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Thread: Gaming PC Upgrade Advice

  1. #17
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    Re: Gaming PC Upgrade Advice

    I've just built almost exactly the same spec as your original post and it's a fantastic machine. I went quad because I use it for audio recording and my program is optimised for quad cores. I'd still say go quad if you do anything remotely CPU intensive because it means you have more options to run multiple processes at once.

    The ASUS board is okay, but I think I'd go ABIT if I were building again because the board layout of the P5K premiun isn't that great. The SATA connectors are totally in the wrong place if you've got a longer Gfx card like a GTS. I had to remove the cover on my card and it was still a squeeze, definitely better off going for a board which had the connectors further down. If you don't remove the cooler casing on a double slot card like a GTS, you probably won't be able to use 2 (possibly 4) of the 6 sata ports on the board, even with right angle connectors (believe me I tried).

    Couple that with the fact that the PCI-E slot is next to a PCI slot, you lose the PCI slot with a double slot cards. It's a fantastic board feature wise, but I wouldn't buy another if I had the choice.
    ASUS P5K Premium || Q6600 || 4Gb RAM || 8800GTS

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    Re: Gaming PC Upgrade Advice

    Quote Originally Posted by nick_1 View Post
    I was going for a quad for two reasons, firstly it will be useful for longer and secondly I like the option of transcoding video as well as gaming

    One final thing which just came to mind, should I be running Vista 64bit or 32bit as I'm using 4GB of ram? Will this affect gaming?

    Thanks,
    Nick
    I'd still go for a dual core if you're wanting to game Contrary to what some people say games still like a good fast dual core over a slower quad. I don't see software utilising quad cores anytime soon. Crysis doesn't even do it properly anyway.

    Game On Crysis Turns Up Nose at Quad Core?
    No Quad Core Scaling in Crysis?

    I would still go for a wolfdale as it'll run cooler, it'll use less power, it's cheaper and if your game likes having a strong CPU it'll be faster than the Q6600.

    If you're going to encode video you can always wait a little longer for it to do it's thing but if you're gaming you can't wait now can you?

    I've built my PC to last 12-18 months till when I build a PC with DDR3 and a Nehalem CPU which is why I cheaped out and got an E8400 rather than going for a quad core and paying more and getting less FPS in Team Fortress 2.

  3. #19
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    Re: Gaming PC Upgrade Advice

    I'm back to reconsidering mainboards again... Someone keeps telling me I should really some form of 780i if I'm getting a 8800GTS. Anyone got any thoughts on that?

    Nick
    Abit IP-35 Pro, Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 3Ghz, 8800GTS 512, Zalman Reserator1 External Watercooler, 4GB DDR2, 76GB Raptor 10k, 300GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.10, 2x Maxtor 250GB 7.2k, ViewSonic VP201s & Dell 2408

  4. #20
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    Re: Gaming PC Upgrade Advice

    Yeah, I think they don't know anything

    No point in SLi, no particular overclocking advantages (although you can go unlinked) .. but there is no reason why a GTS would be better in a 780 than a P35 .. plus the P35 is a hell of a lot cheaper.

    Don't look at my system I was young and foolish and not a hexite haha

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    Re: Gaming PC Upgrade Advice

    With your monitor, and those reviews, I'd say that an 8800 GTS is the only option.
    Same for a C2D, mine works fine, I've yet to stress it!
    You will need vista 64bit to get the most out of the system.
    You may also wish to consider an Abit IP-35, not much less than the pro, but a lot cheaper at scan. Unless your realy into overclocking, you'll never use most of the extras on the pro. And you can download equivalent software from the Abit website, or get better, eg. everest.

  6. #22
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    Re: Gaming PC Upgrade Advice

    Only advantage you could find between a 780i and P35 is that the 780 is PCIe 2.0 but saying that you can get the x38 which is PCIe 2.0 and cheaper than the 780.

