Help with new System

PaoloUK · 15 Dec 2007 at 20:19

OK, so its time for me to upgrade my PC some but I'm not the most knowledgeable. I use the PC for everything from net browsing to gaming so will be building something to handle games like CDO4 which I play a lot at the moment and Crysis (when I get round to getting it

) Anyway, my current system:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 3800+
A8N-SLI Premium
NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GT
Thermaltake PurePower 680w PSU
1GB RAM (2 X 512mb)
SB Audigy 2 ZS Audio

I use 2 screens at the moment, a Dell CRT from way back when but it's been great all these years. The other is a SyncMaster 710v which I hate and shall be replacing very soon in the new year.

Anyway, I'm hoping to stagger the upgrade a little bit, just so money stays in the green and and I have plenty of beer money for the festive season

What I'm after once I'm finished is:

Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 2.40GHz (1066FSB)
Abit IP35 Pro (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2
OcUK GeForce 8800 GTX 768MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI
Thermaltake PurePower 680w PSU
Corsair 4GB DDR2 XMS2 PC2-6400C5 TwinX (2x2GB)
SB Audigy 2 ZS Audio
Antec Nine Hundred Case

I'm after just general advice, I'm not going to be OC'ing it or anything as I'm clueless at it and just don't want to start playing and break things lol.

My plan was to buy the CPU, Mobo and Ram now and fit it with my GFX Card, Sound Card and PSU in my existing case then just add the new GFX and Case later on.

Thanks in advance and be gentle

PaoloUK · 15 Dec 2007 at 23:28

Would you recommend using the Tuniq instead of the one supplied with the cpu?

Also anyone else with suggestions etc?

PaoloUK · 16 Dec 2007 at 01:24

OK, I've just read elsewhere about 32bit OS's not really needing 4GB. So, would this http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-119-CS be ok?

Does changing the CPU cooler void warranties? If it doesn't do much for non overclocked CPU's then I should be OK with the stock one for now yea?

As I said I can wait to update the GFX card so I'll leave that till new year and see what the deal is then, although this http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-041-EA looks tempting

I'm not looking to change the PSU, it's been fine for me and isn't that old.

Will keep checking for anyone else's views/help and will probs try and order it before Super Sunday starts tomorrow.

PaoloUK · 18 Dec 2007 at 18:12

Never got round to ordering at weekend but I'm just about to, settled on:

Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 2.40GHz (1066FSB)
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775)
Abit IP35 Pro (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
2 x Western Digital Caviar SE16 320GB SATA-II 16MB Cache
Corsair 4GB DDR2 XMS2 PC2-6400C5 TwinX (2x2GB)
Thermaltake PurePower 680w PSU (Already Own)
SB Audigy 2 ZS Audio(Already Own)

Will decide on a case and gfx card in the new year.

PaoloUK · 19 Dec 2007 at 00:52

Well I thought that, but some people seem to suggest that its better to have 2 in case one fails so you don't lose too much data but I don't know, my initial idea was to get one 500gb or 750gb as I already have a 320gb and plan to get another external in time (I do a lot of work that needs moving about).

Anyone got views on that?