Gaming, IT, Multimedia & Music Please use this forum to discuss Gaming, IT, Multimedia & Music. |
|
|
22nd September 2008, 14:53
|
#1
|
Established Member
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Maldon, Essex
Posts: 2,470
Car(s): '03 Posi Blue VTS (R.I.P)
11 Plate Peugeot 'thing'
|
Friend wants a PC built, gaming spec...
As in title, a friend wants a gaming PC, so he can play the high end games. He asked me to draw him up a spec.
So came up with this:
--> XFX N790-IUL9 nForce 790i Ultra motherboard
--> Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650 Quad Core CPU 3GHz L2 Cache 12MB 1333MHz
--> OCZ 2GB Kit (2X1024MB) NVIDIA SLI Ready Edition DDR3 2000MHz PC3 16000 RAM
--> 2x XFX GeForce 9800 GX2 1GB DDR3 PCI-E Dual DVI XT Edition GPU's
--> Seagate 500GB Barracuda SATA II 7200rpm 32MB cache Hard Drive
--> LiteOn DH-4O1S-10C Blu-Ray ROM SATA
--> Antec Twelve Hundred Gaming case in Black
--> OCZ 1000PXS 1000W PSU Sli Ready
and the price came out at £1,509.66.
What do you guys think to this spec, in a gaming point of view. No doubt my friend will want the thing overclocked too to get the extra ooomph! out of it.
I'm actually considering if this one runs nicely, i'll replace my mobo, cpu, gpu and ram with the above and run that instead. Just have to shift my current set-up at the moment!!!
Let me know what you guys think to the spec though, feedback would be appreciated. Should i charge him for building this, say total price of £1600, to get it all up and running, get everything installed and working, overclocking it and general tweaking?
__________________
-=MarkyG=-
Girl, There Is No GOD In The Bedroom, It's Just Me
Last edited by MarkyG; 22nd September 2008 at 14:54.
Reason: spilleng miskates
|
|
|
22nd September 2008, 16:27
|
#2
|
Saxperience Forum Bum
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Wimborne/Poole
Posts: 2,729
Car(s): EK9 Civic Type-R
|
Sounds mint tbh, only thing i'd say is make it at least 3 gigs of ram or even 4 rather than 2, bottle neck imo.
|
|
|
22nd September 2008, 19:51
|
#3
|
Established Member
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Maldon, Essex
Posts: 2,470
Car(s): '03 Posi Blue VTS (R.I.P)
11 Plate Peugeot 'thing'
|
4gb is an option, but with such incompatibilities with software for x64 os' i'm not too sure. might well go for 3GB, and keep it PC3-16000 spec
__________________
-=MarkyG=-
Girl, There Is No GOD In The Bedroom, It's Just Me
|
|
|
23rd September 2008, 22:45
|
#4
|
Saxperience Forum Bum
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Coventry
Posts: 2,497
Car(s): Cupped RS Clio 200
|
Rip off. You could get much better performance for cheaper:
Coolermaster Stacker 832 - Black Trim (No PSU)
Creative Sound Blaster X-FI Xtreme Music UAA Vista-Certified 7.1 Sound Card - OEM (PCI)
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 LGA775 'Yorkfield' 2.66GHz 12MB-cache (1333FSB) Processor - Retail (just over clock it to the Q9650 speed within seconds)
Abit IP35 Pro XE Intel P35 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 PC2-8500C5 1066MHz Dual Channel Kit (BL2KIT12864AA106A) (Times 2 giving you 4gb)
Western Digital VelociRaptor 150GB 10000RPM SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (WD1500HLFS) (Times 2 running in RAID 0)
BFG GeForce GTX 280 OC 1024MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail
Enermax Infiniti 720W EIN720AWT ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU
Pioneer BDC-202BK 5x BD-ROM + 12x12 DVD±RW Serial ATA Dual Layer ReWriter - (Black) - OEM
Zalman CNPS9700-NT nVidia Tritium CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/LGA775)
£1443.88 delivered
This would piss on the setup you originally posted.
