Another 'rate my spec'...

Bamster

Bamster

Bamster

Associate
Joined
5 Dec 2006
Posts
24
Hi all.
Been sniffing around the OC site for a bit now, trying to compile my spec for purchase in March. Main tasks will be encoding (home enthusiast stuff) and some gaming, Crysis, Empire Total War etc etc.
Budget 'was' under £700, so I am hoping by March some of the prices will have dropped sufficiently to allow a case to be included rather than use my current battered Tsunami Dream.

spec.jpg



Few questions.

1. Would it just be wiser to go for the quadcore to futureproof (as much as I can anyway) the CPU?. I am tempted as I am hoping to do some encoding, but was worried that the quad core would falter in games over the dual core running faster (sorry If that is a totaly noobish thing to think?) :D

2. As one of my goals was to build a quiet PC, does everything on the list look hunkydory, no hidden noise-beasts in there?.

3. last one, does the above GFX and mobo setup look ok with regards to fitting it all in a case with no bending resistors etc?.

Dos the above look ok for a relativley high-end spec?.

Thanks in advance.

:)
 
Last edited:
If you are going to overclock the cpu then you will need PC2-8500 ram as the 6400 will soon run out of steam.

I would pay the extra for the P5Q Pro for it's better cooling and proper location of the 24 pin ATX plug.

I believe that the 640GB version of the F1 is faster due to them having 320GB platters. The Western Digital AAKS drives are just as good.

There is no way i would be paying £190 for a 4870 though. You can get 1GB versions for less than that. The bargain GTX 280 is out of stock now so that's not really an option.

Personally i see no reason to get a quad. Hardly any games make use of the extra cores so it's wasted. It would'nt be future proof anyway as core i7 is out now.
 
Thanks for the response.

I agree about the Quad, but as you say, with the i7 'allmost' available price wise, would the Dual Core be considerd 3 tech behind?.

As for the GFX card, my first pick was a 4850, but again as I wont really be upgrading for a few years after this one, it seemed more future-proof to opt for the slightly more expensive 4870. I'm up for suggestions, either ATI or Nvidia.

Thanks for the points on mobo and ram :D

EDIT - ok so changing the P5Q to the pro version, replacing the ram with 4GB of Crucial Ballistix (4x1GB) DDR2 PC2-8500C5, and going for the 4850: £772.69

Cheaper ;)
 
Last edited:
Ok had a slight revision on what I originaly specced:

  • HIS ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB GDDR5 - £164.99
  • Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 LGA775 'Wolfdale' 3.16GHz - Retail £139.99
  • Asus P5Q Pro - £91.99
  • Corsair HX 520W ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU - £69.99
  • G.Skill 4GB DDR2 PK PC2-8500C5 (2x2GB) CAS5 Dual Channel Kit - £66.99
  • Asus Xonar DX 7.1 PCI-Express Sound Card - £60.99
  • NZXT Hush Classic Series Silent Midi-Tower Case - Black (No PSU) £59.99
  • Western Digital Caviar Blue 640GB SATA-II 16MB Cache £42.99
  • Noctua NH-U12P CPU Cooler (Socket AM2/LGA775) £41.99
  • Sony NEC Optiarc AD-7201S 20x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer- OEM £15.99

Sub Total : £798.89
Total : £869.29


So a couple more questions...

- Does anyone have the NZXT Hush case?, I'm concerned about cooling when it comes to ocing the E8500. Desperate to build a quiet system.

- Does everything seem ok, no glaring errors? :D

Thanks
 
Hello Bamster, the specification you have done looks fine. However, I would personally make a few changes.

If you are looking at encoding then a quad core CPU would be a lot better. Even if the system was primary for gaming, I would still look at getting a quad core CPU such as the Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600. The Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale is indeed clocked around 600 MHz faster than the Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600. However, as you can see here the performance difference in games, both CPUs are pretty evenly matched despite the quad core CPU being clocked around 600MHz slower. In my opinion, the extra performance you get by having the E8500 doesn't warrant losing two extra cores.

Admittedly, not many games take advantage of more than 2 cores. However, if later on in the year a game does come out that does run significantly better on a quad core CPU then you are already one step ahead.

