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knowledge123

knowledge123

knowledge123

Soldato
Joined
4 Nov 2004
Posts
4,220
Location
Seattle area, USA
Good Morning all
I would like some help specing my new PC, please, but let me give you all some back-story.
I have an i875p Dell motherboard 3.2 ghz with 2gb DDR ram and a 512mb Sapphire x1950 pro, but while it still works, doesn't offer me the performance i need so basically i'm trying to salvage all the decent parts which i can use in my new PC, those are a Hiper 580 watt PSU, hard-drives x 2 IDE and optical drives x 2 IDE, everything else will be sold on, so the spec thus far reads like this, please note my budget is extremely constrained, and any help reducing prices or telling me better bang for buck items would be greatly appreciated.
Basket so far reads like this

1. Crucial 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 PC2-4200C4 Dual Channel Kit (CT2KIT12864AA53E)
£61.99
(£72.84)
(cheapest DDR2 memory i could find, but i would like to overclock the CPU, will this cause problems?)

2. Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro CPU Cooler (Socket 775)
£13.99
(£16.44)
(i do like the design on it and its had good reviews, also does it come with TIM and is it good quality? )

3. Intel Core 2 DUO E6300 "LGA775 Allendale" 1.86GHz (1066FSB) - Retail
£101.99
(£119.84)
(cheapest Core 2 chip but i was looking at E6600 as a better long-term investment)

4. Antec Nine Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case
£55.99
(£65.79)
(i love the look of it, it moves a lot of air and it has a lot of space, but is a cheaper case as feasible? plus, bizzare question this, can the window be moved to the other side? as it sits on my left next to a wall, thus rendering window on left side redundant)

5. PowerColor ATI Radeon X1950 Pro Extreme SILENT Heatpipe 256MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail
£107.99
(£126.89)
(i love the accelero cooler on this no doubt and silence too, though i was looking at XT version of the same brand instead , i will Crossfire them up, maybe next month)

6. Asus P5B Premium Vista Edition (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
£134.99
(£158.61)
(this one can definitely be better selected, but i do need a fair few pci slots and full Crossfire capability for certain, it comes with an LCD screen and remote, which would be cool to use though, also good performance and overclocking too, i've heard)

Current grand total £573.27
Thank you for your time and any comments.
 
Are you going to overclock? PC2 4200 is fine but for £25 extra you can get a decent PC2 6400 RAM which is a must if you want to overclock.

The Antec 900 is good. It maybe possible to install the windowed panel on the other side by flipping it upside down if the screw holes at the back match. But then there is nothing to look at apart from the motherboard tray...

With the launch date of R600 so close I wouldn't want to spend £150 for a XT tbh. You missed the clearance a few weeks ago when the 1950XT went for £117 which was well worth it. If you can wait then great but if you need a card now I would go for the 1950pro for £105.

That mobo is good but the P5B Deluxe is just as good but without all the fancy Vista features and 1333FSb support. The ASUS P5W DH is good too if crossfire is really important to you.
 
i am going to overclock, depending on the boost of the E6300 from my P4 it might not be for a while, though.

I'll email Antec themseleves to see what they say re: window, seems strange that most cases have windows on the left hand side though, not right, or even advertising a 'quick switch feature' tbh

i'll go with the pro for £105

Still can't decide on the mobo though, hmm... maybe the P5W DH, i think

thanks steve258
 
Its because the motherboard on all cases locates in the same place. Otherwise it would be upside down if you could reverse everything. All you would see was a grey piece of metal plate if you put it on the other side.
 
P5B Vista Premium - Vista friendly, excellent overclocker, supports crossfire & 1333FSB, comes with remote and small LCD screen, expensive.

P5B Deluxe - Excellent overclocker, crossfire support, built-in wireless card, cheaper.

P5W DH - Good crossfire support (2* 8x PCI-E lanes as opposed to 1* 16x & 1*4x combo on 965P P5B series), comes with remote, poor overclock, bit pricey.

Alternatively you can opt for the Gigabyte DS3P supports 1333FSB and crossfire and is an excellent overclocker, but without all the fancy bits of P5B Vista Premium for £88. Money saved can go towards a better RAM.
 
hmm only thing is if you use it in crossfire mode you will have only 1 PCI slot left, assuming both your cards have dual slot cooler. And you have only 1 PATA port so you can have only 2 PATA devices.
 
i think, i'll have 1 hd and a dvd, then next month, buy sata drive, dang tight budget :(

umm re: slots the Sapphire ATI Radeon X1950 Pro 256MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail £94 seems to be single slot, i think, might have to go for that one not powercolor

now basket is:
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro CPU Cooler (Socket 775)
(£16.44)

Intel Core 2 DUO E6300 "LGA775 Allendale" 1.86GHz (1066FSB) - Retail
(£119.84)

Antec Nine Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case
(£65.79)

Gigabyte GA_965P_DS3P (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
(£88.11)

Sapphire ATI Radeon X1950 Pro 512MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail
(£135.11)

GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC6400C5 800MHz Value DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (GX22GB6400DC)
(£99.86)

Total : £538.02
 
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