twistdshade

Ok, so I'm building a computer, and I was anxious to get away from my old Franky (short for Frankenstein).. so i took what parts i had already purchased, and went ahead and got some cheepo stuff to get it running.

what i want to keep on this system, is the motherboard, and the video cards.

Mobo:
Abit Fatal1ty FP-IN9 SLI

Video Cards:
EVGA Nvidia GeForce 9600 GT 512MB
I have 1 hooked up, 1 sitting in its box, and my sli bridge is on the way in the mail, it was left behind at my parent's house when i left to idaho

CPU: (junk)
Intel Celeron D 330J, 2666 MHz (20 x 133)

RAM:
2048 MB (DDR2-667 DDR2 SDRAM) (a 2 gig chip borrowed from my uncle)

PSU: Junk that came with the case i got from ebay 600w OKIA

OS:
Windows XP Pro, 32bit

I did an everest full report on my computer, and hosted the results on my ftp
www.scrollofresurrection.com/report
so if you want more info, click here

Anyways..
First thing I want to know..

Without changing any hardware, just bios, drivers etc. How can I get my system running faster?
Ive already updated my bios to the latest version i think, defragmented my hd,updated everything i could find, but it seems like my graphics is slower than my first system

pentium 4 with hyperthreading 3.0ghz
512mb ddrx4 (2.0GB)
nvid 6600 agp oc

Second question:
i have a tax return coming to me, and I'm budgeting $500 of it to completing my system.
What do you recommend i spend on?

twistdshade

1. Budget: How much money are you willing to spend on the new build?
$500 more than i already have, maybe more if its really worth it

2. Brands: Are there any brands of components you want or don't want?
mostly sticking with nvid, whatever is most compatible with my current mobo and vid cards.

3. Multitasking: Will you be multitasking with this computer and if so, how much?
3d gaming while listening to music and web browsing.
or html editing while web browsing and image editing

4. Gaming: Will you be gaming and if so, how much and how new are the games?
I'm a wow addict, looking to get 60fps at 1680x1050 screen res, with a bunch of addons loaded.

5. Calculations: Will you be doing any intense calculations or media encoding?
I definitely like my ipod, and high quality audio, encoding FLAC to MP3, and also dvds to .mov or .mp4 for my ipod.

6. Overclocking: Do you plan on overclocking and if so, how much?
I'd like to do some overclocking after i get my system finished and stable

7. Storage: How much storage will you need and what will you be storing?
I'd like to set up some fast storage, for loading windows and programs, and lots of addons in WoW, with added storage for saving and converting my dvd collection onto my ipod

8. Legacy Support: Will you need support for older hardware like parallel, serial, or PS/2 devices?
No

9. Operating System: Do you want Windows XP or Vista, or Linux compatibility?
XP all the way

10. Case: Do you want help selecting a case and if so, how big do you want it?
Already have a pretty big case, im not much of a case modder, nothing fancy, as long as all my junk fits and stays cool

11. Accessories: Do you want a keyboard, mouse, or other items included?
I've already got a Merc Stealth keyboard. I am looking into getting a gaming mouse

12. Recycled Components: Will you be reusing any components you already have?
Using current mobo and vid cards

13. Monitor: If you want a monitor, what size do you want and should it be widescreen?
already got a 22" 1690x1050 5ms response time dvi-D

14. Stores: Do you have any online stores that you prefer to purchase from?
newegg, tigerdirect, ebay, whatever the best deal is

15. Location: What country do you live in?
United States

wrench97

Have a look at these

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817341011 750w 99.99 -20
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115036 E8500 187.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227377 4gig 800 60.99 -10

348.97 -30
318.97

twistdshade

ah thanks, ram looks nice, you need special ram to sli your vid cards? didnt know.

cpu looks decent, im no expert on cpus..

