How does this sound?

[Lethul]

Gigabyte GA-P35-DS4 (rev 2.x) iP35 4DDR2-DIMM 2PCI 5PCIe SATA Raid Audio GB-LAN Firewire Socket775 ATX

Noctua NF-S12-1200 Sound-optimised 17dB(A) 81m3/h 1200RPM beige/brown 3/4pin

BFG GeForce 8800GT OC2 675MHz GPU 512MB DDR3 TV-out HDTV DUAL DVI SLI-ready RETAIL PCI Express

Intel Core 2 QUAD Q9450 2.66GHz 12MB FSB1333 Tray (without cpu-cooler!) Socket 775

Noctua NH-U12P Quadra-heatpipe 5000cm2 CPU Cooler 120mm Fan Socket 775 / AM2 / AM2+

Corsair TWIN2X4096-8500C5DF Dominator 2x2048MB (tot. 4096MB) DDR2 XMS2-8500 1066MHz 5-5-5-15 *WITH AIRFLOW FAN*

Corsair HX Series 520W 120mm Fan ATX2.2 20/24-pin 4/8-pins 12V Modular

Seagate Barracuda ST3320620A 7200.10 320GB 7200rpm 16MB UDMA100 IDE

I wanna stick it into an Antec Solo i got. I got some questions. The RAM i've seleceted comes with some sort of cooling (see below). Is that really necessary?
Should i try and mod in a Noctua S12 in the front or just go for a pressure fan (the 92mm noctua or a Noctua P12?) in the front?
Is it a good and quiet HD?
I want to do a bit of OC (maybe to like 3.2~) and still remaining reasonably cool and quiet. The rig will be used for pretty much everything, gaming, working, programming, graphics.

 

[Reza]

Overall I'd say it looks really good.

1) Mobo: I dont know much about your specific motherboard choice, but I know a couple of people who use it and are happy. Can't go wrong with the chipset choice though.

2) Fan: What exactly is this for? 2nd fan to add to cpu cooler for 'push pull' set up? Or just need an extra good 120mm fan for the case? Anyway, whatever it's for Noctua make great fans. If you can change this choice to the newer NF-P12 (with the 'vortex control' cuts on the blades) it would be even better maybe. This newer fan is the one that comes with CPU cooler you chose.

3) GPU: Great bang for buck choice, and the manufacturer has good waranty etc.

4) CPU: Those new yorkfields look great, and the Q9450 with the 12MB cache and 8* multiplier sounds very tempting. You might need to do a little checking on how your mobo choice is performing with the newer 45nm cpus, and specifically with the quads (which often need more fine tweaking to get good a good OC). Also check whether your mobo is likely to run this CPU out of the box or will need a bios flash to work it well 1st.

5) Cooler: Lots of good reviews on this CPU cooler lately. Noctua quality company, and together with the acoustic performance its meant to be amazing from thermal perspective as well once you hook up a 2nd fan for push pull. Check on forums with owners of your mobo choice as to how easily and in what orientation this fits.

6) Ram: I wanted to get these but went out of stock. Anyway, read lots of good things and RMA should be good. Again check forums and on official mobo manufacturer site for compatability and possible issues. Fan not 100% needed if you provide good airflow to the ram anyway, but if not its nice to use.

7) PSU: Great

8) HD: Is this the new 320GB single platter barracuda? I got a couple of WD6400AAKS recently. Cant recommend that drive highly enough if you're still uncertain.

 

[Lethul]

Overall I'd say it looks really good.

1) Mobo: I dont know much about your specific motherboard choice, but I know a couple of people who use it and are happy. Can't go wrong with the chipset choice though.

2) Fan: What exactly is this for? 2nd fan to add to cpu cooler for 'push pull' set up? Or just need an extra good 120mm fan for the case? Anyway, whatever it's for Noctua make great fans. If you can change this choice to the newer NF-P12 (with the 'vortex control' cuts on the blades) it would be even better maybe. This newer fan is the one that comes with CPU cooler you chose.

3) GPU: Great bang for buck choice, and the manufacturer has good waranty etc.

