New Gaming Rig- What do ya think

[ArcAngel]

I'm looking to buy a new gaming rig for about £1,000 - 1,200k. I'm not going to be be modding i myself, basically jsut owant something that will last me as long as possible without having to touch it at all.

I would however like it to be fairly easily upgradeable, so want no limiting factors from components like the mobo.

I'm new to this so excuse any newbie questions

I based my specs around the Custom PC magazine "Elite" choices, but some werent in stock at Yoyotech so different mobo, PSU and graphics card. Ravi also suggested Q9300 over the Q6600 (although I've since read it is less overclockable?).




ANTEC P182

CORSAIR 620W

ABIT IP35 PRO (didnt have Asus P5k premium Wifi-AP)

INTEL Q9300 2.5GHZ CPU (over Q6600)

TUNIQ TOWER 120 CPU COOLER

OCZ REAPER 2GB 1066MHZ MEMORY

SAMSUNG 750GB SATA2 HDD

SAMSUNG 20X SATA DVDRW

BFG 9800GTX 512MB GRAPHIC CARD (Didnt have 512mb GeForce 8800 GTS in stock)

CREATIVE X-FI XTREME GAMER CARD

NETGEAR 311T WIRELESS CARD

=£1090.60 inc Vat, Build and delivery

1. Any comments/suggestions on the rig in general
2. Should I get 4 GB of Ram rather than 2? I realise I need a 64 bit OS to get the benefit of this but have read that there can be compatibility issues with some games and driver issues. If 64 bit OS is the future should I just bite the bullet now or wait a few years?
3. Will i be able to overclock the processer to improve performance in future if needed?
4. I'll probably get a new monitor too. Was thinking of a 22". Any suggestions and does the size of screen impact the graphics card required?
5. Is the PSU powerful enough for future upgrades or should I leave a bit more headroom?
6. Not sure whether to get a P182 or a Coolermaster Cosmos S case?

Thks

AC

[staffsMike]

I would get 4GB of RAM, it's so cheap right now seems silly not to with a budget like that. Sure you can't use it all unless you use 64bit.. but why not get 64bit

Not heard of problems with games or driver issues with 4GB.

You will be able to overclock that processor but a Q6600 is better in this respect. Far easier to overclock and safer due to being 65nm over the new chips which are 45nm. Certainly the new one's are good but more fragile when overclocking. You also get more cache with the Q6600, doesn't really affect things like games much though.

With a rig like that 24" (1920 x 1200) will be nice and playable in any game really.. what sort of budget do you have for it?

Power consumption is on the way down not up, there's no need for more than 600w in fact you could easily run that system on a corsair 520w

P182 is a great case I'd stick with it

In terms of being future proof, intel are changing the socket next year so all s775 boards will be made redundant.

[ArcAngel]

Thks for quick reply

Will go for 64 bit & Q6600 definitely then.

Can Yoyotech overclock the processor for me at build?

Budget for monitor is about £300, maybe a bit more. I hear Dell 2407WFP-HC is excellent but £430!

If chipset is changed could I theroetically get new mobo if I needed new processor and move the rest of the components across to it (I assume though this probably isnt cost effective as by this time these components will need changed too..)

Also, what is the best way to get my files across from my old PC (mainly music from Itunes, save games etc) I have an external HD, can I just copy across (is there an issue with purchased mp3s on Itunes with this ie it wont know its the same owner)

My current system (which was top end when I bought it) has lasted me a good length of time, so looking to do the same again.

Model : AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 3400+
Speed : 2.40GHz
ASUS Apollo K8T800
NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra

[rufeo]

don't worry too much about the 64bit issue, i was thinking the same thing as you not too long ago. but took the plunge and went for it about a month ago, added an extra 2gb ram so now have 4gb. no issues right, and vista runs a lot better now!

edit: if you like the dell 2407, then go for the 2408. its the newer version and about the same price, plus its better...

[staffsMike]

I would use something like an external drive yeah. You could network them and do it that way, it's not too hard if you havn't done it before.

Not sure on the iTunes issue but where theres a will there is a way

Chances are DDR2 will not be used once the socket is killed off. I don't think you will need to upgrade this PC for a long time though, there is huge amounts of power there

When you do though it will be a motherboard, cpu and RAM job though yes, no way around that with anything you buy at the moment I'm affraid. Well I say that, you could get a more expensive motherboard and DDR3 RAM now but you will only shoot yourself in the foot because

a) DDR3 is rediculously priced and offers no extra performance
b) the socket will still be dead on the motherboard.