If you do decide to go for the Q6600, then PC2-6400 memory will take it all the way up to 3.6GHz without having to touch the memory. This is of course providing that you have a chip that can actually run at that speed, which is pretty much guaranteed and also providing temperatures don't come into play too much which will ultimately be the limiting factor. Though, I think it's safe to say that you will be able to at least hit around the 3.4GHz mark.

If you are looking at getting the ATI Radeon 4870 then I would highly suggest going for the 1024MB variant since they are priced fairly similar and you would get a performance boost if you were to go for the 1024MB variant as you can see here. It will also help with future games. Alternatively, you could go for the NVIDIA Geforce GTX 260 Core 216 such as this one here. Take a look at this review here that compares both the ATI Radeon 4870 1024MB and the NVIDIA Geforce GTX 260 Core 216 with each other.

The case you have chosen should be absolutely fine. Though, I would highly recommend the Lian-Li PC-7B PLUS II Aluminium Midi-Tower Case , fantastic build quality and great airflow.

Regarding the CPU cooler you have chosen. The Noctua NH-U12P is a fantastic CPU cooler and will cool either a quad core or a dual core very well, I actually have one myself. However, I would actually look at spending a little more and going for the Thermalright TRUE Black 120 CPU Cooler which is highly regarded and one of the best air coolers you can purchase as you can see here which is selling at a reasonable price. It doesn't come with a fan so you will need to buy one separately and one that is highly recommended is the Noctua NF-P12 .

I have just done a specification for you to give you an alternative which you may be interested in. :)

Specification-28.jpg
 
Last edited:
Hi Fire Wizard, thanks for the input.

I have revised my spec:

  • Zotac GeForce GTX 260 "Maxcore" 896MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) (£212.74)
  • Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 "Energy Efficient SLACR 95W Edition" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) (£163.29)
  • Asus P5Q Pro Intel P45 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard (£105.79)
  • Corsair HX 520W ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU (£80.49)
  • Western Digital Caviar Blue 640GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (£56.34)
  • Thermalright TRUE Black 120 CPU Cooler (Socket AM2/LGA775) (£40.24)
  • Corsair 4GB DDR2 XMS2 PC2-6400C5 TwinX (2x2GB) (£39.09)
  • Noctua NF-P12 Vortex-Control 120mm Quiet Case Fan - 3 Pin (£14.94)
  • Asus Xonar DX 7.1 PCI-Express Sound Card (90-YAA060-1UAN00Z) (£70.14)
  • Lian-Li PC-7B PLUS II Aluminium Midi-Tower Case - Black (No PSU) (£68.99)
  • Pioneer DVR-216BK 20x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) (£19.54)

Total : £871.57



I decided to go for the quad after much reading and advice, over the Dual Core, seemed a better long-term solution.

I had worries about the change in CPU cooler to the one you suggested, but as I can stick a Noctua 120mm fan on it, it should be silent, the reviews suggest this is the case.

As I will be buying this at the end of march I am hoping some prices will come down by then ;)

Many thanks for your input.

EDIT forget to mention my resolution: 22" V7 widescreen @ 1680 x 1050
 
Last edited:
Id say unless youre into sound editing then theres no need to buy the separate sound card, the onboard sound with most mobo's will more than meet most peoples needs, save the money and put it towards other components. As I say unless you do actually use sound editing software
 
95thrifles said:
Id say unless youre into sound editing then theres no need to buy the separate sound card, the onboard sound with most mobo's will more than meet most peoples needs, save the money and put it towards other components. As I say unless you do actually use sound editing software
Click to expand...


Hi.
No I don't do sound editing, and probably never will, I just assumed I would need a spanky card to get the most from future DX10 games.

Ok I've got £70 to spend :D

Cheers for the heads up, much appreciated.
 
maz1989 said:
is that a good quality card though? never heard of the make :confused:
Click to expand...

Hi maz1989, all of the graphics cards are made in the same factory so they are all exactly the same. The only difference is the sticker you get on the actual graphics card, the accessories and software bundle and the warranty. :)

95thrifles said:
Id say unless youre into sound editing then theres no need to buy the separate sound card, the onboard sound with most mobo's will more than meet most peoples needs, save the money and put it towards other components. As I say unless you do actually use sound editing software
Click to expand...

I would also actually agree with what 95thrifles has just said. If you do decide to get rid of the soundcard, then it may be worth getting a slightly higher wattage power supply unit such as this one here. :)
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom