Possible Upgrade

[Disturbedguy]

Hey all

I have abit of money so am thinking of an upgrade.

This is what I have come up with, dont need case, HD etc as mine are fine.

AMD Phenom 9600+ Quad-Core - skt AM2+ - 2300Mhz - 4MB Cache - 95watts
Scythe Mugen (Infinity) Quiet CPU Cooler Quiet - Socket 478, LGA775, Socket 754, 939, 940, AM2
Abit KN9-SLi NF570 SLI, S AM2, PCI-E (x16), DDR2 800, SATA II, SATA RAID, ATX
2GB (2x1GB) Corsair TwinX XMS2, DDR2 PC2-6400 (800), 240 Pins, Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 4-4-4-12
520W Corsair HX Series Modular PSU, ATX, EPS12V, whisper quiet, 5 year warranty
768MB BFG Technology 8800 Ultra, OC, PCI-E(x16), Mem 2220MHz, GDDR3, GPU 630MHz, 2 x Dual Link DVI-I

Thats what I have come up with so far, was wondering if anyone has any feedback on the above spec, the ram will probably be upgraded to 3 or 4gb in the future.

thanks in advance.

[staffsMike]

hmmm AMD.. I really like AMD, got a real soft spot for them but, I couldn't possbily recommend that CPU over the Intel Q6600. Assuming you are overclocking, with that cooler you will be getting up to and around 3.4GHz with a q6600 which the AMD won't touch.
Another thing to consider is would it be better to have an AM2+ motherboard which technically should perform better with the Phenoms.. no idea aboutthis though.

The ULTRA is a very worthy card but I couldn't warranty spending that sort of money. I would look at either the OEM GTX's floating around or probably more likely be looking at the new 512mb 8800GTS (or wait until march for the new "GTX").

I would deffinatly have a look at and read around on the Q6600 and a board with a P35 chipset, I would get an Abit IP-35 but there lots of good one's about.

If you do choose to go for the phenom (against everyones advice im sure ) then let us know how you get on

Everything else is fine. I would go for Geil RAM (GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC2-6400C4 800MHz Ultra Low Latency DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (GX22GB6400UDC)) at £28 ex.Del but the corsair is fine.

[Disturbedguy]

hmm well am a kinda..AMD man but u make a good arguement for the Intel Q6600..so ill have to look at prices and stuff before i make a final decision

thanks mike

[NightshadowUK]

I second what Mike said (as usual ), Q6600, nice P35 motherboard and drop the Ultra in favour of a v2 GTS.

[Disturbedguy]

which ones are the V2s btW?

[shadowmaster]

I think he means the new 8800gts 512mb and not the old 8800gts 640mb.

Innovision 3D 8800GTS 512MB Dual DVI HDTV Out PCI-E Graphics Card - Ebuyer

[staffsMike]

Indeed, thats the one.

[Disturbedguy]

Well heres my Intel Spec up

Abit IP-35, Dark Raider, iP35 Express, S 775, PCI-E (x16), DDR2 533/667/800, SATA II, SATA RAID, ATX
Intel Core 2 Quad-Core Q6600 G0 SLACR, 95W, S775, 2.40 GHz, 1066MHz FSB, 8MB Cache, OEM
2GB (2x1GB) Corsair TwinX XMS2, DDR2 PC2-6400 (800), 240 Pins, Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 4-4-4-12
Scythe Mugen (Infinity) Quiet CPU Cooler Quiet - Socket 478, LGA775, Socket 754, 939, 940, AM2

With same PSU as above and possible one of the cards suggested above

What do people think of that one?

Oh another question, size wise, how does the 8800GTS compare to the 7950GT which i have atm?

[staffsMike]

Looks perfect

8800GTS should be just shorter than the motherboard is wide (9" against 9.6", so it won't peak over the edge)

[Disturbedguy]

Just thinking of space in my case, height and all the jazzy stuff, but it should be fine..now i just need to moola to pay for the bits and bobs xD

Btw, when I come to overclock, is the best way to do it via the bios?

[staffsMike]

Btw, when I come to overclock, is the best way to do it via the bios?

Absolutely. I don't trust the windows programs to do it, I tried once just to see what it was like and the first time it spent 20 minutes thinking at the end of which it hadn't bothered to overclock it. The second I got a blue screen...

Clunks overclocking guide in the stickies is a good read and should tell you all you need to know

[Disturbedguy]

bah dont like reading lol..but suppose I will have to i guess...

thanks mike

[freddie]

thats all right, but wait a few weeks and i think wolfdale quads are coming out...or are they delayed...faster, and less energy needed so they overclock even more than current g0 stepping quad!

apart from that why not go for 2 x 8800gt or 2 x 3870 ?

maybe even a 2x3850...2 of these would be cheaper than a single 8800gts and probably faster!

[Disturbedguy]

money issue, i have money but have other things to pay, rent, driving lessons, uni stuff, bus passes etc..so want to save as much money as i can and only spend when it is essential really.

[staffsMike]

SLi in theory = Amazing
SLi in practive = questionable.

Crossfire is prehaps even worse.

Quads are delayed until the end of march.

[Disturbedguy]

hmm i think ill stick with the setup above..that should last me a long long long time