New build help/almost ready

[toostrike22]

I finally found a case to house all my parts.Cases are a very personal choice,so beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Brand I-STAR Series Nitro Ax Model S-10000B Black/ Silver ATX Full Tower (5) External 5.25" Drive Bays (2) External 3.5" Drive Bays (5) Internal 3.5" Drive Bays/ Front Ports 2x USB2.0 / 1x IEEE1394 / 1x Line output / 1x Microphone.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811165008

Some thoughts from people that reviewed this case:

Solid construction, excellent fit and finish!! Nobody makes a case like this one. I can picture archaeologists digging up one of these cases many millennia from now,and thinking we were a great people to have built such a contraption

Features:

Lockable side cover, removable 3,5" rails, 5,25" slide rail drive assembly, toolless fan holder, toolless front bezel

Tool-less,but not cheap.The sides and mb tray come with thumbscrews. The card slots are covered with one long metal clip, not screws. All drive bays come with quick-release rails. Unused rails are housed inside the blank front panels

It has (3)120mm fan ports. One between the front face and the metal chassis for the HDDs,one on the side, and the one in the back.The HDD cages have grounded vibration dampers. Both side panels open to the side, not sliding back, which is nice.The 120mm on the side has a cpu air duct that is directed to the motherboard.

SWEET! Door above the bezel opens then slides back along the side. The vertical bar on the door is aluminum.

The removable motherboard tray is superb.It even has some handles for moving your mobo around.

IMP-The best part is the price.$109.00 dollars.I have spent countless hours reviewing cases,and this case holds its own against some of the high end cases.

The Coolermaster 830,which by the way, is the best stock built case to date(imp),but certainly not in price.I just cant justify a 300 dollar case.

Not the best of the best,but I think this should make a nice rig…..Not totally finished deciding.

AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego 1GHz FSB 1MB L2 Cache Socket 939 Processor – Retail $223.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103539

CORSAIR XMS 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit System Memory - Capacity 2GB (2 x 1GB) Speed DDR 400 (PC 3200) Cas Latency 3 Timing 3-3-3-8 Voltage 2.6V ECC No Registered/Unbuffered Unbuffered Heat Spreader Yes-Retail 194.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145486

ASUS A8N5X Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 ATX AMD Motherboard – Retail $95.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131569

Creative Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS SB0350 8 (7.1) Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Interface $75.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16829102178

OCZ PowerStream OCZ520ADJSLI ATX, BTX, SATA, P4 and EPS12V 520W Power Supply 100~120Vac / 200~240Vac 10/6a - Retail $139.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817711002


Video 200-220 budget??

Hard drive-Are the 10,000 rpm better drives for gaming.I need 74 gig,and 160gig regular HHD.

[MakeYourslf2012]

Case looks nice.

For the video card I suggest a 6800SE or GT. Its a good video card and fits into your budget.

As for the Hard Drive, if you want a 10,000 RPM drive, the WD Raptors are nice. Theres a 36gb, 74gb and 160gb version I believe. I've never used them so I don't really have anything to say.

As for the 160gb drive, a Western Digital Caviar will be good. They are regular 7,200 RPM drives. if you don't want a WD though, I'd stick to the big 3 (Maxtor, Seagate, and Western Digital)


Also if you don't plan on overclocking, then regular Corsair ValueSelect RAM will do. It cheaper and will save some money.

What are your thought on optical drives? DVD burner? CD-ROM?

[toostrike22]

Dvd Burner-Plextor 716a

Ram-I have been taking a crash course on learning about ram……….

Basically, you need memory that provides at least as much bandwidth as your processor and has the lowest CAS you can find or afford.You don’t what to dip down below cas latency rating under 2.5

(ie)Cas latency (2) Timing 2-2-2-5

With all things equal, a stick of DDR memory capable of running 2-2-2-5 memory timings will make the computer operating experience seem faster than a DIMM which can only operate at 3-4-4-8. This is because the delay from when the memory receives an instruction, retrieves the data, and sends it back out is less time.*disclaimer-If you have a Cas latency under 2.5,and memory speeds 2-2-2-5,you may sacrifice stability for speed increase.

Most DIMMs that operate at tight timings, such as PC3200 and PC3500 modules, have to run the memory at lower MHz than the system bus to maintain the tight timings. However, when overclocking the microprocessor to extreme speeds these DIMMs are bandwidth limiting the processor unless you loosen the timings so that the memory can run in sync with the front side bus or CPU external frequency.

The signifigance of this is that when the processor requires a great deal of bandwidth, the CPU will have to wait for another clock cycle before being filled, as the memory is just not fast enough to keep up at the same pace. Having a large pool of bandwidth is great when you're working with applications that process a lot of raw data such as Photoshop or databases.

The other point is that CAS2-rated PC3200 and PC3500 memory can make up for the lack of bandwidth because the memory has a lower latency that in effect moves data between the CPU and the memory much faster. Programs that do not require a large amount of bandwidth tend to benefit more from quicker data transfers between the memory and the rest of the computer such as games and 3D applications.

From what I read on Corsair Value Ram it has a Cas latency of (3),which is fine,but they don’t list the timing speeds(bad)The reason they don’t list timing speed is because there looser vs tighter,and I don’t like that,as far as gaming goes.

Corsair Value 2x1g $165 Cas latency 3 Timing Not rated
Corsair XMS 2x1g $194 Cas latency 3 Timing 3-3-3-8

I’ll pay 30 dollars more for tighter timing speeds,and not have to worry about overclocking.Sorry for being so long winded,but that is the reason.

Monitor-I have to hold off on that for now,but I like that Samsung 930B lcd.I noticed you had that in your signature?How do you like it?

I will check out the video cards you suggested.Thanks

[not important]

That case is very similar to the Antec LifeStyle SONATA II (which comes with a 450Watt SmartPower 2.0 PSU)
I have the 940B Samsung and it is a very good monitor. I don't think you can go wrong with the Samsung.

[blue60007]

Originally Posted by toostrike22 Corsair Value 2x1g $165 Cas latency 3 Timing Not rated Corsair XMS 2x1g $194 Cas latency 3 Timing 3-3-3-8

Value Select is rated for the same timings as far as I know. The only difference I can see is heatspreaders and possibly higher quality memory chips (not that the VS chips aren't quality) and might allow higher speeds. You'd have to step up to the more expensive XMS RAM to get tighter timings. You'd be better off spending less on value RAM and getting a faster video card or whatever.