Cooler Master Case (What Power Supply?)

[AzCoastie]

Hello all,

So far, this is what I'm planning to build:

Cooler Master ATC-210-VX1 (VERDANT) Case
ASUS P4T-E w/o Audio Motherboard
P4 2.2GHz Retail w/ standard HSF CPU
1GB PC800 RAMBUS (4 X 256) RAM
Western Digital 100GB "Special Edition" Hard Drive
Panasonic 16x Slot Load DVD ROM
Plextor Plexwriter 24x/10x/40x CDRW
Generic Floppy Drive
Geforce4 Ti4600 Video Card
Turtle Beach Santa Cruz Sound Card
Creative Modem Blaster V.92 Modem
Logitech Freedom iTouch Keyboard/Mouse Bundle
Viewsonic G810 21" Monitor
Logitech Z540 5-piece Speaker System
WinXP Home

I'm planning to build soon (gathering parts) and was wondering what power supply and watts you'd recommend for the Cooler Master ATC-210-VX1 (VERDANT) case and parts I've chosen.

I've heard that ENERMAX is the way to go, but I'm not quite sure what power supply will work best with this case.

Will all power supplies rated for the P4 fit perfectly into this case?

Appreciate any recommendations!

[Web Gecko]

Damn, I wish PC componentry was as cheap in Oz as it is in the US (at least twice the cost down here). Looks like a cool system. You'll probably need 300 watts and some for that lot.

I'll leave the specific recommendations for those more in the know with P4
gear and p/ses. Is the Geforce4 Titanium that new nVidia GPU card ? I've heard
it really rips. Good to see you've gone with RDRAM with your system. DDR is OK
but SDRAM P4s are a waste.

Good luck with it

cheers

The Web Gecko

[AzCoastie]

Originally posted by Web Gecko Is the Geforce4 Titanium that new nVidia GPU card?

Yeah, it's NVidia's new flagship... Due out within a couple of weeks... I hope!

[morriswindgate]

All the ATX form factor power supplies will fit the case and Enermax is definitly the way to go. 350 watt or more. Also you might want to check out the Hercules Gaming Theater XP sound system, it's about 20 bucks more than the Santa Cruz and is based on the same chipset, but comes with additional features.

[AzCoastie]

Chief,

Thanks for the recommendations... Very much appreciated!

obtw, active, reserve, or retired?

I'm on active duty with the Coast Guard in Yorktown, VA... Been in since '87 and still loving every minute of it! Born and raised in Phoenix, AZ hence AzCoastie!

[morriswindgate]

I got out after 12 years, at the time I had been a Chief Electrician for 4 years and was assigned to a reserve ship and did notwant to stay in 3 section duty for the next 10 years in Long Beach.
I forgot to link you to the Hercules XP site, really a great card and setup.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...ry=1282&DEPA=1

[scrappy]

If your going to be spending that type of money you might as well get a hold of a 400W PS. Are you going to use a HD cooler? How many fans etc?

[glc]

If you are going to be using dialup to connect to the Internet, that Modem Blaster has to go. You have a top end system there with a crap Winmodem. The best V.92 modem out there is the external serial US Robotics 5686D, which is around $100. It will make a big difference all by itself.

You won't need a hard drive cooler as long as you have 2 case fans - one intake and one exhaust. The P-4 Northwood is not a furnace like the AMD T-Bird was. I just built a similar system for a customer and the 340 watt power supply I used is more than adequate. It's not the actual watts - 300 is more than anything needs except big servers and high end workstations - it's the quality that counts and Enermax is top shelf.

[AzCoastie]

glc,

Thanks for the advice... Are there any good internal modems? I would rather not use anything external.

Scrappy,

I have no plans to get a HDD cooler... Shouldn't need it! The Cooler Master case comes with two fans and the Enermax Power Supply comes with two also. That should be plenty to keep this thing cool, don't you think?

Chief,

Thanks for the link... That looks like a darn nice setup... I think you've sold me!! Can I mount that rack internally in one of the 5.25 bays?

I don't blame you for not wanting to stand 1 in 3... That's pretty harsh duty for a month, let alone 10 years... Wow! I would've had to look for an alternate career too!

Thanks again everyone!!

