New rig - spec list

totalllama · 1 Aug 2006 at 22:12

I'm currently trying to put a new machine together for a bit of Surfing, Web design, DVD encoding and some gaming (BF2, WoW etc). My P3 866 is getting a bit long in the tooth, not to mention having a slight memory problem :rolleyes:

I can salvage a LiteOn 8x DVD DL burner from it and the rest is for the bin.

I have a budget of roughly £500. Ive been away from the hardware game for a while (pretty bad when your an IT Engineer by trade) anyway, here is a spec list I have put together. I am by no means a man who runs silly res/detail in every game - all be it the more the better though

Case: Thermaltake VB1000BWS Soprano Black/Window £50.47
PSU: Enermax EG465AX-VE(G)(FMA) 460W £35.19
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 3800+ (Socket AM2) £105.69
Mobo: Asus M2N-E (Socket AM2) £70.44
Memory: Corsair 1GB DDR2 Value Select PC5300 Dual Channel (2x512MB) £70.44
GFX: Leadtek GeForce 7600 GT 256MB £117.44
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB £61.75

Total: £511.42

This takes me slightly over budget but the extra 50gb HDD space id say is worth it. I'm not sure how the motherboard will perform. I presume the Nforce 570 Ultra will run the 1 7600GT card just as fast as the Nforce 590 chipsets would do.

If you can find any ways of cutting corners fine and dandy or more bang for the buck id love to hear from you

Thanks
-Jon

semi-pro waster · 1 Aug 2006 at 22:28

Welcome to the forums, for someone who hasn't been paying attention that is not bad at all. It is all compatible, Conroe offers a bit more performance but it is also more expensive than the system you have specified.

The only real way to save money that I would recommend would be to go for a case+PSU combo such and the Antec Sonata II. If you do then I'd throw the money saved after an X1800XT which costs around £150 but is a fantastic card.

totalllama · 1 Aug 2006 at 22:35

Thanks for the quick reply

I think I may do that. I have an old aluminium case which im using currently, This should house the new equipment fine for now. This means that I dont have to spend 50 quid on the Soprano case meaning so I can add an X1800XT. Probably saving 20 quid too, Genius

What performance gains does the X1800XT give over the 7600GT (I've always used NVidia cards you see but am willing to change over). Is it closer to a 7800GT/7900 etc?

Cheers
-Jon

semi-pro waster · 1 Aug 2006 at 22:38

The X1800XT will equal or beat the 7900gt in pretty much anything you care to name plus it doesn't have the same reliability issues. You could then try going for Conroe but that would almost certainly wipe out any savings.

totalllama · 1 Aug 2006 at 22:48

Certianly sounds like a bargin for that card. I think I will edit my system list and incorporate that change.

I seen the Conroe's and realise the potential but for now I feel the AMD should do the trick. Surely my choice of GFX card would limit the increase a conroe system would have over the AMD? Im not sure...

I was going to overclock the 3800 a little to obtain up to 4200/4400 speeds. The Asus website says that moderate clocking is possible with this motherboard so I might aswell (it'll remind me of my Celeron 300A days!).