for me and kamrooz

[arnold-edward]

So as not to annoy flugg.

I have monitor and everything else and I really dont want to risk anything messing up so overclocking is off the table really.

 

[Kamrooz]

Alright no worries. Should I be using the with VAT tax or without?..not sure which route to take since I don't live in london. There are pretty much 2 choices for everything...with a vat tax and without. Once I get that info set I can get to work on building you a list for the rig.

 

[arnold-edward]

I could prob get vat and so money off but to be careful work it out with vat.

Thanks

 

[Kamrooz]

Are Scan.co.uk and Ebuyer.com the only two shops?...They have a very bad memory selection...Can't track down any D9 micron chips...If you don't plan to OC though then it doesn't really matter then. But what are your plans?...OC'ing or not?...Cause if not they have some decent OCZ modules with a lifetime warranty...their service is fantastic.

Choice is yours on that...Still trying to figure out which site to use based on pricing..But if there is another top dog etailer in london I'd like to check out them as well. Are these the only 2 places?

 

[arnold-edward]

well I dont live in London but all the sites deliver anywhere dirt cheap. I cant think of anywhere else to be honest and those are the largest two to my knowledge. http://www.vadim.co.uk/ do the odd more specialist bit though. I am not overclocking though. Thanks

 

[Kamrooz]

Alright..I have the list/'s worked out. The Vadim.co.uk is my type of site..but I didn't use it. Unfortunately atm I have had to use both ebuyer and scan.co to get the right items since they didn't have the same stock. One had literally no choices in ram while the other did...mine you still not good choices but atleast choices....

But..before I post the list..Do you happen to know for sure if you are going to have to pay Vat taxes or not?..cause it effects the overall rig...I also don't want to have to post 2 long lists...lol..one for vat and not for vat...ugh the work...lol..

If you can get back to me on that it'd be nice...If it isn't with Vat I can pick out some nice additions to the rig which you'll notice...But if not I got the rig pretty much picked out...just waiting for your word on the vat situation.

 

[arnold-edward]

I am afraid that I would have to pay tax, however I can always add things at a later date. Thanks for this

 

[Kamrooz]

Do you need a operating system as well?..Or do you already have one?

 

[arnold-edward]

It would be nice but I can get one relatively easily for free

 

[Kamrooz]

Well if you already have one then no need since they cost quite a bit...Here's the list. The two sites didn't have many choices..So I had to use both together. So you'll have to order from both companies. They also had a horrendous selection on ram. They didn't have any D9 micron modules but since you are not oc'ing it doesn't matter. I made sure to pick out a pair that works with your board though.....I also didn't add a after market heatsink and arctic silver 5 since you're not ocing...the stock heatsink should do you fine....here it is..


Current total: 897.96

I left £100 open for any extra taxes/shipping costs. As well as some room for anything that you wanted to throw in there...

------------------------

Q6600

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/131950
£168.01


e6850

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/130483
£165.82

Your choice on this one. multicore is becoming the future...Down the road more programs will be multithreaded...the choice is yours on which you want. The quad core is clocked at 2.4 while the 6850 is clock at 3.0...In cases where a game/application isn't multi threaded you'll see better performance out of the dual core. If a program is multithreaded you'll see more performance from the quad. Use this CPU chart to figure out which is better for you based on your uses..

http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu_2007.html?modelx=33&model1=872&model2=871&chart=421

If you want, you could also drop down to a E6750...which is pricey at £115.68 at ebuyer. This will give you an extra 50 to spend on other areas.

------------------------


gigabyte p35-ds3r

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=605526
£69.31

Great motherboard for it's price...It can overclock well but you're probably not going to. Stable with great performance...

------------------------


Corsair HX 620w

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/114941
£95.06

Since we're nabbing a beefy video card..Decided to nab a 620 watt powersupply. This will give you room down the road to add in more. Considering those 2 sites didn't have any PSU's with a 8 pin PCI-E connector...If you ever do want one you can call corsair and have them ship one to you..but of course you'd have to pay for shipping. You don't really need the 8 pin pci-e connector though...since it's for PCI Express 2.0..but it's a nice feeling to be able to re-use your PSU for PCI-E 2.0 motherboards.

------------------------


OCZ Platinum 2x1GB pc2-6400 4-4-4-15

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/116755/rb/0
£64.99

they didn't have much at all in terms of memory...checked, and these are compatible with your board. The only good modules they had weren't compatible. They did have one nice pair of D9 Micron modules for PC2-8500...but costs too much..Since you're not oc'ing you can get away with pretty much anything. Chose these OCZ modules due to their lifetime warranties...Better latencies then most the ram the sites had...and the customer service from OCZ is top notch.

