Spec check please

Jimmy T · 28 Dec 2006 at 21:49

Hi All

My first post on here so i'll try and make it a good'n.

Basically I haven't upgraded my pc for about 2 years - it's currently an AMD 2500+ Shuttle SNG42 system, 1gb ram, Radeon 9600 XT. I am now hoping to do a new build since this isn't really up to standard any more. I play the occasional game but I wouldn't say I'm a mad gamer. I also design websites so would ideally like something fast and reliable that will last a couple of years. The sort of games I hope to play are Oblivion and Supreme Commander when it's released. Having read numerous posts on here I have come up with a basic rig which i am pretty sure will do the job. My max budget is around £750 for the base but my question is, is this rig a little overkill i.e. could I get a system that will handle the above games without having to shell out so much money for something that will be obsolete in about 12 months time? Any thoughts appreciated.

Corsair HX 520W ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU (CMPSU-520HXUK) £59.99
(£70.49)
Corsair 2GB DDR2 XMS2 Dominator PC2-6400C4 TwinX (2x1GB) £169.99
(£199.74)
Lian-Li PC-7 PLUS Aluminium Midi-Tower Case - Black
£48.99
(£57.56)
Pioneer DVR-111BK 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter - (Black) OEM £18.35
(£21.56)
Intel Core 2 DUO E6300 "LGA775 Allendale" 1.86GHz (1066FSB) - OEM £93.99
(£110.44)
Gigabyte GA_965P_DS3 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £84.99
(£99.86)
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro CPU Cooler (Socket 775)£13.99
(£16.44)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB ST3250620AS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM £49.99
(£58.74)
HIS ATI Radeon X1950 Pro ICEQ 3 TURBO SILENT Heatpipe 256MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (H195PRQT256DD-R)
£109.99
(£129.24)
Sub Total : £650.27
Shipping : £10.95
Vat : £115.71
Total : £776.93

Jimmy

Firegod · 28 Dec 2006 at 22:23

Hi mate, welcome!

Looks like a decent setup for the money. I notice you haven't included a floppy drive, keyboard & mouse, etc etc so I take it you have everything else.

That should be a good system, should overclock some as well.

Trigger · 28 Dec 2006 at 22:25

Welcome to the forums! :cool:

Should be a very nice setup, all seems compatible.

Firegod said:
That should be a good system, should overclock some as well.

I'll second that, should reach E6600 levels with relative ease

Top choice on the PSU as well

Jimmy T · 30 Dec 2006 at 16:35

Thanks for the welcome and the comments.

I think i will go for this rig but what are your thoughts on the ram? is the Corsair worth the extra 20 odd quid or should i go for Geil/OCZ?

Also, how long will this system last. I realise that all this stuff goes out of date very quickly but will this be ok for a couple of years?

Cheers guys

FrostedNipple · 30 Dec 2006 at 16:58

dpeends on what you use it for, it could last you for 5-8 years, all depends on if you want to upgrade on good games, new o/s's etc. but if your a gamer, and want to stay up there then you might considering saving up after buying this rig so you have enough money for an upgrade if you want it

corsair is worth its value over ocz not sure about geil tho

Jimmy T · 31 Dec 2006 at 00:32

I'm not a mad gamer and I'm not really too bothered about overclocking. I'm really after a decent system that will let me play Oblivion and Supreme Commander with decent graphics and frame rates. I imagine i will want to upgrade to Vista at some point as well. Is it possible to get a cheaper system that will handle these games or is the rig above the best path to take?

Firegod · 31 Dec 2006 at 11:24

Jimmy T said:
I'm not a mad gamer and I'm not really too bothered about overclocking. I'm really after a decent system that will let me play Oblivion and Supreme Commander with decent graphics and frame rates. I imagine i will want to upgrade to Vista at some point as well. Is it possible to get a cheaper system that will handle these games or is the rig above the best path to take?

I don't think you'll be able to find a decent rig cheaper than the one posted.

The only thing I'd say is, you'd be crazy not to even slightly overclock the CPU as the machine will fly along after that. If you wanted a CPU which was quicker at stock, say the E6600, then it's going to cost more money. This way, a small bump up in speed (and as far as I'm aware the CPU will easily do 2.4Ghz) you save yourself some nice wonga.