My future system (which case/psu should I get?)

[PicHold]

Looks like I'm going to go with the following:
LITE-ON Black IDE DVD Burner Model SOHW-1693S Black - Retail
ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
eVGA 256-P2-N518 Geforce 7800GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3700BNBOX - Retail
Thermaltake VENUS 12 80mm Ball Cooling Fan/Heatsink - Retail

Not sure on what case/psu I should get. I'd like to spend under $200 for the two combined.

I will be running raid0 74gb raptors, and probably 3-4 other IDE drives. Will have at least 1gb corsair XMS platnium, might upgrade later. Not sure yet.

All suggestions are welcome, and am looking forward to building this. Just need the last minute suggestions before I hit go


Product links:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16827106988
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813131517
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814130238
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819103539
http://www.newegg.com/product/Product.asp?item=N82E16835106038

 

[potato28]

Raptors rn't best anymore. Get Maxtor drives with 16mb buffer. U won't need to RAID it, but just portion it off.Only get the performence RAM if ur gonna overclock. Um the case and psu i'm lost on, but just bump the post so ppl will c it. I did that for the Chipset? and I got a quik answer.

 

[JEDIYoda]

Originally posted by: potato28
Raptors rn't best anymore. Get Maxtor drives with 16mb buffer. U won't need to RAID it, but just portion it off.Only get the performence RAM if ur gonna overclock. Um the case and psu i'm lost on, but just bump the post so ppl will c it. I did that for the Chipset? and I got a quik answer.

Actualy raid0 does make a huge difference if you are a hardcore gamer...

I would raid it.....if your an occassional gamer.....maybe not raid it..

but for certain raid0 it if your a hardcore gamer!!

 

[PicHold]

I'm definately going to raid it, since I already have 3 raptor drives. I also have like 8 160gb drives from all those deals that pop up so frequently.

I'll be doing some overclocking, but not sure how much. Thats why I'm getting the aftermarket cooling.

For case, I just want an aluminum one really. Black would be preferable, but if not black I can just get a diff DVD rom.

PSU, I have no idea for.

 

[PicHold]

At least how big of a PSU will I need?

Also, I've been reading some replies and some people have said an MSI or DFI board would be better for Overclocking purposes?

I plan to do some OCing, so should I grab a different board?

 

[PicHold]

Will this:
Antec NEOPOWER 480 ATX 480W Power Supply - Retail

Be enough to power the rig?

Or would this case/psu combo be enough?
Antec LifeStyle SONATA II Piano Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 450Watt SmartPower 2.0 ATX 12V V2.0 for AMD & Intel systems Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811129155

 

[KayKay]

Get a Thermalright XP-90 Heatsink. The Venus cooler is loud I heard.

 

[stevty2889]

Originally posted by: JEDIYoda

Originally posted by: potato28
Raptors rn't best anymore. Get Maxtor drives with 16mb buffer. U won't need to RAID it, but just portion it off.Only get the performence RAM if ur gonna overclock. Um the case and psu i'm lost on, but just bump the post so ppl will c it. I did that for the Chipset? and I got a quik answer.

Actualy raid0 does make a huge difference if you are a hardcore gamer...

I would raid it.....if your an occassional gamer.....maybe not raid it..

but for certain raid0 it if your a hardcore gamer!!

From my own experience with raid-0 raptors..wow, maybe a couple seconds differance with load times, but raid-0 making a huge differance for gaming? NO! Maybe if you don' t have enough ram and your hitting the page file a lot, you would take slightly less of a hit than if you didn't have raid-0, but over all..a not worth it. Since he already has the raptors he might as well, but it's not the huge performance differance that people want to believe it is.

As to the OP, I've never had to power that many hard drives, but they all rely on the 12v rail, so I'd recomend something around a 460w enermax if you are going to get the case and PSU seperatly. Antec is good too, but enermax tends to have stronger 12v rails. The 450w that comes with the sonata II should be enough as well, I have that case and I'm happy with it.

 

[PicHold]

Originally posted by: KayKay
Get a Thermalright XP-90 Heatsink. The Venus cooler is loud I heard.

