Spec in the sub £850 region (plus OS)

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I was looking for a GPU and made a post recently contemplating up to £150 on new graphics and then building a new system next year, but I was wondering whether to bite the bullet and upgrade sooner than that.

Currently run

Intel Core Duo 6400 (gently overclocked to 2.26)
2GB OCZ RAM
Asus P5B 965 Mobo
OCZ GameXstream PSU (600W)
Lian-Li PC60+ Case
XP Pro SP3
7900GS

Was thinking of keeping the above as a second machine and getting something like this which is £824 inc shipping.

Would need an OS on top of that..currently in XP, is Vista the correct way forward?

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Is this worth the upgrade / outlay, is anything better?

Main purposes, work, office type apps, currently gaming at 1680/1050, Mass Effect, warhammer online possibly.

Any advice received gratefully, built my current box after advice here so happy to repeat the success.

If in doubt I shall get a 4850 /70 for my current box and live with it for a while.
 
a little over, and you get sata cables with the motherboard.

also the thermal paste with the arctic cooler freezer 7 pro (which is fantastic cooler for the price, punches WELL above its weight) is as good as if not better then the AS5

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Try to clock your E6400 up to say 2.8ghz+ and pick up a 4870 would be my advice. In real terms the difference would be marginal, any core 2 duo past 2.4ghz is more than enough for modern games, its the GPU where most of the demands come from.

You can then do the rest of the upgrade once Nehalem starts to hit sensible prices.
 
ukbrainstew said:
Try to clock your E6400 up to say 2.8ghz+ and pick up a 4870 would be my advice. In real terms the difference would be marginal, any core 2 duo past 2.4ghz is more than enough for modern games, its the GPU where most of the demands come from.

You can then do the rest of the upgrade once Nehalem starts to hit sensible prices.
Click to expand...

+1
 
Fine food for thought there, many thanks.

The spec posted looks much better than the one I came up with, thanks for that.

Now have some thinking to do. :) Its sometimes easier to see the options properly if other people lay them out.
 
ukbrainstew said:
Try to clock your E6400 up to say 2.8ghz+ and pick up a 4870 would be my advice. In real terms the difference would be marginal, any core 2 duo past 2.4ghz is more than enough for modern games, its the GPU where most of the demands come from.

You can then do the rest of the upgrade once Nehalem starts to hit sensible prices.
Click to expand...

Currently running an ageing 6400 (Overclocked to 3000) CD myself and am on the verge of taking my gaming to a 24" monitor. Are you suggesting a CPU upgrade would be a waste.

Going for an GTX 280 or an ATI 4870.
 
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RumbleBee said:
Currently running an ageing 6400 (Overclocked to 3000) CD myself and am on the verge of taking my gaming to a 24" monitor. Are you suggesting a CPU upgrade would be a waste.

Going for an GTX 280 or an ATI 4870.
Click to expand...

In most games you're going to be GPU bound at 1920x1200 with a 3ghz Core 2 Duo even with something like the 4870. The actual real world improvements from a new CPU, you know changes in the framerate that don't need an fps counter to detect, will be minimal at best. No game taxes a 3ghz Core 2 atm, and nothing much on the horizon looks to either, I'd wait for Nehalem and use your perfectly good CPU in the interim. Its all about opinions tho, just throwing my thoughts into the mix.

Look here for instance, even with a 4870 at 1600x120, a X2 6400 (much slower than your clocked Core 2 Duo) keeps up with the best of them, the story is the same in the rest of the games, once you start to crank the resolutions and setting, which you absolutely want to be doing with that monitor and GPU. These are all at 1600x1200 as well, so the situation will be even more obvious with your new monitor. So, yer, in real terms, with regards to gaming, theres no advantage in a CPU faster than a 3ghz Core 2 duo.
 
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ukbrainstew said:
Try to clock your E6400 up to say 2.8ghz+ and pick up a 4870 would be my advice. In real terms the difference would be marginal, any core 2 duo past 2.4ghz is more than enough for modern games, its the GPU where most of the demands come from.

You can then do the rest of the upgrade once Nehalem starts to hit sensible prices.
Click to expand...

+1
 
ukbrainstew said:
In most games you're going to be GPU bound at 1920x1200 with a 3ghz Core 2 Duo even with something like the 4870.

Look here for instance, even with a 4870 at 1600x120, a X2 6400 (much slower than your clocked Core 2 Duo) keeps up with the best of them, the story is the same in the rest of the games, once you start to crank the resolutions and setting, which you absolutely want to be doing with that monitor and GPU. These are all at 1600x1200 as well, so the situation will be even more obvious with your new monitor. So, yer, in real terms, with regards to gaming, theres no advantage in a CPU faster than a 3ghz Core 2 duo.
Click to expand...

Thank you. I see exactly what you mean. You've just saved me the price of a CPU and Motherboard :)
 
I decided to take the GPU path and save some cash for a new chip, given where prices are at present. Might have been a mistake. Can't believe I have managed to do all this and spend so much on postage in the last couple of weeks.

Bought an Asus 4850 (competitor) and on arrival unpacked it to find the fan housing was bent over right into the card, which had a hairline crack all the way along it.

:eek:

RMA.

Replacement arrives (quickly, can't knock that), not broken this time, 'great' I think. Fit it and nothing will start. Naturally I think its me being a dufus and not plugging something in so around we go plugging, unplugging, seating, reseating. In the end I just give up.

Nothing.

:mad:

RMA.

Though I was sure I must have done something stupid, it is found to be dead as a dead thing labelled deceased.

I couldn't face another lot of postage in case another was wrong so went for a refund.

In slight despair and on impulse, bought Gainware 9800GT in this week only from OCuk, fitting tomorrow.

Hope it works. I know it will be slower than the ATI cards, but I thought something different might mean 3rd time lucky.

PC's. Can't live with them. Can't throw them out of the window as if they hit someone you'll get sued.
 
Your entitled to a refund in your postage costs from your RMA'd card if they were found faulty. So far I have only ever sent back one card, but was payed for the postage (sent them proof of the cost). All other occasions of RMA I have requested them to send a courier to pick it up and they have.
 
I have to submit the receipts then they say they will refund me, there was no courier offered. I wasn't happy to pay another lot of special delivery up front, though I suppose another one would probably have worked.

I just switched companies in the end.
 
Indeed, well to be honest it didn't occur to me to check before I used a competitor, which is more fool me I freely admit, but lesson learned.

Well hopefully even though OCuk does anyway, I won't need it this time.
 
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