New Computer

[ikix]

I have a small understanding of computer componenets and building etc but its not really enough for me to feel confident about making all the decisions myself.

I have a budget of about £700 although that is slightly moveable (not by much though )

• I don't need HDD (got 3 already ) 2xSATA 1xIDE
• I mainly use my computer for gaming purposes
• I'd prefer to have it as quiet as possible
• I dont need any peripherals just the computer
• My monitor has a max resolution of 1280x1024

Cheers

[staffsMike]

I take it you don't want to overclock then...not straight away at least?

Try this

Antec p182 case - £80
Intel C2D E6600 (2.4Ghz) _- £135
Asus P5k (pick your flavour depending on whether you want to overclock) - £80 - £130
Geforce 8800GTS 320mb - £170
Crucial Ballistix PC5300 RAM (2gb - 4gb) Vista or not? - £60 - £120
Sata DVD Writer - £20
Scythe ninja or Infinity Heat Sink for the CPU -£25
Corsair 520w HX Whisper- £65

That will be pretty much as silent as you can make it and should be on budget

EDIT: with rough prices comes to around £635

[Sprite]

Thats pretty much what I was gonna reccomend...

Go for 2 SATA DVD RWs as well And a couple of Yate Loon fans instead of the supplied Antec Tri Cool ones.

You could look at Seasonic PSUs and maybe different cases if you want (the P182 weighs a ton ! :/)

[NightshadowUK]

Yeah Mike has the right idea, just vary your RAM and motherboard depending on whether or not you'll overclock.

The Gigabyte GA P35C-DS3R is apparently a good middle ground as it's cheap yet will still allow some headroom for an overclock.

[ikix]

I take it you don't want to overclock then...not straight away at least?

Try this

Antec p182 case - £80
Intel C2D E6600 (2.4Ghz) _- £135
Asus P5k (pick your flavour depending on whether you want to overclock) - £80 - £130
Geforce 8800GTS 320mb - £170
Crucial Ballistix PC5300 RAM (2gb - 4gb) Vista or not? - £60 - £120
Sata DVD Writer - £20
Scythe ninja or Infinity Heat Sink for the CPU -£25
Corsair 520w HX Whisper- £65

That will be pretty much as silent as you can make it and should be on budget

EDIT: with rough prices comes to around £635

Thankyou for your help

I might be interested in overclocking as the benefits seem worth it, does this change ur recomendations in any way?

A few quesitons (obviously u seem to know whats what so ill take ur word for it)

1. Why Intel
2. Would this be any better (seems to have a very fast clock speed) - AMD X2 6000+
3. Or this one even - e6750
4. Why Nvidia
5. Since i will mainly use my computer for gaming would it be worthwhile investing in a larger memory GPU or something like a HD2900XT
6. Why not PC6400 memory
7. Why does the PSU have to be so expensive
8. Those heat sinks seem pretty big and heavy, how secure are they

Not questioning ur advice i just want to clear up some issues (sorry there are no urls but i cant post them since im new to the forums )

Since i will be using XP itll probably be 2GB of RAM if that helps (+ i can always add more if i eventually get Vista - Not too keen right now with issues etc.)
Also i want to be able to play games such as Crysis relatively well
Also after thinking about it, i would like my computer to be quiet but not wat seems to be at the extent of a fair amount of cash which could be spent on performance

Thanks so much for your help

[NightshadowUK]

- Why Intel -

Intel's C2D is the best CPU available at the moment AND it overclocks like crazy.

- Would this be any better (seems to have a very fast clock speed) - AMD X2 6000+ -

Nah, at stock the E6600 will beat it at most things. Plus the 6000+ has virtually room for overclocking while the E6600 is known to reach 3.4GHz+ with ease and at this speed it'll dance all over the 6000+.

- Or this one even ~ E6750 -

Wasted money if you're overclocking... unless you're waiting for the infamous price cuts.

- Why Nvidia -

The 8800GTS is the best bang for buck card around at the moment.

- Since i will mainly use my computer for gaming would it be worthwhile investing in a larger memory GPU or something like a HD2900XT -

Probably not, the GTS will laugh at everything you throw at it in 1280x1024.

- Why not PC6400 memory -

If you're overclocking I'd say go with PC6400 actually, have a look at:

- 2GB OCZ Platinum Series PC6400 ~ £65.79 + delivery

- Why does the PSU have to be so expensive -

Cheap PSU = explosion =

- Those heat sinks seem pretty big and heavy, how secure are they -

Secure enough, just don't transport your case with them fitted.

[ikix]

- Why Intel -

Intel's C2D is the best CPU available at the moment AND it overclocks like crazy.

- Would this be any better (seems to have a very fast clock speed) - AMD X2 6000+ -

Nah the E6600 will beat it at most things and that's even before you consider overclocking.

- Or this one even ~ E6750 -

Wasted money if you're overclocking... unless you're waiting for the infamous price cuts.

- Why Nvidia -

The 8800GTS is the best bang for buck card around at the moment.

- Since i will mainly use my computer for gaming would it be worthwhile investing in a larger memory GPU or something like a HD2900XT -

Probably not, the GTS will laugh at everything you throw at it in 1280x1024.

- Why not PC6400 memory -

If you're overclocking I'd say go with PC6400 actually.

- Why does the PSU have to be so expensive -

Cos a cheap PSU = explosion =

- Those heat sinks seem pretty big and heavy, how secure are they -

Secure enough, just don't transport your case with them in.

