Guess what... ANOTHER upgrade thread! xD

gee3000

gee3000

gee3000

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28 Jan 2007
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Hey guys, you're all probably sick of these ^_^ but I'm abit noobish when it comes to hardware as there's so much to choose from or avoid. So who better for guidance than experienced folk like yourselves ;p

Basically, this is what I've had for the past 3-4 years:

- P4 3.2ghz Prescott cpu (with a massive round thermaltake cooler fan)
- on ECS 865PE-A mobo
- with 3gb of pc3200 ram (not sure what spec or whatever)
- and an nvidia geforce 6600gt (also with "massive round thermaltake cooler fan")
- 1 x 80gb seagate baracuda 7200.10 sata hdd
- 1 x 500gb seagate baracuda 7200.10 sata hdd
- running Vista Ultimate - and quite smoothly actually :)
- 24" monitor (bought this amazing monitor from OcUK ;D)

If there are any progs I can use to give you better specs please let me know.

The system runs pretty good but my problem is gaming. I still play counterstrike source but haven't bothered getting any new games purely because my system can barely handle css with low settings.

I want to play Call of Duty 4!

2 options:
1. Upgrade graphics card only? My budget would be £130ish..
2. Upgrade the whole system? Can someone please spec me a system? My budget would be about £600-700.

Or anything at all that you can recommend please do so! :)

Thanks for reading ^_^
Gee.
 
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-048-OK

Might be worth a look or else

Your basket
Product Name Qty Price Line Total
XFX GeForce 8800 GTX 768MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (PV-T80F-SHF9) £187.99
(£220.89) £187.99
(£220.89)
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 LGA775 'Wolfdale' 3.00GHz (1333FSB) - Retail £124.99
(£146.86) £124.99
(£146.86)
OcUK Value IP35 Pro Intel P35 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £59.99
(£70.49) £59.99
(£70.49)
G.Skill 4GB DDR2 PQ PC2-8000C5 (2x2GB) CAS5 Dual Channel Kit (F2-8000CL5D-4GBPQ) £59.99
(£70.49) £59.99
(£70.49)
Sub Total : £432.96
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
City Link Parcel Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri)
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £8.95
VAT is being charged at 17.5% VAT : £77.33
Total : £519.24

Should see you right for a good while. May need a PSU depending on what you have ofc.
 
Thanks for that :D

I already have a PSU, the one which came with my X-Blade case, but not sure if it's good enough? It's 400watts.

If you think a new PSU is necessary then can you recommend a new one?

I may also consider getting a new case while I'm at it, and absolutely love the look of the Thermaltake Soprano, but I hear it is bad for cooling (heat desipation?), so was recommended the Thermaltake Tsunami Dream.

Of course I'd most likely go for whatever you recommend :)
 
I'd probably look for a new PSU if its an OEM, however thats not what im posting for. The Tsunami and the Soprano have almost identical inards, and its pretty much just the frontage that changes, yeah sure a few tweeks here or there but essentially the same. TT cases are quite good for cooling, i have an Armor Jnr which is ace... but has the added benefit of mesh front to help cooling a bit more.

So anyway go for the case you like the look of best in my opinion as cooling on the TT range is pretty much standard throughout, heat will only be an issue if you plan to overclock the bejesus out of it with little cooling :D

By the way for build quality look at Lian-Li, never had the pleasure myself, but again if you dont like the looks...
 
Your basket
Product Name Qty Price Line Total
Antec Nine Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case Antec Nine Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case £59.99
(£70.49) £59.99
(£70.49)
OCZ StealthXStream 600w Silent SLI Ready ATX2 Power Supply OCZ StealthXStream 600w Silent SLI Ready ATX2 Power Supply £49.99
(£58.74) £49.99
(£58.74)
OcUK GeForce 9600 GT 512MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail OcUK GeForce 9600 GT 512MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail £87.99
(£103.39) £87.99
(£103.39)
Intel Core 2 Duo E8200 LGA775 'Wolfdale' 2.66GHz (1333FSB) - Retail Intel Core 2 Duo E8200 LGA775 'Wolfdale' 2.66GHz (1333FSB) - Retail £99.99
(£117.49) £99.99
(£117.49)
Abit IP35 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard Abit IP35 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £69.99
(£82.24) £69.99
(£82.24)
OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-6400C5 Dual Channel Vista Gold Series DDR2 (OCZ2G8004GK) OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-6400C5 Dual Channel Vista Gold Series DDR2 (OCZ2G8004GK) £46.99
(£55.21) £46.99
(£55.21)
Sub Total : £414.94
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
City Link Parcel Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri)
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £10.95
VAT is being charged at 17.5% VAT : £74.53
Total : £500.42


take your current HD's + Vista + your DVD drive. = new PC for 500, although you can upgrade to a q6600 processor, if youd spend more, or a abit ip35 pro, or Ocuk value 8800GT.. ram is fine.. that case is excellent..

as a tip avoid the thermaltake, not that great, not solid enough build.. bad cooling and cable management.

re-think what you need new and what u will keep. from what youve said keep the CD DRIVES/HDDS/VISTA and thats all i think, all else new should be good.

if you have a laptop use that, sell everything off and put the money towards the build:D

good luck
 
Thanks for your input platinum87. Checking the reviews on the parts you mentioned and they all have 5 stars ;D

Only a couple of questions - is that graphics card good compared to the one Grumpy mentioned?

