New gaming system

[jamesgurung]

Hi all!

Sorry if this is in the wrong place but I couldn't find a suitable forum. I intend to build a decent PC for gaming and video editing, and thought I'd run the spec past you guys before buying.

Case: Antec Nine Hundred 900 - Gaming Case with 200mm Top Fan (£66.96)

PSU: Corsair 620W HX Modular PSU - ATX12V v2.2 APFC (£81.98)

Motherboard: Asus P5Q PRO P45 Socket 775 8 Channel Audio ATX Motherboard (£84.98)

CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 G0 Stepping (2.4GHz 1066MHz) Socket 775 L2 8MB Cache (2x4MB) (£129.92)

Processor fan: Arctic Cooling AC-FRZ-7P Freezer 7 Pro Socket 775 Processor Cooler (£15.56)

Memory: Crucial 4GB Kit (2x2GB) DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 Memory Non-ECC Unbuffered CL6 Lifetime Warranty (£54.99)

Graphics: Sapphire HD 4870 512MB GDDR5 Dual DVI HDTV Out PCI-E Graphics Card (£184.40)

Hard drive: Samsung SpinPoint F1 HD103UJ 1TB Hard Drive SATAII *32MB Cache* - OEM (£87.99)

Monitor: LG W2242S 22" TFT Monitor 1680x1050 8000:1 300cd/m2 5ms VGA Silver/Black 3 Years Onsite Warranty (£140.09)

Operating system: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium - Licence and media - 1 PC - OEM - DVD - 64-bit - English (£65.55)

Keyboard/mouse: Extra Value Black Wireless Multimedia Keyboard & Optical Mouse - USB (£10.99)

Prices are from Ebuyer, and the system totals £923.41, including VAT.

Any thoughts?

I'm also interested to hear what people think about Vista 64 - particularly with respect to compatibility and drivers.

 

[baker99]

As it is for gaming I would probably go with a faster Dual core like the E8400 or E8600 which should get 4GHz on air, not many games utilise DC let alone QC.

 

[usman.zx10]

As it is for gaming I would probably go with a faster Dual core like the E8400 or E8600 which should get 4GHz on air, not many games utilise DC let alone QC.

that is true, take it from exp. i opted for for a qc and now i regret it, i wish i had my faster clocked dc anyday!

 

[pafk0o]

@usman.zx10 and baker99 . yes guys its true what you are saying but considering its a intel chipset based mobo ,so q6600 its a smart choice as well. Same as DC you can easly get it on 3.6GHz on air .

About Vista 64 bit- i have same system(not using at moment, went beck to XP ), what can i say i had a hard 6 month going on beta drivers all time long. I think now is better new product are supported straight away in 64 bit drivers. But just make sure you check devices before you will buy it if they are compatibile if you will decide to go with 64bit OS.

 

[Zoot]

Looks like a solid build to me, the only thing I would change as the other guys have said is the CPU.

Most games don't take advantage of more than 2 cores, a lot don't even take advantage of more than one. Granted multi threaded games are starting to arrive now. The only real reason to have a Quad Core is if you do a lot of multitasking which is really not the case when you're gaming.

But the bottom line is that for gaming a good quick dual core such as the E8400 is more than good enough for games. Plus it overclocks much higher aswell..

 

[Mr. Smith]

I'm going to say what I just said in another thread - intels new i7 cpus are coming out this month and will casue the prices of all old cpus/mobos to fall (that would be the stuff in your list).

Either wait and get i7 or wait and get your stuff for cheaper

 

[Zoot]

Either wait and get i7 or wait and get your stuff for cheaper

Well said.

 

[aiva114]

if you go with Vista take 64bit couse on my q6600 and 8800GT you could feel that it's faster then vista 32bit. on bench testing at default settings you could see tent's of sec difference.

 

[gotmaxpower]

if you go with Vista take 64bit couse on my q6600 and 8800GT you could feel that it's faster then vista 32bit. on bench testing at default settings you could see tent's of sec difference.

