New PC or Laptop?

[prodda]

Hi all

I’m a newbie to this forum but have built 3 or 4 systems down the years so have a basic understanding of what’s what. My last build was about 3 years ago (AMD64 San Diego 3700, MSI K8T Neo, FX5900XT, etc) which I’ve regularly upgraded but it has now ‘died’ on me.

I need to replace my last PC but don’t have the time to build it myself so am thinking of buying/customising a basic system (such as they do at Overclockers and others) and would be grateful for some advice.

The new system will be used for some gaming (CoD World at War etc), photo editing, home office, internet, web design, etc, and I have a budget of £1,000 but would be happy to spend less if possible.

My plea for help is in two parts. Firstly, for what I’m looking to do, should I go for a desktop replacement or consider a laptop? Secondly, can anyone recommend any customised systems with the right sort of specs (I’ve seen a few but to be honest since I built my last PC I haven’t kept up to date with developments).

Any help/suggestions would be much appreciated

Phil

[BeeCeeBee]

We have a number of good people on the build side of things prodda and I am sure you will get some suggestions from them as they arrive here.

[Dalo Harkin]

No laptop in the £1000 region will play those games at a decent resolution.

 

Desktops are by far the best way - unless you have limited space and need to have the PC mobile - if thats the case then you need a lappy - but dont expect anything good gaming wise from a lappy they have very limited GPU's and they struggle even more with keeping them cool.

 

Whatever you decide - you need only 2 components:-

an Intel CPU and an ATI GPU - they are the fastest offer more performance for the price - all the other components are what you personally require from them

Edited January 6, 2009 by Dalo Harkin

[prodda]

Thanks for that. Space isn't really an issue, as I'm looking to replace an existing PC so I guess that's 'no' to a lappy. I had started to look and had come across a Q6600 with an Asus P5Q and XFX NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 896MB 216 Core GDDR3 PCI-Express 2.0 - is there a better ATI alternative?

 

Thanks

[DirtyPolo]

Hey prodda, the Q6600 is a very good CPU and very good at overclocking compared to the other Quad cores.

 

as for the GPU, yes there is a better ATI alternative, I'm not sure what price you found the GTX 260 at but ATI have the HD4870

 

This can be found for around £190 for the 512MB version or £210 for the 1GB version.

as the GTX 260 is about £215. [From ebuyer.com]

 

if you google for reviews of both cards you will see the ATI outdoes the Nvidia everytime, example; here

 

and also the memory is a big giveaway of the extra performance, with the ATI using GDDR5 and the Nvidia using GDDR3

 

Hope this helps :)

[prodda]

How does this lot look? Would it work well together? I'm personally not sure about the mobo or whether the case would be good enough.

 

Intel Core 2 QUAD Q6600

Asus P5Q Pro Intel P45 DDR2 Crossfire

Samsung Spinpoint F1 HD103UJ 1TB 1000GB SATA II

Samsung SH-S223F 22X SATA Dual layer DVD±RW Writer

Asus Xonar D1 PCI Sound Card

Coolermaster CM 690 Mid Tower Case RC-690

Scythe Ninja II Heatpipe CPU Cooler

Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4870 Toxic 512MB GDDR5 PCI-Express 2.0

OCZ DDR2 PC2-8500 1066MHz 2GB 2x 1GB Crossfire Edition

 

Thanks

 

Phil

[DirtyPolo]

That setup looks fine, the only thing I will say is if you can, swap that board to maybe a P5QL Pro or similar.

 

what is your budget for a board?

 

that case is okay, it's really down to individual opinion, as Dalo Loves Antec cases, I love cooler master cases, and so on, what is your budget for a case? and I can try find alternatives for you to consider.

 

another thing I will say is that, that CPU cooler you have chosen is very large and so MAY cause a tight squash with a small case like that.

 

let me know your individual budget if you want to and I can try find alternatives for you to consider if you would like to.

 

But all in all that setup does seem fine.

 

I would also say to looka round the forum at other builds, I will recommend mine in particular as I had the same kind of objectives as to performance and my budget was £800.

Here's my thread.

 

it's a long-ish read but it covers lots of questions to do with this kind of build :)

Edited January 6, 2009 by DirtyPolo

[prodda]

Hi Dirty Polo - thanks for your thoughts. I've also had a look at your thread. Wow.

 

My topline budget for the rig is £1000 but if I can keep the spend down to about £800, I will be able to get myself a new monitor.

 

I've looked at the P5QL Pro board and it seems to be about £30 cheaper than P5Q Pro that I was looking at. I've also taken on board your comments regarding the CPU cooler - would an Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro be man enough for the job?

