upgrade options, bit of advice needed!

Hi all, looking to upgrade and I'm buying a new motherboard, ram, and cpu sometime this week,

I'm looking at:

Gigabyte GA-X38-DS4 Intel X38 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard - £130

or

Abit iX38 Quad-GT, iX38 Express, S 775, PCI-E 2.0 (x16), DDR2 1066/667/800, SATA II, SATA RAID, ATX -£130
(if i get everything off scan instead of overclockers)

Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 "Energy Efficient SLACR 95W Edition" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail £150
CZ 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-6400C5 Dual Channel Vista Gold Series DDR2 (OCZ2G8004GK) - £50

comes to £320 roughly - which is a lot more than was I was planning on spending - I've chosen this board for the 6 SATA connections (and RAID), crossfire support and the possibility of it lasting a fairly decent time, anything cheaper that anyone knows about?

I already have a decent case, power supply, hard drives etc and I think I'll have to wait for next months paycheque for a new graphics card

The crossfire support is because I don't think I'll be able to afford a particuarly top end graphics card, something more middle and then a few months in the future (after summer probs) I'll be able to add an identical card for better performance if i feel I need it - not the most ideal way of doing things

thanks all

by the way its mainly for photoshop, illustratror and occasional video editing with a bit of gaming thrown in

welcome :)
I guess it won't come as a surprise to many if I say that I would take the abit over the Gigabyte ...

Seconded...

What about a PSU? is your current one up to the upgrade?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Zadock

Seconded...

What about a PSU? is your current one up to the upgrade?

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just had a quick check - HEC 550W Power - compucase-hec.co.uk/mainpages/product_detail.asp?pid=62

Would I better investing in a decent power supply? This is one that came supplied with the PC I bought 2 1/2 years ago from Mesh

Thanks for the advice already - I think I'll use the Abit board as it seems the popular choice

I had decided on keeping it (was planning on not quite spending this much, was looking at the AMD 6400+, 4gb of ram and a board around £60 to start but temptations...) but could look at changing it if necessary!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by distantt

just had a quick check - HEC 550W Power - compucase-hec.co.uk/mainpages/product_detail.asp?pid=62

Would I better investing in a decent power supply? This is one that came supplied with the PC I bought 2 1/2 years ago from Mesh

Thanks for the advice already - I think I'll use the Abit board as it seems the popular choice

I had decided on keeping it (was planning on not quite spending this much, was looking at the AMD 6400+, 4gb of ram and a board around £60 to start but temptations...) but could look at changing it if necessary!

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Thats one of those 'MESH' specials.
If so, get rid of it fella and get something with a little more beef.

BTW...The ABIT iX38 QuadGT is a great board. Im very happy with mine.

LN19488
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 G0 SLACR, Kentsfield Core, Socket 775, 2.40 GHz 1066MHz 8MB Cache, Retail £125.89 £147.92
LN20684
Abit iX38 Quad-GT, iX38 Express, S 775, PCI-E 2.0 (x16), DDR2 1066/667/800, SATA II, SATA RAID, ATX £108.99 £128.06
LN21658
4GB (2x2GB) CorsairXMS2, DDR2 PC2-6400 (800MHz), Unbuffered, , DHX Technology 4-4-4-12 £59.64 £70.08
LN20296
630W HiperPower HPU-4M630-PE 85% Eff', PCI-E, UK + EU, Crossfire & SLI Certified £46.99 £55.21
LN21317
512MB Gigabyte HD 3870, PCI-E 2.0 (x16), GDDR3, 320 Streams, 2xDual Link DVI-I/HDTV, HDCP Ready £108.99 £128.06

TOTAL £539.95

a fair bit more than what I had wanted to spend! now it's even more tempting to use finance! think I may as well buy everything together now, forget about buying the graphics card in the future and somehow find the money to do this. hadn't realised how expensive a new power supply would be, is it worth investing the extra money? I picked this one randomly off the list mainly for cost

as for the graphic card, it's also in the right price range and they all seem pretty similiar around the £130 mark. I had been recommended a 8800GT but thinking about crossfire its just not possible?

I already have a Gigabyte 3D-Aurora case (Gigabyte 3DAurora GZ-FSCA1-ATS) with 3 x 120mm fans, think it'd be sufficently cool?

I cant give u any scan link atm as the site seems to be having some issues so apologies there.

