Author Topic: Settled on MB, need advice on CPU, RAM and case (Read 662 times)

Wanker · « **on:** October 09, 2003, 01:48:21 PM »

Well, I think I'm nearing upgrade time again. This time, I'm doing things a little differently. I'm considering buying the parts from a local PC shop, which has changed oweners and is now stocking some good quality name brand components at prices just slightly above newegg.com.

I've settled on the Asus P4C800-E Deluxe, to get the CSA Gigabit 1000/100 LAN. But I'm not certain about which CPU to get.

Would like suggestions on which CPU & RAM(1 GB) to get for this 800mhz fsb motherboard.

I also need suggestions for a good case that will be quiet.

I recently picked up an ATI Radeon 9800 Pro, so I'm good there. I'm not going to get an S-ATA harddrive yet, gonna wait for that. Just going to port my current hard drives over for now.

Do I understand correctly that this motherboard requires RAM installed in matched pairs?

Thanks for the advice.

mrblack · « **Reply #1 on:** October 09, 2003, 06:16:05 PM »

banana the Abit IC7MAX3 Has Gigabye onboard lan to.
I would go with the P4 2.4 It is really easy to overclock due to its low multiplier x12. And ItS CHEAP!!! 165.00
Ram I am using Mushkin pc3500 Because It has the BH-5 chips
The 875 chipsets seem to have issues with the CH-5 chips so stay away from em.
There are people over clocking the 2.4 to 3.4 on AIR!!
You can run it stable if you have a good fan like a themalake.
The advantage of the abit over the asus is the abit you can crank up the VDIMM voltage to 3.2.
In other words make it run faster.

As far as a casr goes I would go with a lan lia might be miss spelled.
But they make a wonderfull aluminuim case.
Just got to http://www.newwegg.com and poke around.

beet1e · « **Reply #2 on:** October 10, 2003, 02:48:50 AM »

Hi banana. I'm just about to build a new system, and it won't be that different from yours - Asus mobo, ATi 9800 Radeon Pro...

The CPU I'm getting will probably be the AMD XP2500 or XP2600. I know you can go right up to XP3200, but there's no need. Get one that's on a flat section of the price curve - before it points skywards. Skuzzy has said that the video card will be more crucial than the CPU for Aces High, but you're good on that. My current CPU (Athlon 1.2GHz) works fine in AH most of the time.

The mobo I'm getting will be the much vaunted Asus A7N8X-deluxe. If this is going to be your first Asus board, congratulations - it's a choice I doubt you'll regret. However, before committing to purchase, read the mobo manual for your board. You can download it from the Asus site. The link for your board is here: http://www.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/sock478/P4C800E-DX/e1347b_p4c800-e_deluxe.pdf I would right click that link and then "save target as..." to download it to your PC - better than trying to read the online .PDF - it's 4.46MB. The manual should answer your questions about memory/matched pairs.

As for cases, hehe - I have some experience there. Remember, AMD processors run quite hot compared with Intel. You'll want a well ventilated tower case with the option for 4 cooling fans. I have that and my CPU runs at 50°c. However, that's going to mean more noise... liquid cooling might be possible, might cost a bit. I had planned to put my case in the tower case cabinet of a desk I just bought, and found it wouldn't fit.

Would have been good to press the power button to start up, and then close the door on the noise. If you get a purpose built desk, check the cabinet size against the size of whatever case you get.

Good luck.

Wanker · « **Reply #3 on:** October 10, 2003, 07:55:29 AM »

Thanks for the responses, guys.

I've decided to go with the P4 2.4 800 mhz fsb, I've seen a lot of positive press on this with regard to overclocking.

Beetle, I'm going with Intel this time because my current AMD XP 2100 + based system is so freaking loud I just can't stand it anymore. My goal this time around is to have a fast, quiet system. So Intel, here I come.

Think I'm going to go with the OCZ Dual Channel Gold RAM, but am not sure whether to go with the PC3200, PC3500, PC3700 or PC4000! Sheesh, lots of choices these days.

Mrblack, you are correct, I'm going to change my motherboard choice to the Abit IC7- Max3. Looks like that's the board to beat right now.

Pfunk · « **Reply #4 on:** October 10, 2003, 08:59:09 AM »

OCZ memory has had some pretty bad issues in the past, I dont know if they have corrected them. I'd go with Kingston Hyper X, or mushkin

Skuzzy · « **Reply #5 on:** October 10, 2003, 09:11:00 AM »

banana, I would suggest the Antec SLK3700AMB case. Outstanding quality, and uses 120MM fans instead of the smaller fans for the case which move as much air, but is quieter about it.

Note the hard drives are in a removeable chassis directly in front of the front 120mm fan as well.

Now, if you are feeling really good about yourself, step up to the Antec Sonata case. Based on the above case, but with rubber mounted fans, a quieter power supply fan as well.

The SLK3700AMB is a good buy though.

On RAM...do not skimp on the ram. These high FSB systems must have quality ram. Mushkin is excellent, and Crucial is quite good too.

