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Gabe

Gabe

Gabe

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Joined
1 Oct 2005
Posts
85
Help....

Hi fellas
I am looking now to order the parts for my new PC, I have always built my own in the past well since 1998 anyway but I dont know what to do this time around?
I was going to just buy a full build because I cant be bothered building it myself these days even though I work in IT prepping up and re-imaging PCs for a busy hospital but after work I am knackered and the kids take up my weekends but the only problem is I cant find a really good one or one with the parts I would like for under a grand.
I have got a brand new Soundblaster fatality 64mg Xram card with the front console and also a Hyper 580w TypeR modular PSU which I did previously buy my my old PC but which blew and I put my old PSU in it and since I have got the replacement Hyper back I have never put it back in ideally I would use these in my new PC but I suppose 580w is no good these days....
Any ideas? I suppose I am being lazy again now asking someone to suggest all the compatible parts for a great gaming rig but there you go...any ideas for either that or a full build?
 
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Sorry I have not posted here in about 2 years unfortunately and reading on some other threads this one may be in the wrong place....if so sorry.
 
First of all welcome back to the forums :)

I would have to say though definately opt for building your own system because then you will get what is exactly right for you and save money/get better bang for buck. Also you have the PSU sorted already so that would be even more of a saving when building.

So:
List all of the components you need (if you are prepaired to build that is)
What will you be using your system for?
If for gaming what sort of resolution are you after?

Flare
 
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Ok I use a Iiyama CRT monitor because I cannot get the high refresh rates on a TFT like I can on my monitor, I have run a sof1 team now for 8/9 years and play that mostly on 800x600 32 bpp on 200htz refresh rate which I am not sure a flatscreen can do.
Other than that I also want to play the latest games on high graphics and do update my PC every 2 years but it may just be a little longer since I last updated. I want to play the new modern warfare game which I dont think will be that demanding on a system as Activision teamed with Infinity Ward games are not normally very demanding as they are coded and written really well in comparison with others that you think will run fine but run like a bag of ****.
I basically need a full PC apart from the soundcard because I want to use my Soundblaster fatality game card. My budget is around £900. I normally buy Asus hardware as I say every 2 years and give my old PC to my son then in turn he gives his to my daughter.
My last build was:
Asus A8n-Sli Premium mobo
Asus N6800GTX 512 grfx card
Hyper 580W TypeR modular PSU
Soundblaster Fatality 64mg GAME card
2 gig of ram (Only 1gig was bought with system)
Athlon 64 San Diego 3700+

That system is now useless apart from the soundcard. It played Call of Duty Modern warfare on full whack nicely but thertes a host of games I normally keep up with that I want to play but have been waiting for this new system but because of family issues I have not been able to build yet or had the time to play, now thats a little more relaxed and I am getting back into good or bad habits. I nearly messed up totally because of online gaming!
Anyway spec?
Oh and sincere thanks for the trouble....
One thing I was going to stick with is XP pro....Is there any games that you will not be able to run on it or will there be any time soon do you think?
 
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Came up with the following, a bit under your £900 ish budget leaving a bit to swap the case if needs be, as it tends to be the most personal choice when it comes to kit.

could swap the mobo to the Asus P6T SE or Asus P6T if you really feel the need to go with asus.

No reason not to stick with xp prop for the time being, if its not the 64bit version may be worth changing the memory to a 3gb kit.

Intel Core i7 920 D0 Stepping (SLBEJ) 2.66Ghz (Nehalem) (Socket LGA1366) - Retail £225.99 (£196.51)

Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R Intel X58 (Socket 1366) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard £148.99 (£129.56)

Gainward GeForce GTX 260 Golden Sample "Core 216 55nm" 896MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) £134.99 (£117.38)

Coolermaster Real Power 620w Modular Power Supply £79.98
(£69.55)

Patriot Viper 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800 (1600MHz) Low Latency Tri-Channel (PVT36G1600LLK) £68.99 (£59.99)

Western Digital Caviar Black 500GB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (WD5001AALS) £48.99 (£42.60)

Antec 300 Three Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case - Black (No PSU) £44.99
(£39.12)

Titan TTC-NK85TZ Fenrir CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/LGA775/LGA1366) £37.98 (£33.03)

Samsung SH-S223F/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99 (£15.64)

Sub Total : £703.38
Shipping : £13.75
VAT : £107.57
Total : £824.70
 
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If I get a rig such as that and put Vista on it will that utilise all my 6 gig of ram?
SEcondly is it only windows apps that only use 3.5gig on XP? I mean if you are running a rig such as that or the one I said I may buy with 6 gig in it and I put my normal XP pro OS on it which is NOT 64bit would a game still use the full 6 gig? I mean is it only the front end that uses the windows then the game itself as a stand alone app will use the full 6 gig or am I talking total ****e?
See I dont know whether its only windows stuff that can only use the 3 gig or is it with anything? Can a game use the full 6 gig even on a 32bit XP Pro?
 
