Time for a new rig, help!

[Thorsson]

There's also the question - monitors being so cheap nowadays - of how long you'll stay at 1280x1024. I really recommend moving to (at least) a 20" widescreen.

[dave87]

1280x1024 is simply for the upcoming lan.

The rest of the time it will be 1366x768 through my HD TV.

[Webby]

The HD TV resolution is even less than the monitor... If you don't intend on getting either a higher resolution monitor or a 1080p TV then you may as well save yourself £30-40 and get an 9800 GT unless you really want to buy ATi.

[dave87]

That is the only thing that worries me, as I've only got a year left in my current house.

If I move home, I'd be looking at a 40" Telly for my room, due to the difference in size - which would most likely be 1080p.


Argh! Decisions, Decisions.

[demonwolf]

Just to add my two cents. Recently just ordered all my components for a HTPC build for a 42" 1080p Plasma, so I was looking for a similar cheap option. I went AMD becuase the price performance ratio just cant be beat by intel at the moment. My CPU choice was a 45W 4850e but thats because low power is required on my part (and I plan to undervolt it too).
I think the 5000+ is perfect for you. Its cheap oveclocks very well (check the reviews on the US site newegg I find it helpful in deciding).

On the motherboard side you might want to spend a little more to get a good overclocker. Id spend less on the cpu and more on the motherboard and overclock, especially if you are getting an aftermarket cooler. Plus with a better motherboard it will most likely be more future proof too.

Memory wise I tend to buy more reliable brands and stick with OCZ or corsair. The one time I strayed and went with Gskill I wasnt impressed.

The ATI graphics card youve chosen seems good to me. But I havent really looked at the market since I upgraded to an 8800GT last year. So theres probably better people than me to comment on that.

Good luck with your upgrade.

[Webby]

That is the only thing that worries me, as I've only got a year left in my current house.

If I move home, I'd be looking at a 40" Telly for my room, due to the difference in size - which would most likely be 1080p.


Argh! Decisions, Decisions.

Hmmm, well the 4850 would be better at 1920*1080 no doubt. The thing is do you buy on the basis of what you have now or what you may have in 12 months? Personally if budget is an issue I would go with the cheaper card (or find a 4850 on offer Aria had some for £100 inc vat the other day) as you will not be noticing the difference at your resolution. And if in a year you get a big tv then upgrade the card to what ever is the best value proposition at the time.

[dave87]

Heh, budget isn't an issue, I'm just being tight, lol.

What I don't want to do, is buy something like the AMD, then find in 12 months I want to upgrade and can't.

Are Intel/AMD sticking to LGA775 and AM2 respectively for the forseable future? Only I made that mistake when I bought my current rig. SoA, then 754 came out for 6 months, then 939 arrived. Effectively my upgrade routes were somewhat limited

This was one of the reasons I was looking at the p45 based boards, as they support the 1333 and 1600 mhz architecture that the new Intels are based around. Therefore, even if I go for a q6600 now, I can simply take it out and put something faster in should it be required.

[shaithis]

Intel are about to release a new socket. AMD are talking about a new range of CPUs, not sure if they will use a new socket or not.

Whether the current sockets will be made redundant quickly or not, is anyones guess.

[Webby]

Intel are moving to Socket 1366 (think thats the right number) with i7 (new processors), AMD will eventually move to AM3 over AM2+, currently if you want to run the Phenom X3 or X4 chips at full speed you need an AM2+ board but they will still work in an AM2 board (as long as the bios supports them) I am not sure if the AM3 chips will be compatible with AM2+ boards though we will have to wait and see!

[Thorsson]

TBH at the moment we're in the best video card market that I can remember. You can hardly go wrong. But it's probably best to get the cheapest card that will do for your current needs and upgrade when necessary.

[staffsMike]

That HD4670 looks to be pretty good for £50
http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=15393

But if it's going to be used for 1920 x 1080 later then the HD4850 will serve you best for longest.

[dave87]

Hmm, thats a dilemma, as I've just seen i7 is being released in October, so only a month away.

I'm guessing this is going to drop the current processor's prices substantially? Or am I just hoping for too much?

[staffsMike]

They will drop a bit but I think some will be more likely to go EOL tbh, especially the older 65nm chips.

[Webby]

Your hoping for too much!

When i7 is released it will be cost prohibitive for normal desktop use so the current crop of processors will not drop dramatically if at all for the first 6 months (at least not more than the normal steady decrease).

[staffsMike]

I thought they were bringing out "reasonable" costing chips or at least one to start with,circa £200 mind you.

That will certainly take any business of new quad core buyers who might have been in the market for Q9400 or Q9550's. Other than that Webby is probably right. The upgrade path for S775 is set in stone now really so if you want them you will have to pay almost what you do now... probably.

I can't really remember what happened when S775, or more importantly core 2 duo happened. Most of the fuss was probably still with AMD I suppose.

[dave87]

So what would you change out of the above? Is the stock cooler worth anything? Might use that to start and then once I feel I want to OC, I'll get an aftermarket one. Or, is it a noisy affair, and worth getting a proper cooler?