A couple of quickies

[Apple_NdiB]

For someone soon to buy a gaming-orientated PC (but knows little about them).

 

1. I'm going to be buying an 8800gts 640MB, and I don't plan to overclock it (because I don't know how). What sort of cooling/power solutions would you recommend for such a beastly yet competitively priced gfx card?

 

2. I've noticed RAM comes in different "DDR's", 667, 1066 etc, what does this mean, and will it improve in-game performance if I go for a higher DDR?

 

Thanks.

[Guest Jordan]

About the graphics card, you can get them pre-Overclocked. Far easier.

Also, the fan is an entire freaking bay, you ain't gunna have any problems there. Power wise? Get a 650+ watt PSU, and make sure its a good brand not some cheapy crap thats going to fail.

[Apple_NdiB]

The website I'm buying my computer from (PCoption) doesn't sell pre-OC'd cards as far as I'm aware, would they do this for me? As far as power goes, it says it has a "standard 700w" supply, but they have a 600w "Coolermaster Extreme" for another 40 quid, which one would you go for?

[The fish]

As far as power goes, it says it has a "standard 700w" supply, but they have a 600w "Coolermaster Extreme" for another 40 quid, which one would you go for?

 

Look at the different cases. I've been looking at the sight earlier today, and the "Discovery" case has 3 built in fans and a 700W PSU, which is very, very good, unless you want more than one graphics card, as you'll need a 1000W PSU. Also, it's worth buying an additional bold-on fan (at the bottom of the page in the "extras" section).

 

Also, all the benchmarks I've looked at suggest that the 8800gts 320mb is better, but cheaper.

[Apple_NdiB]

Look at the different cases. I've been looking at the sight earlier today, and the "Discovery" case has 3 built in fans and a 700W PSU, which is very, very good, unless you want more than one graphics card, as you'll need a 1000W PSU. Also, it's worth buying an additional bold-on fan (at the bottom of the page in the "extras" section).

 

Also, all the benchmarks I've looked at suggest that the 8800gts 320mb is better, but cheaper.

 

How does that work out? Don't they perform similarly up until a certain resolution, at which point the 320 begins to taper off (forgive my ignorance).

[McPhee]

1. Unless you are using a 24"+ monitor you won't need the 640MB card. Even at 24" performance is apparently close

 

2. 500W will run any single graphics card configuration. 600-700W for dual graphics. The Corsair PSUs are supposed to be very good, basically go for anything that isn't they're basic 700W PSU. It's unbranded rubbish and costs about £15! Good PSUs start at £30 and go all the way up to stupid money, £50-£60 is apparently the ideal though

Post the choices on here and we can help whittle them down

 

3. Not a great difference between DDR speeds. PC-8500 (DDR2 1066) is overpriced and only really for heavy overclockers and performance freaks. PC-6400 (DDR2 800) is the happy medium, it will overclock nicely and isn't all that expensive. PC-5400 (DDR2 667) is the cheapest you should consider now, it's very good RAM but it won't overclock very far. It's good for saving money if you don't want to overclock.

 

Also, another point that might save you some cash. Todays most powerful CPUs are held up by the graphics cards in games. Buying an Intel E6750 or Q6600 might sound good but you'll see maybe a couple of frames per second difference between them and an E4400! Heck, a recent benchmark showed a Celeron D 440 + 8800GTS keeping within 1FPS of a Core2Duo E6700 + 8800GTS in F.E.A.R.!

 

Bare this in mind when choosing a CPU. Im not saying you should get an E4400, it probably won't last you. But the more expensive processors are usually a waste of cash too unless you do a lot of processor-heavy tasks

[Apple_NdiB]

1. Unless you are using a 24"+ monitor you won't need the 640MB card. Even at 24" performance is apparently close

 

2. 500W will run any single graphics card configuration. 600-700W for dual graphics. The Corsair PSUs are supposed to be very good, basically go for anything that isn't they're basic 700W PSU. It's unbranded rubbish and costs about £15! Good PSUs start at £30 and go all the way up to stupid money, £50-£60 is apparently the ideal though

Post the choices on here and we can help whittle them down

 

3. Not a great difference between DDR speeds. PC-8500 (DDR2 1066) is overpriced and only really for heavy overclockers and performance freaks. PC-6400 (DDR2 800) is the happy medium, it will overclock nicely and isn't all that expensive. PC-5400 (DDR2 667) is the cheapest you should consider now, it's very good RAM but it won't overclock very far. It's good for saving money if you don't want to overclock.

