Cheap PC until Nehalem

[SiM]

Well I was waiting for Nehalem, but my PC at the moment is too crap so I need to upgrade, I have spent loads of money upgrading this 939 system: dual core cpu, scythe heatsink, thermalright chipset cooler, 2GB ram... When I could have upgraded to 775 for less

So I am going to bite the bullet and get a cheap 775 system to "do the job" until Nehalem. This is what I have in mind:

Antec P182 Advanced PERFORMANCE ONE SERIES Super Midi Tower Case, Gun Metal Black (no PSU) £92.70
Abit IP35-E, iP35 Express, S 775, PCI-E (x16), DDR2 667/800, SATA II, ATX £54.93
Intel Core 2 Duo, E7200, Wolfdale Core, S775, 2.53 GHz, 1066MHz, Retail £82.24
2GB (2x1GB) Corsair TwinX XMS2, DDR2 PC2-6400 (800), 240 Pins, Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 4-4-4-12 £32.89
525W Enermax MODU82+ EMD525AWT Modular Triple PCI-E Rail, ATX12v 2.3 , 88% Eff, AirGuard, SafeGuard £76.36

I was also considering saving a bit by getting the E2220 cpu. But if the performance hit is more than 10-15% then I would rather get the E7200. A cheap sub £100 quad is another option.

Note: I don't mind spend extra on the stuff that I can use with the future nehalem system.

[staffsMike]

Note: I don't mind spend extra on the stuff that I can use with the future nehalem system.

I can see that

Well you've got the right Idea anyway. As long as you overclock the E2220 to around 2.8GHz I doubt you will notice that big of a difference but the e7200 is a nice chip and with it's slightly lower FSB than the other 45nm's you may get you a bit more money when you come to sell it I suppose as it will overclock quite well on a lot of the basic 1333MHz fsb boards.

[SiM]

What about a 2nd hand £100 quad? Worth the extra...? I don't think multi threaded games would come such that the duals take a big performance hit over the quads until after nehalem...

[staffsMike]

For games you are fine with the dual. If you can get a q6600 around £100 then I probably would get it especially if you are folding, that way you can give them 2 cores and game on the other two without really taking a hit. Should still be worth a few bob in a year or two as well

Nice easy overclock to 3.0GHz to

[FifthFreedom]

What about GFX you havent mentioned them above?

[moogle]

Quad if you fold and encode etc, if you are getting a dual then get a e2xxx series and overclock like mad with a decent heatsink and you'll get performances of an e6750 iirc thats what an e2180 performs like at 3ghz. With the smaller cache it will affect performance in cache intensive programs but for normal use it will be better than your 939 setup.

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

Other alternate choices of PSU, not saying Enermax is crap

[staffsMike]

What about GFX you havent mentioned them above?

He has a 9800GTX (My System )

[moogle]

He has a 9800GTX (My System )

It best be used in that system SiM

[staffsMike]

I wouldn't buy the zalman PSU's personally. The corsair is a great unit but the enermax is the latest and greatest if you are willing to pay that bit extra.

The new dark power series are very good too

[Flewis]

The new dark power series are very good too

even if they do sound a bit evil

[moogle]

The new dark power series are very good too

The Be Quiet! ones? Yep they have real good reviews too.

[Bauer]

The cheapest option to improve poerfomance is to install Linux. That is unless you use your PC for gaming in which case you may be better off upgrading your graphics card while waiting for Nehalem.

You probably only need to upgrade the motherboard and processor if your existing components are compatable and you don't plan on using the old PC for anything. These often come bundled together potentially saving more money.

Scan's Today Only offers usually have a a fairly high spec motherboard, processor and memory bundled together for less than the components listed in the original post. They currently have a midi tower case and 550W PSU for £38.72.

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

I wouldn't spend much on a new case unless you plan on using it in your future PC.

[menthel]

Call me crazy, but hows about just sticking with what you have got? In what way is it too crap?

[SiM]

The cheapest option to improve poerfomance is to install Linux. That is unless you use your PC for gaming in which case you may be better off upgrading your graphics card while waiting for Nehalem.

So should I buy another 9800gtx for SLi?

You probably only need to upgrade the motherboard and processor if your existing components are compatable and you don't plan on using the old PC for anything. These often come bundled together potentially saving more money.

Scan's Today Only offers usually have a a fairly high spec motherboard, processor and memory bundled together for less than the components listed in the original post. They currently have a midi tower case and 550W PSU for £38.72.

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

I wouldn't spend much on a new case unless you plan on using it in your future PC.

I am going to keep case, GPU, PSU for nehalem. So I don't mind splashing out on them

Its only really the cpu, ram and mobo that needs to be cheap. Mobo is IP35-E and ram is 2gb corsair, can't go much wrong there... its the cpu I am undecided about... E2220/E7200/Q6600

Call me crazy, but hows about just sticking with what you have got? In what way is it too crap?

Well I only get 9000 3d marks... its fairly slow, it needs reformating anyway... case has poor airflow causing very high temps. I was going to make a NAS, but I can just convert this into one instead...

I think I am going for the E2220 instead of the E7200...

[j.o.s.h.1408]

Call me crazy, but hows about just sticking with what you have got? In what way is it too crap?

yea you should be grateful Sim i have a p4 3.2ghz northwood on a 486 mobo. who is need for a cheap upgrade? ME not u lol.

if i was in your shoe i would stick with what you got has i think you don't really appreciate the system you currently have hehe

[menthel]

Well I only get 9000 3d marks... its fairly slow, it needs reformating anyway... case has poor airflow causing very high temps. I was going to make a NAS, but I can just convert this into one instead...

Yes but does it not actually do things? 3d marks are just for willy waving.