New Computer! [UK]

[GazMcfc]

hello every1 im new to this forum, i live in the UK (Liverpool) and i would really appreciate it if someone could give me help on gathering components together at the best possible price. I was looking to spend around £700-£750 on the computer. It will be used mostly for gaming and also to watch and burn dvds. I intend to build this computer within the next month. I dont know wether to choose Intel or AMD, AMD will prove cheaper. Also with the graphics card, ATI (X-Fire)or nVidia (SLi)? The components i have chosen upto now are as follows:- CPU - Intel E6600 (What is the AMD alternative compared to this CPU if any) Memory - Geil Ultra 2GB Hard Drive - 250GB Seagate SATA2 16MB Cache and a DVD-RW - Samsung DVDRW 18x Lightscribe

Thanx very much in advance!

 

[Statross]

do you wanna overclock your processor?

if you do then the e6600 is not a good idea for the money coz you could get an e6400 and OC it up to an e6600 for "free"

e6600 has no AMD alternative actually the 64 X2 is AMDs product.

everything else is probably fine. on a 750 pound budget you could probably factor in an 8800GTS if you dropped to an e6400. on 750 i dont think theres any point in going for z-fire or SLI coz it would probably cost the same/more for the same/less eprformance (or i could be wrong?)

in any case there arent too many 680i boards out, and those that are will probably need a few more out-of-the box bios revisions.

975/965 is probably the way to go...fairly mature and plenty of selection.

for gaming 975 is good. but if 680i turns out to be ok then thats probably an SLI gamers dream.

i'd look around e6400 processor (~120/130)
200GB+ sata (seagate pref.) (~50/60+)
that RAM is probably fine (i dont know the specs...maybe change for OCing?)
£100~ mo/bo (probably 975 for gamer)
then a good PSU (40-60+)
and an 8800

there was another thread with a guy with the same budget...he maanged to fit in an e6400 and an 8800GTS and had a nice looking system...i think only 1GB of RAM though....

sorry if this is a little vague...i dont know exact prices or your preferences.

 

[GazMcfc]

do you wanna overclock your processor?

erm..i dnt know how to lol but i guess i could read through guides to find out.

e6600 has no AMD alternative actually the 64 X2 is AMDs product.

i mean which AMD 64 X2 will be almost on par with the Intel e6600, if any? As AMD is cheaper to build a system around? i think

everything else is probably fine. on a 750 pound budget you could probably factor in an 8800GTS if you dropped to an e6400

the nvidia 8800GTS is around £300+ in the uk (much cheaper in USA ) would i still be able 2 fit one in? lol

also does anyone know of a decent case? the Case + PSU will add up to around £100, therefore £150 for the 2gb Memory, £50 HD, that means £450 left for a Mobo, CPU and graphics card :| lol

 

[Statross]

i found that other thread i was talking about he came up with:

2x 1GB PC6400 Elixir DDR2 800 SDRAM M2Y1G64TU8HB0B-25C £115.90 Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Retail 2x 2.40 4Mb 1066 MHz LGA775 £169.89
Albatron GeForce 8800GTS 640MB DDR3 320bit PCI-E Dual-DVI VIVO £249.95
Asus P5W DH Deluxe i975X Socket 775 WiFi EDITION / CONROE READY / CROSSFIRE / DUAL Gb LAN / SATA(II) RAID / ATX MOTHERBOARD £123.97
OCZ 600W SLI Ready GameXStream PSU OCZ600GXSSLI-UK-OCZ £62.50

that comes to £718
you probably dont need that e6600 or a mo/bo that costly if you wont OC (but if you will, the gigabyte DS4 is only £100 on ebuyer)

as for a case...there are great cases to be had for little money..it's all about cosmetic premiums for cases...myself, when i build my new system, i'm getting a nice £12 case from ebuyer, has front, side and rear fans and looks fine. if you want it to look a little more snazzy...it will cost a lot of money...similarly if you want it for bragging rights you're gonna have to pay for it so i suggest getting a cheap and functional (but making sure it can fit a big Gcard)

**edit** thats the case http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/108280

 

[yas]

Well if you plan in using the rig mainly for gaming then I would definatey advise going for the cheapest 8800GTS you can find. THat way youll be able to play all the DX10 games in the futur and wont need to upgrade for a long time. IF you are really squeezed for money then you may wanna jrop to a X1900XT or the 7950GT

Looking at your budget I think you should go with a E6400 whether you plan to OC or not. You wouldnt see a huge gain in performance with the E6600 and you could always OC in the futur anyway.