4) CPU: Those new yorkfields look great, and the Q9450 with the 12MB cache and 8* multiplier sounds very tempting. You might need to do a little checking on how your mobo choice is performing with the newer 45nm cpus, and specifically with the quads (which often need more fine tweaking to get good a good OC). Also check whether your mobo is likely to run this CPU out of the box or will need a bios flash to work it well 1st.

5) Cooler: Lots of good reviews on this CPU cooler lately. Noctua quality company, and together with the acoustic performance its meant to be amazing from thermal perspective as well once you hook up a 2nd fan for push pull. Check on forums with owners of your mobo choice as to how easily and in what orientation this fits.

6) Ram: I wanted to get these but went out of stock. Anyway, read lots of good things and RMA should be good. Again check forums and on official mobo manufacturer site for compatability and possible issues. Fan not 100% needed if you provide good airflow to the ram anyway, but if not its nice to use.

7) PSU: Great

8) HD: Is this the new 320GB single platter barracuda? I got a couple of WD6400AAKS recently. Cant recommend that drive highly enough if you're still uncertain.

One fan is for intake and one exhaust. I'm thinking the intake might not be necessary. Think i'll go for DDR-800 ram instead to get prices down and change to the HD you said
I took the barracuda cause i read they were silent I read a review about Western Digital "Green Drive" or something and a "Barracuda 5" was the reference drive. So i figured it would be a good 7200rpm silent drive Smile I'm really clueless about the HD. So tnx for tip

 

[Lethul]

Should i be worried that it doesn't have SLI support?

 

[inactionman]

Looks good. Only changes I'd suggest would be to change the Q9450 for a Q6600, as I believe the new 45nm cores don't overclock too well, and maybe getting a GTS instead of a GT.

Don't worry about SLI, it's not worth it.

 

[Lethul]

Looks good. Only changes I'd suggest would be to change the Q9450 for a Q6600, as I believe the new 45nm cores don't overclock too well, and maybe getting a GTS instead of a GT.

Don't worry about SLI, it's not worth it.

Q9450 has 12mb cache, runs cooler, drains less power and OC good enough.
Sounds like the better one imo.

Why a GTS instead of GT?

 

[inactionman]

As it's basically a 9800gtx, it's worth it over the gt for the faster clockspeed, extra stream processors and the slight increase in memory bandwidth. I'd get one cheap while you can, as they aren't making any more, i plan to.

On further investigation you're right about the q9450, however they are still a bugger to find!

 

[inactionman]

Forgot to say, thumbs up on the noctua fans. I recently replaced all mine with those, and they are great, good cooling and virtually silent.

 

[Lethul]

As it's basically a 9800gtx, it's worth it over the gt for the faster clockspeed, extra stream processors and the slight increase in memory bandwidth. I'd get one cheap while you can, as they aren't making any more, i plan to.

On further investigation you're right about the q9450, however they are still a bugger to find!

All the reviews I've read the GT has beaten the GTS in pure fps performance tho. So I'm still leaning towards GT

 

[TdC]

you mean you can see the difference? keep in mind the cost of what you're gaining mate

 

[Lethul]

you mean you can see the difference? keep in mind the cost of what you're gaining mate

the GT is cheaper than the GTS aswell so I don't see your point?

I was most worried about MB, HD and Memory. But gotten help with HD and Memory and nobody complained about the MB so i guess its a good one

 

[TdC]

oh, sorry I thought you were talking about getting sli, my mistake

 

[Jonty]

Hi Lethul

I agree with the others' comments, the basic setup looks nice, maybe just tweak one or two things.

I don't know which reviews you've been reading, but a 8800 GTS 512MB should always outperform a 8800 GT. Perhaps it's because the GT you chose is a factory overclocked version. Anyway, if you need to save money, go for the 8800 GT or 9600 GT (the latter doesn't perform quite as well, but it's newer and cooler running, has a better HD decoder, and performs better with DirectX 10 games). If your budget can stretch, go for a 9800 GTX. It's only slightly more than a 8800 GTS, but you get better performance, and there's a reasonable amount of room for overclocking.