------------------------


Antec p182 Gunmetal Grey

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/126946
£78.49

Great case with great airflow...Which is important since you are on your stock heatsink. it comes with 3 fans standard...with 2 optional slots to fill in with your own. Up to you if you want too....If we you didn't have to pay Vat Taxes I had some fans picked out to replace and add to the 120mm slots....If you want some nice silent fans with good airflow you might want to purchase a couple of these...

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=533394

These aren't added to the price though...just some extra choices if you want too.

------------------------


Nec Optix LabelFlash DL DVD-R/RW

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/129159/rb/0
£18.57

They had no lightscribe drives..but they had Labelflash atleast..This is a SATA version...It's an OEM so it won't come with the wires..So make sure you just pick out a long SATA wire to reach through the case to be safe...that shouldn't set you back more then a couple bucks..

------------------------


Floppy Drive

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/74629
£3.71

bios updates/drivers and such...if you don't need it you can drop it..But I always fill my rig with a floppy...

------------------------


EVGA 8800 GTX

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/120933
£334.84

Yummy...Need I say more?

------------------------


Seagate 500 GB SataII 16mb cache drive

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/113428
£64.95

Chose Seagate for their reliability. 5 year warranty..I've dealt with many hard drives in the past. So far all my seagate drives are still alive. A few of my WD drives have died but some are still kicking...All maxtor drives I've gotten have died..Maxtor is just..horrendous..Until Seagate releases their drives with the maxtor name that is ^_^ (Seagate bought out maxtor).

------------------------






Well..That's it...I don't know how many taxes you have to pay but theres a bit of room to add anything else you want..a 2nd dvd drive maybe?...or as suggested you can downgrade to a E6750 if you want...save some cash and nab another hard drive if you wish. lots of choices really...

I didn't add any processor cooling since you're staying at stock speeds. It will get a bit hot but it'll be normal. I have known quite a few people who want to make sure their processor is cooled for no reason though....even if they aren't overclocking. If you are that type of person you can grab these...Keep in mind these aren't added to the price...so you'll have to dock to a E6750 if you want to get it...Or if you have just enough room after shipping you can get by with it...


CPU Heatsink

Thermalright Ultra 120

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/128984
£34.47


Arctic Silver 5

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=403502
£4.50


Scythe S-flex SFF21F

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=533394
£12.33 vat

These would be the best possible cooling solution. The Ultra 120 is rather large but fits in the case I've checked. Arctic silver 5 for the thermal compound. A S-Flex SFF21F is a perfect blend of airflow and silence. This would keep any processor quite cool...But it's up to you if you want to go for it..Since you're not ocing there really isn't a need unless you are paranoid about temperatures. Keep in mind this isn't added to the price either. You might be able to squeeze it in if Vat taxes are all the tax costs...and shipping won't be more then £50. Or if you want you can spend the money on a extra drive...or another cd rom drive..choice is yours...not sure how much shipping and if vat is the only tax, but if it is, and shipping is relatively cheap, you can add a little here and a little there. Those fans are also great as case fans...If you wanted to nab 2 of them since your case comes with 3 of the 5 slots filled. I was originally gonna nab you two hard drives, 2 cd rom drives, and a few other goodies...But that vat tax took up around £150...lol....

If you have any questions or concerns feel free to ask...I'll help you out with anything I can...

 

[arnold-edward]

Looks utterly fantastic and saves me getting confused for months and then buying the wrong things. I am deeply indebted to you sire.

I do have a few questions if you dont mind, do you think physix and sounds cards are needed? also the ram is 800mhz, was that chosen because of price and would getting some at 1000mhz be better or needless for the extra £70?

P.S be back in about 1h30

 

[Kamrooz]

Physix cards aren't needed...I forgot to add a soundcard though. That would be a wise add...

This would do the job nicely although it's pricey....I would only recommend this if you're planning to drop down to a e6750..

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/119557

If you want to use that extra 50 without dropping anything you can get this..

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/127553

more budget orientated but should also do the job nicely ^_^.

Regarding the ram..They literally rape you on pc2-8500 on those sites. It was around 156 pounds which is 310 dollars in us currency!...they weren't even D9 microns..There was one though that caught my eye..The OCZ reapers..But they were around 310 as stated..While in the us you can nab them for 230. Overall they were ripping you off.

