help needed for build or buy complete

[dad13]

Hi all great site. I have purchased from oc quite a few times over the last few years indeed my last pc which I built myself. Ok stop laughing at the back I am an old reprobate of 46....lol.....anyway after my psu has just gone bang and the price of the bl***y things I thought what the hell lets build something a little better for gaming ( COD, flying sims etc ) only use it for surfing and a little bit of invoicing which to be honest I could do with my old laptop..

So heres the deal do I build a new pc for around £550 or update my old one wich ever I do I will proberley keep my case as its fits into the area in my bedroom and looks nice and discrete

I have windows 7 32 bit and excellent it is to having had only one lock up in 8 months of the install and that was because of my HTC HD2....Had to be windows didn't it.

I have the 64 bit edition as well and would like to install it but would COD work ok on it...

Spec is P5T mobo dual core 6600 processor 8800GTS 750mb-something or other 3GB Kingston DDR2 800 3 X SATA Western Digital 320gb HD's...N wifi usb stick etc

will keep mouse, keyboard, LCD screen, wifi, etc

Looking at replacing Mobo, processor, Ram, PSU & Graphics card...

If I can get a system for the price the hey who am I to argue....lol

Mods fellow peep & friends any ideas......lost my mobo instruction book so dont know what it supports processor wise or indeed ram or memory....

Regards Lee ( aka Dad13 )

 

[95thrifles]

Palit GeForce GTX 460 Sonic 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £176.24 (£149.99)
AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 955 Black Edition "125W Edition" 3.20GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £117.49 (£99.99)
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £82.24 (£69.99)
Gigabyte GA-880GM-UD2H AMD 880G (Socket AM3) microATX DDR3 Motherboard £72.99 (£62.12)
Corsair TX 650W ATX SLi Compliant Power Supply (CMPSU-650TXUK) £59.98 (£51.05)
Sub Total : £433.14
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £10.00
VAT is being charged at 17.50% VAT : £77.55
Total : £520.69
change to spare though if you want to OC add an aftermarket cooler like freezer 7

Windows 64 bit will be fine for running COD and you definitely want to install it to make use of the additonal memory, both RAM and gfx

 

[Mr Krugga]

Flight Simulator will work better on the Intel system, even if you decide to upgrade graphics with AMD build:

Games will work fine with either build. Phenom II is a cheaper option though and enables you Crossfire setup in the future.

I'd say keep that 8800 GTS unless you decide to play more demanding games. CoD and flying simulators do not count

Best way to spend some money would be a decent SSD - especially if you play only a few games. The OCZ Vertex 2E would do great - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-047-OC&groupid=701&catid=14&subcat=910. The Corsair 40GB if you want to save some money. Space matters though! - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-017-CS&groupid=701&catid=14&subcat=910

In summary, if you decide to go Intel, buy that OCZ SSD and have fun - you spent your budget well. If not, go AMD and possibly upgrade your graphics. GeForce 460 is a no brainer but Radeon 5770 or 5830 with further upgrade path to Crossfire is even more appealing IMO.

Get a decent cooling as well. Gelid Tranquillo would cool any setup well - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-001-GD&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=1395.

EDIT: Looks like Radeon 5830 is on offer this week. If you decide to get an AMD build, this would be a great upgrade with Crossfire future - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-135-PC&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1711.

 

[dad13]

Thanks guys will mull this over. Spoke to Phil at OC and he suggested these what do you think..

Palit GeForce GTX 460 Sonic 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £176.24
OCZ StealthXstream 2 600 PSU £46.80
Intel Core i3 530 2.93GHZ ( Clarkdale ( Socket LGA1156 ) £72.33
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £69.99
Gygabyte GA-H55M-S2 Intel H55 ( Socket 1156 ) DDR3 mobo £51.91

That little lot comes to a total of = £459.45.....So any ideas or reasons to be cheerful or skeptical?

I don't know to much about SSD other than they are quicker but they seem to be a lot smaller in size for the money....do they store thing differently to allow the same stuff to be stored ie compression?

 

[honosuseri]

Well windows 64bit will run 32bit apps (yes COD) but drivers can be an issue if you are reusing old hardware. The main advantage is that you can run more than 4GB RAM in 64bit.

The XMS memory is good, they use it in the overclocked bundles.....avoid the OCZ gold like the plague it's useless!

