Hey Guys

tl-2k7

tl-2k7

tl-2k7

Associate
Joined
29 Feb 2008
Posts
26
I thought i would ask round here if someone could spec me a good gaming/msn/internet system :)

I want to be able to upgrade it as and when i need to, maybe supporting dual-sli

Both Quad-Core and Dual-Core comp

atleast 4GB/8GB ram in total

Maybe able to hold 4/5 harddrives

Could anyone help me please?

Thanks Tony
 
I'll agree with the others and ask some new questions. When you say "Both Quad-Core and Dual-Core comp," does that mean you want a machine with either a dual or quad core processor, or you want two machines? That line makes it sound like you want two machines but the rest of your post does not. :)

When you say you want it to hold 4-5 HDDs, does that mean that you want 5 HDDs included in the spec, or do you simply want the sapce available for disks you already have/ intend on getting at a later date?

Do you intend on overclocking?

Do you actually intend on using SLi? In general SLi is more expensive than it's worth. You can usually get better performance from a single card by spending the same or less than you would on a pair for SLi. Only if you're pushing a huge resolution or if you are made of money does it make sense.
 
Last edited:
I put this spec together prior to hearing your answers to the above. Consider it a near-top-end baseline:
asdfkb5.png

If you've got more to spend than that we can certainly go up. Similarly, if you want to spend less we can definitely cut that down. Is this amount of storage sufficient? I included a fancy CPU cooler assuming you want to overclock. If you don't, it's not necessary.
 
Thanks dude

Yeah i want to be able to upgrade the hard-drives as i go along

And i intend to overclock it

I mean like if the board can take Dual Core and Quad Core, not at the same time though :D

BillytheImpaler thanks for that dude :) but i am not too keen on Gigabyte
 
BillytheImpaler - I just looked at the total of that spec you done me and that is no where near what i can get at the moment, is there anything there that can be downgraded and then upgraded at a later date??

Thanks T
 
It might help if you posted a budget that people could work to, there are areas where you can save cash but rather than doing it randomly it is easier to simply work towards a fixed figure. The most obvious areas would be to remove 4gb of Ram and some of the hard drives because they are both easy to add later.
 
Absolutely. First off you can cut the number of hard disks down to one or two. You can drp the graphics card to an 8800 GTS or an 8800 GT which should give a large percentage of the same performance while costing less and using less power. You can get a P35-based mobo like the Asus P5K. You can drop the case to a Lian-Li PC-7. You can drop the CPU cooler to an Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro. You can drop the capacity of the hard disks. You can drop the PSU to a Corsair HX 520. You can drop to 2 or 4 GiB RAM rather than 8.

A working budget would let us get more specific.
 
This is still a bit over the budget but it is a pretty solid base and could be expanded easily.

OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-6400C5 Dual Channel Vista Gold Series DDR2 (OCZ2G8004GK) £42.99
(£50.51) £42.99
(£50.51)
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £64.99
(£76.36) £64.99
(£76.36)
Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 "Energy Efficient SLACR 95W Edition" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail £121.99
(£143.34) £121.99
(£143.34)
Sony NEC Optiarc AD-7200S 20x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM £15.99
(£18.79) £15.99
(£18.79)
Antec Sonata III Piano Black Quiet Case - EarthWatts 500W PSU £66.99
(£78.71) £66.99
(£78.71)
PNY GeForce 8800 GT 512MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail £109.99
(£129.24) £109.99
(£129.24)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3250410AS) £33.99
(£39.94) £33.99
(£39.94)
Sub Total : £456.93
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 : £81.88
Total : £549.76
 
That looks nice, semi. If it really needs to get lower and you're overclocking, dropping the CPU to an E2200 would be a good step. You can 'clock it to the sky to make up for the fewer number of CPUs.
 
The case has space for up to six 3.5" drives and the PSU that comes with it is pretty capable. The motherboard supports up to eight hard drives if memory serves so that should be fine as well, it doesn't support SLi though but I doubt that will be much of an issue unless you are going to be gaming at high resolutions.
 
I have got a 32" HD Ready TV i was going to hook it up to be then again i would rather hook it up to a proper pc monitor.

semi-pro, you sure do know your stuff. Thanks for helping me mate
 
Sorry to make another post, but i have been thinking...

Doesn't the Gigabyte motherboards need certain drivers to work at all?? That is what a friend has told me
 
tl-2k7 said:
Sorry to make another post, but i have been thinking...

Doesn't the Gigabyte motherboards need certain drivers to work at all?? That is what a friend has told me
Click to expand...

So do all motherboards, but they come with them all on disc-very easy to set up. My P35C DS3R is a bit dodgy, but from what I have heard the P35 DS3R is a very solid board.

If you don't like Gigabyte, look at the Abit IP35 range. Also, if you need to cut back a bit cash-wise, look for a 3870.

Finally, nice monitor-I have one and love it!
 
your friend was lying...

Its always worried me a bit when people post a thread where they want an internet/msn PC that must have 8GB RAM?!?!? Ive gone from 2 to 4 in my gaming rig and seen a decrease in gaming performance! You dont need more than 2, but at the price of DDR2 you may aswell buy 4 to future proof it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom