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I need a shiny new case - my Evesham one doesn't cool the insides of my PC quite as well as I'd like, meaning that I have to use it with the side off - which isn't too good - does anyone have any recommendations for a good case for me to waste my money on?

And, is there any real difference performance-wise between PC2100 RAM and PC 3200 - as I've currently got a gigabyte of PC2100 - oh, and can I mix and match speeds? Although I suspect they'd both run at the slower of the two speeds, it would mean that I can make such changes gradually.

I'm also after a decent PSU - of course, if anyone knows of a case that comes with a nice one to begin with, this doesn't matter

Ta Muchly

How much money are you willing to waste?

There is a good selection on Ebuyer for both cases and PSU's so you could look on there.

As for the Ram, you might notice just a couple seconds of speed difference on appilcations and games etc so unless you have the money to waste more on then by all means get 400mhz Ram. On some circumstances you can mix and match pairs, but better check to see if your board is compatible at doing that. And yeah the higher speed ram would run lower, or maybe not which really depends.

Naoki's right - it all depends on how much you are willing to spend.

I've had a look around and this case reviewed here is quite nice I think. There's also this and this (in silver as well). It's all in the eye of the beholder really, since some cases seem pretty ugly when you look at them, but are gushed about by the modding community.

I use Enermax PSUs. I have a 350W and 430W one. In light of future upgrades and graphics cards which draw massive amounts of power, maybe you should go for a decentish quality one, at around 480-500W? Scan do a good selection of cases and PSUs, as do Overclockers.co.uk. Get a (whisper) quiet one with fan control.

RAM has broadened into a massive subject with all kinds of stuff floating around, a lot of it really expensive also. With higher CPU FSBs, and the potential to overclock CPUs like the Barton, you're right in choosing high speed RAM - I would be tempted to either get something really REALLY fast and hope it's sort of future-proofed that way or just leave the RAM upgrade till prices fall. Also, getting a 'matched pair' of say Corsair (nice) is a good way to go, and making sure it is compatible with CPUs like the new Athlon 64 and Opteron series.

Micro Direct is based near where you live (sort of), so you could always pick the stuff up there, if you're driving. Not the cheapest overall though. But handy.

You bored then?

Lian-Li cases are pretty popular amongst the modding or even normal user communities. Reason why they are so popular for modders is due to the light aluminium they are built upon so they wont be as heavy as steel cases. It can be easily cut for any mods i.e. side windows. As for the normal user, they would still appeal to them since with the same reason they are light, and also depending on the model, they provide excellent top-notch cooling. So it might be worth to check out a range of Lian-Li's. Others would include Chieftec's or even the cheapo but still good JNC's.

Or you can be adventureous and try out many of the fantastic pre-modded cases out there. Lets just hope they dont go through the same phase as it did when you had that Zorro case :D couple months back.

For the PSU's, how much Watts are you willing to go for Piggy? And what watts is your current one?

Found this for you Mr Pig. I'd go aluminum if I were you - it's the way to go, don't ya know.

The Bean Tech cases (stupid name) look good.

Or hows about Plastic/Plexi cases? Bean Tech are known to make very good ones themsevles.

Aluminium case disapates the heat quicker

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Onl..._Cases_126.html

I also have the evesham case, not good woth heat, i have extra cooling inside and also have run it with the side of the case off it.. To mod it put some holes on the side of it..

Ok the ram, yes it does make a very big difference...it can be like a bottle neck if you know what i mean...but their is no point buying ram faster than your MB..you need to run the ram and the MB and the same speed...what speed does your MB go.. The ram must also be at the same speeds with each other to get any benifit..

I have 1 gig ddr ram, but to different manufactures and it runs fine (3200)..happy to sell it as i would prefer some match ram now..

PSU, well in overclockers their is some good choises, but 400w min is what u want..

ooh ooh - something I can comment on (for a change).....
I went thru this some time ago......

