Purchasing a prebuilt computer

Bonken

Bonken

Bonken

Associate
Joined
4 Sep 2010
Posts
30
Hi,

I'm looking into buying a prebuilt from Overclockers, however I don't have a lot of hardware knowledge and was wondering if some of the experts on here could kindly give me some assistance with their vast knowledge on which setup I should go for. I appreciate any help.

I've currently got a:

Studio XPS 435MT
Core i7 920 2.67 GHZ
4GB RAM
ATI Radeon 4870

My computer's not to bad, but I have a lot of applications and browser windows open at all times, so my phisical memory usage is at a constant 60% or higher. The fan's constantly loud during this as well which is very annoying, even though it has been cleaned.

I leave my computer running 24\7 as I run streams for my websites, so it'll have to be capable of that also. I thought it would be wise to get a i7 again and 8GB minimum of RAM, but after talking to overclockers apparently the computers come with 6GB and that I won't allocate that many resources, which is fine with me. I also play WoW etc sometimes, so a gaming computer is ideal.

I was told this computer:

"Ultima Viper" Intel Core i7 930 2.80GHz @ 4.00GHz DDR3 System

I've got a budget of around £1400, but I'd prefer to spend less, but I am on the computer very often so I don't mind spending some money. Could anyone tell me if there's a better option for me on the website? Or if it's worth me waiting for something new that'll be coming out soon?

Thanks, I appreciate ANY help at all,

James.
 
Hi and Welcome
Youd be better upgrading your existing computer tbh, its not too difficult and what you have now doesnt seem too bad, would this be an option?
 
Do you know someone who has some knowledge of how to build a PC, then you should just upgrade to high quality gear. If not these forums can guide you through stripping down the old one to get the parts needed and putting it in a new case.

This is what I was thinking:
2pzd5c9.jpg


Now this gives you more ram, a super fast SSD to make windows snappy, a good quality power supply, quieter cooling with a good heat sink incase you want to overclock in the future at some point.

The case is a personal choice.

Yes the Viper is good, but you've got a good CPU you can reuse.
 
Seems a waste to buy a full system when you already have an i7 pc that just needs some new bits to make it fly.
 
Hi,

Thanks for the responses. I did intend to upgrade initially but the case my computer came in leaves no room for expanding. I purchased my Radeon 4870 from overclockers a while ago, but the power supply my computer had didn't suit it, so I've bought a more modern power supply already also.

I guess your comments have confirmed that I should just expand it a bit, so I'll look into a new case and such but I don't know anyone with knowledge of hardware so I'll be a little lost for cause.

Thanks for the help so far!

James.
 
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Well if you have another way of accessing the fourm, laptop or something, then there are plenty of willing people to help you in any area you just stuck in with the build.

There are many build logs on how to build a system from scratch.

It is well worth it, for you pleasure and for you skill set to do this

Also get an SSD for what your saying it sounds perfect.

WingZero30 said:
Overclock that i7.
Click to expand...

Its a dell, hes got to change motherboard first...
 
Ok thanks all, I'm going to purchase a case from OC first and try and transfer everything over then go from there using the guides in the sticky - Appreciated.
 
Buy a 2nd hand case (you can get some massive ones for pittance) and buy yourself a motherboard instead. Thus everything should go together nicely and you can then tweak your pc to make it fly. You have some good specs already.
 
Why would Dell make an i7 computer with just 4GB of RAM? I wonder if this is because of Windows 32bit.
 
Tealc said:
Why would Dell make an i7 computer with just 4GB of RAM? I wonder if this is because of Windows 32bit.
Click to expand...

Why would Dell do most things? To cut costs to make their prices low enough to more them attractive to a wider audience.

@Bonken:

You have a good base to start on, you can flog the RAM after you take it out of your machine and your 4870 will still fetch £70ish quid if you get it sold quick.
Your 920 can be overclocked quite easily on the board that iNPUT has recommended, you should hit 3.5 at the very least depending on the quality of the 920, 3.8-4 is a more realistic figure.
6mb of tri-channel ram is more than enough for your system, you wont need 8 (or 12 in this case) as more than often its not utilised very well and will possibly make your CPU overclock harder.

