Computer Build Advice

[dbh]

Hello!

It's been awhile since I last looked at computer parts and the likes most probably beginning of this year! I've been wanting to put together a quad core pc for ages now but with all the recent stuff going on I'm not sure what to get, with the mobo ram etc... so would be grateful if you guys & gals could help me out!

I basically want a decent machine to do my 3D graphics work and playing a few games 2142, HL2 etc... I will probably be running Vista on this pc...

I was thinking along the lines of Q6600...

4GB RAM (not sure on what kinda but I want to run the Q6600 around 3Ghz + If I'm going to be rendering) I might also want to go 8GB at some point and go 64bit in the future...

Heatsink - nothing too pricey but as long as it allows me to keep the Q6600 cool when overclocked that'd be good!

Mobo not sure whatever would help me reach the above. Not fussed about SLI etc as I only intend on using one graphics card.

HDD size... 500GB? RAID might be helpful but at the moment I keep everything on my external so not too worried about that.

Case - desktop style one .. think HTPC and needs to be quiet! LC-17B etc..

Graphics card - whats the deal with the whole HD38XX series and the 8800GT and newer 8800GTS now?? - I only have a 19" monitor atm but am looking to upgrade to 22"-24" in the future.

Er so yeah budget of about £500, maybe a lil more what you reckon?

Thanks in advance!

[Lucio]

You'll struggle to keep within budget and get everything you want.

Rough costings would be as follows

Q6600 - £150
4GB RAM - £80-£120+
P35 motherboard - £60 - £120
500GB HDD - £60-80
Case - £80+ (HTPC tend to be quite pricy)
PSU - £40-£90 (depending on how much further you plan on expanding)
Graphics Card - £100 to £200

Total - £570 to £760


So, first things first, what's more important to you, sticking to budget or getting what you want??

[godsdog]

Even quick rough sums come to more than £500 for what you're after, eg..

Abit IP-35 Pro £120 ish
Q6600 G0 £160 ish
Thermaright Ultima-90 + Fan £30 ish
4GB Crucial Ballistix / OCZ Platinum / Geil £70 ish
8800GT £190 ish
750GB HDD £110 ish

Edit: Look at Lucio, bright eyed and bushy tailed this foul morning.

[dbh]

If that's going to be the case I guess I'll have to allow for a slightly larger budget. Maybe 700 (stretching it). But would good to see how much I can get for around 500-600 mark. 120 for a mobo is quite a bit though no?

[Lucio]

It's a very very nice mobo

That said, if you're not into things like RAID, eSATA and Firewire, you can save £50 and pickup the IP-35 version

[godsdog]

Akasa Zen £30 (not what you want, but cheap, quiet and looks ok)
Corsair HX 520 - £63
Abit IP-35 / Asus P5K - £70
Q6600 G0 - £160
Thermaright Ultima-90 + Fan - £30
4GB Crucial Ballistix / OCZ Platinum / Geil - £70
8800GT - £190
WD AAKS 500GB HDD - £62

roughly 675 without DVD-RW

[Blitzen]

Akasa Zen £30 (not what you want, but cheap, quiet and looks ok)
Corsair HX 520 - £63
Abit IP-35 / Asus P5K - £70
Q6600 G0 - £160
Thermaright Ultima-90 + Fan - £30
4GB Crucial Ballistix / OCZ Platinum / Geil - £70
8800GT - £190
WD AAKS 500GB HDD - £62

roughly 675 without DVD-RW

GT for £190 = waste of cash. Get the big brother this week...the new GTS......looks like about £30-40 more.
Q6600 = Again, the new revision is due anythime now and will be faster and cheaper.

[godsdog]

Don't tell me - I'm not buying it. He might want it right now for all we know.

[dbh]

When's the new Q6600 revision coming? Might be worth waiting if its only January.

[godsdog]

It certainly changes things if you can wait till January - early February. Q9450 is allegedly due out in the new year. And you'll have seen the prices settle down on the GT/GTS's. Depends how patient you want to be

[Joobs]

I have the same budget and spec as the OP, and was thinking of getting the system for christmas but all this talk of new tech has put me off.

Is there any pricing information on the new CPUs and Graphics cards that will be out next year?

[Blitzen]

The new GTs, on pre-orders and 'hearsay' (dunno how reliable) looks like £200 give or take £20 so looks far more favourable than the GT.

[dbh]

Do you reckon there is any point in purchasing some of my parts now then (like RAM and stuff) or is that just as likely to bomb in price even more. I am quite tempted to get some of the parts now.

Like the case etc for instance I doubt that will drop much more in price between now and end of Jan but then you can never know. It would be nice to have some high spec PC8500 ram, because if I can I want to push the FSB up high on these chips PC8500 is equivalent of 1066Mhz correct? So If I wanted a 1600Mhz FSB then even PC6400 is good enough no?

[2Cold Scorpio]

It's a very very nice mobo

That said, if you're not into things like RAID, eSATA and Firewire, you can save £50 and pickup the IP-35 version

The standard IP-35 DOES have built-in RAID capability, as well as Firewire, but not eSATA. The IP-35E does not have these; it is just basic functionality. The IP-35 Pro has all these, as well as a better heatpipe cooling system, and some other nice bells and whistles, such as a diagnostic LED display. Seeing as you use an external hard drive, I'm willing to bet you'll need the eSATA support, so the IP-35 Pro is what you'll need. At least it has built in 10/100/1000 Ethernet and onboard sound (though if you plan on gaming or doing any audio work, or are an audiophile, I'd recommend a add-on PCI sound card like the Creative X-Fi XtremeGamer).

The only reason I know this is I just ran a thread asking about the Abit IP-35/IP-35 Pro; I'll be buying one or the other next week.

[Lucio]

The standard IP-35 DOES have built-in RAID capability, as well as Firewire, but not eSATA. The IP-35E does not have these; it is just basic functionality. The IP-35 Pro has all these, as well as a better heatpipe cooling system, and some other nice bells and whistles, such as a diagnostic LED display. Seeing as you use an external hard drive, I'm willing to bet you'll need the eSATA support, so the IP-35 Pro is what you'll need. At least it has built in 10/100/1000 Ethernet and onboard sound (though if you plan on gaming or doing any audio work, or are an audiophile, I'd recommend a add-on PCI sound card like the Creative X-Fi XtremeGamer).

The only reason I know this is I just ran a thread asking about the Abit IP-35/IP-35 Pro; I'll be buying one or the other next week.

Well fine You can be pendantic all you like.

It's still a very nice mobo and personally, I'm happy with the onboard sound quality but I only have a cheapish pair of Creative 2.1 speakers so I doubt they're sensitive enough to pick up all the little differences.

[2Cold Scorpio]

I was just pointing it out so the nice chap would get what he needs and not less (or more, even).

About sound cards: True, but if you're a gamer, you can get a small performance boost by using a sound card from what I hear. *shrug* Still, I hear the IP-35's onboard sound is pretty dang good for onboard sound.