Spec Advice Required

[Kilkus]

Hey all, this is my 1st post here on these forums so bear with me.

I've decided to build my own computer for the first time and i need some spec advice, the computer will be used for work with 3DS Max 9/2008, Zbrush 3, Photoshop CS3 mainly and will be running it on Vista 64.

Ideally i'd like to spend around the £700 mark but can go a little over if needed. I'm mainly looking for lots of RAM and a Quad core processor, its not going to be used for gaming so the graphics card is not a huge issue as long as it can surport a 22" monitor and maybe give 3DS max a little boost in the viewports.

So far i've come up with this, which leaves me with just a gfx card to choose, i'm just looking for some advice and maybe changes to what i've selected.

Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 "Energy Efficient SLACR 95W Edition" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail £139.99
(£164.49) £139.99
(£164.49)
Antec Sonata III Piano Black Quiet Case - EarthWatts 500W PSU £61.99
(£72.84) £61.99
(£72.84)
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound (3.5g) £5.99
(£7.04) £5.99
(£7.04)
Pioneer DVR-212DBK 18x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
(£21.14) £17.99
(£21.14)
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775) £14.99
(£17.61) £14.99
(£17.61)
Belkin F5D7000UK 54Mbps Wireless Desktop PCI Network Adapter £14.99
(£17.61) £14.99
(£17.61)
OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-6400C5 Dual Channel Vista Gold Series DDR2 (OCZ2G8004GK) £69.99
(£82.24) £69.99
(£82.24)
Belinea 2225S1W 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Black/Silver £119.99
(£140.99) £119.99
(£140.99)
Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (WD2500AAKS) £37.99
(£44.64) £37.99
(£44.64)
Abit IP35 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £72.99
(£85.76) £72.99
(£85.76)
Sub Total : £556.90
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
City Link Parcel Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri)
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : FREE
VAT is being charged at 17.5% VAT : £97.46
Total : £654.36

Many thx in advance

Stuart

 

[Kilkus]

Ok i've changed over the coller to a tuniq tower and upgraded the harddrive to a 500gb version, i go just over budget but thats ok.

Spec as follows:

Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 "Energy Efficient SLACR 95W Edition" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail £139.99
(£164.49) £139.99
(£164.49)
Antec Sonata III Piano Black Quiet Case - EarthWatts 500W PSU £61.99
(£72.84) £61.99
(£72.84)
Pioneer DVR-212DBK 18x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
(£21.14) £17.99
(£21.14)
Belkin F5D7000UK 54Mbps Wireless Desktop PCI Network Adapter £14.99
(£17.61) £14.99
(£17.61)
OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-6400C5 Dual Channel Vista Gold Series DDR2 (OCZ2G8004GK) £69.99
(£82.24) £69.99
(£82.24)
Belinea 2225S1W 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Black/Silver £119.99
(£140.99) £119.99
(£140.99)
Abit IP35 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £72.99
(£85.76) £72.99
(£85.76)
Tuniq Tower 120 CPU Cooler (Socket 478/754/939/940/AM2/LGA775) £27.99
(£32.89) £27.99
(£32.89)
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT SILENT 256MB GDDR3 HDTV/DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (11116-00-20R) £39.99
(£46.99) £39.99
(£46.99)
Western Digital Caviar SE16 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (WD5000AAKS) £55.99
(£65.79) £55.99
(£65.79)
Sub Total : £621.90
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
City Link Parcel Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri)
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : FREE
VAT is being charged at 17.5% VAT : £108.83
Total : £730.73

Still seeking any advice or opinions

thx again

 

[Kilkus]

I'll stick with the OCZ ram as don't mind being a little over budget, i'm also thinking of overclocking the system a little so i gather the OCZ would be better for that, but then again thats why i'm here asking for advice.

maybe it might be worth spending a few extra pennys on gfx and grabbing something like a
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-164-SP&tool=3

 

[Kilkus]

Well you know better to be prepared

on another note tho, would that card be a better choice than the:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-141-SP&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=404

or am i better to go for an nvidia card, i really have no idea about gfx cards so help with this would be greatly appreciated.

thx again

 

[Kilkus]

ok this is what i'm gonna go for a i think

Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 "Energy Efficient SLACR 95W Edition" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail £141.99
(£166.84) £141.99
(£166.84)
Antec Sonata III Piano Black Quiet Case - EarthWatts 500W PSU £61.99
(£72.84) £61.99
(£72.84)
Pioneer DVR-212DBK 18x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
(£21.14) £17.99
(£21.14)
Belkin F5D7000UK 54Mbps Wireless Desktop PCI Network Adapter £14.99
(£17.61) £14.99
(£17.61)
OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-6400C5 Dual Channel Vista Gold Series DDR2 (OCZ2G8004GK) £69.99
(£82.24) £69.99
(£82.24)
Belinea 2225S1W 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Black/Silver £119.99
(£140.99) £119.99
(£140.99)
Abit IP35 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £72.99
(£85.76) £72.99
(£85.76)
Tuniq Tower 120 CPU Cooler (Socket 478/754/939/940/AM2/LGA775) £27.99
(£32.89) £27.99
(£32.89)
HIS ATI Radeon HD 3850 Pro 256MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI/HDMI (PCI-Express) - Retail £89.99
(£105.74) £89.99
(£105.74)
Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (WD2500AAKS) £37.99
(£44.64) £37.99
(£44.64)
Sub Total : £655.90
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
City Link Parcel Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri)
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : FREE
VAT is being charged at 17.5% VAT : £114.78
Total : £770.68

i believe thats everything i need, i'm guessing all the connectors and wires will come with the case and hardware. or is there anything else i need to order