Last Check Before Purchase

Yoggumz · 5 Apr 2008 at 17:12

Hi guys.

Can you please confirm that this is all the correct stuff that i need.

And this will work!!

Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775)
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic 64-Bit Edition DVD - OEM - 1Pk (66G-02141)
BFG GeForce 8800 GT OC 512MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM
Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 "Energy Efficient SLACR 95W Edition" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail
GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC2-6400C4 800MHz Ultra Low Latency DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (GX22GB6400UDC)

I've already got a case, and a 500w PSU.

Total price: £412
Inc P&P + VAT: £495

and i dont really want to go about £500-£520

thanks for your help in advance

tetsuo · 5 Apr 2008 at 17:14

looks good,

disk drive?

Yoggumz · 5 Apr 2008 at 17:16

thanks for the quick response. ive already got a DVD-RW drive a case and PSU

Yoggumz · 5 Apr 2008 at 17:35

Is everybody happy that this setup will work.
im a noob to building PC's and hopefully il have a smooth debut.

semi-pro waster · 5 Apr 2008 at 17:40

I can't see any obvious flaws, however I might suggest spending a little bit extra and buying Vista Premium.

Ben M · 5 Apr 2008 at 17:41

As Semi-pro waster said, home premium is definately the way to go.

Yoggumz · 5 Apr 2008 at 18:00

yea that seems fair enough. il make sure i get home premium. i didnt mean to select home basic.

Yoggumz · 5 Apr 2008 at 18:13

Do you think there is anywhere i can save abit of money?

semi-pro waster · 5 Apr 2008 at 18:18

You could drop the Arctic Freezer 7 Pro for the moment since you are buying a retail CPU, the only other obvious place to save money would be by changing for an OcUK 8800GT but it doesn't come with the lifetime warranty of the BFG.

You could change to a different motherboard such as the Gigabyte P31 DS3L if you are happier with a more basic motherboard.

Yoggumz · 5 Apr 2008 at 18:20

whats the difference between gettin the 32-bit vista to the 64-bit??

which one shall i get

Yoggumz · 5 Apr 2008 at 18:23

semi-pro waster said:
You could drop the Arctic Freezer 7 Pro for the moment since you are buying a retail CPU, the only other obvious place to save money would be by changing for an OcUK 8800GT but it doesn't come with the lifetime warranty of the BFG.

You could change to a different motherboard such as the Gigabyte P31 DS3L if you are happier with a more basic motherboard.

As i said im a noob, so i dont know the differences really between mobo's.
i've heard good things about the BFG gfx card so id like that. why should i drop the cooler on a retail CPU

semi-pro waster · 5 Apr 2008 at 18:24

Unless you need 32bit for compatability with certain old programs then I'd go with 64bit, it supports 4gb Ram and upwards and well I don't really see the point in picking a 32bit version of an OS when 64bit software will become more and more common.

//edit, the retail CPU comes with it's own heatsink and fan, not as good as the Arctic Freezer but more than sufficient for running at stock speeds.

The P31 DS3L doesn't have Raid or Crossfire support and has fewer SATA ports (4 vs 8 if memory serves) but it is fine as a basic motherboard and works for overclocking as well.

Yoggumz · 5 Apr 2008 at 18:27

Yea i think gettin 64-bit will save me having to upgrade later.

whats the main difference between the 2 motherboards.

Yoggumz · 5 Apr 2008 at 18:42

TUNSTALL_NICK · 5 Apr 2008 at 19:25

get 4gb of ram ,vista 64 craves more memory.

semi-pro waster · 5 Apr 2008 at 19:36

Yoggumz said:
??

I edited it into the post directly above yours. The chipsets are different so I've highlighted the main differences and you just need to decide if they matter to you.

Yoggumz · 5 Apr 2008 at 19:51

ok so because its an OEM version, does that mean that i cant put the arctic freezer pro on it.

semi-pro waster · 5 Apr 2008 at 19:57

Yoggumz said:
ok so because its an OEM version, does that mean that i cant put the arctic freezer pro on it.

Sorry you've lost me. The CPU you originally selected was a retail model which means it comes with a stock Intel heatsink and fan, not a brilliant cooler but it does the job easily enough, if you wanted you can swap that for the Arctic Freezer 7 Pro but since you want to save money you might as well try out the stock heatsink and fan first.

Yoggumz · 5 Apr 2008 at 20:23

sorry for the confusion..

thats all i needed to know..

i think its probably worth just gettin the freezer pro...

how much could i possibly overclock with that mobo and that cooler?

semi-pro waster · 6 Apr 2008 at 02:05

The theoretical max is 3.6ghz without running the Ram out of specification (even though it would probably cope with more than 400mhz fine). However I'd suggest 3ghz as a more realistic starting point as anything beyond that requires a good chip, good Ram and good cooling.