New Computer

[Steel_Tomb]

Hey guys, the time has come to start to think about replacing my PC (which is now 5, yes your heard right 5 years old!) Even with updates it just can't handle new games aka ArmA, SHIV, STALKER etc etc. Popped onto scan.co.uk who have a nice finance deal going on atm, wondered what you chaps thought of the spec... (it may not be the most uber system in the world but its more than I would normally go for!)

CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 S775, 2.40Ghz, 1066Mhz FSB, Conroe Core, 4M Cache Retail
CPU cooler - Zalman CNPS9700-LED Super Aero Flower Cooler
RAM - 4GB (4x1GB) Corsair XMS2 Dominator, DDR2 PC2-6400 (800), Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 5-5-5-15, DHX
GPU - 640MB XFX 8800GTS Extreme XXX, PCI-E (x16), Mem 1800 MHz, GPU 550 MHz, Dual DVI/HDTV
System Drives: 160 Gb Samsung HD160JJ SpinPoint P80 SATA300 7200 rpm 8MB Cache 8.9 ms NCQ
Floppy/card reader - Scan 3.5" Black Internal All in 1 (60+) Card Reader (SM MMC SD mSD CF Mdrive MS MSPro MSDuo MSDuoP)
DVD Writer: NEC ND-5170A-0B Black x18 DVD±RW Dual Layer DVD-Writer OEM UK
Sound Card: Creative X-FI Xtreme Gamer PCI 7.1Ch Sound Card OEM
Extended Warranty: Standard 3XS System Warranty

Also comes with Vista HP installed & a 600w Tagan PSU with a half decent mobo.

All of the above comes to a grand total of....£1,327.54

Does anyone think thats excessive, bearing in mind this will have to last a number of years before I could afford to even think of getting a new computer (as you can tell from it taking 5 years to want this one :D)

This is what I'm runnin on atm if any of you are wondering:

AMD Athlon XP 3200+ 2.2ghz
1Gb RAM pc2700 333mhhz
512mb ATI X1650PRO AGP
XP Pro SP2

Runs SHIII like a dream but SHIV is maxxed out at about 28fps, down to 10 when it gets busy! ArmA wont even run! lol!

[Chock]

Certainly sounds pretty cool, but I have a suggestion for you before you plonk out your hard-earned cash (or hard earned HP if you prefer).

Take a look in the UK magazine, PC Advisor, specifically the best buy charts at the back, for both sub 1000 quid, and those over the grand mark, then check out the speed performance benchmark ratings and note the components. These charts are good for comparisons on what you can expect for your cash, and in comparison to a lot of other PC magazines, I've found that PC Advisor is usually not afraid to say a computer is crap if they think it is, which is not always the case with PC magazines, some of which concern themselves more with advertising revenue than editorial integrity!

I'm not suggesting that you don't buy that machine of course, just shop around a bit for informed opinions before you do, as you'll probably get somewhat partisan views and recommendations from a forum, i.e. some people will slam ATI and others rave on about them, similarly, Intel and AMD arguments abound and the varying opinions will probably muddy things rather than make them clearer. As it is, your current computer is okay-ish, so it's not like you need to rush out and buy a new one tomorrow.

By the way, based on the fact that Vista is overpriced in the UK, I did the same thing to get hold of a copy, by buying a laptop with it included, so you got that bit right as far as I'm concerned.

:D Chock

[Steel_Tomb]

Rightio, I'll take a peek in Tesco or something on Monday when I'm in town next. I used to be a bit of an AMD fan but the intel chip in that system did better on the benchmarks on toms hardware and other sites so thats the cpu i'll be getting I think. Its more or less the perfect spec/price for me but I'll take a look in some of the mags to see what their view is on some of the hardware.

I wouldn't be looking for a new PC but it looks like the motherboard in my current one is on its last legs, it refuses to see some hardware and my the whole system will regularly crash/stop responding, its generally a mess even though I try to keep it as speedy as possible and do frequent virus/spyware scans so I am looking to replace it within the next month hopefully.

[joea]

I hate you.











;)

[Rose]

4 gigs of RAM?! :doh: I have 2.5 and I thought that was alot. Your games will run smooth as butter. Which is pretty smooth.

[tycho102]

RAM - 4GB (4x1GB) Corsair XMS2 Dominator, DDR2 PC2-6400 (800), Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 5-5-5-15, DHX

System Drives: 160 Gb Samsung HD160JJ SpinPoint P80 SATA300 7200 rpm 8MB Cache 8.9 ms NCQ

DVD Writer: NEC ND-5170A-0B Black x18 DVD±RW Dual Layer DVD-Writer OEM UK

As long as that's a 64bit OS, you're good for 4GB.

