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View Full Version : Case, MOBO, PSU etc...



Kano
06-29-2005, 02:58 AM
Hi, I'm new to these parts. I'm an avid gamer and am looking to upgrade my old and dated rig (Geforce 6600GT AGP 8x, 1.8 Ghz Athlon XP Barton, 768 MB 2700 cheepo mem, old gigabyte MOBO, 350W PSU, old WD 80 gig IDE HD) Anyways, I'm planning to save my money for some time and am looking to jump from barely entry level to "Extreme Gamer"<------ "woah". Really I've already decided on an AMD FX (Or X2, which is better for gaming?), Geforce 7800 GTX for sure, not sure on MOBO (MSI K8N Neo4, Asus?)... Hopefully these complcations will be easily resolved by the time I have money.

What a really need help with is teh case and PSU. I want to get a case with good cooling, case that will last me a while, will work with all kinds of setups (water cooling etc), and also... looks cool (athlough thats not the most important part). Also I'm in a pickle concerning the power supply. I'm new to the idea of dual PSUs and might consider upgrading to another 7800 GTX, and putting them in SLI.

Really I don't want to spend a ton of money right away and will make less important upgades like water cooling or adding another video card later on. Hey I'm a kid, but I figure I'll have plenty enough to afford a very very decent system by the time Longhorn comes out.

There's so many choices, I really can't decide with the limited knowledge that I have. But I'm learning, so help me out.

-Thank'ee

Xbrid
06-29-2005, 03:29 AM
Will you overclock? What Sort of Case do you like, Flashly or Professional looking? Lian-Li Make very Good Quality cases, for a high price. Are you getting a fulltower or midi? If It's your first time watercooling, and your not very good a wire management, Go Full tower. I just put 1/2 " water cooling in my PC-75 (http://www.xoxide.com/lianlipc751.html ) and i had a bit of trouble with it
For PSU, Try to Get A Modular PSU. The Best one on the Market at the monment in my Opinion is the OCZ Modstream 520 ( http://www.xoxide.com/ocz-modstream-520w-modular-psu.html ) though some will say the Antec NeoPower

Kano
06-29-2005, 03:37 AM
I'm new to water cooling. There's a ton of stuff out there and I'd really like to go with some kind of water coolinh... I've just looked at and messed around with what a friend of mine had. I like to overclock, and case size or look isn't as important as features and cooling. Although a cool looking flashy case is always nice. Crazy as you may call me, I'll always love the unbuyable Alienware cases.

Wouldn't you want to go with more power than 520W for SLI? I've seen some 600W+ for around the same price. One power supply I've been looking at is the Turbo-Cool SLI ATX Deluxe Power Supply. Although the price is alot steeper, it seems to have the most features and is "SLI certified". But again its $100 more that I'd like to spend.

Xato
06-29-2005, 04:36 AM
If you're looking for specific information on what will run better, i'd recommend checking out the forums at www.overclockersclub.com
They can give you info on Overclocking, cooling, graphics, SLI setups, everything related to speed and technics.
We can still provide information on those topics, but OCC is a little more specific to speeds etc... they'll be able to tell you all the pro's and cons of the new X2's etc.

Kano
06-29-2005, 02:09 PM
I'm still undecided on a case and PSU. The OCZ Modstream 520 looks good, but can it handle SLI?

Xato
06-30-2005, 06:07 AM
As you can see from this site...
http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/20050622/nvidia_7800_gtx-10.html
The power consumption of SLI setups can be up to 380 watts.
This is a significant amount, and leave 140W for all your other components... whether this is enough or not, i dont know.

This is another solution which isn't too expensive... not to sure onthe quality on this PSU though, but it has 680W for $250 AU
http://www.pccasegear.com.au/prod2221.htm
And that leaves you with 300W to play around with, which should be plenty.

Xbrid
07-01-2005, 04:13 AM
If you can afford, get a Pc Power & Cooling. OCZ Also make a non- modular 600watt Powerstream. i have the 520 and i love it . i am Running watercooling as well as top end rig, non- SLI. i think the Modstream should be able to handle, but i am not 100%.

Xbrid
07-01-2005, 04:18 AM
Also, i saw somewhere that the Powerstream 520' max load is something like 620. i think that will be enough

Kano
07-01-2005, 02:59 PM
I really like the OCZ Powerstream 520. BTW, the 600W one is modular I think. But its also $200. Odds are that I'll never add in another 7800GTX, but my guess is that the price of two will have gone down by the time I can afford it. Also, how much does good water cooling cost if you throw in a CPU and VGA block? (like the one at DangerDen that cools the core and memory of the video card) Odds are that my first watercooling setup will be just CPU, then when I get more money I'll throw in the VGA cooler.

Xbrid
07-01-2005, 05:52 PM
try and get it at the same time. i just put mine in and it is a bit of a gassle. It would be annoying to have take it all out, get all the water out, refit all the block dry , includiong the new one, and then have to dry fit, then leak test. try and do it in one go.
BTW The Powerstream 600 isn't modular, though some modding sites might have their own modular versions for sale.

Kano
07-02-2005, 12:36 AM
Yeah, but how much would that cost?

Xbrid
07-02-2005, 05:00 AM
I just check and it looks like the site i thought did it doesn't do it anymore, or at least not on the OCZ Powerstream. the Modstream should be able to handle it with 620 max load.( i think)