I am still trying to work out what to buy.....
May have to get a new OS too, will Vista see all of 6gig of ram, even the 32bit?
 
Thanks mate, so most of you guys with 6 gig in have the 64bit OS?
I will have a look at the prices as I have not got one and we dont have them in work either.
 
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dont go for home basic...it is a waste and is useless for gaming...i had some serious words with it and failed lol. home premium 64 bit has never let me down. v happy with it and wont switch to windows 7 rc not even on a dual boot :D
 
Will I need to get special 64bit drivers for everything? I will take a look at how much a 64bit Vista is....
 
I run my SOF1 game @1024x768 reso on 200htz refresh rate, it looks like cardboard city too cos I have totally stripped it down graphics wise but thats only because I play it competitevly online but all my single player games I like to run on full graphics and on 1280x1024 reso and I get 150 htz refresh rate on that. I could get more reso on my monitor but thats just a nice gaming reso is 1280x1024.

My monitor is a Iiyama vision master pro. I am more concerned about the 64bit software now, I have run a team in SOF1 since 2000 and I dont think that old game will run on Vista but runs fine on XP. I want this new system to play the likes of CoD5 World at War,GTA4,CoD Modern warfare 2 and any other decent new games that may come out that I fancy.I mean if a game does not state on the box that it runs on a 64bit system does that mean it will not work then>? GTA4 does btw.

I have been looking at that ready built 'Titan Goliath' system in the 'Extreme performance' section, it would be the first time since 1998 that I have not built my own system but I have not got the time these days.
I have added to that an Asus Nvidia 1024mg card and the 64bit Vista home prem. If I get that I mean will all my older games such as GTA San Andreas and Cod Modern warfare and Manhunt etc etc... all work still?
I know I am such a noob, I work in IT too! What you reckon?
Also when you buy the OS with the ready built system, do Overclockers install the Vista OS or do I do that myself?
 
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which 1gb nvidia card? GTX285? if yes save yourself money and ask them for the 4890 on offer or a cheaper but not as powerful gtx 260-216 if you want nvidia.

There are ways to play old games on vista, some of them are simple others are more messy, you will need to look it up, Since you are playing at a relatively low resoltuion i suggest getting the best CPU you can (i7 i guess) and overclock it to 4GHz. CPU matters a lot more at lower resolutions.

64-bit is kind of needed these days as with 1 GB for the video card, and the 4gb limitation of 32-bit xp and vista then you dont really have much for main ram.

GTA san andreas and cod4 should work, they are both relatively recent.
 
I think I am going to have to do something like that as I am £150 short for that system!
Which is:
" "Titan Goliath" Intel Core i7 920 2.66GHz @ 3.40GHz Quad Core DDR3 System £699.99
(£608.69) £699.99
(£608.69)
Options applied to the above product:
Coolermaster Elite 335 Case - Black (No PSU) £32.99
(£28.69) £32.99
(£28.69)
Options applied to the above product:
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (66I-01939) £83.98
(£73.03) £83.98
(£73.03)
Options applied to the above product:
Asus GeForce GTX 285 1024MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail £249.99
(£217.38) £249.99
(£217.38)
Options applied to the above product:
CARDKEEPER Model CK03-1225 with SLI /CrossFire Feature Slot, Liquid Cooling Support and (2) 3/8" P/H Screws £11.50
(£10.00) £11.50 "
 
I did say my budjet was 9 ton though.... :/ Just thought I might be able to stretch it but I cant.

I have just read on the reviews of that system that overclockers DO NOT send you the serials for your OS and boxes with the bits that come with the parts, is that true?
 
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no idea, best to call and ask. you should get an oem dvd i think.

and again, £250 for that graphics card is too much, its not worth it. Less money gets you 4870X2 which is better, not that i would get that anyway. 4890\4870\gtx275\gtx260-216 are the best choices, and gtx275 is kind of pushing it at that as 4890 is about the same and cheaper.
 
Options applied to the above product:
XFX ATI Radeon HD 4890 1GB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card - Inc. Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X

That one?
You know what I have never bought ATi before, always nvidia since my old GeForce 2 16mg in 1998, then again I have always built AMD Athlon systems too but I am more confident of buying Intel then I am about Ati Radeon. Do you really rate the Ati cards?
 
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That ati card is good but it's down to preference really. The nvidia 260 is best bang for buck right now. The 4890 is a bit more powerful then the 260 but slightly less powerful then the 275. 285 is overpriced but the best! If you prefer nvidia then the 260 or the faster 275 are great cards.
 
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