Speccing Up a New PC (+ PC Temps?)

[No.1]

Hi, i was wondering if you guys could help me.... again :roll: :wink:

I have just started to learn how to rip DVDs on my fairly average system (256MB RAM, 1.7GHz P4), and as expected it takes a while (4-5hrs for a 1CD Rip).

The CPU is under a preety heavy load 99-100% for the duration, and i was wondering how hot my system runs. I have also left the PC on for long periods 12-14hrs, and just wanted to find out how much hotter it was running.

How do i find the temperature whilst the PC is in Windows... do i use BIOS(which i dont know how to start up), or is there another Microsoft Util that i could use.

This is a little confusing for me so a full, detailled explanation would be nice :D oh....and what is an average Temp inside a case (just as a reference point)

Thanks in advance :D

[Fleischmann]

No ned to be alarmed...I used to have an Athlon 1400Mhz...it consumed electricity like nothing on earth and it survived for over 26 hours ;)

You can use applications such as "Waterfall", which "switches off" the parts of your procy' that aren't currently being used. Helps keep the temperature down.

[No.1]

Thanks guys.... i downloaded speedfan, and it monitors temps and the HD temps too.

It seems it runs at about 45deg in normal running, with the HD at 39-41deg

Again... thanks for the quick response both of you :D

[AlienDB7]

I've kept my PC on 24/7 with CPU @ 42-50C (depending on CPU load) and HDs at 33-36C for quite a while. So with yours on for only 12-14hours, it will be fine ;)

My case temperature is at 30C right now. All my case fans / cpu fans are running at reduced speed though. I just want a quiet enough system for general use and occasional encoding.

Yes, I'm such an environmentalist like JC :mrgreen:

[SFDMALEX]

Well today is pretty hot and my room temperature is 29.5C so my system is hotter then usual. On an OK day my room temp is 24C and then my chip runs at 40C -+ 3 degrees. My case temp is 29, 30 and my harddrive 27C -+ 2.

When I got this new antec case the system temperatures dropped dramaticaly. Although I do have a lot of fans in it. Two front intake fans, two exaust fans, all 80mm. One little fan in my fan controller which just blows air into the optical compartment, then the north bridge fan, cpu and PSU.

I figured that it is crucial to have good air circulation in your case. For instance like me...2x Intake, 2x Exauhst. Because if you just have a bunch of fans blowing inside without any circulation your just moving air around(like in my old case.)

[No.1]

^^^

i am gouing to buy my own PC in a few months time,..... thinking bout the Antec sonata... quiet running in my bedroom :D

I would stack my currrent PC with fans, but there are not enough freespaces :(

[No.1]

It's £85.... i have read some rave reviews on it, and have decided to build my own PC by myself in the next 4-6months.

I thought P4 2.4GHz, 512MB RAM, not a clue which MOBO, Firewire & USB 2.0 Cards, £DVD writer, CD-RW, Creative 5.1 live soundcard. Sonata case (2x120mm fans)
2x160GB or 200GB WD 7200rpm HDS

Not sure which graphics... i want to be able to capture TV also, and edit videos quickly, so maybe 1GB of RAM...

What is a good Graphics Card, and a good Capture Card :?:

Budget is £700-900 excluding monitor. Try Speccing up a PC for me using www.dabs.com/uk .... if you wish :P I would really like to see what a PC Pro would make... maybe even an AMD chip...

I don't know much about PC Building and compatability, so if you could help, please do :D

[itsthepham]

since we're kinda on the dvd topic...does anyone have any more information about those dual layers?

[No.1]

Yup... discs are rathe expensive, and the write time is about 45mins...
Here's a good article :D

:arrow: http://www.tomshardware.com/storage/20040707/index.html

[No.1]

I'll search a bit, and will let you know little later on

no worries... i need to earn some cash first :P :wink:

[No.1]

CHeers mate... i will have to check all the products out later... kinda busy atm.

Really, thank you for the help :D 8)

[TopGearNL]

Cool program that Speedfan, and useful thanks :)

[mindgam3]

Regarding compatiability, you can't reeeally go wrong, most stuff you jus plug into the motherboard. Jus make sure you get a motherboard thats compatible with the processor. When choosing a motherboard you jus need to find one that suits your needs, eg what sockets you want on the back and how many HD's, DVD/CD units you ant and choose one with the correct amount of IDE slots.

You should be able to find a pretty decent set up for you budget but as you are doing graphic intense work id spend less on your case, motherboard, and IDE units and more on your RAM and graphics card.
To be honest, stuffing a load of fans in to try and get your pc a few degrees cooler wont really make much difference, maybe get a decent processor head fan and make sure you have one decent case fan to circulate the air but thats it. Spend the money on other stuff

[espen]

Get a 9800 SE and softmod it. I have one, runs at 9800 XT speed (actually even more, OC'd) and wil run pretty much anything at full graphics. BF42 w/desert combat looks beautiful :D

[No.1]

Thanks for all the tips guys... really helpful. :D

I do not want to make any mods to components, as suggested by espen, because i don't want to invalidate warranties etc. and know nothing about modding pieces of hardware.

Any more advice would be great... :P

[espen]

Softmod = drivers only ;) Just use Omega drivers and enable "Open pipelines". But you need to pick the right card, so I get your point if you don't want the risk.

[No.1]

^^^

Oh right... that may be acceptable.

Sorry for my lack of knowledge on this subject :oops:

Don't get any of the "omega" and "pipelines" stuff.... lol

Thanks again :D

[espen]

If you're not a nerd like some of us then go with the 9600XT. It's a good card for the money, if you can try to stretch for a9800pro - its a whole new level compared to the 9600 series. Personally, I buy average CPUs and get a brutal graphics card - it's the GPU that pulls the games, and if you're not gaming you might as well get a lowly 9000 series - same high ATI 2D performance there though less future-proof of course.

Other than that I think your setup seems very nice thamar! Have the same DVD-burner and flashed it region free, have dual Seagate 120s and theire ok but I have heard of some failiures on them. Probably temperature related though, they seem to get quite hot. Lovely tower :)

Also look for a Logitech MX500 mouse perhaps, its very nice and since it's on the way out (replaced) dirt cheap - paid ~£20 for mine :lol:

[No.1]

Nice mouse, but i am thinking of going cordless... maybe the diNovo by Logitech, as it has short stoke keys, a separate number pad and Bluetooth :wink:

For graphics... the 9600 looks like a happy medium... good enough to play most games (i hope :wink: ) ... i want to get more into PC gaming as recently i am using PS2 & Xbox instead of some of the great PC titles :P

[No.1]

What is your experience with Western Digitals... are they any good, as somebody mentioned the caviar drive in this section :?:

[espen]

Wes, WDs are good. We have litterally hundreds of them at work and not a single crash so far. Have had a few Dells carsh, mostly Maxtor disks, but again I guess temp (GX1s are cramped inside) is an issue.

Tamar, you may be right about your take on the CPU vs GPU issue, I feel otherwise from my own experience. Or more to the point, XP CPUs are cheap, then on the 64s quickly get more expensive. I'd rather get an XP3000 and a 9800 pro, than a '64 3000 and expensive mb and comparatively cheaper GPU.

I went from 9600 pro to "9800 XT" and got a lot more fps in BF1942 (typically went from unplayable at 1280x960 4*AA 4*AF to average of ~60-70 fps) from this than I got from subsequent XP2500 to OC'd Barton3000. But of course, running 1GB ram takes some of the load off the CPU.

As for benchmarking, the only benchmark I care for are fps ;)