[ArcAngel]

Thks for tips

Found answer re itunes on apple suppor site - can use ipod as an external drive. How to use your iPod to move your music to a new computer[/url]. How do I go about moving my Microsoft apps ie excel etc. Do I just reinstall?

Any advice on monitor or comments from others on rig?

[staffsMike]

Yeah reinstall them.

There are system migration tools around so that you "copy" one PC to another and in theory (must stress that) it just works as ever it did.

Nothing is better than a fresh install though as time consuming as it can be.

For £300 you are looking at a superior 22" screen or cheaper 24". There are some nice 24" ones knocking around for around £200 though. I won't mention other suppliers in yoyo's forum but check the bargain section here on hexus and the hardware section, that will help you make an informed decision

[YOYOtech - Ben]

Hi ArcAngel,

Plenty of good responses so i'll add my opinion too!

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1. Any comments/suggestions on the rig in general

Your system spec seems like a very well rounded system vith no bottlenecks that catch my eye.
As for CPU choice I would go for a Q6600 over a Q9300 purely because they offer more overclocking headroom with far less hassle! (As staffsMike said) The Q9300's require more refining with voltages and so on to get a decent overclock.
I love getting every penny out of CPU's!

2. Should I get 4 GB of Ram rather than 2? I realise I need a 64 bit OS to get the benefit of this but have read that there can be compatibility issues with some games and driver issues. If 64 bit OS is the future should I just bite the bullet now or wait a few years?

With Vista SP1 they have addressed this issue so that the maximum memory is 4Gb. Generally its not games or drivers that have 64bit issues so much as 3rd party applications. Most major software developers are no longer in denial that 64bit OS exists so they try to ensure compatibility, or even re-optimise for pure 64bit useage.

3. Will i be able to overclock the processer to improve performance in future if needed?

All of the current Intel range are excellent overclockers. With your heatsink and possible CPU combination you should get a good overclock.

4. I'll probably get a new monitor too. Was thinking of a 22". Any suggestions and does the size of screen impact the graphics card required?

Most 22" widescreen monitors run at 1680x1050 and of course to run games at max resolution with all the details turned to high having more graphics power is always recommended. The 9800GTX will offer you the best performance without going for SLI graphics or the GX2.

5. Is the PSU powerful enough for future upgrades or should I leave a bit more headroom?

The 9800GTX alone takes around 150-200W, and the next generation of nvidia cards is said to take up to 300W, so depending on how soon you want to upgrade maybe you should think about a better PSU? Since the higher watt Corsair PSU's are no longer modular have you had a look at the CoolerMaster ones?

6. Not sure whether to get a P182 or a Coolermaster Cosmos S case?

This is down to personal opinion really! I would definately go for the Cosmos S. Its a much nicer case to work with, has more room and looks absolutely AMAZING!

7. Can Yoyotech overclock the processor for me at build?

Yes we certainly can! Just give us a call and one of our team will talk you through the various options

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I hope this has helped!

B

[meansizzler]

P182 is a good case, 620W PSU is fine, you may need a P4 Power Extension cable if you want to route the power cables behind the mobo, which will make it a much neater solution, I use the Ninja Cooler, as it gives you the option of using your own 120MM fan, so you can built a near silent system..

Have a look at my P182 build which i done 8 months back, the parts are listed to..

silentpcreview.com | View topic - Silent P182 Setup, Hard to Beat!!!

Not sure how much heat the 9800GTX outputs, put the 8800GTX I installed gets very hot, so much so with stock cooling it hits 78 dle, 90+ load, plus the stock cooler was too loud for my ears, replaced it with a passive cooler and strapped a 120MM fan to it..

Like Ben said an 8800GTX or higher is needed for playing at 1680*1050 with max settings, pretty much most games out will give you great performance withthat card at that res, except crysis, which performs poor on whatever hardware your running it on, but if you want to save cash you can go with an 8800GT 512MB, compared to my overclocked GTX it's only marginably slower and you don't notice the difference half the time, Gears of War still plays the same at 1680*1050, Max Settings DX10, the card also uses less power and single slot design, for the price of the 9800 you can get probably two 8800 GT's in SLI which would be the best option and give better performance, at 620W PSU is more than enough, the GTX build I have in the link is running on a 500W PSU which has a replaced fan running at a slow speed, the 8800GT can even be used with a passive cooler eg.. Arctic Cooling S1..

