I got my refund, its buyin time.

[pseudonym]

I figured I'd do hardware because of the 3 questions....

So, my refund for the Shuttle came through today and I now have $241.40 to spend getting a mobo, case, PS, Heatsink, and fan.

Mobo- Abit NF7-S (Was going to be a AN7, but after reading about the probs, not gonna get that) 106.99 or 80.99 for NF7.

Question- I see the NF7 costs 26 less than the NF7-S. Why is this?? Both do 400 FSB, have Soundstorm. Is it just the fact it doesn't have RAID, SATA, and the MCP-T (whatever that is). I don't need the RAID or SATA (No equip for it, but refresh my mem on the MCP.

PS- Allied 450W (I have one in my other system, has been pretty good to me so far)

Case- Heres where I have no clue. This is what I'm thinking of
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-156-018&catalog=7&manufactory=BROWSE&depa=1

I have the same case for my other system and I like it. Any other ideas out there?

Buying all that saves me around 40 bucks which I'll need for the heatsink. Big ass 900 series something or other prolly. Remaining money will go to a nice fan. Any ideas or changes guys?

[croc_]

I believe MCP = Realtek 5.1 and MCP-T (mcpt2?) is soundstorm? I could be wrong.

[TheLostSwede]

NF7 DO NOT have soundstorm, NF7-S have. NF7 also DO NOT have any serial ATA ports. Just 2 IDE ports. Soundstorm alone is worth the extra dough.

[Geeky1]

Case is awful. What do you want in a case regarding size, weight, color, etc.?

[TheBaron]

my allied 450w put out a strange high pitched noise that was out of my range of hearing but annoyed the hell out of everyone else in the room. just something to consider

and i think the case is fine. just remember, if you read simguy's airflow article, that those side fans dont help anything at all

[profdlp]

Even though you may not have a SATA drive, the NF7-S comes with an adapter to use a standard PATA drive off the SATA Controller. Frees up an IDE connection, if nothing else.

Like you, I was going to go for the AN7. After thinking about it, I remembered that everyone stressed that it was important to get the revision 2 version of the NF7-S board. Since I don't want to wait for rev. 2 of the AN7, I'll be joining you in buying an NF7-S. (Soon, I hope.)

[Clutch]

Never used an Allied psu in any of my systems, but have worked on some that took a dive off the deep end. Are you planning on doing any overclocking with the system?

[pseudonym]

Mackanz had this to say
NF7 DO NOT have soundstorm, NF7-S have. NF7 also DO NOT have any serial ATA ports. Just 2 IDE ports. Soundstorm alone is worth the extra dough.

Hmmpf, Newegg made an oopsie then. NF7-S it is.

Heres what they have
NF7- NVIDIA SoundStorm APU(AC3) + 6-Channel AC97 CODEC
NF7-S- SoundStorm APU + 6-Channel AC97 CODEC(Dolby 5.1)

Geeky1 had this to say
Case is awful. What do you want in a case regarding size, weight, color, etc.?

Eh, something along those lines. I have one of em already, and its a fine case IMHO. I wouldn't mind something lighter, but I have to keep it in the budget. I just go with that one because its fairly decent and doesn't cost an arm and a leg. (Free ship on that one too).


TheBaron had this to say
my allied 450w put out a strange high pitched noise that was out of my range of hearing but annoyed the hell out of everyone else in the room. just something to consider

and i think the case is fine. just remember, if you read simguy's airflow article, that those side fans dont help anything at all

My Allied does the same thing. I can't hear it either till I get right up next to it, no one else has mentioned it to me too.

Actually, I've found the side fans do help a bit. If I shut em off, temps raise a bit, and they do extract air away from my Vid card nicely. Other than that though, its a bit ricey :p


profdlp had this to say
Even though you may not have a SATA drive, the NF7-S comes with an adapter to use a standard PATA drive off the SATA Controller. Frees up an IDE connection, if nothing else.


Thats good to know. Thanks!!

Clutch had this to say
Never used an Allied psu in any of my systems, but have worked on some that took a dive off the deep end. Are you planning on doing any overclocking with the system?

I've done overclocking with my Allied in my other system. Had the 2100+ running up at 2400 without any problems. I'm just going with that supply because its fairly cheap, puts out what its supposed to, and doesn't give me any probs. I may oc a bit, but the proc in the system is a 3000+ so theres really no need to cept to fool around.

