Feedback on new pc specification

[poolcue]

First post, so go easy on me!

I'm specifying a new pc which will primarily be used for gaming and I need to know what you think. I want to keep the total cost below £1k, but need a system that won't require any serious upgrading for a while.

CPU - Q9450 (2.66GHz, 12MB, 1333FSB)
Case - Antec 900
OS - Vista Premium 64 Bit
GFX - ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB GDDR5
MB - Asus P5K Pro
HDD - Seagate 1000GB Sata 2
RAM - Corsair TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX 4GB
PSU - Tagan TG800-U26 800Watt

Is anything over or under specified? All suggestions welcome

[NovaSphere]

I would change 2 things;

A different PSU, 700W seems a bit overkill for that, should check out the HX and TX series from Corsair
I would also get a diff HDD, like the Western Digital 640GB one, the WD6400AAKS. Unless ofcourse you really need the 1 TB space lol

Also, might want to check out the Antec Twelve Hundred, it's the newer version of the Nine Hundred, it got some fancy lights which you might not need, but the Twelve Hundred is a better build, has more space and has way better cable management.

[b0redom]

Swap the Q9450 (I think you mean Q9400?) for a E8600. Nothing currently uses 4 cores, few games will even use 2 cores and you'll get a monster overclock out of it. It is likely to run cooler too.

[aidanjt]

Nothing currently uses 4 cores

Nothing?

[b0redom]

Ok, pedant, no current games. It's really only worth considering a quad core currently if you spend any time doing video encoding, running a server operating system, or a large transactional database - none of which the OP eluded to.

A (much) higher clock speed at lower temps is likely to be a far more sensible idea.

[poolcue]

Appreciate the speedy replies. Would a 600w PSU be sufficient (assuming the switch to an E8600)? I'd really like to splurge on a Coolermaster Cosmos - thoughts?

[staffsMike]

500w would be enough

[b0redom]

I've just got a coolermaster cosmos. Lovely case, and very quiet. Was considering watercooling, but not sure I'll bother now.

[jjcave]

You might want to look into something other than stock cooling, especially if you are thinking of overclocking.

[TAKTAK]

I'd really like to splurge on a Coolermaster Cosmos - thoughts?

mebbe not the best choice of wording

as people are saying, if it is predominantly for gaming then dualie is currently slightly better..
change the PSU to a corsair HX520w or Enermax modu 82+
and an aftermarket cooler such as the xigmatec red scorpian (s1283 or whatever it is, is nice and cheap and performs well)

also what resolution will you be using? (as for below 1920x1200 a HD4850 will be fine)

[poolcue]

I have a BenQ FP241W, so I'd get full use out of a 4870. The only reason I was considering a Quad is to 'future-proof' the build as far as it is possible without spending a small fortune!