Oh no! Another system spec up!!!

[thelonewolf]

Hi all,

Previously registered user but lost my details and got caught up with racing motorcycles, meaning my poor neglected old PC hasn't had an upgrade in a while...

Current Rig:

AMD A64 3500+
2x512MB RAM
ATI x800gto2 OC'd to x800XT speed
Creative Audigy ZS
WD Raptor 74GB
4x 7200rpm storage drives
Samsung 17" Monitor

plays last gen games fine, HL2/FarCry etc but tried to play Gears of War and it cried

Want to build a new system poaching a few components from my old computer, all the HDDs and the sound / PCI cards. i also recently purchased a GeForce 8800 Ultra from a friend (for £70) - so looking for some hardware to match it

I'm looking to purchase the following components from the "System builder's thread Oct 2008"

Intel Core2 Q8200 2.33GHz (P/N 8050Q8200) - £130
Asus P5Q Deluxe - £140
4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 800 RAM - £40 (could go 8GB for £40 more?)
Corsair CMPSU-750TX PSU - £80
Antec P180 - £80
Vista Ultimate 64bit (spawn of satan i know but necessary for DX10 and it IS the way the tide is turning) - £115
Dell S2409W 24" 16:9 monitor - £250

In the UK all that comes to about £850 by my book, price is about what i want to spend but if there's a significant improvement for a little extra i'd pay it

Rig will be used for gaming, media playback, photoshop, as well as general internet etc

No brand preferences, not interested in OCing while components are new, building before X-mas

Comments or recommendations?

 

[Blain]

[Edited for content]
Welcome to AT.

 

[thelonewolf]

Originally posted by: Blain
Sorry, but we've maxed out on "Help me build..." threads.
Come back in two weeks. :roll:

thanks at least for the bump

 

[Twsmit]

The rig looks great. I would personally go with a faster CPU if you aren't overclocking, 2.33ghz is awfully slow when most duals and quads are pushing 3.0-3.6 ghz easily with hardly any effort. 4GB of ram is plenty, unless you feel you need 8GB I would stick with 4.

 

[thelonewolf]

Originally posted by: Twsmit
The rig looks great. I would personally go with a faster CPU if you aren't overclocking, 2.33ghz is awfully slow when most duals and quads are pushing 3.0-3.6 ghz easily with hardly any effort.

thanks for the advice...

what kind of results are people getting with their CPU overclocks? if the 2.33 might run at 3.0GHz with a decent cooler i'd be tempted to go for it as the risk to reward ratio is more favourable than the kind of results i used to hear about

if OCing isn't the answer which CPU might be a better match for the rest of the rig? has anyone done a roundup of the 775 Quad Core Intels to explain the entire model line and which releases are the ones to look out for, as i've not been "in the loop" for the last few years

edit: assuming i'll be looking at about a 3 year life of this rig (although by the end of it i'd expect it to be hurting trying to play the Gears of War or Crysis of 2011) is the additional expense of a quad core a sound investment over a duel core (i'm reading the sticky in the CPU forum as i type)

 

[Blain]

Originally posted by: thelonewolf

Originally posted by: Blain
Welcome to AT.

thanks at least for the bump

I was joking.

 

[thelonewolf]

Originally posted by: Blain

Originally posted by: thelonewolf

Originally posted by: Blain
Welcome to AT.

thanks at least for the bump

I was joking.

haha, i know mate, i know what it's like answering the same questions for new users, but we are appreciative, honest

 

[Denithor]

There's a great article over at xbitlabs comparing several quads & the fastest dual core in a variety of applications. Take a look before you decide what to buy, make sure you get what fits your needs best.

The new 45nm chips all overclock well, just make sure you don't push the voltage too high (keep it below 1.4V even with excellent cooling).

I hope that was a good deal on the Ultra. These days you can get better performance from a 4850 ($150) and much better performance from either a GTX 260 ($200) or a 4870 1GB ($300). Don't know what prices on those are like in the UK.

750W PSU is overkill, go for the Corsair 520HX or 620HX instead (modular for easier cable management).

