New PC Specs - Comments / Suggestions

[sqw]

Hi there, my first post at Hexus. Sorry, another "check my spec" post .

Since my nearly four year old self-built PC is getting a bit elderly (Athlon 1.4Ghz, 512MB PC2100, Geforce 2 GTS, 17" CRT), its time for a new one!

I know you lot love it, so I would appreciate comments / suggestions on what I have assembled here.

Uses: Gaming, Internet, Watching Films, Programming (in that order roughly)

Restrictions:
1. Can only buy bits that are in stock in at the latest 1-2 weeks time.
2. Can only buy from the following suppliers (don’t ask why): dell.co.uk, misco.co.uk, dabs.com.

Approximate budget:
£1,000 (excluding VAT & delivery)

Current Assembly: (apologies for the lack of readability, I can't seem to format the table properly )
Component | Name | Price(£)*
Monitor | Dell 2001FP 20" | 328.30
Case | Akasa Eclipse 62 | ~74
PSU | Tagan 480W U01 | 54.99
Motherboard | Gigabyte GA-K8NXP-9 nforce4 s939 PCI-E | 89.99
CPU | AMD A64 3000+ | 83.25
CPU Cooler | Akasa AK-913 | 17.99
Memory | 1GB quality matched pair, bit of OC'ing? | 100 budgeted
Graphics | Sapphire Radeon X800XL | ~179
HDD | Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 200GB SATA | 58.99
DVD-RW | NEC ND-3520A | 29.13
Soundcard | Creative Audigy | 0
Speakers | Creative 5.1 Surround | 0
TOTAL ~1015

*some are approximate, ex VAT & Delivery, at time of writing.
Peripheral Name
Keyboard Saitek ProGamer
Mouse Logitech MX1000
MouseMat Under consideration
(not included in pricing)

Concerns:
1. Memory is very confusing. Any suggestions / links for that price point (ish)?
2. I know from other threads that a few of you seem to have a 2001FP monitor. Despite the excellent price, I am worried about ghosting in games.
3. I hope it is worth spending that amount of money on PSU / Case. PSU a bit too powerful?

Thanks a lot in advance for any replies.

[mike_w]

PSU - it's always worth investing in a decent PSU. A bad PSU can destroy other components in a PC, whereas a good PSU will last you years.

Memory - if you have an Athlon 64, you will want memory that runs at PC3200 (200mhz, 400DDR). Two sticks of 512MB of a decent brand will cost around £80, but they probably won't overclock too well. You can spend more on memory, but I personally don't think it is worth it. The main advantage of better memory is, as well as tighter timings, better overclocking potential.

[nvening]

For about £40 more than the x800xl you could get a x850xt pe from dell, thats worth £290

[sqw]

Thanks nvening, reckon I might try that actually - not had a top of the range uber gfx card before

After some research, I have decided that OCing is a bit silly really, considering you need to spend a lot more £ on decent memory to do it.

So I reckon I will just get 2 sticks of basic 512mb crucial value RAM for less than £60 (ex VAT).

[nvening]

Have a look at this:
http://forums.hexus.net/showthread.php?t=42439
and
http://dellware.euro.dell.com/dellst...rand=Dimension

[sqw]

ta - but found those already

[BenW]

Note that the dell graphics cards are in the medium - large business section

[nvening]

yes, if you phone up then they will deliver to a home anyway apparently.
Or you could order through ur work.

[StormPC]

For that system the X850 XT will not outperform the X800 XL by anything that could be considered substantial. To take advantage of the X850 you'd need to run your CPU at about 2600MHz+ which it probably won't do on air.

Also, that X800 XL price seems very high to me. I'd look for a better price on it.

[nvening]

I find the MSI is the best x800xl if you still want one.

[sqw]

So if you reckon that my CPU is not good enough to run that card (x850) properly StormPC, what CPU do you reckon I should get as a minimum?

Only a FX-55 runs at 2.6Ghz (stock), and even though I have now discovered my budget is substantially more than what I said up there ^, I am not spending the obscene money required for one of those like you seem to have . Do I really have to spend £500+ (or whatever it is) for a processor to run a £200 gfx card properly? If not, what processor as a bare minimum?

Or is it other parts which bring it down other than the CPU?

[skuzgib]

Do I really have to spend £500+ (or whatever it is) for a processor to run a £200 gfx card properly?

No, definately not. Obviously, it will perform better with a better CPU, but it will still run perfectly happily (and damn fast!) on the 3000+. The key to building a good system IMO is balance - For gaming it does seem to be a bit silly to get the highest end graphics card and lower end CPU, or high end CPU and lower end graphics card. Looking at some HL2 benchies at anandtech, the fx55 gives anywhere between 10-40 fps more compared to the 3000+ with an x850 xtpe - all were over the 40fps mark, so you wouldn't really notice much difference, certainly not enought to warrant the extra £400

[BUFF]

Also, that X800 XL price seems very high to me. I'd look for a better price on it.

welcome to rip off Britain Storm where we pay in £ what you pay in $ despite the 1.92:1 exchange rate.

[speedy_s]

welcome to rip off Britain Storm where we pay in £ what you pay in $ despite the 1.92:1 exchange rate.

I know!!!! That sucks so much

[nvening]

But would you really want to live in the USA, there is a reason we pay so much

[RDL]

If you have a bigger budget, I'd advise on getting a 3500 (winnie). This would allow for a lot of overclocking (which you could now afford with your budget). Get some Corsair PC4400 RAM and you're laughing, you should hit 2600mhz no bother.