The main difference between 32 and 64bit is RAM based - no matter what hardware you have. 64bit utilises more RAM and is known to be generally faster on systems that have unused RAM on 32bit.

 

[Rastalovich]

Which is crazy in itself. A 64 bit OS should be atleast 1.5 times faster than a 32 bit OS (spiff them the half for 32 bit emu) - but it aint.

I have to be honest, if I'm spending just short of 1k on a pc, I'm getting an extreme cpu, basement ram, probably the same gfxcard or a 280, an Auzen soundcard, either an ip35 XE or 48 gt3, and the case, drives, keyboard, psu etc with whatevers left. Heck I'd use an el cheapo £10 case if I had to initially, it's just esthetics.

Being prepared with an initial outlay of 1k on stuff, I'm getting what I want.

 

[aiva114]

I can say onething DON'T buy cheap ass PSU on high and machines they realy blow up. thats what hapend to my pc in a midel of a game and it's a bit scary couse you can't know wich parts are then broken. In my case I had to buy neuw 8800GT and those wore axpensive in those days.

 

[Rastalovich]

Agreed. His Corsair 620 is a great psu, and there are cheaper ones that are quality too.

 

[aiva114]

agreed I go with crosaire or coolermaster

 

[SwaleSmith]

Sounds good, me personaly would agree with your Q6600 quad think they will get more use in the future, and windows itself seems quicker to me, can you stretc to a 260GTX or 280GTX some good deals floating they are very powerful

 

[SwaleSmith]

Oh and get the best PSU you can as stated above

 

[EverydayDiesel]

i have a 64 bit os but so many things dont work on it like my printer

 

[aiva114]

i have a 64 bit os but so many things dont work on it like my printer

plz at least tel us what kind of os you have xp , vista or linux

if you have XP 64 bit then you are not the only one ho experiences problems

 

[lamboman]

Hi all!

Sorry if this is in the wrong place but I couldn't find a suitable forum. I intend to build a decent PC for gaming and video editing, and thought I'd run the spec past you guys before buying.

Case: Antec Nine Hundred 900 - Gaming Case with 200mm Top Fan (£66.96)

PSU: Corsair 620W HX Modular PSU - ATX12V v2.2 APFC (£81.98)

Motherboard: Asus P5Q PRO P45 Socket 775 8 Channel Audio ATX Motherboard (£84.98)

CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 G0 Stepping (2.4GHz 1066MHz) Socket 775 L2 8MB Cache (2x4MB) (£129.92)

Processor fan: Arctic Cooling AC-FRZ-7P Freezer 7 Pro Socket 775 Processor Cooler (£15.56)

Memory: Crucial 4GB Kit (2x2GB) DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 Memory Non-ECC Unbuffered CL6 Lifetime Warranty (£54.99)

Graphics: Sapphire HD 4870 512MB GDDR5 Dual DVI HDTV Out PCI-E Graphics Card (£184.40)

Hard drive: Samsung SpinPoint F1 HD103UJ 1TB Hard Drive SATAII *32MB Cache* - OEM (£87.99)

Monitor: LG W2242S 22" TFT Monitor 1680x1050 8000:1 300cd/m2 5ms VGA Silver/Black 3 Years Onsite Warranty (£140.09)

Operating system: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium - Licence and media - 1 PC - OEM - DVD - 64-bit - English (£65.55)

Keyboard/mouse: Extra Value Black Wireless Multimedia Keyboard & Optical Mouse - USB (£10.99)

Prices are from Ebuyer, and the system totals £923.41, including VAT.

Any thoughts?

I'm also interested to hear what people think about Vista 64 - particularly with respect to compatibility and drivers.

Your system look good. The only things that I would change:

• Consider an HX520 instead, or don't bother with the modular power supplies at all. This one is completely up to you though.
  
• Get some better memory, like the G.Skill kits available at Ebuyer, or the GeIL kits at OcUK.
  
• Drop the 4870. A 4850 will be fast enough.
  
• Get an OCZ Vendetta 2, or an Xigmatek HDT-S1283.