As for the CPU, the Q9450 will definitely perform better than the Q6600. The difference isn't leaps and bounds, but it is worth having, and of course it has newer technology that runs cooler. Intel has recently dropped the price of the Q6600, and it does overclock well, so if your budget is tight then go for that. If you have more money, go for the Q9450. If you're stuck half way, look for the Q9300 which sits in between the two in terms of price and performance.

Don't worry about SLI, it's not a must-have feature. The P35 chipset is a popular and reliable choice for motherboards.

Happy shopping

Kind regards

 

[Kryten]

The real life performance difference between GTS and GT isn't even close to worth the extra cost. Generally you're speaking of £150 for the cheapest GTS and £95 for the cheapest GT, both of he 512mb G92 variety.
So the question is, is the performance worth £55?
Like hell is it. You might have £55 to piss away, but as was said, in raw performance in some circumstances the GT is actually quicker - but alike the GTX, the GTS is slightly quicker in higher resolutions or when using anti aliasing.
And as Jonty mentioned, you can still get the overclocked versions of the GT which certainly are quicker than the GTS, and they're still under £150. No comparison.

So, in my estimates £55 would be better spent on another couple of gig of ram, the next monitor size up or a ruddy good night on the town. I prefer the realism thing myself

 

[Jonty]

So, in my estimates £55 would be better spent on ... a ruddy good night on the town.

That's a lot of beer, hehe! Be careful, otherwise:

• £55 savings spent on alcohol-fuelled night out
• Arrested for drunk and disorderly behaviour
• Jailed for failure to pay the court fine because you already spent all your money on a new PC
• Fired from your job, disowned by your family and friends, and evicted from your house

But hey, at least you saved £55, hehe

Back on topic, I didn't realize the GT and GTS are so closely matched in some circumstances. In that case, unless you absolutely must have the latest and greatest kit, I'd also opt for the GT and save the money (but I'd probably play it safe and buy a couple of games with the savings ^^).

Kind regards

 

[Kryten]

Yeah, or buy games....

Drinking is naughty, mmkay!


On which note, I've been enjoying Assassins Creed on PC, a few people have given it a bit of stick but I quite like it. Looks and runs extremely well I should add.

 

[soze]

Just chirp in on the fan situation i have just replaced the 4 in my case with SilenX Fan Ixtrema Pro 14dBA 120x120x25 72CFM and they are animals if i leave the back one on full it blows the calendar off my wall After alot of reviews they seem to have the best noise for air ration on a silent fan. They are not cheap but the fact they work with my fan controler sealed the deal. SilenX Fan Ixtrema Pro 14dBA 120x120x25 72CFM (IXP-74-14) |Specialtech.co.uk -

 

[Lethul]

14dBA my ass

according to spcr its either nexus, schyte or noctua if you want silent air cooling

 

[soze]

14dBA my ass

according to spcr its either nexus, schyte or noctua if you want silent air cooling

They are bloddy quiet i read allot of reviews befor spending 15 instead of 5

 

[Lethul]

They are bloddy quiet i read allot of reviews befor spending 15 instead of 5

"
1. A SilenX spokesman was caught shilling his product by carrying on a conversation with himself on SPCR's forums, reregistering himself several times after his fraudulent activities were exposed by SPCR staff. <---
2. SilenX' specifications are notoriously exaggerated, especially where noise is concerned.
3. Thanks to widespread distribution and aggressive marketing (see point 2.), SilenX fans have a reputation for being quiet — but not on SPCR
4. For a very long time, in part because of point 1., SPCR had never "officially" reviewed a SilenX product.

Quibbles with specifications aside, the SilenX doesn't sound too bad. It's probably smooth enough for most casual users, though enthusiasts will be less pleased. The fancy "metallic" plastic used for the frame may look flashy, but it's terrible for sound. Lightweight and brittle, the material picks up fan vibration easily and audibly, giving the fan a highly resonant character. At slower speeds, the resonance manifests itself as a deep buzz or growl, while at higher speeds it's more like a pure tone. The resonance prevents what is an otherwise low-noise fan from ever becoming truly inaudible, even at 5V.
"

Noctua's had a few bad reviews aswell for sure but at least rated as one of the recomended fan's at spcr.