CPU wise have heard the 9300 runs quite toasty,even though it's 45NM, still 95W, you may want to go for an E8200/8400 and overclock, the the TT Cooler you have should be able to deal with the heat from the Quad core..

OS Wise Vista 64 bit, every progam/Game I have tried runs great on it, even with the 4GB RAM..

For Memory go with the OCZ XTC PLatinum Revision 2, cheap as chips the Reaper ones has heatsinks which might obstruct the CPU cooler

If silence is not your thing then the res of your spec is fine, check my system if you want a really quiet build though, would still go for Enermax Liberty though as they have large heatsinks to cope with heat, and run fine at full load with a replacement fan, the loudest component in your build is probably the hard drive or GTX fan at full load..

On aside note my system is for sale.... well within your budget....

[staffsMike]

I wouldn't say you need a GTX to run 1680 x 1050 with all the eye candy. My system hasn't struggled to run a game yet bar crysis with pretty much all settings maxed out. Thats with the first gen 8800GTS

You certainly need them for 1920 x 1200 though, thats when most cards start to struggle.

[ArcAngel]

Thks for feedback guys. I'll be ordering:

COOLERMASTER COSMOS S

CORSAIR 620W

ABIT IP35 PRO (didnt have Asus P5k premium Wifi-AP)

INTEL Q6600

TUNIQ TOWER 120 CPU COOLER

OCZ REAPER 4GB 1066MHZ MEMORY

SAMSUNG 750GB SATA2 HDD

SAMSUNG 20X SATA DVDRW

BFG 9800GTX 512MB GRAPHIC CARD

CREATIVE X-FI XTREME GAMER CARD

NETGEAR 311T WIRELESS CARD


Few more questions Ben:

1. Are mean sizzlers comments correct re the reaper heatsinks?
2. How about a Coolermaster M850 PSU? Is that enough juice?
3. Should I be getting 4 x 1GB sticks of Ram
4. Any specific recommendations for a 22" monitor?
Like the look of the Asus MW221U 22 Inch or the Samsung SM-226CW 22"
5. Is the BFG 9800GTX an overclocked card? If not should I be getting one that is?
6. How far should I overclock the Q6600 (I dont want any stability issues as I'm new to all this

Thks

[staffsMike]

1. Yep his comments are correct
2. Coolermaster PSU's aren't great stick with the corsair
3. Nope 2x2GB, easier to overclock with and cheaper
4. Samsung, dell and LG is what I would go with, the ones with in built freeview are very nice.

5. Yep it is factory oc'd and not really it's simple to do yourself should you feel the need.

6. 3.2/3.4 is the sweet spot for speed/stability but they can go as high as 3.8 on air from what I have seen.

[ArcAngel]

1. Ok which memory would you get instead then?
2. Corsair 750W TX is the only one I can see that is more powerful?
3. See no.1
4. Think I'll get the Samsung
5 & 6. Ok thks

One other thing, is there any real difference between the ABIT IP35 PRO and Asus P5k premium Wifi-AP re future upgrades?

[staffsMike]

nope no difference between the boards apart from teh wifi of course.

They are both considered pretty much equal and best

The TX will lose you the modular connectors which with the P182 you really do want else it gets a bit annoying when you build. I've done 3 P182 builds, 2 with the corsair HX and one with my OCZ with fixed cables and it was very annoying I can tell you.

This would do for the RAM
Corsair 4GB Kit (2 x 2GB) PC2-6400 800MHZ DDR2 Memory

This has slightly lower latencies
OCZ 4GB KIT 2x2048MB DDR2 800MHZ PC2-6400 Platinum Edition Memory

But I doubt you would notice any difference, latency doesn't affect intel as much as AMD.

[ArcAngel]

I'm going for the Coolermaster Cosmos S case I've decided (In for a dollar, in for a dime...) and Yoyotech are going to build it for me (as I havent built before and is too much £ to be messing with on firs build)

Which PSU would you go for then?

Thks for ur help!

[staffsMike]

I'd still have the HX, 600W will be enough for anything in the future I'm sure. It's proven to run 8800GTX's in SLi. One 8800GTX is more power hungry than a 9800GTX so I really don't see a problem