+/- £1k for gaming rig, spec help plz

One option could be get the rest of the system now and get a temp PCIE card (assuming you don't already have one) to last a few months until the 9x00 series comes out (apparently late feb /march time is when they are rumored for).

If you DO need to play games then a 8800 GT could be ok for now, then sell that and swap it for the 9 series. I am running the GTS 320MB at the moment and able to run COD 4, HL2 Episode 2, the latest Tomb Raider and more at 1920x1200. (with low AA granted, but not needed IMHO at that res so much, but I do have AF enabled at max).

The monitor scales well so if I do happen to have problems with a game I could always put it to 1680x1050 or the like. I was going to get a upgrade from the 320MB, but figured I may as well wait for the 9 series now.
 
I've just bought a 8800GT to last me until the high end 9800 cards are out. Only costs £165 and can run everything bar Crysis very well. I can use it for a few months then get sell it on for at least £100.
 
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id get that tbh, with the outlook of the new 3870x2 or crossfiring the one u have there

the sound on that mobo is brilliant and if your on vista 64 its a lot better than xfi as there is no driver problems (presuming 64 with the 4gb of ram)
 
cheers guys that's been a lot of help :) cash is now in the bank so will want to order today. Anyone have experience of the inboard sound on abit pro? Leaning towards that with temp 8800gt?
 
Guys i think i have decided for sure on the OcUK 24" monitor, with that in mind and the fact i will end up playing most games at 1900x1200 would the GT cut it? i am not too fussed about mad amounts of AA or AF as i have never actually tried using it anyway.

Torn between the GT, the GTX from ocuk and the GTS card as that seems to be doing extremely well in benchmarks.

Also is the tuniq tower 120 a good heatsink or is there a better one in stock? and what would currently be the best memory to buy for 4gig if ordering today with a view to overclocking a q6600.

also the asus pk5 mobo or the abit p35 pro?

Coolermaster PSU or the Corsair?

Finally is onboard sound definately decent or should i really be looking at a seperate card.
 
jubei said:
Guys i think i have decided for sure on the OcUK 24" monitor, with that in mind and the fact i will end up playing most games at 1900x1200 would the GT cut it? i am not too fussed about mad amounts of AA or AF as i have never actually tried using it anyway.

Torn between the GT, the GTX from ocuk and the GTS card as that seems to be doing extremely well in benchmarks.

Also is the tuniq tower 120 a good heatsink or is there a better one in stock? and what would currently be the best memory to buy for 4gig if ordering today with a view to overclocking a q6600.

also the asus pk5 mobo or the abit p35 pro?

Coolermaster PSU or the Corsair?

Finally is onboard sound definately decent or should i really be looking at a seperate card.
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I don't see the point in a GTX if you're not gonna bother with AA/AF. GTS should handle that resolution just as well.

For the PSU - I would go with Corsair HX520. It seems to be the most popular and everyone raves about it.

RAM - any brand make will be good, there really just is no difference. This might change when the memory controller becomes on-chip in the new quads but for now its uncessary and it's dirt cheap so just go with 2xOCZ 2gb for £45

Motherboard - P5K or Abit IP35 Pro? not a clue this is the exact same problem I have which I haven't had an answer to.
 
Thanks man, will the 520 cut it for a 9800 when they come out though? was looking at the 620 crosair vs the 700 coolermaster.

Might use AA and AF if they look a lot better and my card can handle it, but depends on resolution i play at which in turn depends on whether i get an OcUK 24" monitor or the samsung 226BW monitor i guess.
 
jubei said:
Thanks man, will the 520 cut it for a 9800 when they come out though? was looking at the 620 crosair vs the 700 coolermaster.

Might use AA and AF if they look a lot better and my card can handle it, but depends on resolution i play at which in turn depends on whether i get an OcUK 24" monitor or the samsung 226BW monitor i guess.
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Get the 620 then if you prefer.

If you're thinking of using AA and AF consider this:

Even in games that hammer the card hard with AA and AF on, the difference between the GTX and GTS is not staggering. E.g. Crysis. Full AA/AF on and you get 5-8fps more at 1600x1200. Games that don't hammer the card, you're getting 100+fps with the GTX and 80+ with the GTS. Does it make a difference? I doubt you'll notice it, but the GTX is only £30 more so it's really a toss up. That's just my opinion.

Don't get the 226BW - the 2232BW is the updated version so if you're considering this one you might as well go for that.

By the way, I popped into a well known PC retailer today and took a look at the Samsung 2232BW in person, and I wasn't impressed in the slightest. Text was fuzzy and image quality was poor. Now granted they were a bunch of monkeys that didn't even know how to get a demo started for me to look at and they probably didn't have the settings right on it. But if that's how it is default before you play around with it, well it's pitiful. And not a single one of the 22" was any better.

The only 22" I liked was the Hewlett Packard one, I didnt get a model for it, but it had vibrant colours and an overall slightly better display imho. BUT again, this could have been because the screen wasn't setup properly on the other models, they just looked dull and faded/washed out.
 
a few points

stock cpu cooler = pants and very noisy & it doesnt fit very well
HDD = change for a spinpoint drive or one with 32mb cache :)
Tuniq tower = overkill, get the arctic freezer pro on offer for 11 quid atm :)
Ram= either go for the cheaper geil which is about £28 for 2 x 1gb sticks or go for the ocuk pc8500 2 x 1gb pack :)
mobo: get one that is futureproof so ddr2 and ddr3 ready :)
 
kaktus said:
but there doesn't seem to be any performance gain to having it.
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not yet anyway. :)

but anyway my personal oppinion is get a futureproof board, its like getting a dx10 card if all you play is dx9 games, because sure enough you will find a dx10 game in 2 months time that you want and then you will slap yourself :)
 
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