New build, seeking advice

DougallDogg

DougallDogg

DougallDogg

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Joined
2 Jan 2011
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156
Location
Bristol
Afternoon all.

Been away from PC gaming for awhile now and really need to update my existing kit which has been collecting dust for the last couple of years.

My current rig at present is as follows:-
Processor (CPU): Intel Core 2 Q6600 (Stock)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-946GMX-S2
Memory (RAM): Unkown brand 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 PC2-5300 (333MHz)
Hard drive: Samsung SpinPoint HD501LJ 500GB SATA 16MB Cache
Graphics card: Nvidia 9800GT 1GB PCI-E
Power supply (PSU): Generic 355w PSU
Case: Generic, cramped case thats better off as an oven

While this was great about a couple of years ago is really showing its age now.

I'm looking to build from scratch and have a few components in mind but would really like the advice of you guys here as you all seam to know your stuff, plus other opinions are always welcome.

The only items I think worth grabbing out of my old PC is the HDD and DVD drive other than that I'm looking to spend in and around £1,500, although not in one go but get a few items each month as not to get an ear bending spending a fortune :D.

I've got my eye on these items so far:-
Processor (CPU): Intel i7 950
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-344-IN

Motherboard: Nothing set in stone just yet but did see these 2 on offer which both have good reviews
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-429-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1692
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-319-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1692

Memory (RAM): Also nothing set in stone just yet but something in the region between 4Gb - 8Gb though more than likely plump for 6Gb.

Graphics card: To start I'll probably get an EVGA GTX 480 but eventualy would be after a second to run in SLI after seeing a friends 3d setup and him showing off some Physx stuff.

Regards to the case and PSU I'd ideally like to get these 2 items first but not too sure what case would be best and how big a PSU I'd need. Granted bigger would be better on both fronts. Also dont know what's the best route to go down regards to cooling seeing as I eventually plan on having 2 cards in there I don't know if going water cooled would be best hence why I'm not to sure on the case either as would need a fair bit of room I assume.

As I said got a rough budget around £1,500 so any ideas or advice would be much appreciated.

Many thanks Doug.
 
Hi
coupla poitns, first being that for gaming i5 is just as good as i7, second being Intel are about to release sandybridge CPUs so that will be the route to go down
If you do insist on going i7 then it would be 6 gig of RAM as the socket 1366 runs triple channel, everything else runs dual so if you do take my advice and go SB itd be 4 or 8, 4 is still fine for gaming
Re the gfx Id say get 570 over 480
If youre planning future SLi with 2 high end NVidias then case wise you want somethign big with good cooling, eg Coolermaster HAF X, PSU wise a decent brand 1000W to handle them 2 top end cards
I get what youre saying about not spending money all at once n getting ear ache (off the mrs I assume? lol) but for PCs it does make much more sense to get everything at once, as such maybe save for a few months, put the money aside then get it all, just an idea?
With that nice budget youll want a SSD for primary drive backed up by an F3 for your HDDs
 
Thanks for the quick reply.

Yeah it would be 100% for gaming as work happily provide me with a new Mac everytime they have a clear out.

Had my eye on a quad core processor again as I've usually got a few things running in the background at the same time but after reading further down your post I might hold off until the SandyBridge CPU's are out and see what people think.

A Coolmaster HAF X looks a great case for what I want to put together but I'm just worried about heat latter on (probably due to my current build hits around 50 degrees at times).

I know saving and buying all at the same time is by far the best way to do it just I've got 1 eye on the VAT increase and I'm like a big kid who just wants some new toys even if they are usualess on there own :D

Thanks for the advice though. Mainly I've budgeted for bits and bobs as well like decent cables and such as well as delivery so cant see it coming to that amount.
 
Example Spec, it comes close

EVGA GeForce GTX 570 1280MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £321.70
Corsair HX 1000W ATX Modular SLI Compliant Power Supply (CMPSU-1000HXUK) £188.93
SB spec mobo - to illustrate Ive included - Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD4 Intel P55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 Motherboard £153.18
OCZ Vertex 2E Bigfoot 90GB 3.5" SATA-II Solid State Hard Drive £149.99
SB 2500K CPU - to illustrtae I've included - Intel Core i5 760 2.80GHz (Lynnfield) (Socket LGA1156) - Retail £145.01
Coolermaster HAF X Gaming Tower Case - Black (RC-942) £142.97
Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMZ8GX3M2A1600C8) £125.99
Samsung SH-B123L/RSBP 12x BD-ROM / 16x DVD Writer Drive - Black (Retail) £49.01
Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103SJ) £40.84
Titan Fenrir Evo CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/LGA1156/LGA1366/AMD K8/AM2/AM2+/AM3) £32.66
Sub Total : £1,125.22
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £14.75
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £227.99
Total : £1,367.96
 
When you tot it up that doesn't look bad at all. Fingers crossed I can get 3 years worth out of that kit.

Thanks for that much appreciated. Although now I've got the painful task of saving up, which I've never been good at.
 
Surely you could just pop some more ram in and change your graphics card? a Q6600 must be more than enough to run all the latest games??
 
He'd also need a new PSU, and case would be highly desirable, as such the only thing he'd be keeping would be mobo and cpu, its certainly an option, but he kinda seemed to want a new system hence I didnt recomend this, but youre right it is an avenue thats open
 
Thanks for all the replies.

I was going to dabble just adding a few parts and crank up my Q6600 as I've seen some good results without having to change anything, but the motherboard I've got is awful and is now way up to the job. I don't think I can get any better ram in it. Plus I'm straining my little 355w PSU as it is at the moment and for the sake of putting a few extra components in it to make it up to spec for today I'd rather plan for the future.

Though any opinions are welcome as what is the best idea to pursue.
 
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