Can I improve this rig?

PilotTait

PilotTait

PilotTait

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9 Nov 2006
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158
Location
Scotland
In a few weeks time (hmmm :rolleyes: Whens that pay day!) Id like to buy the following:

CPU - Intel Core 2 DUO Extreme Edition X6800 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.93GHz
GPU - BFG GeForce 8800 GTX 768MB GDDR3
RAM - GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC6400C4 800MHz Ultra Low Latency DDR2
Motherboard - EVGA nForce 680 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
PSU - Corsair HX 620W ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU
DVD-ROM - Sony DDU-1615 DVD-ROM
HDD: Western Digital Caviar RE 250GB 2500YS SATA-II 16MB Cache
Sound - Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Music
Case - Antec Nine Hundred Ultimate Gaming case

1) Will everything work ok?
2) Anything I should improve? (without adding TOOOO much extra cost...) Im thinking PSU...... will that one be ok?
3) Anything I NEED/SHOULD know before building my first rig? anti-static bla bla bla (I have one of those anti-statis bands... if there of any importance)
 
Maybe go for a PSU with more juice although people are saying the corair is very good. Seasonic, OCZ and tagan are all great ;). 700W would be better if your overclocking i would say ;). Umm also 8800GTX i would maybe go for a DX9 card as by the time you see games fully supporting DX10 chances are G80 and R600 will be out of date. Im jumping on the X1950pro bandwaggon my self ;). But if you got the money 8800GTX should be nice.
 
1) Everything should work fine as it is all compatible, however see number 2).

2) If you are going to be spending that much on a CPU why not go the extra £30 or so and get quad core (the QX6700 plus you will need a CPU cooler as it is OEM)? There isn't too much that is coded for quad core yet but it is a very fast CPU with brilliant performance even in single cored applications. The PSU will be fine, the other change I'd make though is to get a DVDRW, it will cost you abotu £10 extra but gives you so many more options.

3) Not really, PCs are pretty simple to build nowadays, if you can build a Lego model then you can build a PC. I've personally never bothered with an anti-static strap, I just earth myself by touching a radiator but there is no harm in them so if it makes you feel more comfortable then by all means wear one. The only other advice I can give is to take your time and remember most parts will simply slide in, if you need much pressure then check to make sure it is orientated the right way as there is very little that should require more than a gentle push. If you are unsure then just ask on here and someone should be able to help. :)
 
I would get a 6600 and get a different case/dvd rw.

The 6600 really isn't much slower, will overclock just as high on air and costs much much less.
 
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I'd go for the E6600 and clock it a little - the two chips will do virtually the same speed and anyway, CPU performance once you get that high doesn't translate into much improved user experience, you won't notice a +/- 200MHz ether way - short answer is that the X6800 is simply bad value, a waste of money.

As for the 8800GTX - same comments, it's a waste of money. Better to get a cheaper card today, that'll do everything just great today, then upgrade to a cheaper, better DX10 card in say 8-12 months time.

Those two savings will net a few hundred quid with which you can take a lady away to Paris for a weekend - so much better than marginal performance improvements on your PC!!!

Other than that looks great, although I'd go for more HDD capacity, maybe the WD RE2 5000YS. It's a cracking drive.
 
johnnyfive said:
why anyone buys the extreme top spec cpus I will never know. What a waste of money.
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whilst i would never by top end cpu's i can understand if people do because they want to keep their comp at stock or are not overclocking!
 
harris1986 said:
whilst i would never by top end cpu's i can understand if people do because they want to keep their comp at stock or are not overclocking!
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They numptys then as it would be totally safe to overclock to just the next model up, say 6700 to X6800.

the price difference between these 2 is crazy.
 
johnnyfive said:
They numptys then as it would be totally safe to overclock to just the next model up, say 6700 to X6800.

the price difference between these 2 is crazy.
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tbh you have a very narrow minded view on people, i'm guessing you are quite young? there are a lot of people who have bought c2d chips and kept them stock, whilst i personally would overclock as i don't want to turn down free performance it's still limiting the chips lifespan, i just don't need to worry because i upgrade quickly! people that buy high end cpu's and overclock are another different slice of fruit cake all together!
 
harris1986 said:
whilst i would never by top end cpu's i can understand if people do because they want to keep their comp at stock or are not overclocking!
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Whether overclocking or not top end hardware and especially top end CPU are extremely bad value for money typically offering 10-20% performance gain for 200-300% price increase - crazy!
 
I am in agreement with the others in here that have stated to get the E6600 instead of the X6800. Whether you want to keep it at stock or not the X6800 is truely awful value for money.

If you must spend that much on a cpu get the X6700 quad thingy instead.

I would also possibly save money now by going for a 8800GTS or ATI X1900XT, (read as a decent card that can handle pretty much any game maxed out at 1600x1200 without the price tag of the GTX).

Also unless you are going to run SLI then look at the Gigabyte DS3/4 pr ASUS P5B as a alternative to the 680i. Both will save you around £100. (and show no real noticable difference in performance.
 
Thanks for the replys guys,

semi-pro waster - Tempted to go for that CPU you suggested... I dont want to spend to much upgrading things like the CPU in the near future (about 2 years, i dont feel the need to keep upgrading, one upgrade like now will do for a few years :) ). Im guesing the quad will be really good for flight simulator? (running many seperate applications at the same time: the sim, sim weather, filght sim online connection tool, media player/music, firefox, messenger and a few others come into mind)

The only upgrading I can see doing in that time is say GFX and RAM, however, even then, Iv made my current card (6600) last for a LONG time.


You said not much is really coded for the quat yet. Any ideas when that'll start cominginto practice?
 
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lol yeah... but now quad core is coming on the scene i imagine they will focus on quad core which will aid to the duo core CPU's... and like i said, 2 years before id even think on upgrading another CPU so it will be in action then, right?
 
sweet system mate - personally i would get a e6700 or e6600 and just save a few quid because they will perform just as good - well very very nearly - up to you thou - either way totally awesome good luck
 
Thanks ;) .

Think ill go for the quad though. Might as well, only £30 more and will last longer (i hope!!!), and if not, well.... thats a little extra power that might come in handy later.
 
PilotTait said:
Thanks ;) .

Think ill go for the quad though. Might as well, only £30 more and will last longer (i hope!!!), and if not, well.... thats a little extra power that might come in handy later.
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In a properly multi threaded application it will be a lot of extra power
 
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