My Shiny new build!

[Captainhero]

Hi Peeps,
I have specc'd the following from ebuyer. I dont wanna go crazy so my budget is sub £1500, Primarily gonna be used for games, COD4, LOTRO, BF2, Etc.
Primarily, is the ram, cpu, psu, mobo a good combo. And as for the graphics card its gotta be a 4870 with GDDR5 but what about the 4870x2 I want one! Or are there tasty alternatives out there. I have done a fair bit of research but it takes forever so I am hoping for opinions of the incredibly witty handsome and clever Toms HW readers!
And I have a good case already so no need.
Let me know!
Cheers

OCZ 4GB Kit (2x2GB) DDR2 1066MHz/PC2-8500 Reaper Memory HPC Edition Dual Channel £74.99
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 G0 Stepping (2.4GHz 1066MHz) Socket 775 L2 8MB Cache £116.73
ASUS P5K Premium WiFi-AP iP35 Socket 775 8 channel audio ATX Motherboard £109.26
Xilence 700W Gaming Edition PSU - 13.5cm Fan with 2x PCI-E, 4x SATA £69.82
Noctua NH-U12P (Socket 754) aluminum with nickel plated copper base Processor cooler £43.47
Sony DRU-190S 20X DVD±RW DL & DVD-RAM Serial ATA - £16.15
Creative X-Fi Xtreme Gamer Soundcard - £61.30
Samsung SpinPoint F1 HD103UJ 1TB Hard Drive SATAII *32MB Cache* £83.95 - 2 of these
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium - 64-bit £59.99
Speedlink Medusa 5.1 Home Edition Headset £59.87
LG M228WA 22" TV/Monitor Widescreen 1680x1050 60Hz 3000:1 300 cd/m2 5ms VGA/DVI-D Tuner Speakers Onsite £183.96
PowerColor HD 4870 1GB GDDR5 Dual DVI HDTV Out PCI-E Graphics Card - £209.99

 

[blackwidow_rsa]

Switch to ddr2 800. You won't be able to oc a q66 much over 400fsb anyway

 

[auscanzukus]

HD4870X2 won't be out for a while. That means you'd be waiting. Might as well not buy a computer cuz there's always a new card around the corner.

Why 1066mhz ram for Q6600? By default, that ram will run at 533mhz. If you don't touch the bios, you're wasting money.

Why P35? At least look at P5Q PRO.

Don't know about that psu. If I were spending 1500 quids on a pc, I would defo make sure the psu is quality:

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=108088

 

[evongugg]

I suggest you change the power supply to a certified one:

ATI Radeon HD 4870 System Requirements

500 Watt or greater power supply with two 75W 6-pin PCI Express® power connectors recommended (600 Watt and four 6-pin connectors for ATI CrossFireX™ technology in dual mode)
Certified power supplies are recommended. Refer to http://ati.amd.com/certifiedPSU for a list of Certified products.

http://ati.amd.com/products/radeonhd4800/requirements.html

 

[evongugg]

I agree with auscanzukus. Go with a P45 chipset motherboard. Asus or Gigabyte.

 

[eklipz330]

HD4870X2 won't be out for a while. That means you'd be waiting. Might as well not buy a computer cuz there's always a new card around the corner.
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=108088

thats a bit harsh isn't it? sure theres a new card around the corner, but i doubt there will be one waiting to sh*t on this one...not for a while anyway

 

[Captainhero]

Great thanks for the info.
Ok so I need to spec a different PSU. I figure at least 700 watts cos at some point I wanna go X-fire
I had heard that the 4870x2 is due at the end of august? (2 of these in X-fire would be lovely)
Go for a P45 mobo.
I am also planning on OC'ing the Q6600 and fiddling with memory timings etc which is why I went with higher rated ram. Should I still change this if going P45 and OC'ing.
I would go for one of the new 45nm chips but bang for buck you cant beat the q6600 (or can u?)
Thanks for the input guys!

