1,500 GBP or 2,800 USD to spend: Please evaluate my rig?

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jjaammeess

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Aug 14, 2006
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Dear all,

I'm New here so go easy! :wink:

I have 1,500 GBP or 2,800 USD to spend on a new rig. I intend to OC up to a minimum of 3.6. Please let me know what you think and how I could improve the setup.
I could stretch to another 100 quid or so if performance will really benefit.

All the prices are from Overclockers uk so I might be able to get cheaper elsewhere on the net.

(I'm not bothered about a soundcard or future SLI and I already have a monitor)

Thanks in advance....J.

CASE: Thermaltake Tai-Chi (The one with water cooling) £217.32

CPU: Intel Core 2 DUO E6600 2.40GHz £252.57

MOBO: Asus P5B Deluxe £152.69

RAM: G.Skill 2GB DDR2 ZX PC2- X 2 £182.07

GPU: EVGA GeForce 7950 GX2 SuperClocked £422.94

HD 1: WD Raptor 74GB 10,000RPM SATA 16MB Cache £116.27

HD 2: Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 10 300GB £66.92

OPT 1: Sony DWG120A 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter £26.97

OPT 2: Sony DDU-1615 DVD-ROM £14.10

PSU: Seasonic S12 500W Silent ATX2.0 £76.32

Total :£1,528.17
 
Not really, that's pretty much a selection of the top components available today, anything that you upgraded from there (E6800, 150gb Raptor, SLi 7950s) would cost a lot more.

It's definitely a well rounded system, and there are no bottlenecks - anything anyone tells you other than that is likely just going to be brand loyalty stuff.

The prices could come down a tad - 30 quid on the CPU alone, off the top of my head - but if you shop around a bit (computerprices.co.uk will probably help somewhat also) you'll be able to save on most components.
 
Yeah, I will defo shop around a bit for cheaper parts. I guess savings of even a couple of quid could go towards a basic soundcard. Thanks for the reply...
 
For your second hard disk, you might want to consider a Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 drive - due to the new perpendicular technology they use they're the fastest IDE drives around except Raptors, and not expensive either.

Check this review out:

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/2006/06/29/seagate_750_gb_barracuda_enters_the_big_league_uk/

They come in various sizes, not just 750GB.
 
Cheers for the link ethel, I'll certainly check out lower capacity models. 300 gig is plenty for my modest download habits... :wink:
 
Dear all,

I'm New here so go easy! :wink:

I have 1,500 GBP or 2,800 USD to spend on a new rig. I intend to OC up to a minimum of 3.6. Please let me know what you think and how I could improve the setup.
I could stretch to another 100 quid or so if performance will really benefit.

All the prices are from Overclockers uk so I might be able to get cheaper elsewhere on the net.

(I'm not bothered about a soundcard or future SLI and I already have a monitor)

Thanks in advance....J.

CASE: Thermaltake Tai-Chi (The one with water cooling) £217.32

CPU: Intel Core 2 DUO E6600 2.40GHz £252.57

MOBO: Asus P5B Deluxe £152.69

RAM: G.Skill 2GB DDR2 ZX PC2- X 2 £182.07

GPU: EVGA GeForce 7950 GX2 SuperClocked £422.94

HD 1: WD Raptor 74GB 10,000RPM SATA 16MB Cache £116.27

HD 2: Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 10 300GB £66.92

OPT 1: Sony DWG120A 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter £26.97

OPT 2: Sony DDU-1615 DVD-ROM £14.10

PSU: Seasonic S12 500W Silent ATX2.0 £76.32

Total :£1,528.17
Click to expand...

I think you can change the second HD into Seagate 320GB 7200.10, since it's based on perpendicular recording so it's will be a bit faster than the Maxtor for the same price. Also, go for a better PSU, because if DX10 card comes out, you gonna need more juice for further upgrade, go for at least 550W, it wouldnt cost higher than your current PSU.

