PC Upgrading Discussion

[Mehmet Arikan]

the official site announce this, the limit is the result of 939 socket mobo
GIGABYTE - Support - Motherboard - CPU Support List - GA-K8N Ultra-9
you are welcome Andrew, how i see you got good support from friendly ppl around here :wink:

 

[Damian Henderson]

Processor: Have to say i'm leaning towards E8400 or E8500 as Mehmet indicated. Looks like perforamance today is simialr to 6700 but at less cost. I realise there is some risk on going 2core rather than 4 but the basis is upgrading and i sunk a lot of money in the past on future proofing only to find that i took to long to take advantage. Haven't completely made up my mind but i'm close.


Processor: E8500 and Q9450 seem to be equivilent performers today with the 8500 cheaper.

Any of those will be perfect, if you wanted to be more future proof go with quad but as it stands 2 cores is plenty right now, but for future proof go with a Q9450.

Further questions i now have
Whats the difference between the Q6's and Q9's?
What's GO?

Q6's are 65nm and use 8mb L2 cache, the Q9's are 45nm and have either 12mb cache or 6mb cache, the Q9's use less power and less heat too.

Go is the stepping, that's the best stepping for Q6's.

My musings based on todays research:
Graphics Card: 4870 512MB - AUD330ish - is there any justification for 1GB at AUD100 more?

I would go for the GTX260 myself, but if you got the 4870 go with the 1gb version as games are starting to use more memory and with the extra memory you can use more AA, better for higher resolutions etc.

Motherboard: 2x PCI-e 16s (for future GPU expansion), DDR2 is fine - gotta say the motherboard variances are confusing at this stage - so any additional key criteria anyone can add i'd apprecaite.

A P45 or X48 chipset motherboard would be perfect.

 

[Cam Wedgwood]

So do you reckon if you phone companies up you can get a better deal

Or would it be just smaller companies who you could barter with

Yes, I think that by calling after building and saving the system on the Scorptec site it is possible to get a better deal.

So what is your system? Went with the package or did you get weak at the options list?

Went with the package Andrew... (Whilst the knees were still shaking) I'm not game enough to build it myself so paid the extra $$ and I am having it built. That and freight have hurt the most.

Here is what I went for:

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 (3.16Ghz/6MB/1333FSB/EMT64/XD/Dual Core)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS4P P45+ICH10R, DDR2 1200, 1600 MHz FSB, PCI-E 2.0, SATAII, RAID, GbE LAN, 1394a, 8Ch Audio, TPM, ATX

Memory: A-Data 4GB Kit (2x2GB) PC6400 800mhz DDR2 RAM

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD4870 512MB GDDR5, PCI Express 2.0, Dual DVI, TV OUT, HDTV, CrossfireX

Hard Disk: Seagate ST3500320AS Baracuda 7200.11 500GB 7200rpm Serial ATAII 32mb Cache, NCQ, Perpendicular Recording

Optical Drive: Pioneer DVR-216BK 20x Dual/Single Unbranded Black OEM - SATA

Case: Cooler Master RC-690-KKN1 CM690 ATX Case, Black, NO PSU

Power Supply: Corsair CMPSU-620HX 620W ATX Power Supply, 120mm fan, Dual PCI-E Graphics Card Connector, 8 SATA Connectors, Universal AC input 90~264V

System Assembly: Full Parts Assembly and Testing for 7 - 11 Components with software installation

Operating System: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64bit DVD OEM with Service Pack 1

$1500 AUD plus build plus freight

I'm not into overclocking etc so I just wanted a fast processor that will run my current games a lot better than my dying, current pc will. It also has enough grunt for some future titles I am sure.

Edit (update): Ordered yesterday, paid direct deposit at 3:55 pm. All parts except for the case are now available (have been watching the hourly updates and the parts being ticked off the online list all day!) and all is being processed really quickly. A big +1 for these guys!

 

[Andrew Dawes]

Thanks Cam. I'd be quite happy with your spec. Its the same level i'm looking at more or less.

Oh an to clarify my previous statement - scorptech is signficantly cheaper than DigitalStar on a quick like for like test. Scorptech are more expensive on individual parts than so of the other online stores but the ease of which you can spec a system impressed me so i will likely go with them.