Bare with me on this. Buy a X2 555BE (with aftermarket heatsink) and buy an asus crosshair mobo (III/IV). The mobo does xfire properly for starters, unlike the gigabyte board krugga suggested. It's great for overclocking it also has the ability to unlock cores on cpus. That £70ish 555BE "could" be unlocked to an X4, if not the mobo will overclock it to 3.8GHz easy and seeing as games rarely use more than 2 cores you aren't losing out if you run it as an X2.

The crosshair has an excellent soundcard (X-fi) bundled with it and your graphics card options are greater with this board. A 5870 is more than sufficient to play current games at a good resolution but seeing as this mobo is a true xfire board you could run two 5770s to get 5870 (somecase better) performance for less money. Or go with the 5870 and add another later once the prices drop.

I'm willing to bet the new (bulldozer AM3r2) AMD cpus will take to AM3 mobos, so you can swap out the 555BE later once the new chips arrive and the games developers are using the extra cores to the fullest.

I understand you are on a budget but I do believe this will get you the best in futureproofing and bang for buck performance. Hope this helps, give it some thought. Any questions just ask

 

[Mr Krugga]

Well windows 64bit will run 32bit apps (yes COD) but drivers can be an issue if you are reusing old hardware. The main advantage is that you can run more than 4GB RAM in 64bit.

The XMS memory is good, they use it in the overclocked bundles.....avoid the OCZ gold like the plague it's useless!

Bare with me on this. Buy a X2 555BE (with aftermarket heatsink) and buy an asus crosshair mobo (III/IV). The mobo does xfire properly for starters, unlike the gigabyte board krugga suggested. It's great for overclocking it also has the ability to unlock cores on cpus. That £70ish 555BE "could" be unlocked to an X4, if not the mobo will overclock it to 3.8GHz easy and seeing as games rarely use more than 2 cores you aren't losing out if you run it as an X2.

The crosshair has an excellent soundcard (X-fi) bundled with it and your graphics card options are greater with this board. A 5870 is more than sufficient to play current games at a good resolution but seeing as this mobo is a true xfire board you could run two 5770s to get 5870 (somecase better) performance for less money. Or go with the 5870 and add another later once the prices drop.

I'm willing to bet the new (bulldozer AM3r2) AMD cpus will take to AM3 mobos, so you can swap out the 555BE later once the new chips arrive and the games developers are using the extra cores to the fullest.

I understand you are on a budget but I do believe this will get you the best in futureproofing and bang for buck performance. Hope this helps, give it some thought. Any questions just ask

Oh gosh, I meant not to answer but can't resist TBH...

Well windows 64bit will run 32bit apps (yes COD) but drivers can be an issue if you are reusing old hardware. The main advantage is that you can run more than 4GB RAM in 64bit.

There aren't many driver issues you can encounter with Windows 7, whether it's 32 or 64-bit. It doesn't matter which you install because they both can and will work. There are plenty more advantages of using 64-bit system than just running over 4GB RAM. It just utilizes the hardware better, period.

The XMS memory is good, they use it in the overclocked bundles.....avoid the OCZ gold like the plague it's useless!

OCZ is fine, only problems are with Gold Triple channel modules and that was with a specific batch perhaps. They just wouldn't run at stable at the rated speeds, or were not stable, afaik most issues have been solved by now. OcUK doesn't stock crap. One think I know for sure is that those modules don't have XMP profiles. Not many use them anyway.

Bare with me on this. Buy a X2 555BE (with aftermarket heatsink) and buy an asus crosshair mobo (III/IV). The mobo does xfire properly for starters, unlike the gigabyte board krugga suggested. It's great for overclocking it also has the ability to unlock cores on cpus. That £70ish 555BE "could" be unlocked to an X4, if not the mobo will overclock it to 3.8GHz easy and seeing as games rarely use more than 2 cores you aren't losing out if you run it as an X2.

That Gigabyte mobo runs symmetrical Crossfire just fine, take some lessons from Big Wayne if you need. Crosshair mobos are for people who have to much money or overclock like mad. Plus there are cheaper alternatives as well and these mobos would not be used properly by such a CPU. Many games use 4 cores these days, if you want to have ultimate performance for a few years from now, you need a quad core.

I'm willing to bet the new (bulldozer AM3r2) AMD cpus will take to AM3 mobos, so you can swap out the 555BE later once the new chips arrive and the games developers are using the extra cores to the fullest.

One thread you're uncertain, another you're willing to bet. Seriously dude, it's not a guess who game and you put someone's money at stake. Doesn't matter if you use extra cores to the fullest, even current port consoles utilize 4 cores and pretty much - require them. Especially if you put them along high-end graphics.

