Check my spec

Vertigo · 12 Feb 2007 at 21:02

Looking at building a new machine for the gf. Needs to be able to run the latest games and last a few years before replacement. Will never be overclocked and stability is a major priority. She also doesn't need a monitor, speakers, keyboard or mouse as she's perfectly happy with the ones she has.

To this end, this is my proposed spec:

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600
Abit AB9 Pro
Geil 2GB (2 x 1GB) PC5300 Value DDR2
BFG GeForce 8800 GTS OC 320MB
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320MB SATA-II
Pioneer DVR-111BK
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Extreme Music OEM
Coolermaster Wave Master Black
Akasa Ultra Quiet 500W Paxpower Active PFC
MS Vista Home Premium 32-bit OEM

Items I'm currently unsure of are the motherboard and memory so I'd appreciate any advice on these or better options to go for. Cheers.

melbourne720 · 13 Feb 2007 at 09:21

CPU - good, although you could overclock the much-cheaper e4300 or e6300 to the same speeds for much less money. I'd go with the e4300.

Mobo - I'd go for the Asus P5N 650SLi, Asus P5B, Gb DS3/4 in that order.

RAM - go for the PC 6400 RAM.

GFX card - Perfect

HD - Samsung or Hitachi are better, make sure you get SATA 2 / SATA 3GB and a big cache.

DVD - perfect

Sound - on board should be sufficient, so save money here.

Case - I'd go for an Akasa Eclipse

PSU - Corsair, Seasonic, Enermax, in that Order. The Corsair 520W is the PSU de jour

OS - Perfect.

Hope that helps. Please let me know if you'd like me to elaborate on anything.

Stelly · 13 Feb 2007 at 09:36

Seagate HDDs are class mate... top notch... I wouldnt agree with melbourne720 about the HDD... sorry mate

Stelly

hardc0re_tid · 13 Feb 2007 at 09:39

stick with your choice of hdd, the seagate, i have the 250gb versions and they are quick

melbourne720 · 13 Feb 2007 at 10:09

Stelly said:
Seagate HDDs are class mate... top notch... I wouldnt agree with melbourne720 about the HDD... sorry mate

Stelly

Fair enough, you live you learn.

The rest of the spec would fit the needs of the OP though...

Vertigo · 13 Feb 2007 at 10:17

Cheers for the input. As I said, overclocking isn't an option so I figured the E6600 is the best bet.

Mobo-wise, what are the main benefits of the boards you suggest over the Abit one? Bear in mind there's no overclocking requirement here and I was under the impression that, if you're not after such overclocking features, all boards performed pretty much on a par so it's just a question of what other features you want.

Memory - I'm sure I read somewhere than the C2D systems don't benefit that much from faster RAM, is this the case or would PC6400 give a real benefit?

Sound - having seen the enormous benefit an X-Fi gave my system over on-board sound I'm inclined to go this way. The more expensive mobos seem to have full 7.1 on-board, how does this compare with a separate card like the X-Fi?

Case was just something I quite liked the look of tbh - I think it'd end up being a case (no pun intended) of what she prefers the looks of

PSU - noted, ta

melbourne720 · 13 Feb 2007 at 11:17

Vertigo1 said:
Cheers for the input. As I said, overclocking isn't an option so I figured the E6600 is the best bet.

Mobo-wise, what are the main benefits of the boards you suggest over the Abit one? Bear in mind there's no overclocking requirement here and I was under the impression that, if you're not after such overclocking features, all boards performed pretty much on a par so it's just a question of what other features you want.

It has all the same features and it is £10 cheaper?

Vertigo1 said:
Memory - I'm sure I read somewhere than the C2D systems don't benefit that much from faster RAM, is this the case or would PC6400 give a real benefit?

I think it is that the C2D systems don't benefit from tighter (faster) memory timings. AMD CPUs do but C2D work best with looser timings and faster memory speed.

Vertigo1 said:
Sound - having seen the enormous benefit an X-Fi gave my system over on-board sound I'm inclined to go this way. The more expensive mobos seem to have full 7.1 on-board, how does this compare with a separate card like the X-Fi?

Not really a sound expert, but I am perfectly happy with my onboard sound. It is HD (like on the 650 board) and goes through two boston acoustics speakers and a sub. Sounds really good. Up to you really.

Vertigo1 said:
Case was just something I quite liked the look of tbh - I think it'd end up being a case (no pun intended) of what she prefers the looks of

PSU - noted, ta

Fair enough, and pun excused