The Final Specs.

[SuperFriedFish]

CPU:Intel E8400
Mobo:Asus Rampage Formula
HDD:Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB 7200RPM x2
Sound: Onboard Supreme FX II
Video: 4870/9800gtx OCX (help me on this one)
Case: Antec 1200
Optical Drives:Pioneer 20X DVD+/-RW 12xRAM BLACK SATA
RAM: I'm still in the dark about the best DDR2 ram, I am looking for 4gb of it.
PSU: I need to add up the wattage, anyone know a psu calculator or something like that? And because of the 1200's bottom mounted PSU I've got ideas of PSU cables that don't reach the motherboard, it also needs to have the cables that the 9800gtx needs if I get it.

Thanks for any advice

[Leclerc]

PSU : Corsair CMPSU-620HX 620W ATX Triple 12V 50A 24PIN ATX Modular Power Supply 120MM Fan 2X PCI-E - DirectCanada got all the power you need (and much more), is modular and have long cable. Have helped Para_Franck to install this psu in it's Coolermaster case that have bottom mount psu too with no issue.

Video : 4870 has it supports DX10.1, outperform has you get higher resolutions (1680x1050 and more) with AA activated and is more recent so the drivers will support it for longer time.

Ram : I've heard a lot of peaople been satisfied of the Mushkin redline series but I don't know much about ram. Better to get advice of someone else on this one.

[JD]

I'd go with the HD4870 AFAIK it's faster than the 9800GTX.

For RAM, get some DDR2-1000 or 1066 since I hope your overclocking. There's a new set of Mushkins out called Ascent which have some fancy cooling apparently. Might be worth checking out. I've seen lots of people use G.SKILL as well.

[SuperFriedFish]

Thanks, I'm definately going with the 4870
Theres a possibility that I will overclock, with me getting the rampage board which is very good for overclocking. i haven't looked around RAM that much, I am in the uk, I've never seen mushkin over sale here. I know that G.Skill sell in the uk though.I had my eye on some of OCZ's reaper x maybe the 1000mhz 4gb kit, they have awesome looking heatsinks as well.

[hausner]

Originally Posted by jdrom17

I'd go with the HD4870 AFAIK it's faster than the 9800GTX.

For RAM, get some DDR2-1000 or 1066 since I hope your overclocking. There's a new set of Mushkins out called Ascent which have some fancy cooling apparently. Might be worth checking out. I've seen lots of people use G.SKILL as well.

Your wrong HD4850=9800GTX , 4870 "much,much" faster than the 9800GTX

Take HD4870, for ram hmm with E8400 i think you want 4GHZ 24/7 ?
Take Corsair XMS2 Dominator TWIN2X4096-8500C5DF 4GB 2X2GB PC2-8500 DDR2-1066
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=28709&vpn=TWIN2X4096-8500C5DF&manufacture=CORSAIR&promoid=1058
or
G.SKILL F2-8000CL5D-4GBPQ PC2-8000 4GB 2X2GB DDR2-1000
Buy G.SKILL F2-8000CL5D-4GBPQ PC2-8000 4GB 2X2GB DDR2-1000 CL5-5-5-15 240PIN Dual Channel Memory Kit

Great price!

And better choice for raid or single (perfomance)

This Hard drive is really fast!

Western Digital Caviar SE16 640GB SATA2 7200RPM
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...4&promoid=1058



PS. Upsss didnt know you are from UK

[magictorch]

Originally Posted by SuperFriedFish

I haven't looked around RAM that much, I am in the uk, I've never seen mushkin over sale here. I know that G.Skill sell in the uk though.I had my eye on some of OCZ's reaper x maybe the 1000mhz 4gb kit, they have awesome looking heatsinks as well.

Nice build--BTW you can get mushkin in the uk-friend bought some there last year. ill have to find out where and edit this post later.