4GB OCZ DDR2 PC2-8000 Platinum EL Desktop Computers Memory Upgrade Chips this ram is only a few quid more nthan the original you posted... not necissary but seems daft not too

Personally i would opt for a cheaper motherboard (Abit IP35 dark raider/Asus P5k) and a better graphics card. You will get the same results from your processor and in the long run i think an 8800GTS would probably be more beneficial than a crossfire set up (faster from the start, less heat, less power consumption) as for the raid capabilities, if the boards dont have them then raid PCI cards are not expensive when it comes to the time youw ant to run raid.

Yeah your case will be fine, I would look at a different power supply and you can get that graphics card cheaper than that on Scan oh and memory wise you should be avle to find 4GB of DDR2 800 for quite a bit cheaper than that :)

PSU wise if you want 600+ and budget is an issue then this is probably the best bet

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

If 550W should be sufficient (would be for everything except crossfire and even then it might be all right)

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

Memory wise just as a comparison

OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-6400C5 Dual Channel Vista Gold Series DDR2 (OCZ2G8004GK)
realise its CAS5 rather than 4 but still £20 saving ;)
or
2 of these GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC2-6400C4 800MHz Ultra Low Latency DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (GX22GB6400UDC)

Graphics card when back in stock
Computer hardware and software at amazing prices, available online from Scan Computers UK

Don't believe the Hipe and don't get a Hyper. Unless you don't mind it dieing just after it leaves warranty. And, like Biscuit, I'd spend less on the mobo and get a 8800GTS.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Thorsson

Don't believe the Hipe and don't get a Hyper. Unless you don't mind it dieing just after it leaves warranty. And, like Biscuit, I'd spend less on the mobo and get a 8800GTS.

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Cheers for the help everyone! it's really appreciate - I'll use the PSU that Webby recommended then - I've also picked some cheaper RAM off scan, may as well order erverything together to save on delivery costs even tho it's cheaper elsewhere unless I find a couple of other components cheaper elsewhere.

Got two options really, this build:

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 G0 SLACR, Kentsfield Core, Socket 775, 2.40 GHz 1066MHz 8MB Cache, Retail £147.92
Abit iX38 Quad-GT, iX38 Express, S 775, PCI-E 2.0 (x16), DDR2 1066/667/800, SATA II, SATA RAID, ATX £128.06
4GB (2x2GB) Corsair DDR2 6400 2x256Mx64 non-ECC 2x240 DIMM unbuffered 5-5-5-18 64bit OS DHX £63.03
512MB SapphireHD 3870 PCI-E 2.0 (x16), GDDR4, 320 Streams, S-Video 2 x Dual Link DVI-I £123.88 (gonna order soonish so prob order one thats in stock!)

£469

with the recommended PSU coming in at an extra £65 - it'd be £535

or as people are saying - this build maybe?

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 G0 SLACR, Kentsfield Core, Socket 775, 2.40 GHz 1066MHz 8MB - £147.92
4GB (2x2GB) Corsair DDR2 6400 2x256Mx64 non-ECC 2x240 DIMM unbuffered 5-5-5-18 - £63.03
Abit IP-35, Dark Raider, iP35 Express, S 775, PCI-E (x16), DDR2 533/667/800, SATA II, SATA RAID, ATX - £67.70
512MB BFG Tech 8800GTS OC, PCI-E 2.0, Mem 1940 MHz, GDDR3, GPU 675MHz, Streams 128, 2x DL DVI-I - £163.31

comes to about £443 then with the PSU just over £500

I was lookin on tomshardware and found this:

BEST PCI-E CARD FOR ~$160: TIE
Geforce 8800 GS
Radeon 3850 512MB

BEST PCI-E CARD FOR ~$180: TIE
Radeon 3870
Geforce 9600GT 512MB

BEST PCI-E CARD FOR ~$230:
Geforce 8800 GT 512MB

BEST PCI-E CARD FOR ~$290:
Geforce 8800 GTS 512MB

BEST PCI-E CARD FOR ~$360: TIE
Two Radeon 3870 in crossfire
Two Geforce 9600 GT in SLI

which mirrors what you've been saying about getting an 8800 GTS but it also says that two 3870 in crossfire are the best value for money for $360 - finding it so hard to make a decision, so many options!

thanks again

Nah...stick with the QuadGT.
The Dark Raider will be adequate. When i part with alot of cash, adequate isnt enough.
The QuadGT is fun :D

in terms of power, i just used a couple of psu calculators and found that for

1 x DVD
1 x DVD-RW
5 x SATAII HDDs
1 x Q6600
1 x mobo
3 x 120mm fans
1 x fan controller
2 x 2 GB DDR2 sticks
1 x HD 3870

that my 550w is enough in terms of quantity but is it the quality thats an issue?

