Tekforums
Chat => Entertainment & Technology => Topic started by: Eagle on November 17, 2007, 11:19:41 AM
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Well, its been a while since I last upgraded my system (manually) and its pretty much reached its upgrade ceiling (See sig). :(
So, Ill be looking at a new system soon. I absolutely dont have the time to build from scratch so I need some ideas/guidance on whats current and, more importantly, upgradeable with components.
Max budget is +/- £1600.
My initial thoughts:
C:\ 200Gb
D:\ 500Gb - 1Tb
Raid?
DELL?
Motherboard?
Processor?
RAM? - whats the score with that these days?
Needs to rock at both high-end 2D graphics and games.
Monitor not required unless you can find me an LCD with a 0.21mm dot pitch or smaller!
Thanks. :)
PS: Please do not suggest buying a Mac - I need peformance, not limp wrists. ;)
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get what you like ram wise - cheap at the moment
core 2 duo for cpu
Dell lcd which ever size you fancy or samsung all have a low dpi
Mobo seems to be one of the Asus boards, depends on what features you want
If you want 2d graphics and games but not a primary focus get one of the xfx geforce 8800gt cards, if you budget allows more room get two.
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2 graphics cards? :shock:
Damn, tech is running away from me! :(
Cheers. :)
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The Dell 30" is really nice, but expensive.
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2 graphics cards? :shock:
Damn, tech is running away from me! :(
Cheers. :)
its mad isnt it! 4 cores, 2 gfx cards, 1.4ghz RAM :?
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2 graphics cards? :shock:
Damn, tech is running away from me! :(
Cheers. :)
new Crossfire chipset lets you put 4 graphics cards in. That could be interesting to say the least. Im considering it if i upgrade next year. Crossfire a couple of ATi Cards, then add a PhysX card. That should be NICE.
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Thanks guys. DELL seems the way forward I think but I just dont know what to go for. Precision or Optiplex? Dammit, why cant they build from the ground up. :( Some of the terminology has gone completely over me.
Im begining to feel like...
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y102/pbr/comp_mag.jpg)
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What about this?...
Intel® Core™ 2 Quad-Core Q6600 processor (2.40GHz, 1066MHz, 8MB cache)
No Monitor (keeping my CRT)
4096MB 800MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [4x1024]
1TB Serial ATA RAID 0 Stripe (2x500GB 7200rpm drives with DataBurst™ cache) Want 200Gb HD for C:\ and another at 500Gb but no option. :(
16x DVD+/-RW & 16x DVD Drives
768MB nVidia® GeForce® 8800 GTX graphics card
Sound Blaster® X-Fi Xtreme Music PCI Soundcard
Creative Inspire T7900 7.1 Speaker System
19-in-1 Media Card reader edit
2 Year Business XPS Premium Hardware Support (incl. Gaming and On-site support)
£1,615.93
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Any good? Bet I could get better but where?...
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With that you will need a 64 bit OS to use the memory.
Personally I would go for a pair of 2GB rather than four singles, will give you a bit of room if it turns up that even that isnt big enough.
I would also tend to skimp just a little on the graphics memory and go for a 512MB card, shouldnt have much if any effect on the speed.
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Just as well I asked, eh? Dell said this config is ok....
Cheers.
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A set of 2Gb matched pairs would be ideal but is probably expensive in all honesty.
Graphics card memory really comes into its own when you start high resolution gaming. Natch youve got a monster CRT and will probably be running over 1600x1200 for games, right? That extra memory might come in handy, if youre spending all that on a monster rig I wouldnt cut corners personally.
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Whatever you buy i would ensure the mobo takes the new CPU,s(Intel or AMD).Plenty of systems that look really good but with limited CPU upgradeability .
A mobo that supports 2 x 8800 GT would be my choice & buy 1 to start with & add another if you need it.
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A set of 2Gb matched pairs would be ideal but is probably expensive in all honesty.
4Gb = overkill, got it. Serious did mention too that I wont be able to make use of 4Gb anyway as Ill be running XP Pro. So, 1Gb matched pairs it is (2Gb). Thats the same as I have now though?!... :? :)
I guess Im basing my future needs on my curent setup. It copes fine with even up to date games, in fact too well (as I run a tight ship). The upgrade in CPU alone should make things faster I guess and I can always add more memory later if needed. :)
Graphics card memory really comes into its own when you start high resolution gaming. Natch youve got a monster CRT and will probably be running over 1600x1200 for games, right?
Ive a 19" CRT and 1280x960 is what Im happy with so its probably overkill but a little future-proofed. Might as well, while I can afford it.
Cheers. :)
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Whatever you buy i would ensure the mobo takes the new CPU,s(Intel or AMD).
How can I tell?
A mobo that supports 2 x 8800 GT would be my choice & buy 1 to start with & add another if you need it.
It does, I think - I changed the option to a single 768 from twin 500s (or something)...
:)
Has anyone ever ordered a DELL system? Seems that their build system is ok but a little inflexible. The Harddrive set-up on this deal is pants, tbh. I only want 200Gb for C:\ and 500Gb for D:\. :(
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Have you considered a Mesh system?
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Nope.
Goes lookin...
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Hnnngggggg! Options. Overloading. Brain. :shock:
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Komplett have a good options pack on their Gaming machines.
Mobo,s that support Penryn & dual GPU,s will be the Nividia 680I & the
Intel X38 & X48 chipsets.
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^ Thanks, Ill take a shufty. :)
Meanwhile, what about this MESH loadout...
Elite Quad Storm Pro
Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Extreme QX6850 Quad Core Processor(3.0GHz,8MB Cache,1333MHz)
Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Premium Edition (pffft - will install XP)
Aluminium ATX Midi Tower + 1000W PSU
ASUS P5W DH Deluxe - Intel® 975X Chipset- Core™ 2 Duo - ATX
4GB DDR2 667MHz Memory -( 2x 2GB ) (Will it be ok with just the one stick?)
1TB (2x 500GB) Serial ATA Hard Drive with 16MB Buffer
LightScribe Super Format 18x Dual Layer DVD Writer +R/-R/RW/RAM
512MB ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT
Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer Sound Card
Logitech S500 - 5.1 Speakers with Subwoofer
£1745... :?
Still not perfect - theres no room for manoeuvre on the HDs or RAM. :(
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Do you really NEED 1TB of space.
The larger the disks they slower the seek times (in general)
If you want high performance then get some small SAS drives to hold you apps/games on then some big ATAs for music/videos/etc..
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^ Thanks, Ill take a shufty. :)
Meanwhile, what about this MESH loadout...
Elite Quad Storm Pro
Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Extreme QX6850 Quad Core Processor(3.0GHz,8MB Cache,1333MHz)
Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Premium Edition (pffft - will install XP)
Aluminium ATX Midi Tower + 1000W PSU
ASUS P5W DH Deluxe - Intel® 975X Chipset- Core™ 2 Duo - ATX
4GB DDR2 667MHz Memory -( 2x 2GB ) (Will it be ok with just the one stick?)
1TB (2x 500GB) Serial ATA Hard Drive with 16MB Buffer
LightScribe Super Format 18x Dual Layer DVD Writer +R/-R/RW/RAM
512MB ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT
Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer Sound Card
Logitech S500 - 5.1 Speakers with Subwoofer
£1745... :?
Still not perfect - theres no room for manoeuvre on the HDs or RAM. :(
Better with 2 sticks, and if you are thinking ATi, then the 3870 is about the same horsepoweer than 2900Xt, while being anything up to £100 cheaper.
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Do you really NEED 1TB of space.
Nope! :) 200Gb for C:\ and 500Gb for D:\ is amplage.
Heres the Komplett loadout.
To be honest, Im clutching at straws doing this and Im probably throwing money at it because I dont want to regret it in a years time.
Gigabyte 3D Aurora GZ-FSCA1-AN Black
Thermaltake Toughpower 850W, Modular,
MSI P6N Diamond, nForce-680i SLI, ATX,
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 2.67GHz
Corsair TWIN2X 6400C4DHX DDR2, 2048MB
Point of View GeForce 8800GTX 768MB,
Western Digital Raptor X 150GB SATA
Western Digital Caviar GP 750GB SATA2
Plextor DVD±RW burner, PX-810SA, SATA,
Creative SB X-Fi Xtreme Audio
£1641.66
Ok, heres a deal - can someone spec me up some similar machines for DELL, MESH, Komplett and Scan?
To reit; I need it for Photoshop/Corel (bigass files) but I also want it to stroll through up to date games and have a little future-proofing too. :)
I do not need/want a monitor (but are the connections still the same these days?), printer, keyboard, mouse or trivial items. May go for a nice set o speakers though.
Storage-wise 200Gb for C:\ and 500Gb for D:\ is fine - unless you can convince me that a RAID array (whatever that is) is worth going for.
