Gaming build help please

Dcully · 07-10-2007 10:50am #1

Hi folks,im looking at getting a new gaming rig but need some advice please.
I havent been really keeping up to speed on the latest and greatest hardware but i know something along the lines of an intel quad core cpu and 8800 GTS or GTX card for a start,what about vista?
I possibly could build it myself but id be pretty nervous with expensive gear tbh.
Id prefer to have a pre built system,my brother got one a few months back from komplett ready for gaming out of the box with no hassle.
I dont mind paying a bit extra for them to build it and install operating system etc.
Im looking at spending 2k.

Should i go with Vista?
Should i go with 4 gig ram? [need vista for that?]
Do i go with 32 or 64 bit if i go with vista?
I dont see 64 bit vista on the customize list on komplett,the options i get are vista home,business and ultimate,would business and ultimate be 64 bit in disguise?
Apologies for all the questions but i havent a clue tbh.

Heres what im looking at

Cooler Master Mystique 632, Black
Fortron Source Epsilon 1010W,Active PFC
Gigabyte GA-N680SLI-DQ6, nForce-680i SLI
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4GHz
Crucial DDR2 PC5300 4096MB CL5,
XFX GeForce 8800GTS 600M 640MB XXX GDDR3
Hitachi Deskstar T7K500 500GB SATA2
NEC DVD±RW burner AD-7170 IDE Black OEM,
Creative SB X-FI Xtreme Gamer
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Eng 32 bit

Comes to 1940 euro built and shipped.

PogMoThoin · 07-10-2007 11:10am

You'll need 64 bit xp or vista 2 recognise the full 4gb ram, personally i'd go with 64 bit vista for directX 10. I'd change the memory from pc5300 to the faster pc6400.
1000w psu is overkill, a good 850w would b enough.

Dcully · 07-10-2007 11:35am

How about http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=329026&CKS=PCW and http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=338074&CKS=PCW as replacements?

I dont see vista 64 bit in the options for pre built machines

Quick question if i may,
currently i have an amd dual core rig with 7800GTX card,asus a8n SLi Deluxe mobo.
What would you think of just upgrading that with an 8800 card now and putting it into a new rig later on?
Is there any real need to wait?
I was thinking of waiting till vista is sorted as i hear lots of mixed opinions on it,or is vista ok now for gaming?

Dcully · 07-10-2007 11:42am

How about this dell? the one on the right
http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/xpsdt_720?c=ie&cs=iedhs1&l=en&s=dhs

Dcully · 07-10-2007 8:55pm

Anybody else got some advice please?

PogMoThoin · 07-10-2007 9:06pm

Best advise i can give ya is 2 stay away from Dell

Are ya planning on overclocking? If not u got no need 4 performance ram like those corsair sticks. Psu is fine.

Dcully · 07-10-2007 11:38pm

Nah i never overclock.

A friend linked me to this with reference to P35 motherboards,im well confused now.

........."this board supports either DDR2 or DDR3, and we found no real difference in current performance of DDR2 and DDR3 on the P35 platform. Both were equally faster than the same DDR2 on the P965 chipset".

"The winner for now is the P35 chipset, whether you feed it DDR2 with fast timings or higher speed DDR3. The 1333 bus speed introduced by P35 is also a winner - at least in terms of overclocking. As stated in the review, almost every Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad we tried in the P35 ASUS P5K and P5K3 ran at 1333 FSB at the default multiplier and default voltage. The only processors that required any voltage increase were the top line Core 2 Extreme processors. This free 25% overclock, which still allows everything else in the system to run at default values, is exciting"

"For today, the best performance choice is either today's DDR2 or tomorrow's DDR3 on the P35 chipset instead."

Dcully · 08-10-2007 5:05pm

Im guessing with the lack of response i normally see on here the spec is ok?
If all is ok im looking at ordering soon.

dazftw · 08-10-2007 7:59pm

bring down the psu to something like 850 Watt get a GTX

Slutmonkey57b · 08-10-2007 10:48pm

Dcully wrote:

Im looking at spending 2k.

Should i go with Vista?
Should i go with 4 gig ram? [need vista for that?]
Do i go with 32 or 64 bit if i go with vista?
I dont see 64 bit vista on the customize list on komplett,the options i get are vista home,business and ultimate,would business and ultimate be 64 bit in disguise?
Apologies for all the questions but i havent a clue tbh.

