Spec check please

[christopher]

I'm looking to building this rig in a Lian-Li v1100 (already own). Can anybody give me some feedback please? I currently have a 19" and 17" LG TFT monitor. Purely a gaming PC. I might get 2 widescreen TFT's later to replace the LG's.

• Intel Core 2 DUO E6600 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail (£217.36)
• Tuniq Tower 120 CPU Cooler (£34.06)
• Asus P5W DH Deluxe WiFi Motherboard (£155.09)
• Corsair 2GB DDR2 XMS2 Dominator PC2-6400C4 TwinX (2x1GB) (£202.09)
• BFG GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual (£291.39)
• Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB SATA-II 16MB Cache OEM (£66.96)
• Corsair HX 520W ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU (CMPSU-520HXUK) (£70.49)
• Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Music - OEM (£51.11)
• Scythe S-FLEX 800RPM Ultra Quiet 120mm Fan - 3/4 pin (£25.74)
• Microsoft Windows XP Media Centre 2005 Edition - OEM - 1Pk (£77.54)

Total : £1,191.83

Cheers

Christopher

 

[masslac]

Change the RAM to http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-017-GS and also buy Vista. Hitachi drives are marginally cheaper and very reliable, but everything generally looks great.

 

[christopher]

Ok, so I'll change the Ram to G.Skill sticks. I'd prefer the Seagate drive as i have 4 in my current set up and they are quiet and reliable.

and also buy Vista.

I was thinking XP would be better for gamers, less memory usage etc?

Christopher

 

[masslac]

Dude, DX10. Also the E6600 and 2GB DDR2 will eat it for breakfast anyway.

 

[christopher]

Dude, DX10. Also the E6600 and 2GB DDR2 will eat it for breakfast anyway.

Cool, I take it DX10 will only be released for Vista. I'm sold...

Just a quick one, will it be worth getting the GTX over the GTS?

 

[masslac]

Both will hugely outperform anything else on the market, so it's just a case of what you can afford, really.

Yes, DX10 is Vista only and must also have compatible hardware (IE - just the 8800 series nvidia cards atm).

 

[christopher]

Maybe i'll stay with the GTS then. Is it worth going for the ultimate version of Vista? Also 64bit or 32bit?
I tried 64bit beta but had massive problems trying to dual boot the RC1 and 32 bit XP Pro...

 

[Trigger]

Hitachi drives are marginally cheaper and very reliable, but everything generally looks great.

Err... no, no they're not

Maybe i'll stay with the GTS then. Is it worth going for the ultimate version of Vista? Also 64bit or 32bit?
I tried 64bit beta but had massive problems trying to dual boot the RC1 and 32 bit XP Pro...

All depends on which order you install them- vista should be done last as it uses a different boot loader to XP. Anyway, I would go with Home Premium unless you need any of the features in Ultimate. Not sure whats best for gaming but I'll be using 64-bit Home Premium

 

[christopher]

i'll not be dual booting on my new rig, so it'll not be an issue. I'll probably go 64bit.

Trigger, i have just been reading through another thread and you recommend the Corsair 620w PSU. You think the 520w will be ok for my setup? What about if i decide to go GTX?
Also you mentioned 680 boards? My limit is £1500. So i have a few quid left...

Cheers

 

[Trigger]

Well if you have money left then yeah, I would go for the 620W so you will be able to upgrade easier next time- you can never have too much power. Motherboard wise, I would go with this brilliant little motherboard: EVGA nForce 680 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard. One final suggestion, change your RAM to the Cellshock stuff for £223- heard nothing but good things about it whereas I've heard people have not been impressed by the Corsair Dominator stuff

 

[christopher]

Ok, so i've done a lot more reading up through the forum and i'm pretty set on this final setup.

• Intel Core 2 DUO E6600 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail (£217.36)
• Tuniq Tower 120 CPU Cooler (£34.06)
• EVGA nForce 680 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard (£185.64) *Changed
• CellShock 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 PC2-6400C4 800MHz Dual Channel Kit (£223.24) *Changed
• BFG GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual (£291.39)
• Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB SATA-II 16MB Cache OEM (£66.96)
• Corsair HX 620W ATX2.2 Modular PSU (CMPSU-620HXUK) (£99.86) *Changed
• Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Music - OEM (£51.11)
• Scythe S-FLEX 800RPM Ultra Quiet 120mm Fan - 3/4 pin (£25.74)
• Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-Bit Edition DVD - OEM - 1Pk (£78.71) *Changed
• Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound (3.5g) *Added

Total : £1,277.59

 

[masslac]

Looking VERY nice there.

 

[Trigger]

Ok, so i've done a lot more reading up through the forum and i'm pretty set on this final setup.

• Intel Core 2 DUO E6600 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail (£217.36)
• Tuniq Tower 120 CPU Cooler (£34.06)
• EVGA nForce 680 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard (£185.64) *Changed
• CellShock 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 PC2-6400C4 800MHz Dual Channel Kit (£223.24) *Changed
• BFG GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual (£291.39)
• Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB SATA-II 16MB Cache OEM (£66.96)
• Corsair HX 620W ATX2.2 Modular PSU (CMPSU-620HXUK) (£99.86) *Changed
• Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Music - OEM (£51.11)
• Scythe S-FLEX 800RPM Ultra Quiet 120mm Fan - 3/4 pin (£25.74)
• Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-Bit Edition DVD - OEM - 1Pk (£78.71) *Changed
• Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound (3.5g) *Added

Total : £1,277.59

Perfect spec there mate, will be very nice

 

[gumbald]

Just another agreement. And definitely the Seagate

 

[christopher]

Wicked, thanks guys. When you're about to spend close to 1500 quid it's nice to get some positive advice and views. I'll just have to build this bad boy without an operating system and wait until Vista comes out.

Christopher

 

[masslac]

Sod that, just use Ubuntu and have a play around till you can get Vista sorted.

 

[gumbald]

Linux for a while?

EDIT: Went for a drink, never refreshed...