Thanks so much for your help everyone. :thumb: You've really set me on the right path. I've got some things to think over and i'll do a fair bit more research on the technical aspects based on what you've provided and see what pops out the other end. This is probably going to take a couple of weeks i'm guessing.

 

[Abdul Al-Amry]

[Central Topic] PC Upgrading Discussion

Hi Guys,

I have been simming using my laptop connected to a 24" Dell monitor. So far all settings on low and manage to enjoy gaming. I am soon gonna(2 weeks max) have around £700-£800. Is building my own pc for gaming in that price range....possible? Or anyone recommends online shops selling gaming machine at reasonable price? If its to build a pc can you please guide me to the components required to buy and sites to buy them.

Your help will really be appreciated. Thanks in advance

Abdul

Build Progress:

Items received...

OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 1000Mhz/PC2-8000 PLATINUM Memory Unbuffered CL5 DUAL CHANNEL - £57.24

Thermaltake Soprano VB1000BNS Black Mid-Tower Case - £38.96

LG GH22LP20 22x Internal IDE DVDRW Lightscribe Drive - £15.99

Corsair 650W TX Series PSU - 120mm Fan, 80+% Efficiency, Single +12V Rail - £69.99

Arctic Cooling AC-FRZ-7P Freezer 7 Pro Socket 775 Processor Cooler - £15.76

XFX 8800GS 348mb x 2 in SLI mode - £100.

ASUS P5N-T Deluxe AiLifestyle Series nForce 780i SLI - £147.99

Western Digital WD3200AAKS 320GB SATAII - £38.15

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 G0 Stepping (2.4GHz 1066MHz) - £157.16

Free

Total Price So far: £641+FreeWin7 = £641. I am well within my budget of £700.

On the mark with the budget once I purchase Vista. Cant wait for the CPU to arrive so I can start building this hopefully over the weekend if Ebuyer ships the item tomorrow(22/01/09).


I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you. I wouldn't have gone ahead with this if it wasn't for your input and guidance.


Final Build

 

[David Mansfield]

You can build a descent pc for that money, specially if you already have the monitor.

what country do you live in?

If UK, i buy a lot of perfomance components from overclocker.co.uk
other shops i use that are realiable are;
ebuyer.com
novatech.co.uk
dabs.com
have a look around them

I have built a lot of pc's in my time, and 1 thing i will say is i am less likely ever to bother again, and now just buy one with a good spec as building it you can run into enexpected problems with compatibility.

novatech.co.uk sell some nice models, at a glance the Executer Pro looks ideal for just over £700. well worth looking into.


hope this helps.

 

[Abdul Al-Amry]

David, I am in UK m8, I have heard of the sites you mentioned, but never heard of the Executive Pro in Novatech. I am very tempted now to purchase Executive Pro or even squeeze it to Energiser Pro if Mrs permits. My prefered choice would be to buy a pc that is ready for gaming. Thanks alot David for your quick response.

I have been looking at Dell XPS 630 but prices are too steep.

 

[David Mansfield]

Glad i could help.

Have bought a lot of Dells for work CAD pc's, they are not always that good even tho they look it on spec.

Energiser Pro looks like a beast!

Never bought a pc from novatech but know people who have and are happy with it, i am deffinatly aiming to buy all future games pc's from there.

 

[Abdul Al-Amry]

David, thanks once again. Just been to overclockers and have these two links of gaming pc. Which one would you prefer or think is better? Your opinion really has helped me today.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-071-OK

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-074-OK

 

[David Mansfield]

They are VERY very similar, some minor differences that make no difference so only difference is graphics cards.

the GTX one is technically faster but i wouldnt know how much of a difference it would make, so GTX i guess is the best option as they are the same price.

 

[Simon Trendell]

I vote the opposite and would always build my own PC's from now on.
I built mine back in Jan for £620 from ebuyer. For 700 now you could build something awesome.
I'm sure there are loads of people who would help build your own

Edit: Oh, two basic tips for now
CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo/Quad
Graphics - ATI 4XXX Series

 

[Mike Simian]

You might want to wait a little while, the next gen intel chips are on the way very soon, that means that there should be some price drops on the way for the current generation. also overclockers is a nice site I buy everything from there and have no problems at all, and when things go wrong they have a good old fashioned phone number and real people to chat to, and they have sent me out replacement components almost instantly in the past. never tryed one of their in house build pcs but im sure they build them better than me lol
mine always endup with a mess of cables everywhere, but thats half the fun, after building one myself i would never buy a ready to go one again. (its not that hard either honestly, i was surprised how easy...just ask google to help you

 

[David Mansfield]

guess its all down to personal experiences, ive had good and seriously BAD experiences with overclockers. I have had lots of good products delivered promptly and have worked.

