to keep or not to keep??

dtokez

dtokez

dtokez

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10 Jan 2009
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hi all, ive been after a new pc for a while to replace my p4. i use it almost exclusively for music production and have never played a game on pc although i wouldnt mind one day. i was browsing in a big supermarket and saw a medion p6888;
2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600, 3GB RAM (only 2 slots), 1TB hard disk, 256MB Nvidia GeForce 9300GS, BD-ROM/DVD+/-RW +/-DL, Windows Vista Home Premium, msi mobo, 450w power.
it was reduced from £600 to £400 so i brought the display one for £360 because the bloke said i could try it for a month. adding up these parts i make it come to about £450!!

im really not sure weather to keep it or not. im still toying with the idea of building one, asus p5q pro, q6600, 4gb ocz etc (xp 64 bit) allready got a case and psu. the other thing is i dont need the blueray player in the medion and i would like more sata ports as the medio only has 4 and one is used for the blueray :(
what would you guys do if you were in my boots?
thanks!!
 
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personally Id build one, it will cost you slightly more but you'll be getting better quality components, at that price I reckon everything is unbranded. Also if you are interested in playing games that gfx card just aint gonna cut it
 
its all branded apart from the power supply which has a name ive not heard of and ram which i havent really looked at, wierd its got 1gb +2gb which i guess means its not running dual channel :(

very confused lol. im not sure what q6600 it is, i assume its not the go stepping one so wouldnt be ideal if i got another board oneday either
 
As you said...the marketing side of it is they advertise a "Quad Core Q6600" and then skimpt on all the other components; PSU, RAM (1Gb and 2Gb stick?...wtf?), Graphics card (9300GS...lol...onboard is probably faster), MSI mobo (Unpopular). And then they add in a Blueray optical drive....who is going to be using blueray if they are buying this budget system?...you need atleast a 22" monitor to enjoy Blueray (Could plug it into TV yes). Its like putting 18" chrome rims on a 20 year old ford fiesta...

btw...remove the company name, they are classed as a competitor as they sell PC components, monitors etc.

Take it back and buy/build your own...(I bet the case it came in is horrid as well...small with no cooling) Q6600 is so old now anyways.
 
cheers mate, edited it! ive read nothing but good reviews for the pc, that was at £500 lol. even in pc shopper mag! like you said though why a blueray drive and not even a optical soundcard lol. i cant see myself using the blueray as its mainly going to be for music so i guess its a bit fat waste of time!

im still thinking the abit ip35 pro xe as its a great price hear at the moment, as you say q6600 is a bit old i spose, what would be a similar spec & overclockable alternative?
 
If it were me Id look at this, it'd be a lot more rounded system than that one, only thing its missing is OS, you can either just use your old one or buy a new one, your call

budget.jpg
 
thanks mate i like the look of that as an alternative :) i was looking at that processor just now actually. how would it perform compared to the q6600? how would that graphics card do with modern games if i were to start playing?

ive just started a thread, 'spec me a pc for music production' and ive said in there that i dont really need a hdd or case so i guess i could take off about £150 from this spec youve helped me with which would make it very appealing :)

cheers dude
 
No probs, the CPU isnt as good as the Q6600, but it does clock well, if youre cutting back in other areas you could always get a better CPU like a E8400 maybe, that gfx card absolutely ******(insert your own expletive) over the other one, it is a very capable card and will run most games on high settings upto about 22" monitor, 24 and above you might have to use medium settings. The one included in your prebuilt prob wouldnt actually run any games, let alone be able to use decent settings
 
lol yeah i know mate that graphics card ive got in that thing now probably just about manages to run the windows gui lol. ive never overclocked before but ive read up that the e5200 is a good clocker, what is on my mind is that the q6600 runs at 1066 fsb and the e5200 at 800, can it be overclocked to be sped up or is it not that noticeable?

thanks again
 
Yes it can, the E5200 should be able to give you a FSB of 1066 no probs, you may want an aftermarket cooler along the lines of an arctic cooling freezer 7 pro just to keep the heat down, as I say if youre saving elsewhere though you can get a better CPU, if the E8400 is a little too much, the one in between the 2 is the E7400. E5200<E7400<E8400
 
Theyre better vaule for money sure, theres not much need for quad core processors atm, unless you do heavy editing/encoding/modelling, but for general use and even gaming you get more performance for your money with dual. Theres nothign wrong with quad though, its just that for the same money you get faster duals
 
Id be suprised if that Q6600 wasnt a G0 as the B3 ones are very old and not been produced for a while.

If you do build a new machine id probably go for the setup specced above but keep the Q6600 and the BDROM and replace them with the E5200 and a standard DVDRW
 
OneTime said:
(1Gb and 2Gb stick?...wtf?)
Click to expand...

Customers complain if they get given Vista 64 and then have trouble with their security or basically any software. Gets blamed on the 64 wether the complaint is waranted or not.

Customers complain even more if they get given a machine with with 4gb, and can only see 3-3.5. So the budget manufacturer saves £5-7 and only uses 3GB.
 
JTrickle said:
Customers complain if they get given Vista 64 and then have trouble with their security or basically any software. Gets blamed on the 64 wether the complaint is waranted or not.

Customers complain even more if they get given a machine with with 4gb, and can only see 3-3.5. So the budget manufacturer saves £5-7 and only uses 3GB.
Click to expand...

Ah I understand. ty :)
 
yeh that explains that one cheers bro!

so as the ram modules are different i guess they arnt running dual channel? would it be better with 2x 1gb sticks in dual channel or does that extra 1 make that much difference?
 
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