PC Gamer: Gaming system build critque wanted

[rjc7]

MOTHERBOARD:
MSI P45 NEO-F £76

PROCESSOR:
CORE 2 QUAD Q6600 £130

MEMORY:
OCZ PLATINUM XTC DDR2 800MHZ, 4GB £47

3D CARD:
LEADTEK GEFORCE 8800GTS 512 £152

HARD DRIVE:
2X SAMSUNG SPINPOINT F1 500GB £102

CHASSIS:
COOLERMASTER CM690 £38

PSU:
PC POWER & COOLING 610 £60

This month pcgamer magazine (uk) suggests this gaming build on a budget. How do you rate this build?

 

[modode]

Looks pretty good, except for around the same price you can get an ATI 4850 which is significantly faster than the 8800 GTS.

 

[ajcroteau]

Looks like a decent build. Should run just about everything really well.

 

[aevm]

Looks very nice, with an HD 4850. Also change the motherboard to Asus P5Q Pro. For 9 pounds more, you get the ability to add a second HD 4850 later. Your PSU and case are already perfect for that.
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/145751

 

[dirtmountain]

+1 ^

 

[bdollar]

+1 to aevm

 

[rjc7]

This graphics card?
Sapphire HD 4850 1GB GDDR3 Dual DVI HDTV Out PCI-E Graphics Card

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/146870

 

[aevm]

What I had in mind was something like this one: (HD 4850, £118, 512MB RAM)
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/145524

The HD 4850 you found there is £150 and has 1GB of RAM. On a 20" or 22" monitor the extra RAM doesn't really do enough to be worth the extra cost, IMO. On a 24" or larger it is worth it.

Then there's the HD 4870, £170, 512MB:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/146429

Any of these would be great. The HD 4870 is better, but probably overkill. Here are some numbers:
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru...eon-hd4870-512mb-graphics-card-review-16.html