[morriswindgate]

The breakout box on the Hercules XP is about 9 inches wide x 6 inches deep and about 3 inches high, so mounting it in a bay is out. It is heavy weight metal construction and features the following connections

Front -
1/4-inch Haedphone output jack w/ volume control

1/4-inch switchable Line-In 2/Mic-In jack w/ microphone gain control

1/4-inch to 3.5 mm adapter provided

RCA Line-In jacks (left and right)

Game port and 2 USB ports (1 and 2)

Back -
1/8-inch Main stereo Line-Out jack

1/8-inch Surround stereo Line-Out jack

6 gold-plated Line-Out RCA connectors - main, left and right surround, and left and right center/sobwoofer

2 additional USB ports (3 and 4)

DB44 connector to PCI card


Digital S/PDIF Input (Coaxial and Optical) - 32kHz, 44kHz, 48kHz

Digital S/PDIF Output (Coaxial and Optical) - set to 48kHz

MIDI-In/MIDI-Out DIN connectors (MPU-401 compatible)

And I agree that you do not need a hard drive cooler, but I would get the Card Rack cooler that is at the link below. It's super quite and big (120MM)and gets air flow across the cards and also helps to create a mixing action inside the case.

http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/cafcarcool.html

[Cricket]

Hi AzCoastie,

The best internal modems are the ISA hard modems. Most current motherboards have done away with the ISA slots, so the next best solution is what glc suggested...the external serial modem.

I have a USR Sportster 56K external serial modem and it works great. It's pretty small so it can be placed almost anywhere. I can't tell the difference in performance between it and my USR Sportster 56K ISA internal modem in my other PC.

I also have a USR Performance Pro 56K internal PCI modem in another PC and notice that it uses more system resources when in use than the USR Sportster ISA modem...performance is slightly slower too.

Cricket

[glc]

I don't care for ANY internal PCI modems, but if you MUST use one, get a USR 2976.

[AzCoastie]

Thanks for the replies guys... Sorry it took so long to say thanks, I've been out of town with no internet access for a week! *Grrr*

BCNU,
AzCoastie

[Web Gecko]

Hey AzCoastie ,

No Internet for a whole Week ? Sounds like HEAVEN !

Sometimes I think it would be great to revert totally to Ludditism
i.e. back to the days of the Horse and Cart. No damned telephone and no damned computers ! What NO Internet Chat Lines (Now my mom and my girlfriend I can live without but NO Internet Chat ? I ask you !) ? I would miss cable TV though.

Sometimes I also think that one of the best things you can do with a computer is to switch it off ! One day I am gonna pick up a whole PC and drop it in the dumpster just for kicks. God help us if we ever reach the stage that when we go to turn off the PC it says ,"I'm Sorry Dave, I just can't do that Dave,
You are endangering my Mission Dave, It is imperative that my next session of
Diablo begin in 5 minutes sharp Dave. Sorry about that Dave, Gamers Prerogative I guess !".

A question I have about the Internet and the WWW is this,"Who came up with the absurd notion of Surfing the Web ?". For me it's more like tagging along after a two legged dogie. It's more like trawling as you throw out the net and then you have to heave it back filled with garbage mostly. The Internet for me is more like SLOMO TV or a slide show. I wish the damned slide show operator would wake up and gimme the next frame (maybe he fell offa his chair or had too much bourbon).

Of course when it works well the Internet can be a buzz.

cheers

The Web Gecko

[hollywood]

Originally posted by AzCoastie Hello all, What's your final price on that new system So far, this is what I'm planning to build: Cooler Master ATC-210-VX1 (VERDANT) Case ASUS P4T-E w/o Audio Motherboard P4 2.2GHz Retail w/ standard HSF CPU 1GB PC800 RAMBUS (4 X 256) RAM Western Digital 100GB "Special Edition" Hard Drive Panasonic 16x Slot Load DVD ROM Plextor Plexwriter 24x/10x/40x CDRW Generic Floppy Drive Geforce4 Ti4600 Video Card Turtle Beach Santa Cruz Sound Card Creative Modem Blaster V.92 Modem Logitech Freedom iTouch Keyboard/Mouse Bundle Viewsonic G810 21" Monitor Logitech Z540 5-piece Speaker System WinXP Home I'm planning to build soon (gathering parts) and was wondering what power supply and watts you'd recommend for the Cooler Master ATC-210-VX1 (VERDANT) case and parts I've chosen. I've heard that ENERMAX is the way to go, but I'm not quite sure what power supply will work best with this case. Will all power supplies rated for the P4 fit perfectly into this case? Appreciate any recommendations!