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Thread: New computer... lets have fun with this

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    Oh Crumbs.... Biscuit's Avatar
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    New computer... lets have fun with this

    Ok havent posted in a while, been searching for a bloody job... oh and of course getting my boogy on at glastonbury

    A mate is hoping to get some money back from his alienware laptop because he has been constantly screwed around by the customer services and the laptop itself is broken. Should be somewhere in the region of £1200 for the budget... may be some wiggleroom here though.

    Iv priced up a few things around this price but with so much to play with its hard to come to a conclusion.

    There isnt any DEFINATE guidelines really but here is a rough one

    19" widecreen monitor (if bigger can be made without sacrificing too much then yeeeaaaaah!)
    Very fast graphics card (as good as possible without sacrificing too much else plz)
    500GB minimum HDD space (dont think any raid systems are really worth it but let me know what u think)
    Sata DVD drive
    C2D (obviously)

    The only parts which he actually has is a keyboard and mouse

    The main thing that i was in question about was wether to go DDR3 + quadcore? Maybe get a dual DDR2+3 Board and go DDR2 + dualcore for now... allowing beffer gfx/monitor

    on scan i got about £1260 with
    ati HD2900XT (Have these proved themselves worth anything yet?)
    Q6600
    2GB DDR3
    Gygabyte p35 mobo
    2 x 320GB samsung spinpoints
    random aluminium case @ about £70-80 (reccomendations would be great for case)
    Tagen PSU @ 580w (will this be enough?)
    19" daewoo monitor

    Then after a rejig for £1210
    Nvidea 8800GTX
    Lg 22" monitor
    E6600
    2gb DDR2 1066
    dual DDR2/3 mobo

    What do ya reckon?

  2. #2
    Senior Member this_is_gav's Avatar
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    I assume gaming will be the main use? Windows Vista, XP or Linux? Any multimedia creation going to happen? Happy to overclock, or will it be left at stock?

  3. #3
    Oh Crumbs.... Biscuit's Avatar
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    • Biscuit's system
      • Motherboard:
      • MSI B450M Mortar
      • CPU:
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    Windows vista most likely yeah, may run dual boot with XP just to be on the safe side. I doubt there will be any overclocking done... depends if i can pursuade him too his course is web design and programming (i think) maybe a little photoshop or flash done on there nothing too strenuous so yeah mainly gaming

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    Guy
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    id stay clear of DDR3 for the moment, also with the ridiculously cheap DDR2 that can be had.

  5. #5
    Senior Member this_is_gav's Avatar
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    Yup, DDR2 all the way for the moment - there's little point in DDR3 when the market is so limited and with no obvious performance advantage.

    Here's what I'd go for at the moment. Note that the monitor can be had for cheaper, especially refurb or new off of Ebay, but I wouldn't go for one of the cheapy gaming monitors for Photoshop work.

    Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 £142.16
    Abit IP-35E £64.71 - no overclocking, so there's little point in getting one of the higher end boards
    2Gb (2X1Gb) Corsair Value Select, DDR2 PC5300 (667) C5 £45.27 - Could get some with tighter timings for a little more, but it's only really beneficial when encoding video - no point in getting anything more than the value stuff if there's no overclocking.
    Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro £15.20
    HD 2900XT 512MB Power Color £244.74
    Samsung SH-S203/BEBN £19.85x2= £39.70
    500 Gb Western Digital WD5000AAKS £65.67
    SilverStone TJ04B (Black) £92.46
    620W Corsair HX V2 £96.93
    Microsoft Wireless Laser Desktop 6000 Keyboard & 5000 Mouse £31.60 (it's a lovely set, but subtract it if he's happy with his current ones).
    Dell UltraSharp 2007WFP £319.60 - if he's doing photoshop work, he'll not want a cheapy gaming monitor.
    Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64Bit 1Pk OEM (DVD) £65.65 - grab the 64-bit version if you're going to dual-boot with WinXP.
    Creative I-Trigue 2.1 3330 Speakers £51.99

    Total: £1254.90

    The reason I've plumped for the HD2900XT rather than an 8800GTS is that now that drivers are being improved, it's taken the lead - currently it's also beating the 8800GTX in DirectX10 benchmarks, though it's too early to read too much into that. If he/you would prefer nVIDIA, or to bring the system down towards the £1200 mark, then I'd grab this 8800GTS 320MB BFG instead for £186.68. Total with the 8800GTS would be £1193.84

    No dedicated sound card, as frankly, in my opinion, they're not worth it. If he wants one, I'd wait until the Auzentech X-Fi Prelude is released.

    All parts (other than that sound card) were in stock at the time of posting.
    Last edited by this_is_gav; 29-06-2007 at 12:50 PM. Reason: changed case

  6. #6
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    I agree with the above, stick with DDR2, dont bother with quad core and for a £1200 budget you should definately be getting a 22" monitor in the package.

    The only things Id change in the post above is:
    - Ditch the extra optical drive 99% of the time its pointless for most users.
    - The 2007WFP for £319 is waaay too much for a 20" monitor IMO, you should get a 22" widescreen for a fair bit less than £319, say £250ish.
    - Get a decent set of 5.1 speakers if hes gaming
    - Get a soundcard
    - Swap the WD drive for the Samsung equivalent (just my personal preference).

