Help me build a PC...

[Pob255]

If you can get pc2-6400 for less than the PC2-8500 then go for that, it will not hold back the overclocking.
the fsb of the cpu is 1/4 the listed one (ie 266mhz for the q6600) the fsb of the memory is 1/2 the listed one (ie pc2-6400 is 400mhz, PC2-8500 is 533mhz) while running the memory faster than the cpu will give some increase in performance it's not much so running the memory:cpu divider at 1:1 doesn't slow you up much and still gives you a possible 3.2ghz overclock on the q6600 with pc2-6400 memory (ie fsb at 400mhz)

I'm not a fan of the Asus p43 motherboards for 1 reason, the location of the power connectors.
It's a real shame because that the only realy bad point on that motherboard

I would say consider the p35 as you'll still get the over clock from it however Scan only seem to have a few high end models left where have all the nice mid range boards gone?

There is the new cheap biostar motherboard
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Biost...-SATA-RAID-ATX
Buit I'm not finding much in the way of detailed info/reviews on it. this is the only one but it's not very good http://www.insidehw.com/Reviews/Moth...A7/Page-6.html

[Gr44]

I'll OC the Q6600

Switched the 9800GT for a 4830.

The £110 is for a case and the PSU though... Enermax are my preffered PSU brand but they're all out of stock! You think that PSU is enough for this setup though?

Could probably get the Antec EarthWatts 650w for similar money though... *checks reviews*

Cheers for the reply

[Gr44]

@ Pob255,

Price in RAM is pennies differant, but good point!

If the only bad thing is the power connectors I don't mind... it's not going to be on show or anything... I have a Asus P5K which I'm really happy with but like you said, hardly any P35's left now it seems!

[Pob255]

The HD4830 is also faster than an overclocked 9800GT:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Z...Edition/9.html

Remember that the 9800GT is nothing but a 65nm or 55nm version of the 8800GT.

Help if you linked to the correct card ie the 4830
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/P...HD_4830/9.html
Which is shown to be slower than a 8800gt
However it's within a couple of fps so the difference is too small to count, ie they are level pegging.
If she requires OpenGL go for the 9800gt nvidia drivers are far better than the Ati drivers with OpenGL atm.

Personally I'd look to other places for the graphics card, scan are not that good atm for mid range.
For £115 ebuyer has a BFG oc 9800gt, so factory overclock and a nice 10year warranty
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/148491

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Here is what I came up with from Scan:

LN17514 Coolermaster RC-330 V2 Elite Black Midi Tower Case w/o PSU (New Improved Version) Scan Exclusive £27.93

LN18916 Logitech Internet 350 Wired Keyboard, USB 1.1, Black (967740-0120) £6.89

LN19302 4GB Corsair (2x2GB) TwinX XMS2, DDR2 PC2-6400 (800), 240 Pins, Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 5-5-5-18 £41.16

LN21952 525W Enermax PRO82+ EPR525AWT Triple PCI-E Rail, ATX12v 2.3 , 88% Eff, AirGuard, SafeGuard £59.79

LN22055 Altec Lansing BXR1121 2.1 Speakers £19.26

LN25222 J&W JW-790GX-Extreme, AMD 790GX, S AM2+, PCI-E, DDR2 1066/ 800 MHz, SATA RAID, ATX, OnBoard Graphics £85.15

LN25380 LG GH22NS40 22x DVD±R, 16xDVD±DL, DVD+RW x8/-RWx6 ,12xRAM SATA, Black, OEM £13.79

LN25761 AMD Phenom II X4 920, Deneb Core, S AM2+, 2.8GHz, 8MB Total Cache, FSB/HT 2000MHz, 125W, Retail £194.26

LN20835 500 GB Western Digital WD5000AACS Caviar Green, SATA 300, 16MB Cache, 8.9 ms, NCQ £43.69

LN25215 512MB HiS HD 4830, PCI-E 2.0 (x16), 1800MHz GDDR3, GPU 575MHz, 640 Cores, 2x DL DVI-I/ HDTV, HDCP £91.99

Total: £507.74

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Help if you linked to the correct card ie the 4830
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/P...HD_4830/9.html
Which is shown to be slower than a 8800gt
However it's within a couple of fps so the difference is too small to count, ie they are level pegging.
If she requires OpenGL go for the 9800gt nvidia drivers are far better than the Ati drivers with OpenGL atm.

Personally I'd look to other places for the graphics card, scan are not that good atm for mid range.
For £115 ebuyer has a BFG oc 9800gt, so factory overclock and a nice 10year warranty
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/148491

For a few quid more it is worth getting a 9800gtx+ or a HD4850. An HD4850 will cost around £120 to £125 and a 9800GTX around £130 to £135.

