New Computer (Updated Details)

Case:Aspire X-Cruiser BK £50
Monitor:Samsung SM226BW TFT 22' £200
Processor:Intel Quad Core Q6600 (Retail) £170
Graphics Card:EVGA 8800GT 512MB £180
Motherboard:EVGA nForce 650i Ultra £60
Memory:Crucial 2x1GB 240-Pin 800/6400 £50
Hardrive:
PSU:

This PC won't be used to much for gaming other than Crysis/Call Of Duty 2 & 4 , so i don't have any plans to start OCin' anything at the moment.

The current total is just over £700 so hopefully everything should come to below £800 (if possible).

This message was edited by DJ Redrum on Jan 21 2008.

if you can wait 16 days (take 10 nembutal ) the Q9300, E8190, E8200, E8300, E8400 and E8500 will be released. if you can't wait let me know and I'll help you pick out some components on eBuyer.

- Christine

I've added the Q6600 now rather than the previous CPU (E6750). I have'nt heard of any of the newer models which you have mentioned, are they much different in price/quality?

I also need some help with deciding on the best DDR2 memory, seeing as their is quite a few options in models.

This message was edited by DJ Redrum on Jan 21 2008.

Intel needs to do some better marketing in the UK.

on January 20th, Intel is releasing 2 new sets of processors called Yorkfield (Quad) and Wolfdale (Dual) to replace the Q6xxx and E6xxx series.

45nm E8190 2.67 1333FSB 6MB Cache No V/TET
45nm E8200 2.67 1333FSB 6MB Cache
45nm E8300 2.83 1333FSB 6MB Cache
45nm E8400 3.00 1333FSB 6MB Cache
45nm E8500 3.16 1333FSB 6MB Cache
45nm Q9300 2.50 1333FSB 6MB Cache
45nm Q9450 2.67 1333FSB 12MB Cache
45nm Q9550 2.83 1333FSB 12MB Cache

Note: the new Quads have been postponed until Feb. E8500 is expected to go $266 USD and the Q9550 $530 USD however the Q9450 seems to be the bargain at $316 USD.

if your not looking to overclock then I would suggest more out of the box performance.

Zotac 8800GT 512 AMP! Edition
Crucial Ballistix Tracer PC-8500

you could go cheaper and select an 8800GT reference card and overclock it, or the Crucial Ballistix PC-6400 (Yellow) and overclock it.

- Christine

I'd perfer to go with a EVGA card rather than a Zotac as of the price & reviews. If i was to order a 8800GT in the Crysis Edition would it come in the retail or slip case?

What is the max amount of memory which you can use on XP, is it 2GB? As i would rather say on here than upgrade to Vista.

After i have decided on everything, which are the best PSU makers for the price/quality? Thanks for helping.

This message was edited by DJ Redrum on Jan 21 2008.

First of all, if your going to play crysis on an 8800, id recommend DX10. just looks oh soo nice. then you will need vista.

for xp the max ram has nothing to do with the fact that its XP. If you have the 32bit operating system, that limites the ram to 2^32 which is 4gb of physical memory(including graphics memory. So if you have a 512mb gfx card, and 4gb of ram, it can only address 3.5gb of your ram. 64bit is 2^64 which is 16 exabytes(which is 17179869184gb of memory.)

the q6600 will definitely drop. I dont know how much, id assume in the sub 250 dollar range.

FSP(fortron), OCZ, SilverStone, SeaSonic, Corsair, enermax are all good PSU makers. Id get the OCZ GameXtreme if I were you. It comes in 600 and 700 watt variants.

If you got the crysis edition gfx card, itll probably come in some slip case.

Stay with Evga

quote axforts2212

First of all, if your going to play crysis on an 8800, id recommend DX10. just looks oh soo nice. then you will need vista.

for xp the max ram has nothing to do with the fact that its XP. If you have the 32bit operating system, that limites the ram to 2^32 which is 4gb of physical memory(including graphics memory. So if you have a 512mb gfx card, and 4gb of ram, it can only address 3.5gb of your ram. 64bit is 2^64 which is 16 exabytes(which is 17179869184gb of memory.)

the q6600 will definitely drop. I dont know how much, id assume in the sub 250 dollar range.

FSP(fortron), OCZ, SilverStone, SeaSonic, Corsair, enermax are all good PSU makers. Id get the OCZ GameXtreme if I were you. It comes in 600 and 700 watt variants.

If you got the crysis edition gfx card, itll probably come in some slip case.Stay with Evga

I understand what you mean about having Vista, but due to me having this PC for my studio setup and not a gaming one the programs i use don't go to well with it.

