XMS2 800 on stock volts and ram timings. Lots of cool features

Oh AND DONT GET A "CELEY D" JUST SPEND LIKE $10 AND GET A E6300. But i guess the E4300 will do just fine too just not to keen on 800 fsb

Also you should save your money and get a 7600GT because your going to be wanting DX10 soon im sure and it would be a waste to get a top of the line DX9 card then have to get a 8800 or R600

Here is my rig and I very happy with it

E6300 @ 2.81/1.325V
BIOSTAR P965 T-FORCE DELUXE
BFG 7900GS-OC
CORSAIR XMS2 PC6400 4X512
CORSAIR 520W/ TRIPLE RAILS
WDC1200JC 120GB
ACRTIC COOLER PRO 7
SB AUDIGY SE 24BIT 7.1

Wow, nice system! Yeah I'm going to go with the e4300 and I'll just raise the FSB because it OC's well. Ok I"m going to go with the Mushkin PSU and a 7600GT VIVO. Thanks!

 

[unbiased4u]

I've decided to switch to the Xclio PSU at the last second because it was higher on the tier. Everything else is basically the same:

Xclio A380 Case
Xclio Greatpower 550W
Biostar 965PT
1GB G.Skill
C2D e4300
Connect3D X1800GTO VIVO (in stock again!)

Anything blatantly wrong with that?

Please and thank you

Cheers