Yet Another Spec Check

sidefxv1

sidefxv1

sidefxv1

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Any comments or thoughts on the below? One of the main things I'm wondering is whether the Corsair HX 520W would be enough (including allowing a fair bit of future expansion) or whether it might be safer to go for the 620W? I'll look at putting in a few more drives in the future (plus a couple of spares I have at the moment), plus maybe looking at a quad core CPU when they drop in price. Unlikely to go for Crossfire\SLI (MB only supports crossfire) Might also move to a new video card in the future. So all considerations for the PSU.

Also, any other suggestions from y'all welcome.


Intel Core 2 Duo E6420 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.13GHz (1066FSB)
Pioneer DVR-112DBK 18x18 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter
Gainward BLISS GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual
Antec P182 Super Midi Tower Case - No PSU (Gun Metal)
Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 PC2-6400C4 800MHz Dual
Asus P5B Deluxe (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
Scythe Infinity Heatpipe CPU Cooler (Socket 478, 775, AM2, 754, 939, 940)
2 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB ST3320620AS SATA-II 16MB Cache
Corsair HX 620W ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU
Arctic Cooling Arctic Fan 12L 120mm Fan - 3 Pin


Total: £979 (incl delivery)
 
sidefxv1 said:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6420 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.13GHz (1066FSB)
Pioneer DVR-112DBK 18x18 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter
Gainward BLISS GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual
Antec P182 Super Midi Tower Case - No PSU (Gun Metal)
Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 PC2-6400C4 800MHz Dual
Asus P5B Deluxe (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
Scythe Infinity Heatpipe CPU Cooler (Socket 478, 775, AM2, 754, 939, 940)
2 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB ST3320620AS SATA-II 16MB Cache
Corsair HX 620W ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU
Arctic Cooling Arctic Fan 12L 120mm Fan - 3 Pin


Total: £979 (incl delivery)
Click to expand...

Hi nice spec, the things i would change though would the Memory to this, you wont have any problems overclokcing it:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-088-CR&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=144

I would recomend this case, build quality second to none:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-038-LL&groupid=701&catid=7&subcat=187

The Corsair 520 will be plenty.

Very nice spec.
 
stickroad said:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-088-CR&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=144

I would recomend this case, build quality second to none:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-038-LL&groupid=701&catid=7&subcat=187

The Corsair 520 will be plenty.

Very nice spec.
Click to expand...

Seconded.

I would also recommend a 320MB 8800 unless you are going to be using mega res more than 1280*1024

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-044-BG
 
EDIT: Ah, this is one the 640 vs 320 8800 GTS :)

Hmm.. probably won't need it initially, but in few months, looking at getting a 2407WP or similar. (so ~1900x1200?)

In the mean time I'm just running 1280x1024 (CRT) but play supreme commander a fair bit and looking at getting a second screen to go with that.

You think it's overkill?
 
sidefxv1 said:
EDIT: Ah, this is one the 640 vs 320 8800 GTS :)

Hmm.. probably won't need it initially, but in few months, looking at getting a 2407WP or similar. (so ~1900x1200?)

In the mean time I'm just running 1280x1024 (CRT) but play supreme commander a fair bit and looking at getting a second screen to go with that.

You think it's overkill?
Click to expand...

If your going to be using that res in the near future I would stick to the 640MB version :)

The BFG 8800 640MB comes with a lifetime warentee rather than 2 years on the gainward one, clocked slightly higher too for £12 more :)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-036-BG
 
Thanks chaps, very helpful!

Ok, memory swap for the 5300C3 and PSU to the 520W sounds good. Save me a few quid. :)

On the case, the PC7 looks cool, though I always prefer black, and it seems they're out of stock at the moment. :( Also, was thinking of supplementing the 2 drives in RAID 0 with 3 or 4 in RAID5 at some point in the future (I'm a total digital hoarder ;) ) Haven't looked into it in too much detail yet, but if possible might end up with 5 or 6 HDDs in there... Presumably the extra 5.25" bays in the PC-7 would hold 3.25" drives? Definitely a nice saving on the price of the case, and I've heard folk rave about the lian li cases. Also come across some good reviews of the P182 though, so a bit torn on this one.


Gainward -> BFG also sounds good. Anybody got any general thoughts on quality of BFG vs Gainward?


Another question: Anybody know much about how the warranties work if I relocate elsewhere in the world? I'll likely be moving to the other side of the world in around 3 or 4 months, so will the manufacturers warranty be valid? Could probably ship bits back here to friends if I really need to...
 
sidefxv1 said:
On the case, the PC7 looks cool, though I always prefer black, and it seems they're out of stock at the moment.
Click to expand...

That case must sell more than any other on this site, they will be back in stock very quickly I would think. You can always ring up and ask :)


sidefxv1 said:
Gainward -> BFG also sounds good. Anybody got any general thoughts on quality of BFG vs Gainward?
Click to expand...

I know the BFG 8800 320MB's are very popular but I have never had a chance to use a 640MB one. I can only assume they are similar. :)
 
Okey, updated spec. I've followed some of the advice in this thread (all perhaps?) and put the saved £ into a couple of upgrades. So...


Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.40GHz (1066FSB)

Asus P5B Deluxe (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard

Scythe Infinity Heatpipe CPU Cooler (Socket 478, 775, AM2, 754, 939, 940)

Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 PC2-5300C3 667MHz Dual Channel Kit

Samsung SH-W183 18x18 DVD±RW Serial ATA Dual Layer ReWriter (Black)

Corsair HX 520W ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU (CMPSU-520HXUK)

BFG GeForce 8800 GTS OC 640MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express)

Lian-Li PC-7 PLUS Aluminium Midi-Tower Case - Silver

2 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB ST3320620AS SATA-II 16MB Cache

Arctic Cooling Arctic Fan 12L 120mm Fan - 3 Pin




Coming to £918.66 (delivered)



Last thing I'm wondering is... is the Crucial the best bet for the RAM, or the insanely cheap Geil deal of the week?

Ah, also, it's a bit lower than I orginally budgeted for, so anything else I should put £40-60 into?
 
Ah, thanks, another good point. Looks like the Noctua will perform better (at least in the stock configuration) and be quieter than the Scythe? Very nice, think I'll go with that instead... whew, I think that just about does it then.

Thanks for the advice folks!
 
Like someone pointed out to me in another thread, - you could hop down a conroe to 6420 or even 6320 - still very overclockable - also the ram (you' have done this now) and possibly minus 1 hdd. Then you can offset those savings by upgrading to 8800GTX instead of GTS... great idea for gamers.
 
I would get a e6420 (got mine to 3.9ghz, admittedly not stable atm. Howevers its on air).

Use the money to buy a GTX.


Then you will have the best rig ;)
 
save some money in some places and get a gtx, it will last you longer and will exceed far beyond the gts from what i hear.
 
Gah, don't do this to me, lol. I did toy with cutting back in other areas and going for the GTX. In the end decided that I couldn't really justify the rather large difference in price. Now you've got me reconsidering... How much difference in performance d'ya reckon there'd be?

I've always been happy with the mid to high range cards, rather than the best of the best. Currently on a 7600GT which I've been pretty happy with, and previous one was a 9800PRO, again very happy with that.

I suppose though that if it will last a fair bit longer it might be worth it... Arrr dangit, so many choices, heh. Which one would you go for if y'all were looking at a gtx? The EVGA ACS3?
 
Here:

WALL.jpg
 
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