New Gaming Rig

jamest · 15 Sep 2008 at 19:59

Hi guys,

Thinking of upgrading my computer in the next few weeks. My current setup is an Athlon 64 3500+ & 256mb 7800GTX, so pretty out of date! :eek:

My new rig will be used for web browsing and gaming only (1920 x 1200)

I will need cpu, memory, motherboard, graphics card and case (without PSU).

CPU - Will def be intel, but don't know whether dual or quad?
Memory - 4gb. No idea what speed I need for overclocking.
Motherborad - I like Asus, but really happy to get whatever is recommended...
Graphics card - The 4870 looks good. but do I need X2 for my res? or nvidia?
Case - not too sure here either. I quite like the antec p182, but open to suggestions!

I plan to overclock and the budget is £500-£700.

Thanks in advance!

alex24 · 15 Sep 2008 at 20:52

I don't see much point in going quad if you're just gaming, you won't see that many improvements at the same clock speed until games are better optimised.

Two 4850s in crossfire seems to be the best way to go price/performance wise imo with graphics cards, but if you're really going hardcore at that res you would notice an improvement with the 4870X2. It'll depend on how the budget pans out.

I have a P182 and I think it's excellent. Plenty of space (as long as you're not using the top HDD cage) and nice and cool. Cable management is great too. Weigh a ton though!

Do you have a PSU already?

jamest · 15 Sep 2008 at 20:59

Yes, I have a Corsair HX 620w. Will that be ok with the 4870 X2?

Also I just noticed the Antec 300 Case. Seems quite good for the price. Would the X2 fit in the P182 and 300 cases?

Still got no idea about which motherboard / memory to go for..!?!

I'll try and find some benchmarks for the 4850 crossfire. Thanks for the advice.

Major_Disaster · 15 Sep 2008 at 21:02

Your PSU should be fine.

Get an E8500 and some DDR2 800HMz RAM.

Chalex4 · 15 Sep 2008 at 21:37

The Antec 300 case is great value, but bear in mind that it doesn't come with 2x120mm fans for the front of the case like the 900 does. You have to buy them separately, if I remember correctly.

jamest · 15 Sep 2008 at 22:39

This is my basket at the mo. I don't have a clue what the different chipsets are like (P35, P45, X38, X48) or what RAM I should go for... :confused:

Asus P5K Pro Intel P35 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard (£82.24)

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 LGA775 'Wolfdale' 3.00GHz (1333FSB) - Retail (£117.49)

OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-6400C5 800MHz SLI-Ready Edition Low Latency Dual Channel DDR2 (OCZ2N800SR4GK) (£58.74)

Antec Three Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case (£35.24)

Powercolor ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 2048MB GDDR5 TV-Out/Dual DVI/HDMI (£334.86)

Sub Total : £534.95
Total : £641.43

shaffaaf27 · 16 Sep 2008 at 03:32

the x2 only shines at 2560, so IMO the 4870 will eat anything at 1920

heres my attempt

jamest · 16 Sep 2008 at 08:59

shaffaaf27 - thank you for this.

Is the E8600 worth the extra cash over the E8400?

I really like that case, but its a lot more than the Antec! Would the money saved not be worth spending on an X2? Would there really be no point at 1920? I want to make it as future proof as possible...