My new build - please rate

[Krydel]

Hey, sorry to bother you,

I did some researching, and just in time it seems. With nehalem coming out in a couple months (which i wont be able to afford at release) and me upgrading this month - i am not prepared to spend the £300 i was just about to on some parts that will be "outdated" or "old" in a couple months. Instead, i made a compromise and decided to buy something mediocre that would get me through until i could afford to upgrade again. (probably sometime after xmas) Instead of getting a powerful cpul, i decided to get a decent one, overclock it and get a gfx.


http://www.ebuyer.com/product/...2/show_product_reviews < found better motherboard imo. take a look see

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/132064 Will be overclocked somewhere inbetween 3-3.5ghz

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/.../show_product_overview << Alternative to the now unavailable ram

http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?quicklinx=55PF The best bit of my build

This comes to about £310, over my budget slightly but should be ok.

Please rate this as a build and give me heads up as to whether this will run CoD4, Crysis etc on max/high settings as this is basically what i want my system to do. (it gets difficult not having the money to do this though)

Regards,

Krydel

EDITED - Pc is for gaming and web browsing use, budget is £300, ati seems the best brand at the moment bang for buck, current parts are nothing but 500W psu and speakers mouse keyboard etc, and i live in the UK

 

[Krydel]

oh yeah, i am buying this on or a couple days after the 18th august. So prices should remain the same.

 

[cusideabelincoln]

This system will definitely handle COD4 and Crysis.

However I couldn't get the motherboard link to work and the link to the memory says the item has been discontinued/unavailable.

I also don't think Nehalem's (Core i7) prices, on processors or motherboards, are going to be "good" until sometime in the middle of next year. Hopefully we find out a lot more information this month, whenever Nehalem if finally released.

Judging from the prices in the U.S., I am guessing a person could buy a really good computer right now and upgrade sometime late next year, when Core i7 prices have fallen, and still spend the same amount of money as one would by upgrading to Core i7 within the next four months. Here is how I foresee my plan in US prices:
Current rig: $380 for processor, motherboard, and RAM.
Rig late next year: $475 for processor, motherboard, and RAM.
Total for upgrades: $855
Nehalem cost this year: $750 for CPU, mobo, and RAM
Difference: $105

So there is a $105 difference for getting better performance right now as well as holding off until Nehalem and motherboards become stable in price. And the longer you wait before upgrading, the more the price difference will lessen.

 

[DSF]

Originally posted by: cusideabelincoln
This system will definitely handle COD4 and Crysis.

However I couldn't get the motherboard link to work and the link to the memory says the item has been discontinued/unavailable.

I also don't think Nehalem's (Core i7) prices, on processors or motherboards, are going to be "good" until sometime in the middle of next year. Hopefully we find out a lot more information this month, whenever Nehalem if finally released.

Judging from the prices in the U.S., I am guessing a person could buy a really good computer right now and upgrade sometime late next year, when Core i7 prices have fallen, and still spend the same amount of money as one would by upgrading to Core i7 within the next four months. Here is how I foresee my plan in US prices:
Current rig: $380 for processor, motherboard, and RAM.
Rig late next year: $475 for processor, motherboard, and RAM.
Total for upgrades: $855
Nehalem cost this year: $750 for CPU, mobo, and RAM
Difference: $105

So there is a $105 difference for getting better performance right now as well as holding off until Nehalem and motherboards become stable in price. And the longer you wait before upgrading, the more the price difference will lessen.

However, putting any specific numbers on things, especially a year down the road, is complete speculation. I wouldn't base a purchasing decision on numbers cuside made up. (No offense cuside, there's just not enough evidence to consider them anything more than a guess.)

That said, I agree with his basic point. If you're going to bother buying a new motherboard, RAM, and video card now, you may as well go all the way and get something like an E7200 at least, which shouldn't be too much more expensive. Regardless whether you go with the E2180 or E7200, don't spend the money on DDR2-1066. DDR2-800 will be fine for what you're doing, even considering your overclocking.

 

[Krydel]

Originally posted by: DSF

Originally posted by: cusideabelincoln
This system will definitely handle COD4 and Crysis.

However I couldn't get the motherboard link to work and the link to the memory says the item has been discontinued/unavailable.

I also don't think Nehalem's (Core i7) prices, on processors or motherboards, are going to be "good" until sometime in the middle of next year. Hopefully we find out a lot more information this month, whenever Nehalem if finally released.

