Pc to Mac , To Pc to Mac, finally decided on a Pc. Advice needed!

revolutionrock

revolutionrock

revolutionrock

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14 Apr 2008
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Hi

For months now i have been debating wether or not to buy a mac. As of one hour ago i am not. The money i would have spent(mac pro) is just too much for a 16 yr old. Another reason is the impending move to Nehalem, i can't justify spending so much on a Mac for it to be old tech in a year

For the cash needed , i can and will buy

  • High Spec Pc(Quad Core) & 27" Monitor
  • iPhone
  • Docks for iPod,iPhone
  • Trainers
  • Amp and Speakers for Pc.
  • And only need £200 to buy a 42" Lcd Tv
  • Xbox Live 12 months!

So anyway, on to the specs.

I have decided on

Q6600
Asus P5Q Pro P45 ( good overclocker? or am i better off elsewhere
6gb Ram
8800Gt
2 x 500gb Hdd
Antec Sonata case, maybe!



Then i am not sure which to go for from then, will i need a soundcard for the amp?

Which Psu? One with the Antec Case?

And finally , which cooling fan? or whatever is needed, i plan to Overclock to around 3.5ghz.

Quick replies if poss, want to get it ordered soon :)
 
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Asus motherboards are usually pretty dependable and one P45 based motherboard should be much like any other.

Why 6gb of Ram? I'd go with 8gb or 4gb if you are struggling for cash.

I'd change the graphics card to an ATI 4850 as it doesn't cost massively more (~£20) but is the better card.

Onboard sound is usually pretty decent, if your amp has optical in then it would be even better.

If you are going for the Sonata III the PSU will cope fine with that system.

If you are aiming for 3.5ghz then something like the Tuniq Tower or Noctua NH-U12P would be my suggestions. Be aware though that is a fairly hefty overclock - certainly do-able but you might not be lucky enough to get there.
 
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semi-pro waster said:
Asus motherboards are usually pretty dependable and one P45 based motherboard should be much like any other.
Ok

Why 6gb of Ram? I'd go with 8gb or 4gb if you are struggling for cash.
Ill stick with 4gb, see how it is.

I'd change the graphics card to an ATI 4850 as it doesn't cost massively more (~£20) but is the better card - unless of course Leopard has problems with ATI cards and then disregard this advice.
Erm , i don't think i will be doing the leopard thing tbh. may do though

Onboard sound is usually pretty decent, if your amp has optical in then it would be even better.
thanks


If you are going for the Sonata III the PSU will cope fine with that system.
Ok

If you are aiming for 3.5ghz then something like the Tuniq Tower or Noctua NH-U12P would be my suggestions. Be aware though that is a fairly hefty overclock - certainly do-able but you might not be lucky enough to get there.
:( Anything i can buy to improve its chances?
Click to expand...
 
I've edited out the OS query in case you want to remove it from your quoted post as well.

If you are going with 4gb then something like this Corsair kit would do although for the price you might just want to go straight for 8gb.

As for the overclock, if you have good Ram, a good cooler and a good motherboard then you've done about as much as you normally can to help it out, you then rely on having a good chip as well. It is is definitely possible to get 3.5-3.6ghz out of the Q6600 or even more but I'm just highlighting that you shouldn't think of it as guaranteed.
 
semi-pro waster said:
I've edited out the OS query in case you want to remove it from your quoted post as well.
Thanks.


If you are going with 4gb then something like this Corsair kit would do although for the price you might just want to go straight for 8gb.
Ill initially get 4gb

As for the overclock, if you have good Ram, a good cooler and a good motherboard then you've done about as much as you normally can to help it out, you then rely on having a good chip as well. It is is definitely possible to get 3.5-3.6ghz out of the Q6600 or even more but I'm just highlighting that you shouldn't think of it as guaranteed.
Of course.
Click to expand...
How is this then

Asus P5Q PRO P45 Socket 775 8 Channel Audio ATX Motherboard
£87

Tuniq Tower
£27

Antec Sonata III Piano Black Quiet Mid Tower Case - With 500W EarthWatts PSU
£70

Sony DRU-190S 20X DVD±RW
£17.79

Zotac 8800GT 512MB DDR3
£89.99

Samsung HD502IJ SpinPoint F1 500GB x 2
£84.58

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
£124.95

Corsair 4GB Kit (2x2GB) DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 XMS2 Memory Non-ECC
£54.99

Sub Total = £569.56
 
Yes, they are and by quite a bit but don't just take my word for it, have a look at the Anandtech review as one of the first I found although there are more. It is less noticeable at lower resolutions but for a 27" monitor you'll be wanting to play at as high a resolution as possible.
 
Right

Q6600
4gb Corsair Ram
500gb Hdd & 80gb Seagate
P5Q Asus Pro Board
ATI 4850
Case(Some cheap £20)
Arctic Power 600W PSU (£27)
Sony Dvd Rw
Arctic Cooling AC-FRZ-7P Freezer 7

Will the cooler be ok, and should i get some more Case fans?

Other than that is it all ok?
 
If you are getting this instead of a Mac then I'd suggest stumping up a bit of money for the case, £20 will not buy quality or style. The PSU isn't likely to be brilliant at that price either - why skimp on probably the single most important component?

The cooler will be fine for anything up to a moderate overclock ~3.2ghz at a guess, it may go further but it isn't one of the very best.
 
semi-pro waster said:
If you are getting this instead of a Mac then I'd suggest stumping up a bit of money for the case, £20 will not buy quality or style. The PSU isn't likely to be brilliant at that price either - why skimp on probably the single most important component?

The cooler will be fine for anything up to a moderate overclock ~3.2ghz at a guess, it may go further but it isn't one of the very best.
Click to expand...

Ye I know you get what you pay for, but i don't see the logic in spending so much cash on something which will sit under my desk!

The psu looks good? Is it bad?

Would you get some case fans?
 
skeeny said:
Ye I know you get what you pay for, but i don't see the logic in spending so much cash on something which will sit under my desk!

The psu looks good? Is it bad?

Would you get some case fans?
Click to expand...

I just guessed that if you wanted a Mac that looks had something to do with it but fair enough.

I don't know enough about the PSU to comment fairly but it is very cheap for a 600w - I'd expect to pay £50 or up.

It will depend on the case but a cheaper case probably won't have great airflow so yes I reckon it would be a good idea.
 
semi-pro waster said:
I just guessed that if you wanted a Mac that looks had something to do with it but fair enough.

I don't know enough about the PSU to comment fairly but it is very cheap for a 600w - I'd expect to pay £50 or up.

It will depend on the case but a cheaper case probably won't have great airflow so yes I reckon it would be a good idea.
Click to expand...

ok, thanks for the help. Ill do some digging on the Psu, then get it ordered.
 
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