New PC - anychance of a double-check?

Hi all

been lurking for a while and gaining a lot of welcome knowldge, so thank you! I am putting together a new pc, thought I'd share my current with the proposed (mainly for laughs!.) My use is for some games (strategy Civ, Total War etc) but mainly Photoshop and photography / design.
Current:
CPU: AMDXP 2500+Barton
MOB: Asus A7V333
RAM: 1.5GB (SDRAM)
GPU: Nvidia GeForce 6800GS
Sound: Audigy 2
Hardrive: 200GB Maxtor DiamondMax (+ several external USB 2.0)
Cooling: Zalman CNSP3100
PSU: Q-Tec Ulta Quiet 460W
DVD: Optiarc DVD RW
Case: Chieftech of some description (80mm fans) (43cm L, 20cm W, 52cm H)
OS: Win XP Pro

Proposed:
CPU: E6600
MOB: Asus P5B Deluxe
GPU: XFX7600GT
Cooling: Noctua NH-U12F
DVD: Samsung Sh-S183L (Sata)
Hardrive: 160GB WD Caviar SATA (I will add 2 500G Sammsung spinpoints next month)
PSU: 520W Corsair
Case: Silverstone TJ09
RAM: GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC6400C4 800MHz Ultra Low Latency DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (GX22GB6400UDC)
OS:Win XP Pro

My questions are a) have I missed anything) b) is the case overkill? It's between that and a P182 c) Am I likely to notice the difference?:)


Many Thanks

Looks pretty ok to me, but I'd scale down to the P182 and spend what's saved on an 8800GTS 320MB instead of the 7600GT. Not that I have any idea how much the TJ09 cost, I just know it's expensive. I'd rather have a better GPU than a flashier case though, unless you can get both. :-)

All good choices, however;

GFX: If you insist on nVidia then the 7900GS might be better value - and it overclocks well. However, the X1950 Pros are <= &#163;100 in many places at the moment, and will perform better. Also, they come with 'built in' crossfire so you only have to shell out for another identical card if you decide you want that extra oomph.

Cooling: tuniq tower 120 / Thermalright 120 Xtreme are the best available atm but difficult to get hold of...and scan dont do 'em :'(

HDD: Consider RAID0 for system drives. Same access time but near double the bandwith. Can significantly increase system performance in some cases.

Case: Maybe overkill. The Antec p182 is a nice case for less money. And i know people keep whining on about it, especially me, but the Antec 900 is a brilliant case for the money atm ; though its much larger/heavier than your other choices if thats an issue for you.

Does photoshop run better with more cache? I think it does.

Therefore why get an E6600 when a mild overclock with an E6320 would give you exactly the same performance for a lot less? Especially if you're getting a P5B deluxe!
The extra &#163;35ish you'd save could get you better graphics such as the one suggested by Agrippa.

This place is great - thanks a lot!

On the case front - I think that the Antec 900 is a little extreme for my tastes! Nice though it is I'm rather more sedate in my approach. 200mm vent wow!

CPU: I was looking at this one - Intel Core 2 Duo E6600, Socket 775, 2.4 GHz, 1066MHz FSB, Conroe Core, 4MB Cache. WOuld the 6320 give the same with a bit of tweaking?

GPU: The BFG one? LN17569 at Scan? It's about £100 more than the one I was looking at (LN15444!) And no I'm not fussy in sticking with NVidia

HDD: I have looked at Raid0 for system drive - thought about hooking up 2 of those 160GB and then 2 500Gb in Raid1

Cooling: I think they are available at KustomPC. Any particular fan to go with it?

Thanks

Frosty is right, its a spot on CPU for the right price.
Unless you are intent on some heavy Overclocking I would save a few quid and go for an Arctic pro. It will cope comfortably with a mild to mid overclock at less than half the price of the Noctua.

I'd also agree that putting the saving towards a 8800 GTS would be the wise thing to do. Looking at your current system your not likely to be upgrading again for a while so I think investing in a far better graphics card such as the 8800GTS is worthwhile.

Case well the TJ09 is such a great PC case that will last you a long time. At the end of the day your gonna be staring at it so looks are important, but so is your budget so I think that is what it will come down to.
Rest of the system is good.

For photoshopping the cache is important, but the 6600 has the same cache will slightly more performance, and should reach you an o/c around 3ghz without much fuss, so I'd stick with it. The Noctua will keep you cooler and quieter so I'd stick with that aswell, but it depends on budget. The 8800GTS is a lovely card, but as you aren't fussing about dx10 then you would probably get better value for money out of a high end dx9 card...but again, if you have the cash...

and actually, I really dislike the look of the TJ09, the p182 is a much prettier beast. As for the extremeness of the 900, the 200mm fan on top is effective at very low revs and you will keep the case not much above room temp with low fan speeds. However, the size and aggressive looks I can understand not being to your taste. I still think the p182 is your best bet.

