Final spec check before purchase:

Swi1ch

Swi1ch

Swi1ch

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Joined
19 Nov 2008
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Last minute concerns:

Is there ANYTHING possibly missing?
Will I need Heat-Sink Compound with the Noctua?
Is that Windows Vista the full product (IE Vista + SP1, not just SP1)
Will that motherboard + RAM be fine for pushing the Q9550 to at least 3Ghz?
Pre-Overclock, do you reckon this setup will be ok for Crysis? What about other games?

I think that's about it. Do you reckon if I order today i'll get it by Tuesday?
 
No idea bout delivery mate. The cooler will come with thermal paste pre-applied but if you want some more its only a couple quid. Yes that is the full Vista + SP1. Its pot luck whether you will reach 3Ghz but there is a good chance you will. That rig should run pretty much every game like a dream mate. Have you already got SATA cables?
 
Pretty good spec there :)

You really should get some artic MX-2 thermal compound (its like £5 but loads better than the stuff that heatsink companys give away)

Id also get 8gig of ram (as its like £40 more and the max you'll ever need) and probably ditch the Y splitter unless you need something like 25 molex connectors (the average 600+ psu ahve at least 8 if not 16).

Vista will be Vista + SP1 :)

Should be pretty much the best thing for crysis (i mean I7 could help a little but is still well expensive) and eat every other game :D

Urm last time i ordered on a sunday night i got it Tuesday as you should be early on the picking que on monday morning so new years mass gaming should be fine :)

Enjoy!
 
goujon945 said:
No idea bout delivery mate. The cooler will come with thermal paste pre-applied but if you want some more its only a couple quid. Yes that is the full Vista + SP1. Its pot luck whether you will reach 3Ghz but there is a good chance you will. That rig should run pretty much every game like a dream mate. Have you already got SATA cables?
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BAH! I need SATA cables? I don't have any (Coming from IDE HDDs that are 10 years old) I thought the DVDRW and HD I spec'd would come with them?

Pretty good spec there

You really should get some artic MX-2 thermal compound (its like £5 but loads better than the stuff that heatsink companys give away)

Id also get 8gig of ram (as its like £40 more and the max you'll ever need) and probably ditch the Y splitter unless you need something like 25 molex connectors (the average 600+ psu ahve at least 8 if not 16).

Vista will be Vista + SP1

Should be pretty much the best thing for crysis (i mean I7 could help a little but is still well expensive) and eat every other game

Urm last time i ordered on a sunday night i got it Tuesday as you should be early on the picking que on monday morning so new years mass gaming should be fine

Enjoy!
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I had an i7 rig spec'd but the difference between £1250 and £1600 is big, specially as my dad is loaning me half the money and I could do with new sound card/speakers etc later in the year.

I'm considering some silver thermal grease, but tbh I would rather reduce the amount of faffing about I will have to do, and seeing as I won't clock past 3Ghz, I don't know if it's worth potential CPU Overheat Death.

As for ram, I could probably push another £40. Reckon 8GB of my spec'd RAM or 4GB of something faster like the Dominator?
 
I know i'm bumping, but I'm hopefully gonna order in the next hour or so:

SATA Cables, do I need to buy them separately with this spec?
 
personally i'd drop the gfx card to the 4870 or the "newer" 260 maxcores and go with an i7 setup.

current setup you have for gfx, cpu, mobo, memory and cooler comes to around £801, following i7 spec for similar comes to around 850, just to give you an idea.

Intel Core i7 920 2.66Ghz (Nehalem) (Socket LGA1366) - Retail £219.99
(£252.99)

Gigabyte EX58-UD5 Intel X58 (Socket 1366) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard £199.99
(£229.99)

Powercolor ATI Radeon HD 4870 1024MB GDDR5 TV-Out/Dual DVI/HDMI (PCI-Express) - Retail £184.99 (£212.74)

G.Skill 3GB DDR3 NQ PC3-12800C9 1600MHz (3x1GB) Triple Channel DDR3 (F3-12800CL9T-3GBNQ) £89.99 (£103.49)

Noctua NH-U12P SE1366 (Socket LGA1366) Noctua NH-U12P SE1366 (Socket LGA1366) £49.99 (£57.49)

Sub Total : £744.95
Shipping : £8.99
VAT : £111.74
Total : £856.69
 
mp260767 said:
personally i'd drop the gfx card to the 4870 or the "newer" 260 maxcores and go with an i7 setup.

current setup you have for gfx, cpu, mobo, memory and cooler comes to around £801, following i7 spec for similar comes to around 850, just to give you an idea.

