dave's computer

[Dave Stones]

following on from this thread where I asked all your opinions on computer cases... this is one of those things that has turned into a long-drawn out affair which I don't expect to finish until around christmas time, with not much expense spared

I have bought this case. Thanks for all the advice of everyone, but a budget of £80 to spend just on a case was possibly a bit too much for me... so, I have spent £40 on the case instead. That leaves me with a bit of extra budget to spend elsewhere. Still need to pair a PSU to go with the case, but that will come later. Like I said, being poor means this project will spread out towards Christmas, possibly beyond...

I am also weighing up the pros and cons of this motherboard. It might seem excessive... but I want this computer to be as future proof as possible, with 8 SATA ports and millions of USB ports I don't see that as much of a problem. The SLi I am weighing up as a possible thing to ditch... I just don't see me having much use for 2 graphics cards. I mainly do CAD work so performance is an issue, but the CAD software I use runs OK on my laptop. One thing though, AMD64 it is definitely going to be. Oh, and this machine *will* be dual-display. Like I said, for my CAD work.

That's it for now... Guess it was more of a ramble really, but any more advice feel fee to throw it at me. I've built many systems before but any pointers are always useful (yes, I have read every single thread on making computers here and don't expect it to come anywhere near ramrod's behemoth...)

[Ramrod]

Well that coolermaster centurion has had good reviews

[Dave Stones]

i can tell you are jealous i knew that stacker case would be too big for you....

incidentally, where have you found is the cheapest place for components, or is it a case of haunting kelkoo until one place drops its prices slightly lower than the others?

i've used scan because i have used them before and trust them, wonder if there is anywhere cheaper...

[AndrewJ]

Nice case choice I know someone else with one and he loves it.

[Ramrod]

Originally Posted by Dave Stones

i can tell you are jealous i knew that stacker case would be too big for you....

It's a great size......components stay nice and cool and it's got foam air filters on the intakes so the innards stay clean as well

incidentally, where have you found is the cheapest place for components, or is it a case of haunting kelkoo until one place drops its prices slightly lower than the others?

Dabs were the cheapest for most of my components iirc and overclockers were good for avalability...

Originally Posted by Dave Stones

I have bought this case. Thanks for all the advice of everyone, but a budget of £80 to spend just on a case was possibly a bit too much for me... so, I have spent £40 on the case instead. That leaves me with a bit of extra budget to spend elsewhere. Still need to pair a PSU to go with the case, but that will come later. Like I said, being poor means this project will spread out towards Christmas, possibly beyond...

It is easy to spend way too much on a case/PSU and what are you getting? Fancy set of lights on the fan? (chich you can't see as it's under the desk), but I guess buying case/PSU separately it's simpler to buy a replacement PSU, if required, to a 'standard' pattern.

Last case I bought was because my PSU died, so I went to Maplin and bought their £45 (thereabouts) all-in case/PSU - 450W, so enough for my needs - at the moment.

Originally Posted by Dave Stones

I am also weighing up the pros and cons of this motherboard. It might seem excessive... but I want this computer to be as future proof as possible

Motherboard and future-proof in the same paragraph? Pointless, in my opinion. After a year, two at the most, the technology will want you to get new gear. So, better to buy a good solution for now that allows you to upgrade in 2 years time, than a brilliant solution that you'll hate in 3 years because it's hopelessly out-of-date, but you can't afford to change cos it cost so much!

Originally Posted by Dave Stones

That's it for now... Guess it was more of a ramble really, but any more advice feel fee to throw it at me. I've built many systems before but any pointers are always useful

Lots, and Lots and LOTS of memory. Fast and reliable (i.e. avoid whacky new technology only 3 months old.) And since the disk(s) will be almost certainly 100Gb minimum, you're going to have a job keeping it backed up, so I'd recommend buying 2 (or more) and getting a mobo that supports RAID - that way you don't need to panic when one drive expires. (BTW - don't buy all drives the same make - just in case you get 3 from one batch and they all fail the same day!)