OS = Win XP Pro (Self install - purchase not needed)
Oh and budget is £1650 tops inc VAT
The one I pick (or like best if I dont buy) gets a crisp tenner via PayPal. :)...
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How much of a rush are you in to buy? Intels releasing a boat load of 45nm chips in January whichll run much cooler (even tho they are already impressive on this front) and feature a rather nutty 12Mb L2 cache.
If youre buying today heres what Id go for....
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 (4x2.4GHz, 8Mb Cache, 1066FSB) - £156
Mobo thatll let you have 2x graphics cards in SLI/Crossfire - £150
2 x 2Gb matched pair, so 4x1Gb DDR2-800 - might as well, its so cheap - Corsair for example - £82 (especially if youre using big media files)
Decent HSF - £35 (Zalman ?)
Seasonic PSU - £92
Case (depends what you like) - £100-150
Thats your core system at about £615-665. Then you add...
Either
2 x Nivida 8800GT in SLI for £360
OR
2 x ATI Radeon HD 3870 for £300
Auzentech HDA X-Plosion sound card with DTS Connect - £61
3x Western Digital 500Gb drives in RAID-5 - £195
Mouse/keyboard bundle - £25
Card reader - £15
This brings you up to £1215-1285...
If you want a normal DVD Writer - £20
DVD Writer + BluRay read - £95
£1600 is a bit mad for a PC these days..... its late and my brains switching off as I have work tomorrow so I havent gone into complete detail but you could build a monster for that much.
Only benefit for going with Dell/Mesh etc is warranty. Youll get boat loads more if you build yourself or get someone to put it together for you.
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Western Digital Raptor X 150GB SATA
- Are these worth the money?
£100 for 150gb + £120 for a 750gb...
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I did cheap but fast, which is what youd get from your average builder;
Intel Core 2 Extreme Quad QX6850 3GHz £506.58
EVGA 8800GTX 768MB £330.00
Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Xtreme Music OEM £41.69 (Id use the on-board instead tbh)
Pioneer DVR-112DBK £14.75
Extra Value Gold 600W 12cm Fan Silent PSU £19.35*
Western Digital WD7500AAKS 750GB SATA II Hard Drive 7200rpm 16MB Cache £99.99
ECS 945GCT-M/1333 £25.33*
2x Corsair 2GB = £110.62
2x Seagate ST3160815AS 160GB = £56.76
Might need a little tweaking but that lot is £1430inc
(Itll be worth £300 this time next year :p )
edit: Personally Id go dual core, 2gb memory, few hdds and a £200 gfx card. I built some 4gb quad core CAD systems and some 2gb dual core systems a while back. Only real world difference was the price tag.
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mmm, for playing about with the big pics... why not go with 5gig of ram and switch to XP64bit ? its basically the same as running 32bit now :)
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mmm, for playing about with the big pics... why not go with 5gig of ram and switch to XP64bit ? its basically the same as running 32bit now :)
Isnt there issues with compatability?
Hmm, food for thought. Not mega-desparate for a new system, I guess it could wait until Jan but new stuff = big prices (I know that much!).
Do these companies do builds from the ground-up?
Howzabout here? Anyone do builds? Could be worth a few bux if I save bigtime on a new system. :)
Brain shutting down now, too.
Later! :)
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Isnt there issues with compatability?
only with older stuff, i.e. stuff written for win98. Ive not yet found something written after 2002 that doesnt run.
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Howzabout here? Anyone do builds? Could be worth a few bux if I save bigtime on a new system. :)
Anyone here charge you less than £300 fee for that and they aint built enough to know what a pain in the arse it is :D
Novatech do custom builds iirc. I wouldnt recommend them but I wouldnt unrecommend them. At least theyll assemble components for you. iirc.
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Anyone here charge you less than £300 fee for that and they aint built enough to know what a pain in the arse it is :D
depends, if it was a mate I would be charging about £100 for that build, if i didnt know them probably about the £150 mark. *shrug* why charge the same as the shops? all that does is send people off to use the computer hsop rather than you.
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Thats not a bad thing if youve got mates like mine. I do 20% min now to cover 2 days worth of building/testing and handling rmas or software issues.
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Thats not a bad thing if youve got mates like mine. I do 20% min now to cover 2 days worth of building/testing and handling rmas or software issues.
i get other people to order the hardware, if its faulty THEY send it back. Il build it, then use it for a couple of days. They then get it dropped off at their house and set up. if it breaks and its under warranty then ill take the offending hardware out, but ill not be held responsible for it. They bought the hardware not me, its them that has to chase the company down for an RMA number.
I used to stump up all the cash, but after a couple of "Well i cant afford to pay you it all now" wankers I refuse to order up-front unless i have the cash up front. Also at that point i add 10% on materials on top of my build price.
Edit : and with me there is no longer the option of "Can you just install my graphics card" or similar. Thats £25 if they have the graphics card already. Still £15 cheaper than any of the shops round here, and its gonna take me about an hour. Last person who monaed about it got me to fit it, then said i could wistle for the money, so i dropped the card back out of the machine. If you arent going to pay me, make sure ive already screwed the sides back on the case :)
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Alienware Aurora 7500
Athlon x2 6400
XP Pro (Would be cheaper with Vista Home Premium)
Dual 512MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ 8800 GT - SLI Enabled
2GB - 2 x 1024MB
Alienware® 1000 Watt Multi-GPU Approved Power Supply
250 GB Serial ATA 3 Gbit/s, 7,200 RPM with 16MB Cache
500 GB Serial ATA 3 Gbit/s, 7,200 RPM with 16MB Cache
20X Dual Layer DVD±RW/CD-RW Writer
Creative Sound Blaster® X-Fi Xtreme Gamer
Creative® 5.1 Inspire™ T6100
£1,646.18
Price reflects £0 instant rebate!
Price reflects £0 mail-in rebate!
Incl. 17.5 % VAT, excl. Del.
Area-51 7500
Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Q6700 2.66GHz 8MB Cache 1066MHz FSB
Genuine Windows® Vista Home Premium
Dual 512MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ 8800 GT - SLI Enabled
2GB - 2 x 1024MB
700 Watt Alienware® Approved Multi-GPU Power Supply
250 GB Serial ATA 3 Gbit/s, 7,200 RPM with 16MB Cache
500 GB Serial ATA 3 Gbit/s, 7,200 RPM with 16MB Cache
20X Dual Layer DVD±RW/CD-RW Writer
High-Definition 7.1 Performance Audio - Standard
Creative® 5.1 Inspire™ T6100
£1,637.95
Price reflects £0 instant rebate!
Price reflects £0 mail-in rebate!
Incl. 17.5 % VAT, excl. Del.