Thats $62 pre-fan.

And I already have a Thermaltake setup on existing comp. Yes they are loud, at full speed. But not loud if you drop it down to half.

 

[PicHold]

Originally posted by: stevty2889

Originally posted by: JEDIYoda

Originally posted by: potato28
Raptors rn't best anymore. Get Maxtor drives with 16mb buffer. U won't need to RAID it, but just portion it off.Only get the performence RAM if ur gonna overclock. Um the case and psu i'm lost on, but just bump the post so ppl will c it. I did that for the Chipset? and I got a quik answer.

Actualy raid0 does make a huge difference if you are a hardcore gamer...

I would raid it.....if your an occassional gamer.....maybe not raid it..

but for certain raid0 it if your a hardcore gamer!!

As to the OP, I've never had to power that many hard drives, but they all rely on the 12v rail, so I'd recomend something around a 460w enermax if you are going to get the case and PSU seperatly. Antec is good too, but enermax tends to have stronger 12v rails. The 450w that comes with the sonata II should be enough as well, I have that case and I'm happy with it.

Great to know, thanks. Need a few more replies before I hit buy though.

How bout the board? MSI, or DFI better for overclocking? If its only a $20 difference, I'll go with the better one for OCing no problemo.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Raptors are still teh fastest drive. I think most people get that confused. Raptors do lose in like 1 -2 benchies, but overall they still dominate. When you put them in RAID0, there's NO QUESTION when you compare to the Maxtor 16mb.

If you want ultimate performnace, Raptors still win. If you want that, get raptor(s) (possibly in raid 0) and then a fat drive, say a 7200.8, TK750 or a WD 16mb or maybe the Maxtor 16mb.

You really don't want to consider the DFI LanParty SLI-DR? Or maybe the Expert SLI-DR? Those are a lot better IMO.

I woudl pick a better cooling system. 120mm fans are much better on CPU cuz they ran run quieter and push far more air. 92mm fan ~ 50% area of a 120mm fan. 80mm must be tiny then...

PSU, I recommend Seasonic for rock stability. Maybe PC P&C if you got the money, but otherwise Seasonic or maybe OCZ Powerstream...

 

[stevty2889]

DFI is probably the best OCing board out there. It's got a lot of options, so it can be a little confusing at first, but it's a great board and I'm very happy with mine. I have my X2 running at 2.618ghz on my DFI.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Originally posted by: stevty2889
DFI is probably the best OCing board out there. It's got a lot of options, so it can be a little confusing at first, but it's a great board and I'm very happy with mine. I have my X2 running at 2.618ghz on my DFI.

QFT. Not that complicated I don't think. Ask the guys on DFI street and they'll give you good BIOS settings ANYDAY. OC or not DFI rocks.

I justknow the new Expert boards are the NF4 boards but a new revision. They fixed couple of major issues with teh original NF4 boards, so maybe you should grab the new ones...

 

[PicHold]

Thanks. I emailed you DLeRium about this very thread. Dunno if you saw it, or are just posting by coincidence.

And yeah, sounds like the DFI will be the way to go for the board.

But which:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813136157
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813136151

2nd has this:
EZ-on / EZ-touch onboard switch button nVIDIA nTune(embedded overclocking solution) CMOS reload

Other than that, not a whole lot difference other than the chipset and one supporting Sempron.

 

[leigh6]

Not to crap on this thread but I am getting the Thermalright xp-90 hs. Recomendations for a quiet fan. Please be specific to model number. Nexus or panaflo?

Thanks and good luck with your build!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[PicHold]

Guess I'm just gunna have to decide on a case.

I kinda like the ones where the backs of the hard drives face the window/door of the tower. Are those beneficial, other than easier access?

 

[stevty2889]

Originally posted by: PicHold
Guess I'm just gunna have to decide on a case.

I kinda like the ones where the backs of the hard drives face the window/door of the tower. Are those beneficial, other than easier access?

It's a lot easier to access the drives that way, and makes cable management a little better too. Thats how the Sonata II is.

 

[PicHold]

More and more I'm liking that Sonata II.

But is that PSU enough power for my system? *shifty eyes*