New system

FMF · 10 Jul 2008 at 02:10

Hi all,
I've been looking to BUY or use the PC builder on overclockers website and was looking for some recomendations. I think the graphics card of choice is the 4870 however when it comes to the CPU I am unsure. The Q6600 keeps getting recommended (on these forums) however its becoming pretty old isn't it? I'm looking for this pc to last a good 3 years and be able to play games at good spec for that time span.

The other CPU I was checking out was the Q9450, this seems to have higher spec than the Q6600 so I'm tempted to look for a system with this.

Q9450:
- 2.66GHz clock speed (8x Multiplier)
- 12MB L2 Cache
Q6600:
- 2.40GHz clock speed
- 8MB L2 Cache

Note at this point I'm not looking to overclock any of the parts. The budget is probably around £900 I am looking for the parts you recommend to last a good 3 years.

I know a lot of you guys will tell me to build my own however I do not want to risk breaking any of them. Also with the pre-built PC's you get a 1 year warranty do you also get a warranty if you buy the parts and they end up not working within a year? I may be able to get someone to build it for me hence why I am asking.
Thanks in advance.

jak731 · 10 Jul 2008 at 02:24

if you buy parts, then your problem with the warranty is knowing the warranty length of each part and where to send it off to if you need

cpu wise, i think the q6600 will be fine for 3 years, but saying that im about to change mine for either the x3350 or q9550.

q9550 is getting a price drop in Q3, so if your not Ocing, i say wait for that if your going to get a q9450and just get a cheap celaron or something as a tempary cpu for now if you need

FMF · 10 Jul 2008 at 16:17

Any motherboard/ hardrive recommendations. The Hardrive is the slowest part of the PC right? I guess the higher the RPM the faster it is??

lynchy6789 · 10 Jul 2008 at 17:37

FMF said:
Any motherboard/ hardrive recommendations. The Hardrive is the slowest part of the PC right? I guess the higher the RPM the faster it is??

I would go for the samsung F1 drives a firm favourite and DFI motherboards

semi-pro waster · 10 Jul 2008 at 17:45

FMF said:
Any motherboard/ hardrive recommendations. The Hardrive is the slowest part of the PC right? I guess the higher the RPM the faster it is??

Welcome to the forums. Up to a point, other advances in drive technology can negate pure RPM speed to a large degree so a 1st generation 36gb Raptor at 10k rpm might not be much quicker than the newer Samsung F1 at 7200 rpm for instance (I'm not sure of the actual results, it is just an example).

FMF · 11 Jul 2008 at 21:58

This is one of the systems that has interested me:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showp...16&subcat=&name=Ultima Pheonix 4870 Crossfire

Now two questions, notice it comes with a LianLi case I can however select a cheaper case would you recommend doing that if so which one.

Also are these system customisable?

semi-pro waster · 12 Jul 2008 at 02:20

It depends what you like but the Antec cases are pretty solid generally, the Nine Hundred has been out for a while and is quite good but I don't like the looks personally and it is a bit of a dust magnet, the Three Hundred is the most understated but also cheapest and the Twelve Hundred is the highest end option. Unless you are struggling for cash on that build I'd probably stick with the Lian-Li but that is at least partly because I like the looks.

You might be able to customise those systems a bit more if you drop OcUK a webnote but really you are meant to use the PC Builder service I think.

PhoenixUK · 12 Jul 2008 at 03:58

No PC is going to last you 3 years, unless you go for skulltrail with best CPUs up to date you can put on it and OC them to 4ghz ;]. Add 8gb DDR3 and 4870x4 in quad crossfire.

I would say buy an avarage setup like E8400/Q6600/ 4850-4870 and then in 1,5yr time when it gets old just sell it, add the few quid you saved and buy new one.

Imo there is no point spending cash on newest stuff which you won't be able to use for 1yr and then at the end it will last only 4months extra over the half-price system.

Unless you're an enthusiast that just wants a new toy to play with, but then, those change PC every six months so they don't care much about it lasting long I guess

.

FMF · 12 Jul 2008 at 19:42

Thanks for the advice Phoenix.

May I ask your thoughts on this system:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-007-OE

What concerns me with the Q6600 is the clock speeds. 2.4 Ghz isn't that great and I dont plan to overclock it will that have a negative effect on the games I play?

FMF · 17 Jul 2008 at 20:31

Ok the two systems I'm looking at are these two:

1) http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showp...tid=1080&subcat=&name=Ultima Accelerator 4850

2)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showp...40GHz @ QX6950+ 3.30GHz Dual Core DDR2 System

The second link has me slightly confused though:

It says "- Award winning Corsair Dominator 4GB PC2-8500 (2x1GB) Dual Channel Kit (Overclocked at 1000MHz+)" so is that 4 GB or 2GB of memory??

semi-pro waster · 17 Jul 2008 at 20:43

The case in the picture of the first system isn't an Antec 900, it is an Antec 300.

The PC in the second link should have 4gb of Ram, it fits the price and the rest of the specification.

