Customized computer?

[Board of Command]

I got an Antec 900 today to replace my 3.5-year-old Chieftec case. I wanted a smaller and lighter case since I move around every 4 months, and it's a huge pain in the ass to lug around the Chieftec case because the empty case alone weighs about 30 lb and it's built like a tank. The Antec 900 was quite a bit smaller and it took me a long time to put all my parts in there while doing the cable management. It also doesn't help that I have more stuff to put in than the average user.

Overall, it's a pretty nice case and the price was good ($80). It's quieter than my old Chieftec and offers much better airflow despite the relatively small space inside. I'm giving the old case to my little brother and I'm definitely going to miss it very much. I put a LOT of time and effort into modding that case and it's going to take a while to get used to looking at a little black case beside me instead of the usual giant yellow thing.

I don't have pictures since I don't have my camera with me.

[darkshadow]

wouldnt the 1200 be a better choice though? its only a tad bit bigger, but offers great cable management/airflow

[Animeniax]

Might have been the price that made the 1200 less attractive. It's almost twice the cost of the 900.

[Board of Command]

Yeah, the 1200 is around $160-180 here in Canada, while the 900 was on sale yesterday for $80.

There have been four revisions of the 900 so far, and I got the latest one which has a few holes for cable management. It helps a bit, but the bottom hard drive area is a bit cramped with all the SATA and power cables. I'll probably mod the case a bit when I get the chance to cut more holes for cable routing. Right now the cabling isn't that bad, it's just that it could be better. I'll do some work on it after I move back home.

The airflow is great and it's not too loud.

[Board of Command]

Just moved back home today...

[Buffalobiian]

Just moved back home today...

I see you kept most of the layout unchanged from your last place. What's that white/red thing next to your keyboard do?

[Board of Command]

It's a blower fan I made a year ago from three X1800/X1900 heatsinks. It runs on 5v or 12v powered by my fan controller, though I generally only use the 5v since 12v makes it sound louder than a hairdryer. It does blow quite a bit of air at 12v.





I put it next to my keyboard there because it's perfectly level with my chest if I position it on its side like that. The air that comes out isn't a straight stream; it curves a bit. By having it blowing sideways, the air sweeps across my chest.

[itadakimasu]

It's a blower fan I made a year ago from three X1800/X1900 heatsinks. It runs on 5v or 12v powered by my fan controller, though I generally only use the 5v since 12v makes it sound louder than a hairdryer. It does blow quite a bit of air at 12v.





I put it next to my keyboard there because it's perfectly level with my chest if I position it on its side like that. The air that comes out isn't a straight stream; it curves a bit. By having it blowing sideways, the air sweeps across my chest.

lol... thats awesome. custom personal cooling, first time i've ever seen something like that.

[Buffalobiian]

My brother's asking me to pick up some computer parts for him, and I thought I might pick up something for myself.

I was picking between the following cards:

512MB 9800GTX ($160AUD)
512MB 9800GTX+ ($259 AUD)
512MB 4850 ($212 AUD)

From the looks of things, I think I'll prefer the 4850. I've done a bit of research, and this is the message I'm getting:

"4850 is a quiet card at idle, but this advantage disappears under load. It's on par with the 9800GTX+, and sometimes better in terms on performance. It does run hot though."

My case doesn't have superb air flow, and I think my CPU temps are a bit high. (Sep=Spring here. 1am, CoreTemp reads 45C on my E6600. Haven't dusted PC in 6 months).

Do you think the 4850 is a good buy? Will the heat hurt in my circumstances? I'm not really too fussed about upgrading, but if it's good, I don't see why not.

If it's happening, I'll be upgrading from a silent 8500GT. Desktop res: 1280*1024.
Mainboard: Gigabyte965P-S3 x.x Intel 965/946
Processor: E6600
Ram: 2x1GB DDR2 667
PSU: 500W generic.
OS: WinXP Pro SP2 32-bit

Main concerns (in order): driver problems, noise, heat (if it affects other components).

Any thoughts?

[darkshadow]

ppl make to big a fuss about heat..... 45c is just fine you know.... just get the 4850.

[Board of Command]

That's a very bad price for a 4850. Get the 9800GTX instead.

[Buffalobiian]

That's a very bad price for a 4850. Get the 9800GTX instead.

Really?? So the performance edge of the 4850 isn't worth the price difference? I would have thought it was a good bargain. I guess the 160AUD for a 9800GTX is low for such a card though.

What should the 4850 be priced at do you think then?

[Board of Command]

The 4850 and 9800GTX+ are supposed to be priced the same. I don't know why there's such a big difference between the two of them in Australia. In Canada, both are in the $160-180 range. The old 9800GTX has been more or less replaced by the 9800GTX+, so they're both around the same price.

[Buffalobiian]

Yeah, prices here are a bit weird. From what I gathered, the 9800GTX+ and 4850 prices are about what they are everywhere in Australia. The 9800GTX is just on a special.

Final question before I go pick something up, is there much performance gain comparing the 4850 vs 9800GTX?

I'm seeing results from tests trying to balance out the raw fill rates of the GTX and the processing units of the 4850. I don't understand it terribly much.

[Board of Command]

4850 is slightly faster than 9800GTX on average. The difference increases when you turn on AA, as the 4800 series have superb AA performance. However, this difference isn't worth the huge premium on the 4850.

[darkshadow]

Hmm i just noticed the price difference, the 9800gtx does seem like the better choice then, but I would still say 4850, I like ATI's stability and image quality a lot more.
If you don't mind spending that extra 50, def go for the 4850, otherwise just go for the 9800GTX

[Buffalobiian]

Okay, thanks for the input guys

[itadakimasu]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...Tpk=abs%20case

In case anybody has $600 to blow on a massive case. its kind of cool... having the external 3.5/2.5 slots where they are on the side is pretty unique as opposed to the front. $600 is alot to budget out on a case though.

[Board of Command]

That's basically a knock off of this Lian-Li case, which I've worked with before.

http://www.lian-li.com/v2/en/product...s_index=61&g=d

It's absolutely massive. The quality is superb but it's not something you want to carry around when you move. It's not that heavy since it's pretty much pure aluminum, but the physical dimensions makes it a huge ordeal to transport.

[Buffalobiian]

I'm currently looking for a motherboard to go with an E8400 CPU. Ideally it should be a mid or lower range board. My brother'll be using it for gaming, but no overclocking or tweaking. Any ideas? My choices are below, and for compatibility purposes, he's using an ASUS 4850. It doesn't need 2 PCI-E slots for budget and forseen usability. What do you guys think?


btw, when looking for motherboards, what are the things I should be looking out for?

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Other than that, I'm also looking at a new case for myself. I'm personally thinking about an Antec P182, but I'm also seeing if you guys have a better recommendation?

Features I'm looking for are silence (or just really quiet), easily cleanable air filter and good cooling. The hardest thing to find is probably a case with a filter just as accessible as the P182, as it pops open with one click, without removing the front panel and everything. Again my available choices are as follows. I'm a bit more lenient on budget for this one (since it's mine ). Thanks for any recommendations guys!



(All prices in AUD - I know our dollar is a bit strong right now )