Thoughts on new purchases

[jbs99105]

Hey guys....I'm speccing up a new system that I'm gonna buy myself for Xmas (mmm, shiny)

Budget around the £850 mark.

Although it's designed as a gaming rig, the most intensive thing it'll be doing is running WoW (dedicated player)....unless I'm lured into FarCry2 etc.

Any thoughts and advice greatly appreciated....spec below.

NZXT Hush Computer Case (Black)
Hiper 630W PSU
2x Samsung SpinPoint T 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache (RAID 0)
Intel Core 2 Duo, E8500, Wolfdale Core, S775, 3.16 GHz
4x Crucial Ballistix 1GB DDR2 PC2-6400C4 800MHz
Asus P5Q Pro Intel P45 (Socket 775)PCI-Express DDR2
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4870 1024MB
Sound Blaster xtreme gamer 7.1
Samsung SH-S223F/BEBE 22x DVDRW(Black)


No overclocking (well, not at first anyway)


Cheers

J

[barwell1992]

that sounds good but you might consider gtx 260 maxcore in stead of the 4870 i have heard great things about the new gtx 260 with 216 cores just an option

[mitzi76]

yep i agre with barwell and perhaps up the psu a bit!

750w and 4 rails.

[scurvy]

Originally Posted by jbs99105

Hey guys....I'm speccing up a new system that I'm gonna buy myself for Xmas (mmm, shiny)

Budget around the £850 mark.

Although it's designed as a gaming rig, the most intensive thing it'll be doing is running WoW (dedicated player)....unless I'm lured into FarCry2 etc.

Any thoughts and advice greatly appreciated....spec below.

NZXT Hush Computer Case (Black)
Hiper 630W PSU
2x Samsung SpinPoint T 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache (RAID 0)
Intel Core 2 Duo, E8500, Wolfdale Core, S775, 3.16 GHz
4x Crucial Ballistix 1GB DDR2 PC2-6400C4 800MHz
Asus P5Q Pro Intel P45 (Socket 775)PCI-Express DDR2
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4870 1024MB
Sound Blaster xtreme gamer 7.1
Samsung SH-S223F/BEBE 22x DVDRW(Black)


No overclocking (well, not at first anyway)


Cheers

J

if its not a hardcore gaming rig why'd u want 2 HDD in RAID??
just get 1 and use the extra cash on a better VGA, like a GTX260 216 or GTX 280.
Or go for this XFX Black Beauty.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...lack%20Edition

[strad]

delete

[DSK]

Originally Posted by jbs99105

Hey guys....I'm speccing up a new system that I'm gonna buy myself for Xmas (mmm, shiny)

Budget around the £850 mark.

Although it's designed as a gaming rig, the most intensive thing it'll be doing is running WoW (dedicated player)....unless I'm lured into FarCry2 etc.

Any thoughts and advice greatly appreciated....spec below.

NZXT Hush Computer Case (Black)
Hiper 630W PSU
2x Samsung SpinPoint T 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache (RAID 0)
Intel Core 2 Duo, E8500, Wolfdale Core, S775, 3.16 GHz
4x Crucial Ballistix 1GB DDR2 PC2-6400C4 800MHz
Asus P5Q Pro Intel P45 (Socket 775)PCI-Express DDR2
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4870 1024MB
Sound Blaster xtreme gamer 7.1
Samsung SH-S223F/BEBE 22x DVDRW(Black)


No overclocking (well, not at first anyway)


Cheers

J

well the hd4870 is on par with the 260gtx(216) but anyways keep what you got on that list why not get 2x2GB ram as it will give you less problems when or if you decide to overclock.

[jbs99105]

Was in the middle of tweeking the spec slightly....cheers for your suggestions guys, much appreciated.

Latest Incarnation (aka ongoing project)


NZXT Hush Computer Case (Black)
Hiper 630W PSU (under revision)
2x Samsung SpinPoint T 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache (RAID 0)
Intel Core 2 Duo, E8500, Wolfdale Core, S775, 3.16 GHz
2x Crucial Ballistix Tracer RED 2GB DDR2 800MHz
Asus P5Q Pro Intel P45 (Socket 775)PCI-Express DDR2
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4870 1024MB
Sound Blaster xtreme gamer 7.1
Samsung SH-S223F/BEBE 22x DVDRW(Black)


Although the system isn't designed to be a 'hard-core' gaming rig at the moment...it might develop into a bigger animal in time. I'd like to stick with the RAID0 setup, as I have a backup solution already in-place.

As for the GFx choice....I don't think I'll ever be 100% convinced which route to take. I've read countless reviews and lab tests, but I think the ATI/Nvidia argument will rumble on for ever. I just think that the 4870 offers good value for money etc etc.



J

[barwell1992]

fair enough about the GFX choice and im not fan boy just thorght you might be intrested good choice would blow mine away any day ohh and get my power suply instead

[DSK]

try this hiper instead Hiper 880W

or maby this ThermalTake Toughpower 750Watt

[barwell1992]

get the modular therma take toughpower 750w for 3 pound more lol

http://www.eclipsecomputers.com/prod...de=PST-W0116RB

£79 inc VAT

[jbs99105]

Cheers again guys....


Modular PSU seems the way to go.

More research required...then the puzzle will all come together, mwuhahaha

J

[DSK]

modular is the way to go i get sick of wires

[barwell1992]

mod psu are better than sliced bread but not as good as toast and butter lol

thats my opinion

[Doug]

ahh nice case choice, i have my eye on one of those for myself

[jbs99105]

After many tweaks and re-tweaks, I think I've finally settled on the spec:


NZXT Hush Computer Case (Black)
Thermaltake ToughPower 850W Modular PSU
2x Samsung SpinPoint F1 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache (RAID 0)
Intel Core 2 Duo, E8500, Wolfdale Core, S775, 3.16 GHz
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775)
2x 2GB Crucial Ballistix Tracer RED DDR2 800MHz
Asus P5Q Pro Intel P45 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4870 1024MB
Sound Blaster xtreme gamer 7.1
Samsung SH-S223F/BEBE 22x DVDRW(Black)


Hope to get all the stuff ordered next week...can't wait!

[mitzi76]

that board sli or xfire? seems like a nice setup. u seem set on the 4870? thats because its cheaper?

my vote is still on a 260! i just think nvidia is the lesser of 2 evils as it were btw no flaming intended here.

as a last note i'm not sure if waiting a bit longer might be better. 2 weeks and u might see price drops or new cards. this is merely speculation.

otherwise gratz on the new build.

p.s re the cooler its ok...but there are better.

[jbs99105]

The board has xfire support.

Although price is a factor in the GFX choice...decided after much research that the 4870 looked like a good gaming card....each to their own

Waiting?...WAITING??...aaarrrggghhh!!!
I do take your point though, there may be some bargains to be had just before xmas.

[mitzi76]

ahhh sod it go for it!