Yet another spec check thread...

yeyecheck

yeyecheck

yeyecheck

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Joined
11 Jan 2010
Posts
10
Right, finally upgrading my now ancient Athlon XP 2500 system and need some advice on how to spend my £500-£600 budget in the best way possible.

Just looking for a decent gaming rig to play the latest games (such as MW2), on a 22inch monitor (already got one). I do not need Windows 7 either.

Lemmie know what you think of this:
*OVERCLOCKED* AMD Phenom II X2 Dual Core 550 3.10GHz @ 3.60GHz / Gigabyte GA-MA770T-UD3P Motherboard / Corsair Dominator 4GB DDR3 XMS3 PC2-1600C9 (2x2GB) Bundle *OVERCLOCKED* AMD Phenom II X2 Dual Core 550 3.10GHz @ 3.60GHz / Gigabyte GA-MA770T-UD3P Motherboard / Corsair Dominator 4GB DDR3 XMS3 PC2-1600C9 (2x2GB) Bundle £306.51

OCZ ModXStream Pro 600w Silent SLI Certified Modular Power Supply OCZ ModXStream Pro 600w Silent SLI Certified Modular Power Supply £67.99

Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3500418AS) Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3500418AS) £40.85

Coolermaster Elite 335 Case - Black Coolermaster Elite 335 Case - Black £31.67

LG GH22LS50 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter Lightscribe Drive - Retail LG GH22LS50 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter Lightscribe Drive - Retail £22.99

Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5770 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £119.98


Total : £603.80

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Or one of these complete systems:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-180-OK

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-226-OK + Radeon 5770

Alternatively, spec me a system yourself but please try to keep it in the £500 region...

Cheers in advance chaps
 
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5770 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £119.98
(£102.11) £119.98
(£102.11)
OCZ Gold 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 Low-Voltage Triple Channel (OCZ3G1333LV6GK) £118.99
(£101.27) £118.99
(£101.27)
Intel Core i3 540 3.06GHz (Clarkdale) (Socket LGA1156) - Retail £113.99
(£97.01) £113.99
(£97.01)
MSI P55-CD53 Intel P55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 Motherboard £98.99
(£84.25) £98.99
(£84.25)
OCZ ModXStream Pro 500w Silent SLI Certified Modular Power Supply £60.99
(£51.91) £60.99
(£51.91)
Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (WD5000AAKS) £37.99
(£32.33) £37.99
(£32.33)
Coolermaster Elite 335 Case - Black £31.67
(£26.95) £31.67
(£26.95)
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev 2 CPU Cooler (Socket 939 / AM2 / AM3 / 775 / 1156 / 1366) £18.99
(£16.16) £18.99
(£16.16)
Sub Total : £511.99
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £11.25
VAT is being charged at 17.50% VAT : £91.57
Total : £614.81
 
no case though but you could skimp on
cheaper motherboard to save 20-30 quid
cheaper psu to save 10-20 quid while still getting a good quality one
diffenerent brand gfx card to save around 10 quid.
budget.jpg
 
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I should add that £600 is my absolute max really, looking to spend closer to £500 really. I'm also a lazy *******, and would much prefer an overclocked bundle or system... although if it means I get the best parts for the price, then I'll probably do it myself.

Also, is the i5 route worth the extra cash? I'm a student at the moment so cash is a bit tight... I'm looking more for a system that can have a decent stab at the current games on high settings, with an upgrade path around 6 months from now.
 
Is this spec any good guys?

