Should I buy this pc (spec inc)

MercilessKiller

PistonBroke wrote: »

As said before the 8800GTS are stunning cards & are usually the better options for gaming i have a few freinds running these now & they can't fault them

Nothings stopping me buying an 8800GTS in a few months though and replacing the current GFX.. still cheaper

Cerro

There are too many unknowns in that spec - random ram with whatever speed they happen to have? Probably cheapest stuff they can get their hands on - which is never good.

For SLI you need two identical cards (identical in every way) even buying the same card at a later date can have problems (different firmwares or component revisions) so I wouldn't recommend it. SLI is vastly over rated in any event, you are better buying one good expensive card than buying two cheaper, weaker cards.

The current line of AMD processors is about to be changed and the motherboard socket will change with it (though not immediately) so the upgrade options for the processor and motherboard are pretty small.

For £430 its not bad, but you get what you pay for and £430 won't make a great gaming PC.

PistonBroke_2

MercilessKiller wrote: »

FPS's currently out and iwthin the next year They'll do me fine.

Like i said then i think it'll run them ok in Sli but if you want real performance you'll need the 8800's i always think the lower end Graphics cards are poor economy as they need to be replaced so often & i don't think it'll run the new games well in DX10 either i think you may still need to run the newer ones in DX9
Would it not be worth giving them a call and asking how much to upgrade to a 8800GTS ? if the PC comes out at £520'ish i think it'd be money well spent

MercilessKiller

Ok the RAM, found it:

2GB DDR2 RAM PC 5400 DDR 667 MHZ PC MEMORY CL4.0 16C

Major brand

Product Group
Memory
Type
DDR2
Capacity
1GB
> Clock Speed
667MHz
Compliance
PC5400
CAS Latency
5.0
No. of Chips
16
Pins
240
Side
Double

I don't want the best spec in the world. I understand that. But I want to be able to play current and a few new FPS's without lag or fps drops, simple as that really. i dont want the best performance ever, but definitely playable.

The main one is CS Source...

Psychofly

OK. I'm £2.02 over budget but it's a vastly better option in my opinion. And you get to build it yourself which is half the fun.

ASUS NF650i SLi Motherboard ............£71.44
320MB Gainward 8800GTX card ..........£187.99
2 x 1GB DDR800 (6400) RAM ..............£44.63
Core2Duo E4400 ..............................£75.66
550W Power Supply .........................£19.85
400GB HDD 7200rpm ........................£52.51
Asus Case ......................................£20.43
DVD Writer .....................................£17.85


£502.02 including delivery from Scan.

The slightly lower performance of the processor over your AMD option is far outweighed by the better graphics card. You could upgrade the processor rather than the graphics card later on which will be cheaper to do and you'll get way more for you money.

Currently you can get a quad core 6600 for £160 or so so in a few months you'll get great deals on them and you'll end up with a fantastic system rather than a decent one. I agree with the guy above.. quad core just now is pointless. Virtually nothing makes use of quad core, in fact to be honest there are very few truly multi-threaded applications or games that even use dual core properly.

I can't stress enough how much better I think this system is for you. I've got the 8800 320MB myself and having seen it alongside my mates 8600 I can see the difference. It's like night and day. Don't be fooled by thinking "it's just a model lower". The 8800 has way more capability than the 8600 does. It's waaay more future proof.

Let us know what you decide mate.

MercilessKiller

Take away the dvd writer as I could nick that from my current pc Then we're under budget. Looks like you've convinced me anyway.

The PSU, which PSU is it as Q-tec ones are 550W PEAK and dangerous to use in gaming machines....

Exactly what is the E4400 in terms of speed and core compared to the amd 5000 X2...

Think youve convinced me psycho

MercilessKiller

Psycho, would the GFX fit on that mobo ok?

Think I might buy it :x

PistonBroke_2

Psychofly wrote: »

320MB Gainward 8800GTX card ..........£187.99

Seriously ? if so i'm buying one a GTX for £187

if it's the GTS though Overclockers do one for £176

Psychofly

It's the EZcool SlientpPFC power supply.

Asus P5N-E SLI NF650i SLi, S 775, PCI-E (x16), DDR2 533/667/800, SATA II, SATA RAID, ATX LN17609
320MB Gainward 8800GTS Bliss PCI-E (x16) Mem 1600MHz GPU 500MHz 96Streams HDTV/2xDual Link DVI-I LN17135
1Gb Elixir Major, DDR2 PC2-6400 (800), 240 Pins, Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 5-5-5-12 LN18122
Intel Core 2 Duo E4400, Socket 775, 2.0 GHz, 800MHz FSB, Allendale Core, 2MB Cache, Retail LN8039
550W EZcool Silent pPFC Power Supply AMD & P4 Ready 12cm Silent Fan 24Pin 6xPCI SATA LN19559
400GB Western Digital WD4000AAJS Caviar SE, SATA300, 7200 rpm, 8MB Cache, 8.9 ms LN17456
Asus TA-881 Black/Silver Midi Tower Case w/o PSU LN17483
Optiarc (Sony/NEC) AD-7170S-0B 18x DVD±R, 8x DVD±DL, DVD+RW x8/-RW x6, DVD-RAM x12, SATA, Black, OEM


Graphics and MB are perfectly compatible.
Gimme a few minutes and I'll find you a CPU comparison. Don't pay too much attention to that though since the graphics card is way more important to you and the CPU will be easier and cheaper to upgrade.

It might be worth contacting Scan first (give them a call ... they're really helpful) just to check the 8800 will fit OK in the case. The cards are BIIIG. You shouldn't have a problem though.

Psychofly

And read this too

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/graphics-video-budget,review-29616-4.html

Sorry mate I can't find a comparison between the processors. The E4400 is undoubtedly slower than the 5000+ but not so much you'll notice it when you're gaming. The E4400 8800 320MB combination will outmatch the 5000+ 8600 combination with ease.

I just noticed too that the 5000+ is a socket 940. This is old technology with the current one being socket AM2. The new socket AM3 is allegedly out soon however AMD claim that the new quad core processors they are bringing out will work in AM3 and be backwards compatible with AM2. Socket 940 is dead in the water these days - that's not to say it no good. It just means if you want to upgrade in a year or so you'll struggle to do it without sticking in a new motherboard too.

Socket 775 has life left in it yet.