Martyn's Computer Build Summer 2007

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Joined
15 Sep 2006
Posts
103
Location
Liverpool, UK
Hello folks!

The time is nigh for me to get a new computer. The one I have currently is simply not up to the job, it also has the serious side effect of making me want to smash it with a hammer (because of it being laggy, and also because of that stupid noise it makes). So my friends. I am quite an intensive user and do a lot of multitasking; Photoshop, Dreamweaver, MSN, iTunes, Football Manager and Firefox with 200 tabs are often open at the same time for example, and I also do my fair share of gaming, so I need a pretty good system. Since I upgraded to Vista my current system crawls with its regular day to day tasks...when I get my new PC I will be upgrading to Windows Vista x64 (so I can have 4GB of RAM).

Thanks for your help everyone, I ordered all the parts for my new system last night! Oh yeah!

My current system:

AMD Athlon 64 3500+,
ASUS A8V Deluxe,
1GB (of crap) RAM,
nVidia GeForce FX 5500,
Maxtor 160GB hardrive,

I recently ordered a Samsung SyncMaster 206BW which I am loving so far, so I already have the monitor and I bought a TV card the other day.

So my new system will be:

Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 "LGA775 Kentsfield" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail
Abit IP35 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
OCZ 4GB (2 x 2GB) PC2-6400C5 Dual Channel Vista Gold Series DDR2 (OCZ2G8004GK)
BFG GeForce 8800 GTS OC 640MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail
Western Digital Caviar SE16 500GB 5000AAKS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM
Hauppauge WinTV Nova-T 500 Dual digital DVB-T PCI TV Tuner card
Creative X-Fi Xtreme Gamer 7.1 Soundcard - Retail
Corsair HX 620W ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU (CMPSU-620HXUK)
Antec Nine Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case
Enermax Aurora Brushed Aluminium Keyboard - Black
Icemat Blue 2nd Edition Glass Mouse Pad
Samsung Syncmaster SM206BW 20" Widescreen LCD Flat Panel Monitor

All the new items I ordered will arrive on my 18th birthday tomorrow! Woooo :D!
 
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My only suggestion would be to look at the 640meg version of the 8800. Other than that looks good.
 
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Slinwagh said:
My only suggestion would be to look at the 640meg version of the 8800. other than that looks good.


second that. also psu?

and edit out sweary bud!


also do you want to oc? if so maybe look at the Ballistics ram, amazing stuff, appearently can do 1000mhz+
 
allllec said:
second that. also psu?

and edit out sweary bud!


also do you want to oc? if so maybe look at the Ballistics ram, amazing stuff, appearently can do 1000mhz+

Me swearie ????
 
allllec said:
second that. also psu?

and edit out sweary bud!


also do you want to oc? if so maybe look at the Ballistics ram, amazing stuff, appearently can do 1000mhz+
I cant really afford to get the 640mb version of the 8800 to be honest.

As for the PSU, I *think* my old one can handle it, but if it turns out it cant I will get a new one.

I think I may overclock the CPU a bit, but I am not an avid overclocker and I am pretty n00bish about overlocking RAM and graphics cards.
 
jesus your going from an FX 5500 to an 8800, prepare for a shock man as you see those visual settings go where no visual setting has gone before :eek:
 
Which PSU are you currently using? Other than that it looks like a good setup.

Also, curious: what on earth are you doing that requires 200 tabs open in Fx?
 
Mattus said:
Which PSU are you currently using? Other than that it looks like a good setup.

Also, curious: what on earth are you doing that requires 200 tabs open in Fx?
I can't remember the make of my current PSU, and it would involve me taking it completely out the case to check it. I think it is 600W. If worst comes to worst though, and I put all my new kit in with my old PSU and it could not handle the new kit, what would happen?

Well maybe when I said 200 tabs I was slightly over estimating the situation :p

Thanks!
 
Okay, instead of the Seagate harddrive I'd get one of the new Western Digital Caviar AAKS harddrives. They're the fastest harddrives by far at that price.

You really would benefit from the 640MB version of the GTS. It's not that much more. A 2900XT would outperform the 640 in most games again and is only 5-10 more the last time I checked. The said the 320MB GTS can handle almost any game at full settings nowadays. Crysis, Bioshock and UE3.0 are just around the corner though.

I'd go for a Lian Li case over that Antec 900 case. It looks snazzy but it's not supposed to be much better at cooling then a much cheaper case like the PC7.

A decent 600W PSU would have no problem with your new setup. A budget one might struggle though. A 520W Corsair is what you'd want if your old PSU doesn't work.

Everything else looks good :)
 
Martyn. said:
If worst comes to worst though, and I put all my new kit in with my old PSU and it could not handle the new kit, what would happen?


You could break several of your new expensive hardware components :p
 
Worst-case is your psu could literally go up in a cloud of smoke/catch fire, and while dying there is the risk of it frying any components attached to it. Not to panic you or anything :D

If it were my build I would make the following alterations:

Abit IP35 for £88.11 instead of the Asus P5K SE <- Asus' boards have been nothing special this time around, yet they still charge a premium for them.

OCUK 4gb PC2-5300 for £117.49 instead of OCZ 4gb PC2-6400 <- If you didn't plan on overclocking you could save the money and not notice any drop in performance.

WD Caviar SE16 £66.96 instead of the Seagate 7200.10 <- It's just an all-round better hard-drive, unless the 3 year instead of 5 year warranty is a deal-breaker for you.

You'd save £75 by getting that lot and (again assuming no overclocking) you wouldn't be losing any performance (IMO).
 
OCUK 4gb PC2-5300 for £117.49 instead of OCZ 4gb PC2-6400 <- If you didn't plan on overclocking you could save the money and not notice any drop in performance.

I'd never skimp on RAM. It's the main thing holding most overclocks back. Also you'd definitely notice the difference between 666mhz and 800mhz RAM at stock.
 
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