So, with some decisions finalized we now have-

NF7-s 106.99
Thermalright SLK 947u- 39.99
Case (Pending Geekys Suggestion)- 42.99 w/ shipping
PS (Pending Suggestions)- 42.00
Grand Total- 231.97 (Leaving just enough room for a beastly fan)

[pseudonym]

Geeky,

Good point about the case. I've found several that are better for about 1/3 the cost. Now if people who made decent looking cheap cases would only stop giving them stupid names, and then printing that stupid name on the case. Sheesh.....


Nice Ricey Temp sensor on the front :)
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-126-110&catalog=7&depa=1

Not too shabby-
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-126-009&catalog=7&depa=1

Bit Annoying, but cheap with removeable Mobo tray.
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-126-106&catalog=7&depa=1

[Madball]

That's a great board. I just bought one myself. The SATA feature may come in handy in the future. I've been using a dual fan 400w Allied PSU for over a year now with no problems at all. No high pitched noise. It does fine running my 1700+ @ 2300mhz.

[Geeky1]

Well, considering that I now have 40 ie windows open and the number is increasing (1/case), I'll just give you some general info:

1. The Antec SX-835II is $82 @ Newegg. It comes with a 350w Antec SL350 PS. The SL350 is almost certainly on par with, and most likely better than, a 450w Allied. I've had my 2500+ up to 2.4GHz on a SL350, and even then it was only limited by cooling, not the PS.

2. Except for the Antec, look for a case that has the following:
2+ 80mm or 1 120mm intake fans IN FRONT OF THE HARD DRIVES
2+ 80mm exhaust fans next to the ATX I/O plate

Any other fans may or may not be beneficial; in a midtower, a top blowhole should come in handy.

Look specifically at ProSource, Aspire, A+GBP, LinkWorld, AMS, MaxTop, Icute, Dynapower, Athenatech, and Chieftec.

Chieftec, in particular, has a bunch of new mid-towers that are based on the same chassis as the Antec SX1040/1080s, but are a lot cheaper. They've also got much better fan grills. For example:
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?DEPA=1&sumit=Go&description=11%2D125%2D606&searchdepa=1

Finally, be aware that a lot of these cheaper cases have horrible fan grills that will block in excess of 50% of the air going through them, which reduces airflow and generates a lot of noise. They should be removed before you even put anything in the case.

[Geeky1]

Pseudonym, you're looking at cases that have really awful cooling.

You should look for something (as I just mentioned) with at least:
2x 80mm or 1 120mm front intake, BLOWING ACROSS HARD DRIVE(S)
2x 80mm rear exhaust, mounted next to ATX I/O plate.

[pseudonym]

Cool, thanks geeky. Horrid fan grills aren't too bad, I've got enough drill bits to fix that problem :)

Yeah, I know. I can fix those problems on most. I'm not afraid of a little modding :)

[Geeky1]

Yeah, as long as you're not afraid to mod it, there are some decent cases on there for a lot less than that raidmax.

Why raidmax insists on using a single 60mm exhaust fan in a mid-tower is beyond me. It's easily the most idiotic thing I've ever seen done as far as case cooling goes.

[pseudonym]

Yeah, I'd forgotten all about that, I never look back there and keep forgetting. Its hard to mod it too because of the shape back there, rather annoying.

[Mt_Goat]

What about this case with PSU??? (http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?DEPA=1&sumit=Go&description=N82E16811129120&searchdepa=1) That is the same old favorite PSU that got a lot of us through a lot in the past and are very proven.

[Geeky1]

mtgoat: PS is excellent, case is decent, price is too high. He said to keep it in the budget, which is $84.99; that case is $88.00 :D

[Mt_Goat]

Geeky1 had this to say
mtgoat: PS is excellent, case is decent, price is too high. He said to keep it in the budget, which is $84.99; that case is $88.00 :D
So sue me for $4.99! :D

[Geeky1]

Don't you mean $3.01? ;) :D ;D

[pseudonym]

mtgoat had this to say
What about this case with PSU??? (http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?DEPA=1&sumit=Go&description=N82E16811129120&searchdepa=1) That is the same old favorite PSU that got a lot of us through a lot in the past and are very proven.

Yeah, not bad, but McBain has that case, and it feels like its made out of cement. :)

[TheLostSwede]

400 Watts Antec Psu? Then it has to be the Antec 412 which is what i am using. GREAT psu for the price. Has trim-pots for the 5V and 12V inside as well.