Reschke · « **Reply #6 on:** October 10, 2003, 10:16:21 AM »

The two systems I just built that I listed in my other thread here were built inside the Antec SLK3700AMB cases. I went and bought another 120mm fan to go in the front as well and they are super quiet. I payed ~$62 per case from Newegg not including shipping. Very easy cases to build in and easy on the hands as well.

The case I have is super quiet with 4 80mm fans inside and I am planning on putting in another through the clear side panel to help push in some cool air around the video card/CPU area. I have the Chieftec/Antec server box that I got locally for ~$100 with a 330W power supply.

Wanker · « **Reply #7 on:** October 10, 2003, 11:12:35 AM »

Quote

Originally posted by Skuzzy
banana, I would suggest the Antec SLK3700AMB case. Outstanding quality, and uses 120MM fans instead of the smaller fans for the case which move as much air, but is quieter about it.

Note the hard drives are in a removeable chassis directly in front of the front 120mm fan as well.

Now, if you are feeling really good about yourself, step up to the Antec Sonata case. Based on the above case, but with rubber mounted fans, a quieter power supply fan as well.

The SLK3700AMB is a good buy though.

On RAM...do not skimp on the ram. These high FSB systems must have quality ram. Mushkin is excellent, and Crucial is quite good too.

Skuzzy, great minds think alike. I had just decided on the Antec Sonata case right before coming back to check and see the replies for this morning. Love the quietness of the 120mm fans(I'm going to add one in the front in addition to the one that comes with the case in back), and since I'm a musician, well...no contest.

About the RAM, though. Some hardware sites really like the OCZ RAM. They claim that the problems OCZ had in the past are gone.

Ok, so if I go with the Mushkin, should I just stay with PC3200?

BTW, in keeping with my desire for quiet, I'm going to get the Zalman CNPS7000-Cu Pure Copper CPU cooler.

Skuzzy · « **Reply #8 on:** October 10, 2003, 11:24:00 AM »

I would go PC3200 (DDR400), as that chipset is 800MHz FSB. You do need to use pairs of RAM though.

banana, I would not have gotten the Zalman, myself. The stock Intel HSF is a fine unit and cools well enough, even for overclocking.
The only change to the Intel HSF I would do, is too scrape the carbon thermal pad off, then use Artic Silver paste.

Wanker · « **Reply #9 on:** October 10, 2003, 12:46:50 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Skuzzy
I would go PC3200 (DDR400), as that chipset is 800MHz FSB. You do need to use pairs of RAM though.

banana, I would not have gotten the Zalman, myself. The stock Intel HSF is a fine unit and cools well enough, even for overclocking.
The only change to the Intel HSF I would do, is too scrape the carbon thermal pad off, then use Artic Silver paste.

Ok, I'll skip the Zalman for now and see if the stock HS is quiet enough.

I'm serious, after about a year with all the fans of my current system used to keep the AMD XP 2100 + cool, I'm at the end of my rope. This is the first time I can ever remember upgrading simply because the noise is too much to bear.

About the RAM....if I go for the PC3200 Mushkin RAM, does that mean that I can't get 1000 fsb by overclocking the RAM? Or am I confusing this with the CPU multipliers? I know that I'm going to overclock the 2.4 CPU to 3.0+ ghz, but don't the RAM timings play a role in how far the CPU can be overclocked, or are they completely different?

hehe, I only really study this stuff when I need to build myself a new system, so please forgive my ignorance. I'm a software geek now, don't dabble in the hardware too much anymore.

Skuzzy · « **Reply #10 on:** October 10, 2003, 12:53:59 PM »

The CPU should overclock pretty well. Almost gauranteed 200Mhz overclock without any strain. 400Mhz overclock is fairly normal.

Overclocking that 800Mhz FSB, you will find that even the highest quality, fastest RAM on the market will not get much past 815Mhz without problems cropping up. Unless you resort to adding a bunch of wait states in the RAM, which effectively cuts the speed back anyways.
A lot of people think they can overclock the bus and be done, but the BIOS will adjust parameters of the RAM to compensate for the faster bus speed. You have to lock down the RAM parameters, then you will find you are limited to how fast the bus can run.

You will be impressed with how quiet things are once you are done.

Wanker · « **Reply #11 on:** October 10, 2003, 12:59:52 PM »

Is this the Mushkin RAM I should get?

http://www.mushkin.com/epages/Mushkin.storefront/3f86f3330d39bed2273fc0a801050673/Product/View/991032

Skuzzy · « **Reply #12 on:** October 10, 2003, 01:12:40 PM »

Looks good to me.

mrblack · « **Reply #13 on:** October 10, 2003, 02:25:47 PM »

Just to give you an idea what the Mushkin and the intel 2.4 can do with proper cooling.
I run at 300FSB for everyday stuff and It is very stable.
You should be able to OC to 250FSB x4=1000 with no problem.

Wanker · « **Reply #14 on:** October 10, 2003, 04:34:31 PM »

CPU-Z? Never heard of it. Does it come with XP?