Rate my spec! (please)

[finnrogers]

I know there's a lot of posts like these, but everyone's unique so here goes:

CPU: Wolfdale E8400 3Ghz = £129.83 from SCAN (bargain btw!)
MOB: ASUS P5K Premium Wifi/AP = £111.50 from SCAN
GFX: BFG GF 8800GTS 512 = £204.20 from SCAN
PSU: Corsair HX 620W = £85.06 from SCAN
RAM: G.SKILL HK PC6400 800Mhz 4x1Gb (4-4-3-5 timings @ 2.0-2.1v) = £86.93 from OCUK

I don't plan on overclocking for the time being so I'll be sticking with stock cooling. I will be recycling my old PC chasis, HDDs and DVD-RW. I will mainly be gaming @ 1280x1024 res for the time being until I can afford a nice 24" high res LCD, but also do a bit of 3D modeling, video editing and other such RAM intensive work, hence the 4Gb of RAM (will be using win32 for now but will probably go to win64 is due course).

I was planning on getting Geil RAM from OCUK since it's been cheap on there for quite a while and has nice timings - but the price has jumped back up a wee bit now and then I came across the G.Skill stuff. Has anyone seen this stuff before? 4-4-3-5 timings seem very impressive to me and doesn't attract a price premium (only £3-4 more than the other stuff I was planning on getting).

So my questions:

1. Would you go for this RAM or something else? I'm not interested in PC8500 stuff as I've read it really doesn't offer much performance boost for the extra price premium.

2. For an extra £30 I can upgrade the GeForce 8800GTS to a GTX - I know it won't show any performance increase now since I only run games at 1280x1024 but once I go to higher res, I would be looking at a 5-10% performance increase... your thoughts? Note that the upgrade would mean going from a decent brand (BFG) with it's lifetime warranty to a lesser (IMO) known company...

3. Mobo: Anyone actually tried once of these boards with a Wolfdale cpu yet? Any compatibility issues? I know alot of people recommend the Abit IP35 Pro over this board but I personally like alot of the features of the ASUS board (eSATA will come in handy for me for example).

Any comments or suggestions would be much appreciated, thank you.

[Thorsson]

1. Get 2x2Gb RAM. There is no real price difference now.

2. The 520 Corsair is more than enough for that rig.

[finnrogers]

Very good points. I will do that.

[menthel]

Worst. Spec. Ever.



The IP-35 pro has e-sata I believe.

Looks good. I agree about the corsair.

I also think that the £30 between the new GTS and a GTX would be better spent elsewhere. Pub perhaps?

[finnrogers]

If I don't spend it, the missus will!

[staffsMike]

GTS and GTX are so comparable it's not really worth the money.

The GTS also uses less power

[menthel]

And will let you keep the 'better half' happy with some flowers and a bottle of wine!

[finnrogers]

lol, doubt that will be happening but anyway!

Right, I'm pretty sold on the GTS since I like the look of the BFG anyway.

Still not getting anywhere with the RAM - I can't find the same modules in 2 x 2Gb configuration... Where's the best place to shop for RAM these days?

[staffsMike]

DDR2 Computer Memory Upgrade for Desktop and Laptop Computers is very good.

Overclockers UK usually have good deals too.

geil black dragon 2x2gb would be my choice.

[wombar]

Just be careful with the P5K premium (probably all variants of P5K as well) and a GTS/GTX/Long graphics card. I've got the P5K Premium and had to take the cooler cover off my GTS to get it installed without blocking my SATA ports, even with right angle SATA cables.

The cooler cover will block AT LEAST 2 sata ports if not 4, and considering the board only has 6 to start with that could put a big dent in your plans if you need more than 2 HDD and want to leave the graphics card cooler on.

Take a look at a picture of the mobo and you'll see the graphics card is inline with the SATA ports. If I was choosing again, I've probably go for a board with sata ports further down the board (i.e. ABIT IP35). The P5K is a great board, but layout leaves a lot to be desired IMO.

The GTS is a fantastic card, even at high resolutions, I've got a 30" monitor and run at 2560x1600 on most games without a problem (TF2, COD4, UT3) etc. Also have the HX620 and is one of the best PSU I've ever bought, but it doesn't have a fan connector to connect to the mobo which was a little disappointing. It's very quiet though so it's not a big issue.

[danroyle]

GTS and GTX are so comparable it's not really worth the money.

The GTS also uses less power

the extra £30 is probably worth it just for resdale value on ebay at a later date if he wants to upgrade he'll get more back for a gtx

i'd also go for a abit ip35 pro board i have one and they are very good boards

[menthel]

Spend £30 more so that he can get more on resale? He may as well put the £30 in a bank or on a horse. That is not a good reason!

[finnrogers]

Aye, I think as tempting as it may be, the smaller power consumption and nearly as good framerates from the GTS has won it for me. From alot of the benchmarks I've seen, the GTS is actually faster by a few fps at the lower resolutions anyway and the margin isn't pretty small once you scale upto higher res.

[Thorsson]

There are upsides to the Asus as well as down (which is why I hesitate to recommend alternatives to a good board from a top tier manufacturer), but in the end I chose the Abit IP35 Pro, and I'm glad I did. The fact that most Hexusites have chosen an Abit P35, and the support forum on Hexus, are further reasons for choosing this board.

[mosherben]

for the ram, why not go for corsair? Pretty good ram and it's cheaper, as well as not buying for OCUK

Computer hardware and software at amazing prices, available online from Scan Computers UK

[Blitzen]

Aye, I think as tempting as it may be, the smaller power consumption and nearly as good framerates from the GTS has won it for me. From alot of the benchmarks I've seen, the GTS is actually faster by a few fps at the lower resolutions anyway and the margin isn't pretty small once you scale upto higher res.

You wont be disappointed with th BFG 8800GTS G92.
I have one and its fantastic.

It will also go toe to toe with the GTX on any game on a 24" monitor or below.