Have fun - I think system design/build is great fun. Soon as I got one built I want a new one.
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Originally Posted by Ramrod

... and overclockers were good for avalability...

IMHO overclocking just means pushing the components to the edge of their design spec and reducing their life-span. Tho' if we assume we're building a new system in <2 years that's probably not an issue.

[Ramrod]

Originally Posted by ScaredWebWarrior

IMHO overclocking just means pushing the components to the edge of their design spec and reducing their life-span. Tho' if we assume we're building a new system in <2 years that's probably not an issue.

re-read my post

Really save hard and buy an AMD X2

Originally Posted by Ramrod

re-read my post

Ah - you mean 'Overclockers' the well known (but not to me, clearly) purveyors of computing materiel.

It was the lack of capitalisation that had me read the alternate meaning of what you said...

Guess that's blown my credibility...

Originally Posted by ScaredWebWarrior

Ah - you mean 'Overclockers' the well known (but not to me, clearly) purveyors of computing materiel.

It was the lack of capitalisation that had me read the alternate meaning of what you said...

Guess that's blown my credibility...

nope - takes a good person to admit a misunderstanding

[Stephen]

That is a great case I have just built my Dad a new Athlon 64 3000+ system using that centurion case, its really cool.

Dave try www.aria.co.uk for cheap components. Usually if you see it anywhere cheaper contact them they will check it out and sometimes drop their prices. built the full system and mine from parts bought there.

[Gareth]

I do think the PSU is worth spending some decent money on. Admittedly, you don't have to spend >£100 to get a good one, but I'll always steer clear of the real cheap stuff now. I've had 2 go bang (a cheap one supplied with the case, and a cheap replacement I bought), and almost take out other stuff with them. Since then, I've always bought decent branded PSU. Currently using Antec - not the crÃÃâ€*’¨me de la crÃÃâ€*’¨me, but not bad for my usage.

[Dave Stones]

Originally Posted by ScaredWebWarrior

It is easy to spend way too much on a case/PSU and what are you getting? Fancy set of lights on the fan? (chich you can't see as it's under the desk), but I guess buying case/PSU separately it's simpler to buy a replacement PSU, if required, to a 'standard' pattern.

hence my lower budget i don't think having a rolled steel case will cause any problems over an all-aluminium one, other than that the postman might hate me a bit more

Motherboard and future-proof in the same paragraph? Pointless, in my opinion. After a year, two at the most, the technology will want you to get new gear. So, better to buy a good solution for now that allows you to upgrade in 2 years time, than a brilliant solution that you'll hate in 3 years because it's hopelessly out-of-date, but you can't afford to change cos it cost so much!

future-proofing to an extent anyway the next big step up i see for technology is BTXing things, I can't see me needing to do that to be honest. I meant futureproofing in the sense of having lots of expansion room... SATA may well go out of fashion in the future but that means components will be cheaper, and I have the potential for 8 drives on this system.

Lots, and Lots and LOTS of memory. Fast and reliable (i.e. avoid whacky new technology only 3 months old.) And since the disk(s) will be almost certainly 100Gb minimum, you're going to have a job keeping it backed up, so I'd recommend buying 2 (or more) and getting a mobo that supports RAID - that way you don't need to panic when one drive expires. (BTW - don't buy all drives the same make - just in case you get 3 from one batch and they all fail the same day!)

I have lined up to have 2GB of memory in this system. For those of you that are familiar with CAD systems, they are very resource hungry i use delcam at the moment but will be trying out other things in the near future. This runs fine at uni on athlon mp2500 dual processor systems with 1gb ram. That motherboard I am looking at supports all the relevent RAID configurations, am I right in assuming that though more expensive, RAID1+0 is the safest? (for big capacity)

Have fun - I think system design/build is great fun. Soon as I got one built I want a new one.

