Spec Check

Scooter72 · 27 Mar 2009 at 13:34

Hey All,

After a bit of reading and trawling through these forums I have nearly settled on a spec for a new i7 rig with a monitor. Will be for home office, Photoshop and Gaming.

Any comments on compatability issues or better component alternatives would be welcome. I would add that I would rather save a bit of cash at the expense of a bit of a performance hit rather than spending more for a small gain. This is the top end of my budget.

Thanks in advance

Intel Core i7 920 2.66 Ghz Nehalem (255.29)
Giagabyte EX58-UDR3 DDR Mobo (164.44)
Zotac GeForce GTX 260 (169.04)
Kingston HyperX 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 1600MHZ (89.99)
Noctua NH-U12P Cooler (57.49)
OCZ ModXStream Pro 600w Silent ATX2 PSU (71.29)
Samsung Spinpoint F1 320Gb SATA-II HDD (40.24)
NZXT Hush Classic Series Silent Case 978.19)
AOPEN DSW2012SA 20xDVDRW SATA Drive (19.54)
Samsung SM2494HS 23.6" WideScreen LCD (201.24)
MS Vista Home Premium 64bit (91.99)
Razer Copperhead Tempeset Blue Mouse (37.98)
OCZ Alchemy Series Elixir Keyboard (16.99)
Artic Silver 5 (6.89)

Total 1318.41 inc VAT and shipping

mrfun1981 · 27 Mar 2009 at 13:47

Nice looking spec but i would consider this bundle http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-050-OE

Its £38 cheaper + the CPU comes already overclock so you dont have to worry about doing that if you was going to. An it comes with the same board you was going to have anyway.

I would cosider this Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4870 1024MB £164 its £5 cheaper plus it give you the option of doing crossfire in the future as this board dont support SLI

ConnectionFX · 27 Mar 2009 at 13:54

NZXT Hush Classic Series Silent Case 978.19)

I love the typo... one expensive case that

the spec is a fine choice. the only thing i would change is the Graphics

1) I Personally prefer the 4870 over the 260
2) Its on offer 1GB Sapphire card for only £10 more than the 260 (See Link)

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-188-SP&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=939

Scooter72 · 27 Mar 2009 at 13:55

good call on the bundle I had not spotted that, the RAM is not as good bit I dont think thats too much of an issue.

Thanks

I have been torn between the GTX260 and HD4870 for a while, similar specs, similar price point, (always bought ATI up to now) but keep hearing about poor driver support

ConnectionFX · 27 Mar 2009 at 14:04

poor driver support was an issue i do admit but since the last 2 driver releases the cards imo have been rock solid and resolved all my issues.

So dont be put off too much about that.

95thrifles · 27 Mar 2009 at 14:08

The board you've specced only has 4 RAM slots, its the budget X58, imo you should look at getting a better board, I wouldnt be spending that much on a new system and getting a "weak" mobo, also it doesnt support SLi, only crosfire, so if you do decide to stick with it you definately want the ATI card as you cant add a 2nd Nvidia

Scooter72 · 27 Mar 2009 at 14:11

good to know from someone that has one that the drivers are nothing to worry about

hovering over the purcahse button now... the FD back at home is gonna kill me