 

As far as the case is concerned, your Coolermaster/Antec 'discussions' in the thread were amusing. The Antec 1200 looks really great but I'm not sure that it's in my price range the HAF 932 also looks great but overall I just want something that will do the job and will help keep temperature down as much as possible.

 

Any thoughts?

[DirtyPolo]

well the Arctic freezer 7 Pro is the cooler I have on my PC as you have probably seen, and I am running a Q6600 overclocked to 3.3 GHz, and the temperatures have yet to exceed 50 degress under full load and in benchmark tests, so yes I would highly recommend that cooler, especially as the case you are looking at is a Midi case so you would not have as much sapce as a full size tower such as the HAF or Antec 1200.

 

As for cases, you also probably saw that the CM 690 was my original choice of case as I do like that case even now :)

 

The only concern I would have for you, is that the HD4870 is not a small GPU, it is about 9.5" long, but syaing that, I have seen someone fit a GTX 260 into that case and that is over 10" long, so yes the HD4870 should fit, you may have to move a HDD around or so but it will fit, but bear in mind it takes up two expansion slots :P

 

the CM 690 is bigger than the Antec equivilent of the 300 by about 3cm in each direction.

and the website states:

"Roomy interior supports nVIDIA GeForce 8800 ULTRA SLI configuration"

and as the 8800 is much bigger than a 4870 at 10.5", then it is a given "yes" that it will fit :)

 

Out of the two I would personally opt for the Cooler Master as it also has the capacity to have upto 7 x 120mm fans that will provide more than enough cooling, my HAF only has 3 main fans and an exhaust fan and it's keeping the temps down well without much effort.

 

But overall it is really down to personal choice :) we're just here to help give you and let you know all of the best options :)

[Dalo Harkin]

Just a ferw things to note here -

You system is going to get VERY hot ATI cards are like radiators -

You need a full tower case - not a midi -

 

DO not opt for the 1GB version over the 512 as you will NOT notice the difference - its just a gimmick, the bandwith of the RAM is so high if it had 4GB on it would make no difference.

 

Hard drives - I ALWAYS recommend to people that are building a new system to have a couple of HDD's

have one for the OS and programs 80GB normally suffices - and then use another drive for storage - If you play alot of games then get say a 250GB OS drive and a 500GB storage as when you install games to the C:/ drive if anything ever goes wrong and you need to reinstall the OS - you need to reinstall the games anyway.

 

PSU - do not skimp on this as a cheap PSU can cost you your CPU and/or GPU :eek:

[DirtyPolo]

Thanks for the input Dalo :)

Shows I'm still learning from the Master, all valid points that I did not follow on my build :(

 

Still need to get a backup HDD lol...

 

But thanks again :) take note Prodda, this is the Guru I get all my knowledge from :D

[Dalo Harkin]

Thanks for the input Dalo :)

Shows I'm still learning from the Master, all valid points that I did not follow on my build :(

 

Still need to get a backup HDD lol...

 

But thanks again :) take note Prodda, this is the Guru I get all my knowledge from :D

 

Even if you burn what you need to media of some kind - it's better to have a copy as even a brand new HDD can fail.

 

Just one more note - some of the MOBO's now have the SATA ports directly next to where the GPU goes once installed - with the larger GPU's you MOBO may have 4-8 SATA II ports, but you may not be able to access ANY of them - so check reviews on your MOBO and study the pictures carefully as for placement of parts - the same can be said of cases - some cases house the PSU at the top - but most are now situated at the bottom and depending on the PSU the ATX cables do not always reach :eek:

And you dont want to have to nip out to Maplin halfway through a build, or even worse PC WORLD :eek:

[prodda]

Thanks for the continued advice, at the moment, things are shaping up like this:

 

Intel Core 2 QUAD Q6600 2.40GHZ

Asus P5QL PRO Intel P43 DDR2 Motherboard

Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4870 Toxic 512MB GDDR5 PCI-Express 2.0

Coolermaster HAF 932 Black Full Tower Case RC-932

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 160GB SATA-II 8MB Cache (OEM)

Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 500GB SATA-II 32MB Cache (OEM)

Samsung SH-S223F 22X SATA Dual layer DVD±RW Writer (OEM)

Asus Xonar D1 PCI Sound Card

Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro CPU Cooler

OCZ DDR2 PC2-6400 2GB (2x1024MB) Reaper HPC Edition

 

From what I can see, I could pick that lot up for about £750 leaving plenty left in the budget but the question is 'have I got it right'? Think I need to go back to square one on the mobo as I've just read a review on Toms Hardware that says the layout is too cramped! Any mobo suggestions guys?

 

Thanks

[DirtyPolo]

How much are you willing to pay for a mobo?

 

I'll look now and get a few choices at various prices for you

[prodda]

The only currently in my spec is about £65 so a £100/£110 mobo won't break the bank. Thanks.

