£640 to spend what would you buy?

[adders666]

ok here is the thing, i have just got my uni grant through which totals £640 which i need to spend on a new pc, the pc will be used for my college work, but i also want it to run new games like bioshock and supreme commander, age of conan ect. would idealy like to have a backup system in there (though not priority as i have a 200Gb IDE drive i can use), and i dont need a mouse keyboard or monitor, would also like to stipulate that i dont really want to overclock it and would like it to run as quiet as possible.... suggestions for builds would be greatly appreciated, and if i can save any money off the £640 all the better, but if not, no biggy, but i cant go over that my very much at all (maybe £20 leeway at a push) thanks in advance

 

[adders666]

ok seeing the lack of replys ive made a preliminary listing



what do you think?

 

[Maroc]

Hi mate, I've got a few changes for your setup.

First of all, change that motherboard, you never mentioned SLi so I'm going to immediately recommend the Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L. This will be cheaper and much more efficient for your use.

Secondly, the timings on that ram you chose are disgusting. You need to change the ram to something with CAS4 timings, (4-4-4-12) would be ideal.
And try, if possible, to get ram that has (2x2gb) sticks for future upgradability options.

Thirdly, that power supply you chose does not look to be of good quality, I would recommend spending more on a more reliable one and trust me, this is for the benefit of your setup. You would need a good power supply to power up that rig of yours including the power hungry 8800GTX although I strongly recommend you change that card to a GTS (G92 revision).

Forthly, change those 2 hard drives to a single 500gb Seagate 7200.11, it will work cheaper and you'll have more storage. The Seagate is the single most fastest and reliable 500gb HDD you can get so you know your datas in good hands.

And finally before I shut my big mouth, Instead of getting that C2D E4600, why not get a cheaper E2160? With the money you save, you can get a nice aftermarket cooler and overclock the hell out of the chip. 3GHz+ is a common result of this and you'll most probably be able to go further.

With all the above improvements I mentioned, you will definitely get more performance for your money and it will work out a lot cheaper for you.

Just my two cents.


- Maroc.

 

[adders666]

thanks for your answer and the time you put into it, would just like to say that i am not really keen on OCing at all, and would rather buy a better CPU in the first place and not OC it at all, if i could have my way i would get the Q6600 and run it at stock

 

[adders666]

oh and also the PSU is ment to be a really good quality unit, has 5 stars off all the reviews ive read, and i have owned some of the extra value range from ebuyer before and they have all been really good products

 

[Maroc]

In that case, I have no reason to object with the PSU. But what I do want to tell you is that the overclocking potential of the processor I recommended is immense, if you take advantage of it, you can have a processor on par with those high end duals for a fraction of the price. Even if you're not keen on OC'ing, you should give it a thought.

 

[adders666]

thanks again for your answer, during the last few days (scince i posted my other thread), i have thought of little else, ive read up on the OC forums and a lot of guides and stuff, but the trouble is the risk factor involved in a bad OC i just dont have the funds to replace any part i destroy by doing it, and the sortening of the life of the pc worries me too, as i am just beginning a degree, and wont have a job for 5+ years, i have taken all of your other suggestions on board though and have come up with a really nice looking machine and even managed to get a Q6600 in there



though i have just been informed that a friend of mine is selling the same card as posted here (though it is BFG tech make) for £40 (after buying a GX2) so i might rip his arm off for it lol

 

[adders666]

though i could do with some advice on a nice cooler for the Q6600, that wont break the bank, was thinking of the coolermaster sphere http://www.ebuyer.com/product/136637

 

[Maroc]

If you're a gamer, I'd go with the E8400.

 

[adders666]

okie dokie, ive decided to stick with the above spec, with the inclusion of the E8400 and removal of the Q6600 as you said, after reading reviews and other threads on the subject, thanks for helping maroc, will be ordering this tomorrow or the day after with any luck, final specs are as follows




so looking forward to games running properly

 

[Maroc]

Wait lol, get the 500gb Seagate, theres a difference you know... 32mb Cache vs the 16mb on the 320gb. With that changed, you're all set mate.
The good thing about the E8400 processor is that when you DO feel comfortable about OC'ing, you can unleash that beastly 4GHz we all know it's easily capable of. You will have a great time with that new rig for sure.

Speaking of new rig, I'll be building a similar one in a couple weeks after my exams.


Maroc.

 

[adders666]

will have to look elsewhere for it as ebuyer dont stock they do have this http://www.ebuyer.com/product/130828 is that the one you ment?

 

[Maroc]

Yes, thats the exact one I meant.

 

[adders666]

ok mate, thanks for all your help, uve been great