Need suggestions on Computer Case...

.se3ker.

.se3ker.

New Member
I need help choosing a case. The problem is there are too many types out there with different mods. I'm not sure if I really need some of the additional things that they add in...like 3 min fans and stuff like that....

Power supply i'm thinking as in 500W or something...

here are my choices of MoBo and Processor...feedback is welcome

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MOTHERBOARD
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ASUS "P4P800-E Deluxe" i865PE Chipset Motherboard for Intel Socket 478 CPU -RETAIL
Specifications:
Supported CPU: Intel Pentium 4/Celeron Processor (Prescott Ready)
Chipset: Intel 865PE + ICH5R
FSB: 800/533/400MHz
RAM: 4x DIMM for Dual Channel DDR400 Max 4GB
IDE: 2x UDMA 100 by ICH5R, 1x UDMA 133 by Promise 20378
Slots: 1x AGP 8X, 5x PCI, 1x ASUS Wi-Fi
Ports: 2xPS/2,2xCOM(Rear 1),1xLPT,1xLAN,8xUSB2.0(Rear 4),2xIEEE1394(Rear 1),1xGAME,Audio Ports
Onboard Audio: ALC850 8-CH
Onboard LAN: Marvell 88E8001 GbE
Onboard 1394: VT6307
Onboard SATA/RAID: 2x SATA RAID 0/1 by ICH5R, 2x SATA RAID 0/1/0+1 by Promise 20378
Form Factor: ATX


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PROCESSOR
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Intel Pentium 4/ 2.8B GHz 533MHz FSB, 512K Cache - Retail
Specifications:
Model: Intel Pentium 4
Core: Northwood
Operating Frequency: 2.8GHz
FSB: 533MHz
Cache: L1/12K+8K; L2/512K
Voltage: 1.525V
Process: 0.13Micron
Socket: Socket 478
Multimedia Instruction: MMX, SSE, SSE2

Video Card: Still searching...
Memory: Still searching...


also wondering if any of the canadian members know any good hardware stores...I was going for newegg.com but they don't ship here
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Thanks for any help...

.seek.
 
I would definetly get a processor with a 800 fsb if you plan on playing new high end games such as Doom 3. As for a case... Lian Li makes some good quality cases but the price tag is up there too, my friend has one and it looks good. Comes with all the fans etc (no psu). I have a Coolermaster and it has been my best case yet, the only draw back would be the weight of it. It feels like it could stop bullets.

Resources:

www.anandtech.com
www.hardocp.com
www.hardforum.com
www.amdmb.com
www.nforcershq.com
www.motherboards.com
www.tomshardware.com


Right now my specs are as follows:

2700+ @ 11x200 [3200+] -- Abit NF7-S ver. 2 -- Corsair TWINX1024-2700 @ 2-2-3-5 -- ATI 9600XT 600 / 620 -- Maxtor 160gig SATA --Danger Den Water Cooling -- Antec Truepower 550

2400+m @ 11x200 [3200+] -- MSI K7N2-ILSR -- Corsair TWINX512-3200LLPT -- ATI 7000 AIW -- Maxtor 40 GIG / IBM 80 GIG -- Antec True 400w -- WinTV 250 [HTPC]

I couldn't be more happier with the proformace out of these machines. I run doom3 at 800x600 and stay in the 60 fps area unless im in big open rooms then it hits maybe 40~. I only have a 9600xt too.
 
My computer has that same motherboard pretty awesome havent had to many problems with it and it has some nice built in overclocking options. I would defintley suggest getting a P4 2.8c rather then the B the price is almost the same and its a pretty big increase.
I have to find my link with all the sweet cases I had picked out, I eventually went with the X-Dreamer 2 which is a mid tower with glass and a heat gauge for like $54 though it could use a better front air flow.
 
Whatever you do don't buy a wooden one.

That was one of the worst experiences I've ever had, but that's an entirely different story...
 
i took aaron's advice to go with 800fsb one... so this is the new processor i'm lookig at.

Intel Pentium 4/ 2.8E GHz 800MHz FSB, 1MB L2 Cache, Hyper Threading Technology - Retail
Specifications:
Model: Intel Pentium 4 w/ Hyper Threading
Core: Prescott
Operating Frequency: 2.8GHz
FSB: 800MHz
Cache: L1/12K+16K; L2/1MB
Voltage: 1.25-1.525V
Process: 0.09Micron
Socket: Socket 478
Multimedia Instruction: MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3

hehe wooden case?? if that breaks down i'll use it as my bookcase :/
 
Hey, (first time posting).
   I dont have much experience in building computers, I have built 1.  I got my case at PC club, but they dont carry it anymore so I go to this website for casses and/or just look.

http://www.xoxide.com/

Depends on how many I/O slots u want and bays but there is a good variety at that site.

