Hi
Its been a while since I last upgraded (2002/3 ish I think), I have spent the last month or so reading reviews/forums to see what's what in current hardware,
I am planning an upgrade the next 3 months (not got a specific date in mind or in a rush), would like something that will last me a good few years, and leave plenty of headroom to swap/change as things progress.
I think I will keep my current rig as it is (i.e. no cannibalising, spec listed below), for its age it still runs pretty well and can manage 4-5 FPS in supreme commander with 1 AI (Don’t laugh!), this is after the new patch - was 2-3 FPS before!. Other games run ok with details adjusted.
This should be ok to replace the video recorder although I might look to get a little bit of a quieter fan/psu as its noticeable.
Old System:
CPU--------------------------: Pentium 4 - 2.53GHZ (19 X multiplier, 533 FSB)
Heatsink/Fan--------------: Zalman CNPS7700-CU Ultra-Quiet CPU Cooler
Motherboard---------------: ASUS P4P 800M
Memory---------------------: 1024MB (2 x 512MB Corsair XMS 3200 - CAS 2)
Power Supply-------------: Noise Taker 431 Watts
Graphics--------------------: Hercules Radeon 9800Pro 128mb,
TV Cards--------------------: 2 x Blackgold GDI Freeview Cards
Monitor----------------------: Sony 19" Multiscan 400PS
Hard Disks-----------------: Western digital 120GB IDE - 8mb buffer (primary)
---------------------------------: Samsung 120GB IDE - 8mb buffer (secondary)
Soundcard-----------------: Creative Labs SoundBlaster Audigy Player
DVD--------------------------: NEC DVD R & CDRW
CD/RW----------------------: Liteon CDRW
OP Sys---------------------: Windows Media Centre Edition 2005
New System:
As stated then I will need pretty much everything, though I might stagger the purchasing of this to make it more affordable (just in the process of buying my first house!)
What I would like to start with is a good Case, PSU, Motherboard, Ram, Hard Disk(s), CPU (+ cooler), GPU combination. The rest is detail I guess and most things would be reasonably ok (talking about DVD/CDRW, soundcard, speakers etc).
Budget, not 100% sure about, depends somewhat on the perceived value of the kit - whether or not the price/performance is worth stretching to.
I would say I am thinking in the region of £700 (includes all the main bits - the speakers/soundcards/DVD etc I could use some from old PC for a short while. I will get a new LCD at a later stage) but could stretch more if required/worth it.
My main PC use is - games (Simulations/RTS & FPS occasionally), internet, organisation (word/excel/outlook etc), movies etc. Pretty general usage really.
Overclocking would be nice to get extra out of it but nothing too extreme as I don’t want to burn it out!
I would also like the PC to be fairly quiet if at all possible as my current one is noticeably windy (in movies), though I know it’s a balance with performance/cooling.
OS is likely to remain XP, though I will likely move to Vista in a year or so (when its more supported).
My main thoughts are:
Case -
been looking at the Akasa Mirage 62 Aluminium Case - No PSU - CA-017-AK - £98.69
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-017-AK&groupid=701&catid=7&subcat=
Thoughts on this/reviews? Is it ok for the near future (2 years)? Are the fans noisy? Does it come with everything I need as the base? (i.e. all fans/wires/cables/connectors included etc) or do I need to add anything to it - don’t want to buy it to realise I haven't got everything I need!
Any other cases I should consider?
(Think I will go for a black look PC this time around rather than metal/aluminium)
CPU -
Most likely the CPU will be an Intel, based on what I currently have read on performance and I would like the quad core ideally (am thinking about the price reductions in July) the Q6600 is my favourite at the moment:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-143-IN&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=793
Currently £346.61, from what I read after July these may be in the region of £150ish?
Any comments on this in relation to other stuff available (duo's)? Is there a large power consumption/heat gap between them? Any disadvantages to this chip?
CPU cooler. Should I stick with stock? Or an aftermarket jobby? (if so which are good ones?)
I think the Q6600 defaults at 2.4Ghz, would be nice to reach 3Ghz, is this feasible on stock cooler or even an aftermarket one?
Motherboard -
This I think will likely be:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-221-AS
Asus P5N-E SLi nForce 650 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard MB-221-AS £82.24
Is this a reasonable board for Quads/Duo's? is the rest of it up to the job - GPU slots, mem slots, hard disk connectors etc?