  7. #7
    Yeah dude! NightshadowUK's Avatar
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    • NightshadowUK's system
      • Motherboard:
      • MSI Z87M GAMING
      • CPU:
      • Intel Core i7 4790K [Macho Rev.B]
      • Memory:
      • 2x8GB Corsair Vengeance LP
      • Storage:
      • Crucial M500 [240GB] & MX500 [1TB]
      • Graphics card(s):
      • 4GB Sapphire 290X Vapor-X
      • PSU:
      • 620W Corsair HX
      • Case:
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    I've taken a slightly different approach:

    - Intel Core 2 Quad-Core Q6600 ~ £270.39

    You knows it.

    - Asus P5B i965 ~ £66.14

    Cheap board and a decent overclocker if he at some point decides he wants to.

    - 2GB (2x1GB) CorsairTwinX PC6400 ~ £70.08

    Again, just in case he decides to overclock - I think it's worth it while DDR2 prices are so low.

    - 512MB Sapphire HD2900XT ~ £251.09

    As Gav said, it looks very promising in DX10.

    - 500GB Samsung HD501LJ ~ £63.86

    Can always drop another one in if and when he needs it.

    - 620W Corsair HX V2 ~ £96.93

    - Antec P180 V2 ~ £80.95

    Maybe swap out the fans if noise is an issue.

    - Optiarc (Sony/NEC) AD-7170S-0B ~ £20.20

    - 22" LG L226WTQ ~ £204.44

    Total ~ £1,124.08

  8. #8
    Senior Member this_is_gav's Avatar
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    The 22" monitors all use the same panel though, don't they? No point in getting on of those cheap monitors for photo work. There's a world of difference, as I know very well (2405FPW at home and one of those 'low ms' cheap gaming monitors at work (ViewSonic VX924). They're not only inaccurate with colour representation, but if you look carefully the colour even varies slightly depending on where on the screen you are.

    Quote Originally Posted by NightshadowUK View Post
    Asus P5B i965 ~ £66.14

    Cheap board and a decent overclocker if he at some point decides he wants to.
    That board's not - it's the cheap one. Be better than your average P945 one though.

  9. #9
    Yeah dude! NightshadowUK's Avatar
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    • NightshadowUK's system
      • Motherboard:
      • MSI Z87M GAMING
      • CPU:
      • Intel Core i7 4790K [Macho Rev.B]
      • Memory:
      • 2x8GB Corsair Vengeance LP
      • Storage:
      • Crucial M500 [240GB] & MX500 [1TB]
      • Graphics card(s):
      • 4GB Sapphire 290X Vapor-X
      • PSU:
      • 620W Corsair HX
      • Case:
      • Silverstone TJ08B-E [AP181 & NF-S12B]
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10 Home [64bit]
      • Monitor(s):
      • Dell U2412M
      • Internet:
      • Virgin Media 200Mb
    Last edited by NightshadowUK; 29-06-2007 at 01:13 PM.

  10. #10
    Senior Member this_is_gav's Avatar
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    The review samples? Really?

    It's irrelevant anyway, as it's a nice board, and there'll only be limited overclocking going on - certainly not much with a quad on the stock cooler.

  11. #11
    Oh Crumbs.... Biscuit's Avatar
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    • Biscuit's system
      • Motherboard:
      • MSI B450M Mortar
      • CPU:
      • AMD 2700X (Be Quiet! Dark Rock 3)
      • Memory:
      • 16GB Patriot Viper 2 @ 3466MHz
      • Storage:
      • 500GB WD Black
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Sapphire R9 290X Vapor-X
      • PSU:
      • Seasonic Focus Gold 750W
      • Case:
      • Lian Li PC-V359
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10 x64
      • Internet:
      • BT Infinity 80/20
    Already have a copy of windows that can be used so that doesnt need to be included.
    well hes doesnt WANT to overclock but i think il get him to do it. He wont be doing photoshop work on it just maybe a little every now and then + he did say to me i just want a 19" monitor so anything larger is nothing more than a bonus. The primary thing on this PC is pure power & cutting edgenessness which is why i opted for the P35 chipset and the fast DDR2... i questioned the quadcore option but it just seems unneccisary till the true quadcore CPUs are around.
    So people would recomend the XT over GTX?
    Dont try and save money BTW we are trying to make something beasty for the money, should go slightly over if anything

    Edit: for the money i think 2 hard drives in a must. I always like to have one for OS and others for storage when i build & i try and pass this practice on to others. Just makes things easier when upgrading/rebuilding
    + dont need speakers as will be wired through a home entertainment amp & speakers. Probs try and use onboard optical/coax as most seem to have it now

    sorry i must learn to read ppls posts fully
    Last edited by Biscuit; 29-06-2007 at 01:58 PM.

  12. #12
    Efficiency freak Queelis's Avatar
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    Aren't both the XT and the GTX a waste of money having in mind the 19" monitor?

