Buying Advice - new rig

[YOYOtech - Mark]

hi there, we can change the specs to the following -

1 x Antec Nine Hundred/Ultimate Gamer Case- no PSU
1 x Logitech S220 2.1 Black Stereo Speakers - oem
1 x Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-Bit Edition DVD - oem
1 x ZOTAC 8800GTS 512MB, PCI-E, DDR3, Dual DVI, HDTV out, HDCP Graphics Card
1 x Abit IP35 PRO Intel P35, Dual DDR2, 7.1 Audio, PCI-E, SATA 2, ATX Motherboard
1 x Scythe Miné Quiet Heatpipe CPU Cooler S478, S775, S754, S939, S940 compatible
1 x Corsair 220W HX Series Modular SLi Powersupply, ATX, EPS 12V, whisper quiet,
2 x OCZ 2GB KIT (2x1024MB) DDR2 800 (PC6400) Platinum XTC Memory
1 x Samsung 20x SATA Lightscribe DVDRW Dual Layer Black
1 x Samsung 320GB HD321KJ Spinpoint T, SATA300, 7200 rpm, 16MB Hard Disk Drive
1 x Intel Core 2 Duo E8400, S775, 3.0 GHz, 1333MHz FSB, 6MB Cache CPU - Retail
1 x build plus software
1 x shipping

TOTAL PRICE - £914

The corsair 520w should do fine in the above system.....
Also have changed the graphics card to the Zotac 8800gts 512mb - this card is the same specs as the BFG 8800gts OC2 card recommendend by Blitzen (Link above will take you to graphics card for full specs...)

hope this helps
mark

[jakc]

apologies for not returning sooner, I didnt have instant email notification turned on.

Thanks for the feedback - Ive managed to pull my mesh together one last time and its working fine for now.

Its got in it:
Mesh Case
AsusTek A8V Mobo (4 yrs old)
3500+ Athlon 64
7600GT
750 gb sata
1 dvd RW, 1 CD RW
Audigy 2ZA Pro Platinum withFront Panel
2 x 512 RAM (have ordered a 2GB kit though)

My monitor, keyboard, mouse extras are fine.

Tempted to either sell the entire system or use it as a spare to play aorund with and buy a whole new system.

Let me digest your comments so far but would be good to hear what you would do in my situation.
I dont think I want to be spending more than £1k for a new system.

[YOYOtech - Mark]

hi there - no problems

when you are ready to go for a new system - let us know

thanks
mark

[vid123]

Originally Posted by YOYOtech - Mark

hi there, i have changed the power supply to a differnet supply so for the specs listed below we can offer you -
1 x Coolermaster Centurian 534 Siver Case
1 x Logitech S220 2.1 Black Stereo Speakers - oem
1 x Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-Bit Edition DVD - oem
1 x BFG 8800GT 0C2 512MB, PCI-E, DDR3, Dual DVI, HDTV out, HDCP Graphics Card
1 x Abit IP35 PRO Intel P35, Dual DDR2, 7.1 Audio, PCI-E, SATA 2, ATX Motherboard
1 x Scythe Miné Quiet Heatpipe CPU Cooler S478, S775, S754, S939, S940 compatible
1 x Corsair 520W HX Series Modular SLi Powersupply, ATX, EPS 12V, whisper quiet,
2 x OCZ 2GB KIT (2x1024MB) DDR2 800 (PC6400) Platinum XTC Memory
1 x Samsung 20x SATA Lightscribe DVDRW Dual Layer Black
1 x Samsung 320GB HD321KJ Spinpoint T, SATA300, 7200 rpm, 16MB Hard Disk Drive
1 x Intel Core 2 Duo E8400, S775, 3.0 GHz, 1333MHz FSB, 6MB Cache CPU - Retail
1 x build plus software
1 x shipping

TOTAL PRICE - ?

hope this helps
mark

Mark,

Trying to make mind up on this is nightmare. This is a spec with changes. What is new delivered price? Assuming the case is ok?

[Blitzen]

If you can afford it, go for the Quad Core.
Its going to be around far longer than any dual core CPU and if you overclock that E8400 anything around 4ghz or more you will need to up the voltage. If you up the voltages on a 45nm CPU you will DRASTICALLY shorten its lifespan.

[Blitzen]

If i were you, with the budget you are working around, this is what i would go for:

Coolermaster Centurian 534 Silver Case - YOYO Code : 8652 - £36.85 inc. vat (Nice Choice)

Power Supply - I would shop around - The Corsair 520W isn't good value at £66.00 (sorry to be so honest but its true).

Abit IX38 QuadGT - YOYO Code : 17759 - £135.71 inc. vat - (Ok...its a little more expensive than the IP35-Pro but its also newer technology. For the sake of less than £20, why not go for the newer chipset? I did and im very very pleased with it).

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 G0 Stepping CPU - YOYO Code : 30481 - £157.64 inc. vat - (Once again, a little more expensive at around £20 more but this Quad will have a longer lifespan than the E8*** series CPUs. Regardless of of clock speeds, the E8***'s will die quickly under volt increases. Remember also that a Quad will still be useful when Dula Core CPU's have out lived their usefullness).

OCZ 4GB KIT 2x2048MB GOLD DDR2 800MHZ PC2-6400 Memory - YOYO Code : 50591 - £65.10 inc. vat - (Great memory, lifetime warranty and good value at that price. Vista enjoys 4gb btw)

Scythe Miné Quiet Heatpipe CPU Cooler - YOYO Code : 4996 - [COLOR="Red"]£23.87 inc. vat - (Great choice. Fanstastic cooling, extremely quiet even at full throttle and imho better priced than the Ninja for near on the same performance)

BFG 8800GTS OC 512MB - YOYO Code : 57499 - £201.01 inc. vat - Great Card. In fact, one of the fastest pre-clocked 8800GTS's out there)

Samsung 500GB HD501LJ Spinpoint T - YOYO Code : 4988 - £62.69 inc. vat - (All much the sameeness. Down to your preference really)

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-Bit Edition DVD - £67.21 inc. vat

NEC Optiarc 20x Int DVDRW/RAM Black - YOYO Code : 37889 - £16.64 inc. vat - (Again...all much the sameness)

= £831.72 (i have added on £65.00 for a PSU...should be between 7-10% of full system value)

+Shipping!

Good Luck

[jakc]

Bit annoyed everyone else hijacked my thread.

On other hand, interesting to see what other people are looking at getting. I liked Blitzens suggestions (just cos I assume they are from an un-biased user as opposed to an official YoYo rep).

My mesh has packed in. Think its either a mobo or a PSU issue.

Seems a shame as I have creative audigy 2 zs; 7600GT; DVD burner x2, 750GB, 2GB RAM.

Would you suggest binning this lot (ebay it) and starting from scratch with a YoYo system? Are the YoYo builds at all tested to ensure theres no compatibility issues?

Perhaps I should order a system without the items of hardware that I have, and install them separatley myself?

Another Q - I have the Creative Inspire 7.1 speakers - if I upgraded to XFi - will these be compatible?

[jakc]

£958.18 inc. vat
Cases: Antec P182 Gun Metal Black Case

Powersupply: OCZ 900W MOD XStream Modular Powersupply with 120mm fan

Intel Motherboard: Asus Striker Extreme Socket 775 680i QUAD Core Ready DDR2 3X PCI-E Vista Premium Ready Motherboard

Intel CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad-Core Q6600, S775, 2.40 GHz, 1066MHz FSB, 8MB Cache CPU - Retail - G0 Stepping

PC Memory: Corsair 2Gb (2X1Gb) TwinX XMS2, DDR2 PC6400 (800), 240 Pin Memory

Desktop Hard Drive: Samsung 320GB HD321KJ Spinpoint T, SATA300, 7200 rpm, 16MB Hard Disk Drive

CD/DVD RW: Samsung SH-S183A/BEBN SATA - 18X DVDRW Dual Layer

Graphics Card: YYT 8800GTX 768MB DDR3, HDTV, Dual DVI, PCI-E Graphics Card - oem

Soundcards: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Music Sound Card oem


Im liking that, but need to know if it will support my 7.1 speakers and if you think I can get better value by changing some of the above to bring it down a bit?

[YOYOtech - Mark]

Hi there, as your mesh is dead - you have 2 options open to you.....

Option 1 - buy a whole new system - look at what you are trying to do you would be looking at around £850 for the parts of the system

Option 2 - buy only the parts you need to get up and running - then upgrade at a later date....
looking at the specs of the mesh you could re-cycle the following - 750gb hdd / audigy / dvdrw / 7600gt (if pci-e)
so the main parts you would need to get are - case / power supply / cpu / memory / motherboard

mark

[YOYOtech - Mark]

Heres what you could go for -

Re-using parts from mesh -
1 x Scythe Miné Quiet Heatpipe CPU Cooler S478, S775, S754, S939, S940 compatible £23.87
1 x Coolermaster RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Case £43.43
1 x Coolermaster 520W Real Power PRO M520 Powersupply £62.67
1 x Asus P5N-T Deluxe NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI - 1333 / 1066 / 800 MHz , 4 x DIMM, max. 8GB, DDR2 - Motherboard £155.90
1 x Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Energy Efficient 95W edition Socket 775 (2.40GHz) G0 Stepping CPU - oem £157.64
1 x OCZ 4GB KIT 2x2048MB GOLD DDR2 800MHZ PC2-6400 Memory £65.10
1 x shipping

Grand Total - £523.10

hard drive / dvdrw / soundcard / graphics card to be re-used

these can then be upgrade at later date

mark

mark

[jakc]

Thanks for prompt reply Mark.
id like to salvage the 750gb sata, the dvdRW and poss the audigy 2 zs pro. Whats the benefit of XFi over audigy 2zs pro anyhow?