Thanks

Since i somewhat regularly move my computer around the whole heatsink issue is worrying me a bit now , if i have to take them off won't that make the contact between it and the CPU crap relatively quickly

[staffsMike]

Well that particular ram has a very good reputation for hitting pc8500 speeds at 5-5-5-15 speeds so is a bargain for the price. I had a set in a pc I built for someone and it hit those speeds with 5-5-5-18 which i was happy with. Pc6400 is a safer bet it you're deffinatly going to overclock.

THe e6600 is the older chip now..when the e6750 is released it will pretty much replace the e6600 and probably cost the same..Wait and see on July 22nd..which is the day for the price cuts and probably the NDA for the new chips (dont quote me on that).
The e6600 and Amd 6000+ perform pretty much the same at stock settings but the AMD has very little room to overclock if at all.. the e6600 will comfortably get to 3.2GHz and most will go onto the 3.5GHz

The nvidia is more than capable at powering any game on full graphics on your current monitor. I'm not a huge fan of ATi or the 2900xt but some of its reviews are compelling..others make it out to be rubbish...I'd recomend the 8800 but really thats your choice.

If you want to overclock then the best board is either the Gigabyte that nightshadow mentioned or the Asus P5K delux.

I can't comment on the Infinity but the Ninja is very light especially for its size. You will curse the day you bought it while trying to fit the blooming thing but once its on you will see why i recommend it. It runs my e6600 under 20 degrees (not overclocked) and is inaudiable. Fit it with the motherboard outside of the case..its much easier.
You can move the case around as much as you like it you fit it properly. I knocked mine over while building and it stayed on

[NightshadowUK]

Have a gander at the Scythe Miné, it's a lot lighter than both the Infinity and Ninja, performs just as well, and it's cheaper.

[staffsMike]

you sure its lighter than the ninja? does it use the intel push pin thing to fit?

[ikix]

Well that particular ram has a very good reputation for hitting pc8500 speeds at 5-5-5-15 speeds so is a bargain for the price. I had a set in a pc I built for someone and it hit those speeds with 5-5-5-18 which i was happy with. Pc6400 is a safer bet it you're deffinatly going to overclock.

THe e6600 is the older chip now..when the e6750 is released it will pretty much replace the e6600 and probably cost the same..Wait and see on July 22nd..which is the day for the price cuts and probably the NDA for the new chips (dont quote me on that).
The e6600 and Amd 6000+ perform pretty much the same at stock settings but the AMD has very little room to overclock if at all.. the e6600 will comfortably get to 3.2GHz and most will go onto the 3.5GHz

The nvidia is more than capable at powering any game on full graphics on your current monitor. I'm not a huge fan of ATi or the 2900xt but some of its reviews are compelling..others make it out to be rubbish...I'd recomend the 8800 but really thats your choice.

If you want to overclock then the best board is either the Gigabyte that nightshadow mentioned or the Asus P5K delux.

I can't comment on the Infinity but the Ninja is very light especially for its size. You will curse the day you bought it while trying to fit the blooming thing but once its on you will see why i recommend it. It runs my e6600 under 20 degrees (not overclocked) and is inaudiable. Fit it with the motherboard outside of the case..its much easier.
You can move the case around as much as you like it you fit it properly. I knocked mine over while building and it stayed on

Intel it is then , on overclockers they have the E6750 quoted at £147 for pre-order
Im thinking of buying a 19" monitor (widscreen which gives it a resolution of 1440x900) and using my current 17" (1280x1024) together in a dual monitor display, would this affect anything. Even if i were to have just the 19" would this still affect any hardware recommendations?

Cheers guys

[staffsMike]

Doesn't affect anything. The 8800 like most cards these days is dual DVI and can run both monitors in their seperate resolutions.

OCUK are breaking NDA rules by having them up but thats a good guide for price. Scan claim they will have first stock of them in UK.

[NightshadowUK]

you sure its lighter than the ninja? does it use the intel push pin thing to fit?

Yep the Infinity is 960g, Ninja is 815g and the Miné weighs just 560g.

It does use the push-pin fitting yeah.

[ikix]

Since PC6400 memory seems to be the choice which would u advice, the timmings dont seem to be much difference in terms of wat they equate to

Sorry i cant give a link but forums rules dont allow it until ive posted a few times

Corsair 2GB DDR2 XMS2-6400C5 TwinX (2x1GB)
or
OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) PC2-6400C4 Dual Channel Platinum Revision 2 XTC Series DDR2 (OCZ2P800R22GK)
or
OCZ 2GB Kit (2x1GB) DDR2 800Mhz/PC2-6400 Memory CL4 Unbuffered ATI Certfified Dual Channel Kit

[staffsMike]

THe ocz platinum2 is supposed to be pretty good.

I've got a set of Geil Ultra pc6400 in my pc which works very well.

I'd recommend crucial ballistix pc6400 for heavy overclocking though

Thanks for that nightshadow i've got another build coming up so i'll keep that one in mind.

[Nemz0r]

Build staffsMike posted looks good! You say your budget is £700, and his build came £65ish under that -- perhaps worth getting a Q6600 instead of the E6600 after July 22. Hopefully will cost £50 extra or less, still keeping you within budget, and when games start taking full advantage of the 4 cores (Crysis, Bioshock) it should stand out! Even if it isn't a huge difference, you can always use a core for Fraps and have little to no performance hit .