Custom PC

[Gainy]

Hi

I've been selecting parts for my first custom pc, almost got everything. Won't be ordering till early december, so my choices may still change. What I have so far:

Spoiler :

• AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego 90nm 1MB L2 (939 Pin) - Retail with Fan - £170.99
• Sapphire X1800XL 256mb 256bit GDDR3 PCI-E Dual DVI/VIVO - £257.33
• Asus A8N-E nForce4 Ultra (Socket 939) PCI-Express Motherboard - £76.32
• Tagan TG480-U22 480W ATX2.01 2Force SLi Compliant Silent PSU - £64.57
• Corsair 2GB DDR XMS3200C2PT TwinX (2x1GB) CAS2 - £193.82
• Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 4 7.1 EAX Sound Card - OEM - £45.24
• Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 NCQ 160GB ST3160812AS SATA-II 8MB Cache - OEM - £65.51
• Case - ???
• CD/DVD Drive - ???
• Cooling - ???
  
  Total: £873.78

As you can see, I still have no idea as to what i'm getting for the last 3 - hence this post.

For a CD/DVD (non-write) drive combo, can anyone recommend any reputable manufacturers?

Also can anyone recommend any simple ATX cases without PSUs? All of them seem to want loads of drive bays, which I really don't need. They also want to stick a bloody door in the front, which I don't want (can you remove these?)
All I require is 2 CD drive bays, 1 int 3.5", and a non-tacky looking case with good air flow. After long periods of searching, i've yet to find anything to that standard I can accept i'm almost always going to get more drive bays than that, but they always chuck in a PSU, look tacky, have crap air flow etc.

For cooling: Do I really need it? I am getting a fairly high spec pc, but will the supplied fans/whatever be sufficient? If not, could I get some advice as to what I should be looking for?

Help would be much appreciated

 

[handyandy]

for cases you can remove the supplied psu , which might mean you are paying for things you dont need but it can be done. have you tried www.dabs.co.uk i have found they have a large collection of cases and might even have some of the parts you have listed above but cheaper i dont know.

 

[Speedo]

For cooling: Do I really need it? I am getting a fairly high spec pc, but will the supplied fans/whatever be sufficient? If not, could I get some advice as to what I should be looking for?

If you aren't planning on overclocking, they'll be fine.

 

[Gainy]

Ah right, thanks. I found quite a sexual case at dabs.
I misunderstood what someone said to me regarding cooling, so thanks for helping to clear that up also.

Now it's only the CD drive...

 

[CruddyLeper]

Well... although it has lots of bays, I think the iCute cases in Maplins make quite good coolers.

They come with 80mm fans front and side, and you can fit 2 120mm fans bottom inlet and top outlet for good case cooling. Free twin temperature sensor too.

They don't use spacers to attach the motherboard though, so I advise you try 'em with your motherboard, but for the price (30 quid, no PSU) they're pretty good from a cooling angle.

EDIT: For DVD usage either get LG Triple dual layer or Pioner 109 dual layer. Both about 40 quid. If you really just want a reader, pretty sure you can get Sony OEM DVD-ROM drives for 25 quid in PC World (I know, there are almost no branches in Scotland but you can still order from the website). You can almost certainly get cheaper than that from Dabs or Komplett or Evesham.