For the motherboard you may wanna go with the gigabyte S3 or the new ASUS P5N-E sli which both sell for around £100.

Also to save money you can get 2 gigabyte value ram but make sure to get 667 or 800mhz so that you can OC in the futur.

 

[Flewis]

All those prices you have listed statross are excluding VAT, so another 17.5% on those. That takes you out of the £750 budget.

There is no way you could get a 6600, 2Gb's RAM, 8800 GTS etc. for £750 so a few sacrifices need to be made.

I would recommend a 6300(/6400 if u can afford it) and overclock it as much as u can with a good value overclockable motherboard such as the gigabyte S3. U could throw a custom cooler for a few more GHz or stay with stock.

Id say keep the 8800GTS cos there is no point sticking with DX9, it will be outdated fairly soon.

Try scan.co.uk for almost all the parts, ive found it to be pretty much the cheapest going. Your original RAM choice is a good one for value.

Also i wouldnt recommend skimping on ur case cos it is one of the only parts that may never need upgrading and better airflow will help your overclock.

 

[Statross]

ack! you;re right....what an idiot posting non-VAT prices...

then i dont know about the 8800...for a gamer...a good card is too important...more important than an extra gig of RAM.

to prioritise i'd definately say go e6300/e6400

then get your Gcard

then work a mo/bo into your budget and dont go over say...75 pounds

then find some nice value 1GB ram...you can always upgrade later to 2 GIGs...RAM is the easiest to upgrade


i dont agree with the above poster about spending on a case....a case is a case it does almost nothing extra for you.

spend as little as possible unless there is a serious agenda you need to fulfil

 

[Statross]

640MB Palit 8800GTS PCI-E (x16), Mem 1600 MHz £293

1Gb Elixir, DDR2 PC5300 (667), 240 Pin, Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 5 Major Retail £62

Gigabyte GA 965P-S3 iP965, S775 £78

Intel Core 2 Duo E6400, Socket 775, 2.13 GHz £142

250 Gb Seagate ST3250620AS Barracuda 7200.10 £55

= £630

add 1GB more RAM = £692

OR

Intel Core 2 Duo E6300, Socket 775, 1.86 GHz £113

= £601

add 1GB more ram = £663

inc VAT ex shipping from scan.co.uk (some how more easy to get around than ebuyer..cheaper, too)

ADD £20 for a DVD drive or £25 for a lightscribe DVD drive (useless IMO) and add whateevr you want for a case (i suggest going as cheap as possible)

 

[GazMcfc]

very nice system Statross, all i need now is the case and psu, but to run this system wouldnt i need a good powersupply? any suggestions?

also would this BFG GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB be a better choice than the one you chose Statross?

thanx very much for all your suggestions, i really appreciate it!

 

[Statross]

you would need a good PSU...really cant scrimp and save on "extra value" PSUs with that system.

i'm afraid i'm not a PSU guru so try and seek more expert advice as to exact models, amps, wattages, etc...a couple of things i've picked up though: 1) i've heard bad things (well, mediocre things) about coolermaster PSUs
2) i think hiper make good PSUs
3) silverstone i'm sure i've heard good things about
4) OCZ make PSUs for high-end systems...but i think theyre expensive
5) definately ask in the PSU section of this forum (i'm sure there is one) for UK-available PSUs for the system
6) look to spend £50+ on a PSU...with that system you dont want the PSU causing problems

some other general points...dont let poeple convince you to buy DDR2 800+, it costs alot more and you, personally, will probably not see any benefits (you're probably not OCing...and if you are, you probably only will a little, in which case 667 is perfect)
definately get that seagate HDD
if you dont have a floppy drive DEFINATELY buy one..for £5 it's just not worth leaving it out
and, again, as far as cases go, there are alot out there but try to find a nice cheap one with space for fans, then buy some cheap fans for it...should help alot

