Another £1500 gaming PC spec-me-up

[DJsean]

I noticed PinkPig has pretty much asked this question in an earlier thread. I don't want to overclock at all - I just want out-of-the-box performance AND stabillity. As I have this difference I didn't want to muscle in on Pinkie's thread and get asking for my own changes.

I must also stress that I want the following included to come within budget

Shopping Cart (Prices in British Pounds) REFERENCE DESCRIPTION QUANTITY PRICE COST REMOVE
SW-022-MS Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64 Edition inc. SP2 - OEM (SW-022-MS)
£83.95 £83.95
Subtotal £83.95
VAT £14.70
Total £98.65

I need it ALL - Rig, monitor (larger than 19" if poss), Speakers, mouse and k/board.

Happy speccing!!

 

[DJsean]

I just thought the most up-to-date OS may be the best choice but I'm open to suggestions if people think otherwise. I have no plan to put this PC on a network so if I was not going XP 64-bit would you suggest XP home?

 

[DJsean]

Is the power supply in the Sonata powerful enough for all that hardware? Also, is the 4400 worth the considerably higher price tag over the 3800? I know the 1Mb L2 cache would be nice and higher native clock speeds but I'm thinking of getting the Philips 200W6CS 20" Widescreen LCD Monitor - A few more £'s and would consider the CPU as a worthy sacrifice to fund the change. Will I, as a non OC-er, notice much difference in games/multi-tasking between the RAM you spec and some lower latency GSkill etc? Also, is the MSI Crossfire board solid enough for my needs? If I had to pick between the Asus and MSI would there be a massively clear outright winner?

And......... Nice to see you again semi-pro. I've not been on here for a LONG time and I'm really rusty on what's what - your input is always appreciated.

 

[DJsean]

Right then,

Taken on board the comments you have all made and come up with the following. I know I'm about £30 over with delivery but what the hell

Shopping Cart (Prices in British Pounds) REFERENCE DESCRIPTION QUANTITY PRICE COST REMOVE
CP-134-AM AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 3800+ (Socket 939) - Retail (ADA3800BVBOX) (CP-134-AM)
£184.95 £184.95
MB-066-MS MSI RD480 Neo2 Crossfire (Socket 939) PCI-Express Motherboard (MB-066-MS)
£64.95 £64.95
CD-026-NE NEC ND4551 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM (CD-026-NE)
£28.70 £28.70
CA-005-HP Hiper HPU-4K580-MK Type R 580W Modular ATX2.2 PSU - Black UV (CA-005-HP)
£51.95 £51.95
SP-050-CL Creative I-Trigue 2.1 3400 Speakers - Retail (SP-050-CL)
£48.10 £48.10
GX-112-SP Sapphire ATI Radeon X1900 XT 512MB GDDR3 AVIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-112-SP)
£309.95 £309.95
KB-060-LG Logitech MX518 Gaming-Grade Optical Mouse (KB-060-LG)
£27.95 £27.95
KB-001-SL SpeedLink Ultra SL-6466 Flat Illuminated Metal Keyboard (KB-001-SL)
£29.95 £29.95
OS-001-MS Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition inc. SP2 - OEM (OS-001-MS)
£52.95 £52.95
MO-003-BE Belinea 102035W 20.1" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Black/Silver (MO-003-BE)
£279.95 £279.95
CA-005-AK Akasa Eclipse-62 Aluminum Case (CA-005-AK)
£69.95 £69.95
FG-008-AK Akasa AK174CB-4BLB 120mm Blue LED Fan (FG-008-AK)
£7.95 £15.90
MY-009-GS G.Skill 2GB DDR HS PC3200 (2x1GB) CAS2.5 Dual Channel Kit (F1-3200USU2-2GBHS) (MY-007-GS)
£124.95 £124.95
Subtotal £1,290.20
VAT £225.79
Total £1,515.99

Opinions/improvements most welcome

 

[DJsean]

I have a feeling I may change the keyboard to the Logitech Ultra-X but not too sure yet. That may well be the one and only thing the missus gets to pick

 

[DJsean]

I was the proud owner of the Neo2 Platinum board a fair while back til I separated from my wife and she took the rig. I loved it but having said that I've never really tested it to its limits.

I found a few peeps on here that have said nice things about it and not seen ANYBODY with a dud one. As for the Asus there are a few horror stories on here with certain RAM types - didn't wanna have a nice pretty box that wouldn't do anything due to dodgy mobo.

I'm up for changing pretty much all of what I've proposed tho except Windows XP Home and the Belinea TFT. So keep the suggestions coming. Currently looking at the possibillity of buying through my dads business so I can get the VAT off so spec may rocket in the next day or so. I'm not pressing the "Proceed to checkout" button til maybe Saturday so there's still time to rip all my hair out again before then if anybody else tempts me with "better" this and "more stable" that.....

 

[DJsean]

OK.... Here goes!!!

Shopping Cart (Prices in British Pounds) REFERENCE DESCRIPTION QUANTITY PRICE COST REMOVE
CP-134-AM AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 3800+ (Socket 939) - Retail (ADA3800BVBOX) (CP-134-AM)
£184.95 £184.95
KB-060-LG Logitech MX518 Gaming-Grade Optical Mouse (KB-060-LG)
£27.95 £27.95
OS-001-MS Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition inc. SP2 - OEM (OS-001-MS)
£50.95 £50.95
KB-000-SL SpeedLink Ultra SL-6465 Flat Metal Keyboard (KB-000-SL)
£19.95 £19.95
GX-046-CO Connect3D ATI Radeon X1900 XT-X 512MB GDDR3 AVIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (3055) (GX-046-CO)
£329.95 £329.95
HD-088-MD Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 10 NCQ 250GB 6V250F0 SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD-088-MD)
£59.95 £59.95
HD-000-MI Mitsumi FA 404M 7in1 USB 2.0 Floppy & Media Drive - Silver (HD-000-MI)
£13.95 £13.95
MB-066-MS MSI RD480 Neo2 Crossfire (Socket 939) PCI-Express Motherboard (MB-066-MS)
£64.95 £64.95
CD-028-NE NEC ND4551 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter (Silver) - OEM (CD-028-NE)
£28.70 £28.70
CA-008-TG Tagan TG530-U15 530W ATX2.01 Easycon SLi Compliant Modular Silent PSU (CA-008-TG)
£59.95 £59.95
MO-015-PH Philips 200W6CS 20" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Silver (MO-015-PH)
£299.95 £299.95
MY-009-GS G.Skill 2GB DDR HS PC3200 (2x1GB) CAS2.5 Dual Channel Kit (F1-3200USU2-2GBHS) (MY-007-GS)
£124.95 £124.95
Subtotal £1,266.15
Shipping (City Link Parcel Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri)) £12.95
VAT £223.85
Total £1,502.95

How's that little lot look?

I have to admit I also bought the I-Trigue 3400 speakers, Antec P160W case and Akasa amber 120mm fan from another etailer

TOTAL = £1640 (Oopsie )

Opinions greatly appreciated although if I realise I could have had a LOT better for the dough...... LOL