Then theres the 2nd hand motherboard they decided to send me, that had lots of cables missing along with someone elses notes on their installation that went wrong due to it being broke, yet ocuk wouldnt give me a new one without a serious fuss... issed-off: anyway thats for another time.
If someone says intel are about to cut prices i would always listen, as its usually good information and the price do seriously drop sometimes.

oh, PS i would go against simon and always go NVidia not ATI, but thats just personal preference, you will find people arguing both sides of the ATI/NVIDIA war there so the choice is YOURS!!! :laugh2:

If you want to build your own i will give you advice, but i still sway towards buying the unit built, and only installed with windows.

 

[Damian Henderson]

David, thanks once again. Just been to overclockers and have these two links of gaming pc. Which one would you prefer or think is better? Your opinion really has helped me today.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-071-OK

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-074-OK

I would build your own PC if I was you, you can get more for your money, and while allot of people have no problem with overclockers I've had a couple of my friends buy a full build from them to have failures with certain parts of hardware.



I am just coming up with a list of stuff for you to take a look at from ebuyer, give me 5 minutes.

 

[Simon Trendell]

oh, PS i would go against simon and always go NVidia not ATI, but thats just personal preference, you will find people arguing both sides of the ATI/NVIDIA war there so the choice is YOURS!!! :laugh2:

That's a nV fanboy side there, I just go for price vs performance and right now ATI is leading that, back in Jan Nvidia were leading with the 8800GT hence why I have one.

 

[David Mansfield]

That's a nV fanboy side there

hell yeah :dance2: lol, i love every NVidia card i ever had, only bought 1 ATi card for my dads pc and hated every minute of it. Mind you still not happy with NVidia taking out all the dual monitor menus from VISTA so i may buy a ATI next and send a photo of me hugging the ATI box to NVidia headquaters to make them cry.

can you tell its a friday and im loosing the plot! :eat: i just want to go home and play GTR Evo!

 

[Mike Simian]

can you tell its a friday and im loosing the plot! :eat: i just want to go home and play GTR Evo!

Lol me 2

 

[Damian Henderson]

Asus P5Q SE/R P45 mobo:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/150283
£75

Intel C2D E8400 (3.0GHz)
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/139971
£126

Samsung F1 1TB HDD:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/143288
£75

2gb OCZ Platinum XTC DDR2 800MHz (LIFETIME WARRANTY)
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/116755
£29

LG Electronics Blu-Ray & HD-DVD-Rom
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/139985
£67

Corsair 650W TX Series PSU:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/135514
£65

EVGA GTX260
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/147801
£210

or
Powercooler 4870 1GB
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/148105
£209

Thermaltake Soprano VB1000BNS Black Mid-Tower Case
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/101931#
£45

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

All that comes to around £660 and is allot better build then those 2 overclockers rigs for gaming.

So what you can do is add the worlds best single most powerfull graphics card in the GTX280 and that will bump the price up to £700-£800 :good: Unless you wanted a monitor that is in that case get the GTX260 or 4870 1GB and something like this monitor: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/151387

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/148367

That's one hell of a gaming rig right there, will play all of today's games on max settings no problem and will last quite some time :good:

Also , one thing to take note is, that very soon all UK prices will go up 15%-25% in all of the stores as the pound as got weaker compared to the dollar recently so I would order soon before those prices rise.

Hope this helps.

Edit:

Hardrive added.

 

[Abdul Al-Amry]

David, Mike, Simon, Damian, you have no idea how much I have learned today. I have been terrified to build my own pc thinking it will cost me more than buying a ready made pc. David, I'll venture into building one based on Damian links. It is these links and info that I wasnt aware and scared to ask until now. I can have a proper convo now with mates when it comes to internals of computers LOL.

Glad I asked. Thanks all

 

[David Mansfield]

No problem, you know now that any problems and you can ask and you wont be short of answers from people!!! lol