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Advice on Components and Building
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He_Man
Senior Member
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17. November 2007 @ 12:35 |
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Hello there, after lots of communication with people on here, i have decided to build a pc for under £900.
Here are my specifications that i intend to use (missing the PSU, Fan, Case, Cables)
Processor -
Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 2.66GHz S775 (was maybe going quad)
£113.41 (according to Afterdawn)
Motherboard -
XFX S775 nForce 680i SLI ATX A L
http://www.dabs.com/ProductView.aspx?Qui...11022&InMerch=1
£132.92
RAM (Memory) -
Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 PC2-8500C5 1066MHz Dual Channel Kit
£88.11
Graphics -
BFG GeForce 8800 GT OC 512MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail
About £180.00
Hard Drive -
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 500GB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (ST3500320AS)
£72.84
Optical Drive -
Pioneer DVR-112DBK 18x18 DVD±RW IDE Dual Layer ReWriter - (Black) OEM
£17.61
What should i change or add(advice on PSU, Case preferbale) to get better performance for my buck?
Total without changes(or PSU, Case, Cables) - £604.89
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 17. November 2007 @ 13:06
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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17. November 2007 @ 14:23 |
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This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 17. November 2007 @ 14:26
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He_Man
Senior Member
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17. November 2007 @ 14:33 |
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520W PSU be ok for my system? (even if it does look the best and has awards :P)
So far, my build will be
Intel Core 2 Duo E6750, S775, 2.66 GHz, 1333MHz FSB, Conroe Core, 4MB Cache, Retail
£114.67
XFX MB-N680-ISH NF680i SLI, S 775, PCI-E (x16), DDR2 533/667/800, SATA II, SATA RAID, ATX
£128.06
2GB (2x1GB) Corsair TwinX DDR2 XMS2 Dominator, PC2-8500 (1066), 240 Pin, Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 5
£92.65
8800 GT BFG
£181.98
500 GB Seagate ST3500320AS Barracuda 7200.11, SATA II, 7200 rpm, 32MB Cache, 8.5 ms, NCQ
£78.48
Pioneer DVR-112DBK 18x DVD±R, 10x DVD±DL, DVD+RW x8/-RW x6, IDE, Black, OEM
£17.03
520W Corsair HX Series Modular PSU, ATX, EPS12V, whisper quiet, 5 year warranty
£63.32
Total = £676.19
That is without a case, looking good so far to me.
Would any of you change the RAM or Motherboard to an Asus P5K64?
http://scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=615969
or is the XFX better in performance?
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 17. November 2007 @ 14:39
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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17. November 2007 @ 14:46 |
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Me and my friend's PCs use at least as much power as that PC you've spec'ed there. They draw about 250W from the mains at full load, meaning barely more than 210W on the DC side. It stands to reason that the power supply fan on Nick's PC (he also has the Corsair 520W) doesn't ever go above minimum speed (700rpm of a possible 2000).
I've not really kept up with the P5K series of boards, so I wouldn't know what they are like, many people swear by them. I use this board, and love it.
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductIn...roductID=605377
There is a version with two PCIe 16x slots available, but I don't know whether you can run SLI on it. Not that I think SLi is worth bothering with anyway...
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He_Man
Senior Member
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17. November 2007 @ 14:52 |
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That Gigabyte GA P35C-DS3R board is compatible with all my components so added to the list!
I will trust you with this as you have not guided me wrong at any stage.
Just RAM selection left and then i will analyse the case :)
New total = £620.03
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 17. November 2007 @ 14:55
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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17. November 2007 @ 14:59 |
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He_Man
Senior Member
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17. November 2007 @ 15:30 |
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added in!
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He_Man
Senior Member
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17. November 2007 @ 16:40 |
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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17. November 2007 @ 16:51 |
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It uses an outdated chipset, it's an older design than the motherboard I linked you to, and it's over £30 more.
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He_Man
Senior Member
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17. November 2007 @ 18:47 |
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Okay, so if it does come to it i can get my 2.66ghz core 2 duo to 3ghz with the same ram, mobo as you. :)
Now i just gotta find a case that is spacious and will fit all my components in nicely,
http://www.trustedreviews.com/peripheral...-Gaming-Case/p1
Seems good, but one thing that has troubled me, see the front 2 usb ports on that? How does one get that connected to the mobo at the back of the case? (also have to contend with psu at the bottom of case)
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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17. November 2007 @ 19:07 |
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That reviewer is a bit of an idiot, if I'm honest
Quote:
Not only does it look great, but the 200mm case fan instantly gave an impression of quality.
Funny how the 360mm fan XClio cases are awful.
Quote:
The 200mm fan is pretty impressive, and runs amazingly quietly ? even at its highest setting. I was a little disappointed at how little air it pushed though - I really was expecting it to push a lot more.
It's loud, and it pushes bucketloads of air...
That review aside though, the 900 is a well cooled case, assumign you have a magnetic screwdriver to hand (Or it's a whole day's job installing the hard disks)
As for the front USB ports, they are attached to a cable inside the case that runs to a header on your motherboard, a set of pins located at the bottom right of the board, as you look inside the case.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 17. November 2007 @ 19:07
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He_Man
Senior Member
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17. November 2007 @ 19:25 |
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Ah got it, thanks!
