New gaming system

[SFinch]

Hey guys. I'm in the middle of looking at some new hardware to spend some of my savings on. I'v been told by a few friends to wait on the next gen graphics cards so figure I might as well start to plan on what else I want in the machine. Its going to be used primarily for gaming. This is what I'v thought looks good up to now. Let me know what you think, my budget is about £1000.


MSI P7N Zilent *Zalman Limited Edition* Bundle S775 DDR2 750i 3xSLi, GbE, SATAII, 1333FSB £106.91

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300, Yorkfield Core, S775, 2.5 GHz, 1333MHz, 6MB L2 Cache, OEM £176.12


4GB (2x2GB) CorsairXMS2, DDR2 PC2-6400 (800MHz), Unbuffered, , DHX Technology 4-4-4-12 £70.08

Pioneer DVR-215BK 20x DVD±R, 10x DVD±DL, DVD+RW x8/-RW x6, DVD-RAM x12, SATA, Black, OEM £18.32

500 GB Samsung HD501LJ Spinpoint T166, SATA II, 7200 rpm, 16MB Cache, 8.9 ms, NCQ 54.86

Coolermaster Stacker 831 Special Edition with White Mesh £80

Coolermaster RealPower 700W Modular PSU - SLI Ready £80

£600(ish) in total


Obviosutly there is no graphics card (or sound, I dont actually want one as I just use a £5 headset and it does me fine).

Thanks for any suggestions

 

[SuicideSilence]

Well, for one thing, you dont need such a big PSU. Thats a Tier 4 Psu. Get somthing from PC Power and Cooling. They "next generation" of video cards arnt going to be out for a while you know. By the time they come out, your whole build might be different.

 

[SFinch]

OK thanks, do yo think its worth getting a 9800GTX then for £200?

I'm having trouble finding a PSU from PC power as you suggested. Got any links?

EDIT: trust my luck, just as I finish posting a find a few, is the

PC Power & Cooling Silencer 610 EPS12V 610W Power Supply any good? I'm unsure on how much W I'm going to actually be needing.

 

[oushi]

The 610W is great if you're planning to run only a single 9800GTX, but I assume from your motherboard choice you're looking to run SLI. I would get a good 750W for running 2 video cards or a 1000W for running 3 video cards. I personally think running 3 cards is a waste of money, but maybe you're crazy like that.

 

[antas]

looks good for everything ...

Yup, I agree with oushi ... Unless you want SLI, 610W should be enough.

I don't know about this 9800GTX, the price is fine for it's range. Since you want to buy a new system, then it will be fine to get one 9800GTX or two or even three if you want 2/3 way SLI However if you're upgrading and currently having either of these cards: 8800GTS 512 / 8800GTX 768 / 8800GT 512 MB / 8800GTS 640 MB or even 8800 GTS 320MB or ATi 3870 ... or any other card at about the same level ... then I don't think it's a good time to buy this "new" 9800GTX. Unless you want to spend unlimited fund ...

 

[SFinch]

Ok, well I'm almost ready to order my bits. I'm upgrading from an AGP system so as you guys have said next gen card wont be around for a while I figure I might as well just get a 9800GTX.

I'm still a little confused as the PSU, SuicideSilence said that the PSU I have in the first post is to much but when I look at these PC power and cooling PSU's there actually more expensive but have less W value. Still need some clarification on that.

 

[Zenthar]

OK thanks, do yo think its worth getting a 9800GTX then for £200?

To me it mostly depends on the price you could have on a 8800GTS (G92). The performance gain so far seem to come from only 2 sources: increase speed (which you can do yourself with OC) and newer drivers.

 

[SFinch]

Right ok, well I did a little look at the 8800GTS is just a tad bit cheaper than the 9800GTX, since I dont know much about overclocking I figure I'l just go with the 9800.

Ok now PSU, I'v found a 750W Xclio Greatpower Modular SLi U-Quiet for £73 which is the cheapest 750W power supply I can find. Shall I get this one?

There is also the Thermaltake ToughPower W0117 750W for about the same price.

 

[SFinch]

Is 64-bit vista any good? If any one can answer these last few questions I might be able to order this tonight and get it tomorrow

 

[oushi]

Don't go for the cheapest power supply you can find. Cheapo PSU's can blow up and take out other parts with it. Xclio is one of the companies that make horrible PSU's. If the PC P&C 750W is out of your budget, see if you can fit in this Corsair 750TX:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/134677
Failing that, choose the Thermaltake over the Xclio...

 

[pongrules]

The Thermaltake Toughpower is a great PSU. So is the Corsair 610.

 

[SuicideSilence]

Ya if you can get the pc power and cooling 750watt for sli. if your not going sli, get the pcpower and cooling 610 watt.

What every happens, DONT get the "cheapest" power supply.

Thermaltake toughpower is good, but pcp&c is better.