Ok, well, the time has come for me to ditch my old main computer. I do everything with this computer (ok, maybe not that!), it helps me work, play and love life a little better. It's solid as a rock, but as slow as one too.
Current system is!
P4 1.6Ghz Willamette with 256kb L2 cache
512MB DDR 2100
... you get the idea, oh and a GF2 ti
I know that whatever I buy is going to feel like someone shoved a rocket under my computer so I don’t need to know that. I'm more concerned about which system to chose and if the components 'fit' together nicely and will help to create a, fast, very quiet, cool, wonderfully cute (maybe not) PC.
Now the contenders, first from Intel:
Gigabyte GA_965P_DQ6 £164.44
Intel Core 2 DUO E6600 £252.57
Patriot Signature 2GB (2x1GB) PC5300 667MHz DDR2 Dual Channel Kit £140.94
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 500GB £197.40
XFX GeForce 7600 GS Extreme Edition £99.82
Zalman CNPS9500-AT Aero Flower £34.02
Antec P180 Advanced Super Midi £93.94
Zalman ZM460-APS 460W £64.57
£1,047.70
The reasons behind these choices are vast, so I'll try to keep it at a minimum.
I usually like to go for nForce and Asus if possible, I do love those guys and think they crack out top notch products, especially when working together. But they haven't got ready for the launch and looking at that Gigabyte board, I was impressed with the array of features, especially quad core future support (didn't even know that was possible). So, should I stick with this choice or wait to see what Asus throws up in the form of SLi support in the near future?
The E6600 appears to give the edge in price/performance. I want something super fast to cope with Vista, games, and world conquering plans all at once. If I go down the Intel route, I can't imagine someone suggesting a better alternative that's going to keep it in line with a 5000+ system.
As for the ram, the only other difference between the systems, I have no clue. It seems cheap, PC5300 is supposed to work great with Conro, am I missing something? Is there anything else I should consider? I know didely squat about high-end ram, and don't want to waste my money on something that's only going to give minor performance improvements and cost twice as much.
Now from AMD:
Asus M2N32-SLi-DLX nForce 590 SLi £140.94
X2 Dual Core 5000+ £223.19
Crucial 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 PC2-6400C4 800MHz Ballistix Dual Channel Kit £211.44
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 500GB £197.40
XFX GeForce 7600 GS Extreme Edition £99.82
Zalman CNPS9500-AM2 Aero Flower £35.19
Antec P180 Advanced Super Midi £93.94
Zalman ZM460-APS 460W £64.57
£1,066.49
There's that Asus nForce board, what's better? It's like the Ken doll, dreamy, maybe. Ok you guys wouldn't understand. AM2, compatible with AM3 products, apparently, SLi, lots of features, what could be better?
Well, the 5000+ is a really enticing, so cheap and great performance. Not as good as an E6600, but surely worth considering? The only thing is, it feels like I would be spending my money on an under-par chip, for the sake of a possible world beater from AMD in X-months time. I don't know, this is the big question.
The ram, great speeds, good quality? I don't know, need big advice here, really I do!
The rest of the system and what it's going to be used for:
A 500GB hard drive for under £200? Wow. I'll be adding more of these when I really put my 10Mbit connection to the test. Unless of course the .10 versions are really inferior to the .09. I like quiet, fast and cheap, who doesn't? Am I going to get what I want here?
The graphics card, well, I don't want to waste my money on something that isn't DX10, but what can you do? So I went cheap, and passive cooling (I hope that’s what it is anyway). My lovely LCD is native at 1280x1024 and does not go beyond that. It's gorgeous though, so who cares?
My gaming catalogue is really limited. X2 and SL are about as advanced as it gets for me. Although, I will be going for X3 no doubt, there's just something about building yourself a space empire. And I love to dream about being a space queen. Not like the Borg Queen, but you know, as powerful just not as eww. Maybe a space pirate queen with an eye patch? No, wait, forget that. I'll be getting a better card when DX10 gets here, and won't consider anything else unless someone here is really convincing.
The Zalman, Antec, Zalman combo! I really love Zalman and have read great reviews about this case. I presume everything's going to fit together and I haven't made a stupid rooky error? I know Zalman isn't everyone’s favourite, so if you have something better to suggest, please feel free. Also, if something is terribly wrong with the size, compatibility or general fit-together-ness of these builds, please God, tell me now!
When I'm not playing games, I'm listening to music, using the PC as a tool to create media, but not high end media because I can't with my current setup. I'd like to change that, so figure 2GB of ram and a fast processor is important, so is dual core as I love having my taskbar full. High end gaming isn't a must right now, and figure the card specified will get me through cool and quietly until the time arrives to ditch XP.
The prices aren't for certain, as I may shop around more to get better deals when weighing the secure delivery charge against any possible price gains. Otherwise, the floor is open to you guys, please help me decide what's best to do, so I can finally put this old monster on a shelf and use it for backup storage and my days will be brighter and happier no doubt.
