New spec - suggestions?

Irf · 1 Jul 2007 at 23:14

Hi all,

I've decided I need to upgrade my PC. I'm talking about CPU, motherboard, RAM HDD and probably graphics. I'm looking for suggestions, to fit this sort of brief:

Games - older FPS like Far Cry, HL2, and newer ones as they take my fancy

Apps - normal browser, office, mail stuff. Also photo and video editing, DVD programs, etc.

I'd like to keep my existing case and other bits and pieces if possible. Currently I have AMD XP2500+, 1GB RAM, 200GB EIDE, RAdeon 9800Pro. The PC is OK, but struggles a bit with some games and also a lot with video editing.

So what would you recommend? Budget is flexible to a degree. Hopefully won't need to spend more than around £400..... or is that dreaming?

Thanks,

Irf.

stickroad · 1 Jul 2007 at 23:16

Will you be doing any overclocking?

Alex UK · 1 Jul 2007 at 23:24

If you could push your budget up to £500, then you could get the following:

Intel Core 2 Duo E6320 "LGA775 Conroe" 1.86GHz (1066FSB) - Retail
(£105.74) £89.99

Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB 2500KS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM
(£43.46) £36.99

OcUK GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail
(£182.11) £154.99

Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 PC2-5300C3 667MHz Dual Channel Kit (BL2KIT12864AA663)
(£70.49) £59.99

Gigabyte GA_P35_DS3R (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
(£93.99) £79.99

Sub Total : £421.95
Shipping : £8.95
VAT : £75.41
Total : £506.31

This is a brilliant system. However, if you want to stick to £400, then you should drop the CPU down to a E2160, and the GPU to a X1950 Pro or 8600GT.

Irf · 1 Jul 2007 at 23:33

Woah - fast replies, thanks!

Yes, I can move the budget if the performance increase makes it worthwhile. Let's say £500 then.

I might dabble in overclocking, provided I end up with stability. That's important to me.

Are Gigabyte boards good these days? I've bought Abit or Asus in the past.

Thanks again,

Irf.

Alex UK · 1 Jul 2007 at 23:39

Yep, spending £500 to get the above spec is definitely worthwhile. The C2D chips overclock very well, and you shouldn't have any problems with stability providing you stay sensible. Gigabyte boards seem to be very good these days, especially there P35 range. Good luck mate.

Jaffa_Cake · 2 Jul 2007 at 00:29

Super spec from Alex UK there! Athough it might be worthwhile dropping the CPU to a E4300 and getting an aftermarket cooler.. You would end up with faster and a cooler/quieter system.

Take a look at the Noctua/Tuniq CPU coolers.

truebluecfc · 2 Jul 2007 at 01:07

This is what i would get, it is a little over your budget off £400 but well worth the extra money and loads of potential for overclocking.

Intel Core 2 Duo E4400 "LGA775 Allendale" 2.00GHz (800FSB) - Retail
£73.99
(£86.94)

Gigabyte GA_P35_DS3R (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
£79.99
(£93.99)

Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 PC2-5300C3 667MHz Dual Channel Kit (BL2KIT12864AA663)
£59.99
(£70.49)

OcUK GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail
£154.99
(£182.11)

Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB 2500KS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM
£36.99
(£43.46)

Noctua NH-U12F (Socket LGA775/754/939/940/AM2) Heatsink
£32.99
(£38.76)

Subtotal £438.94
£515.75 inc VAT

ChoÞÞer · 2 Jul 2007 at 01:38

truebluecfc said:
This is what i would get, it is a little over your budget off £400 but well worth the extra money and loads of potential for overclocking.

Intel Core 2 Duo E4400 "LGA775 Allendale" 2.00GHz (800FSB) - Retail
£73.99
(£86.94)

Gigabyte GA_P35_DS3R (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
£79.99
(£93.99)

Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 PC2-5300C3 667MHz Dual Channel Kit (BL2KIT12864AA663)
£59.99
(£70.49)

OcUK GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail
£154.99
(£182.11)

Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB 2500KS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM
£36.99
(£43.46)

Noctua NH-U12F (Socket LGA775/754/939/940/AM2) Heatsink
£32.99
(£38.76)

Subtotal £438.94
£515.75 inc VAT

i would go with this 1, due to the fact its got a after market cooler

Jaffa_Cake · 2 Jul 2007 at 01:42

truebluecfc said:
*snip*

TY for taking my suggests and reposting it as a full spec :rolleyes:

Alex UK · 2 Jul 2007 at 08:55

Jaffa_Cake said:
Super spec from Alex UK there! Athough it might be worthwhile dropping the CPU to a E4300 and getting an aftermarket cooler.. You would end up with faster and a cooler/quieter system.

Take a look at the Noctua/Tuniq CPU coolers.

Yep, your probably right there. Go with "truebluecfc's" spec, even if he did just blatantly copy it from Jaffa :rolleyes:

. You could even drop the CPU to a E4300 if your intent on sticking to £500.

triggerthat · 2 Jul 2007 at 10:23

Intel Core 2 Duo E6320 "LGA775 Conroe" 1.86GHz (1066FSB) - Retail / Gigabyte 965P DS3 / 1GB GeIL PC2-6400C4 Dual Channel Kit - Bundle Intel Core 2 Duo E6320 "LGA775 Conroe" 1.86GHz (1066FSB) - Retail / Gigabyte 965P DS3 / 1GB GeIL PC2-6400C4 Dual Channel Kit - Bundle £189.97
(£223.21) £189.97
(£223.21)
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro CPU Cooler (Socket 775) Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro CPU Cooler (Socket 775) £14.99
(£17.61) £14.99
(£17.61)
Samsung SpinPoint P SP2504C 250GB SATA-II 8MB Cache - OEM Samsung SpinPoint P SP2504C 250GB SATA-II 8MB Cache - OEM £35.99
(£42.29) £35.99
(£42.29)
Leadtek GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail Leadtek GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail £199.99
(£234.99) £199.99
(£234.99)
Sub Total : £440.94
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
City Link Parcel Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri)
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £8.95
VAT is being charged at 17.5% VAT : £78.73
Total : £528.62

Irf · 3 Jul 2007 at 07:52

Thanks to all... really useful!

Final question : If I didn't want to go with the Gigabyte mobo and Noctua cooler, what would be a second choice?

Cheers,

Irf.