New Build

[reflex_182]

hi guys,

I was wondering if you could check my spec out and give me some advice. I'm looking to build a pc on a budget of about £500, may be able to go a liitle over if needed. ill only be using it for casual gaming as i have a 360. i also plan at having a go at OCing

Q6600
Arctic freezer 7 pro
Hiper 530W Black Type M PSU
Sapphire HD 4850 512MB
Antec three hundred
Samsung spinpint F1 500GB

I bought a Gigabyte GA-EP35C-DS3R a while ago of ebay which i regret but i've it overclocks well so i may aswell use it and save £80. Also the guy selling it left 4GB Corsair TwinX XMS2 PC2-6400, which is a bonus. however i havent tested any of it yet.

I'd like an i7 but realisticly id have 2 spend at least £750, and i know i dnt need it, it would just be nice lol

would appreciate if could give me some advice and recommendations
thanks

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I would get an Enermax 525w PSU instead of the Hiper:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/525W-...uard-SafeGuard

It also has a high efficiency rating too!!

Also get the 640gb Western Digital WD6400AAKS as it should be faster than the Samsung:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/144339

The Akasa AK965 is a bit cheaper than the cooler you specified:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/134773

Providing that the motherboard and RAM work OK everything else should be fine!!

[reflex_182]

thanks for your reply

will the hard drive be that much faster?

also are there any other decent cases in a smilar price range that have a side window?

thanks

[NightshadowUK]

will the hard drive be that much faster?

It's not that it's quicker (although it probably is a little), the WD just uses larger platters =

also are there any other decent cases in a smilar price range that have a side window?

- Sharkoon Rebel 9 + Side Panel ~ £43.68

- Coolermaster CM-690 V2 + Side Panel ~ £73.61

[reflex_182]

lastly if the motherboard and memory don't work, what alternatives do you recommend?
I was thinks the P5Q and GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC2-8500C5, or shall i just go for better value 4gb?

[reflex_182]

oh and also in terms of operating systems im planning on using server 08 x64 and converting it into workstation. or shall i stick to x64 xp or vista?

[NightshadowUK]

lastly if the motherboard and memory don't work, what alternatives do you recommend?
I was thinks the P5Q and GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC2-8500C5, or shall i just go for better value 4gb?

I'm not keen on Asus so since Abit went under I'd be looking at:
- Biostar TP45 HP ~ £90.24
- DFI Lanparty DK P45-T2RS Plus ~ £99.80

As for memory, there's no need for anything above PC6400 with a Q6600 so:
- 2 x 2GB TwinX DDR2 PC2-6400 ~ £40.12

oh and also in terms of operating systems im planning on using server 08 x64 and converting it into workstation. or shall i stick to x64 xp or vista?

I'm sticking with XP until Windows 7 is released but that's your call to make.

[reflex_182]

thanks for you help, ill order my parts soon

[Pob255]

Don't go for the Akasa 965x3 if you're planning to overclock a q6600
Get something better like

The new Acrtic Cooling Freezer Extreme £26
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Arcti...39-AM2-AM2plus

Xigmatek Red Scorpion £26
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Xigma...0mm-LED-cooler

Scythe Ninja2 £28
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/148075

Akasa Nero £27
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/152658

Probably best to advoid XP 64bit as driver support for it is very patchy, vista 64bit is far better

[reflex_182]

in the intel coolers review on hexus, the 965 won, beating the red scorpion ?

http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=15387&page=4

[reflex_182]

how about Tuniq Core Contact Freezer CPU Cooler?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...-000-TQ&tool=3

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Since you are on a budget the AK965,Hyper TX2 or Arctic Freezer 7 will do the job. The AK965 was tested with a QX6700 by Hexus which has a higher TDP - 130w for the QX6700 vs 95w for the G0 Q6600. Realistically if you get your Q6600 upto around 3.0ghz to 3.2ghz it will be fast enough for most things anyway and the coolers will be good enough for a Q6600 at these clockspeeds. Also I would pay attention to getting a good case with a decent airflow. The best CPU cooler will not compensate for a poorly ventilated case!!

Also do not waste 90 to 100 quid on a motherboard for a budget build. Something like an IP43 or P35 based motherboard will do the trick especially considering that socket 775 is being phased out next year.

You can get a P35 based P5K for around 61 quid:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/129125...roduct_reviews

It has some decent reviews:

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/119...get/index.html

http://www.***********.net/reviews.p..._motherboard/4 (o v e r c l o ck 3 d)

I have the cheaper P5K SE version in a backup computer and it has been a decent budget motherboard.

[Pob255]

in the intel coolers review on hexus, the 965 won, beating the red scorpion ?

http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=15387&page=4

However the Hexus review is the only one where that is the case, judgeing by the amount of themal paste used on the foot print test I think that's the reason.

The main thing to look for is a cooler with a 120mm fan, I know from experience that after a couple of hours under heavy load a 92mm fan starts getting a bit noisy

That Tuniq Core Contact Freezer should be ok, however there has bee reported mounting problems
look up review of the Sunbeam Core Contact Freezer (it's the same company and smae cooler)