Current system is!
P4 1.6Ghz Willamette with 256kb L2 cache
512MB DDR 2100
... you get the idea, oh and a GF2 ti
I know that whatever I buy is going to feel like someone shoved a rocket under my computer so I don’t need to know that. I'm more concerned about which system to chose and if the components 'fit' together nicely and will help to create a, fast, very quiet, cool, wonderfully cute (maybe not) PC.
Now the contenders, first from Intel:
Gigabyte GA_965P_DQ6 £164.44
Intel Core 2 DUO E6600 £252.57
Patriot Signature 2GB (2x1GB) PC5300 667MHz DDR2 Dual Channel Kit £140.94
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 500GB £197.40
XFX GeForce 7600 GS Extreme Edition £99.82
Zalman CNPS9500-AT Aero Flower £34.02
Antec P180 Advanced Super Midi £93.94
Zalman ZM460-APS 460W £64.57
£1,047.70
The reasons behind these choices are vast, so I'll try to keep it at a minimum.
I usually like to go for nForce and Asus if possible, I do love those guys and think they crack out top notch products, especially when working together. But they haven't got ready for the launch and looking at that Gigabyte board, I was impressed with the array of features, especially quad core future support (didn't even know that was possible). So, should I stick with this choice or wait to see what Asus throws up in the form of SLi support in the near future?
The E6600 appears to give the edge in price/performance. I want something super fast to cope with Vista, games, and world conquering plans all at once. If I go down the Intel route, I can't imagine someone suggesting a better alternative that's going to keep it in line with a 5000+ system.
As for the ram, the only other difference between the systems, I have no clue. It seems cheap, PC5300 is supposed to work great with Conro, am I missing something? Is there anything else I should consider? I know didely squat about high-end ram, and don't want to waste my money on something that's only going to give minor performance improvements and cost twice as much.
Now from AMD:
Asus M2N32-SLi-DLX nForce 590 SLi £140.94
X2 Dual Core 5000+ £223.19
Crucial 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 PC2-6400C4 800MHz Ballistix Dual Channel Kit £211.44
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 500GB £197.40
XFX GeForce 7600 GS Extreme Edition £99.82
Zalman CNPS9500-AM2 Aero Flower £35.19
Antec P180 Advanced Super Midi £93.94
Zalman ZM460-APS 460W £64.57
£1,066.49
There's that Asus nForce board, what's better? It's like the Ken doll, dreamy, maybe. Ok you guys wouldn't understand. AM2, compatible with AM3 products, apparently, SLi, lots of features, what could be better?
Well, the 5000+ is a really enticing, so cheap and great performance. Not as good as an E6600, but surely worth considering? The only thing is, it feels like I would be spending my money on an under-par chip, for the sake of a possible world beater from AMD in X-months time. I don't know, this is the big question.
The ram, great speeds, good quality? I don't know, need big advice here, really I do!
The rest of the system and what it's going to be used for:
A 500GB hard drive for under £200? Wow. I'll be adding more of these when I really put my 10Mbit connection to the test. Unless of course the .10 versions are really inferior to the .09. I like quiet, fast and cheap, who doesn't? Am I going to get what I want here?
The graphics card, well, I don't want to waste my money on something that isn't DX10, but what can you do? So I went cheap, and passive cooling (I hope that’s what it is anyway). My lovely LCD is native at 1280x1024 and does not go beyond that. It's gorgeous though, so who cares?
My gaming catalogue is really limited. X2 and SL are about as advanced as it gets for me. Although, I will be going for X3 no doubt, there's just something about building yourself a space empire. And I love to dream about being a space queen. Not like the Borg Queen, but you know, as powerful just not as eww. Maybe a space pirate queen with an eye patch? No, wait, forget that. I'll be getting a better card when DX10 gets here, and won't consider anything else unless someone here is really convincing.
The Zalman, Antec, Zalman combo! I really love Zalman and have read great reviews about this case. I presume everything's going to fit together and I haven't made a stupid rooky error? I know Zalman isn't everyone’s favourite, so if you have something better to suggest, please feel free. Also, if something is terribly wrong with the size, compatibility or general fit-together-ness of these builds, please God, tell me now!
When I'm not playing games, I'm listening to music, using the PC as a tool to create media, but not high end media because I can't with my current setup. I'd like to change that, so figure 2GB of ram and a fast processor is important, so is dual core as I love having my taskbar full. High end gaming isn't a must right now, and figure the card specified will get me through cool and quietly until the time arrives to ditch XP.
The prices aren't for certain, as I may shop around more to get better deals when weighing the secure delivery charge against any possible price gains. Otherwise, the floor is open to you guys, please help me decide what's best to do, so I can finally put this old monster on a shelf and use it for backup storage and my days will be brighter and happier no doubt.
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