__________________
Storm Grey Renaultsport Clio 200
|
|
|
23rd September 2008, 23:19
|
#5
|
Saxperience Post Whore
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Wirral
Posts: 5,011
|
Well Penn, DDR3 is so much more better than DDR2, and thats a major factor in the price. That set-up will run pretty much every game on full with the top-spec. The let-down is the basic HDD, could get a faster one, although that would probably load a game or something a second more quickly or so.
|
|
|
23rd September 2008, 23:43
|
#6
|
Saxperience Hardcore!
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Somewhere nicer than you
Posts: 32,356
Car(s): S2 Exige 240S, CLS63 AMG, Freelander
|
that seems very expensive.
i got a quad core set up with 768 Nvidia 8800GTX, 500gb, 2gig crucial ballisix ram for around 1k before christmas!
surely prices should be cheaper now?
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by jw1325
Together Forever, on a saxo forum, without saxos <3
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by JamesR
Ok Viper, you are 100% correct concerning everything, sorry to have interrupted your discussion, please continue.
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rod1
Beastiallity... They're always blowing seals. Ba-dum-tssh!
|
|
|
|
24th September 2008, 01:08
|
#7
|
Frequent Poster
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: London, England
Posts: 734
Car(s): Saxo VTS, Audi A6 Avant Quattro.
|
GeForce GTX 280 1024MB GDDR3 is what you want 9800 is 'old'
|
|
|
24th September 2008, 17:50
|
#8
|
Frequent Poster
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Glastonbury/Zummerset
Posts: 808
Car(s): Saxo VTS,
Fiesta ST (current)
|
go for ddr3 you might aswell go for the latest kit, go for 2000mhz, but try and get a 4GB kit not many around at the moment i went for the Corsair Dominator ram but i had money to waste, i think OCZ do a Platinum kit for around £200 well worth it as it will save selling the 2x1gb kit when you realise you want 8GB.
oh and the Antec Twelve Hundred case clogs with dust thermaltake all the way
|
|
|
24th September 2008, 17:53
|
#9
|
Established Member
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Basingstoke
Posts: 1,680
Car(s): Subaru Impreza Newage WRX
|
U could run 2 hard drives in raid to increase its speed, also if hes gona overclock ull want an aftermarket cooler, not the standered one
|
|
|
24th September 2008, 18:17
|
#10
|
Frequent Poster
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Glastonbury/Zummerset
Posts: 808
Car(s): Saxo VTS,
Fiesta ST (current)
|
i have an aftermarket cooler in the for sale section i highly recommend you buy it
|
|
|
24th September 2008, 19:08
|
#11
|
Saxperience Forum Bum
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Coventry
Posts: 2,497
Car(s): Cupped RS Clio 200
|
You don't need DDR3, currently a waste of money. If money is no object, you wouldn't be buying 2 9800 cards, you'd be buying 3 280's and running them in triple SLI mode.
4gb of good DDR2 memory will run anything perfectly fine and gives you room to over clock it.
Oh and although a proper cpu cooler is recommended (even without overclocking), you should be able to clock the quad core CPU i listed on the stock cooler. I run my Q6600 @ 3ghz up from 2.4ghz on the stock cooler absolutely fine.
__________________
Storm Grey Renaultsport Clio 200
|
|
|
24th September 2008, 20:32
|
#12
|
Saxperience Post Whore
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Yorkshire
Posts: 5,913
Car(s): None.
