New PC Spec. Check

[bluesatin]

I'm upgrading my PC from AGP finally since my Asus 6800GT finally packed in after about 3 years of use, so I'm not too bothered.

I have a soundcard, PSU (Antec NeoHE 500W), Case and HDs already.

So I only need a motherboard, RAM, CPU and GFX card.


This is what I'm looking at:

RAM: 2Gb (2X1Gb) Corsair Value Select, DDR2 PC4300 (533)
scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=121626

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600, Socket 775, 2.4 GHz
scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=430633

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA 965P-DS3 iP965, S775
scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=437659

GFX Card: 320MB XFX 8800GTS XT, PCI-E (x16), Mem 1700MHz, GPU 560MHz
scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=545086


I'm planning on overclocking the Core 2 Duo, I've got a Thermaltake Big Typhoon ready to cool it.
viperlair.com/reviews/cooling/air/thermaltake/clp0014/

I have a few questions as well:

Do you think my PSU is powerful enough?
Is there a cheaper alternative to my motherboard that has good overclocking abilities?
Is there a good cheaper alternative to the XFX overclocked 8800GTS? (I don't plan on overclocking manually)
Will the Value RAM be okay if I start overclocking my CPU?
(From what I've gathered it affects the RAM too, atleast when modifying the Front Side Bus)


Thanks for your time

(Links are missing www to get around the URL thing, you can still copy+paste into URL bar fine)

[Flewis]

Currently that mobo is a budget overclocker so finding much cheaper will be difficult apart from the gigabyte S3 which is the same board and overclocks well but does not have solid capacitors and has no raid support.

Your PSU may suffice, best to try and any signs of lack of power it will need replacing.

All of the 8800's are identical apart from the sticker and factory overclocks so get one that is the cheapest for its speed.

You will definitely need better RAM, the FSB of the processor determines your ram speed. You will need DDR2 667MHz RAM to reach 3GHz on a 6600. You will not be able to overclock at all with the ram you have chosen unless you overclock the ram.

[bluesatin]

Could you recommend any RAM at all?

I suppose I could get a cheaper GFX card and spend the extra on RAM

I could get the BFG 8800GTS pre-overclocked
scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=545050

But I'll probably end up buying from SCAN so it depends if they ever get it in

[Flewis]

This would be the cheapest you could get away with:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=291364

However this would be better:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=291363

Definitely get an 8800 though because it is DX10 and will last you longer than a DX9 card.

If you downgrade anything, downgrade the processor to a 4300, the only real difference is the cache which does not make a huge difference to performance and it overclocks very well (gets to 3GHz+).

[staffsMike]

If it doesn't have to be off scan..Geil ultra low latency pc6400 is only £117 on overclockers. Its qualitly ram..im running mine at 1000mhz no trouble.

I would get the BFG OC GTS if it was my money...better warranty for less and you can clock it yourself.

[bluesatin]

So does the lower cache make too much difference?

Bear in mind I will be using this for nearly everything: 3D Rendering, Video Rendering and Gaming etc.

But Gaming has priority, if it takes longer on the rendering I can always be doing something else in the meantime

I would get the BFG OC GTS if it was my money...better warranty for less and you can clock it yourself.

I might as well wait for the BFG then.

Can any of you recommend a good site to buy things off if SCAN doesn't have everything I want in stock.
I used to use overclockers.co.uk until I tried returning something a while back.. Was not easy to say the least

[Biscuit]

im pretty sure cache does come into play with rendering and the like but 2mb is plenty.

As for the BFG i got mine from microdirect for £199. £5 more than scan but i cudnt be bothered to wait its a very good card! i think my CPU + ram are holding it back somewhat atm but on current games i can still crank everything up to max and get good fps.

If you are looking at overclocking i wud say get a 600-650w psu now and save yourself any possible frustration.

[staffsMike]

suprisingly you can get the bfg gts in pc world (£225 in store, £199 online)

These cards need a 500w minimum PSU and 600w minimum if you want room to overclock etc..

As Biscuit said..2mb of cache is plenty at the moment but 4mb will be better for future applications no doubt.

I like overclockers personally but I can pop in to the store anytime so they're good for me.

Ebuyer is normally quite good.

Avoid Dabs if you value customer service.

[Clunk]

The extra 2 meg cache of the 6600 only gives you a small amount of extra performance, even in video encoding, so if you are on a budget, no, its not worth it.

Definately get pc2-6400 ram, if you get pc2-5300, and you get the overclocking bug, chances are it will be the ram that holds you back, so for an extra 10 quid, get the 6400 ram.

Get the cheapest 8800GTS, pre-overclocked ones are a waste of money.

A decent branded psu is a must, but I really dont believe the hype about 500w minimum for a single gts, but a 600w will leave you room for future upgrades.

While we are talking about overclockers, my opinion is that they are dishonest and the worst retailer in the UK /ducks

[Biscuit]

While we are talking about overclockers, my opinion is that they are dishonest and the worst retailer in the UK /ducks

Iv never had any problems with them, what makes you say that?

[bluesatin]

I just found the Hexus site review thing, very helpful indeed.

I found something similair elsewhere but most of the reviews were way way out of date and I had no idea whether to believe them or not
As the people making the reviews could of been complete idiots ¬_¬'

So RAM wise, something like this would be good?
scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=255300

[Clunk]

Iv never had any problems with them, what makes you say that?

Lets not in his thread eh?

[Biscuit]

Yeah fair enough clunk... can u pm me so that i know as to why i should avoid them in future?

So RAM wise, something like this would be good?

Probs bout the best thing to get if your going with scan. Geil is probably the better option though.

[mishima]

Looks like a decent setup to me, the PSU should be fine for powering the system, as for overclocking you may need more headroom. I would recommend the Noctua NH-U12F for the E6600. They are brilliant coolers!

[bluesatin]

Looks like a decent setup to me, the PSU should be fine for powering the system, as for overclocking you may need more headroom. I would recommend the Noctua NH-U12F for the E6600. They are brilliant coolers!

I'm sure my Thermaltake Big Typhoon will do the job.

You should check it out, couple of things below:

viperlair.com/reviews/cooling/air/thermaltake/clp0014/

youtube.com/watch?v=d3FcSaYgraU

[staffsMike]

pre overclocked gts's arent a waste because clocking the shader memory isn't easy apparently..

bfg is more worth it for the customer service and warranty though for the sake of a tenner