Also on a scale of 1-10, in terms of performance how would you rate the system you mentioned? Together with 1 x 80gb sata seagate baracuda 7200.10 and same 500gb ?

I would, but I don't have a laptop :( I don't think my pc is worth much now anyway, so I may just give it to my brother :)
 
I decided against buying the whole system in one go, and bought a 8800GT for now, so I can buy the CPU, motherboard and ram in a couple of weeks.

I was thinking Abit IP35 Pro and Q6600, but not sure about which ram.

I'd like to get something of good quality and don't mind spending money if they will be good for me for atleast the next 3 years.

Which 3 products would you recommend?
- Motherboard (anything better than the IP35 Pro?)
- CPU
- RAM
 
Well if your just gaming, as the op implies, its probably best to give the E8400 a look (and get a bigger cooler for it) the whole wolfdale thing is rather good.

Ram wise, the 4gig 800mhz OCZ kit would be a good start http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-086-OC&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=813 even if your not tempted by 64 bit windows, as its just good value.

Any of the P35 boards are definitely the best choice as they dont run as hot as the x38 boards and are good value. Have a peer about the motherboard forums to see which one has good reviews (though i still recommend the OCUK's P35 boards as i enjoy using them)
 
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Pretty much,... Unless your planning on using many multi threaded applications or switching between several games (possible maybe...) the dual E8*** series would be a better buy.

The stock speed of even the E8200 is faster than the Q6600 so would be better to play Call of Duty 4 with as its a single threaded game.

If you can afford the E8400 it would be rather fast @3ghz stock and have the general ability to overclock to the 4ghz region (as many threads and forums show already) if taht tickles your fancy
 
Cool I'll go with the E8400 :)

The motherboard (IP35 Pro) - Should I go for OcUK value or Abit? Any considerable differences?

The RAM - I've been recommended a few in this thread but unsure as to which would give me best performance for the money?
I've heard good things about G.Skills, and have found a couple:
» G.Skill 4GB DDR2 PQ PC2-8000C5 (2x2GB) CAS5 Dual Channel Kit (F2-8000CL5D-4GBPQ)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-022-GS @ £74.99 +vat
or
» G.Skill 4GB DDR2 PK PC2-8500C5 (2x2GB) CAS5 Dual Channel Kit (F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-023-GS @ £99.99 +vat

Which one? I don't mind spending the extra 25 quid for the 8500, unless I can get better memory for cheaper?

I'm such a noob :|
 
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hi mate i just recently upgraded from same cpu to a core2duo and agp graphics to the new pci express 2.0 card and wooow what a difference. id definately say go for the full build as just upgrading a single component of old tech aint gonna cut the mustard like you think it will.

My recommendation would be...

CPU - E8400 or Q3000 = £176
CPU Cooler - Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro = £18
Motherboard - Asus P5N-D nForce 750i "SLi" = £93
RAM - Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 PC2-6400C4 800MHz = £33
Graphics Card - OcUK GeForce 8800 GTS Extreme = £140
PSU - Corsair HX 520W ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant = £70


Total = £530

All prices items found on OCuk website. For actually a modest price youll be absolutely flying! Motherboard has good onboard sound, its very stable and you got the option to upgrade with another card much later down the line when things get more demanding. Popping another cheap GTS card in will give you a pretty nice performance boost.

just an idea for you :D
 
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Oooo hes already got a 8800gt....

Most the P35 Boards are excellent, theres just a lot of brand prefference behind which one you buy (and whether you want raid, a free sound card or pretty colours)

For the post above id change the board to my personal fav. http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-003-OK&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=913 for £52 and spend the £40 saved on the ram you were looking at (or some thing similar thats in stock like http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-104-OC&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=817 )

Other than that iv heard some bad things against the Asus P5K boards having strange compatibility problems and im only a little against the nvidia boards as they run quite a bit hotter than the P35 chipset (especially given that sli is expensive and produces lost more heat).