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Penn
Rip off. You could get much better performance for cheaper:
Coolermaster Stacker 832 - Black Trim (No PSU)
Creative Sound Blaster X-FI Xtreme Music UAA Vista-Certified 7.1 Sound Card - OEM (PCI)
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 LGA775 'Yorkfield' 2.66GHz 12MB-cache (1333FSB) Processor - Retail (just over clock it to the Q9650 speed within seconds)
Abit IP35 Pro XE Intel P35 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 PC2-8500C5 1066MHz Dual Channel Kit (BL2KIT12864AA106A) (Times 2 giving you 4gb)
Western Digital VelociRaptor 150GB 10000RPM SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (WD1500HLFS) (Times 2 running in RAID 0)
BFG GeForce GTX 280 OC 1024MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail
Enermax Infiniti 720W EIN720AWT ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU
Pioneer BDC-202BK 5x BD-ROM + 12x12 DVD±RW Serial ATA Dual Layer ReWriter - (Black) - OEM
Zalman CNPS9700-NT nVidia Tritium CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/LGA775)
£1443.88 delivered
This would piss on the setup you originally posted.
|
what site you using to get that?
|
|
|
24th September 2008, 20:52
|
#13
|
Established Member
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Maldon, Essex
Posts: 2,470
Car(s): '03 Posi Blue VTS (R.I.P)
11 Plate Peugeot 'thing'
|
Cheers for the info.
My friend wont be running a x64 O/S so no need for 4GB of RAM as it wont get recognised above 3GB.
Was looking at the C2Q 9650 as i would overclock that instead of buying the 9450 and o/c it to the 9650 spec.
what site are you using to get that lower a price mate? ive tried several sites and the price stated in the first post came from micro direct! all bar the RAM.
Will contact him and suggest some of the bits you've listed Penn and see what he says.
__________________
-=MarkyG=-
Girl, There Is No GOD In The Bedroom, It's Just Me
|
|
|
24th September 2008, 21:04
|
#14
|
Saxperience Forum Bum
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Coventry
Posts: 2,497
Car(s): Cupped RS Clio 200
|
www.overclockers.co.uk
Been using this site for the past 4 years.
If you're building a high spec machine, it's well worth getting a 64 bit version of xp or vista to make use of the extra ram.
In regards to overclocking - You are absolutely mental to pay £400 for a cpu that a £240 can match. Simply install an after-market cooler and overclock it. The CPU i listed still has the 12mb cache which is what makes the Q9450-9650 that much faster than the older quad cores.
__________________
Storm Grey Renaultsport Clio 200
Last edited by Penn; 24th September 2008 at 21:10.
|
|
|
24th September 2008, 21:17
|
#15
|
Established Member
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Maldon, Essex
Posts: 2,470
Car(s): '03 Posi Blue VTS (R.I.P)
11 Plate Peugeot 'thing'
|
It's not me who is mental, my mate has £5k to burn! I suggested bits and he came up with that spec all by himself, which i am impressed with seeing as he is a console king.
been trying to get him to get x64 Vista, but no joy so far!! Originally he wanted to go Alienware, but i steered him off course!
__________________
-=MarkyG=-
Girl, There Is No GOD In The Bedroom, It's Just Me
|
|
|
24th September 2008, 21:28
|
#16
|
Saxperience Forum Bum
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Coventry
Posts: 2,497
Car(s): Cupped RS Clio 200
|
5K on a PC? He is stupid. Put it in an ISA!
The rate that technology is changing these days, you'd be mad to spend anything over 2k on a full PC setup (monitor, keyboard, mouse etc included).
Thing is unless he is tech savvy, he could spend thousands on the best equipment, but if he doesn't maintain the PC correctly or use it correctly it will run like a £500 PC.
For example getting the best performance out of the PC by using RAID 0 could cause problems. There is no backup system for RAID 0 so if he fucks something up, it's a whole PC rebuild.
This is certainly worth thinking about before speccing a PC for him.
Perfect example, i offered to pick the parts for a friend of mine, and build it myself and maintain it for him if he ever wanted upgrades in the future. Instead, he blew 2K on some stupid spec pre-built PC that is restricted by the warranty and it constantly blue screens on him.
Last but not least, consistent and reliable performance beats out right performance any day. Spend a few days (even weeks) researching on the internet in regards to which components go with what. I spent 3 weeks researching my current PC build about a year ago. I have never ever had a BSOD and i still have massive amounts of room to overclock my CPU and memory.