    Edit: Oh I'm sorry, I haven't read that sense isn't welcome here

  13. #13
    Oh Crumbs.... Biscuit's Avatar
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    • Biscuit's system
      • Motherboard:
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      • CPU:
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    Quote Originally Posted by Queelis View Post
    Aren't both the XT and the GTX a waste of money having in mind the 19" monitor?

    Edit: Oh I'm sorry, I haven't read that sense isn't welcome here
    Currently yes they are a bit of a waste of money but who knows how this will change as the new games begin to come out. Defintely not going to put anything less than a 512mb Card in there when spending £1200 on it regardless of monitor

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    Your Basket
    LN15049
    Intel Core 2 Duo E6600, Socket 775, 2.4 GHz, 1066MHz FSB, Conroe Core, 4MB Cache, Retail £120.99 £142.16

    LN15028
    Asus P5B i965, S775, PCI-E (x16), DDR2 533/667/800, SATA II, SATA RAID, ATX £56.29 £66.14

    LN12200
    2Gb (2X1GB) Corsair TwinX XMS2, DDR2 PC5400 (667), 240 Pin, Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 4-4-4-12 £48.99 £57.56

    LN13080
    Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro - P4 up to 4.4GHz - S775 Dual Core / Core2Duo Ready £12.94 £15.20

    LN16606
    640MB Leadtek 8800GTS PCI-E (x16), Mem 1600 MHz, GPU 500 MHz, 96 Streams, 2 x Dual Link DVI HDTV £193.88 £227.81

    LN17771
    Samsung SH-S183L/BEBN x18 18x DVD±R, 8x DVD±DL, DVD+RW x8/-RW x6, DVD-RAM x12, SATA, Black, OEM, LS £15.99 £18.79

    LN16546
    500 Gb Samsung HD501LJ Spinpoint T, SATA300, 7200 rpm, 16MB Cache, 8.9 ms, NCQ £54.35 £63.86

    LN14147
    Antec P180 V2 Advanced Super Midi Tower Case, Black (no PSU) £68.89 £80.95

    LN15215
    620W Corsair HX V2 Series Modular SLi PSU, ATX, EPS 12V, whisper quiet, 5 year warranty £82.49 £96.93

    LN16782
    Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer Sound Card UK Retail £47.99 £56.39

    LN12008
    Logitech X530 5.1 Speaker System 71W RMS - PC/DVD/PS2/XBox Ready £37.64 £44.23

    LN18865
    22" Samsung SM-226BW Black Widescreen LCD, 1680x1050, 3000:1, 300 cd/m2, 2 ms, VESA £209.99 £246.74

    Net Total £950.43

    Carriage £25.91

    V.A.T. £170.86

    TOTAL £1,147.20

    If you order on his behalf then it'll come in at £1121.29 - Under budget!! So you can splash a bit more on a better motherboard or swap the GTX for the ATi card for £20 more
    Last edited by s_kinton; 29-06-2007 at 02:05 PM.

  15. #15
    Oh Crumbs.... Biscuit's Avatar
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    • Biscuit's system
      • Motherboard:
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      • Internet:
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    Quote Originally Posted by s_kinton View Post
    Your Basket
    LN16782
    Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer Sound Card UK Retail £47.99 £56.39

    LN12008
    Logitech X530 5.1 Speaker System 71W RMS - PC/DVD/PS2/XBox Ready £37.64 £44.23
    Quote Originally Posted by Biscuit View Post
    + dont need speakers as will be wired through a home entertainment amp & speakers. Probs try and use onboard optical/coax as most seem to have it now

    Thought i would use the saving to go P35 and DDR1066... Is the P35 not rated then, ppl seem to be reluctant to advise it?

  16. #16
    Yeah dude! NightshadowUK's Avatar
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    • NightshadowUK's system
      • Motherboard:
      • MSI Z87M GAMING
      • CPU:
      • Intel Core i7 4790K [Macho Rev.B]
      • Memory:
      • 2x8GB Corsair Vengeance LP
      • Storage:
      • Crucial M500 [240GB] & MX500 [1TB]
      • Graphics card(s):
      • 4GB Sapphire 290X Vapor-X
      • PSU:
      • 620W Corsair HX
      • Case:
      • Silverstone TJ08B-E [AP181 & NF-S12B]
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10 Home [64bit]
      • Monitor(s):
      • Dell U2412M
      • Internet:
      • Virgin Media 200Mb
    - Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 ~ £142.16

    - Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro ~ £15.20

    - Abit AB9 QuadGT iP965 ~ £98.90

    - 2GB (2x1GB) CorsairTwinX PC6400 x2 ~ £140.16

    - 512MB Sapphire HD2900XT ~ £251.09

    - 160GB Samsung HD160HJ ~ £33.71

    - 500GB Samsung HD501LJ ~ £63.86

    - 620W Corsair HX V2 ~ £96.93

    - Antec P182 ~ £80.95

    - Optiarc (Sony/NEC) AD-7170S-0B ~ £20.20

    - 22" LG L226WTQ ~ £204.44

    Total ~ £1,147.60
    Last edited by NightshadowUK; 29-06-2007 at 04:00 PM.

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