Another gamer spec check please!

Nelson15 · 9 Aug 2006 at 21:18

# Intel Core 2 DUO E6300 "LGA775 Allendale" 1.86GHz (1066FSB) - OEM (CP-135-IN) £112.95
# Asrock ConroeXFire-eSATA2 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard (MB-003-AK) £53.95
# G.Skill 2GB DDR2 NR PC2-6400 (2x1GB) CAS5 Dual Channel Kit (F2-6400PHU2-2GBNR) (MY-014-GS) £106.95
# Connect3D ATI Radeon X1800 XT 256MB GDDR3 AVIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-044-CO) £126.95
# Samsung SH-D162 DVD-ROM (Black) - OEM (CD-002-SA) £11.50
# Samsung SH-W163 16x16 DVD±RW Serial ATA Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) (CD-076-SA) £23.95
# Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro CPU Cooler (Socket 775) (HS-017-AR) £14.95
# Antec NSK4400 Mini Tower Case - 380W SmartPower PSU (CA-052-AN) £43.95
# Samsung SpinPoint P SP2504C 250GB SATA-II 8MB Cache - OEM (HD-018-SA) £42.50
#Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition inc. SP2 - OEM - 1Pk (N09-01528) (OS-001-MS) £51.95

Total - £589.60
vat - £103.18
Total - £692.78

Are there any issues with this compatibility? It's a wee bitty over my budget, would like to scale down to as close to £600 as possible. Any suggestions on how to do this, without mega comprimise?

Any suggestions for a first timer would be a help!

John

MattJones2k6 · 9 Aug 2006 at 21:19

Are you planning to overclock?

Because if so, that board is no good.

Nelson15 · 9 Aug 2006 at 21:41

No, I wasn't. I was plainning on upgrading the board a few months down the line once things have started to settle down a little!

easyrider · 9 Aug 2006 at 21:44

Nelson15 said:
No, I wasn't. I was plainning on upgrading the board a few months down the line once things have started to settle down a little!

Thats an OK stop gap mobo but for 40 quid more you could get A DS3 that will allow higher overclocks.

But if not overclocking it will be fine.

MattJones2k6 · 9 Aug 2006 at 21:44

Can i ask why you have DVD-ROM and a DVDRW

Nelson15 · 9 Aug 2006 at 21:51

Cos it's quite handy copying from one disc to another, without loading to the HD first. Its only like £15, why not!

MattJones2k6 · 9 Aug 2006 at 21:55

kk lol i don't copy many cd's

Nelson15 · 9 Aug 2006 at 21:56

The rest of the spec seem all right though? Would you change anything?

John

Naffa · 9 Aug 2006 at 21:58

Forgive me if I'm being blind.. But it looks to me like you intend to use the Antec 380W Smart Power PSU that comes with your case? :confused:

One word I can say is "don't". Buy an S12 500W or a Liberty 500W. You need a decent PSU.. Especially with a rig like that.

Nelson15 · 9 Aug 2006 at 22:04

Eek!

Getting expensive like. Where should I cut back?

Naffa · 9 Aug 2006 at 22:22

If you can stretch another £45 then go for the S12 430W. But if not then I don't know.

HangTime · 10 Aug 2006 at 00:53

Definitely ditch the DVD-ROM if money is that tight.

There's not really anywhere else you can cut back, since you already have the worst Conroe chip and a fairly basic case/psu. You could maybe look at dropping to 1gig RAM but you would be crippling the system slightly by doing so.

My advice would be save up for a while longer, and invest a bit extra in a decent motherboard and PSU, and then look at overclocking. That will give you a much better rig in the long run.