Long post i know but i hope you managed to read it. I've impulse purchased PC's in the past and they have had problems. This was my 4th PC build over the years and spending the time researching has REALLY paid off.
__________________
Storm Grey Renaultsport Clio 200
|
|
|
24th September 2008, 21:34
|
#17
|
Established Member
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Maldon, Essex
Posts: 2,470
Car(s): '03 Posi Blue VTS (R.I.P)
11 Plate Peugeot 'thing'
|
Mate has more money than sense trust me. Wont go into details but he has enough money if you get me.
I've told him unless im happy with a spec he will have to wait for me to research further, in the meantime i know he wont buy a pre-built one, as he has said he is waiting for me. bit of a crapper really as ive got to get my arse in gear, maintenance isnt a problem. been doing it privately for a few years now. just cant get into the industry as there isnt much call for system builders as far as i can see.
Dont worry about the long posts, its nice to have a few people who know their stuff like me to get opinions from.
My current setup took me about 2 months to decide on, now im wanting a C2Q system instead, nothing wrong with the Phenom at all, just fancy something with a lot more power for gaming.
__________________
-=MarkyG=-
Girl, There Is No GOD In The Bedroom, It's Just Me
|
|
|
24th September 2008, 21:43
|
#18
|
Saxperience Forum Bum
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Coventry
Posts: 2,497
Car(s): Cupped RS Clio 200
|
Everything I know I've learned from mistakes and good old research. I don't have any IT qualifications at all.
I don't actually know a great deal about how each of the components work either, but with a couple of questions fired at some people in the know and some research I'm well on my way.
Just recently I've got sick and tired of friends/family buying absolutely shit PC's at rip-off prices. I'm so so tempted to try and build some new PC's in my spare time and sell them on. Cheapo core 2 duos , 2gb ram with basic gfx card that can run vista nicely and stream videos etc without the user having to wait 5 minutes for the PC to register they've clicked the mouse.
Problem is there's not much profit involved as far as i can see, I was going to do it as a hobby almost and to supply friends/family with decent machines.
Being unable to control what the user puts on their PC puts me right off though. All it takes is for them to install NERO, realplayer, bbc iplayer, adobe reader, bad anti virus etc and their PC will run like absolute shit. Then you'll be shouted at for a problem that is their own fault.
Lack of knowledge breaks things!
__________________
Storm Grey Renaultsport Clio 200
|
|
|
24th September 2008, 21:46
|
#19
|
Established Member
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Maldon, Essex
Posts: 2,470
Car(s): '03 Posi Blue VTS (R.I.P)
11 Plate Peugeot 'thing'
|
Never had any problems with Nero to be honest with you, got v7 running in Vista Ultimate at the moment and no problems with it at all! Adobe reader i also have no problems with either! Currentyl running AVG until i get off my arse and buy a decent one.
__________________
-=MarkyG=-
Girl, There Is No GOD In The Bedroom, It's Just Me
|
|
|
24th September 2008, 21:49
|
#20
|
Established Member
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Maldon, Essex
Posts: 2,470
Car(s): '03 Posi Blue VTS (R.I.P)
11 Plate Peugeot 'thing'
|
Unless youre a massive company like Dell and the like there isnt really any profit in building.
I hagev the same problem with family/friends installing crap on their systems then ask me to fix it and wonder why half the "crap" has disappeared. Simple explanation solves it, then about a week later i get "Mark, its happened again, need your help!" I don't charge family, but friends i sometimes do, as ive done a lot of "free" work for them over the years with PC's and its about time they pay me for my services (not in a sexual way, women excluded )
__________________
-=MarkyG=-
Girl, There Is No GOD In The Bedroom, It's Just Me
|
|
|
Thread Tools |
|
Display Modes |
Linear Mode
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
All times are GMT. The time now is 23:56.
|