 

Also, another point that might save you some cash. Todays most powerful CPUs are held up by the graphics cards in games. Buying an Intel E6750 or Q6600 might sound good but you'll see maybe a couple of frames per second difference between them and an E4400! Heck, a recent benchmark showed a Celeron D 440 + 8800GTS keeping within 1FPS of a Core2Duo E6700 + 8800GTS in F.E.A.R.!

 

Bare this in mind when choosing a CPU. Im not saying you should get an E4400, it probably won't last you. But the more expensive processors are usually a waste of cash too unless you do a lot of processor-heavy tasks

 

Wow, thanks for all that!

 

I'm in two minds about ordering from this company now. I've been looking at customer feedback on other forums and it seems to be pretty iffy, what's even worse is that the company's owner (and seemingly only employee) has a habit of googling himself to see what people are saying about the service they received (he's probably going to be reading this soon). Anyway, I'll show you the PSU options they're offering and I'll let you mull them over.

 

http://pcoption.co.uk/pcbaseunits/index5d_8800slip4con.htm

 

Another thing, doesn't the website look tacky? I know it shouldn't matter but surely a company that sells PCs should know how to use them to a higher standard?

 

the words "too good to be true" are ringing in my ears...

 

... At long last love has arrived, and I thank god I'm alive...

[The fish]

How does that work out? Don't they perform similarly up until a certain resolution, at which point the 320 begins to taper off (forgive my ignorance).

 

I don't know, it's just what the benchmarks I've looked at tell me. I only look at them up to 1024x768.

[McPhee]

Wow, thanks for all that!

 

I'm in two minds about ordering from this company now. I've been looking at customer feedback on other forums and it seems to be pretty iffy, what's even worse is that the company's owner (and seemingly only employee) has a habit of googling himself to see what people are saying about the service they received (he's probably going to be reading this soon). Anyway, I'll show you the PSU options they're offering and I'll let you mull them over.

 

http://pcoption.co.uk/pcbaseunits/index5d_8800slip4con.htm

 

Another thing, doesn't the website look tacky? I know it shouldn't matter but surely a company that sells PCs should know how to use them to a higher standard?

 

the words "too good to be true" are ringing in my ears...

 

... At long last love has arrived, and I thank god I'm alive...

 

I'd go with any of those PSUs tbh, but the Seasonic ones are the best there, followed by the Tagan.

 

I looked at PC Option myself but likewise i saw a lot of bad press towards them and the website didn't fill me with confidence. They offer a good warranty, but what use is that if they are bust in 6 months!

 

I've ended up deciding to build my own, it's supposedly not all that hard if you buy the right stuff! I'll tell you next week if this is true or not...

[Apple_NdiB]

If I was to try and put a computer together myself I'd probably end up getting my head cut off by a cooling fan, but my options seem to be thinning quickly. I'm looking at OverClockers.co.uk and they seem to sell everything you need to build a computer from scratch, but they come across as expensive (and I'm not impressed by the way they put the pre-VAT price in a larger font to try give me the impression they're cheaper) and tbf I'm not even sure what components I'll actually need.

 

with a budget of £750 (and I won't go much over) could anyone recommend me the gubbins I'll need for a fully functioning system (sans monitor, speakers, keyboard and mouse), preferably all from the same place?

[Mr_Odwin]

Well, you'll need:

 

Case

Power Supply (Could come with case)

Motherboard

Processor

Graphics Card (Could be part of Motherboard - not good)

RAM

Sound Card (Could be part of Motherboard - depends how audiophilic you are)

Hard Drive

DVD Drive

 

I recently built a machine (<£300) that wouldn't suit your needs. I got all my parts from ebuyer and I have no complaints about their service. (But I've heard of some that do.)

 

I bought an Antec case, an ASUS P5B-E motherboard, a 7300GS GPU, a 4300 CPU, some PC4200 RAM, no soundcard, an 80GB seagate HDD and an optiarc DVD drive.

 

I'd think that my motherboard and case and dvd drive may be suitable for you. Everything else you'd need to buy bigger and better versions of.

[Caris]

I'll post later tonight when i get back in. Did you say you want speakers and Display inlcued in the price or not?

[Apple_NdiB]

I need to buy everything apart from the Monitor (don't get me started on that mound of shite), but I don't want to include them in my £750. I'll probably just buy a cheapo mouse/keyboard/speakers anyway.

[Caris]

Okay, here is a computer i made for you. It's a tad over your budget but worth it. The Graphics Card is pre overclocked and you could overclock your CPU no bother with a Core2 and that board. It could be tweaked abit, i don't know exactly what you want. If you want a Sound Card get a cheaper case etc.

 

[McPhee]

My god! Thats one expensive PSU!!!!!

