Help with new spec

ginandmilk · 9 May 2008 at 08:38

ahoy hoy

I'm looking to upgrade my PC, having owned my current one for just over 3 years. I'm well out of the loop on the latest hardware and I've got no idea
what to look for in a new system, no idea what is best for the money etc.

It'll be used mainly for gaming and I'm looking to spend around £600, don't need a monitor or optical drives but I do want to upgrade my case. I am willing to put a few more quid in if need be.

I'm not fussed about crossfire or SLi compatability on the motherboard, I'll only be using 1 graphics card.

And I suppose I should upgrade to vista too but I don't need any help with that

Any help on a spec would be much appreciated!

aproctor · 9 May 2008 at 08:48

q6600 - £135
2gb ram - £30
p5k - £70
500gb sata II hdd - £60
8800gt - £120
decent hsf - £25
case (too many) - £70ish
HX520 PSU - £60

-£570ish
obviously this is very rough but if you got a sonata case for £70 inc PSU you could get vista home premium for similar money.

ginandmilk · 9 May 2008 at 08:50

worth going for premium over basic?

aproctor · 9 May 2008 at 08:53

yes, premium you get most features but its not overkill like ultimate.

use the search bar for more detailed stuff as there is loads of it.

the only things you may wish to think about is whether you pick a newer dual core 8400 etc or the q6600, i prefer the latter but there are arguments either way. Also what kind of case you pick etc.

edit: if your running vista you will want 4gb ram, go 2x2 not 4x1.

ginandmilk · 9 May 2008 at 09:02

i've only been looking at the Q6600 so far, will have a read up on both

intel is definitley the way to go then? i've always been an AMD man (on an old 4000+ at the moment) but everyone seems to be raving about the intel chips now

cheers for the help btw mucho appreciated

aproctor · 9 May 2008 at 09:06

amd are not bad and tbh there is not much wrogn with the chip you have now, amd were popular as they were faster and cheaper than the equivilent intel, but when the core duos came out this changed and even the most die hard amd fanboys are hard pushed to slate the performance the chips give.