Good clocker? Well supported?
Any down sides to this board?
Ram -
DDR2 I need I assume? Would like 2GB
Am a bit stuck here as there seems to be so many variants
Am I right in thinking that you choose between either a high bandwidth one or a low latency type RAM?
And what do the numbers mean? I see such as 4200, 5300, 6400, 8500 etc and also CAS 5-5-5-15 or 4-4-4-14 etc (I assume these are the bandwidth/latency figures?)
What would be a good pairing with CPU and motherboard mentioned above (with expectation of clocking somewhat)
Hard Disk(s) -
Will likely go for a SATA2 400-500GB one, will see what's on offer when I buy
Probably will add another later on
Does a SATA disk get recognised when you boot in an XP disk? Or do you have to load additional drivers?
GPU -
As I see it there are 2 choices, NVIDIA (either GTS (320 or 640) or GTX) and ATI 2900 (actually that seems to be 4 choices!)
I understand that GTS and 2900 are about on a par with each other, how much faster is the GTX in % terms (20-30% quicker?)
And what kind of connectors at the back should I look for? I believe everything has moved on from the old VGA adaptors these days? Is it HDMI?
How noisy are these types of card? Anything new in the pipeline worth holding out for?
LCD -
Would appreciate some recs if possible.
Thinking of a 20+ inch screen, maybe £300 budget, must be good for games/movies.
Not sure about widescreen or not - do games adjust well to widescreen?
Do they scale well - I think I read that resolutions are fixed on these and if you move away from the default then the image isn't as good?
PSU -
Would like recommendations also here please, one which is quiet and will power the above with no problems
Do PSU's still suffer from certain voltages not being at spec? i.e. the 12v bit coming in at 11.9v etc?
Are some brands better than others - i.e. worth paying more for to get the reliability?
Thanks for reading this far, sorry for all the Q's its just I have not built a PC for 3-4 years and a lot seems to have happened and its easiest to find out answers from people who already use the kit.
If anyone could spec me some kit based on my above thoughts and also provide pointers on my questions to help me understand more what needs to be considered I would much appreciate it.
Looking forward to any replies
Thanks - Neill
Its been a while since I last upgraded (2002/3 ish I think), I have spent the last month or so reading reviews/forums to see what's what in current hardware,
I am planning an upgrade the next 3 months (not got a specific date in mind or in a rush), would like something that will last me a good few years, and leave plenty of headroom to swap/change as things progress.
I think I will keep my current rig as it is (i.e. no cannibalising, spec listed below), for its age it still runs pretty well and can manage 4-5 FPS in supreme commander with 1 AI (Don’t laugh!), this is after the new patch - was 2-3 FPS before!. Other games run ok with details adjusted.
This should be ok to replace the video recorder although I might look to get a little bit of a quieter fan/psu as its noticeable.
Old System:
CPU--------------------------: Pentium 4 - 2.53GHZ (19 X multiplier, 533 FSB)
Heatsink/Fan--------------: Zalman CNPS7700-CU Ultra-Quiet CPU Cooler
Motherboard---------------: ASUS P4P 800M
Memory---------------------: 1024MB (2 x 512MB Corsair XMS 3200 - CAS 2)
Power Supply-------------: Noise Taker 431 Watts
Graphics--------------------: Hercules Radeon 9800Pro 128mb,
TV Cards--------------------: 2 x Blackgold GDI Freeview Cards
Monitor----------------------: Sony 19" Multiscan 400PS
Hard Disks-----------------: Western digital 120GB IDE - 8mb buffer (primary)
---------------------------------: Samsung 120GB IDE - 8mb buffer (secondary)
Soundcard-----------------: Creative Labs SoundBlaster Audigy Player
DVD--------------------------: NEC DVD R & CDRW
CD/RW----------------------: Liteon CDRW
OP Sys---------------------: Windows Media Centre Edition 2005
New System:
As stated then I will need pretty much everything, though I might stagger the purchasing of this to make it more affordable (just in the process of buying my first house!)
What I would like to start with is a good Case, PSU, Motherboard, Ram, Hard Disk(s), CPU (+ cooler), GPU combination. The rest is detail I guess and most things would be reasonably ok (talking about DVD/CDRW, soundcard, speakers etc).
