My proposed spec - suggestions please :confused:

[staffsMike]

The only other graphics card you might consider is this bad boy,
Gecube HD 3870X2 1GB
found it half an hour ago at this price and its a bargain!

[UrbanKiwi]

The only other graphics card you might consider is this bad boy,
Gecube HD 3870X2 1GB
found it half an hour ago at this price and its a bargain!

Cheers, I will slot it into the budget and see how it fits!

[UrbanKiwi]

The only other graphics card you might consider is this bad boy,
Gecube HD 3870X2 1GB
found it half an hour ago at this price and its a bargain!

How does the above compare to this?

512MB XFX 8800GTS, AlphaDog XXX, PCI-E 2.0, Mem 1972MHz, GDDR3, GPU 678MHz, Streams 128, 2x DL DVI-I

[staffsMike]

It's a bit driver and game optimisation dependent. At it's worst it will be pretty much as good as the 8800GTX. With matured drivers it could be pretty leathal

At your resolution you would pretty much be fine with something like the ATi 3780 or nvidia 9600GT so it might be a waste of money to get the X2.

Hard to say really, all comes down to what you want to pay and how long you expect this card to last.

very roughly
1-2 yearsr: 9600GT, HD38**
2-3 years 8800GT
3+ years 8800GTS,GTX or HD3870X2

[UrbanKiwi]

It's a bit driver and game optimisation dependent. At it's worst it will be pretty much as good as the 8800GTX. With matured drivers it could be pretty leathal

At your resolution you would pretty much be fine with something like the ATi 3780 or nvidia 9600GT so it might be a waste of money to get the X2.

Hard to say really, all comes down to what you want to pay and how long you expect this card to last.

very roughly
1-2 yearsr: 9600GT, HD38**
2-3 years 8800GT
3+ years 8800GTS,GTX or HD3870X2

Good way to put it. I am hoping to squeeze 3+ years out of my new build so it will be one of the more expensive options. Just one more question on the GFX card, if you had to choose, would it be nVidia GTS or the ATI card HD3870X2? Most of what I have seen suggests people believe nVidia to be the current kings.

[staffsMike]

I don't want to say it so it sounds like I'm just backing the underdog and I'm not really an AMD fan boy (as my current rig suggest lol) but,

AMD (ATi) are bringing out some really great graphics cards right now and they are charging near enough the right amount here compared to in USA which very rarely happens especially at the top end.

The 3870X2 is a seriously powerful card and as drivers mature I'm sure it will do really well. Nvidia have a 9800GX2 or some such thing on the way which is essentially two slightly underclocked GTS's stuck together and will no doubt become the new king but I can almost gaurantee they won't price it competetively or perhaps even fairly.

[UrbanKiwi]

I don't want to say it so it sounds like I'm just backing the underdog and I'm not really an AMD fan boy (as my current rig suggest lol) but,

AMD (ATi) are bringing out some really great graphics cards right now and they are charging near enough the right amount here compared to in USA which very rarely happens especially at the top end.

The 3870X2 is a seriously powerful card and as drivers mature I'm sure it will do really well. Nvidia have a 9800GX2 or some such thing on the way which is essentially two slightly underclocked GTS's stuck together and will no doubt become the new king but I can almost gaurantee they won't price it competetively or perhaps even fairly.

The 3870X2 does fit the budget so I will go with it .

What Thermal paste would you recommend for the HSF on the CPU? I am going to use the Scythe Ninja Plus Rev B. Will I need to buy a separate fan for this cooler or is it sufficient as it is, considering I will be overclocking the Q6600.

[Taz]

^ I used Arctic Silver 5 as the thermal paste between my Q6600 and my Thermaltake Ultra-120 eXtreme.

You can get the instructions for applying it to various CPUs including Intel Quad-Core processors here:

Arctic Silver Incorporated - Arctic Silver 5 Instructions

I found that very helpful as it shows where the cores are located and the amount to use and the position to apply it to on the heatspreader.

[UrbanKiwi]

^ I used Arctic Silver 5 as the thermal paste between my Q6600 and my Thermaltake Ultra-120 eXtreme.

You can get the instructions for applying it to various CPUs including Intel Quad-Core processors here:

Arctic Silver Incorporated - Arctic Silver 5 Instructions

I found that very helpful as it shows where the cores are located and the amount to use and the position to apply it to on the heatspreader.

Thanks Taz, that is a good guide and I was thinking of Arctic 5 so you have confirmed the choice!

[Blitzen]

I think you are correct with that..Unless someone comes and corrects you, and me

The benchmarks are pretty much 50/50 between the E8400 & Q6600.

The Q6600 has a much longer lifespan than the E*** series chip though as lets not forget, whether they clock well or not, they are still only Dual Core.

Can you actually back that up (since the Wolfdales aren't actually released yet)? Only I thought that it was generally accepted that quad cores only saw a real performance boost with software specifically written to take advantage of them, which most games aren't anywhere close to yet.

Dont get too hung up on raw GHZ numbers . Just because 1 chip runs 300mhz faster than another, it by no means it performs better.

[UrbanKiwi]

Hi again.

Thanks to everyone for their input, everything has arrived and construction can almost begin!

One possible problem I need some advice on first though please

I have bought Gecube HD 3870X2 1GB

However my PSU 520W Corsair HX appears to be a tiny bit underpowered as the GFX card says it is recommended to have 550W? Will this be a serious a problem ????

Advice please!

[UrbanKiwi]

Hi again.

Thanks to everyone for their input, everything has arrived and construction can almost begin!

One possible problem I need some advice on first though please

I have bought Gecube HD 3870X2 1GB

However my PSU 520W Corsair HX appears to be a tiny bit underpowered as the GFX card says it is recommended to have 550W? Will this be a serious a problem ????

Advice please!

Anyone able to help with the above? Plz

[staffsMike]

Doubt it willl be a problem.. won't hurt to try anyway.