Upgrade advise (power + choice)

[courtney4]

Hey guys.

I'm looking to upgrade my system but I would like to ask for some advise first. What do you guys make of these parts:

* 1 x Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 "Energy Efficient SLACR 95W Edition" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail
* 1 x OcUK Value IP35 Pro Intel P35 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
* 1 x OCZ 2GB (2x1GB) PC2-8500C5 1066MHz SLI-Ready Edition Dual Channel DDR2 (OCZ2N1066SR2GK)

These 3 come in a bundle for £258 [url = link]https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-091-OK[/url]

OcUK GeForce 8800 GT 512MB GDDR3 HDTV/DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail
£112 https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-071-OK

Is it a good time to buy and does this seem like a good deal?

The other issue is with my PSU, I mean, I don't think its very good. I don't know a lot about PSUs so I took a picture
http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/550/p6170012ir8.jpg

At the moment my PSU isn't causing any problems. It is currently powering:

AMDx2 4400+
DVD rw
CD rw
2x200gb SATA harddrives
TV card
network card
ATI x1900xt
ASUS a8n sli deluxe

Assuming I replace the parts with the ones mentioned earlier, will my system be stable do you reckon?

Many thanks.

 

[courtney4]

Sorry, i messed up the links

 

[courtney4]

no one have an opinion?

 

[jpdykes]

I would bet you could buy all the bits more cheaply than in a bundle.
- Try for a P35 motherboard - gigabyte DS3x.
- OCZ RAM is good.
- Q6600 is also a good choice.

I would also be a bad time to buy a graphics card as the new ones should be released in the next week or so. The new ATi cards are supposed to be something to condend with in the middle sector. Prices will fall as new cards are released.

Try spending money on 4Gb of 800MHz of RAM rather than 2Gb of faster stuff. You would want Vista 64 OS too.

Not sure about the power supply. It might take the graphics card, not entirely sure. Usually one would suggest at least 22A for a newer graphics card. Consequently you may need a new supply. Corsair make good systems.

You will obviously need DVD (unless you are salvaging), HDD (try a seagate 7200.11, new drives will be quite a lot faster than old drives), also case. You won't need a network card or sound card.

Hope that is helpful for a start. Keep posting!
Jeremy

 

[WR2]

Your FSP ATX-450PNF PSU is fairly repectable and looks to have about 30amps of +12V power. How old is it?
At it's rated output it should have no problem with any 8800GT/GTS video card.
£112 (before VAT) seems a bit high for a store brand 8800GT. Dabs has an 8800GT for a bit less and brand name XFX models for around £125

 

[courtney4]

Thanks for the reply Jeremy.

I am planning on using my old PC and just subbing in the new parts. That's interesting though about the RAM. I had a quick look and i can get 2gigs of DDR2 800Mhz OCZ RAM for about £35, instead of the 1066Mhz which is £52. Do you reckon 3gigs of 800mhz would be better than 2gigs of the faster stuff? - assuming I get vista.

I am tempted to wait on the graphics card. The site I was looking at is already selling the new nvidia cards but I would be interested in the new ATI cards.

 

[jpdykes]

On that basis you can keep the supply.

I would really encourage that you do not buy until the new cards are out.

 

[courtney4]

Sorry I should have mentioned, the price £112 is including VAT. Im glad about my power supply though, thanks!

Its about a year old i think.

 

[jpdykes]

I wouldn't go with 3gig's. New motherboards prefer an even number of sticks of ram. Therefore I would pay a little more to get 4gb especcially if you are going to game.

New NVidia cards came out today (?) but they are supposed to be underpowered and over priced. Wait for the ATi cards next week. They should be more reasonably priced.

Edit: Make sure you are having a good shop around for components. I've had DDR2 800MHz from OCZ at £29.

 

[courtney4]

I've only really been looking at overclockers.co.uk

I've come up with a new selection, which is tab more expensive (£272 instead of £258)

OCZ 2GB (2x1GB) PC2-6400C4 Dual Channel Platinum (x2) - £70
Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3 Intel P35 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard - £67
Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 "Energy Efficient SLACR 95W Edition" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail - £135

 

[jpdykes]

Ok, good choice.

You could have a DS3L motherboard for £59 from overclockers just looses 2 SATA points. (DS3L has 4). Depends what you need. You may feel that if the CD and DVD are both SATA then you would like some extra SATA connections.

The new spec if £14 more expensive but you gained 2Gb of RAM and a better motherboard.

I'm assuming you are going to reuse case, HDD and optical drives?

Try Ebuyer or Dabs (not always cheapest) or scan to see if there is anything cheaper.

 

[courtney4]

Good catch! I think I would be fine with the cheaper mobo

Infact, the only downside is that it is too cheap. Whats wrong with it

 

[courtney4]

Hmm just thought of something before i order. What is the deal with the CPU and its cooling. Do you get given the thermal paste and a fan? Or am I supposed to buy one, hell, I could even reuse my old CPU cooler

 

[courtney4]

Im a douche, Just read that it does come with a heatsink + fan.

 

[jpdykes]

As long as you are not planning to overclock the processor you will be fine with the standard heat sink that come with a retail processor. If you want to overclock you need something like a Xigmatek cooler. (Not sure what is top at the moment). You wouldn't have been able to reuse, intel and amd have different mountings.

There is nothing wrong with a DS3L. It is the one of the lowest intel chipset, P35, but on a budget and with a single graphics card it is the way to go. P35 has just been replaced by P45, but all of the current chipset will be replaced at the end of the year as intel changes over to new processors. I personally run a DS3R and it works fine.

 

[courtney4]

That's good news from you Jeremy
I've ordered the parts and they should come tomorrow. Thank's again for all the help!

 

[shata]

Idk i think you would be fine with that psu... but running q6600 and 8800gt on a 450w is something i wouldnt do honestly. You can try it and see, id perfer something in 600-700w range.

 

[WR2]

but running q6600 and 8800gt on a 450w is something i wouldnt do honestly.

He should be OK even with his extra HDD, optical drive and 2 PCI cards.
This system is a QX6800, 780SLI motherboard, OC'd 8800GT, HDD, DVD burner, sound card, etc.
3DMark06 with two instances of Prime95 running in the background.

 

[shata]

Nice little Chart, from looks it would work