I understand you are on a budget but I do believe this will get you the best in futureproofing and bang for buck performance. Hope this helps, give it some thought. Any questions just ask

I have a question, will you think before you post, please? Misleading people doesn't help, even if you want to help

 

[honosuseri]

Well i feel your being harsh simply because I spoke out against some of the parts you suggested. This is an opinion, my opinion everyone is entitled to one. Yes the mobo you suggested is symmetrical but it's both lanes at X8. Wether you consider xfire worthwhile is your opinion.

I was just pointing out other possible options as the build is on a budget. Some 555BEs can be unlocked to an X4 (i have one i know) although it's not guaranteed that you can get it to a quadcore the cheap cost makes it tempting, you can upgrade the CPU later and sell the 555BE to recoup some of the cost if necessary.

What do you mean i'm not certain? I've always said there is no cast iron guarantee that the bulldozer cpus will take to AM3 boards as no-one definately knows yet but it's a reasonably assumption they will, especially since most AM2+ mobos will take AM3 cpus.

As far as drivers are concerned the OP hasn't listed every part he is reusing so you can't ensure that every piece of hardware has a 64bit driver can you? It is a possible problem so I pointed it out.

The OP is fully capable of doing research and to be honest you have to be stupid just to buy parts because some random person online tells you to without checking yourself. I'm not trying to waste his money just show other possible avenues to go. I'm sorry if you thought i was personally attacking you that wasn't my intent

 

[Mr Krugga]

Well i feel your being harsh simply because I spoke out against some of the parts you suggested. This is an opinion, my opinion everyone is entitled to one.

No, I just felt your statements may be too misleading to let them go. If you're saying out your opinions, would be nice if you used "I think" or something similar. Otherwise it's a statement.

Yes the mobo you suggested is symmetrical but it's both lanes at X8. Wether you consider xfire worthwhile is your opinion.

Never said Crossfire is not worth it? I complained about Trifire and gave a reason for that. Your mobo doesn't 16x/16x crossfire either.

I was just pointing out other possible options as the build is on a budget. Some 555BEs can be unlocked to an X4 (i have one i know) although it's not guaranteed that you can get it to a quadcore the cheap cost makes it tempting, you can upgrade the CPU later and sell the 555BE to recoup some of the cost if necessary.

You're suggesting Crosshair mobo for a budget build, nicely done Sir.

What do you mean i'm not certain? I've always said there is no cast iron guarantee that the bulldozer cpus will take to AM3 boards as no-one definately knows yet but it's a reasonably assumption they will, especially since most AM2+ mobos will take AM3 cpus.

My bad then.

As far as drivers are concerned the OP hasn't listed every part he is reusing so you can't ensure that every piece of hardware has a 64bit driver can you? It is a possible problem so I pointed it out.

Hard to find such hardware these days, don't scare people of without a good reasoning.

The OP is fully capable of doing research and to be honest you have to be stupid just to buy parts because some random person online tells you to without checking yourself. I'm not trying to waste his money just show other possible avenues to go. I'm sorry if you thought i was personally attacking you that wasn't my intent

And I'm sorry if I sound harsh at any time. I do know, however, that many people seek advise here and can't be bothered to do any research at all. It is easier for them to and they often rely on people like us. Nothing wrong with a healthy debate, I'm only pointing out what I disagree with.

 

[honosuseri]

My point was that the crosshair III is only slightly dearer than the gigabyte you suggested. I think they go for around £120 on here.

The soundcard is better, it is meant for overclocking so whatever CPU it takes will be able to be pushed to it's full potential. I'm sorry but you are wrong it does both lanes at X16 just google the spec. The IV will do the same & also tri-fire at 1X16 and 2X8 but that is a lot more money and on a budget build running 3 cards is doubtful.

I'd agree with your suggestion of the 5770, not so much the 5830 though. The OP could buy one 5770 now and see a good return then buy a second once the new 6000 series cards cause a price drop. Hell buying two at once still makes more sense than buying a 5870 especially as the crosshair is running both lanes at X16.

I think it's fair to say the GPU is more important than the CPU for gaming. Yes a quadcore would be nice budget allowing but a X2 would be ok with a decent GPU. I just wanted to show that many boards use ACC (or equivalent) to unlock cores and a quadcore was maybe possible for X2 money.

 

[dad13]

Come on guys hand bags away

I think you are both right in your assumptions about me in this particular case as I have taken some stuff as gospel ie the PSU and others I have been looking more into.....I just have to get this right as I dont have money to burn, do any of us?.......