Get two 74GB Raptors and run them Raid0 (striped). Even a single 150GB Raptor will be significantly better. Barring that, get a Seagate instead -- 5 year waranty.

Go to http://www.speedlabs.org and see what the best writer currently is. Look for dual-layer write quality. Last time I bought a drive, it was the Pioneer 110 which could be reflashed to the 111L version (T@2 capability).



edit-- I guess speedlabs is down right now. It'll probably be back up pretty soon.

[Onkel Neal]

hi Steel,

my PC will be 5 years old in Sept. Of course, I have upgraded most of the stuff on it, so only the Mobo and CPU are original. It passed the SH4 test, so I may wait a couple more years before buying a new one :cool:

Have fun with your new rig, mate.:yep:
Neal

[Ramius]

You could try here - http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/PCRanges.html

Just remember, systems are without monitor and speakers.


As a side note, Im sure for 4 Gig to work with Vista you need a 64 bit system :hmm:

[Steel_Tomb]

So 4gig of RAM won't work unless I've got a 64bit OS? I only get 32bit vista with the rig.

I didn't need speakers/monitor because I've already got a nice 5.1 & 19" screen set up :). Still require some negotiation with the parents before I can get this lol, a chunk of my savings will go on this (although I do mean to put a majority of it back in during the summer :P)

[bigboywooly]

Ever thought of looking on ebay

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/INTEL-CORE-2-DUO-E6600-250GB-2GB-DDR2-20-X-DVDRW_W0QQitemZ250123500176QQihZ015QQcategoryZ179Q QrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Gaming-PC-E6600-X1950Pro-2GB-Corsair-XMS2-400GB-HD_W0QQitemZ160121196634QQihZ006QQcategoryZ179QQrd Z1QQcmdZViewItem

Loads on there like that

[Steel_Tomb]

Never really thought of ebay...second system looks nice. The clincher for me is the finance, although I can afford to pay it all off at once, I want to have the option to pay it off in small lumps so that I've still got something in my account in case of any emergencies if you follow. With Scan I can get 10months intrest free which is pretty good :).

Btw, would my system only use 2gig of ram if its running 32bit OS instead of 64bit? If so I will knock it down to 2gig.

[bigboywooly]

AFAIK 32 bit OS only recognise and use 2GB but speak to the PC manufacturer in case I am incorrect
Or someone else will know for sure here

[Jimbuna]

The “4GB” maximum memory limit of 32-bit Windows is purely theoretical. In practice, the max memory is something significantly less, equal to 4GB minus your video card memory and the address space allocated to a couple other hardware resourcse. Typically, the realistic maximum memory is somewhere betwee 2.5GB and 3.5GB.

[Steel_Tomb]

So is it not worth getting 4gb of RAM?

[Jimbuna]

I'm not sure what RAM prices are like at this moment in time :nope:
I suppose it all depends on your budget and what programmes your planning to run on your pc :hmm:

For what it's worth, I'm running an Athlon 3.2Ghz with 2GB of RAM and it's running everything I'm asking of it fine (incl SH4):up:

[Godalmighty83]

2gig of ram is perfectly fine, i believe 3 gigs is the most windows will let you play with. a fast hard drive is more important for smooth play at that point.

the e6600 is a superb processor you can overclock it into the 3ghz range easily.

cant go wrong with any of the 8800's.

[Seth8530]

Correction them most an amd 64bit can possibly work with is 3.75gig..... :oops:

sorry

[Zantham]

This is what I'm runnin on atm if any of you are wondering:

AMD Athlon XP 3200+ 2.2ghz
1Gb RAM pc2700 333mhhz
512mb ATI X1650PRO AGP
XP Pro SP2

Or if you want cheaper swap out your current RAM for 2GB dual channel DDR-400 low latency, and upgrade that video card to the AGP version of the Radeon x1950 Pro 512MB. This will only work until you want a DirectX 10 game.

Or for the new system you are looking at, remove the XP from your old system and use it on your new system, but go with 2GB RAM and use the money you save from not getting 4GB (and Vista) to get an 8800 GTX (leave the Ultra alone for now till prices drop), and when you have to (maybe in a year or more?) go with a 64-bit Vista and 4GB RAM. The GTX is a fair upgrade from a GTS (96 stream processors vs 128 in the GTX, whereas the Ultra is essentially an overclocked GTX for a bunch more money). And unless your running extreme resolutions (1920x1200 and above) you can probly skip SLI for now too.