Ok - thinking that I will go with a P182. Stick with E6600 and Noctua

The question of GPU now troubles me slightly. I was going with 256MB XFX 7600GT XXX, PCI-E. If I was to add in an extra &#163;20/30 would that get me something that much better? Or would I be better off holding back the cash and buying something like the 8800GTS?

Thanks

for most "casual" gaming, you'll need at least a X1950 or a 7900, but i'd wait until the budget DX10 comes out. The 8600 is immenent and seems to perform really well, or you can wait for the ATI 2600 or 2400 which will probably work out cheaper.
Get whatever case you like the look of, just weigh up the costs.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DecomposingStar

for most "casual" gaming, you'll need at least a X1950 or a 7900, but i'd wait until the budget DX10 comes out. The 8600 is immenent and seems to perform really well, or you can wait for the ATI 2600 or 2400 which will probably work out cheaper.
Get whatever case you like the look of, just weigh up the costs.

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Correct me if i'm wrong, but the 8600s and 8500s are out already...and they're not particularly good for the money, at least that's what everyone seems to be saying.

I quickly checked Scan and they are out. Think that the ATI is available in July?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DecomposingStar

for most "casual" gaming, you'll need at least a X1950 or a 7900,

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disagree with this

I have a yield olde x800 and still running Stalker on high settings, only issues I have is the lack of pixelshader 3 support, apart from that I have no problems running games

however rest of your post makes sense and I think the lower 8000 series would be a good buy

Quote:

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Originally Posted by frazered

disagree with this

I have a yield olde x800 and still running Stalker on high settings, only issues I have is the lack of pixelshader 3 support, apart from that I have no problems running games

however rest of your post makes sense and I think the lower 8000 series would be a good buy

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I suppose it depends what you consider good graphics aswell. My X1600 wont run STALKER on high settings, i have to dump the HDR effects and a bunch more. Same goes for alot of other games. Even CS:S slows down a bit on the HDR maps.

Um, 8600 is already out and isn't doing that well in performance benchmarks. Would be better server with a high end DX9 card as you already stated not being fussed about dx10 and vista. If you are still set on the Temjin...they are on offer at scan today! Check out today only for some deals. Notice also the superspecials of AB9 and c2d combos. Today sounds like a good day to go shopping :P

Quote:

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Originally Posted by zephod

Um, 8600 is already out and isn't doing that well in performance benchmarks. Would be better server with a high end DX9 card as you already stated not being fussed about dx10 and vista. If you are still set on the Temjin...they are on offer at scan today! Check out today only for some deals. Notice also the superspecials of AB9 and c2d combos. Today sounds like a good day to go shopping :P

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I cant say i didn't expect it to be ****, but i thought i'd suggest it to stop the "nVidia r wel gud!!2 ATI r ****"...
I wouldn't naturally recommend an nVidia anyway.. but hey...
ATI 'll do.

EDIT:
oh, and the 2600/2400 are meant to be here for july...

Thanks very much for the help - I am now debating going for this one - seems to pack a lot of punch for the price... http://scan.co.uk/Products/ProductIn...oductID=589459

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/119203/rb/28218178091

same punch...less money

might be more nosiey tho..

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gha128

Thanks very much for the help - I am now debating going for this one - seems to pack a lot of punch for the price... http://scan.co.uk/Products/ProductIn...oductID=589459

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That seems quite a high price for a card with only 12 streams?
It's nvidia but wouldn't this be about the same for less.

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=519985
This the card i have at mo, passive cooling on this very good and overclocks well. I get 690/1720

Hi - yes that was my concern as well - all my other components will give me a pretty quiet PC. According to the reviews it copes well and the noise is well not there! :)

whoops posts got mixed - now that does look good and pretty similar stats as well - interesting that its back to the 7600, which is where my journey began!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gha128

Thanks very much for the help - I am now debating going for this one - seems to pack a lot of punch for the price... http://scan.co.uk/Products/ProductIn...oductID=589459

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HIS make good products, but i'd serously wait for the budget DX10 cards. They will be around the same price, and if nothing else, you get the advantage of unified shaders.

Hi gha128,
Thought you might like to take a look at this
It'll show you what performance difference you can expect between the cards.

Hope it helps

Thanks frosty - what a great site! Quite a difference between the 2 cards - glad I went with the ATI in the end

Yeah, be careful which stats you compare when looking at cards. The 1950 pro is considerably more powerful than the 7600gt! Stick to 3d mark ratings or similar if you can find them...or benchs from specific games. Ofc, always bear in mind how well a card with overclock too. eg a 7900gs can be a better choice than a 1950 pro if not fussed about noise or stressing hardware, but at stock, the 1950pro is a much better card.

its all relative :P

hope building goes well!