 

[darkstar782]

All prices Including VAT

CPU: Intel C2D e6300 £117.26
Cutting CPU costs to get the GPU... The e6300 will overclock massively anyway, so its not really an issue. You are almost assured of getting better performance than an AMD FX-60 with this

Motherboard: Gigabyte 965P DS3 £95.48
Decent motherboard, needed for high FSBs overclocking the e6300. Also provides sound

GPU: MSI 8800GTS 640MB £282
2nd fastest Gfx card in the world right now. Your GPU has a far bigger impact than your CPU in games. The e6300 will overclock easily to x6800 speeds anyway.

RAM: 2* Corsair DDR2-667 1GB CL5 £71.08 each
Personally I like 2GB. This is two 1GB sticks, so you could always buy one now and one later. Don't touch unbranded RAM, or brands you have never heard of.

HDD: 250GB WD Caviar SATA £45.63
250GB should be enough to start with, HDDs are cheap, you can always add more.

PSU: Alaska Quiet 500W £58.73
PSUs are important, resist the urge to cut corners too much here. Alaska are well known enough that I'd trust them, but anything cheaper is a no-no imho.

Case: Antec SLK3000B £33.08
Not much to say, dont want something that looks hideous, but dont want to spend major cash here.

Total thats £774.35. Delivery is another £11.97.

I have gone a little overbudget, and I haven't allocated for a DVD±RW drive, monitor (I assume you are using your old one?) or a keyboard and mouse (you can get cheap ones to tide you over under £10)

You could solve all these by dropping 1GB for now and buying it later, if you like.

I really think the 8800GTS is worth it, it will have more affect on games than anything else you do.

You could save a little cash with an AMD 3800+ as a base, but the e6300 will give FAR more performance if you are willing to overclock it, the e6600 gives Athlon FX-62 performance at stock, and thats an *easy* overclock for an e6300 even on stock cooling.

That's just my 2p

 

[GazMcfc]

thanx darkstar782 nice system, what do you all think of this?

Also All prices including VAT

CPU: Intel C2D e6300 £113.96

Motherboard: Gigabyte 965P DS3 £88.13

GPU: BFG GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB £291.39 -or- XFX GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB £295.39

RAM: 2GB Corsair DDR2 PC5400 (667) £154.56

HDD: 250 Gb Seagate SataII 16MB Cache £54.91

PSU: 580W HiperPower Type-R £57.58

DVDRW: Samsung DVD±RW Dual Layer £21.56

Total Cost: £782.09 with BFG £786.09 with XFX Delivery is around £10 but i dont mind the delivery charges.

i am undecided about the cases so heres a few:- Antec SLK3000B £33.08 , Akasa AK-ZEN £31.71 or Coolmaster £42.88

How about this X-Blade will this fit the nVidia 8800GTS? £34.02 i could get this case cheaper.

the e6300 sounds really good when overclocked, but is it still ok without overclocking? i will have to look into overclocking more, hopefully overclocking the e63000 to e6600 should be easy enough as you say and also its saves me around £80 thanx!

yes i already have a monitor, i just want to build the system

i would just like to say thanks again to everyone who has replied to my message

 

[darkstar782]

The e6300 is REALLY easy to overclock, as it has more headroom than any other C2D.

You are almost guaranteed to be able to hit 2.66GHz even with stock cooling. That's e6700 speed, with a faster FSB but less cache.

People here will be more than happy to help you with overclocking, and even without it, the e6300 is still a good CPU at stock speed.


As for the manufacturer of the Gfx card - except for the new XFX xxx edition ones, which I don't think have hit retail yet, all 8800GTS's and GTX's are put together in the same factory right now, and then just have stickers put on them by the end retailers.