www.powerc.com
Product Information
Power Mean Machine Tower System (Intel® Core™2 Quad Q6600 Quadruple Core 4x2.4GHz 8MB, USB 2.0 Internal Card Reader (3.5"Black), BFG nVidia GeForce 8800 GTX OC (600MHz) 768MB DDR3, BFG nVidia GeForce 8800 GTX OC (600MHz) 768MB DDR3, Samsung 250GB Serial ATA II 8MB cache, Samsung 500GB Serial ATA II 16MB cache, Kingston 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 667 PC2-5300 240-pin, Sound Blaster X-Fi Extreme Gamer, Logitech S-500 5.1 Surround set, ASUS MyCinema-P7131 Hybrid (Digital and Analog) TV PCI Card) £1529.70
* CoolerMaster Elite 330 Black and Silver Midi Tower Case
o front panel with 2x USB ports, earphone and mic ports
o 600W Watt Power Supply
o 120mm rear fan
o Dimensions 480x 202x 435 mm
* ASUS P5N-E SLI Socket 775 Motherboard
o Chipset: NVIDIA nForce® 650i SLI
o 4x DIMM sockets support up to 8GB DDR2 800/667/533, Dual Channel Architecture
o Front Side Bus 1333/1066/800/533MHz (1333 available when CPUs running at 1333 are ready)
o Integrated 6-ch Audio
o Gb LAN (10/100/1000)
o 6x USB 2.0 ports and 1x Firewire
o 2x IDE ATA-133 connectors
o 4x SATA2 (3Gb/s) connectors (Support RAID 0, 1, 0+1, 5, and JBOD)
o 2x PCI Express slots for Graphics cards (Single VGA mode: x16 or SLI mode: x8, x8)
o 2x PCI Express x1, 2x PCI slots
o 1 x Parallel; 2x PS/2 ports for Mouse and Keyboard; 1x External SATA
* Intel® Core™2 Duo E6550 Dual Core 2x2.33GHz 4MB cache
* Kingston 2GB (2x 1GB) DDR2 667 PC2-5300 240-pin
* 250GB SATAII Hard Drive
* NVidia GeForce 8600GT 256MB DDR3 Dual DVI
* Samsung SH-S202 20x DVDRW MultiFormat LightScribe Black with Nero 6 and PowerDVD
* 2-year Parts and Labour warranty (Hardware only - Return To Base - free collect and return)
http://www.bigpockets.co.uk/product.php?lang=&submenu=&menu=&product_id=22851&session=af0aa2b3352bb821f95f35c02623c653
Product description Bigpockets Ultimate Quad Core PC System
CPU / Processor INTEL CORE 2 QUAD Q6600 1066FSB
Hard Drive Size Western Digital SERIAL 74GB UDMA 150 10000RPM 16MB - Boot drive
WD HD SERIAL 750GB UDMA 300 7200RPM 16MB OEM - Data storage
RAM / Memory Size ADATA 2GB DDR2 1000 CL5.0 DUAL CHANNEL EXTREME EDITION
Optical Drive(s) 2 x NEC DVD±RW/DL 18x6x18x8 S-ATA AD-7173S OEM SIL LABELFLASH
Video(s) X/VISION 768MB GeF 8800ULTRA PCI-E SLI RET
Pinnacle Dual DVB-T Video Card
Motherboard ASUS SKT-775 P5B PREMIUM VISTA EDITION
Network 2 x 10/100/1000
Dual Gigabit LAN controllers, both featuring AI NET2
Marvell PCI-E and PCI Gigabit LAN controllers
Expansion Slots 2 x PCI Express x16 (Blue x16 / Black x2 or x4)
1 x PCI Express x1
3 x 32-bit PCI 2.2
Storage Controller(s) 6 x S-ATA/300
RAID 0
RAID 1
RAID 5
RAID 10
JMicron JMB363:
1 x P-ATA/133
1 x S-ATA/300
1 x S-ATA/300 (External)
RAID 0
RAID 1
JBOD
Back Panel I/O Connectors 1 x PS/2 Keyboard
1 x PS/2 Mouse
1 x COM
1 x Coaxial S/PDIF Output
1 x External SATA
1 x IEEE1394
6 x Audio
4 x USB2.0
2 x LAN
Internal I/O Connectors 1 x 24-pin ATX Power
1 x 8 pin ATX 12V Power
2 x USB2.0
1 x Audio
1 x CD Audio
1 x IEEE1394
1 x TPM connector
5 x FAN
Audio / Sound CREATIVE SB X-Fi XTREME MUSIC 7.1
Additional information AI Lifestyle Series
ScreenDUO
AI Remote
AP Trigger
ASAP (ASUS Accelerated Propeller)
TPM SUPPORT
Condition Brand New
Warranty 3 Years RTB
Operating System None
Notes This PC only uses the best parts available. Its main highlights are the most powerful graphics card available, 1000Mhz RAM, Asus premium vista edition motherboard, 10k RPM hard drive for instant access and not to forget a 4 core cpu!
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^ Ugly as sin - but that bigpockets job is lookin good... :shock: PayPal too! 8-) 8-) 8-)
Are they a reliable company? Ive never heard of them.
Is this system upgradable to any extent?
Whats a vista edition mobo?
Also: Im confused about 64bit processor and 64bit OS... :?
:)
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Whats a vista edition mobo?
Your guess is as good as mine.
Ive seen "Vista Compatible" branded monitors before.
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With that you will need a 64 bit OS to use the memory.
Currently, 32-bit editions of Windows are capable of supporting up to 4 gigabytes (GB) of system memory
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/64bit/overview.mspx
Confused. :shock: :D
Should I stop reading stuff and just get the biggest, badass system I can buy?
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Eagle, just think of it this way
Photoshop being 32bit will not see any perfomance boost from being under xp64bit BUT xp64 bit pro runs a lot smoother in the background giving an overall better pefromance
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:) Cheers.
How about this loadout from www.powerpc.com
Power Mean Machine Tower System
Intel® Core™2 Quad Q6600 Quadruple Core 4x2.4GHz 8MB
ASUS P5N-E SLI Socket 775 Motherboard (I take it 775 is the way forward?)
Chipset: NVIDIA nForce® 650i SLI
USB 2.0 Internal Card Reader
nVidia GeForce 8800GTS 320MB DDR3 Dual DVI SLI
nVidia GeForce 8800GTS 320MB DDR3 Dual DVI SLI
Samsung 250GB Serial ATA II 8MB cache
Samsung 500GB Serial ATA II 16MB cache
Corsair 4GB 2xTwin Kits (4x1GB) DDR2 800MHz XMS2 DHX
Sound Blaster Audigy Value 7.1 sound card
Logitech S-500 5.1 Surround set
Seems a bargin at £1139.75?...... :shock:
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At the end of the day, I have little time these days (thanks, Eggonline!) to be fannying around with regular upgrades so this ones gotta last a few years. :)
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I dont see the point in going for 2x 8800GTSs when the 8800GT is cheaper, gives you more memory and performs better.
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^ Wasnt offered in that setup. :( How about: nVidia GeForce 8800 GTX OC (600MHz) 768MB DDR3 for the same money, more or less...
Can you explain why its better than two cards? :)
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^ Wasnt offered in that setup. :( How about: nVidia GeForce 8800 GTX OC (600MHz) 768MB DDR3 for the same money, more or less...
Can you explain why its better than two cards? :)
Cant you build your own?
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I could - if I had the time. How much cheaper do you think it would be if I did though?
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ASUS P5N-E SLI Socket 775 Motherboard (I take it 775 is the way forward?)
Yeah, within reason, but IIRC the next gen Intel platform isnt going to be compatible with the present range of motherboards. I think its those that need the x38 series chipset that are different. You would think Intel had learnt from AMDs lesson there, but they havent.
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Ive ordered from Bigpockets (my dads and brothers computers) are from there, Nicely put together tbh. The PowerC ones are good too, but at last count they were using £14 cases. May have changed on the higher models.
I used to build my own PCs for people, but Bigpockets and PowerC are using the same parts I use, and I cant touch them on price.
My dads £150 ex vat PC from big pockets has an Asus M2N-MX mainboard in it, sempron and 1GB ram, thats before we get to the DVD burner and 250gb HDD.
Personally, Id go with the bigpockets PC, and fill it with HDDs.
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With that you will need a 64 bit OS to use the memory.
Currently, 32-bit editions of Windows are capable of supporting up to 4 gigabytes (GB) of system memory
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/64bit/overview.mspx
Confused. :shock: :D
Should I stop reading stuff and just get the biggest, badass system I can buy?
Vista 32 says it supports 4gb of memory... and it does, in total.
Friend of mine has 2 graphics cards with 1gb mem on each, and 2 gb system ram.
He has another 2gb of ram in his computer right now, but his computer cant see it, shows in the bios... get into windows and its back down to the 2gb he started with. Investigated further and it appears windows can handle 4GB memory... exactly... including system ram, and video ram.
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I could - if I had the time.
lol how long have you spent browsing shops and comparing specs? :P
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Maybe its just me but I wouldnt hand over £1600 for a pre-built.
To reiterate just how high a sum that is for PCs these days you could put together a Dual Xeon 8 core system for that much.
£250 - Dual S771 Xeon motherboard from Tyan/Supermicro
£350 - 2 x 1.86GHz Quad Core Xeons
£200 - 4 x 1Gb DDR2-667 ECC DIMMs
Thats £800
Then spank the other £800 on graphics, sound, drives, case, psu...
I dont see the point in going for anything more than a Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600. At £160-170 its impossible to beat for the amount of performance youre getting, not to mention its very easy to overclock. I also dont see the point in not going for 4Gb of RAM and a 64bit OS. RAM is dirt cheap these days, you can pick up 4Gb of DDR2-800 for £75!
As youve got the money and you want drive speed Id definitely go for RAID-5 or RAID 1+0 using 500Gb drives. If you really want you can slap a Raptor on top as your boot drive but theyre not that quick these days compared to some of the larger drives. Dont skimp on the case and PSU, get something with a well thought out cooling system. As far as graphics go its your choice between the 8800GT and Radeon HD 3870 right now, I wouldnt bother looking at the GTSs/GTXs and Ultras. Unless youve got great onboard sound (i.e. it has Dolby Digital Live OR DTS Connect) go for one of the Auzentech cards theyre pretty much the best.
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:stupid:
On the other hand you could just put a pair of dual cores in there and wait for the upgrade cost to drop. I dont know many games that would seriously benefit from four cores ATM. There also needs to be time adjusting programs to run on the multicore processors efficiently.
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You do realise that its just one socket inside there serious? The Quad core is in 1 CPU.
Edit, Doh Didnt see the tyan as an MP board.
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Maybe its just me but I wouldnt hand over £1600 for a pre-built.
Im beginning to think the same.
