looking for some hardware recommendations please

Hutch

Hutch

Hutch

Associate
Joined
13 Jul 2008
Posts
1,005
Location
Wales
Long story short, these days i know next to nothing about current hardware, I have been using gaming laptops for the last few years..

I am looking for a good gaming system, budget is £1400 (or £1500 if it makes much difference but i suspect not), but thats to include a monitor (preferably 22" widescreen).

Any advice really appreciated, I just dont have the time to read around anymore and learn whats good/what isnt..

Oh its for gaming only, possibly some coding but generally use my macbook for that.

Cheers
 
Capture-51.jpg


but if you do not need the OS, then ditch it and the PSU and buy this:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showp...wer Pro 850W ATX2.2 Modular SLi Compliant PSU
 
I agree with the above spec But might want to grab a tuniq tower 120 when it's on special for about £30 just to save a tenner and also worth noting that some corsair tx750 have been found to be quite noisy and another thing corsairs rma shipping address is in the netherlands so if it goes wrong after 1 year you will have to pay to ship it there which can prove quite expensive.
If I were buying now I'd research and find a power supply with a 5 year warranty but a uk rma system.
Make sure you delve deep and find a power supply that has a viable cheap or uk rma returns system better than forking out anywhere from £25-£50 or more to get a replacement.If you get one that you have to send to america will cost you a bomb.
 
Last edited:
Cheers for the advice fellas.

A few more questions if i may.

Is that video card good enough to play games coming out these days? And would it simply be a matter of buying another one if i needed more power?

I would prefer a 22" monitor, so could you suggest a decent one of those instead please? :)

Thanks again
 
2 already in

In the original quote he already included 2 x 4870. That should play just about everything on a 22 inch monitor yes :) (with all the nice toys turned on too)

How about one of those nice new Samsung Aqua series monitors Samsung Aqua 22 inch
 
Sigh, clearly should have stayed asleep longer, didnt notice there were two video cards :)

I saw those samsung aqua monitors and thought they seemed decent, but i cant find any reviews about them..

Also is there much/any difference between the brands for the video cards? As I see ocuk have two HIS cards as a bundle cheaper than two of the powercolor ones?

And finally, How much better is that processor to the 6600?

Cheers again :)
 
Last edited:
Hutch said:
Sigh, clearly should have stayed asleep longer, didnt notice there were two video cards :)

I saw those samsung aqua monitors and thought they seemed decent, but i cant find any reviews about them..

They brand new :), I have a Samsung TV (37") and it's fabulous.

Also is there much/any difference between the brands for the video cards? As I see ocuk have two HIS cards as a bundle cheaper than two of the powercolor ones?
Not much diffrerence, save the cash and order the bundle if thats the way you want to go. I have the sapphire cards, they seem ok, but it's my first time with ATi cards though - brand names are unknown to me.

And finally, How much better is that processor to the 6600?
(9450 has a larger cache (4 x 3mb=12mb) vs (4 x 2mb = 8mb). Its FSB is 1333 as opposed to 1066 on the q6600, so at stock it is faster. However, it has a lower multiplier and seems not to Overclock as well as the Q6600. Seems to get to a similiar speed, but at lower multi's, therefore it feels like it's potential should be higher. If you want to achieve best OC results, Q6600.

If you are waiting before purchasing, there should be an imminent Intel price decrease sometime soon, which will see the Q600 down even more (not much though, dont expect more than 10 quid max), but the Q9450 will drop to around the current Q6600 prices, and the Q9550 will drop to around the current Q9450 prices.)

Cheers again :)
Click to expand...
 
1337z0r said:
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17888289

They have a UK RMA service now, go for the 520W or the 620W either should be more than enough to power that system. I've had the Corsair HX620W for nearly 18 months and it's been rock solid going to use it in my next build too, I doubt I would go for any other PSU company as the corsair is perfect :).
Click to expand...

If you read the thread it is not a UK RMA at all but it is EU (Netherlands) rather than US, so in terms of postage still very expensive.
 
Hutch said:
Sigh, clearly should have stayed asleep longer, didnt notice there were two video cards :)

I saw those samsung aqua monitors and thought they seemed decent, but i cant find any reviews about them..

Also is there much/any difference between the brands for the video cards? As I see ocuk have two HIS cards as a bundle cheaper than two of the powercolor ones?

And finally, How much better is that processor to the 6600?

Cheers again :)
Click to expand...

Go with either 20" or 24" monitor, 22" is waste of money, it's not really bigger than 20 and has the same resolution and same specs, the 24" on the other hand is a really nice upgrade to 20 and can run 1920x1200 resolution which yes, you want to use for this kind of CPU, if you sticking with 20" monitor (1680x1050) dont bother with 4870 x2, you wouldnt need that kind of power.