 

[Captainhero]

Oh and another thing, any way I can order in the US and get shipped to the UK, (get it all marked as a gift or something so customs dont take an interest?)as usual we get screwed on the pricing, (keep the number the same but put a pound sign in front, grrr)

 

[bf2gameplaya]

Oh and another thing, any way I can order in the US and get shipped to the UK, (get it all marked as a gift or something so customs dont take an interest?)as usual we get screwed on the pricing, (keep the number the same but put a pound sign in front, grrr)

Now you are just asking for trouble!

That and I'd seriously reconsider your monitor choice. Like a 1900x1200 WS model. Your video card can handle the resolution.

Have the kit shipped to your door and pay the VAT you cheap scofflaw, or risk losing your kit to unscrupulous rogues.

 

[atrain]

Like people said, get a nice PSU. A Corsair 750TX would work nicely if you plan to xfire. Also, with the RAM, you don't need 1066 unless you're really going to OC your processor to 4.7GHz, which is impossible on air. You can find equal quality DDR2-800 for cheaper. Also, if you are planning on crossfiring, you might want to look into an x38 or x48 board to take advantage of the 2 PCI-E x16 slots.

Also, not sure about this one, but your heatsink says it's for socket 754, but the Q6600 is socket 775. In either case, you can get a nice heatsink for less than 40 squids anyways like the Xigmatek HDT 1283.

 

[auscanzukus]

Don't do that. You'll be charged VAT. Maybe on top of import duty. If you want to save money, look for deals. I'm sure there are UK pc forums.

The only reason to get ram faster than 800mhz is to overclock Yorkies & maybe Wolfies, depending on how high the overclock is. Even if you want to o/c Q6600, you can reach the average max 3.6Ghz at 9 x 400. 400 x 2 = 800mhz DDR2. See?

 

[Captainhero]

Hey thanks for the input guys, I have revised my spec a little.
Gonna go down the x38 route for the mobo - ASUS P5E AiLifestyle Series iX38?
PSU im looking at - Coolermaster Silent Pro 700W Modular PSU - Single 12V Rail with 50A?
Not sure which cpu though now, as I said am looking at the Q6600 but also the E8400 which I have read can OC to over 4Ghz on aircooling. This way I will be using one of the latest chips with excellent OC'ing ability, and as most apps etc dont use 4 cores, 2 will do the job nicely? Also if going for one of the new E8400's then I guess I can go for faster ram as well (ddr2 1066?).
As for the monitor I cant afford over £200 and I have read good things about - LG L226WTQ-SF TFT Monitor 22" 2ms 3000:1 widescreen.
For the record, the system im building will be for gaming and im looking at hardware on ebuyer.
And I guess I will give up on buying overseas and take the UK price hit.
Thanks again for all your help guys.

 

[Shadow703793]

^Don't go with the CoolerMaster it's not the best of brands. Get a PC Power & Cooling, Corsair, or even Antec/OCZ.

To OC to 4Ghz you need a good HSF. I recommend the XIGMATEK S1283 (+ bolt in kit).

Not sure on the prices in UK but consider spending a little more and getting X48.

As far as CPUs go if doing video/image editing get the Quad if gaming get the Dual.

If going for DDR2 1066 RAM be aware there might be compatibility issues. And most of the DDR2 1066 is just factory OCed DDR2 800 any way. So get some good quality DDR2 800 and OC it yourself. You can go to 1:1 up to 1600FSB with DDR2 800.

 

[auscanzukus]

Intel cut some cpu prices last month. E8400 is about $170 US. Q6600 is about $200 US. Dualies still rule gaming cuz most games are single core. Newer games make use the dual cores. A handful uses 4 cores. Right now the best gaming chip is E8400. Yes, it can be o/c'ed to 4ghz on GOOD air cooling. Stock can get you to 3.6Ghz stable. Go with Shadow703793's hsf recommendation. If not available, look into Thermalright U120E (AKA TRUE).

True that some ram makers are cheaping out on ram chips by overclocking 800mhz to faster speeds. Just look for specs that's less than 2.2v. It will have some headroom for overclocking & overvolting. Max safe would be 2.4v.

Beside deals/sales, you can look at ebay for parts that are not very important. Like cases & cpu coolers.