I dont see the point in going for anything more than a Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600. At £160-170 its impossible to beat for the amount of performance youre getting, not to mention its very easy to overclock.
Roger that.
I also dont see the point in not going for 4Gb of RAM and a 64bit OS. RAM is dirt cheap these days, you can pick up 4Gb of DDR2-800 for £75!
Already decided to go for 64Bit OS. Does WinXP64 only support AMD though?...
As youve got the money and you want drive speed Id definitely go for RAID-5 or RAID 1+0 using 500Gb drives.
Hmm, I have little understanding of RAID. My current drives are fast enough for me (for 2D) believe it or not (or at least I put up with it) so any standard improvement will be better.
Dont skimp on the case and PSU, get something with a well thought out cooling system.
With you there. Im very aware of the importance of good case design (been a Tekhead for years! :D ;) )
As far as graphics go its your choice between the 8800GT and Radeon HD 3870 right now, I wouldnt bother looking at the GTSs/GTXs and Ultras.
Got it. :)
Unless youve got great onboard sound (i.e. it has Dolby Digital Live OR DTS Connect) go for one of the Auzentech cards theyre pretty much the best.
Sound quality isnt really that important to me - all I need it for is mp3ing as I work and if I can hear it, Im happy. If I want hi-fi, Ill go and turn on my uber Technics rig. ;) Points taken though. :)
Ill have three weeks spare in which to do a build come late December. If I do go for a self-build, the trick will be to find a firm who offer either PayPal or a BNPL scheme... and somehow make a components list out of this thread! :D
-
just chucked this together to give you something to work off.
(http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s81/robdav99/slow.jpg)
the 512mb 8800gt is better and cheaper but they where out of stock.
-
As youve got the money and you want drive speed Id definitely go for RAID-5 or RAID 1+0 using 500Gb drives.
Hmm, I have little understanding of RAID. My current drives are fast enough for me (for 2D) believe it or not (or at least I put up with it) so any standard improvement will be better.
While you will see some speed improvements using RAID-5 or 1+0 the main benefit is redundancy. Data is stored more than once, so if you do experience data loss or a drive going down you can fully recover.
This is not a alternative to a good backup plan, simply a compliment.
For RAID-5 you can use as little as 3 drives, so if you had 3x500Gb youll be able to use 1000Gb out of the 1500Gb the drives have.
Also consider drives with less platters. Using the example of 500Gb drives above, you can now get 2 platter 500Gb drives. This will give you an additional performance bump as the platters are denser, plus it will run quieter and cooler.
Samsungs new drives which are just hitting the market have platters with upto 334Gbs meaning they can offer a 3 platter 1Tb drive.
-
Thanks again. :)
Just talking to myself here for reference. In view of advice, a slightly down-specd DELL system...
Dimension TM XPS 720
Intel® Core™ 2 Quad-Core Q6600 processor (2.40GHz, 1066MHz, 8MB cache)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium - English (no XP64 option - best place to buy?)
No Monitor
4096MB 800MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [4x1024]
1TB Serial ATA RAID 0 Stripe (2x500GB 7200rpm drives with DataBurst™ cache)
16x DVD+/-RW & 16x DVD Drives
GRAPHICS CARD SINGLE 768MB nVidia® GeForce® 8800 GTX
Sound Blaster® X-Fi Xtreme Music PCI
Creative Inspire T7900 7.1 Speaker System
19-in-1 Media Card reader
No Modem
Base Warranty - 1 Year XPS Premium Hardware Support (incl. Gaming and On-Site Support)
£1,449.06
------
The thing that narks me about dell is they dont say what brand stuff is... and that makes me uneasy... :?
-
They use all sorts through out the range, intel chipsets, nvidia and ati graphics, broadcom and intel NICs. I think the memory is samsung.
They certainly dont but that unbranded generic memory that they used to do with all their systems, they have come a long way.
-
Im actually drawn to DELL because weve over 30 systems at work and theyre all absolutely rock-solid, no messin.
Anyways, further ramblings (tell me if Im getting warmer):
MESH Xtreme 8XGT
Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Q6600 Quad Core Processor(2.4GHz,8MB Cache,1066MHz)
Digital / Analogue TV Tuner PCI Card
Aluminium ATX Midi Tower + 550W PSU
SLI nForce 680i SLI(C55XE) - Intel Core 2 Duo/Quad-Core - ATX
4GB DDR2 667MHz Memory ( 4 x 1GB SS)
1TB (2x 500GB) Serial ATA Hard Drive with 16MB Buffer
LightScribe Super Format 18x Dual Layer DVD Writer +R/-R/RW/RAM (why would I want two? Bizarre...)
512MB nVIDIA GeForce 8800GT
No monitor
Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer Sound Card (whatever)
Logitech S500 - 5.1 Speakers with Subwoofer
Multi-format Memory Card Reader
1 Year On Site* - UK Mainland Only
£1181.50
:)
-
You would want two DVD writer drives so you can copy directly from one disk onto another without having to remove the first from the drive and replace it with the second.
Simple really. And looking better on price too.
-
Simple really. And looking better on price too.
A lack of knowledge is a dangerous thing. ;)
-
Tbvfh, my itchy trigger fingers hovering over the wreck wallet button on the DELL XPS 720 rig...
Couple o points though:
4096MB 800MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [4x1024] Is 800Mhz wurf the extra expense?
1TB Serial ATA RAID 0 Stripe (2x500GB 7200rpm drives with DataBurst™ cache) Raid 0?... is this ok or is it easy to change (bearing in mind Ill be doing the XP64 thing)
SINGLE 768MB nVidia® GeForce® 8800 GTX No option for 512 or plain ol GT - still ok? No mention that mobo is dual GC ready...
Im assuming XP64 will be ok with this. No details on mobo so unsure of upgradeability - do DELL screw you with this?
£1,449.06 - hmm... spensive but kinda trusted...
-
Im actually drawn to DELL because weve over 30 systems at work and theyre all absolutely rock-solid, no messin.
Anyways, further ramblings (tell me if Im getting warmer):
MESH Xtreme 8XGT
Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Q6600 Quad Core Processor(2.4GHz,8MB Cache,1066MHz)
Digital / Analogue TV Tuner PCI Card
Aluminium ATX Midi Tower + 550W PSU
SLI nForce 680i SLI(C55XE) - Intel Core 2 Duo/Quad-Core - ATX
4GB DDR2 667MHz Memory ( 4 x 1GB SS)
1TB (2x 500GB) Serial ATA Hard Drive with 16MB Buffer
LightScribe Super Format 18x Dual Layer DVD Writer +R/-R/RW/RAM (why would I want two? Bizarre...)
512MB nVIDIA GeForce 8800GT
No monitor
Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer Sound Card (whatever)
Logitech S500 - 5.1 Speakers with Subwoofer
Multi-format Memory Card Reader
1 Year On Site* - UK Mainland Only
£1181.50
:)
As far as I can tell this is the same spec but £80 cheaper;
Elite Q4 FX (includes upgrades - click to view)
System Base Price: £ 594.89
Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Q6600 Quad Core Processor(2.4GHz,8MB Cache,1066MHz)
Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Premium Edition
Digital / Analogue TV Tuner PCI Card + Vista Remote [upg £ 14.54]
New MESH Midi-TowerATX Case + 550W PSU
PCI-Express Mainboard - SLI nForce 680i SLI(C55XE) - Intel Core 2 Duo/Quad-Core - ATX [upg £ 80.00]
4GB DDR2 667MHz Memory -( 4x 1GB )
1TB (2x 500GB) Serial ATA Hard Drive with 16MB Buffer [upg £ 75.00]
LightScribe Super Format 18x Dual Layer DVD Writer +R/-R/RW/RAM
512MB nVIDIA GeForce 8800GT - Dual DVI, HDTV, TV Out [upg £ 155.00]
Without 19" Widescreen TFT MESH Monitor [upg £ -75.00]
Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer Sound Card (oem) [upg £ 55.00]
Logitech S500 - 5.1 Speakers with Subwoofer [upg £ 25.00]
Logitech Cordless Keyboard & Cordless Optical Mouse
Free Microsoft® Works® 8.5 + 60 Days Microsoft Office Trial
Free Cyberlink Video Editing Suite - 7 titles (oem)
2x IEEE1394 Firewire (onboard)
1x Gigabit LAN (onboard)
Belkin Wireless G USB Network Adapter - External (F5D7050UK) [upg £ 17.02]
Multi-format Memory Card Reader (ATX)
Free Upgrade to 1 Year On Site* - UK Mainland Only (Repairline Ltd Warranty)
Subtotal: £941.45
vat: £164.75
Order Total: £1106.20
You could save another £80 by going for the cheaper motherboard (I dunno the diff) and save more by getting stuff like the soundcard & wifi seperately.