Take a few hours browsing the stickies in these forums, you will find a massive wealth of knowledge and advice about upgrading and building you own PC. I know its kind of daunting and not having much knowledge in computers may make you think its going to be a hard and scary job, but building a computer is like lego for big kids. All the bits can only go one way around, and as long as your firm but carefull you wont have any problems at all.
As suggested, if you have a laptop or somehow to access the net whilst your taking you other machine apart just pop any questions o the forums as you have them and somebody is normally very quick to answer and help.
 
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Good point.

Didn't even think of checking to see that it was a Bloomfield. Chances are coming out of a Dell would be as (Fester suggests) you have a cheaper Lynnfield that wont have a tri-channel controller.
 
fester said:
Run cpuz first to see what you realy have there.Just to make sure it's not a lynnfield i7.
http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html
Click to expand...

Agree.

Run CPU-Z exactly which CPU and socket you have and see how many RAM slots you have. Also, is the RAM running single, dual or triple channel? There's a chance it's running in single chanel. Upgrading 4gb single to 6gb triple is worth doing (if it's the correct CPU). Check to see if you have a 32bit version of windows. If you press windows key + pause/break, it will tell you. Finally, if you have the physical space and the PSU to cope with a 4870 then you can upgrade yor graphics card without upping these limits. An example would be a GTX 460. My personal opinion would be that I wouldn't change the case or motherboard to that PC. If you were determined to overclock and have a GTX 480 (you might be able to house a GTX480 anyway) then I would sell the current PC as it is and buy/build a new one. You would be butchering a sellable and desirable PC just to get the CPU out.

If it was me, I would buy 6gb of triple channel RAM and a GTX 460 and leave it at that.
 
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Hi, I'm running 64bit and I'll install that program immediately now and edit my post soon. Thanks so far, saved me a lot of money :P

Edit: Here's my outputs:

vy71gz.jpg

2zog7z9.jpg

jfgg79.jpg


So first steps would be for me to purchase a new spacious case, and a motherboard?
 
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So it's an older C0 i7 920 that won't clock as well as a D0, still you should easily get a 1ghz overclock on it without pushing your temps through the roof.

CPU-z reports Triple channel RAM, I wonder if that's a true reflection or just a report on your capability. I suppose it could be 3 x 1gb sticks and a fourth added in for giggles by Dell.

For the price of a case, PSU, a motherboard and possibly a decent set of 1600/2000 MHz RAM ( we don't know the speed of your installed RAM ) you should be laughing.
 
Hi,

If possible could someone continue with helping me on my thread, I've decided to try and revive it as now's the time I'm actually going to begin making my purchases to create my computer.

I decided to take it slow, and first move everything from my old computer to my new one, so I'm going to get a case and new motherboard first. I see there's a hell of a lot of cases for sale on OC, so I thought I'd go for something like this:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-175-CM&tool=3

Then for a motherboard, I don't know what specific requirements or compatibility issues to look out for, so I'm quite confused on this matter.

I was wondering if anyone could help me in choosing, if it's down to compatibility my specs are above, I've got a Ezcool ATX 700 JSP PSU (after looking within case) but I cannot find if that's any good or anything, since I can't find anywhere that even sells it after looking online. It's 700W.

I might purchase RAM the same time also, if that's needed on when buying the motherboard. If anyone can help me, It'll be so much appreciated.
 
I would seriously recommend replacing that PSU. Get a Be Quiet 600W E7 or an OCZ StealthXstream 600w both at £58.99. Your current PSU is a nuke waiting to go off!

I would recommend a X58A-UD3R by Gigabyte for the mobo.

Also a set of 6GB XMS3 12800C9 Corsair RAM too :)

Case is purely down to personal choice.
 
Hi, ok thanks so it's worth purchasing that PSU for £59? I assumed mine was good, since I was bloody charged around £150 for it a year and a half ago, I guess I was just blindly conned by the dealership though. I'll add that to my list, and will make my purchases within the next 24 hours :)

Edit: Is that motherboard definitely a wise choice? Seems to have mixed reviews in the responses, which makes me a little hesitant since it's my first build.
 
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