Final spec check

feedtheram · 22 May 2007 at 14:34

Hey chaps,

I am just about to take the plunge and part with my hard earned cash!

Just wanted to see if anyone had any last minute tweaks that you think would be beneficial.

Want to use this mainly for gaming and intend to overclock (although will be first time so nothing spectacular). Will be installing XP for the moment as already have a copy.

My budget is around £550.

Gigabyte GA_965P_S3 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
(£70.49)
Pioneer DVR-112DBK 18x18 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter - (Black) OEM
(£19.96)
Akasa AK-ZEN-01-BK Zen Black Case - No PSU
(£29.36)
GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC6400C4 800MHz Ultra Low Latency DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (GX22GB6400UDC)
(£58.74)
Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 "LGA775 Allendale" 1.80GHz (800FSB) - Retail
(£77.54)
Logitech Deluxe Keyboard (Black) - OEM
(£6.45)
Enermax Liberty 400W ELT400AWT ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU
(£46.99)
Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB 2500KS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM
(£42.29)
HIS ATI Radeon X1950 Pro ICEQ 3 V2 TURBO SILENT Heatpipe 256MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (H195PRQT256DD-R)
(£105.74)
OcUK Value Hanns-G HW191D 19" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Silver
(£108.09)

total: £565 inc vat

any comments would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Will_3rd · 22 May 2007 at 14:51

What's your full budget?

masslac · 22 May 2007 at 14:52

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-221-AS will overclock marginally better. Other than that, it's looking spot on IMO.

Edit - Maybe a better case if you can stretch to it? Antec Nine Hundred, for example.

Jaffa_Cake · 22 May 2007 at 14:52

This thing will OC like a monster, real easy ocing system too

Added a 2ms response screen too, much better for gaming + no ghosting

Tiny bit over budget but it will last and the screen is good.

XtrEme Overclocker!

hp7909 · 22 May 2007 at 14:53

feedtheram said:
{snip}Enermax Liberty 400W ELT400AWT ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU{snip}

Got that PSU & highly commend it, but its a bit low for a X1950 pro & any future upgrade/s. Suggest you squeeze for this one

Also, no mouse?

& to get a better overclock result, invest in this. Better & quieter than the stock HSF. Rest of spec looks good

This guide might be of useful

masslac · 22 May 2007 at 14:54

Jaffa Cake's spec looks nice, as ever. That's an overpriced monitor tho when you can pick up the equivalent Asus for £60 less. Plus an Arctic Freezer HSF would do the job for £20.

hp7909 · 22 May 2007 at 14:57

masslac said:
Jaffa Cake's spec looks nice, as ever. That's an overpriced monitor tho when you can pick up the equivalent Asus for £60 less. Plus an Arctic Freezer HSF would do the job for £20.

Forgot to mention his spec doesn't have an engine to run on

Jaffa_Cake · 22 May 2007 at 14:59

masslac said:
Jaffa Cake's spec looks nice, as ever. That's an overpriced monitor tho when you can pick up the equivalent Asus for £60 less. Plus an Arctic Freezer HSF would do the job for £20.

I don't know much about monitors, i look for 2ms and a high contrast ratio and a low price.

If you can stretch another £20 then theres this 22" monster.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-045-LG

masslac · 22 May 2007 at 14:59

LMAO, I just naturally assumed it would have been there.

feedtheram · 22 May 2007 at 15:28

thanks for all the replies chaps.

I will look into all the recommendations later and make my final decision! Its hard cos there is always something better for just £20 more!

Probably a stupid question but if i am not in when its delivered i assume it will get taken to the nearest depot? I should be around but theres a chance i wont be. I live quite close to a city link depot so dont mind picking it up from there if i miss the delivery.

thanks again

Will_3rd · 22 May 2007 at 15:29

If your not in, they will leave a card and you can either let them redeliver or phone them and go pick it up.