And yes, defently go with the Hyper threading 800mhz system bus CPU.
 
so far i have 3 quotes..all cdn figures

$243 ncix.com
$268 tigerdirect.ca
$310 local store #1

i'm going out in a bit to see few more store and see what i find...I would really like to buy it locally, if i get cheap rates...if there are problems i can just go in.
 
thx talon for the link...

as for the value, those were in canadian dollars

so US $177 = roughly $230 Canadian (plus taxes
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)

my first choice was newegg.com, but was really disappointed when i tried opening an account and found out that they don't ship here.

edit: no OEM fan, need retail...
 
Yes, ship through UPS. Help keep food on Plankeye's table.

Ok, after that senseless post I need to contribute something worthwhile. My last case was a black Antec SOHO server case with 400 watt psu. I have been extremely happy with it. Tons of space and options.
 
oh, lol, i was wondering if you were talking about canadian or US.  Do you need sugestions on anything else, more specifics or what?  Hard drives, optical drives, graphic cards, sound cards, power supplies, RAM, other types of expansion slot cards (tv tuner, more usb or firewire ect.).  Do you want some specific suggestions on casses?  Casses go anywhere from $35 US dollars to $550.:p
 
/me likes fedex but will do ups for plankeye
smile.gif


hehe sure...if u're wiling to give me more suggestions, i'm listening...
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right now i just plan to transfer my 30GB drive, but will upgrade at a later time...same goes with my DVD/CD-R Drive, its new so i'm hanging onto it. Later i'll get DVD writer too...but not now.

I'm looking at ATI 9600XT Pro as my video card

as for memory 512mb corsair...it will take some time for me to afford the full cap of 4GB lol, and don't think i need it atm atleast.

what do you think about power supply?? someone mentioned tt butterfly (something like that..) i'm thinking of 500watts is that too much or i can survive with 400Watts?

yes i'm still looking for a case...and checking out the ones mentioned here...

the only problem is that i have to make sure it can be used with my mobo...does it matter if i go mid-tower, full or server?? is it just more space/money?

oh and finally, my form is ATX...most case sites mention their case support Standard ATX, Micro and so forth...mine would fall in Standard ATX??

alrite i'll stop too much...

thx again

.seek.
 
Sounds like u got it covered pretty well.  Radeon 9600XT and Radeon 9600 Pro are 2 diffrent graphics cards.  I'm not sure if there is a big price difference, the only big diff is the pro is 100mhz core clock slower than the XT.

http://apps.ati.com/ATIcompare/

you can compare the other radeon cards and the 9600 pro and XT there.

For memory 512mbs is what i recommend.  What speed? PC2700 (333) is good, PC3200 (400) is even better
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 Hardly does someone need 4gbs of RAM.  1gb is really the max anyone needs for things today.  

400watt power supply is good. Thats what I have, if you are going to have like 2 or more hard drives and lots of fans and mulitple optical drives and lights then go with more than 400, otherwise 400 is good.

Mid-tower will fit ur ATX board, the most i've seen is a 11 bay mid-tower case.  You can go full or server but it might cost more (not sure) and its really just more room, more airspace and probably better cooling.  I really dont have any experience with server casses so ask Plank or someone else who does to get a more detalied opinion.

Yes, i checked our your board, it is a standard ATX.

DVD burners are getting cheap.  Like 12x dual format for under $100 US dollars.  Hard drives are not bad either but it depends on what you want to do, go standard U/ATA or SATA.  All i know is i'm very picky and a bargain shopper for the best prices since i cant buy them because i'm in high school.

Good luck
 
My previous PC has a 220 watt psu and It successfully powered a dvd rom, cd burner, 3 hard drives, 1 floppy, several fans, motherboard, ethernet, modem, video card and several usb devices.

Of course I never tried to use every component at once.  So the question you have to ask is at your peak usage, will you need 500 watts.  Unless you burn cds, while defraging your hard drives playing an intense game of doom 3 at full resolution, with 20 fans daisy chained together and duct taped to your case to keep it cool, I doubt you will ever use all 500 watts.  And if you were draining that much power using all the devices at once, you PC would probably be grinding to a halt and puking out its guts at you screaming "Are you crazy, what are you trying to do to me."

Buttom line, take the 10-20 bucks saved on a smaller psu and use it on your hard drive/video card purchase.
 
Yea I have a 350 Watt power supply with a CD-RW, DVD-RW, Hard Drive, four fans and a 9600 pro and it runs fine Bios are acctully a little high but thats a good thing.

Its more about how much power goes down each rail now and not how much power comes out overall. I find a lot of cheap 500 Watts that would run worse then mine because they are lower on each rail.

Found this its a Radeon 9600XT for $129.99 though im unsure if they ship to Canada.
 
That looks good to me, I'm not a RAM expert (as in the latency, build, and dual-channel capabilities).
I'm not sure if compusa ships to canada but if it does then found a DIMM for $94 US before tax or shipping.

http://www.compusa.com/product....=BROWSE

As for a case, its really your choice, I really dont have any input to give on cases, there are a lot of cases out there and styles.  Just set a standard guide line of the psu wattage, # of bays, # of fan slots, front side bus objects (usb ect.) look for all that fit and pick the 1 you like the most, thats really all I can say.
 
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