Anyway heres the other option which I am still thinking about and will call OC to see what they suggest as well as I am more than happy to give them my custom.

I made a mistake and have now found the box for my present MB and it is a ASUS P5Q Pro ( which I brought because I was going to start OClocking ) but never did.... its supports DDR2 upto 1200mhz and is a LGA 775 core 2 1600FSB

I was thinking perhaps 4 GB of faster memory as I only have 800mhz at the moment...the best dual core I can buy and possibly doubling up on the 8800GTS as the board supports crossfire........as for any extra hardware that I will be using 2 x Sata 1 320 Western HD......and a couple of old IDE CDRW's
onboard sound Soundblaster 16 bit & just your basic wifi usb and mouse usb.

could possibly stretch to a small SSD to put games on..

Jeez far to many decisions.....

Many many thanks for your input.....

Regards Lee

PS in an ideal world a single Graphics card would be nice

 

[honosuseri]

Well you can double check but im pretty sure that mobo you have IS crossfire. The 8800gts is a nvidia card so it requires a SLI mobo. So buying another 8800gts isn't an option.

I'm all for reusing parts but buying better DDR2 probably isn't wise as you probably won't reuse it on the next upgrade. If your going to buy RAM it may as well be DDR3.

If you are now keen on the idea of overclocking why don't you have a look at the overclocked bundles for sale. You could buy one or purchase the parts and OC yourself using the bundles as a template to see what's possible.

Krugga and myself although we have different opinions both thought that an AMD system would be easy to add too and more cost effective. Intel is changing the socket for the new cpus so any mobo you buy now wont take the new chips when released.

The AMD spec he suggested should allow for a 1GB 460 gfx card in budget. This is an excellent card but again you can't run two of them in the future. The ati 5770 is also a good budget card and could be set to xfire later on in the builds life once the prices fall when the new 6000s are released, as you are considering running dual cards now maybe getting an ati card for that mobo makes more sense.

It is a headache, there are plenty of options and ways to go. If you want to reuse parts double check the mobos features. If you want to reuse IDE drives make sure the mobo you buy still has an IDE connector on it. I'd recommend using windows 64bit, just check now that your hardware is supported you might as well download the drivers now for when you do the build.

Good luck, let us know what you think and we'll try and advise.

 

[dad13]

Once again more options

I did post that the mobo was Xfire supported as I went to the Asus website.

I was not aware that you had to have a cpu that had SLI enabled I thought that was done through software or through the bios.....( see learning all the time who said us old folk are thick ) ok my wife does

Ok just had another look at the Asus site ATI hold the xfire rites h'mm perhaps I dont understand after all....

As for buying RAM, at the moment the pc has 2 x gb sticks of matched Patriot 6400LS 800MHZ = 4GB... there is room for another 2 x sticks... the board is not DDR3 compatible ( I did think it had Kingston but that is in my old pc that the family use )

Would I need to have identical memory as in manufacturer or is that only for over clocking?

Heres the link tell me what you can on my options on this board

http://uk.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=qH6ZSEJ8EPY6HoNU

Thought I would check out all my options for this at the moment because my Virgin land line has gone down so can't call OC and nobody has got back to me via email to answer, proberley you lot buying all them top end systems

"O forgot to say why I was cleaning my case out I thought I would clean everything with a low psi airline that I use for painting and clean all the connections........WHOOPS pc now boots up ..............Shhhhhhhhh dont tell the mrs I am still upgrading

 

[dad13]

Really am struggling to find the best value for performance CPU to fit into the Asus P5Q Pro

Any ideas guys......?????

 

[honosuseri]

It's not the cpu for sli it's the actual motherboard. Some can do both sli or xfire but most do one or the other.

As far as RAM is concerned this is also dependent on the mobo as to wether it takes DDR2 or DDR3. If you want to reuse the memory you already own you might as well buy more at the same speed. You can buy faster RAM but it will drop in speed to match the 800Mhz stuff you've reused.

I think you will be better off upgrading to a better motherboard (DDR3) and a dual core cpu (555BE) and buying DDR3 RAM. You can reuse your gfx card if the budget is tight. For what you want to do an X2 cpu is more than adequate, plus like i said the 555Be can sometimes be unlocked to an X4.

That's my opinion, i just feel it will give you a decent base to upgrade from in the future. You mobo is at the end of it's useful life, spending to upgrade your current system is false economy IMHO