Judging from the prices in the U.S., I am guessing a person could buy a really good computer right now and upgrade sometime late next year, when Core i7 prices have fallen, and still spend the same amount of money as one would by upgrading to Core i7 within the next four months. Here is how I foresee my plan in US prices:
Current rig: $380 for processor, motherboard, and RAM.
Rig late next year: $475 for processor, motherboard, and RAM.
Total for upgrades: $855
Nehalem cost this year: $750 for CPU, mobo, and RAM
Difference: $105

So there is a $105 difference for getting better performance right now as well as holding off until Nehalem and motherboards become stable in price. And the longer you wait before upgrading, the more the price difference will lessen.

However, putting any specific numbers on things, especially a year down the road, is complete speculation. I wouldn't base a purchasing decision on numbers cuside made up. (No offense cuside, there's just not enough evidence to consider them anything more than a guess.)

That said, I agree with his basic point. If you're going to bother buying a new motherboard, RAM, and video card now, you may as well go all the way and get something like an E7200 at least, which shouldn't be too much more expensive. Regardless whether you go with the E2180 or E7200, don't spend the money on DDR2-1066. DDR2-800 will be fine for what you're doing, even considering your overclocking.

Noted I would go all the way and get a E7200 or even a E8400 if the money was available it all depends on august 18th which is my birthday. I can't force money out of people (unfortunately lol)

Is the motherboard listed ok for overclocking? it has a load of features i really dont need (and wont need, seeing as though ill upgrade next year when as cusideabelincoln mentioned, prices are O.K) and perhaps the money could be better spent?

Thank you to you both

 

[DSF]

As cuside said, the motherboard link is broken. That's why it's always good to name the parts in your post instead of just linking them.

 

[Krydel]

works for me but ok. here goes:

Product Description ASUS P5N-E SLI - motherboard - ATX - nForce 650i SLI
Product Type Motherboard
Form Factor ATX
Dimensions (WxDxH) 30.5 cm x 22.9 cm
Chipset Type NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI
Multi-Core Support Dual-Core / Quad-core
Max Bus Speed 1333 MHz
Processor 0 ( 1 ) - LGA775 Socket
Compatible Processors Pentium 4, Celeron D, Pentium D, Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Extreme, Core 2 Quad
64-bit Processors Compatibility Built-in
RAM 0 MB (installed) / 8 GB (max)
Supported RAM Technology DDR II SDRAM
Supported RAM Integrity Check Non-ECC
Storage Controller ATA-133, Serial ATA-300 (RAID), eSATA port
USB Ports Configuration 8 x USB
Storage Ports Configuration 2 x ATA, 4 x SATA, 1 x eSATA
FireWire Ports Configuration 2 x FireWire
Audio Output Sound card - 5.1 channel surround
Networking Network adapter - Marvell Alaska 88E1116 - Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet

 

[DSF]

Yeah the link is working for me now.

I wouldn't get a 650i motherboard. You're on a budget, which means no SLI, so stick to a solid Intel chipset that will be more stable and likely overclock better.

 

[Krydel]

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/...7/show_product_reviews . This MSI board looks great. The reviews say they have got the cpu im getting well over 3ghz and has easy overclocking functions. Perfect for me

Just need a non-me seal of approval

 

[cusideabelincoln]

Yes, my actual recommendation was pretty much based of speculation, which is why I said I "guess". Just look back to a year after Core 2 launched and you'll see the similarities to my speculation. As long as AMD is competitive, which Phenom currently is and I expect Bulldozer to keep them afloat, then Intel will try to keep their prices low as well. And there will definitely be mid-range boards available a year after launch, and DDR3 prices should drop pretty drastically. Moore's law cannot be denied.

But enough on that tangent. Yes, that MSI board looks great and is a great deal. Alternatively, you should consider this MSI P43 board, which comes with free delivery. I'd say grab whichever board ends up being cheaper for you.

 

[Krydel]

Originally posted by: cusideabelincoln
Yes, my actual recommendation was pretty much based of speculation, which is why I said I "guess". Just look back to a year after Core 2 launched and you'll see the similarities to my speculation. As long as AMD is competitive, which Phenom currently is and I expect Bulldozer to keep them afloat, then Intel will try to keep their prices low as well. And there will definitely be mid-range boards available a year after launch, and DDR3 prices should drop pretty drastically. Moore's law cannot be denied.

But enough on that tangent. Yes, that MSI board looks great and is a great deal. Alternatively, you should consider this MSI P43 board, which comes with free delivery. I'd say grab whichever board ends up being cheaper for you.

I think my build is sorted now It works out cheaper for the original one considering im buying all but the graphics card from ebuyer so free delivery on £150ish worth of stuff anyways ty tho.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to this thread i am really greatful

thanks again