Tigjaw · 22 May 2007 at 15:34

I'd recommend these tbh:

GeIL 2GB 6400 Ultra C4 - £58.74
Antec TruePower Trio 550W PSU - £61.09
Akasa AK-ZEN-01-BK Zen Black Case - No PSU - £29.36

It's the case you originally chose and although it's not the 'snazziest' it's quite cheap and it's very smart.

On top of that the above RAM is great quality and at an even greater price.

Jaffa_Cake · 22 May 2007 at 15:39

Tigjaw said:
I'd recommend these tbh:

GeIL 2GB 6400 Ultra C4 - £58.74
Antec TruePower Trio 550W PSU - £61.09
Akasa AK-ZEN-01-BK Zen Black Case - No PSU - £29.36

It's the case you originally chose and although it's not the 'snazziest' it's quite cheap and it's very smart.

On top of that you wont be needed to OC the above RAM and it's a great price.

Getting PSU already in case is cheaper though.

Giel PC6400 doesn't clock aswell as the Ballistix PC5300 which he said he would like.

The Giel is cheaper though, depends on how much you want to clock and have left in the bank.

Tigjaw · 22 May 2007 at 15:41

Jaffa_Cake said:
Getting PSU already in case is cheaper though.

Giel PC6400 doesn't clock aswell as the Ballistix PC5300 which he said he would like.

The Giel is cheaper though, depends on how much you want to clock and have left in the bank.

Yep you're right, the case with the PSU is cheaper but not by a lot and to be honest, I wouldn't have thought a 430W PSU would be too reliable for the specs of this system, expecially considering the strain of overclocking. And I've never held 'inclusive' PSUs in much of a high regard.

Jaffa_Cake · 22 May 2007 at 15:54

Tigjaw said:
Yep you're right, the case with the PSU is cheaper but not by a lot and to be honest, I wouldn't have thought a 430W PSU would be too reliable for the specs of this system, expecially considering the strain of overclocking. And I've never held 'inclusive' PSUs in much of a high regard.

Yeah I know wht you mean, this is a Antec Powersupply though. I built the exact system above a few weeks ago for a friend and its rock solid at 3.1Ghz. No power issues what so ever.

So, tried and tested spec above for you

.

feedtheram · 22 May 2007 at 16:02

yea i had read bad things about built in PSU's but have no experience so just going on what i have read.

I am willing to stretch another £20-£30 if its gonna be a vast improvement. If i were to replace one thing from my original spec what would you recommend?

While a better PSU may not improve performace now i guess i would need one as soon as i upgrade the GPU

Jaffa_Cake · 22 May 2007 at 16:14

feedtheram said:
If i were to replace one thing from my original spec what would you recommend?

I don't like compromise

If it was one thing though, would be the mobo for the DS3P and the extra 1333MHz rather than the 1066 on the S3.

I think that optical drive there is IDE, whereas the one in my spec is SATA.

If your overclocking then you definitely need a big cooler like the Noctua or a Tuniq Tower.

That ram is a must for a overclocker on a low budget too

.

The monitor is just because it will be much much better than the one you chose especially if you go for the 22" one i posted above.

Told you ^^ no good at compromise.

feedtheram · 22 May 2007 at 20:02

lol cheers Jaffa! really cleared that up for me!

whats the difference between SATA and IDE?

I have never overclocked before and will probably only be doing it when necessary for a noticable performace improvement in games.

Thanks for all the advice think im pretty much ready to order

Jaffa_Cake · 22 May 2007 at 20:10

feedtheram said:
lol cheers Jaffa! really cleared that up for me!

whats the difference between SATA and IDE?

I have never overclocked before and will probably only be doing it when necessary for a noticable performace improvement in games.

Thanks for all the advice think im pretty much ready to order

SATA is newer and quite a lot faster ( I forget numbers/dont know

) the wire is also a lot smaller which makes it neater. IDE is old and slow and is usually a massive grey cable which trails across the case.

Edit: SATA

IDE: