Hardware advice/spec me request

Inquisitor

Inquisitor

Inquisitor

Soldato
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Right, I've got £750 to spend on upgrades for my computer, although I'd rather not spend all of it.

My current spec:
  • AMD Athlon 3200+ (socket A :o)
  • 1GB GeIL Value
  • 6800GT 256MB (AGP)
  • Asus A7N8X-E Deluxe motherboard
  • Akasa 460W PSU
  • SB Live! 5.1 sound card (ancient!)

Obviously the processor, motherboard and graphics card will all need to be upgraded, probably memory as well, but a new sound card would also be nice as well (and PSU if absolutely necessary, but I'd rather avoid).

Everything else—case, hard drives, monitor, etc. I already have, so no need to worry about them.

I'm currently thinking:

The two things I'm a bit shaky on are memory and motherboards though (mainly memory) so some guidance on that would be appreciated. :)

Also, is it worth going for a mid-range 8800 (640MB probably) rather than a very good X1950XT?

Cheers!
 
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Whats this going to be used for? Gaming? Or something like gerneral use and occasional gaming?

BFG GeForce 8800 GTS OC 640MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail
GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC6400C4 800MHz Ultra Low Latency DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (GX22GB6400UDC)
Intel Core 2 DUO E6300 "LGA775 Allendale" 1.86GHz (1066FSB) - Retail
Asus P5B Deluxe (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
Creative X-Fi Xtreme Gamer 7.1 Soundcard - OEM
Corsair HX 520W ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU (CMPSU-520HXUK)


Total : £741.30 delivered City Link Parcel Next Day

As above but with

Asus GeForce 8800 GTS HTDP 320MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail
Abit Fatal1ty FP-IN9 SLi nForce 650 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard



Total : £648.47 delivered City Link Parcel Next Day


Thats if your not going for the lots of gaming really.


Or save even more money. As second spec but.

Sapphire ATI Radeon X1950 Pro 256MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail



Total : £542.72 delivered City Link Parcel Next Day




Azza
 
11spec.jpg


you could order without the psu and see how things went and maybe get a better cpu cooler instead
 
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Yeah it would be primarily a gaming rig really. What about a high end X1950XT? How much better is a mid-range 8800? I'd like to keep the cost down as much as possible really, so if there's not a worth while improvement I might leave that out.
 
I think you got a bit mixed up there m8. ATI high end card - 1950XT series are nowhere near the performance of the 8800GTS/GTX series. I would strongly recommend you to consider getting the 640MB GTS.
 
Lolcb said:
I think you got a bit mixed up there m8. ATI high end card - 1950XT series are nowhere near the performance of the 8800GTS/GTX series. I would strongly recommend you to consider getting the 640MB GTS.
Click to expand...
Fair enough :D

Been too long since I knew about this stuff :p

What about the PSU? Could a 460W hack it with an 8800?
 
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tbh it depends on the rails... the corsair has rails to do it but some higher watt ones dont.. you could always give it a try and get a psu later
 
Right, I'm going to go with what Azza suggested I think. As for cooling, would the CPU still be reasonably clockable with the stock cooler do you think? I might hold back on that and get a better one later.

I have Lian Li PC-60 with 4 80mm case fans, so there's a fairly good air flow.
 
Inquisitor said:
Right, I'm going to go with what Azza suggested I think. As for cooling, would the CPU still be reasonably clockable with the stock cooler do you think? I might hold back on that and get a better one later.

I have Lian Li PC-60 with 4 80mm case fans, so there's a fairly good air flow.
Click to expand...

I wouldnt touch the stock cooler in my life.

If you can afford it.

Scythe Ninja Plus £35.24 inc VAT

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-003-SY&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=821


Tuniq Tower 120 CPU Cooler £35.24 inc VAT

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-000-SB&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=821

You will have to see if that wil fit fine in your case.



Or

Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro £17.61 inc VAT

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-017-AR&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=821


The Freezer Pro 7 is on of the best CPU coolers around and for the price of it, it is awesome. Though I have no idea when they will be in stock.


Both of them 3 are brilliant collers. Just depends how much money you want to spend on one.
 
Thanks for the suggestions.

I've ordered the stuff now, but I'm going to hold back on the cooler until there are some more Arctic Freezers in stock. I'll leave the 'clocking till then :)
 
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