-
Simple really. And looking better on price too.
A lack of knowledge is a dangerous thing. ;)
Early today my main computer wouldnt work, no beeps or lights. Checked everything four times, nothing loose, all plugs in their sockets firmly. Then asked my brother to have a look. He plugged it in and the damn thing just started as if nothing had happened :evil:
:rage:
Sometimes computers just hate you...
-
Im assuming XP64 will be ok with this. No details on mobo so unsure of upgradeability - do DELL screw you with this?
Dunno about retail ones but on business pcs they do a bit - cheap, cheerful and not very upradeable/tweakable. Reliable though. Might be worth a Google to check the retail stuff.
-
Simple really. And looking better on price too.
A lack of knowledge is a dangerous thing. ;)
Early today my main computer wouldnt work, no beeps or lights. Checked everything four times, nothing loose, all plugs in their sockets firmly. Then asked my brother to have a look. He plugged it in and the damn thing just started as if nothing had happened :evil:
:rage:
Sometimes computers just hate you...
^ Yup. :)
That said, this rigs ran pretty much without a single hitch, crash, slowdown or hiccup for the last three-odd years. Current XP install is two years old and its as fast now as it was the day it went in.
I just know my luckll run out sooner or later though... ;)
-
Tbvfh, my itchy trigger fingers hovering over the wreck wallet button on the DELL XPS 720 rig...
Couple o points though:
4096MB 800MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [4x1024] Is 800Mhz wurf the extra expense?
DDR2-800 RAM is pretty much the cheapest you can get. As mentioned before you can get Corsair stuff with heatspreaders for 75 quid, so its probably costing them next to nothing.
1TB Serial ATA RAID 0 Stripe (2x500GB 7200rpm drives with DataBurst™ cache) Raid 0?... is this ok or is it easy to change (bearing in mind Ill be doing the XP64 thing)
RAID 0 is stripping, which means you use two drives to create one array. So in Windows you will see a single 1Tb drive. Gives you a speed boost but adds risk; if one drive goes down you loose everything.
Companies like Dell, Mesh, etc wont offer RAID 5 to consumers, thats only offered on business/server product lines. If you want to do RAID-5 youll need to do it yourself.
SINGLE 768MB nVidia® GeForce® 8800 GTX No option for 512 or plain ol GT - still ok? No mention that mobo is dual GC ready...
nVidia has stock issues with the 8800GT so you wont see them on Dells till January probably. Nothing wrong with the 8800GTX, its a fast card but a bit overpriced for you can get for the same performance.
Im assuming XP64 will be ok with this. No details on mobo so unsure of upgradeability - do DELL screw you with this?
£1,449.06 - hmm... spensive but kinda trusted...
Will probably be a P35 chipset motherboard... maybe X38.
You do get the warranty with Dell... but if its put together well you shouldnt have any problems! I still dont believe youre too busy to build your own ;) Youll be using better components thats for sure. (Especially for the case/PSU!).
Dont be lazy :P ;)
-
DDR2-800 RAM is pretty much the cheapest you can get. As mentioned before you can get Corsair stuff with heatspreaders for 75 quid, so its probably costing them next to nothing.
Me likes Corsair. :)
Ok, lets look into a self-build...
[size=24]Case[/size] first? I cant find any I really like.
Lian-Li PC-G70 Aluminum Mid Tower - Silver (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-056-LL&tool=3) £117.49
Antec P182 Super Midi Tower Case (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-070-AN&groupid=701&catid=7&subcat=) £88.11
??? :?
-
[size=24]Mobo[/size]...
Abit IP35 Pro (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-135-AB) £123.36
??? :?
-
[size=24]CPU[/size]...
Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 "Energy Efficient SLACR 95W Edition" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-161-IN&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=) £166.84
Need a heatsink! :?:
??? :?
-
[size=24]PSU...[/size]
Enermax Infiniti 720W EIN720AWT Modular PSU - Triple Quad (http://www.tekheads.co.uk/s/product?product=607044) £132.60
-
[size=24]Memoire...[/size]
Corsair 2GB DDR2 XMS2 Dominator PC2-8500C5 TwinX (2x1GB) (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-119-CS&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=) £93.99 x2 (£187.98)
???
-
[size=24]Graphics Card...[/size]
Asus nVidia GeForce 8800GT 512MB DDR3 Dual DVI/TV Out (PCI-E) (http://www.tekheads.co.uk/s/product?product=608305) £180.95
???
-
2 things, I thought the X38 boards where the ones to go for now, and personally i would say get an Asus board. Mypersonal experience of Abit and These days Gigabyte isnt the best. Asus usually seem to make a "Better" product.
Also, plenty of places have the 8800GT listed, but very few have stock. it reminds me of the days the X800XT cards.
-
Im a bit clueless as you can see...
-
didnt like my selection?
-
Im a bit clueless as you can see...
hardly, youve made better choices than many others would. Most of the specs in this thread are pretty good to be fair.
-
Mobo - theres no point chucking loads at an expensive one if you dont youre doing or dont wanna tweak. Spend £70 tops.
PSU - Spend £40 tops - £132 is just silly - only a mug would pay that.
CPU - last time I checked retail cpus come with heatsinks which are reasonably quiet and efficient.
Case - it holds the bits together. A £10 case would do so spend however much to get the case you like the look of most.
Keyboard/Mouse/Speakers/Monitor - these will make a bigger diff than an extra xGb of memory so get nice stuff.
If you cant get a 8800GT the Ati 3870s for £150 are supposedly pretty sweet and next best thing.
tbh this topic is way too long, just buy something and stfu :P
-
[size=24]CPU[/size]...
Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 "Energy Efficient SLACR 95W Edition" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-161-IN&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=) £166.84
Need a heatsink! :?:
??? :?
- Supplied with Intel referance heatsink & fan
:roll: :lol:
-
Mobo - theres no point chucking loads at an expensive one if.. dont wanna tweak.
Ah, but I do. Mines tweaked now. ;)
tbh this topic is way too long, just buy something and stfu :P
Heh - youre probably right. DELLs BNPL offer expired yesterday. Arse!
-
Righty. Im fed up and Im sensing you guys are too. :mrgreen: Ive thought about a self-build but the time it will take me to build it will probably cost me a grand anyway...
Decision:
(http://www.meshcomputers.com/ImageCache/IMAGELIBRARYIMAGECONTENT253726002D1002D1.jpg)
MESH Xtreme GTA Quad Pro Word to the mother.
Base system here (http://www.meshcomputers.com/Default.aspx?PAGE=PRODUCTVIEWPAGE&USG=PRODUCT&ENT=PRODUCT&KEY=232139)
Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Q6600 Quad Core Processor(2.4GHz,8MB Cache,1066MHz)
Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Premium Edition (Will change to XP Pro 64bit)
Digital / Analogue TV Tuner PCI Card
Aluminium ATX Midi Tower + 550W PSU
SLI nForce 680i SLI(C55XE) - Intel Core 2 Duo/Quad-Core - ATX
4GB DDR2 667MHz Memory ( 4 x 1GB SS) (Will probably drop some 800Mhz Corsair in there in due course)
750GB (1x 500GB + 1x 250GB) Serial ATA Hard Drive with 16MB Buffer
LightScribe Super Format 18x Dual Layer DVD Writer +R/-R/RW/RAM
512MB nVIDIA GeForce 8800GT - Dual DVI, HDTV, TV Out
No monitor
Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer Sound Card
Logitech S500 - 5.1 Speakers with Subwoofer
Logitech Cordless Keyboard & Cordless Optical Mouse
Free Microsoft® Works® 8.5 + 60 Days Microsoft Office Trial
2x IEEE1394 Firewire (onboard)
Multi-format Memory Card Reader
2 Year On Site Warranty
[size=24]£1132.95[/size][/color]
If anyone here has any reason why we should not be wed; speak now or forever hold thy peace. :mrgreen:
Anyone know where I can get XP Pro 64bit?...
-
I know Ive popped into the thread rather late (I havent read anything apart from the post above this) and I have to ask... why Mesh? Have you had good experiences with them before? I used to hear them recommended a fair bit and on that basis recommended them to my younger brother which turned out to be a big mistake, the systems he ordered for him and his better half were pieces of garbage filled with duff components that have been back to Mesh 7 times between them for one fault or another, their support line is also £1 a minute so they are a shade under £50 out of pocket for phone calls just to arrange getting their systems picked up and serviced, and as with most companies the people you speak to on the end of the phone appear to be barely trained muppets.
-
I thought Mesh went under?
Not heard from them for a while. Id stay well clear mate.
Get on Ebuyer, spend half the cash and have a better system. Plus putting it together will give you a better idea of what to do if it goes tits up.
*Edit - If you dont know what to look for on Ebuyer, why not base the system from Ebuyer on the Mesh youve linked?