    The Abit iX38 Quad-GT is also rated to 1600FSB which means it should be good for a decent overclock especially if you put a Q6600 in it, no OC on the motherboard and the processor running at 3.4GHz

    Oh and if you fancy ATI over nVidea the HD 3870 X2 should be in the shops soon basically 2 3870's in crossfire on a single card, RRP in the states in $449 so if that converts to £ properly were looking at £225 and performance better than an 8800 Ultra apparently.

  7. #23
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    Re: Gaming PC Upgrade Advice

    8800GTS is a decent option, you could choose an 8800GT it's trully up to you.

    The new E8400 or E8500 Core2Duo's are serious overclockers on reasonable air cooling (Have hit near 5ghz on cheapish air cooling..) And for the most part will be much faster than the Q6600 in terms of stock and overclocking potential..
    The prices are also incredibly similar.

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    Re: Gaming PC Upgrade Advice

    Quote Originally Posted by nick_1 View Post
    I just spotted this over at anandtech... AnandTech: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS 512 & GeForce 8800 GT 256MB: Playing with Memory and G92

    It seems to agree and with scan selling them on today only I am very tempted

    Nick
    I'd check that review again, if you look at their closing statement they actually back the 8800GT.

    Quote Originally Posted by http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3175&p=9
    Getting back to reality for a moment, what do we think about the 8800 GTS 512 as an overall buy? It's around 10 - 15% faster than the 8800 GT, with a 16% higher price tag (at least). Honestly, in our opinion, GTS 512 just isn't worth the price premium over the 8800 GT 512MB. There's significantly more shader processing power but with barely any more memory bandwidth, this isn't a card that's really any more suited for high resolution/AA performance than the 8800 GT.

    It looks like our verdict still stands: if you want one of the best gaming cards on the market today, the 8800 GT 512MB is still our choice. It's more expensive than we'd like, but the 256MB version is a little too slow, and the GTS 512 isn't fast enough. The 8800 GT 512MB is just right.

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    Re: Gaming PC Upgrade Advice

    Quote Originally Posted by The Codfather View Post
    I'd check that review again, if you look at their closing statement they actually back the 8800GT.
    I figured that a 8800GT would cost me around £170 (based on scans prices) and scan have one of their BFG GTS 512 cards selling for £194. With that price difference the review seems to me that it is more in favour of the GTS.

    Thanks,
    Nick
    Abit IP-35 Pro, Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 3Ghz, 8800GTS 512, Zalman Reserator1 External Watercooler, 4GB DDR2, 76GB Raptor 10k, 300GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.10, 2x Maxtor 250GB 7.2k, ViewSonic VP201s & Dell 2408

  10. #26
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    Re: Gaming PC Upgrade Advice

    It also depends whether you want a quieter cooler as some of the GT cards are meant to be pretty loud. I got a GTS because I wanted the quieter double slot cooler that wouldn't give me a headache sitting next to it all day. I have it turned down to about 30% most of the working day and turn it up when I'm gaming. It's very VERY quiet.

    Once you've spent £20 on a decent aftermarket cooler for the GT (which will end up being double slot anyway and void your warrnty), you might as well have spent the extra £25 and gone for a GTS. The GT is a great card but it's not for everyone and I wanted to game on my 30" monitor at native resolution.
    ASUS P5K Premium || Q6600 || 4Gb RAM || 8800GTS

  11. #27
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    Re: Gaming PC Upgrade Advice

    Thanks everyone for their help (should I go down an thank everyone who responded?).

    I finally placed the order with scan and the parts are here. I finally went with the Abit IP35 Pro as mainboard and the 8800GTS in the end after wombar's comment about the quieter GTS. Now I just need to build the thing

    Thanks again,
    Nick
    Abit IP-35 Pro, Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 3Ghz, 8800GTS 512, Zalman Reserator1 External Watercooler, 4GB DDR2, 76GB Raptor 10k, 300GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.10, 2x Maxtor 250GB 7.2k, ViewSonic VP201s & Dell 2408

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