I'd personally go for the first PC and ask them to put a 4870 in as it has a newer motherboard, a Blu-Ray drive. The PSU probably isn't quite as good but overall I think it is a bit better balanced.

PhoenixUK · 18 Jul 2008 at 01:02

BUILD YOURSELF ! BUILD YOURSELF ! BUILD YOURSELF ! BUILD YOURSELF ! BUILD YOURSELF ! BUILD YOURSELF ! BUILD YOURSELF ! BUILD YOURSELF ! BUILD YOURSELF !

:-)

))

Your basket
Product Name Qty Price Line Total
Asus P5E Intel X38 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard Asus P5E Intel X38 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £109.99
(£129.24) £109.99
(£129.24)
Pioneer DVR-215BK 20x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM Pioneer DVR-215BK 20x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM £15.99
(£18.79) £15.99
(£18.79)
Antec Nine Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case Antec Nine Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case £55.99
(£65.79) £55.99
(£65.79)
Samsung SpinPoint F1 750GB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD753LJ) Samsung SpinPoint F1 750GB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD753LJ) £52.99
(£62.26) £52.99
(£62.26)
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 LGA775 'Wolfdale' 3.00GHz (1333FSB) - Retail Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 LGA775 'Wolfdale' 3.00GHz (1333FSB) - Retail £97.99
(£115.14) £97.99
(£115.14)
G.Skill 4GB DDR2 PK PC2-8500C5 (2x2GB) CAS5 Dual Channel Kit (F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK) G.Skill 4GB DDR2 PK PC2-8500C5 (2x2GB) CAS5 Dual Channel Kit (F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK) £79.99
(£93.99) £79.99
(£93.99)
Powercolor ATI Radeon HD 4850 512MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI/HDMI (PCI-Express) - Retail Powercolor ATI Radeon HD 4850 512MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI/HDMI (PCI-Express) - Retail £98.99
(£116.31) £197.98
(£232.62)
Thermaltake ToughPower 850W Modular Power Supply Thermaltake ToughPower 850W Modular Power Supply £89.99
(£105.74) £89.99
(£105.74)
Arctic Cooling MX-2 Thermal Compound Arctic Cooling MX-2 Thermal Compound £3.99
(£4.69) £3.99
(£4.69)
Tuniq Tower 120 CPU Cooler (Socket 478/754/939/940/AM2/LGA775) Tuniq Tower 120 CPU Cooler (Socket 478/754/939/940/AM2/LGA775) £29.99
(£35.24) £29.99
(£35.24)
Sub Total : £734.89
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
City Link Parcel Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri)
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £14.95
VAT is being charged at 17.5% VAT : £131.22
Total : £881.06
Better memory
Better CPU ( gaming wise )
Better hdd ... with more space !
a lot better PSU
More GPU power in crossfire :O.
a lot better Cooling
Your own tube of thermal compound !!

a lot better motherboard..

Everything better

.

So if you got that kind of cash to spare, wait no more ! get it ;-)

.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Also money saving version

Your basket
Product Name Qty Price Line Total
Pioneer DVR-215BK 20x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM Pioneer DVR-215BK 20x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM £15.99
(£18.79) £15.99
(£18.79)
Asus P5Q Pro Intel P45 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard Asus P5Q Pro Intel P45 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £71.99
(£84.59) £71.99
(£84.59)
Antec Nine Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case Antec Nine Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case £55.99
(£65.79) £55.99
(£65.79)
Corsair HX 520W ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU (CMPSU-520HXUK) Corsair HX 520W ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU (CMPSU-520HXUK) £59.99
(£70.49) £59.99
(£70.49)
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 LGA775 'Wolfdale' 3.00GHz (1333FSB) - Retail Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 LGA775 'Wolfdale' 3.00GHz (1333FSB) - Retail £97.99
(£115.14) £97.99
(£115.14)
Tuniq Tower 120 CPU Cooler (Socket 478/754/939/940/AM2/LGA775) Tuniq Tower 120 CPU Cooler (Socket 478/754/939/940/AM2/LGA775) £29.99
(£35.24) £29.99
(£35.24)
GeIL 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-6400C5 800MHz Black Dragon DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (GB24GB6400C5DC) GeIL 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-6400C5 800MHz Black Dragon DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (GB24GB6400C5DC) £46.99
(£55.21) £46.99
(£55.21)
Gainward ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB GDDR5 TV-Out/Dual DVI/HDMI (PCI-Express) - Retail Gainward ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB GDDR5 TV-Out/Dual DVI/HDMI (PCI-Express) - Retail £144.99
(£170.36) £144.99
(£170.36)
Samsung SpinPoint F1 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD502IJ) Samsung SpinPoint F1 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD502IJ) £39.99
(£46.99) £39.99
(£46.99)
Sub Total : £563.91
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
City Link Parcel Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri)
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £12.95
VAT is being charged at 17.5% VAT : £100.95
Total : £677.81

I wouldnt choose any of these prebuilts, they're messed up

.

FMF · 21 Jul 2008 at 17:09

Thanks for the support PhoenixUK but I dont want to risk breaking any of the parts.

- Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 "Energy Efficient SLACR 95W Edition" 2.40GHz (1066FSB)
- Asus P5Q Intel P45 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
- HIS ATI Radeon HD 4850 512MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI/HDMI PCI-Express
- Corsair 4GB DDR2 XMS2 PC2-6400C5 TwinX
- Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro CPU Cooler
- Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 500GB SATA-II 32MB Cache
- LG GGC-H20L Blu-Ray Reader & HD-DVD ROM Serial ATA Drive
- OCZ StealthXStream 500w Silent ATX2 Power Supply
£735.53 inc VAT

- Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.40GHz Dual Core CPU Overclocked too a minimum of 3.30Hz and beyond. (8/9 x 400MHz - 1600MHz FSB)
- Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Intel approved cooler
- Arctic Silver 5 Heatsink compound professionally hand installed by our technicians
- Abit IP35 Pro Intel P35 (Socket LGA775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
- Award winning Corsair Dominator 4GB PC2-8500 (2x2GB) Dual Channel Kit (Overclocked at 1000MHz+)
- 500GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 32MB Cache SATA-2 Hard Drive
- ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB GDDR5 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) DirectX 10.1 Graphics Card
- Samsung 22x DVD±RW Dual Layer LabelFlash ReWriter (Black)
- Corsair TX 650W Next Generation Power Supply
- 1yr Onsite Collect & Return Warranty (Can collect from any address (UK Mainland ONLY) and same day collection possible if requested before 11am)
£769.61 inc VAT

I look at both the system and both are pretty much what I'm after however just a few questions so I can clearer understand certain aspects.

1. Difference between p35 and p45 motherboard??

2. Dual channel memory what is it and is it slower?

3. On the second system is it only the CPU/ memory warranty that is void due to the overclock.

4. If the CPU blows up because of the overclock will it damage other parts of the system?

semi-pro waster · 21 Jul 2008 at 18:05

1. P45 is the newer chipset and narrows the gap on the top end chipsets (X38/X48), other than that it fully supports PCI-E 2.0 although that is of slightly limited benefit at the moment and supports 1600mhz FSB CPUs again of limited benefit right now.

2. Dual channel Ram is the standard now, it is about 5% quicker than single channel last time I looked but very few people would even try single channel.

3. Yes, the other parts will still have the standard warranty from the manufacturer. However OcUK will give the system a one year warranty anyway so if the CPU/Ram fails you get that warranty regardless.

4. Possible depending on how it does it but very unlikely both in terms of potentially causing damage and actually going wrong in the first place.

FMF · 21 Jul 2008 at 18:17

Thanks, looks like the second system will be the one I go for. That and the OcUK 24" monitor, can't wait.

The 4870 will be able to run games at this resolution correct?

semi-pro waster · 21 Jul 2008 at 18:23

Shouldn't be a problem for the 4870, it is a very good card and very capable especially given the price.

FMF · 22 Jul 2008 at 18:09

Thanks for the answers so far, one more question.

Will the case have adequate cooling so none of the hardware overheats?

semi-pro waster · 22 Jul 2008 at 20:00

The case will be fine, most cases have at least one fan to them and the PSU and graphics card both vent air to outside the case.

RobHague · 22 Jul 2008 at 20:13

PhoenixUK said:
No PC is going to last you 3 years.

Well for anything other than games, it should.

On another note, I do recommend the pre-builts by OcUK. Yes you can build it yourself, and there is satisfaction in doing that (and potential money savings) but OcUK do have pretty good prices on their systems and there are bargains there, they dont seem to run any significant "markup". Plus you end up with a system thats had more care in building than something you would buy from you local PC umm PLANET

and you know whats in it (even down to the PSU).

If you see an OcUK prebuilt near to what you want, id go fo it. Waiting for their "This Week Only" deals on the systems is worth while too.

FMF · 16 Aug 2008 at 22:28

Well I ordered this a couple of weeks ago and everything is running smoothly:

- Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.40GHz Dual Core CPU Overclocked too a minimum of 3.30Hz and beyond. (8/9 x 400MHz - 1600MHz FSB)
- Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Intel approved cooler
- Arctic Silver 5 Heatsink compound professionally hand installed by our technicians
- Abit IP35 Pro Intel P35 (Socket LGA775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
- Award winning Corsair Dominator 4GB PC2-8500 (2x2GB) Dual Channel Kit (Overclocked at 1000MHz+)
- 500GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 32MB Cache SATA-2 Hard Drive
- ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB GDDR5 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) DirectX 10.1 Graphics Card
- Samsung 22x DVD±RW Dual Layer LabelFlash ReWriter (Black)
- Corsair TX 650W Next Generation Power Supply
- 1yr Onsite Collect & Return Warranty (Can collect from any address (UK Mainland ONLY) and same day collection possible if requested before 11am)
£769.61 inc VAT

Two little gripes I'm having with it are the the RAM although 4 GB is infact Geil rather that the "Awarding winning Corsair".

Also it appears that the processor hasn't been overclocked.