I ended up with a Lian Li PC60 - which I actually got from Maplins, who had a deal on at the time (check them out) - its nice looking, come with 4 fans (2 front, one top and one rear) and a fan speed control.
If you want to you can buy clear sides for it (for all your flashy light type things).
BEST thing about it is the ease that you can work on the innards - everything is put together with thumbscrews - so no tools needed to remove sides/front/rear/PSU/MB tray.
MB tray slides out, both sides pop off, front pops off....plenty of drive bays plus adaptors to convert 5 1/5 bays to hold 3 1/2 kit....personally these are the things that make a case better for me rather than looks - its good if it looks good, but with the thought of future upgrades etc get one you can work on easily.
Only thing to remember when you get an ally/metal case is that your CD/DVD drives will stick out like a sore thumb unless you buy the metal/ally bezels that go with it.

PSU - I got a cheapie 550w (the case actually came with a unbranded 350w anyhoo) - and its probably my regret from all the bits I have bought, as its loud.
So look at a quality PSU (Enermax, Antech etc) with a reasonably high wattage depending on the number of devices you have.
If you go into o/clocking, the absolute requirement is stability in voltage rails - ie if you need 5v on a device are you getting 5v or 4.6/4.8 etc.
Have a look on some tech forums as to which is best at the moment - I'm not going to recommend mine :)

RAM - I got a Twinmoss PC3200 dual kit last year - theres a big debate in modding forums/circes over whether a dual channel kit is really necessary - I was feeling flush so spent the extra couple of quid. Simon's right in terms of getting a good speed and not being a bottleneck and also not overspending if your board doesnt support it.
Also be aware that some memory seems to have issues with some boards - I beleive Corsair has a problem with sme sticks and NForce2 boards - so have a poke round on the forums at Overclockers for more notes.


I'm on a bit of a quietness quest at the moment - I will replace my PSU in the longer term, as its just too darn loud,
I have put an acoustic dampening kit, with the result that my temps went up, so my most recent purchase is an Arctic VGA Silencer.
Its about a tenner depending on where you get it, and its a real good buy - consider it Mr Pig. It'll bring down temps on card and case (allowing higher o/clock of graphics card) and its much quieter on the ear.

have fun....

Bored? Moi?

Absolutely... Still... hopefully I shall be moving next Thursday - so that'll give me something to do.

Anyhow, thanks for all the advice - my motherboard supports up to 3200, which is why I was asking - my system doesn't seem to run slow at all - I was just curious as to how much of an improvement I could expect to see - out of the three it's probably the last I'd do.

I refuse to comment on the Zorro case, or the fact that it ruined my motherboard - strange that I've done so many self-builds, and never had a problem - but the first thing PilchY gets for me destroys me computer... Hmmmm...

Anyhow - I do remember your upgrading frenzy Maby, and also the promise of shiny pictures - that we never got to see... I'll have a look through the various links and such, and then post back to see if any of you know something horrifically wrong with my choice (which there probably will be)

For PSUs the Atlhon cooling guide (the attachment) recommends that it has a bottom air intake to assist with cooling - would this be necessary? Or would buying a more well equipped case be enough? As for wattage I was thinking around 450w - would that be enough?


Attached File ( Number of downloads: 2 )
 cooling_guide.pdf

well can say in % how much you will gain by having faster ram, but i found my kill rate got better, thats all i can say...

Being the guy that almost never has a stable system with crashes, viruses, the works and trying to have the world record of computer reformating, its not surprising :D! Obviously it wasn't really his fault but its just fun to make fun out of him & especially since hes not here for a while.

Anyways 450W should be plenty enough. Or you could use this link to check roughly what you would need http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/

It is always best to have at least one intake fan at the bottom of the case so that it will draw in cool air and then it can be pulled about around the inside especially for the CPU and PCI/AGP area. And with an outake fan, it will suck all the hot air out so you would have a good cycle of air.

Or you can really go mad like I did with 4 80mm front intake fans, 2 80mm back outake fans, 80mm dual fan PSU & 1 80mm side panel fan. And you could imagine how loud my computer is, although it actually doesnt bother me since I got used to it.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/che...#aCA_2d004_2dCH

Just ordered one of these (top)

Il tell you how it goes

---------------------------------------------------------------
Zalman CNPS7000-Cu Ultra-Quiet CPU Cooler

also ordered that ^ and spent 7 Quid on the best thermal paste you can get :P

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/in...oduct_uid=56980


i like this one aswell 4 the price

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/in...oduct_uid=46800

yeah but mines silver and has a snazzy window in it :P

MR PIG, overclockers.co.uk are having a special offer on Corsair Memory..just had a look and some very good offers on it