Finally im going to give the E8400 a little plug as it doesnt have a cut down cache, when the Q9300 has the same amount (6meg) shared between twice as many cores (so there will only be 3meg per pair of cores and wont be quite as fast as the dual in games like Call of duty) :)
 
pingwing said:
Oooo hes already got a 8800gt....

Most the P35 Boards are excellent, theres just a lot of brand prefference behind which one you buy (and whether you want raid, a free sound card or pretty colours)

For the post above id change the board to my personal fav. http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-003-OK&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=913 for £52 and spend the £40 saved on the ram you were looking at (or some thing similar thats in stock like http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-104-OC&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=817 )

Other than that iv heard some bad things against the Asus P5K boards having strange compatibility problems and im only a little against the nvidia boards as they run quite a bit hotter than the P35 chipset (especially given that sli is expensive and produces lost more heat).

Finally im going to give the E8400 a little plug as it doesnt have a cut down cache, when the Q9300 has the same amount (6meg) shared between twice as many cores (so there will only be 3meg per pair of cores and wont be quite as fast as the dual in games like Call of duty) :)
Click to expand...

Good point about the E8400. Something to bare in mind ;)
Bad point about Nvidia boards. Dunno what quite abit hotter your on about man. Is that even a good reason, must be like a couple of degrees. My cpu idles at 25c, case temp 35c and graphics card at 45c is that hot? does that actually make any difference whatsoever? :confused:

Imo id rather have a better mobo then marginally better ram. :)
 
Ah i was only going with more ram is just better theory (even in the 32bit windows world) and the board is down to personal preference/any desire for potential sli.

Either way ill be a little jealous of the pc (i really wanted an E8400 but couldnt find it in stock anywhere) but the E8200 still plays civ4 to the absolute max hehe :)
 
I'm actually claiming these parts as business expenses as the pc will be used for freelance work, and so I'm only going to consider the prices without VAT.

I'm still very confused over a few of the parts lol, so maybe I should set a budget - say £500 +vat for:
  • CPU: E8400 - (on another website ;p) £119 +P&P
  • CPU cooler
  • Motherboard: Abit IP35 Pro or OCUK Value IP35 Pro??
  • RAM The G.Skills or OCZ?? (Prefer performance a but more than price, so I dont want to settle for 'okay'. 4GB preferred.)
  • GPU: OCUK 8800 GT - £93.99 +P&P
  • GPU cooler
  • PSU
  • Case
  • Misc (ie. blue uv cables and light, etc)

So I'm left with RAM, a motherboard, a PSU, a case and some nice cables - recommendations pls? :D

I appreciate your help guys.

Edit: Took off the Raptor, it can wait til later. Added coolers and cables into the list!
 
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Your basket
Product Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 LGA775 'Wolfdale' 3.00GHz (1333FSB) - Retail £139.99
(£164.49) £139.99
(£164.49)
Tuniq Tower 120-LFB CPU Cooler (Socket 478/754/939/940/AM2/LGA775) £29.99
(£35.24) £29.99
(£35.24)
Abit IP35 Pro (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £92.99
(£109.26) £92.99
(£109.26)
GeIL 4GB (4x1GB) PC2-8500C5 1066MHz Black Dragon DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (GB24GB8500C5QC) £86.99
(£102.21) £86.99
(£102.21)
Thermaltake VA7000BWA Shark Aluminium Full Tower - Black £69.99
(£82.24) £69.99
(£82.24)
Thermaltake ToughPower 750W Power Supply £74.99
(£88.11) £74.99
(£88.11)
Sub Total : £494.94
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
City Link Parcel Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri)
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £10.95
VAT is being charged at 17.5% VAT : £88.53
Total : £594.42


ENJOY and watch your PC fly if you buy those and put it all together. Be sure to stand back because it has so much power and potential it might EXPLODE !!!! :)

And dont bother with SLI.
 
Maybe not exactly this but OCuk has almost the same range of cases,
check this link : http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?&groupid=701&catid=7&subid=715&sortby=priceDesc&page=1#prodlist
and browse the list at the bottom, all the armours are almost the same.

I don't think this case has built in water cooling, from what I see there is only a pump, not sure tho.

I included tuniq tower in your spec which is one of the best coolers out there, and unless you do extreme overclocking it's totally fine, and its ultra silent at low rpm.

My mate got exactly same CPU and runs it at 3.8ghz easly on lowest cooler rmp which is dead silent.

I've got the shark and I'm definitely happy with it, maybe it's not the most silent case due to the side grid but the cooling, space and cable managment possibilities it gives you iis just incredible ;-). I've never had so much space and so great airflow, especially I love the idea of drives mounted sideways and having tons of space everywhere to hide cables.

Also when taking armour consider that metal version of those is very heavy ( ~19kg without any hardware in it AFAIR ) which is not good for your back ;-).
 
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