Heres what im looking at

Cooler Master Mystique 632, Black
Fortron Source Epsilon 1010W,Active PFC
Gigabyte GA-N680SLI-DQ6, nForce-680i SLI
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4GHz
Crucial DDR2 PC5300 4096MB CL5,
XFX GeForce 8800GTS 600M 640MB XXX GDDR3
Hitachi Deskstar T7K500 500GB SATA2
NEC DVD±RW burner AD-7170 IDE Black OEM,
Creative SB X-FI Xtreme Gamer
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Eng 32 bit

Comes to 1940 euro built and shipped.

1: You're not overclocking so the 680i motherboard is totally unneceessary.
2: As is the 1000w PSU.
3: 4gb of ram is overkill too - any app that needs that much ram is going to have more problems with vista's crap memory management scheme than it is with 3GB of physical ram.

If you're not going to overclock, get a 650i SLI board, get 2x1gig + 2x512meg ram, get a decent 600w PSU and you should have no problems. No reviewer who's bothered to investigate has been able to load a PSU over 700w - even with 2 8800 ultras, quad core, every drive bay filled etc.
Use the money you save on 2x 8800GTS 320MB or an overclocked GTX.

Dcully · 09-10-2007 9:29am

Thanks all,

Slutmonkey57b from what i read this week online you seem to be spot on about ram,psu and mobo
Quick question however, would 2x 8800GTS 320MB be better than a single 8800GTS 640MB ?
I thought 2 cards are only worth it if your running seriously high res games?
Ill be running my monitors native 1650X1050.

daveharnett · 09-10-2007 9:58am

Dcully wrote:

Ill be running my monitors native 1650X1050.

I'd say go for a branded 700w power supply (Enermax, Corsair, Thermaltake etc). Ditch the SLI and get a decent P35 board (Gigabyte GA-P35c DS3R / Asus P5K-E/ Asus P5K Deluxe) and put the dosh toward a gtx 640mb. While the 2 GTS setup has more power on paper, SLI is not all 100% efficient and you're gonna need all the 640Mb in use to run that resolution.

white_falcon · 09-10-2007 10:07am

[HTML]Well heres what I got, and it all works so smooth and was fairly easy to install it all (I say fairly easy cuz i never did it before, but now it all up and running, it was a bit easier than i thought it would be

U probably dont need the mouse or keyboard either - take off 100 from the price

py2006 · 09-10-2007 10:23am

white_falcon wrote:

[html]

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=336564 - CD drive

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=340157 - CD drive 2

Why the two dvd rw drives?

daveharnett · 09-10-2007 10:24am

What i'd do with a 2k komplett voucher: http://www.komplett.ie/k/cart.aspx?mode=share&ShoppingListId=513592

py2006 · 09-10-2007 10:25am

daveharnett wrote:

What i'd do with a 2k komplett voucher: http://www.komplett.ie/k/cart.aspx?mode=share&ShoppingListId=513592

It empty! You need to save it as a shopping list an share it or you could copy and paste the links here.

white_falcon · 09-10-2007 10:40am

daveharnett wrote:

What i'd do with a 2k komplett voucher: http://www.komplett.ie/k/cart.aspx?mode=share&ShoppingListId=513592

Shopping Cart is Empty.

Well, it seems a bit of a waste of 2k to buy nothing :eek:

white_falcon · 09-10-2007 10:42am

py2006 wrote:

Why the two dvd rw drives?

why not lol. ah i just like not having to swap discs, and sometime burn two dvds at a time. with a quad core and 4 gigs of ram, it really doesnt slow down at all, so i like havin the two of em there.

plus some applications i use, its easier to have both CD's in the drives rather than swapping every 5mins

py2006 · 09-10-2007 10:48am

white_falcon wrote:

why not lol. ah i just like not having to swap discs, and sometime burn two dvds at a time. with a quad core and 4 gigs of ram, it really doesnt slow down at all, so i like havin the two of em there.

plus some applications i use, its easier to have both CD's in the drives rather than swapping every 5mins

Ah I see! I think I need a new drive myself! Which of those two should I get?

white_falcon · 09-10-2007 10:52am

py2006 wrote:

Ah I see! I think I need a new drive myself! Which of those two should I get?

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=336564

Its a SATA drive so its easier to connect up and a bit faster apparently

Works grand for me anyway:D

py2006 · 09-10-2007 11:44am

white_falcon wrote:

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=336564

Its a SATA drive so its easier to connect up and a bit faster apparently

Works grand for me anyway:D

Do they come with the necessary cables?

white_falcon · 09-10-2007 11:48am

py2006 wrote:

Do they come with the necessary cables?

from what i remember i dont think so...no actually im fairly sure they dont. i just got a buttload of em with my motherboard, so didnt need to get any. sure u can get the sata cables for like 3.50 or so i think

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=314341

py2006 · 09-10-2007 12:12pm

white_falcon wrote:

from what i remember i dont think so...no actually im fairly sure they dont. i just got a buttload of em with my motherboard, so didnt need to get any. sure u can get the sata cables for like 3.50 or so i think

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=314341

I think I got two with my motherboard. One I am using for my hardrive. But I am not sure my psu has a second sata power cable. Its an old psu.

nibble · 09-10-2007 6:15pm

Yep when it says OEM that means you'll just get it in a brown cardboard box on its own no manual, cables etc.

Slutmonkey57b · 09-10-2007 7:14pm

daveharnett wrote:

I'd say go for a branded 700w power supply (Enermax, Corsair, Thermaltake etc). Ditch the SLI and get a decent P35 board (Gigabyte GA-P35c DS3R / Asus P5K-E/ Asus P5K Deluxe) and put the dosh toward a gtx 640mb. While the 2 GTS setup has more power on paper, SLI is not all 100% efficient and you're gonna need all the 640Mb in use to run that resolution.

He was already on a 640MB GTS, but the 2x320's will give him better performance at 16x10, especially turning on AA and AF. There's no point in him shelling out €185+ for an overclocker's P35 mobo like the PK5-E when he's not going to overclock, is there? If you don't want to go the SLI route, then get an overclocked GTX for the same money, and go for a €80-90 650i or P35 board. Any bells and whistles you get for the extra €100 on the Asus are either for overclockers or useful stuff like wifi or firewire, which are cheaper bought separately than on the high priced boards.

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=336475&view=detailed
MSI P35NEO-FI would be my recommendation for this guy. €90, firewire, Penryn support, what more does he want.
http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=335355
Evga 650i board if you want SLI.

Dcully · 10-10-2007 2:37pm

Guys im considering holding off till new year,apparantly there are new boards,cpus and gfx cards coming then.

Im thinking of going with this for now and putting in new machine later
http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=327331

But first i need to know if my current 550w ATX power supply is enough for it?
Would i see a big difference in games going from 7800GTX to 8800GTS?

Rest of current spec is AMD dual core 4200+,2 gig ddr,asus A8N Sli, would there be a bottleneck anywhere holding back that new card maybe?

py2006 · 10-10-2007 4:11pm

Just read the spec for Crysis that was released today! They recommend the 8800gts 640 or higher!!!!

Dcully · 10-10-2007 10:28pm

May i bump this please.
Really need thoughts on just adding 8800GTS to current spec or go full hog on new rig.
Im concerned if i wait till new gear comes out ill still be paying big bucks for that gear so is it prudent to wait or guy buy nice rig now?

daveharnett · 12-10-2007 12:04pm

white_falcon wrote: »

Shopping Cart is Empty.

Well, it seems a bit of a waste of 2k to buy nothing :eek:

My little protest against komplett.
Nah, i screwed up.
try again:
http://www.komplett.ie/k/shoplist.aspx?mode=receive&si=513592&su=FCBE0C01-366A-40C6-9269-3D049BCE3CCC

Polar101 · 12-10-2007 4:05pm

Dcully wrote: »

Im concerned if i wait till new gear comes out ill still be paying big bucks for that gear so is it prudent to wait or guy buy nice rig now?

Personally I never found much point in waiting for prices to drop or new things to be introduced - there's always something new or better up on the horizon. But that's just my 2c.

Dcully · 13-10-2007 7:23pm

How about this build guys?

Antec Nine Hundred black miditower, Side panel window (Without PSU)

Fortron/Source Epsilon 800W, 8 SATA, ATX/EPS, 4 PCI-E , 20/24pin

Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3P, P35, Socket-775, ATX, GbLAN, DDR2, 1333FSB, 2xPCI-Ex16

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4GHz Socket LGA775, 8MB, BOXED w/fan

2 of OCZ Platinum DDR2 PC6400 2048MB KIT, w/two 1024MB PC6400 XTC,CL4-4-4-15, Rev2

XFX GeForce 8800GTX 570M 768MB GDDR3, PCI-Express, 2xDVI/HDTV/HDCP, 384-bit

Western Digital Caviar SE16 750GB SATA2 16MB 7200RPM

Creative SB X-FI Xtreme Gamer

NEC DVD±RW burner AD-7170 IDE Black OEM, DVD+R/+RW/DVD-R/-RW/Ram (Dual layer)

Gaming build help please

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