The Q6600 CPU seems to be the best processor for me to go with, so i'll probably go with that for any price drop. How much is a OCZ PSU? As i don't really want to be spending more than about £50/$100 on one.

I'd go with the normal EVGA 8800GT then, rather than the Crysis edition as i perfer to own a retail copy.

This message was edited by DJ Redrum on Jan 21 2008.

OCZ PSU is 109 bucks. with a 10 dollar MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341001 Thats in the USA though. Probably a tinybit more over there. Well worth it. PSu is arguably the most important component. It can take your system with it if its crap.

If you dont know whether you have 64bit of 32bit XP, chances are its 32bit as thats the most common OEM and comes with all the prebuilts and is the most commonly sold in stores etc. You have to specifically purchase 64bit.

Why not dual boot so you can have DX10 for games? Make a 100gb partition for vista, and leave the rest for XP.

quote axforts2212

Why not dual boot so you can have DX10 for games? Make a 100gb partition for vista, and leave the rest for XP.

All comes down to money i guess, plus i don't really play PC games to much other than '' Call Of Duty 2 (online) ''

Would a 500-600w PSU be able to handle all of these parts ok?

This computer was'nt pre-built but it would probably be 32bit most likely. What is the differances with the Q6600 models, being G0 Stepping/Retail?

I had forgotten to mention that i would need abit of help in buying the best Hardrive for the brands, i was thinking about going for one by Samsung but was'nt to sure if there is a better maker.

This message was edited by DJ Redrum on Jan 21 2008.

Seagate 7200.10 with perpendicular recording. They are the fastest 7200RPM drives and have a FIVE year warranty. Cant go wrong.

the G0 stepping is the one that overclocks very well. The B3 is the older and couldn't reach as high of an OC as the G0. Most stores stock the G0 simply because they have sold all of their B3 steppings and Intel is no longer producing the B3.

I told you, I think you should get this PSU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341001 Its EXCELLENT. Powerful, Quiet, heavy(thats a good thing), reliable, high efficiency.

If its 32bit then you are going to run into issues with 4GB of RAM. There is a 64bit XP, but its a terrible POS. X64 Vista is much better than X64 XP.

Intel released a chart this morning to unveil there new line up. http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/images/articles/1199593741rkggn19DRY_1_8_l.jpg

- Christine

There seems to have been a price cut on the Q6600 of £10/$20, so i've chosen to go with that CPU rather than any of the newer models.

Current List.

Monitor:Samsung SM226BW 22' TFT£200
Processor:Intel Quad Core GO Q6600 £150
Hard-Drive:Samsung 320GB SATA II£50
Graphic Card:EVGA 8800 GT OC 512MB £170
Motherboard:Asus P5N-E SLI £70
Memory: 2x 1GB DDR2
Case/PSU:
Total: £640/$1280

Can anybody recommend me a good quality stick of memory which is DDR2/1GB & 240-Pin for this motherboard?

This message was edited by DJ Redrum on Jan 21 2008.

http://www.crucial.com/uk/store/partspecs.aspx?IMODULE=BL2KIT12864AL804

you can order right off the website.

- Christine

actully right now Supertalent, my DDR2667 @ stock voltage is hitting DDR2900 speeds, id get some before they change ICU;s again, because its not brand that maters, its what is under the heat spreader

I've decided on most of the parts which i plan to order in the coming week(s). I've changed the motherboard & memory now to the following.

:EVGA nForce 650i Ultra
:Crucial 2x1GB 240-Pin 6400

I would like some help on picking the right EVGA 8800GT model, as there seems to be a few different vesions as can be seen from below, i also don't understand what the '' Dual '' is for and if i need it for this monitor.

EVGA 8800GT 512MB: PCIE DVI
http://www.shop.bt.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=4RW6&SearchType=1&SearchTerms=evga+8800gt&PageMode=3&SearchKey=All&SearchMode=All&NavigationKey=0

EVGA GeForce 8800GT 512MB: DDR3 PCIE Dual DVI 600/1.8?
http://www.shop.bt.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=4SQB&SearchType=1&SearchTerms=evga+8800gt&PageMode=3&SearchKey=All&SearchMode=All&NavigationKey=0

EVGA GeForce 8800GT 512MB: DDR3 PCIE Dual DVI 650/1.9?
http://www.shop.bt.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=4SQC&SearchType=1&SearchTerms=evga+8800gt&PageMode=3&SearchKey=All&SearchMode=All&NavigationKey=0

This message was edited by DJ Redrum on Jan 21 2008.