advice on spec

ginandmilk · 20 May 2008 at 12:55

I posted a couple weeks ago and got some help deciding on a spec, done a bit more reading and have come up with this:

Asus P5K
Q6600 Energy Efficient 2.40GHz
OCZ 2GB (2x1GB) PC2-8500C5 1066MHz Reaper HPC x 2
Gainward 8800 GT 1024MB
Freezer 7 Pro CPU Cooler
Antec Nine Hundred Case
Vista Premium 64bit

Looking to spend around £700 for a new gaming system so that spec takes me up to budget but I've got a couple questions:

- Better to go for a 512mb 8800GTX or a 1gb 8800GT? They are pretty much the same price.
- Is that OCZ RAM the best bet?

Any help would be much appreciated.

mp260767 · 20 May 2008 at 13:06

i'd swap the ram for pc6400, ocz/corsair/geil/gskill all are pretty good

.

what size monitor are you using ? under 22" get the GT, over 22" get the GTX.

ginandmilk · 20 May 2008 at 13:08

would the 6400 make much difference?

using 21" so GT it is!

thanks for the help

EVILCOSMOS · 20 May 2008 at 13:13

8800GT 512MB should have enough memory, the extra on the 1 GB version is not really needed.

martian_aphid · 20 May 2008 at 13:17

the 6400 won't make much difference its just you dont really need 1066 ram unless you are going to be uber overclocking that q6600, which it doesnt look like with a freezer 7. if you can get it to 3400/3600 you will have done well and can run the ram sychronously.

i'd also check on the price of that gainward 1gb gt. it performs on par with a gts and if you are only using a 21" monitor the extra memory is nice but 512 should cope fine for that size monitor and will save you a bit of money

oops EVILCOSMOS beat me to it but I echo his sentiments

Guardsmon · 20 May 2008 at 13:20

ginandmilk said:
Looking to spend around £700 for a new gaming system so that spec takes me up to budget but I've got a couple questions:

- Better to go for a 512mb 8800GTX or a 1gb 8800GT? They are pretty much the same price.
- Is that OCZ RAM the best bet?

I'm assuming you mean the 768mb 8800GTX rather than the 512mb 8800GTS or 9800GTX?
But anyway, i'd either get a 512mb 8800GT for cheaper or get a 8800GTX. (the extra 512mb ram isn't going to make the 8800GT better than the 8800GTX)

As for the ram: no, its just cheaper - but unless you are planning on overclocking that CPU to high heaven. which you won't be with that cooler, you aren't going to need PC8500

Don't forget your PSU its one of the more important parts of your system, if you get the wrong one, you could be replacing your system sooner than you had hoped.

Guardsmon · 20 May 2008 at 13:21

got beat by both of you - due to writing too much

martian_aphid · 20 May 2008 at 13:26

My mate just ordered his 512 GT this morning for less than £100, so you could save upto £50 on the gainward card.

ginandmilk · 20 May 2008 at 13:56

I was planning on spending £700 anyway, would it be worth putting that £50 I'd save on a 512 8800GT in to a better cpu?

martian_aphid · 20 May 2008 at 14:00

i suppose you mean a q9xxx? i wouldn't bother, the q6600 is good and will become better when quads are utililsed by applications. A q9300 has less cache and the q9450 doesnt increase performance enough to justify the extra £100. If anything put the extra into a better HSF - the noctua has a really quiet fan and performs very well.

Guardsmon · 20 May 2008 at 14:42

you could put the money into buying a better motherboard and cpu cooler, or save the money and spend it in the future on games or another upgrade or my favorite - down the pub.

lunarwolf · 20 May 2008 at 14:43

martian_aphid said:
i suppose you mean a q9xxx? i wouldn't bother, the q6600 is good and will become better when quads are utililsed by applications. A q9300 has less cache and the q9450 doesnt increase performance enough to justify the extra £100. If anything put the extra into a better HSF - the noctua has a really quiet fan and performs very well.

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