Well I used to have a summer job building machines, and I regularly take apart and tinker with the htpc so I think i am more than qualified to give a static shock to everything it is very fun, though last time i was in a case I got blood all over the motherboard... (sharp edges cut finers, dont you know )

Originally Posted by DarthYoda

Dave try www.aria.co.uk for cheap components. Usually if you see it anywhere cheaper contact them they will check it out and sometimes drop their prices. built the full system and mine from parts bought there.

haven't thought of there actually. Just had a look, they seem to do monitors cheaply and have a good special section

Originally Posted by Gareth

I do think the PSU is worth spending some decent money on. Admittedly, you don't have to spend >£100 to get a good one, but I'll always steer clear of the real cheap stuff now. I've had 2 go bang (a cheap one supplied with the case, and a cheap replacement I bought), and almost take out other stuff with them. Since then, I've always bought decent branded PSU. Currently using Antec - not the crÃÃâ€*’¨me de la crÃÃâ€*’¨me, but not bad for my usage.

The htpc here has an antec truepower 380W supply in it. It's silent as a grave... I don't want to spend too much on a power supply, obviously it is the most important part of the system, but I don't want to be spending silly money on these fancy modular systems with 6 fans and a built in jukebox, and whatnot...

Originally Posted by Zinglebarb

Really save hard and buy an AMD X2

If i set up a donation fund here, how many would contribute?

I am looking at a A64 3200+ at the moment. Has the right balance of power and speed and price... That may change though, depending on how many earthquakes there are in the near future
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i think i need a lie down after such a long post.... *feels faint*

[nffc]

I need to get shares in overclockers.co.uk - the upgrade I've done has cost a packet! Never had a problem with them or their couriers either.

Now have
AMD Athlon 64 3700+ (Clawhammer core) S754
ASUS K8V SE Deluxe - with onboard everything, 5 PCIs, 8 USBs
768 MB PC2700 - the fastest my old board would take, plan to upgrade to 1 GB PC3200 soon...
NVidia GeForce FX 5200 with 128 MB onboard RAM - again, planned upgrade here...
Creative SB Audigy 2 ZS Platinum - no upgrade here (pwns)
Wireless 54g adapter
Pinnacle TV card (will upgrade, when I can get one that receives all 4 analogue and digital radio and TV broadcasts)
DVD and CD writers, FDD (why do I still have this?)
250 GB SATA HDD with 16 MB cache- this absolutely flies - partitioned 60, 60, 120 ish
120 GB ATA HDD with poor cache that I've only kept because I'm too lazy to reformat - partitioned 60, 60
Nice looking case which is about £30 at Savastore.com with cool window in the side and about two million lights, all the fans sound like flying on a 747
That's about it (just fancied showing off now I have a PC worthy of at least some street cred)
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Originally Posted by Dave Stones

Well I used to have a summer job building machines, and I regularly take apart and tinker with the htpc so I think i am more than qualified to give a static shock to everything it is very fun, though last time i was in a case I got blood all over the motherboard... (sharp edges cut finers, dont you know )

Don't I know it. Nursing a plaster on a finger now from today's upgrade and a fight with my graphics card.

Lost a similar fight with the sound card doing a routine clean out and remove/reseat about six months ago. Both pulling out a molex...

Previous lame injury was a paper cut off the cardboard box my new processor came in. I'd cut the little plastic seal with scissors and put my finger under the edge to open it...

PCs should carry a health warning... and the only thing I wear static bands for is changing RAM and CPUs. I've not fried anything - yet - and I've been playing inside PCs for a number of years... *touches wood*

[Dave Stones]

Originally Posted by nffc

and the only thing I wear static bands for is changing RAM and CPUs. I've not fried anything - yet - and I've been playing inside PCs for a number of years... *touches wood*

you would hate me.... never used one. three of the pins on the htpc's sempron are bent out of shape too and it works...

i use the "sledgehammer" school of pc building