Budget, not 100% sure about, depends somewhat on the perceived value of the kit - whether or not the price/performance is worth stretching to.
I would say I am thinking in the region of £700 (includes all the main bits - the speakers/soundcards/DVD etc I could use some from old PC for a short while. I will get a new LCD at a later stage) but could stretch more if required/worth it.
My main PC use is - games (Simulations/RTS & FPS occasionally), internet, organisation (word/excel/outlook etc), movies etc. Pretty general usage really.
Overclocking would be nice to get extra out of it but nothing too extreme as I don’t want to burn it out!
I would also like the PC to be fairly quiet if at all possible as my current one is noticeably windy (in movies), though I know it’s a balance with performance/cooling.
OS is likely to remain XP, though I will likely move to Vista in a year or so (when its more supported).
My main thoughts are:
Case -
been looking at the Akasa Mirage 62 Aluminium Case - No PSU - CA-017-AK - £98.69
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-017-AK&groupid=701&catid=7&subcat=
Thoughts on this/reviews? Is it ok for the near future (2 years)? Are the fans noisy? Does it come with everything I need as the base? (i.e. all fans/wires/cables/connectors included etc) or do I need to add anything to it - don’t want to buy it to realise I haven't got everything I need!
Any other cases I should consider?
(Think I will go for a black look PC this time around rather than metal/aluminium)
CPU -
Most likely the CPU will be an Intel, based on what I currently have read on performance and I would like the quad core ideally (am thinking about the price reductions in July) the Q6600 is my favourite at the moment:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-143-IN&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=793
Currently £346.61, from what I read after July these may be in the region of £150ish?
Any comments on this in relation to other stuff available (duo's)? Is there a large power consumption/heat gap between them? Any disadvantages to this chip?
CPU cooler. Should I stick with stock? Or an aftermarket jobby? (if so which are good ones?)
I think the Q6600 defaults at 2.4Ghz, would be nice to reach 3Ghz, is this feasible on stock cooler or even an aftermarket one?
Motherboard -
This I think will likely be:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-221-AS
Asus P5N-E SLi nForce 650 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard MB-221-AS £82.24
Is this a reasonable board for Quads/Duo's? is the rest of it up to the job - GPU slots, mem slots, hard disk connectors etc?
Good clocker? Well supported?
Any down sides to this board?
Ram -
DDR2 I need I assume? Would like 2GB
Am a bit stuck here as there seems to be so many variants
Am I right in thinking that you choose between either a high bandwidth one or a low latency type RAM?
And what do the numbers mean? I see such as 4200, 5300, 6400, 8500 etc and also CAS 5-5-5-15 or 4-4-4-14 etc (I assume these are the bandwidth/latency figures?)
What would be a good pairing with CPU and motherboard mentioned above (with expectation of clocking somewhat)
Hard Disk(s) -
Will likely go for a SATA2 400-500GB one, will see what's on offer when I buy
Probably will add another later on
Does a SATA disk get recognised when you boot in an XP disk? Or do you have to load additional drivers?
GPU -
As I see it there are 2 choices, NVIDIA (either GTS (320 or 640) or GTX) and ATI 2900 (actually that seems to be 4 choices!)
I understand that GTS and 2900 are about on a par with each other, how much faster is the GTX in % terms (20-30% quicker?)
And what kind of connectors at the back should I look for? I believe everything has moved on from the old VGA adaptors these days? Is it HDMI?
How noisy are these types of card? Anything new in the pipeline worth holding out for?
LCD -
Would appreciate some recs if possible.
Thinking of a 20+ inch screen, maybe £300 budget, must be good for games/movies.
Not sure about widescreen or not - do games adjust well to widescreen?
Do they scale well - I think I read that resolutions are fixed on these and if you move away from the default then the image isn't as good?
PSU -
Would like recommendations also here please, one which is quiet and will power the above with no problems
Do PSU's still suffer from certain voltages not being at spec? i.e. the 12v bit coming in at 11.9v etc?
Are some brands better than others - i.e. worth paying more for to get the reliability?
Thanks for reading this far, sorry for all the Q's its just I have not built a PC for 3-4 years and a lot seems to have happened and its easiest to find out answers from people who already use the kit.
If anyone could spec me some kit based on my above thoughts and also provide pointers on my questions to help me understand more what needs to be considered I would much appreciate it.
Looking forward to any replies
Thanks - Neill