Besides..The difference between 800 and 1066 isn't very noticeable for your uses. Those who makes pc's often would tell you that 1066 wouldn't be worth getting when 800 could be had for 1/3 the price. I would only recommend 1066 if you're planning on OC'ing and want to push your rig to the limit...But since you're not you can get away with 800 modules at 1/3 the price...Also the 800 modules have tighter timings..which to explain simply would mean they can refresh a bit faster to handle more data...So overall you really won't see a difference...

 

[arnold-edward]

I can get some 1066mhz a lot cheaper but they are 2nd hand, what do you tihnk?

And once again THANKS

 

[Kamrooz]

no prob ^_^...I wouldn't trust second hand modules. Trust me when I say there will be pretty much no difference what so ever. Risking it on 2nd hand memory isn't really worth it. Also these modules I nabbed have a lifetime warranty which helps quite a bit. The only reason to nab ddr2 1066 would be if you're oc'ing...

Even though it may say 1066..don't think bigger is better. When it comes to memory they have timings....To explain it in a simple form would be refreshing...Think of it as a bucket of water...You have one big bucket and one bucket that's a bit smaller. If you keep filling them up to the top then emptying them out..The small bucket would be quicker for the next load of water..

memory have timings which are the latency of the chip. DDR2 800 chips mostly revolve around 4-4-4-12 if they are good quality. With DDR2 1066 running around 5-5-5-15....The 800 modules can access the information quicker thanks to their lower timings. But they don't have the amount of bandwidth that 1066 does..But the 1066 is slower in latency timing which makes it slower in that regard...

The only reason to get high rated chips is to have more overclocking headroom...When you overclock your cpu it correlates with your memory. When you push the cpu your pushing your memory as well. For example let's say you had no theoretical limit to how far your CPU can go...You would eventually hit a limit where your memory can't go any farther...Once you hit that point it'd be better to get faster modules...since we've pushed these ddr2 800 modules to the limit let's true the 1066 rated modules. since their built to a higher standard it means we can push those farther as well...

For stock settings there really isn't a point to buy 1066 when it's so overpriced compared to the ddr2-800 modules. If there was a difference in like 10-20 dollars I'd say go for it. But double to three times the price is ridiculous..You'll see a MUCH stronger benefit in getting a better cpu or better graphics card then you will splurging on ram.

 

[arnold-edward]

Er sorry about this but I have kinda found some more websites, I understand if you cant be bothered but here they are anyway

videocardshop.co.uk

and

yoyotech.co.uk

thanks

HMM they appear to have a lot of bundle deals

 

[Kamrooz]

The first site has garbage..only graphics cards..They don't even have the 8800 GTX which I picked out for your rig....The second site has some better ram choices..but that one vimid or whatever site had better...The bundles are also not worth it. you'll save maximum 5-7 dollars while being forced on different to a different motherboard/processor..

But I can't express it enough about the memory..You don't need high end modules... You are just going to be wasting money on d9 micron modules that you are not going to be OC'ing...The rig I put together for you blends the perfect elements of what is needed and what isn't needed.....Overall you wouldn't even be able to get 1066 quality modules without breaking your bank....The only site that has good modules is the vadim.co.uk..But their 1066 modules start around 135 excluding Vat TAX...

If I was you I'd just take the extra 50 bucks, if vat tax is indeed all you have to pay, and get another hard drive..or cd rom drive..or maybe some decent case fans to bring down the temps...There really would be no justification on putting more in ram since you're not OC'ing...1066 ram is just way too expensive in your area to validate the purchase...It's not just that reason alone..it's simply too much since you're not OC'ing...

 

[arnold-edward]

I understand, thanks for everything. When its all up and running I will contact you to say how it all went, anyway time for sleep.

Bye mate

 

[Kamrooz]

Anytime ^_^..If you have any other question feel free to ask. Don't be shy =P.

 

[kcizzle3g]

I've been following this post since its begginings in the Flugg Thread. I've decided to post a reply in this thread since I cant seem to find out how to begin my own Sir Arnold, may I ask a question kind sir? . . .. .

Im building my 1st rig. I really dont have a budget, but I dont want to buy all top of the line components either. They would be overkill for my level of use. Im not an avid gamer. I do play C&C: Red Alert (kinda addicted!), and I will definately be getting into Crisis from the loooks of it. Im sure there are quit a few other titles that I would get into once I've learned more about them. I love RTS and Adventure titles.