The 7600 is not pci-e so ill wak that on ebay or put it in my HTPC.

I also bought a 2GB Ram kit - PC3200 DDR 400Mhz (2x1gb) - this is what blew my mesh - perhaps I should recycle this or perhaps not?

[YOYOtech - Mark]

are you can go the full distance and get yourself the parts for a whole new system...

1 x Scythe Miné Quiet Heatpipe CPU Cooler S478, S775, S754, S939, S940 compatible £23.87
1 x Coolermaster RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Case £43.43
1 x Asus P5N-T Deluxe NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI - 4 x DIMM, max. 8GB, DDR2 - Motherboard £155.90
1 x Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Energy Efficient 95W edition (2.40GHz) G0 Stepping CPU - oem £157.64
1 x OCZ 4GB KIT 2x2048MB GOLD DDR2 800MHZ PC2-6400 Memory £65.10
1 x YYT 8800GTX 768MB DDR3, HDTV, Dual DVI, PCI-E Graphics Card - oem £250.75
1 x Coolermaster 620W Real Power PRO M620 Powersupply £73.54
1 x Samsung 20x SATA Lightscribe DVDRW Dual Layer Black £17.32
1 x Samsung 320GB HD321KJ Spinpoint T, SATA300, 7200 rpm, 16MB Hard Disk Drive £48.47
1 x shipping

Grand Total - £852.51

hope this helps
mark

[YOYOtech - Mark]

the ddr 400 is not re-useable - all motherboard now use ddr 2

x-fi offer better sound the the audigy - new technology....

my advise would be not to worry about the soundcard - use the onboard sound or re-use the audigy....

onboard sound on a lot of top board is very good.....

what i recommend to a lot of customer is to try the onboard sound to start with - if they are then not happy to then buy the soundcard as an upgrade..

thanks
mark

[Blitzen]

I'd give the GTX a swerve if i were you.

The 8800GTS G92 is at least as good and is £50 cheaper.

[jakc]

ok, nearly done on the spec (bare with me, im not too good with hardware)

So, ill use my own audigy 2zs soundblaster (or on-board)
Id also like to hook it up to the front panel - case needs to be able to accompany this


Id also like to recycle my DVD-RW and CD-RW drives. Ive also got a 3.5 drive if itll fit in the case?

Id also like to get a minimal (if any?) storage drive as ill hook my 750GB drive straight up.

1 x Scythe Miné Quiet Heatpipe CPU Cooler S478, S775, S754, S939, S940 compatible £23.87
1 x Coolermaster RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Case £43.43
1 x Asus P5N-T Deluxe NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI - 4 x DIMM, max. 8GB, DDR2 - Motherboard £155.90
1 x Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Energy Efficient 95W edition (2.40GHz) G0 Stepping CPU - oem £157.64
1 x OCZ 4GB KIT 2x2048MB GOLD DDR2 800MHZ PC2-6400 Memory £65.10
1 x 8800GTS G92 PCI-E Graphics Card - oem £250.75
1 x Coolermaster 620W Real Power PRO M620 Powersupply £73.54
1 x shipping

Thats getting close to what im after I think (unless you have better suggestions?)
Ive swapped the GTX for the GTS based on Blitzens suggestions (will research this more) - what do I lose?

Sorry for treading carefully - want to get it right.

I also am a bit skeptical abotu hooking up my existing components into a new rig - do YoYo offer perhaps letting me send them my mesh and seeing if they can pre-install the hardware for a price? Not sure if it would be worth it or not. Just everytime i go in my mesh, something usually shorts out (yes I do take the precautions).

Thanks for everyones feedback.

[YOYOtech - Mark]

hi there, the front panel of the audigy will fit into the case no problems...

the graphics cards are a mine field ..... have a look round online - the 8800gt is the newest card out and probably the best selling at the moment.....buit the gtx is the more powerful one.....

either card is going to make your old 7600gt look like it from the dark ages....

you can look at this post - HERE
have a couple of comparsion for differnet graphics card i found on hexus....

hope this helps
mark