- May 16, 2007
- 2
- 0
- 18,510
Hi,
I want to build a computer some time soon. I've upgraded my computer a lot in the past, and although I've never built one, I think I'm up to the task. I want to build a gaming computer that will last me for some time. I, of course understand that any computer becomes midrange then obsolete in months and then years, but I want something that will allow me to improve performance by doing upgrades that will extend the computer's life.
I have a budget of around £1000-£1300 (That's about $2000-$2500), just for the processor case and everything inside (not including monitor, speakers etc). I am not the kind of person who would spend an extra £200 on a 5% increase in performance, but I do want good components. I may overclock in the future, but for now I'll just build the computer.
Okay, for the CPU, I'm an Intel person, and Intels seem to be in the lead in terms of performance, so I want the Core 2 Duo E6700 CPU.
Next up is the RAM. I want 2GB. I've read that having RAM at the same speed as the processor's FSB increases performance. Since the E6700 has FSB of 1,066MHz, is it worth buying RAM that runs at that speed, (PC8500 I think) or is the increase in performance not big enough to warrant spending an extra £50 on fast RAM with long latencies (5-5-5-12) compared to 4-4-4-12 on the PC6400 RAM?
Also, I heard bad things about Corsair's Dominator RAM. Something about it not running at good speeds, I don't really understand it. The following is what I have in mind, please tell me if that's good, or if you would recommend something else:
2GB (2x1GB) CorsairTwinX XMS2 Dominator,DDR2 PC2-6400,240 Pins, NonECC Unbuffered, CAS 4-4-4-12, EPP
Okay, next up is the GPU. By looking at benchmarks I have found that GPU has the biggest effect on games, so I want the best. I don't have the cash for SLI, but one 8800GTX should do fine I think. I would like to get the 768MB BFG Technology 8800GTX Overclocked PCI-E(x16) Mem 1800MHz GPU 600MHz 128 Stream HDTV/2 x DVI-I.
About the Motherboard, I am at a loss as to which motherboard to buy. I think I want an 680i one, as tomshardware is in love with those. I was thinking about buying the BFG version, or the ASUS Striker Extreme. On my preliminary component list I have "Asus P5WDG2 WS Professional i975X, S775, PCI-E (x16), DDR2 533/667/800, SATA II, SATA RAID, ATX".
Could someone help me out here? I am looking for a motherboard that will provide the best upgradability potential, and it has to be SLI capable, as perhaps when 8800GTX prices go down I will buy another one.
Next up is the PSU, I really don't understand PSUs very well. Could someone recommend a good PSU? Again, I am not looking for the best of the best of the best (no money to burn here) but something capable of runnning two 8800GTXs in the future if I ever choose to upgrade.
Next is the Hard Drive. I don't want a RAID array, but I heard that Western Digital and Seagate are the most reliable drives out there, and I've been told to stay away from Maxtor and Hitachi. Is that correct?
Thanks very much in advance for any help you can offer! I did a lot of research beforehand and am fairly confident on most of the choices I make here, but I would really appreciate one of you professionals to cast a green light on this setup.
Below is my complete component list. I welcome your comments/advice
Thanks very much,
Michael
Central Processing Unit
Intel Core 2 Duo E6700, Socket 775, 2.67 GHz, 1066MHz FSB, 4MB Cache, Retail
£198.56
Motherboard (alternative – ASUS Striker)
Asus P5WDG2 WS Professional i975X, S775, PCI-E (x16), DDR2 533/667/800, SATA II, SATA RAID, ATX
£164.84
Random Access Memory – (or PC8500?)
2GB (2x1GB) CorsairTwinX XMS2 Dominator,DDR2 PC2-6400,240 Pins, NonECC Unbuffered, CAS 4-4-4-12, EPP
£152.33
Hard Disk Drive
500 Gb Western Digital WD5000AAKS Caviar SE16, SATA300, 7200 rpm, 16MB Cache, 8.9 ms
£73.90
Graphics Processing Unit
768MB BFG Technology 8800GTX Overclocked PCI-E(x16) Mem 1800MHz GPU 600MHz 128 Stream HDTV/2 x DVI-I
£364.00
Sound Card
Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer Sound Card UK Retail
£55.92
Optical Drive 1
LG GSA-H30NBAL 16x DVD±R, 8x DVD±DL, DVD+RW x8/-RW x8, DVD-RAM x12, SATA, Black, OEM
£20.92
Optical Drive 2
Not Required
Other Drive
Mitsumi FA404M 1.44 Black FDD+Int USB2 7 in 1 Card Reader (SM/MMC/SD/CF/MD/MS) Fits in 3.5" FDD Bay
£14.68
Case - Or maybe Thermaltake Armour
Antec P180 Advanced Super Midi Tower Case, Black (no PSU)
£80.95
Power Supply Unit
620W Enermax Liberty Modular Series SLi - ELT620AWT aPFC ATX2.2 2xPCI-E 12cm Quiet Fan
£99.63
I want to build a computer some time soon. I've upgraded my computer a lot in the past, and although I've never built one, I think I'm up to the task. I want to build a gaming computer that will last me for some time. I, of course understand that any computer becomes midrange then obsolete in months and then years, but I want something that will allow me to improve performance by doing upgrades that will extend the computer's life.