If you dont want to do SLI, then dont get a 7950GX2, because it's basically a Dual 7900GT setup for one slot. Go for a X1900XT (X1900XTX is just higher in clock and memory speed) or a 7900GTX. Tom's review has already pointed out that 7950GX2 performed more poorly than a single x1900xt unless you crank up everything (I dont know what size of your LCD monitor), if it's less than 24", then dont bother to do 7950GX2. Because only at 1900x1200 with AA and AF at full setting, the 7950GX2 proved its superiority. With the money you save from doing the 7950GX2, get yourself a mind blowing speaker set (the difference is almost $200 or more if you are in UK)
 
reaper,

I guess thats a possibility, I could get a X1900 XT-X TOXIC and save up for a crossfire card. Only thing is that I am worried about the noise of a crossfire setup. That said, my case should help me out on that score.

I'll check out the toms review and compare the 7950 with a 1900 XT-X. If I can save a hundred quid on the GPU i'll either get a soundcard or save the cash like I said for crossfire. Thanks for the info.
 
I rarely use above 500w in a PSU, but since you're using such high quality parts and you want to overclock from 2.4 to 3.6 ghz, you will definetely need more power, especially for DX10 cards, like reaper said. I also agree that you should get a sound card. An Audigy 2 ZS is great and it's only 70 bucks. Besides those 2 things, everything else looks great. I think the 7950 GX2 is great because you don't need to run SLI or Crossfire to get dual GPU performance. Good luck
 
Get an AMD xD
An AMD at 2.8Ghz would be great, get an opteron 😛
Btw, you can't compare AMDs and Intels by speed, they're not the same.

I can't say much about your processor, I don't know much about Intel's. AMD's usually are better for gaming, you may consider that.
 
And your point is? I said myself I am not an expert on Intel's, so don't look at me like a lying idiot. I really don't feel like starting a flamewar, so don't expect me to respond again. But, here's my view: Intel's and AMD's are like comparing Hondas and Subarus, the Hondas scream, and Subarus Roar 😀
I bet you can guess which one I think is a subaru, lol. <<-- Haha, I look like an idiot. 😛

Have a nice day, I really don't care what's better, but I think Intels are weird.

Anyway, wouldn't it be cool to tell people you have an Opteron? They'd be like "Whoa, what's that?".
 
I bet you can guess which one I think is a subaru, lol. <<-- Haha, I look like an idiot.

Have a nice day, I really don't care what's better, but I think Intels are weird.

Anyway, wouldn't it be cool to tell people you have an Opteron? They'd be like "Whoa, what's that?".
Click to expand...

You know I'd rather get a faster, cheaper processor that people have heard of than a more expensive, slower one that they haven't. And why would I want to talk tech with someone who doesn't even know what an Opteron is?
 
I was looking for price comparisons to see where you're spending your £1500 at. All of your prices match up with www.overclockers.co.uk. I've bought stuff from overclockers several times and have no complaints against them.

You have been advised to look on ebuyer.co.uk but PLEASE avoid eBuyer as they are renowned for delivering the wrong products, especially if you're going to buy quite a few different products. eBuyer also take a good few days to deliver, whereas overclockers do a next-day service if you buy before 3pm.

All of your choices seem good to me. On a side note, your DVD-ROM choice, the Sony DDU-1615 is a rebranded Liteon drive. There's a liteon region reset utility you can download. On this page here (click this text) is a box is an available program called LtnRPC which you can use to keep resetting the user and vendor count on the drive, so you can effectively use it as a region-free DVD player.[/b]
 
And your point is? I said myself I am not an expert on Intel's, so don't look at me like a lying idiot. I really don't feel like starting a flamewar, so don't expect me to respond again. But, here's my view: Intel's and AMD's are like comparing Hondas and Subarus, the Hondas scream, and Subarus Roar 😀
Click to expand...

That makes no sense. Core 2 is faster than AMD. Period.
Haha, I look like an idiot. 😛
Click to expand...

I'll agree with you on that one.
 
I'm not sure why noise is such a huge deal. I'm not gonna lie, my computer is relatively loud, but the performance is what I really care about. I gave up on noiseless fans and spent the extra little bit and put it towards my 2nd gig of RAM instead. Noise can be cheaply resolved over time by buying noiseless fans as you come into a bit of extra cash. Don't limit what you buy based on noise. A performance hit isn't worth taking because you don't want a super quiet rig. Maybe its because I'm used to working in loud server rooms, but that's my take on it.
 
ROFLMBO

This isn't about opinions man, and when was the last time you got online?
You are lost in the forest of waaayyyy back ( about 2 months ago, hah)
 
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