Spec help please

CausticSoda · 29 Dec 2006 at 11:17

Could I get some help please with some spec for some gear that will go together well and is optimum for 3D gaming. Alas I only have a small budget but I am happy to keep my current monitor.

Got £500 ish to play with (would consider a little more if an item that would give noticeable difference). Ideally Nvidia. Happy to overclock. I need it to have 2Gb ram. HD size is not a problem, currently only use 40Gb.

mishima · 29 Dec 2006 at 11:19

Which componants do you have? eg. will you need to buy a monitor, graphics card etc

CausticSoda · 29 Dec 2006 at 11:41

Just keeping monitor ideally. I have a Geoforce FX 5600 which I suspect is getting a bit long in the tooth but would consider keeping that on a temporary basis if needed to make the rest of the gear better. Will need a new case and powersupply etc.

Trusty · 29 Dec 2006 at 13:49

OcUK 2GB (2x1GB) PC2-6400 800MHz DDR2 Dual Channel Kit
(£146.86)

Intel Core 2 DUO E6300 "LGA775 Allendale" 1.86GHz (1066FSB) - Retail
(£124.54)

Gigabyte GA_965P_S3 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
(£88.11)

Samsung SpinPoint P HD080HJ 80GB SATA-II 8MB Cache - OEM
(£30.54)

Gainward BLISS GeForce 7900 GS "Golden Sample" SILENT 256MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail
(£116.31)

Antec Sonata II Piano Black Quiet Case - 450W Smart Power PSU
(£78.71)

Sub Total : £497.94
Total : £596.77

Over budget but worth it, you could get 1gb of ram but you need it. The S3 is a great overclocker and the OcUK ram is very good aswell, will allow you to overclock the 6300 greatley!

mishima · 29 Dec 2006 at 17:07

I would recommend this:

HIS ATI Radeon X1950 Pro ICEQ 3 TURBO SILENT Heatpipe 256MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (H195PRQT256DD-R)
(£129.24)

Intel Core 2 DUO E6300 "LGA775 Allendale" 1.86GHz (1066FSB) - Retail
(£124.54)

Abit AB9 Pro (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
(£93.99)

OcUK 2GB (2x1GB) PC2-6400 800MHz DDR2 Dual Channel Kit
(£146.86)

Enermax Noisetaker 535W EG565AX-VE(W) SFMA ATX2.0 SLI Compliant PSU
(£64.61)

Antec SLK3000B Midi Tower Case - No PSU
(£34.06)

Shipping : £10.95
Vat : £90.28
Total : £606.17

A little bit over your budget but you did say you might be willing to go over a little if the performance increase was significant - this machine would be mid-high range gaming system and would offer you great performance.

What type of HDD do you have at the moment? (I didn't add a hdd)

Trusty · 29 Dec 2006 at 17:41

Remember he has a budget of 500 quid. Your about 140 quid over it.

mishima · 29 Dec 2006 at 17:54

Thermaltake said:
Remember he has a budget of 500 quid. Your about 140 quid over it.

£106 over his budget but he mentioned he would be willing to go over if it was worth it. Don't panic - he doesnt HAVE to buy it its only a suggestion - showing some options!

trojan698 · 29 Dec 2006 at 17:58

Thermaltake said:
Remember he has a budget of 500 quid. Your about 140 quid over it.

His is £10 more expensive than yours :confused:

I'd recommend the latter spec, the graphics card is noticably better than the 7900GS and the AB9 pro is supposedly a very good board.

CausticSoda · 29 Dec 2006 at 18:08

Current HDD is a Maxtor DiamondMax Plus9 120GB UDMA133 (6Y120L0), could keep this if any good still?

Might justify to myself £500 something but not so keen when its £600+

Worth keeping the video card that I currently have or do the current ones make that a silly idea?

I am a bit leery on anything other than Nvidia as the main game I play is Everquest and it seems geared to that.

trojan698 · 29 Dec 2006 at 18:45

You're best getting a new video card, whether its ATI or nvidia makes absolutely no difference, just ignore the nvidia advert when you fire up the game. You may aswell keep the HD, but a new install of windows would be required.

t31os · 29 Dec 2006 at 19:08

How about this?..... keep your current HDD, the board has no voltage adjustment, so you can clock but only as far as stock volts gets you...

Keeps it nearer the budget....

Intel Core 2 DUO E6300 "LGA775 Allendale" 1.86GHz (1066FSB) - Retail £105.99 (£124.54)
OcUK GeForce 7900 GS 256MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail £95.99 (£112.79)
Asrock Conroe945G-DVI (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £43.99 (£51.69)
OcUK 2GB (2x1GB) PC2-6400 800MHz DDR2 Dual Channel Kit £124.99 (£146.86)
Enermax Liberty 400W ELT400AWT ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU £39.99 (£46.99)
Akasa AK-ZEN-01-BK Zen Black Case - No PSU £26.99 (£31.71)

Sub Total : £437.94
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
City Link Parcel Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri)
(This can be changed during checkout)
Shipping : £9.95
Vat : £78.38
Total : £526.27

Nothing wrong with that 7900GS either (i have one), they're good clockers to (if you want that in a card)....

mishima · 29 Dec 2006 at 19:19

Yeah thats probably a better spec t31os. For a few quid more he could get a X1950 Pro which is much better!

Just make sure CausticSoda that you choose a motherboard that has IDE ports as well as the current sata so you can use that HDD you currently have!

t31os · 29 Dec 2006 at 20:02

Yep same spec with either card would be good, ideally the 1950 (hadnt noticed that) while its still on special, but the 7900 is a good card if you miss the special and wanna save a few bucks.