-
Get on Ebuyer, spend half the cash and have a better system. Plus putting it together will give you a better idea of what to do if it goes tits up.
*Edit - If you dont know what to look for on Ebuyer, why not base the system from Ebuyer on the Mesh youve linked?
Top banana! Ive virtually specd out the above and Im only at £597!!!!
A little tweaking and Ill be back for final checks with yall. :)
Ive already got a sound card, speakers, moose, k/b so I can save on them.
-
I know Ive popped into the thread rather late (I havent read anything apart from the post above this) and I have to ask... why Mesh? Have you had good experiences with them before? I used to hear them recommended a fair bit and on that basis recommended them to my younger brother which turned out to be a big mistake, the systems he ordered for him and his better half were pieces of garbage filled with duff components that have been back to Mesh 7 times between them for one fault or another, their support line is also £1 a minute so they are a shade under £50 out of pocket for phone calls just to arrange getting their systems picked up and serviced, and as with most companies the people you speak to on the end of the phone appear to be barely trained muppets.
I mentioned Mesh as our support guys bought some monster systems through them and were raving about it. Cant say I was speaking from personal experience with them when I mentioned them.
-
(Final) Spec?:
Antec P182 Gunmetal Grey Super Mid Tower Case
ASUS P5N32-E SLI Plus AiLifestyle nForce 680i SLI Socket 775 8 channel audio ATX Motherboard
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Energy Efficient 95W edition Socket 775 (2.40GHz) G0 Stepping L2 8MB Cache
2 x Corsair 2GB Kit (2x1GB) DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 XMS2 Memory Non-ECC Unbuffered CL4(4-4-4-12) E.P.P. Heat Spreader Lifetime Warranty (4Gb Total)
Asus 8800GT 512MB GDDR3 Dual DVI HDTVOut PCI-E Graphics Card
Enermax EIN720AWT 720w Infinity PSU silent and Cool 13.5cm Fan
Western Digital 160gb SATAii/150 7200RPM 16MB Cache
Western Digital 500GB SATA II 7200RPM 16MB Cache
Pioneer DVR-212BK 18X SATA DVD1RW DL Int Black
£879.42 8-) 8-) 8-) 8-) 8-)
As mentioned, Ive already got a sound card, speakers, moose, k/b so I can butcher and save on them.
Have I missed anything? What CPU cooler should i get?
-
gfx card?
-
:whoops: updated. Its just as well I go through all this! :mrgreen:
-
It looks good compared to the MESH but youre missing a TV Tuner card (if you care) ;)
-
It looks good compared to the MESH but youre missing a TV Tuner card (if you care) ;)
No, I dont! :P ;)
Cheers. :)
-
Looks good but the 8800GT aint in stock and I heard they got supply issues until the new year at least.
-
Theres a few on the Bay. Gainward ok? Any brands I should avoid?
-
meh, can you actually see my posts eagle?!?
i posted a top of the range sys for you to work with, from ebuyer about 3 pages ago.
-
meh, can you actually see my posts eagle?!?
i posted a top of the range sys for you to work with, from ebuyer about 3 pages ago.
:whoops: So you did and I did see it - I just didnt know who it was from! :)
I might do a little tweakage based on your suggestions - Im assuming then that all the above is ok?
-
Looks like the one. Topped-up a little due to previous savings. ;)
• Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 G0 Stepping (2.4GHz 1066MHz) Socket 775 L2 8MB Cache (2x4MB (4MB per core pair) Retail Boxed Processor
• 2x Corsair 2GB Kit (4x1GB) DDR2 1066MHz/PC2-8500 XMS2 Dominator Memory Non-ECC Unbuffered CL5(5-5-5-15) E.P.P. DHX Technology Lifetime Warranty
• ASUS P5N32-E SLI Plus AiLifestyle nForce 680i SLI Socket 775 8 channel audio ATX Motherboard
• (C:\) WD Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB SATA 150 10KRPM 16MB Cache
• (D:\) WD WD5000AAKS 500GB SATA II 7200RPM 16MB Cache
• Antec P182 Gunmetal Grey Super Mid Tower Case - No PSU
• Enermax EIN720AWT 720w Infinity PSU silent and Cool 13.5cm Fan
• LiteOn DH-20A1S 20X DVD1RW/DLRAM Black Bare Drive
• Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64 Edition w/SP2c - Licence and media - 1 PC - OEM - CD
• 512mb 8800GT PCI GCard from eBay/elsewhere
£1123.23
This should do me a few years. ;)
:)
-
Oh, ffs... the 8800GT only has DVI out port thingys. As Im keeping my old CRT, it doesnt look as if Ill be able to use it. Is there an adaptor I can buy?
-
Oh, ffs... the 8800GT only has DVI out port thingys. As Im keeping my old CRT, it doesnt look as if Ill be able to use it. Is there an adaptor I can buy?
yeah, most cards come with DVI-VGA Adaptors these days, though if you want to cover your arse you can get them at Maplin for a few quid each.
-
Phew... ;)
Think its good to go? :)
-
One of mine had two DVIs and a converter in the box, probably the best way to go.
-
I appreciate the help and guidance - so all whove contributed to this thread so far, PM me your PayPal addy and Ill wang you a fiver (dont be shy).
Cant say fairer than that. 8-)
-
Dont be daft - wait til you get it delivered and find out nothing works :P
-
:shock: ;) ;)
Actually, the biggest hurdle for me (as ever) will be the CPU fit. I take it its the usual Arctic Silver dance?... :?:
-
With that you will need a 64 bit OS to use the memory.
Currently, 32-bit editions of Windows are capable of supporting up to 4 gigabytes (GB) of system memory
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/64bit/overview.mspx
Confused. :shock: :D
Have a look at motherboard manuals though...
Quoted from P5B-VM DO manual
If you install four 1 or 2GB memory modules, the system may only recognise less than 3GB because the address space is reserved for other critical functions. This limitation appears on Windows(R) XP 32-bit operation system which does not support Physical Address Extension (PAE)
If you install Windows(r) XP 32-bit operation system, a total memory of less than 3GB is recommended.
-
^ Yer, thats true.
:shock: ;) ;)
Actually, the biggest hurdle for me (as ever) will be the CPU fit. I take it its the usual Arctic Silver dance?... :?:
The Intels are squish-proof and the heatsinks come pre-gunked.
-
I didnt manage to break mine. CPU into socket, lever, HSF on pair clicks on opposite corners, do the other two and its finished.
The gunk supplied on the HSF seems to be good enough.
-
Righty-ho - lets hit the tit before I change my mind! :D
-
Looks a good spec.
Should be a real beauty.
-
Cheers.
I absolutely love the P182 case: http://www.antec.com/uk/productDetails.php?ProdID=09182 (See vid).
(http://www.antec.com/images/400/p182_q.jpg)
(http://www.antec.com/images/400/p182_q_op.jpg)
I would have gone for the P190 but that would have been sheer overkill...
http://www.antec.com/uk/productDetails.php?ProdID=09191
The outtakes at the end of the P190 vid are quite funny. :mrgreen:
-
that case looks awesome.
-
Bought a cheap Jeantec a couple year ago.
Learned my lesson real quick.
-
Are the Gainward / XFX / Inno3D cards ok?
Spec again...
• Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 G0 Stepping (2.4GHz 1066MHz) Socket 775 L2 8MB Cache (2x4MB (4MB per core pair) Retail Boxed Processor
• 2x Corsair 2GB Kit (4x1GB) DDR2 1066MHz/PC2-8500 XMS2 Dominator Memory Non-ECC Unbuffered CL5(5-5-5-15) E.P.P. DHX Technology Lifetime Warranty
• ASUS P5N32-E SLI Plus AiLifestyle nForce 680i SLI Socket 775 8 channel audio ATX Motherboard
• (C:\) WD Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB SATA 150 10KRPM 16MB Cache
• (D:\) WD WD5000AAKS 500GB SATA II 7200RPM 16MB Cache
• Antec P182 Gunmetal Grey Super Mid Tower Case - No PSU
• Enermax EIN720AWT 720w Infinity PSU silent and Cool 13.5cm Fan
• LiteOn DH-20A1S 20X DVD1RW/DLRAM Black Bare Drive
• Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64 Edition w/SP2c - Licence and media - 1 PC - OEM - CD
• 512mb 8800GT PCI GCard from eBay/elsewhere
:)
-
Hmm... doing some research on the mobo - Asus say it supports DDR2-800/667/533 memory. So, does this mean the above memory isnt useable? Ive heard the board is very o/cable - could I set it to run with the 1066 sticks?
What about the CPU? Thats 1066 too...
http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=3&l2=11&l3=495&l4=0&model=1567&modelmenu=2
:?