PSU calculators are pants, ignore them and trust us :D 550w will be more than ample.

When buying a PSU go for corsair, tagen, enermax, seasonic something like that.

My brother and i actually have Xclio Greatpower ones and they are suprisingly good. Not as quiet as some of the more expensive options but they have handled overclocked C2D with decent graphics cards fine. Usually when there is a power shortage in my halls my computer stays on nice and stable when everyone elses cuts out. I would go so far as to recommend them above any of the previously mentioned ones but on a tight budget they are ok.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Blitzen

Nah...stick with the QuadGT.
The Dark Raider will be adequate. When i part with alot of cash, adequate isnt enough.
The QuadGT is fun :D

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maybe so but when trying to bring costs down but keep performance the IP35 is the better option.

Well a couple of things to ask;
How much occaisional gameing?
What sort of games?
What resolution?

If like myself you developed an MMO habbit then you do't need massive overkill on the graphics.
Nor do you need it if you're only running a 17-19" monitor
A single 8800GT will play most games well at high settings at 1600x1200, 20-22"
Crysis is the only game that currently really pushes graphics card to there limit and beound.

Granted hard to say no to a quad core at that price, but strickly needed?
For a cheap/cost spreading option you could get an e2xxx OC it and then when you have the cash get a quad core (or whatever is the flavour of the month that you motherboard can take)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pob255

Well a couple of things to ask;
How much occaisional gameing?
What sort of games?
What resolution?

If like myself you developed an MMO habbit then you do't need massive overkill on the graphics.
Nor do you need it if you're only running a 17-19" monitor
A single 8800GT will play most games well at high settings at 1600x1200, 20-22"
Crysis is the only game that currently really pushes graphics card to there limit and beound.

Granted hard to say no to a quad core at that price, but strickly needed?
For a cheap/cost spreading option you could get an e2xxx OC it and then when you have the cash get a quad core (or whatever is the flavour of the month that you motherboard can take)

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mainly FPS, crysis will definitely be something i'll be looking forward to playing along with oblivion, stalker, bioshock plus a few RTS games - company of heroes etc. using at the moment 2 x 19" widescreen monitors but looking at a single 22" - 24" monitor in coming months, hopefully 24" to make full use of HD when blu ray drives come down in price)

other than that its just pretty heavy photoshop, illustrator use and a bit of video editing, i've had a think and i'm gonna ignore costs, they do credit until dec on 0% interest at scan so i think i'll take advantage of that.

i've talked myself into it (guess posting on here is a way of convincing myself as much as needing advice! :) ) so i'll stick with the 3870, quad gt etc - how hot will it be getting in my case? i did have somebody suggest watercooling to me but for my uses (and knowledge) thats out of my league and a bit of an added expense so if i was planning on overclocking would the supplied heatsink + fan need replacing by something like this? -

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

with the 3 x 120mm fans (one front, two back) would that be sufficent for everything else in the case?

thanks once again? (and i'm sorry if these are questions that get asked reguarly! it's a worrying thing to be parting with so much money and be slightly unsure about things!)

the arctic cooler is a good value option but personally i have found them to be a bit hit or miss, sometimes they are very effective and other times they are barely better than the stock cooler.

i have heard good thing about this xigmatic cooler however the scyth mine, ninja,mini ninja, thermalright ultra, ultima or ultra extreme are all more popular options.

I personally have and prefer the ultima, decent fitting method to the board excelent performnce and quite small although it DOES require an additional fan. Your option will depend a lot on your case as this restricts the height.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by distantt

mainly FPS, crysis will definitely be something i'll be looking forward to playing along with oblivion, stalker, bioshock plus a few RTS games - company of heroes etc. using at the moment 2 x 19" widescreen monitors but looking at a single 22" - 24" monitor in coming months, hopefully 24" to make full use of HD when blu ray drives come down in price)

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If your going to make use of FULL HD (ie 1080p) then dont opt for a 24" monitor. You can barely tell the differences in normal HD viewing between 720 and 1080 at those screen sizes, if you really want to get good viewing at that resolution then do what im doing and hold out with 2x19" till 30"+ becomes affordable to you. Gaming is a different story although that kind of resolution is very demanding on gfx card.