The only difference between them is price and warranty, so pretty much just go with the cheapest.

Everything you have linked there looks fine to me

 

[Statross]

e6300 will never be a 6600 coz it has smaller cache (though it doesnt make that much difference).

cant go far wrong with a DS3, for a beginner overclocker its probably a good board to go with too because alot of people recommend S3 or DS3 and there will, no doubt, be guides out there specific to the DS3.

on its own, e6300 is still an excellent processor and with 2GB of RAM to utilise will be leaps and bounds over a P4.

theres a guide in these forums, "overclocking on a $600 budget" or something using an e6300, 667 RAM and i think it includes a DS3 board...that would be a good thing to look at for OCing it...in the guide it went up to 3Ghz on stock cooling...so OCing the processor is definately something to look into.

regardless, you'll have a nice system.

 

[GazMcfc]

thanks, what if i was to make the system SLi? so i could add another gfx card in the future which i dont think i would need to but it might be the case. Would you say this !Motherboard! is a good choice? or would you recommend a nForce 680, if i was to change the mobo to SLi, i would buy just 1GB of RAM for now as it will save me £75 and also it is very easy to upgrade in the future and which case would you recommend..i have made some suggestions in my earlier posts.

 

[darksidedragon]

I'm actually looking to build a new PC too (although I may be able to stretch my budget to £1200 odd). I was looking at this ebuyer case:
Extra Value with 500W PSU
I'm not 100% sure on this, as I'm wondering whether the cheapness means it won't be very quiet or too cool? Otherwise, I'll probably get the Akasa Zen case, as reviews say it's cool and quiet. I was thinking of an Antec P180, but the case isn't compatible with my Hiper PSU.

Any help with the case would be much appreciated. Also, does anyone know what keyboards allow more than 3-4 simultaneous keystrokes???

 

[Statross]

darkside: if you;re spending more that £700 on a system there are two rules of thumb regarding PSUs:
1) stay away from anything that uses the word "value" and
2) stay away from any PSUs that come with a case

explanations:
value means its crap
PSUs with cases are designed for conveniance, theyre worse than value...theyre extra value PSUs...thats why no high-end cases come with PSUs...coz people who buy high-end know that you can afford to have a shit PSU

 

[Statross]

if you were to make the system SLI then you ought to get a 680i mo/bo for the PCI-e connectivity...two full x16 slots and another sot at x8 (i think)...its excellent...but you should wait for that, probably...there are only a few baords out there ATM and those thatb are are a bit buggy...in january/february lots of 680i boards will come out...and existing ones will have out-of-the-box bios revisions.

 

[darksidedragon]

Thanks, but I already know that! The case just happens to come with a PSU. I already have a Hiper 580W PSU that will be able to handle my new system.

 

[Statross]

oh, i'm sorry...yeah now i re-read your post i see youre asking about a case.

hmm..ebuyer is down for maintenance...but i dont think cheap means rubbish...it just means it isnt a brand name or that it doesnt have a specific feature whcih they can charge a premium on.

ah...its back..that case looks nice, but it doesnt say it ahs a side fan mount, thatnmya be a rpoblem for you or not...without a side fan blowing on either your CPU or chipset heatsinks it probably wont be as cool as it could be in there.

most people seem to go for antec casses, they have a good rep

 

[darksidedragon]

Sidefan isn't really a problem for me, as I don't intend to OC (although I may if I can do it economically). Main thing is it has 12cm fans so it will hopefully be quiet.
I was considering buying the Antec P180 case, but my Hiper PSU isn't compatible with it. The other case I was looking at is the Akasa Zen

 

[GazMcfc]

The other case I was looking at is the Akasa Zen

yea i think this is a good case too (fairly cheap), but will the 580W HiperPower Type-R fit inside it? and also will the GeForce 8800 fit inside it lol? thanks

 

[darksidedragon]

The Hiper is a standard size, so it should fit. The only reason it doesn't go in the Antec P180 is because the P4 power connector isn't long enough to reach from the bottom of the case (some newer cases, such as the P180, have the power supply at the bottom).