System spec for £800-1000, possible OCuk prebuilt system?

[NeilF]

OK... I've decided I've hobbled along on my P4 for long enough.

I'm looking at something like the OCuk pre-built system - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-034-OK
- Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 GO 2.40GHz Quad Core CPU Overclocked too a minimum of 3.00GHz and beyond.
- Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Intel approved cooler
- Abit IX38 QuadGT Intel X38 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
- Award winning Corsair 4GB DDR2 XMS2 Dominator PC2-8500C5 TwinX (2x2GB) Supplied with Airflow Fan
- Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 500GB SATA-II 32MB Cache Hard Drive
- NVIDIA 280 GTX 1024MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) DirectX 10 Graphics Card
- Pioneer DVR-216DBK 20x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter (Black)
- Corsair 650w TX SLi Power Supply
- Antec 1200 case
- Vista 64 bit

Total (this week) is £1060

So option (a) is to just go for that, all prebuilt, with return to base warranty etc etc... Job done!


Option (b) is to buy the bits myself, and assemble it. This in itself would only save about £85, but would give the option to change maybe the video card to a lesser one?

Would a wise move be to maybe change the "NVIDIA 280 GTX 1024MB GDDR3 " to a "Asus ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB GDDR5"?

Building the spec above, with the Radeon would reduce the price down to about £860. Is £200 worth it considering the reduction in video, and general hassle?



I'm basically looking for a good performance that will last a good few years, and a reasonably quiet system (I can hopefully run the 1200 on low fans and even disconnect a couple). The video card should also be rear venting. note: I'd probably even un-overclock the pre-built system as the speed really wouldn't be needed at the moment, and may just increase fan noise etc...

I assume I could SLI the video card in the future if needs be?


Any advice or suggestions would be most appreciated. I really am very out of date with hardware!


ps: Obviously I could sell my old system once the new one is up and running and everything is migrated, so that shoud recoup about £150-£200 hopefully...

 

[Skidilliplop]

800-1000 budget you can build/buy whatever you want. Unless you're fatally stupid it'd be hard not to end up with a decent PC from that kinda money.

 

[NeilF]

800-1000 budget you can build/buy whatever you want. Unless you're fatally stupid it'd be hard not to end up with a decent PC from that kinda money.

Is it heading into 'more money' than require territory? There's a point you reach where an extra £200 gains you little in proportion extra!

Would a lesser spec (built by me) for £700 for example basically run much the same? (Game being the concern)

I'm also assuming quad core is the way to go, as in a year or so it'll be the norm for software/games to use the extra cores!?

 

[Skidilliplop]

Quads are nice and no reason not to get one really. you can build a very handsome PC for 700 quid if you build it yourself. Especially if you're reclaiming some parts from an older box. Looking at your sig, there's plenty to salvage. Stuff like OS licenses save a packet if you can re-use them Monitors too. Often when a price like £800 is thrown on the table it'll include stuff like OS and monitor which is an easy 250 quid+.

 

[NeilF]

Quads are nice and no reason not to get one really. you can build a very handsome PC for 700 quid if you build it yourself. Especially if you're reclaiming some parts from an older box. Looking at your sig, there's plenty to salvage. Stuff like OS licenses save a packet if you can re-use them Monitors too. Often when a price like £800 is thrown on the table it'll include stuff like OS and monitor which is an easy 250 quid+.

Monitor is being reused... I'm going to do an entire system re-install for the new system so seems an obvious time to go Vista from XP!

Real question is the GeForce 280 overkill? And is the ATI 4870 a better choice to save over £100! Do you really need 1Gb of GPU memory? Just SLI a 4870 later if needsbe?