New PC- Buy or Build?

j0n · 29 Apr 2008 at 10:57

Hi all,
Looking at getting a new pc, the only demanding use it would get would be playing games, I'd like to be able to play crysis and have it look nice.
Im capabale of building my own pc, have built whole systems before and my current pc is some kind of freak cobbled together from all sorts of junk. Selotape to stop the mobo shorting on the case!
I think id prefer a pre built as I had a nightmare trying to sort out a pc I built that wouldnt post. (I'd only get a pre built from ocuk, so this is basically a buy parts from ocuk or buy pc from ocuk issue) I dont have the patience to find the problem/test hardware, maybe I've only had problems because Ive had incompatible parts?

I have about £700 and I've been looking at the ocuk ultima systems. Assuming the OCUK systems cost about £100 extra then building my own would there be a big performance difference between a pc built by me for £700 or a £600 pc costing £700 from ocuk (assuming that the £100 would go toward better parts?
I wouldnt want to upgrade for a while but would like the option of doing so, I try to make my pcs last as long as possible!
Any reccomendations of build my own specs or ultimas would be greatly appreciated! I have mouse/kb and a 22inch widescreen lg monitor.

jon.

Chimerical · 29 Apr 2008 at 11:34

j0n · 29 Apr 2008 at 12:00

Cheers chimerical, that looks pretty tempting!
Does the retail cpu come with a cooler?

jonas123 · 29 Apr 2008 at 12:04

j0n said:
Cheers chimerical, that looks pretty tempting!
Does the retail cpu come with a cooler?

yes though it may be a little bit noisy

j0n · 29 Apr 2008 at 12:43

For 40 quid more I could squeeze in a GTX, would this make much difference over the GTS in terms of performance or how long it will go for before an upgrade is needed?
I dont have a soundcard either, just read about the p5k, I guess the onboard sound on mobos is pretty good nowadays?

Chimerical · 29 Apr 2008 at 13:17

For the Soundcard, I'd recommend the Asus Xonar DX; costs only £58.

If you're machine is purely for games, you could cut-out the Quad and opt for a cheaper 45nm/65nm Dual Core. A fast Dual Core is plenty good for games atm.

A GTX would be a sizeable difference over the GTS; but the gains are only really apparent at higher resolutions, i.e. 1920x1200.

However, the GTX at your 22" res would be amazing and allow you to bump up the AA in games.

The GTX simply offers more headroom.

j0n · 29 Apr 2008 at 13:24

Native for my monitor is 1680x 1050.
Id thought about dual core, read that in the short term it would be better than quad core, but I presume that quad core would let me go longer without upgrading, or do you think that by the time games take advantage of quad cores id still need a faster quad?
I've never played a game with AA switched on before, sounds good! Think GTX is the way then.

Chimerical · 29 Apr 2008 at 13:30

A Quad would be better for general everyday use I guess; although, if you are just intending to play games, only titles like Supreme Commander take full advantage of Quad's and Alan Wake is said to be properly multithreaded.

A faster 45nm Dual Core would be better overall, saving money on electricity bills, running cooler, etc. Personally, I'd go for the Q6600 though. Two extra cores can't hurt in my book.

j0n · 30 Apr 2008 at 08:39

Think I might order the above but with a gtx instead!
Does the retail cpu come with thermal paste or should I get some arctic silver (if thats still whats the best, been about 4 years since I bought some)

I know its never a good time to buy new components but is now a particularly bad time? I've read about new 3d cards coming in may june and potential drops in cpus?

thanks!

PhoenixUK · 1 May 2008 at 00:58

Switch the quad for something from wolfdale series:
Intel Core 2 Duo E8200 LGA775 'Wolfdale' 2.66GHz (1333FSB) - Retail Intel Core 2 Duo E8200 LGA775 'Wolfdale' 2.66GHz (1333FSB) - Retail

or the 8400 if you got few bucks extra.

Get different cooler if you want any reasonable OC.
And get C4 ram.

Apart from that, rest looks fine, GTX isnt a must, GTS is more than fine for pretty much any games atm.

Cutshaw · 1 May 2008 at 01:20

The retail hsf/fan will have thermal paste, but as far as I know the Arctic Silver is still the best, certainly the most commonly used.

The stock fan on the e8200 was much quieter than I thought it would be, but then I realised my motherboard was running it at low RPM. I chucked it up to 100% to check it out.. sweet mary, it sounds like a leaf blower.