Motherboard Choice?

[holdaway]

Thanks for the link to the Corsair, it's on the list now.

Also, thanks Kieran - I was leaning towards the extra for the BFG card, and that's pretty much confirmed it...

So the list is:

BFG 8800GTS
Asus P5N-E SLi
2gb Geil Value RAM
Core2Duo E6420
Corsair 520W PSU
Akasa Zen Case

HDD and other small bits are from my old PC.

Thoughts?

[Sprite]

Get a half decent case ? Seriously I had a crappy case for the past year and I couldn't wait to get rid of it, so flimsy and the build qaulity was crap.

[Flewis]

I wouldnt get one of those generic cases. Get an Akasa Zen, only £27 from scan - incredible value:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=446040

[holdaway]

Funnily enough, that was actually one of the ones I was looking at! The other was a Sharkoon with a HYOOOOGE case fan on the side. Must admit I'd had similar worries WRT build quality.

linkie

[wmsteele]

Would agree with going for the Zen over a generic scan case. Also if you intend to overclock I would seriously consider getting the 6420, its 8 multiplier is perfect for overclocking and should easily reach 3200Mhz with any DDR2 800Mhz memory & motherboard.

[holdaway]

Agh! I'd dropped from the 6420 to save money!! Guess I'd better change back up, then...

[wmsteele]

I would recommend doing so, the 6320 has a multiplier of 7, so an easy overclock using DDR2-800 would take you too 2800Mhz however the same with an 6420 would take you to 3200Mhz.

Obviously with faster memory or reducing your memory timings you could easily go higher. Most reviews of the 6420 can push the cpu to around 3700Mhz, a very respectable overclock. If you intend to go for the higher end make sure you factor in a good quality heatsink.

[holdaway]

To be honest, overclocking to 3200Mhz would be fine for me - I don't need the latest and greatest, I play mainly World of Warcraft atm, with some RTS and the occasional FPS thrown in for good measure. The overclock will help with any CAD work I do (again, occasional), and perhaps with 3d graphics work, which I've always fancied getting into.

Besides, it'll be nice to have a decent computer again!

[wmsteele]

You should be able to reach 3.2Ghz easily.

You can save a bit of money by using bog standard DDR2-800 memory (currently around £34ish per 1Gb stick) especially as you don't intend to push your memory beyond its rated speed.

[Crossbow]

.....Basically I'm looking at sourcing the lot from the kind people at Scan.co.uk, hopefully via their 'Mixit for Me' thingie...

Can anyone please let me know what's the 'Mixit for Me' thingie at Scan? G

[holdaway]

Already bought 2gb of the Geil value ram from Microdirect - was linked in the bargains section of this forum for ~£73 delivered. Always heard good things of Geil, plus the ram is a present from my other half, so I can concentrate on buying the rest of it!

[holdaway]

Can anyone please let me know what's the 'Mixit for Me' thingie at Scan?

Basically, you can contact Scan with the items that you want, and they'll offer you (not sure if always) a mixit discount.

MixIt for Me. Include your telephone number if you email them.

[Crossbow]

Basically, you can contact Scan with the items that you want, and they'll offer you (not sure if always) a mixit discount.
MixIt for Me. Include your telephone number if you email them.

Thanks holdaway.

And just as you've done, I may also go for the cheaper Geil RAM & save some money. I was going to spend £30 more for 'platinum' OCZ RAM which I probably won't make the maximum use of anyway. G

[holdaway]

Not a problem. Sounds like you're in a similar boat to me - unless you're going for really aggressive overclocks, no particular need to splurge. Spend the extra on beer, instead!

[Crossbow]

Yeah, probably in the similar boat. Will have to spend the amount saved on something else though - I don't drink alcohol you see (stopped 15 years ago for various reasons).

Cannot decide whether to wait awhile & let all prices drop for my new build, or buy them a few at a time!

Thanks again for letting me ask an unrelated question without taking any offence . Well, I suppose being new, I can get away with a few silly questions , G

[holdaway]

Well, something bigger and better is always just around the corner, as are price drops. You just have to take a stand at some point and decide exactly when you want your stuff. The only thing muddying the waters at the moment is the imminent release of the ATI R600 cards - could drive the Nvidia prices down a bit. I can't see it being a huge amount though - certainly not the £120 I would have saved had I waited 3 weeks before buying my Radeon 9800Pro a few years back...