It looks the best so far but i will keep my eyes open for others. Something that caught my attention was that big ass Zalman Z-Machine GT1000. Worth the money?
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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17. November 2007 @ 19:30 |
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In short, no. While it may be well made, there is nothing that makes it stand out from other cases, and from a cooling standpoint, it's not really very good.
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He_Man
Senior Member
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17. November 2007 @ 19:43 |
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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17. November 2007 @ 19:48 |
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Yathink? Now it starts to become clear why we build our own PCs. For one thing it's much cheaper, and second, assuming it all goes to plan, it's enjoyable. Besides, your PC has that personal feel to it knowing that you built it, or at least configured it.
If I'm honest, with that games bundle that Commodore PC really isn't bad valuew for money as prebuilt systems go. That is however, considering the £150 discount at Play. it wouldn't be worth bothering with otherwise.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 17. November 2007 @ 19:50
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He_Man
Senior Member
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18. November 2007 @ 08:20 |
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My current system,
Intel Core 2 Duo E6750, S775, 2.66 GHz, 1333MHz FSB, Conroe Core, 4MB Cache, Retail
£114.67
Gigabyte GA P35C-DS3R, iP35 Express, S 775, PCI-Ex16, DDR2/3 1066/1333/800, SATA II, SATA RAID, ATX
£71.90
2GB (2x1GB) Corsair TwinX XMS2, DDR2 PC2-6400 (800), 240 Pins, Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 4-4-4-12
£53.64
8800 GT Overlocked by BFG
£181.98
500 GB Seagate ST3500320AS Barracuda 7200.11, SATA II, 7200 rpm, 32MB Cache, 8.5 ms, NCQ
£78.48
Pioneer DVR-112DBK 18x DVD±R, 10x DVD±DL, DVD+RW x8/-RW x6, IDE, Black, OEM
£17.03
520W Corsair HX Series Modular PSU, ATX, EPS12V, whisper quiet, 5 year warranty
£63.32
Antec Nine Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case
£72.84
Total = £653.86
Anything i can make better for maybe the same price?
I will go upto a max of £800
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REAM
Suspended permanently
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18. November 2007 @ 11:13 |
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personally, scan have screwed me over before, so i have stuck with www.overclockers.co.uk, for a long time, and they have been perfect.
I sugest this:
or you could drop the psu and case for an antec sonata III w/500W eathwatts PSU (which are very good) for £80
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 18. November 2007 @ 11:14
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He_Man
Senior Member
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18. November 2007 @ 11:18 |
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This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 18. November 2007 @ 11:25
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REAM
Suspended permanently
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18. November 2007 @ 11:20 |
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the sonata III, no way, that is a very good psu (albeit, not gonna be super pindrop silent)
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REAM
Suspended permanently
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18. November 2007 @ 11:23 |
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oh, and you could save a few bob by going to the HD 3870 which is only a little off the 8800GT, for £20 less. with those savings you could get a tuniq tower to cool the cpu, for a better OC.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 18. November 2007 @ 11:24
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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18. November 2007 @ 12:11 |
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Personally, I don't think you need the BFG overclocked version of the 8800GT since you can overclock it yourself. However, since you'll only save £5 going with any other brand, you may as well stick with it.
REAM: Overclockers have screwed us over several times before (on one occasion taking 40 days to deliver something, and when the stuff arrived, all of it was broken - before you say it was the courier's fault, it got delivered about 10 different times because OcUK messed up the addresses) I've not had any issues with Scan yet, and I've placed numerous orders with them.
Whilst the Antec Earthwatts PSUs are alright, the Corsair HX selected before is far better.
With regard to the HD3870, it's cheaper, and in my opinion it's a better card (yes it's slightly slower, but it supports Directx10.1, and the image quality it produces is better than anything I've seen) but you may have to wait a while before you can get one. Not so different from the 8800GT in that respect though I suppose...
Don't bother with a Tuniq tower for the CPU. If you want to do it right, get one of these
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductIn...roductID=679599
Just remember to add your own 120mm fan!
Personally, I recommend using http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductIn...roductID=679599
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He_Man
Senior Member
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18. November 2007 @ 12:14 |
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Ah, so much stuff to take into consideration
sammorris, that is the same link for both products(sorry to be annoying) :P
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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18. November 2007 @ 12:16 |
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He_Man
Senior Member
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18. November 2007 @ 12:21 |
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Cheers, defo got the cpu heatsink and fan sorted!(not to mention my rooms minus temperatures :P)
^ Living in Scotland has it's advantages. :)
Tommorow, i will write up a finalised component guide(sectioned off for cooling stuff etc)
See that fan you linked me to, can i put one on the CPU heatsink but also as a case fan? (as the Antec case has a few optional fan places)
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 18. November 2007 @ 12:22
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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18. November 2007 @ 12:25 |
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Yes you can. I use a White LED version of that fan for my CPU, but I use the exact fan I listed you as my front and my rear case fan currently.
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