psu looks ok, you sure itl match my mobo?
24 pin main mobo power connection, with an 8 pin for the cpu,
1 more 4 pin standard, easy

wrench97

The ram is tuned to the Nvidia chip set motherboard not the video cards.
The PSU has more different types of connections then you'll ever use.
Before you swap the CPU flash your Bios to the latest available while the current CPU is still installed.

twistdshade

gotcha, i see the 8 pin on the psu, i get what you mean about the ram, sounds cool.
sorry about the slow response, somebody was eating my connection

what are the focus features on this cpu, any coolers you reccomend?
im curious about liquid cooling, just want to move past air cooling, any ideas to get me started?

any suggestions on getting my current hardware running faster while i wait for my tax return? graphics seems to hang up when caching, more often than my old agp card with the same ammount of vid ram.

wrench97

Most of you problem is the one stick of ram Dual channel is faster but you need 2 sticks to have it. And of course the CPU will hold you back.

I'm not an expert on water cooling, tried it a couple of times always found it a pain, Arctic Cooling Freezer Pro 7 for mild overclocking or the Zalman 9700 to go higher with the Zalman and good ram the E8500 will be stable at 4Ghz on a Intel chipset not sure about yours, but should be close. Here are some CPU charts comparing current CPU's> http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/d...x1050,818.html

twistdshade

ah i see what you mean, so once i get some decent ram, maybe i'll get 4 chips of that nvid ram, and a decent cpu with good fsb, my fps should go up?
this is an awesome chart, i didnt know cpu's really had that much of an effect on framerate
im liking the looks of this cooler here
Zalman 9700

copper is nice, and if im not mistaken, i should be able to point the fan so that it blows up twords the psu, and the psu should then blow it out of the rear of the case
or maybe reverse the fan on the back of my case to blow out instead of in..
or even pointing it down, and using one of these in my mini pci-e slot
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835150006

wrench97

You should have a front fan sucking in and a rear fan blowing out. When ever possible I place the CPU cooler so that it blows front to back.

What case do you have?

twistdshade

http://cgi.ebay.com/9257-Black-Compu...3A2%7C294%3A50

a friend of mine gave it to me, he got it from ebay, this is pretty much the same thing, i think the psu he gave me actually came from this deal too lol..

anyways, i got the big fan on the side,blowing in, fan on the front blowing in on the hard drives, fan in the rear of the case blowing in on the cpu

im fairly happy with this case, unless you have a reason to upgrade
but theres plenty of room in here

twistdshade

its a good idea to have a slightly higher air pressure in the case, to reduce dust. atleast thats what i heard, but right now i think my air intake is much higher than my exhaust

Jtsou

Hey, you can clean out dust! Get that air flowing as much as you can.

twistdshade

haha true true, but i did some reading up on air cooling your computer system.
heres a link i found, pretty informitive, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_cooling

some key things i learned from this page.

slightly positive airflow is good.

bring cool in from the bottom of the case, and let hot air out of the top and back (already done by your psu)

never reuse hot air to cool something, as in.. its probably not a good idea to cool your cpu with hot air from your vid cards

strategically placing fans is often better, more efficient cooling, than just maximising airflow

correct?

Jtsou

Yes, just move that hot air out of the case, my dual slot 8800GT does just that.

As for wikipedia, anyone can post there. Not everyone can post here.

twistdshade

true true, get hot air out asap #1 rule :)

anyone can post on wiki, and anyone can post on here, just look at me :P

Jtsou

I meant with expertise, you have no clue who is posting on there, but on here you can get an idea that people know things.

wrench97

You should not rely on the PSU to remove the air from the case a good psu will vary the fan speed to control the psu temp and having all the fans blow in just pushes the hot air into the psu, as psu temps go up power ratings drop which causes more heat it's a viscous cycle.

twistdshade

i see.. so should i have the fan on the back of the case blow air out?

wrench97

Yes that way the air flow in the case moves in the same direction front to back.

grimx133

Fans blowing in from three different directions will create dead spots as well.