[Ogdin]

I would pass on the Rampage Formula as you sound unsure about overclocking and are going to use a single video card.The Rampage shines if you are going for a absolute max overclock and a high end crossfire setup but the price premium isn't worth it imo.I'd recommend the the Asus P5Q Pro http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...nufacture=ASUS,it has the p45 chipset,it overclocks like a madman,and it does crossfire at 8x8 speeds while leaving you with a $180 savings over the Rampage.If this board was out when i bought my Maximus Formula i would have gone with the P5Q. Oh and you get free shipping with the whole order at ncix when you get one of these. :)

[crazyazn]

Mobo: I would go for one of the new P45 boards instead...P5Q-E/Pro/Deluxe...P45-DS3/4, etc...

HDD: If you don't have those 7200.10 already...I'd suggest getting 7200.11 if you want to stick with Seagate, or move to Samsung F1/WD 640GB.

GPU: Definitely get 4870 instead of 9800GTX.

RAM: Best: Corsair Dominators...G.Skill HZ...Mushkin Ascents. 2nd: Corsair DHX...G.Skill PK...Mushkin XP2...OCZ Reaperx 3rd: Corsair XMS...G.Skill PQ...Mushkin HP2.

PSU: Antec Neopower/Truepower, Corsair HX/TX, Enermax EMD/EPR, Gigabyte Odin Pro/GT, PC P&C Silencer, Silverstone Strider/Olympia/Decathlon/Zeus, Thermaltake Toughpower, Zalman ZM.....or really any others that are made by Enermax, Enhance, Etasis, PCP&C, Seasonic, Zippy. Wattage depends on whether or not you want to Crossfire later on...and also make sure the cables are long enough for your needs.

[SuperFriedFish]

Originally Posted by Ogdin

I would pass on the Rampage Formula as you sound unsure about overclocking and are going to use a single video card.The Rampage shines if you are going for a absolute max overclock and a high end crossfire setup but the price premium isn't worth it imo.I'd recommend the the Asus P5Q Pro http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...nufacture=ASUS,it has the p45 chipset,it overclocks like a madman,and it does crossfire at 8x8 speeds while leaving you with a $180 savings over the Rampage.If this board was out when i bought my Maximus Formula i would have gone with the P5Q. Oh and you get free shipping with the whole order at ncix when you get one of these. :)

Thnaks for that, although it looks like the x48 is slightly faster than the p45, think I'll save the money. I do like the rampage formula alot though.
On the back cover of PCFormat(do they sell it in Canada?), there is a full page advert for MSI's p45 offering(p45 platinum), complete with what i'm sure is marketing nonsense. I'll see if there are any reviews or anything yet.

Edit:Just found Asus's new p45 flagship boardhttp://http://tinyurl.com/5zgkcl

[frosty]

SFF..


Yes I did own both cases..... here my thoughts...


I found the 900 case to be very tight with my setup. I didnt have the tools to modd the case to run the wires behind the mobo try, so it looked pretty messy most of the time...



However... my temps were pretty good non the less. Cards usually sat around 56 -57 degrees and reached 64-65'ish under load. But I liked the case.. it had great air flow aslong as you keep the paths open for the flow. I had 1 HD installed up top and 1 below to allow the air to pass over the GPu's freely. I cant really complain about the size of the case, EXCEPT for how close the bottom GPU sits to the Power supply unit. I have a fan on the top of my PSu and I think that help in pulling the air away from the GPu... but alot of peeps specutaled it would put more ware and tear on the Power supply. The case did suck up alot of dust and it needed constant cleaning. People simply add filters themselves (like the 1200) to help in that area.

NOTE: I was unable to mount the inside rear hard drive cooling fan bracket becasue mu 8800's were too long. you are getting the 9800?? I would assume u will have the same problem if you planned on using that extra fan to cool GPU.

The 1200 is a pretty big case compared to the 900..




but I have to admit, my temps are a bit warmer on my graphics cards. Both cards idle right around 60 degrees now, but I have to say it has been alot warmer here in Windsor since I have boughten the case. The cards easly reach 67-68 degrees when under load. However the cpu is still as chilly as ever around 43 degrees at idle.

But i love the cable managment and I love the room it has. Now that I am moving forward with watercooling, Im glad I have the case to allow for the "room to grow" aspect of computing. It is a really nice case and I take it over the 900 anytime, simply for the room and ease of installing the parts...



plus I was able to use the extra fan brackeyt clip for the inside fan at the end of the hard drive bay... It fit this time :)

any other photos or questions just let me know... :)