Intel Core i7 920 2.66Ghz (Nehalem) (Socket LGA1366) - Retail £219.99
(£252.99)

Gigabyte EX58-UD5 Intel X58 (Socket 1366) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard £199.99
(£229.99)

Powercolor ATI Radeon HD 4870 1024MB GDDR5 TV-Out/Dual DVI/HDMI (PCI-Express) - Retail £184.99 (£212.74)

G.Skill 3GB DDR3 NQ PC3-12800C9 1600MHz (3x1GB) Triple Channel DDR3 (F3-12800CL9T-3GBNQ) £89.99 (£103.49)

Noctua NH-U12P SE1366 (Socket LGA1366) Noctua NH-U12P SE1366 (Socket LGA1366) £49.99 (£57.49)

Sub Total : £744.95
Shipping : £8.99
VAT : £111.74
Total : £856.69
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I have toyed with the idea of i7, but unless there's any major problems i'm going to stick with this. I've um'd and ar'd over this for weeks and this is a solid a setup as I can get without going i7, and considering I can order today, i'm willing not to go i7 to cut out anymore indecision.
 
I have almost the same rig performance wise and it does eat games, I can max out new games and get at least 40 fps @ 1900x1200, havent played crisis but reviews say the card you picked can handle it fine, maybe not maxed but high levels at least.

Do get a different thermal paste,arctic silver, 5 quid at most.

That vista is an oem version,it is the full product. you can upgrade your components except the mobo, when you do that microsoft says its a new computer and oem's are sold for single computer use only.

if you want to keep it for future computer builds then get the microsoft retail version

I thought about the i7 myself but after lots of advice I decided it would be better to get the one I have, I think I made the correct decision. runs like a dream and kicks the ass out of games

P.S. I havent even started overclocking it yet.
 
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Teki187 said:
Definitely think about getting a some decent compound.

I'd spread it on my toast if lurpak wasn't so nice.
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Especially if youre thinking of overclocking, best to know you have as much heat flow through your cooler as possible.

BTW I would definitely recommend lapping your cooler base plate too, wouldnt go for the cpu as you will invalidate the waranty,then again overclocking will do that anyway, just make sure you take all precautions not to get dust onto the contacts if you do.
My cooler was so curved that it actually rocked back and fiorth when i checked it, get a piece of glass and see if its flat, if not it will take you a few hours but its worth it for peace of mind.
Dont expect a mirror finnish as has been shown, thats just overkill, all you need is a smoth flat surface, no need to go further than 1500 grade wet n dry ,

Look up lapping in the search, if you want to overclock its well worth the time and effort.

Here is my cooler half way through lapping, shows how uneven it was.

010Small.jpg
 
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Well thanks for the advice guys; 8gb ram, thermal compound, retail Vista etc. Ordered now (Well, will be tomorrow. Mastercard flagged my Dad's card when ordering so he's gonna have to call tomorrow).

Gonna be a weird feeling handing over £1000 to my dad.
 
Do you reckon if it gets ordered in the morning it'll get here for Wednesday? I know it's a long shot but i'm starting to bug out without a computer.
 
Swi1ch said:
Do you reckon if it gets ordered in the morning it'll get here for Wednesday? I know it's a long shot but i'm starting to bug out without a computer.
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Wednesday is a working day so as long as you go for next day delivery then definately. be in all day though as there is no specific delivery time, But next day does mean that, 8am to 6pm

I ordered a something from a far less reliable company at 3:50 on the 23rd and it was there by 8:10 in the morning, cant fault that for xmas eve you will deffo get it wednesday or ill eat my cooler. lol

I hope you have as much fun putting it together as I did,

Order it first thig to be sure. keep an eye on the order to see if it goes out, chase them up if needed, thats all I can say, doubt if youll need to,
 
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NeilCardiff said:
Wednesday is a working day so as long as you go for next day delivery then definately. be in all day though as there is no specific delivery time, But next day does mean that, 8am to 6pm

I ordered a something from a far less reliable company at 3:50 on the 23rd and it was there by 8:10 in the morning, cant fault that for xmas eve you will deffo get it wednesday or ill eat my cooler. lol

I hope you have as much fun putting it together as I did,

Order it first thig to be sure. keep an eye on the order to see if it goes out, chase them up if needed, thats all I can say, doubt if youll need to,
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My concern was because of NYE of course, but i'll get my dad to ring and sort it ASAP tomorrow. I'm practically buzzing with excitement.
 
Swi1ch said:
Well thanks for the advice guys; 8gb ram, thermal compound, retail Vista etc. Ordered now (Well, will be tomorrow. Mastercard flagged my Dad's card when ordering so he's gonna have to call tomorrow).

Gonna be a weird feeling handing over £1000 to my dad.
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Best grand you'll ever spend on your dads credid card :D

Hi Dad. here's this grand i owe you.

P.S. dont forget to hold it tight and thud it on the table for him, nothing like lots ot twenties to get someones attention :D
 
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Swi1ch said:
Aha, I've paid him £500 already. As part of my Christmas/Birthday present, he's going to pay £500 of it, so I actually only owe him £300 ish :)
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tell your mum you love her and bring dad as cup of tea. you might be lucky and he lets you off,

If that dont work you have a really nice games machine. I'll let your folks know you havent been abducted by aliens, you've just been sucked into the blue lights, lol
 
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