-
Bizarre :shock:
OcUKers seem to hav an entirely different opinion over the consensus here. This is what we specd...
Will this system work ok and give good results? :)
• Antec P182 Gunmetal Grey Super Mid Tower Case
• ASUS P5K-E/WIFI-AP AiLifestyle Series P35 Socket 775 Socket eSATA 8 channel Audio ATX Motherboard
• Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Energy Efficient 95W edition Socket 775 (2.40GHz) G0 Stepping L2 8MB Cache OEM Processor
• Arctic Cooling AC-FRZ-7P Freezer 7 Pro Socket 775 Processor Cooler
• Corsair 2GB Kit (2x1GB) DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 XMS2 Memory Non-ECC Unbuffered CL5(5-5-5-12) Heat Spreader Lifetime Warranty
• BFG GeForce 8800 GT OC2 512MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express)
• WD Raptor WD740DFD 74GB SATA 10KRPM 16MB Cache
• WD WD5000AAKS 500GB SATA II 7200RPM 16MB Cache
• LiteOn 20X SATA DVD±RW/RAM With Beige, Black & Silver Bezel + Nero
• Corsair HX Series 620W Modular PSU - ATX12V v2.2 APFC
• Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate x64Bit OEM 1PK DVD
:?
-
Theyve specced a different (I assume better) chipset having Googled "P35 vs 680i" or "mobo A review". Clever chaps.
More sensibly priced RAM and PSU they obviously poorer than tekforums... dunno why theyre sticking with a 10k rpm drive though.
And Vista :/
If you hold on for a day or two Im going to write to the PM and Bill Gates himself to get a 54th and 55th opinion and to demand a full referendum on this matter. Really, you should wait. Panorama are doing a special report on this PC in the week and the Express is taking Maddie off the front page on Monday.
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Theyve specced a different (I assume better) chipset having Googled "P35 vs 680i" or "mobo A review". Clever chaps.
What is better? You can see my frustration, surely?... I havent got a frickin scooby so Im relying on expert help. But when the general opinions of two well-known IT forums clash, it sets alarm bells ringing.
More sensibly priced RAM and PSU they obviously poorer than tekforums... dunno why theyre sticking with a 10k rpm drive though.
Thats me. Theyre suggesting a RAID array like here but I cant be arsed with it, tbh. The speed difference wont be all that noticeable.
RAM-wise, they seem to think that 6400 will be as good as 8500 (or at least I wont notice the diffy).
And Vista :/
Theyre saying its very stable. Also that XP64 has very poor support.
If you hold on for a day or two Im going to write to the PM and Bill Gates himself to get a 54th and 55th opinion and to demand a full referendum on this matter. Really, you should wait. Panorama are doing a special report on this PC in the week and the Express is taking Maddie off the front page on Monday.
Maybe Ill just buy that £1700 DELL... :(
[/quote]
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I didnt mean to sound so harsh dude, got bad headache :)
Hang on and Ill get the lowdown on the ps3/680i.
k, chipsets in best-least best order;
X38
P35
680i
The P35 vs 680i seems to come down to whether you want SLI or not - the P35 is a way better board and will support the new 45nm CPUs.
The X38 - I dont know if its worth it. Theyll do 1600mhz FSB but if youre not upgrading the cpu for a year or too the difference is in all likelyhood moot. You get DDR3 support but its silly money right now.
The Asus looks good for the dosh.
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Memory, someone will have to confirm/correct this but the way I understand it is the memory runs at Xmhz and the CPU runs at 2*Xmhz. So with 800mhz RAM youve got headway up to 1600mhz FSB. The Q6600 runs at 1066mhz, which is 2x533mhz.
To be fair I can see why theyre saying dont bother with the expensive stuff now - thinking back, I actually had the same thing when I built my pc :)
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PSU, I said it before but I wouldnt pay more than £40 for one, but I know Corsair make top notch stuff and I wouldnt say no to a modular PSU :)
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Vista/XP - thats your call ;)
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the p35 has been around a while, its good but getting on abit.
intel chipsets are the ones to go for though, much better than nvidia.
i975 is the one to go for atm.
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The last 2 systems you specced would be very good.
With a good cpu cooler you should be able to clock the Q6600 to @ least 3 GHZ without any problems(probably up to 3.4 or 3.5 ghz for 24/7 stability).
680I is a very good chipset & is very good for fsb overclocking.
Just choose 1 , im sure you,ll be very happy.
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I didnt mean to sound so harsh dude, got bad headache :)
:) Wasnt taken that way. :) Maybe my reply sounded like I had... sorry! :mrgreen:
As for the info, thanks. However.... ;)
The Q6600 runs at 1066mhz, which is 2x533mhz.
Does that mean the 800Mhz RAM will only run at 533? :shock: :?
i975 is the one to go for atm.
Is that an x38?
I need to lie down.. lol
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lol
Dont quote me on this but you should be able to run the memory at 800 and the FSB at 533 (but a birdie told me its faster to run the memory at the same speed as the FSB. God, Im confusing myself now.. I think the point is youve got lots of room for overclocking, like my RAM is rated at 333 (iirc) but I set it to 266 in the bios so when I bump up the speed the memory is well within safety margins. Or something.
Wot Steve said; whatever youll buy is gonna be stupidly fast, just go order it and worry later ;)
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The original ram on modern intel mobos has two ticks each clock cycle on the mobo, so if the mobo goes at 533Mhz the ram doubles it to 1066. Once on the rising edge and again when the voltage falls AFAIK
Latest stuff runs independently so you will get the full 800 providing your mobo can run at half the speed
i975 is an intel chipset, not a GPU
[edit - missed this looking through earlier...]
Eagle, just think of it this way
Photoshop being 32bit will not see any perfomance boost from being under xp64bit BUT xp64 bit pro runs a lot smoother in the background giving an overall better pefromance
Not quite true, while it will only access a given amount 3-4gb directly the rest wont be wasted so quickly if using really big files, 64 uses the rest as a virtual disk before it starts fragging your HD so in this case it will be even faster because of less actual disk swapping.
lol
Dont quote me on this but you should be able to run the memory at 800 and the FSB at 533 (but a birdie told me its faster to run the memory at the same speed as the FSB. God, Im confusing myself now.. I think the point is youve got lots of room for overclocking, like my RAM is rated at 333 (iirc) but I set it to 266 in the bios so when I bump up the speed the memory is well within safety margins. Or something.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Data_Rate
Memory on DDR2 though is double pumped so while the bus is 200mhz the IO bus is 400Mhz giving a data rate of 800mhz, no matter what rate the motherboard is set to. Believe me, it just works... ;)
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Eagle, also dont forget that few apps if any are presently set up to use four cores, so you might not notice any improvement over a dual core unless you are using multiple programs at the same time. In the future though they may be very useful.
[/edit]
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Your getting confused alright :)
CPU runs @ 9 x 266 = 2.4 ghz
Memory is doubled pumped so 533 memory runs @ 1066.
533 memory is PC 8500
400 memory is PC 6400
Both will run fine but the memory divider will be set differently(automatically from the SPD settings).
I have both types of memory in my P965 mobo( 2 x 1ghz sticks & 2 x 512meg sticks) & they run fine even when overclocked.
The memory dividers can be changed to make the memory run @ what speeds you like(if they are capable) , in fact my PC6400 will run CAS3 @ it,s stated speed & will overclock faster than my PC8500 memory.
Memory & CPU are not directly linked(well they are but not as they used to be).
I helped build a Q6600 system for my brother in law that uses 8GHZ of PC4200 memory & that runs faultlessly .
Buy it & try it.
Fine tuning will come later.
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Your getting confused alright :)
....
.....
....
I helped build a Q6600 system for my brother in law that uses 8GHZ of PC4200 memory & that runs faultlessly .
Buy it & try it.
Fine tuning will come later.
:P
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Dont worry too much about not having the uber fastest RAM possible either, FSB speed is more of a bottle neck on these latest boards/processors so I gather.
Congrats on provoking such fierce discussion :mrgreen:
Thread of the month.
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i975 is the one to go for atm.
Is that an x38?
I need to lie down.. lol
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_chipsets
Intel 975X is pretty old, the replacement for it was the Intel P35. Since then weve moved onto X38 which is the newest although its not seen as much of an improvement over P35.
X48 boards are due out soon, although the main thing it adds is DDR3-1600 FSB support.
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I know people say if you keep on waiting for something thats just over the hill youll never get anything, but if youre really not in a rush to put a new system together try waiting till January.