I'm perplexed on the GPU. Im not a video performance hog, but I want to be able to tweak settings when i learn how and why. I dont know how to decide. Either the 320mb or 640? From reading thread after thread, others are also stiffled by these cards. It seems "resolution" is the resolution to this dilema. However, im not sure what resolution I will be using. I DO KNOW that i want no smaller than a 22" Monitor. If I have my way, I will be getting a nice 24". Will this screen size automatically qualify me for the 640 card? I think SLi Is Sil..ly! Thinking of getting the 320 for now and wait to see what happens in 90 days. The holidays are within that range now.....
Also on the fence with the mobo choice. Got it down to two Manu's; Asus and Gigabyte. I like the P5KC features and price. Seems like i'll be future proof with that one. I want the ddr3 readiness. The Gigabyte P35C-DS3R is talked about and mentioned in waaaaay more threads though. So, a lil help in that area will be tremendous. Also, whats your feelings on Open Box items? Which items would you get open box and wich ones would you not even consider getting used?

I already have a wd 500gb hdd for storage but Im thinking of getting a raptor for the system disk. On the fence with the 74 or the 150.

 

[Kamrooz]

Judging by your scenario. I was going to recommend a lower budget card..A x1900XT or x1950 pro. But since you are planning to use a 24"...You're gonna need something to handle 1920x1200 resolution. Since this is the case I would recommend the the 640 if you want to play with some high settings and nice eye candy. Cause after all, Why would you want to play on a nice large 24" monitor when there is not much eye candy?

However...If you don't plan to crank up the AA/AF (Anti-Aliasing/Anisotropic Filtering) you might be able to get away with something less. Even the 8800 GTS 320 mb version will do fine in 1920x1200 res..But the limited memory is apparent as their is a pretty decent FPS jump going from the 320 to 640 version. The choice is really yours on what you plan to do.

There are also other solutions. If you are looking for a good monitor...do a bit of research and see if the one you plan to purchase has support has 1:1 pixel mapping. Basically what this is..It lets you play in smaller resolutions without scaling the image to fit the screen...Since a 24" monitor has exactly 1920 pixels in width and 1200 in height..If you play using a smaller resolution with scaling...The picture would get stretched to fit the screen. Pixels will then blur among one another to make up for the loss of its native resolution signal. This results in blurry and fuzzy images which isn't very nice for gaming. But with 1:1 pixel mapping it centers the image in the middle of the screen, taking up exactly the amount of pixels you wish to play in. If you choose 1600x1050..It will do exactly that. Center the game in the center of the screen with exactly 1600 pixels across and 1050 in the height..The rest of the screen will be filled with black border around the box. Think of it as a monitor within a monitor...

If you can live with that you can get by with much less...Then you can nab a 8800 GTS 320 version which is around 280-300. It'll handle everything fine....At least then...If you want to try playing in the 1920x1200 you can go for it..But if it seems the frame rate is too low for your tastes you can change to 1:1 pixel mapping to get better performance without breaking the bank. Hope this helps..If you do plan to go this route though..it's gonna take some research into getting the right LCD monitor...I would suggest here if you want to get into reading the technology and differences..

http://www.hardforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=78

They have a very active forum display..So you can better understand the strengths and weaknesses of each monitor..For there is no perfect LCD screen. Also read up on this to see the differences between the three panel types... TN, PVA/MVA, and IPS.

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1039222

At the bottom of the first post on this page there is a link to TFT Central...Check that out if you want even more detailed information about the panel types. Over all a great read...Hope this helps...If you plan to get the 320 mb version of the 8800 GTS. Make sure you get a version that's clocked higher...most people wouldn't recommend this but newegg has one for 5 dollars more...that's a wonderful deal compared to the stock version...Let me get you a link..

Here's a stock version..

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130082

Here's the version I'm suggesting..

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130038

for 5 dollars more it has an extra 75 mhz on the gpu core with an extra 100 mhz on the memory...If you want you can raise this yourself but if you don't like to risk overclocking it's a worthy 5 dollar investment....

SLI overall has come a long way and has began scaling well..But it's not economical...When you dish out double the cash you could just get a card farther up the price chain....Even though high resolution gaming benefits the most from SLI...The power draw is also a concern if you tend to leave your computer on 24/7 like me. If you have Vista it'd be more of a concern if Aeroglass is enabled...All these need to be thought out...Overall though I think you'll be fine with a 320 mb version...Although in 1900 and up resolutions you are gonna take a hit in performance which would validate the purchase of a 640 mb model. But 1:1 pixel mapping should help if you don't mind how it is displayed..