 

Heres how to choose each part:

 

CPU: More expensive = Better. You can't really mess this one up, but there are a few Price/Performance sweetspots. Try the E4400, E6750 and Q6600 (all Core 2 Duo, AMD are budget at the moment).

 

Mobo: Ask on forums and read reviews. Buy the bare minimum from a good series, theres a lot of different versions of every board out there but most people will only need the basic version. Also, check size. You want ATX (as most are)

 

RAM: If it's 2GB and PC-6400 (DDR2 800Mhz) then it's good. There are timings too, the info page will usually have something like 5-5-5-12 or 4-4-4-15 written on it. The lower this value, the better (4-4-4-12 is ideal)

 

GPU: At you're budget it's the 8800GTS, theres no competition.

 

HDD: SATA is faster. Stick to reliable brands like Samsung and Seagate

 

DVD: SATA is better, smaller cables than IDE (not much else different though). Again, stick to good brands. Optiarc (Sony/NEC Alliance) seem to be the best of the bunch. Labelflash and Lightscribe drives will etch labels into special DVDs.

 

PSU: DO NOT SKIMP ON THIS! Of all the components in the computer this is the one thing that can destroy the whole lot! Go for one from a good brand (again, ask around). Use a Power Supply Calculator like this one: http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp to find out how much power you'll need or just ask people.

Personally i've heard good things about the 520W Corsair HX Series (made by Seasonic), so much so i've decided to go over-budget on my build in order to buy it!

 

Case: Find one you like the look of then find professional reviews. If they give it the OK then buy, if not then find a different case. Asking peoples opinion on these is usually less of a good idea, it's very subjective. It can be usefull to ask on forums about any long-term issues with a case though

 

Try posting on the hexus.net forums, they've been very helpful to me. And try these shops:

 

http://www.ebuyer.com

http://www.scan.co.uk

http://www.cclonline.co.uk

http://www.dabs.com

http://www.microdirect.co.uk

[Apple_NdiB]

I can't thank everyone here enough for the guidance, it's a lot of money to spend and after few bad experiences recently I know the importance of reading up before taking the plunge. This is the system I'll be ordering, (thanks for suggesting Ebuyer Odwin), it's a combination of Caris' quote and McPhee's advice, before I go for it I'd like to make sure it meets your approval. It includes the cost of a keyboard and mouse combo, as well as a copy of Vista.

 

[Caris]

Seems good. The only thing i would say is the PSU, if it's not much more get the 700w. Just gives you room for overclocking.

[Apple_NdiB]

It's about 30 quid more, but if it'll keep my options open then I'll stick it on the list.

[Caris]

Yeah, it's really worth it.

 

Everything should be grand

[McPhee]

Did you order?

[Apple_NdiB]

I have to wait until my next payday to order it, which won't be for almost 2 weeks. When I order it I'll probably come on here as I'm putting it together in case I start finding it difficult, and then I'll come on again afterwards to moan about how shit it looks on my god-awful monitor.

[McPhee]

Thats good because the Motherboard is no good. It has a FSB speed of 1066MHz, you're CPU has an FSB speed of 1333MHz. It would still have worked (most likely after a bios update) but you'd be effectively overclocking you're board from the off, just to achieve stock speeds!

 

Try the Asus P5K instead, it will cost you more though.

 

The rest of the build looks great!

[Apple_NdiB]

I'm still beavering away with my research to make sure I don't make mistakes like that. It's a minefield with all these incompatible components; I noticed that the version of Vista I put on the quote was only available to people in further education, which puts it beyond the reach of a lowly working man like myself.

 

I changed the motherboard to the P5K, and I changed the PSU to an Antec, because apparently the placement of the PSU in the case means that those made by other manufacturers don't have long enough cables to plug all of the components in.

 

It's all part of the learning curve though, I suppose.

[CoolFunkMan]

I'm using this psu: http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/114945 with my rig and I can confirm that my system works fantastically! This is on a 640mb 8800gts, 2gb ram and an Intel Core 2 Duo E6420.

 

I highly recommend that psu!

[Colin]

I'm using this psu: http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/114945 with my rig and I can confirm that my system works fantastically! This is on a 640mb 8800gts, 2gb ram and an Intel Core 2 Duo E6420.

 

I highly recommend that psu!

I was about to order one of them this afternoon, but this could of possibly left me struggling to get through the month money wise. So gonna wait it out till the bank extend my overdraft at the end of the month and I'll get one.

 

I've heard they are pretty much silent, and one of the most reliable PSU's out there. Same goes for the 620W I assume, but they are both very pricey for just a PSU. £70 for the 520W isn't a good price at all I think, but maybe in the long run it's the better idea to just slap the cash down.