1) The current Intel Core 2 Duo/Quad chips are 65nm. Their latest 45nm chips which run much cooler (thus quieter and require less power), faster and have more onboard memory for the same cost. In January youll be able to get:
Core 2 Quad Q9300 - 4x2.5GHz, 1333FSB, 6Mb cache - $266
Core 2 Quad Q9450 - 4x2.66GHz, 1333FSB, 12Mb cache - $316
Core 2 Quad Q9550 - 4x2.83GHz, 1333FSB, 12Mb cache - $530
Those prices are per tray of 1000, but to put it into perspective $266 is the price currently paid for the Q6600, so you should be able to pick up a 2.66Ghz 12Mb cache Q9450 for around the 180 quid mark.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_future_Intel_Core_2_microprocessors
A die shrink is never a small update.
2) January is sale season!
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rumour has it that while testing a magazine ran a 3Ghz penryn processor at 4ghz with standard cooling and no problems. These should be damn hot for overclockers.
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[cups hands over earoles] shaddup, shaddup, shaddup, shaddup, shaddup, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah!
(Already ordered my kit. :))
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And the final loadout (for those still awake) was...
• Antec P182 Gunmetal Grey Super Mid Tower Case
• ASUS P5K-E/WIFI-AP AiLifestyle Series P35 Socket 775 Socket eSATA 8 channel Audio ATX Motherboard
• Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Energy Efficient 95W edition Socket 775 (2.40GHz) G0 Stepping L2 8MB Cache OEM Processor
• Arctic Cooling AC-FRZ-7P Freezer 7 Pro Socket 775 Processor Cooler
• 2x Corsair 2GB Kit (4x1GB) DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 XMS2 Memory Non-ECC Unbuffered CL5(5-5-5-12)
• BFG GeForce 8800 GT OC2 512MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express)
• WD 160GB jobby (dont recall) SATA 7200RPM 16MB Cache
• WD WD5000AAKS 500GB SATA II 7200RPM 16MB Cache
• LiteOn 20X SATA DVD±RW/RAM
• Corsair HX Series 620W Modular PSU - ATX12V v2.2 APFC
• Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate x64Bit OEM 1PK DVD
• Dell 2407WFP TFT monitor (I can dust-off the PS2 now!!!)
Grand total: £1200. Much better than a mediochre, half-arsed £1700 DELL effort with no monitor. 8-)
Thanks for all your help (especially those who insisted on a self-build) - once again Tek comes to the rescue. :)
PS: Whats a modular PSU?... :?
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do you actually need Ultimate, or is that just on a whim?
A modular PSU doesnt have all the wires hanging out the back of it, usallay its plugs in the back of it that are then connected tot he relvant hardware.
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do you actually need Ultimate, or is that just on a whim?
Just a whim. Overkill / belts n braces. ;)
Thanks. :)
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All built and lookin teh seks! :D
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y102/pbr/antecp182.jpg)
Now, providing it actually works :roll: when I plug it in tomorrow, does anyone want to have a stab at recommending some mobo/RAM tweaks. I do like a good fiddle. ;)
WalrusBonzo did me proud on my current rig - spot on and rock-solid for years. :)
• ASUS P5K-E/WIFI-AP AiLifestyle Series P35 Socket 775 Socket eSATA 8 channel Audio ATX
• Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Energy Efficient 95W edition Socket 775 (2.40GHz) G0 Stepping L2 8MB Cache
• Arctic Cooling AC-FRZ-7P Freezer 7 Pro Socket 775 Processor Cooler
• 2x Corsair 2GB Kit (4x1GB) DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 XMS2 Memory Non-ECC Unbuffered CL5(5-5-5-12)
• BFG GeForce 8800 GT OC2 512MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express)
• Corsair HX Series 620W Modular PSU - ATX12V v2.2 APFC
• Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate x64Bit OEM 1PK DVD
:)
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When you have it up & running i,ll give you some help.
Should be easy to get to 3GHZ.
Memory tweaking might take a bit of trial & error .
My 6300 has been running @ 3GHZ(429 fsb for cpu , memory is running the same fsb) since i had it (nearly 2 years).
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Thanks. :)
Vista Ultimate installed flawlessly and seems to be running very well. :) Shoot!
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What dya think of that case? Is the PSU location ok?
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What dya think of that case? Is the PSU location ok?
I think its pretty damn good. Excellent in fact. Spacious but weighs a frickin ton (well, 14Kgs (empty) at any rate). Cable management is a little fiddly but works well.
And for the first time in years... I cant hear anything but a gentle whirr, rather than the old howling storm. 8-) CPU at 28° (pre-overclock).
PSU location in lower cage. Works for me. :mrgreen:
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When you have it up & running i,ll give you some help.
Should be easy to get to 3GHZ.
Memory tweaking might take a bit of trial & error .
My 6300 has been running @ 3GHZ(429 fsb for cpu , memory is running the same fsb) since i had it (nearly 2 years).
Ready when you are. :)
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Simplest method is to up the fsb of the cpu , to reach 3ghz you will need to set the fsb to 333 , memory divider will have to be changed to keep memory @ standard.You should not need any voltage increase but i always up it 1 notch.
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:shock: :? :mrgreen:
Wont the memory timing go out the window?
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You should be able to set the memory multiplier separately
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Sorry to but in, ordering near the same but AMD based at the start of January:
Asus Crosshair SLi nForce 590 PCI-E (Socket AM2) DDR2 Motherboard
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 6400+ Black Edition 3.2GHz (Socket AM2) - Retail
Antec P182 Performance One Super Midi Tower Black
Corsair Twin2X 2GB DDR2 (2x1024MB) XMS2 6400C4
Anybody know much about the "Black Edition" CPUs?
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Anybody know much about the "Black Edition" CPUs?
yeah, dont bother. spend a few quid extra if you are set on AMD and get a Phenom.
edit : and wait until the 9700 comes out, which should be next month.
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Was there not a link on this forum about the Phenom processors having a bug that needs a work around, which causes around 18% performance drop or so.
The fixed processors will not be around till Feb/March next year from what I understand. To me that means waiting even longer.
People will be forever waiting.
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Im not in a rush to spend the money so I may just wait to ensure I get an A Class Rig :)
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afaik black edition amd chips dont contain HSFs (even the retail ones), so remember to budget for one of those.
sadly the phenom does look quite poor at the moment, particularly with the new intels due in q1.
Ive reluctantly moved away from AMD now, for the first time since 2001. If only AMD hadnt prematurely killed off socket 939, theyd be in a much better position now.
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Was there not a link on this forum about the Phenom processors having a bug that needs a work around, which causes around 18% performance drop or so.
The fixed processors will not be around till Feb/March next year from what I understand. To me that means waiting even longer.
People will be forever waiting.
there are threads and articles eleswhere on the net. The Phenom CPUs are performing 15-20% slower than expected. AMD have delayed a lot of the chips, and admitted there is an issue with the Phenom 9700. Im assuming the higher-end CPUs are suffering the same problem. At least they are admitting it, rather than covering it up and letting them get out in the wild.
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the problem with the phenom comes in at frequencies > 2.4ghz
there are also rumoured to be problems with intels new chips too, causing them to be delayed a couple of months
looks like neither of them can get the quality control staff these days.
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Modern CPUs are incredibly complex and internally interdependent, change one thing and you can mess something else up. Then again the only way is up and the rate of innovation in processors isnt dropping. Every one and a half years the average CPU sold doubles in power, without any increase in price. This means that they have to increase the amount of work they do at the same rate. There should be little wonder that CPUs end up with faults in them.
So it isnt that they cant get the quality control staff, those staff have to do many times the workload that they had to do in the past.
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and you found this on google where or is this fiction?
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and you found this on google where or is this fiction?
Actually the C2D is suffering from similar flaws by the look of things. Im just hunting down the links. At least AMD are taking the "Right" course by not releasing, rather than putting out faulty chips into the wild.
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I think he was more talking about the rubbish serious spouted about new cpus being more complex and being harder to test.
But yes, I also read the newer C2Ds are having similar problems. Intel will not say whether or not its true though.
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Cheers for the input about these new chips. Im tempted to just go for a Black Edition! But going to wait till January and see if Prices go down slightly or if I can get a good deal on a higher spec mobo :)
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I think he was more talking about the rubbish serious spouted about new cpus being more complex and being harder to test.
But yes, I also read the newer C2Ds are having similar problems. Intel will not say whether or not its true though.
Im not sure what to think to be honest. They wont deny the problem, so to me that would suggest that the issue is there, and the PR folks arent willing to go out on a limb.
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and you found this on google where or is this fiction?
Do you have to really try to be a moron or is it easy for you?
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Another interesting note ive found. The next gen Intel CPUs wont be supported on _any_ of the present motherboards or chipsets. So "Going with C2D for futureproofing" doesnt really stack up when the Intel Board you buy today wont be compatible with the next lot of CPUs.
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and you found this on google where or is this fiction?
Do you have to really try to be a moron or is it easy for you?
I have to work on it during my weekends. Its quite a skill.