Intel Core i5 750 2.66Ghz (Lynnfield) (Socket LGA1156) - Retail £149.99
(£127.65) £149.99
(£127.65)
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5770 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5770 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £119.98
(£102.11) £119.98
(£102.11)
OCZ Gold 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 Low-Voltage Dual Channel (OCZ3G1333LV4GK) OCZ Gold 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 Low-Voltage Dual Channel (OCZ3G1333LV4GK) £79.99
(£68.08) £79.99
(£68.08)
OCZ ModXStream Pro 600w Silent SLI Certified Modular Power Supply OCZ ModXStream Pro 600w Silent SLI Certified Modular Power Supply £67.99
(£57.86) £67.99
(£57.86)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3500418AS) Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3500418AS) £40.85
(£34.77) £40.85
(£34.77)
Akasa AK-967 Nero Direct Contact Heatpipe CPU Cooler (AM2/AM2+/939/LGA775/LGA1366) Akasa AK-967 Nero Direct Contact Heatpipe CPU Cooler (AM2/AM2+/939/LGA775/LGA1366) £32.69
(£27.82) £32.69
(£27.82)
Coolermaster Elite 335 Case - Black Coolermaster Elite 335 Case - Black £31.67
(£26.95) £31.67
(£26.95)
LG GH22LS50 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter Lightscribe Drive - Retail LG GH22LS50 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter Lightscribe Drive - Retail £22.99
(£19.57) £22.99
(£19.57)
Zalman ZM-STG1 Super Thermal Grease (3.5g) Zalman ZM-STG1 Super Thermal Grease (3.5g) £5.86
(£4.99) £5.86
(£4.99)
Sub Total : £469.80
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £11.75
VAT is being charged at 17.50% VAT : £84.27
Total : £565.82
 
Intel Core i5 750 2.66Ghz (Lynnfield) (Socket LGA1156) - OEM £143.03
(£121.73) £143.03
(£121.73)
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5770 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5770 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £119.98
(£102.11) £119.98
(£102.11)
Gigabyte GA-H55M-UD2H Intel H55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 Motherboard Gigabyte GA-H55M-UD2H Intel H55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 Motherboard £84.99
(£72.33) £84.99
(£72.33)
OCZ Gold 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 Low-Voltage Dual Channel (OCZ3G1333LV4GK) OCZ Gold 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 Low-Voltage Dual Channel (OCZ3G1333LV4GK) £79.99
(£68.08) £79.99
(£68.08)
OCZ ModXStream Pro 600w Silent SLI Certified Modular Power Supply OCZ ModXStream Pro 600w Silent SLI Certified Modular Power Supply £67.99
(£57.86) £67.99
(£57.86)
Antec 300 Three Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case - Black Antec 300 Three Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case - Black £42.99
(£36.59) £42.99
(£36.59)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3500418AS) Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3500418AS) £40.85
(£34.77) £40.85
(£34.77)
LG GH22LS50 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter Lightscribe Drive - Retail LG GH22LS50 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter Lightscribe Drive - Retail £22.99
(£19.57) £22.99
(£19.57)
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev 2 CPU Cooler (Socket 939 / AM2 / AM3 / 775 / 1156 / 1366) Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev 2 CPU Cooler (Socket 939 / AM2 / AM3 / 775 / 1156 / 1366) £18.99
(£16.16) £18.99
(£16.16)
Zalman ZM-STG1 Super Thermal Grease (3.5g) Zalman ZM-STG1 Super Thermal Grease (3.5g) £5.86
(£4.99) £5.86
(£4.99)
Sub Total : £534.19
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £11.75
VAT is being charged at 17.50% VAT : £95.54
Total : £641.48

Few questions before buying:

Is it truly worth me going £50 over budget for this system? Is the performance leap between this and a system at £500 very significant? I'm only looking to play modern games at a playable frame rate (don't care about FPS over 75) on a 22" monitor.

Also, is the Zalman thermal grease thing any good? Shall I just go for an Arctic silver compound?
 
Couldnt comment on the grease as i have never used it, however for the increase in performance with current spec above it really will be pretty significant compared with the amd build. Games are evolving all the time and more and more games are been released which can utilise all 4 cores as opposed to only two. Not to mention the future proofing the above spec will provide you with compared to the other. I7 chips are been released further in the year for the 1156 socket, so you also have easy access to upgrade.
 
yeyecheck said:
Cheers dudes, went for your advice and made the purchase just now.

Much love for the help!
Click to expand...

Hehe awesome :) if it puts your mind at rest im buying practically the exact same setup you just have but at the end of this month :). Make sure you comment once the beast is setup :)
 
Sorry only just seen this, the mobo you have bought will be fine, though i have forgotten the difference between the two :S ill find out then post back.

Dude just had a massive brainwave email them asap, the P55 chips the way better out of the two. Some of the h55 boards wont allow SLi even if they do they will cause a massive bottlekneck :( Hope you see this in time i didnt realise you had bough a H55 mobo.
 
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