Pre built from dell etc.. or custom?

[Popa Bear]

I am looking to buy a whole new machine it will have to be good and might look into serious overclocking. got at least a couple grand to spare.... so would i buy a top pre built pc and mod it or go the long way and buy parts to build.
what would be the best stuff to get with little expense spared?

[owen1978]

I am looking to buy a whole new machine it will have to be good and might look into serious overclocking. got at least a couple grand to spare.... so would i buy a top pre built pc and mod it or go the long way and buy parts to build.
what would be the best stuff to get with little expense spared?

making your own is much better, you save a packet, and you learn a lot which holds you in good stead for the future.

First of all you got to decide which Path to take young Luke...
They way of the force....Intel
Or the Dark side............AMD

[Popa Bear]

looking at the amd fx 55. is the vapochill silent?

[Hans Voralberg]

No it's not silent. One of my friend had it, i personally can't stand the noise .
If you got a few grand then build a rig yourself, and admire your great achievement in the end, better than ordering a Dell ;

[RDL]

Don't get Vapochill, get Mach IIGT. They are the best.

Yeah, build your own, you will get a nice machine, which you can take pride in, having built yourself.

Need a hand on the specs, just ask us.

[Popa Bear]

if anyone has any links so i can read up, i would be greatful. Can you use the vapo on other componets or just cpu. would water cooling be easier?

[RDL]

Links to what? You can use Vapo on other components, and Water Cooling may be easier, but is far worse than phase change. For serious overclocking that's what you need.

[Popa Bear]

cant find anything much about the "mach IIGT"

[RDL]

Google it, you'l find plenty. A simple search

[owen1978]

Do you want a silent system?

[Firelord]

If you've never even built a machine before then why would consider a Mach II GT? Its a very expensive mistake for a first timer. I have been building PCs for ages and have used Mach I, IIs and GTs and can't say its for someone that doesn't know computers at all.

Just stick with air to start with and then move to water and finally to phase.

If you get it wrong installing it and get condensation kiss goodbye to £550 CPU and £120 worth of board...

[johnnr892]

If this is your first built then i suggest aginst vapo chill or mach 2 or whatever even against watercooling, because you have enough things to think about first time rather than worrying about expensive and potentially damaging extras like. I personally would not see the need for it, as my pc (in sig) plays games perfectly well and fx 55 would give you all the power you need without serious overclocking (imo). So get an
AMD fx55
2x 6800gt in sli
Nforce board 1g memory
nice 19" monitor
2x nice big hardrives 120gb a piece
dvd-rw
cd-rw
480w neopower

and thereyou go, you say you have a couple grand spare, but I don't think this will reach 2000 and it will be a monster gamer! john.

[Jonny]

get an
AMD fx55
2x 6800gt in sli
Nforce board 1g memory
nice 19" monitor
2x nice big hardrives 120gb a piece
dvd-rw
cd-rw
480w neopower

IMO, instead of 2 x 120Gb hard drives, get 1 large one (e.g. 200Gb maxtor, whatever), and a smaller faster one (70Gb Raptor). Put all your films, files etc on the big'un and use the smaller one for your OS and games, which in turn will benefit from the faster read speed of the raptor.

[owen1978]

IMO, instead of 2 x 120Gb hard drives, get 1 large one (e.g. 200Gb maxtor, whatever), and a smaller faster one (70Gb Raptor). Put all your films, files etc on the big'un and use the smaller one for your OS and games, which in turn will benefit from the faster read speed of the raptor.

He was probably hinting at a Raid 0 setup, which has excellent performance

[noah]

have you had a look at the 'building a gaming rig' sticky? that'd give you a good base of knowledge to start with. (sorry if you already have a good understanding)

[Jonny]

He was probably hinting at a Raid 0 setup, which has excellent performance

Good point, well made *Walks away, whistling*