Just because there is the money to spend doesnt mean you need it, and really 4870x2 is overkill for 1680x1050, even for 1920x1200 it's more than enough.

The that Q9450 for gaming isnt any better than Q6600 at all ( oh well, 2% maybe).


--------------------------------
Product Name Qty Price Line Total
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 320GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3320613AS) Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 320GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3320613AS) £32.99
(£38.76) £65.98
(£77.52)
Pioneer DVR-215BK 20x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM Pioneer DVR-215BK 20x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM £15.99
(£18.79) £15.99
(£18.79)
OcUK Value L2442WD-VA 24" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Glossy Black OcUK Value L2442WD-VA 24" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Glossy Black £199.99
(£234.99) £199.99
(£234.99)
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio 7.1 Sound Card - OEM (PCI) (30SB079200000) Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio 7.1 Sound Card - OEM (PCI) (30SB079200000) £22.99
(£27.01) £22.99
(£27.01)
Samsung SpinPoint F1 750GB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD753LJ) Samsung SpinPoint F1 750GB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD753LJ) £52.99
(£62.26) £52.99
(£62.26)
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 LGA775 'Wolfdale' 3.00GHz (1333FSB) - Retail Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 LGA775 'Wolfdale' 3.00GHz (1333FSB) - Retail £97.99
(£115.14) £97.99
(£115.14)
G.Skill 4GB DDR2 PK PC2-8500C5 (2x2GB) CAS5 Dual Channel Kit (F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK) G.Skill 4GB DDR2 PK PC2-8500C5 (2x2GB) CAS5 Dual Channel Kit (F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK) £79.99
(£93.99) £79.99
(£93.99)
Powercolor ATI Radeon HD 4850 512MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI/HDMI (PCI-Express) - Retail Powercolor ATI Radeon HD 4850 512MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI/HDMI (PCI-Express) - Retail £98.99
(£116.31) £197.98
(£232.62)
Thermaltake ToughPower 850W Modular Power Supply Thermaltake ToughPower 850W Modular Power Supply £89.99
(£105.74) £89.99
(£105.74)
Arctic Cooling MX-2 Thermal Compound Arctic Cooling MX-2 Thermal Compound £3.99
(£4.69) £3.99
(£4.69)
Tuniq Tower 120 CPU Cooler (Socket 478/754/939/940/AM2/LGA775) Tuniq Tower 120 CPU Cooler (Socket 478/754/939/940/AM2/LGA775) £29.99
(£35.24) £29.99
(£35.24)
Sub Total : £857.87
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
City Link Parcel Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri)
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £12.95
VAT is being charged at 17.5% VAT : £152.39
Total : £1,023.21


Case and OS choice left to you.

That ram would give you some nice OC on the E8400,
If you would want to upgrade later to E8600 when it comes out it will be even more handy ( 5ghz on air go go ? ).

2 HDDs in raid0 for apps + 1 storage/backup.

Modular PSU with enough power to handle whatever that you will need in the future.

4850 x2 will do fine for now ( probably enough for later as well) so no point spending tons there - if you will need more power sell and buy later the Super RV770 when it comes or the 4870 1gb versions. (nowadays cards have a lot of power, see for yourself - if it's not enough for you you can sell them for pretty much the same price you paid and get newer stuff for cheaper than it is now - 1gb version of 4870 is coming in 2 weeks time and the higher clocked chips with 2gb soon as well ).

And ofcourse 24" monitor to match all of that :).
 
Last edited:
PhoenixUK said:
if it's not enough for you you can sell them for pretty much the same price you paid and get newer stuff for cheaper than it is now
Click to expand...

Wholeheartedly disagree with this statement, PC hardware devalues quicker than stale food on a supermarket shelf!! Bought my 8800GTS 4 months ago at £179 and now i'd be (very) lucky to get £100 for it.
 
I love this place, thanks again for the advice folks. Also been doing a bit of reading around existing posts so feel a bit more knowledgable now :)

I would be pretty worried about buying stuff and trying to sell it on if it isnt powerful enough..

About the 22" monitor, its a good point that.. I guess 24" would be more of a sweet spot. Anyway I think (since I have a birthday coming in august) that I could, with a little help stretch to a 24" monitor, does anyone have any suggestions? I have a samsung TV and its top notch, so guessing their monitors are similar, I saw this one and thought it seems decent? :

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-054-SA

Edit: I do go to the occasional lan party.. Just how tricky is a 24" monitor to move around? :)
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom