Fenghuang Posted March 25, 2007 Posted March 25, 2007 Well, my motherboard on my old computer died and it was old enough it wasn't worth replacing. The local CompUSA here is going out of business, and they had some pretty great deals. I got two hard drive cages for the drives from my old system and this motherboard for a little over a hundred dollars. Now I need the rest of the parts. I looked to New Egg and I found a processor I liked, some RAM, and SATA drives I want. I'm thinking four sticks of that ram (two orders) and three of the SATA drives set for RAID 5, I also have a Pioneer DVD+RW drive from the old system and a floppy drive I'll want to put in this, and when I have the money I'll be adding a new DX10 graphics card to this box as well. The part I'm waffling over the most is the Power Supply though, and the market seems to have changed quite a bit since the last time I bought one, with lots and lots of small companies making crappy power supplies, some start up companies making really good power supplies, and some of the companies I've trusted in the past making power supplies that only work with Intel based boards without mentioning it upfront (I'm looking at you Antec ). New Egg has a deal with the case I want to buy that lasts until the end of the weekend where if you buy this power supply along with it they knock off $10 from the total. Not the best deal evar, but I've liked CoolerMaster kit in the past and it seems to have pretty decent reviews. Unfortunately there's only six reviews of it and I've never bought a power supply from Cooler Master before. Basically I am looking for a power supply that is hearty and reliable, puts out enough juice to power the gear I've specified, has all the right connectors and will actually work with my components/electrical plugs, and costs about $130 tops. RIP
Bokishi Posted March 25, 2007 Posted March 25, 2007 I recommend Cooler Master so far; I have their Real Power Pro and it's been superb. However I'm gonna put it through the SLi test next week when my second 8800 arrives so I'll see what happens stability-wise when I push that psu to the max. Current 3DMark
Fenghuang Posted March 25, 2007 Author Posted March 25, 2007 (edited) Basically I am looking for a power supply that is hearty and reliable, puts out enough juice to power the gear I've specified, has all the right connectors and will actually work with my components/electrical plugs, and costs about $130 tops. But I appreciate the vote of confidence for Coolermaster. Does anyone think the components I've specified would need more than 550 watts? Edited March 25, 2007 by Fenghuang RIP
Bokishi Posted March 25, 2007 Posted March 25, 2007 Does anyone think the components I've specified would need more than 550 watts? no. However you didn't specify the vid card you'll have. Current 3DMark
SamuraiGaijin Posted March 25, 2007 Posted March 25, 2007 (edited) No - you'll almost certainly be more than happy with 550W. Another brand to check out (relatively long history of quality ...) is silverstone. 650 Watts for $120 ... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817163108 560 Watts for $105 ... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817163112 Or if you need modular cables ... 600 Watts for $120 ... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817163109 Edited March 25, 2007 by SamuraiGaijin
Fenghuang Posted March 25, 2007 Author Posted March 25, 2007 Does anyone think the components I've specified would need more than 550 watts? no. However you didn't specify the vid card you'll have. Well I said I'd be adding a DX10 card so something 8800 or equivalent/better. That'll cost money though and I wanna wait for more options, so I figured I'd take advantage of the really not bad at all onboard graphics chip and large amounts of RAM I intend to add to the board. RIP
Bokishi Posted March 25, 2007 Posted March 25, 2007 550w should handle one 8800 just fine. However if you're going to add all these hard drives and stuff, or use an R600, then 650w would be ideal. Current 3DMark
WITHTEETH Posted March 25, 2007 Posted March 25, 2007 I have an Antec True Power 650 Watt PSU, works great. I haven't heard much about that case but it looks capable. Hey bok, what temp is your CPU at? mine is at 31C with stock dude! Always outnumbered, never out gunned! Unreal Tournament 2004 Handle:Enlight_2.0 Myspace Website! My rig
Enoch Posted March 25, 2007 Posted March 25, 2007 Any opinions on this case? I just ordered one of those. I'm going to try to assemble my system next weekend, so if you're still uncertain, I'll post my impressions then.