[Gr44]

CAT,

The Enermax 525w is out of stock. That was my first choice as well.... What would you recomend as comparable for similar money?

9800GTX/4850 is too much over-budget. I think a Q6600 is going to be the route rather than an AMD system, I'll admit more from personal choice than anything though

Thanks

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

CAT,

The Enermax 525w is out of stock. That was my first choice as well.... What would you recomend as comparable for similar money?

Thanks

The Corsair VX450w should be enough for you build. It is a decent power supply!!

CAT,

I think a Q6600 is going to be the route rather than an AMD system, I'll admit more from personal choice than anything though

Thanks

Is it not because you have one already??!!

The newer Q6600 processors need more voltage to overclock unlike the older ones it seems!!

[Pob255]

Read back to the original post, it going on a 19" tv res of 1440 x 900
a 9800gtx or 4850 is wasted at that res
at 1440x900 most games get +60fps with a 4830, heck even "a-site-we-shall-not-mention" got 33fps out of crysis

I'd actually be willing to spend the extra £10 on the xfx one
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/512MB...VI-I-HDTV-HDCP
But I'm a sucker for a cooler that looks that good or that much like a stock nvidia one.
Looking for reviews & more details now . . .

[Pob255]

PSU modular
Seasonic M12 500w
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/500W-...-modular-cable
or
BeQuiet dark power 450w
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/450W-...lar-PSU-87-Eff

EDIT: but I don't think the original choise was too bad


EDIT2: just looked at te today only offers
Akasa Infintiy Black Full Tower Case 11 Bays Alu Front Panel w/o PSU + 700W FSP700-80GLN SATA/PCI-E 83%+ Eff Green ATX12v 2.01 EPS12v OEM
For £80.44
Ok granted your bits are going to be lost in that full tower case.

[Gr44]

Thanks VM for all your help guys... ended up with the Q6600 and the 9800GT (Palit)

Picked up a Corsair HX for £80 as well

MRS didn't want a full tower as it'll be moved quite a lot and I wasn't sure on that PSU

Thanks again all :-)

[Pob255]

What's the final basket then?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Did you get an HX520W then?? I have one in a backup PC and it is an absolutely great PSU!!

[Gr44]

Product Quantity Price
----------------------------------------------------------
520W Corsair HX Series Modular PSU, 1 £69.52
2GB (2x1GB) Corsair TwinX DDR2 XMS2 1 £33.64
Logitech Internet 350 Wired Keyboar 1 £5.99
Logitech S220 2.1 Speaker System Bl 1 £11.89
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 G0 SLACR, K 1 £124.95
500 GB Western Digital WD5000AACS C 1 £39.99
Akasa ZEN V4 Tower Case Black - wit 1 £26.49
512MB Palit 9800 GT, PCI-E 2.0 (x16 1 £79.89
Asus P5QL-E, iP43, S 775, PCI-E 2.0 1 £66.68
LG GH22NS40 22x DVD±R, 16xDVD±DL, D 1 £11.99
ZEROtherm ZEN FZ-120 Quiet Tower CP 1 £22.99
----------------------------------------------------------
Nett total £494.02
Carriage £0.00
VAT £74.10
Total £568.12

Final Basket

CAT, yeah, you're probably right on the Q6600... I've been really impressed with mine though so it seemed a good idea!

You might notice she changed her mind on the case... again, women!

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Product Quantity Price
----------------------------------------------------------
520W Corsair HX Series Modular PSU, 1 £69.52
2GB (2x1GB) Corsair TwinX DDR2 XMS2 1 £33.64
Logitech Internet 350 Wired Keyboar 1 £5.99
Logitech S220 2.1 Speaker System Bl 1 £11.89
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 G0 SLACR, K 1 £124.95
500 GB Western Digital WD5000AACS C 1 £39.99
Akasa ZEN V4 Tower Case Black - wit 1 £26.49
512MB Palit 9800 GT, PCI-E 2.0 (x16 1 £79.89
Asus P5QL-E, iP43, S 775, PCI-E 2.0 1 £66.68
LG GH22NS40 22x DVD±R, 16xDVD±DL, D 1 £11.99
ZEROtherm ZEN FZ-120 Quiet Tower CP 1 £22.99
----------------------------------------------------------
Nett total £494.02
Carriage £0.00
VAT £74.10
Total £568.12

Final Basket

CAT, yeah, you're probably right on the Q6600... I've been really impressed with mine though so it seemed a good idea!

You might notice she changed her mind on the case... again, women!

I used an Akasa Zen in a friend's build. It is not bad a case for the money. Everyone thought it was a nice looking case too!!