If you don't particularly need any of the 'extra' features of Ultimate just go for Vista Home Premium 64-bit. Most people don't even know what the differences are and could save the $80 without even noticing anything missing.

 

[faxon]

just a thought, the Q6600 is actually faster, has twice the cache of your chip, and is cheaper at most sites right now. it also overclocks a lot better. if you are going to use the comp for a few years definitely go with a quad. the Q6600 can hit a 3.4-3.6GHz OC on air cooling without going outside of the intel spec voltage ranges. just some food for thought, if you plan on getting an aftermarket cooler at all, this voids your warranty (i know its fucking stupid but its intel's policy). since your warranty is already voided, you might as well OC anyway, especially since staying within intel's stock specs doesnt put your CPU at risk nearly as much as it used to back when you built your rig.

 

[CDC Mail Guy]

Blain is just great with his replies at times. Thanks for the much needed smile

 

[TLW]

OP here, MODS reactivated my old account...

Originally posted by: faxon
just a thought, the Q6600 is actually faster, has twice the cache of your chip, and is cheaper at most sites right now. it also overclocks a lot better. if you are going to use the comp for a few years definitely go with a quad. the Q6600 can hit a 3.4-3.6GHz OC on air cooling without going outside of the intel spec voltage ranges. just some food for thought, if you plan on getting an aftermarket cooler at all, this voids your warranty (i know its fucking stupid but its intel's policy). since your warranty is already voided, you might as well OC anyway, especially since staying within intel's stock specs doesnt put your CPU at risk nearly as much as it used to back when you built your rig.

i'd be installing an aftermarket cooler anyway for reasons of noise, sounds like the 6600 might be a better bet and OC the nads off it...

@Denithor - i based the Ultra buy on the fact that it's about $110, boxed as new and still seems to hold it's own fairly well in the charts, for £70 i can afford to replace it if it turns out to be crap, the 4870 and 260 retail for around £200 int he UK so almost three times the price!

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/...R-SM3-0-Score,793.html

 

[betasub]

Is there a particular feature exclusive to Vista64 Ultimate that you require? You can save a few £ by going for a "lesser" version of Vista64, such as Home Premium, without losing out on much.

 

[TLW]

Originally posted by: betasub
Is there a particular feature exclusive to Vista64 Ultimate that you require? You can save a few £ by going for a "lesser" version of Vista64, such as Home Premium, without losing out on much.

i quite like the idea of the drive encryption software, i use truecrypt at the moment to encrypt my financial work and work files that shouldn't get out in public, other than that the box is black, which is awesome, that's about it really...

in reality i could probably just keep using truecrypt and buy that extra 4GB of ram with the savings...

 

[Lonyo]

Get a 16:10 monitor.
It's a safer gaming monitor, even if you lose a bit of screen space when it comes to 16:9 content.

 

[TLW]

Hmmm, i can see the logic in getting a 16:10 monitor, but the 16:9 Dell one was going for a decent price and i can't seem to find an equivalent 16:10 model in the lineup...

Other questions;

- I'm going to go quad core, the Q6600 seems to have been discontinued in the UK, and the Q8200 seems to OC almost as well, whilst running cooler and quieter due to the 45nm construction, or of course i could look at the lower end Q9xxx, Q9300 or 9400 perhaps? It's a confusing market for someone who's been out of the game for a while!!

EDIT: 2.66GHz Q6700 anyone? 8MB L2 cache and only a few quid more than the 6600 used to be

- Any logic in going for the P5Q-Premium over the Deluxe? the house is wireless so the built in WiFi is the main reason, i've had minor issues on and off with the belkin PCI adapter i use at the moment and it'd free up a PCI slot by going for the built in option... that, and it's only £30 more than the Deluxe model

- Looking further into the Vista thing, tbh there's mixed views on the drive encryption software anyway, so i'll probably go Home Premium and save £40

 

[TLW]

blimey it's quiet in here today...


surely EVERYONE in america isn't busy doing something else today are they???!!!