Case Moding Etc

[darkrisen2003]

ok for starters im really trying to decide on a power supply and ive come up with 3 ideas.
http://www.frozencpu.com/cgi-bin/frozencpu/psu-27.html
true 550
http://www.frozencpu.com/cgi-bin/frozencpu/psu-103.html
neo 480
http://www.frozencpu.com/cgi-bin/frozencpu/psu-97.html
ultra xconnect 500

im leaning towards the bottom 2 as i really like the quick connect design and im mostly useing frozencpu since they will seleeve everything for me. im really planning on maxing my system out so my next thing on my list will be a cpu hsf. now keep in mind that im gonna more then likely save for a 3.4 prescot so itll have to keep it really cool. but the only one that sounds like a good idea is.

http://www.frozencpu.com/cgi-b...zencpu/cpu-aer-02.html
best i can find

next will be case fans. pretty much ill be buying 2 12inch blacklights so i want the fans to be UV reactive but my only problem is finding 80 mm fans that can push the right amount of air and have good looks as well. on a side note im kinda curious about something. my case has 6 case fans and im kinda wanting to use 3 pin connectors and connect them either to the motherboard or get a fan controller and hide it in my 5.25 bay and im not sure which would work out better. the reason im wanting to do it that way is to 1)cutt down on the molex connectors being used and 2) to try and cutt down on the amount of wire clutter in the case.


nextly im also trying to prepare for everquest 2, thus the reason for this part. with performance in mind and overclocking possibly. im trying to decide wheather to get the 3.4 northwood or the 3.4 prescot. ive been reading forums after forums and review after review on all of this but just cant find any good info on this.also since my MB supports HT im gonna need the processor to have the capability of it but i think both of them support it (just wanna see the real difference.) and as far as ram im gonna trust what asus recommended to me and try to get corsair ram. gonna be a gig but i have no idea how the timeings work so ill be doing research on that but im hopeing that when its running in dual channel itll increase it. hopefully i wont have to spend an arm and a leg to get good corsair dual channel kit that has good timeings.

the last thing on my list i swear. my monitor needs replaceing and im gonna go with crt. looked at alot of 19 inch crts and cant find a really good one for under 200$ ive heard that NEC is good and i know viewsonic has the best resol/hz but its kinda hard to find a decently priced one.

i know im asking alot but i really could use the help of others more experianced in this. i appreciate any input given.

current setup
raidmax scorpio 668 black case with the stock 420w
asus p4c800-e delux
p4 2.4 (533) northwood
1 stick of kingston value ddr400 512
1 stick of kingston value ddr333 512
PNY 5900 SE 128mb
lg 52x burner
16x normal dvd drive
80 GB HD
logitec z540
KDS 17 inch Visual Sensations

 

[bates747]

Gonna be building my rig for some EQ2 action myself but I'm going with a AMD 64 chip.

My suggestions:



1. Antec True 550 for the Power supply. I don't like taking chances on the power supply. Only Antec or Enermax will do for me.

2. The Antec case fans I purchased have both 3 and 4 pin connectors on them. I would still look at getting a fan controller. Enermax makes one that controlls up to 6 fans and fits into a 5.25 bay.

3. Since you already have a P4 board, I would look at getting a P4 with a Northwood core. The Prescott seems to run a lot hotter and performance gains seem to be hit or miss. Unless your using a watercooled setup, overclocking a Prescott would be a bit risky.

4. While P4 seems to be a bit more sensistive to RAM timings, the benchmarks I've seen seem to show only negligable differeneces. I would probably look for something middle of the road.

5. NEC and Viewsonic are both great choices, but I personally find the Viewsonic's an overall better value. You might find an 19inch model for less than $200 but I don't recall seeing one that cheap unless it was a refurb. Shop around though, you might get lucky.

 

[Zepper]

OT belongs in Cases & Cooling section.

.bh.

:sun:

 

[darkrisen2003]

so what you guys are saying is that i should go with a true 550 for the power supply and the 3.4 northwood. i thank yall for that info. but what do you guys think of the cpu cooler?

im assumeing that ill have to repost in the case forums for the modding suggestions? i just figured id get a faster responce by posting in general hardware rathen then scattering my post. my apologies.

 

[bates747]

Your questions aren't really off-topic, but the title of your post appears that way.


I noticed your setup included both DDR 400 and 333 Ram. Get yourself another stick for the DDR 400 and sell the 333. No need to replace both.

For a CPU cooler, I would look at this Zalman

It should fit your board but beware, its large and heavy and might be a tight squeeze if your case doesn't have a lot of room. Good news is that its one of the best heatsink/fan combos out there, though a bit pricey.