I have a budget of around £1000-£1300 (That's about $2000-$2500), just for the processor case and everything inside (not including monitor, speakers etc). I am not the kind of person who would spend an extra £200 on a 5% increase in performance, but I do want good components. I may overclock in the future, but for now I'll just build the computer.
Okay, for the CPU, I'm an Intel person, and Intels seem to be in the lead in terms of performance, so I want the Core 2 Duo E6700 CPU.
Next up is the RAM. I want 2GB. I've read that having RAM at the same speed as the processor's FSB increases performance. Since the E6700 has FSB of 1,066MHz, is it worth buying RAM that runs at that speed, (PC8500 I think) or is the increase in performance not big enough to warrant spending an extra £50 on fast RAM with long latencies (5-5-5-12) compared to 4-4-4-12 on the PC6400 RAM?
Also, I heard bad things about Corsair's Dominator RAM. Something about it not running at good speeds, I don't really understand it. The following is what I have in mind, please tell me if that's good, or if you would recommend something else:
2GB (2x1GB) CorsairTwinX XMS2 Dominator,DDR2 PC2-6400,240 Pins, NonECC Unbuffered, CAS 4-4-4-12, EPP
Okay, next up is the GPU. By looking at benchmarks I have found that GPU has the biggest effect on games, so I want the best. I don't have the cash for SLI, but one 8800GTX should do fine I think. I would like to get the 768MB BFG Technology 8800GTX Overclocked PCI-E(x16) Mem 1800MHz GPU 600MHz 128 Stream HDTV/2 x DVI-I.
About the Motherboard, I am at a loss as to which motherboard to buy. I think I want an 680i one, as tomshardware is in love with those. I was thinking about buying the BFG version, or the ASUS Striker Extreme. On my preliminary component list I have "Asus P5WDG2 WS Professional i975X, S775, PCI-E (x16), DDR2 533/667/800, SATA II, SATA RAID, ATX".
Could someone help me out here? I am looking for a motherboard that will provide the best upgradability potential, and it has to be SLI capable, as perhaps when 8800GTX prices go down I will buy another one.
Next up is the PSU, I really don't understand PSUs very well. Could someone recommend a good PSU? Again, I am not looking for the best of the best of the best (no money to burn here) but something capable of runnning two 8800GTXs in the future if I ever choose to upgrade.
Next is the Hard Drive. I don't want a RAID array, but I heard that Western Digital and Seagate are the most reliable drives out there, and I've been told to stay away from Maxtor and Hitachi. Is that correct?
Thanks very much in advance for any help you can offer! I did a lot of research beforehand and am fairly confident on most of the choices I make here, but I would really appreciate one of you professionals to cast a green light on this setup.
Below is my complete component list. I welcome your comments/advice
Thanks very much,
Michael
Central Processing Unit
Intel Core 2 Duo E6700, Socket 775, 2.67 GHz, 1066MHz FSB, 4MB Cache, Retail
£198.56
Motherboard (alternative – ASUS Striker)
Asus P5WDG2 WS Professional i975X, S775, PCI-E (x16), DDR2 533/667/800, SATA II, SATA RAID, ATX
£164.84
Random Access Memory – (or PC8500?)
2GB (2x1GB) CorsairTwinX XMS2 Dominator,DDR2 PC2-6400,240 Pins, NonECC Unbuffered, CAS 4-4-4-12, EPP
£152.33
Hard Disk Drive
500 Gb Western Digital WD5000AAKS Caviar SE16, SATA300, 7200 rpm, 16MB Cache, 8.9 ms
£73.90
Graphics Processing Unit
768MB BFG Technology 8800GTX Overclocked PCI-E(x16) Mem 1800MHz GPU 600MHz 128 Stream HDTV/2 x DVI-I
£364.00
Sound Card
Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer Sound Card UK Retail
£55.92
Optical Drive 1
LG GSA-H30NBAL 16x DVD±R, 8x DVD±DL, DVD+RW x8/-RW x8, DVD-RAM x12, SATA, Black, OEM
£20.92
Optical Drive 2
Not Required
Other Drive
Mitsumi FA404M 1.44 Black FDD+Int USB2 7 in 1 Card Reader (SM/MMC/SD/CF/MD/MS) Fits in 3.5" FDD Bay
£14.68
Case - Or maybe Thermaltake Armour
Antec P180 Advanced Super Midi Tower Case, Black (no PSU)
£80.95
Power Supply Unit
620W Enermax Liberty Modular Series SLi - ELT620AWT aPFC ATX2.2 2xPCI-E 12cm Quiet Fan
£99.63
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