WITHTEETH Posted March 25, 2007 Posted March 25, 2007 Clicky!!! I heard this case was great, but more expensive... Always outnumbered, never out gunned! Unreal Tournament 2004 Handle:Enlight_2.0 Myspace Website! My rig
Fenghuang Posted March 25, 2007 Author Posted March 25, 2007 (edited) There is no place to put my floppy in that one. I needs my floppy man! Also I want an Aluminum case, steel ones are just too cumbersome for my LAN Partying ways. Other than that that case is real purdy, and I am definitely open to suggestions as long they're not uber-expensive like the case Bok has. I don't poop money after all. Edited March 25, 2007 by Fenghuang RIP
WITHTEETH Posted March 25, 2007 Posted March 25, 2007 There is no place to put my floppy in that one. I needs my floppy man! Also I want an Aluminum case, steel ones are just too cumbersome for my LAN Partying ways. Other than that that case is real purdy, and I am definitely open to suggestions as long they're not uber-expensive like the case Bok has. I don't poop money after all. heres my Puter. The case is aluminum, and HUGE inside. Its a Gigabyte 3D Aurora 570. Always outnumbered, never out gunned! Unreal Tournament 2004 Handle:Enlight_2.0 Myspace Website! My rig
Bokishi Posted March 25, 2007 Posted March 25, 2007 Hey bok, what temp is your CPU at? mine is at 31C with stock dude! Man wtf my conroe idled 53C with the stock cooler @ stock speed! Now that I got the Zalman 9700 cooler I idle 44C /w 1ghz overclock. Current 3DMark
Fenghuang Posted March 26, 2007 Author Posted March 26, 2007 There is no place to put my floppy in that one. I needs my floppy man! Also I want an Aluminum case, steel ones are just too cumbersome for my LAN Partying ways. Other than that that case is real purdy, and I am definitely open to suggestions as long they're not uber-expensive like the case Bok has. I don't poop money after all. heres my Puter. The case is aluminum, and HUGE inside. Its a Gigabyte 3D Aurora 570. I like that, couple questions though. How sturdy is it? If I try to take it somewhere is it going to get bent up and crumple like a soda can? Are the edges nice and rounded? Is the power button in the front sticky? i.e. Any problems with it popping back out after you press it? RIP
Fenghuang Posted April 3, 2007 Author Posted April 3, 2007 Okay, so I was at CompUSA today (the one that is closing that I got the motherboard at) to get a USB cable because I forgot to bring mine for my external HDD and I didn't feel like driving all the way home. They had the same case Bokishi has there for $170 only it doesn't come with any of the hardware (posts for mounting the Motherboard, screws) and there is an unidentified problem with the side panel. I was able to get it on most of the way but it stopped about 1/4" from closing. I am thinking something is tweaked and I can probably fix it, other than this it's in good condition. Anybody think I should take a risk and buy it? It's an absolutely gorgeous case. RIP
WITHTEETH Posted April 3, 2007 Posted April 3, 2007 The Aurora is an awesome case with some draw backs. I hate the locking mechanism for the drive bays, basically you have to slide the drive in there and press forward. Well That didn't work for my Scythe three 5.25 Kama Bay drive (front fan), I ended up taking the mechanism out, and screwing the left side of the Scythe Kama bay drive leaving the other side to be a little loose still, so i Added some rubber to hold it firmly in place. Also the pci slot lock, that holds the pci cards in place so you don't have to screw them is also crap. But thankfully they left screw holes so that i had another choice, unlike the drive bay lock. The pci lock wasn't compatible with my graphic card, the metal bar that runs along my XFX thats labeled just that protrudes, and the lock can't come down, thus makign it worthless. Other then those 2 qualms, its a great case, i love the solid construction, the drive bay door is solid aluminum, when you shut it closed, it stays closed by magnetic force. The drive rail can come out and be adjusted. It comes with a mesh side grill and an option acrylic side window, the one i use. Also it has USB, Firewire, and mic/headphone jacks up front. As for the power button, it works just fine, it doesn't stick at all, but it is a bit looser then others, but that is the way its designed, i like it, it also lights up, like the rest of my case... I should take a picture with my case all lit up. The outside of the case has nicely rounded edges, but inside they did a so-so job. My Old old, antec that was the same size roughly but all steel, was twice as heavy. As for the 830 Cooler Master Stacker you found at COMPUSA, i would inspect if first to see if it is fixable, and that you can get all the parts. You can get cooler master side panels online, and other accessories for it, but some stuff cannot be replaced, at least not easily. Always outnumbered, never out gunned! Unreal Tournament 2004 Handle:Enlight_2.0 Myspace Website! My rig
metadigital Posted April 5, 2007 Posted April 5, 2007 Okay, so I was at CompUSA today (the one that is closing that I got the motherboard at) to get a USB cable because I forgot to bring mine for my external HDD and I didn't feel like driving all the way home. They had the same case Bokishi has there for $170 only it doesn't come with any of the hardware (posts for mounting the Motherboard, screws) and there is an unidentified problem with the side panel. I was able to get it on most of the way but it stopped about 1/4" from closing. I am thinking something is tweaked and I can probably fix it, other than this it's in good condition. Anybody think I should take a risk and buy it? It's an absolutely gorgeous case. Depends on you. It is a niche (but growing) industry to build PCs, including from scratch. All you have to do is some small modifications. I'd recommend reading up on PC modding, though, I readCustom PC. Some people don't like to do any fiddling, not even installation of equipment. Others are happy to spend hours sanding with coarse and fine grades of wet-and-dry sandpaper in preparation for a primer and two-coat metallic paint job. I think you'd like it. OBSCVRVM PER OBSCVRIVS ET IGNOTVM PER IGNOTIVS OPVS ARTIFICEM PROBAT
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