[DirtyPolo]

I will strongly recommend my mobo as it is great for large GPUs as I have seen with other Asus boards the SATA ports are positioned so that if you have a long GPU, it covers 4/6 of the SATA ports, but the way the P5K Premium is built, the SATA ports are at the very end of the board and rotated to use less space, leaving them uncovered by the GPU.

 

You can pick this board up for around £110

 

It also has WiFi built in so no need for a wireless card.

 

Another alternative, which also has WiFi [coincidence, as I am looking for boards with a well placed SATA and port design] is the Asus P5Q Deluxe or even the P5QC

 

These are all priced around £100-£150 depending where you look.

 

some options in the lower range from your £65 -£100 you have the option of P5QL Pro which is about £70

Or the P5Q SE2 which can be found for about £80

[prodda]

Hi guys - thanks for all your comments so far. Having spent some time looking around this is where I am at the moment:

 

- Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 "Energy Efficient SLACR 95W Edition" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail

- Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro CPU Cooler

- Antec 300 Ultimate Gaming Case

- Asus P5Q Deluxe Intel P45 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2

- HIS ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB GDDR5 - Retail

- Corsair 4GB DDR2 XMS2 PC2-6400C5 TwinX (2x2GB)

- Seagate Barracuda 500GB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM

- Corsair TX 650W ATX2.2 SLi Compliant PSU

- Pioneer DVR-216DBK 20x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter - OEM

- Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic SP1 64-Bit OEM

 

I already have a 160gb SATA II drive in my existing system which I will also put into the new build.

 

Any comments?

 

Thanks as always

 

Phil

[DirtyPolo]

All looks good to me at the moment.

 

Just a few things,

 

You stated OCZ RAM earlier, why the change to Corsair? - Just wondering as there is nothing wrong with OCZ, I'm guessing price?

 

Also, There is not really any point in getting a 64-bit OS as the drivers for them are still trying to be found far and wide, unless you have a specififc reason to go for 64-bit, then I would recommend staying with 32-bit.

 

Other than that, the rest looks good

[prodda]

Thanks Dirty Polo

 

I went back to PC6400 as I don't intend to OC but it could be OCZ or Corsair - to be honest I wouldn't know the difference.

 

With regard to the OS, I don't have any real reason for the 64-bit version - just thought it would be a bit future-proof. Presumably if I went for 32-bit, there's no point in having 4gb RAM?

[Dalo Harkin]

Also dont go for the ASUS Xonar - its a complete waste of money - you are far better getting the Creative 70SB073A02007 - Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi XtremeGamer Sound Card PCI Retail - Scan.co.uk

[DirtyPolo]

Thanks Dirty Polo

 

I went back to PC6400 as I don't intend to OC but it could be OCZ or Corsair - to be honest I wouldn't know the difference.

 

With regard to the OS, I don't have any real reason for the 64-bit version - just thought it would be a bit future-proof. Presumably if I went for 32-bit, there's no point in having 4gb RAM?

 

Personally, I don't think that you should feel the need to future proof a system with 64-bit OS's yet as there is some time yet to go before they will be fully compatible and by then another, better more stable [hopefully] OS will be out such as Windows 7 being worked on at the moment :D

 

Stick with 32-Bit as then yes, you can be fine with 2GB of RAM which would save you money too :) and you wouldn't loose any performance :)

 

If anything you will gain because 64-bit is not compatible with everything 32-bit is :D

 

And as Dalo said, Creative would be a much better choice for a sound card.

 

Also if you don't intend to OC, you could get away with using the stock cooler on the CPU and saving £15, but if you don't mind spending the extra £15, then you will get a much better cooler which is a lot quiter and more efficient :P

 

And you cna still stick with 8500 RAM if you want, even if you don't intend to OC you can still benefit from the 8500 as they are about the same price as 6400.

But it's your choice :) we're just here to advise not decide :D

Edited January 9, 2009 by DirtyPolo

[prodda]

Here's the 'final' spec:-

 

- Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 "Energy Efficient SLACR 95W Edition" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail

- Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro CPU Cooler

- Antec 300 Ultimate Gaming Case

- Asus P5Q Deluxe Intel P45 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2

- HIS ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB GDDR5 - Retail

- Corsair 4GB DDR2 XMS2 PC2-6400C5 TwinX (2x2GB)

- Seagate Barracuda 500GB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM

- Corsair TX 650W ATX2.2 SLi Compliant PSU

- Pioneer DVR-216DBK 20x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter - OEM

- Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic SP1 64-Bit OEM

 

I've decided not to try and put this lot together (don't have time and, more importantly, don't want to **** it up) and will try and purchase the compenents from a company and get them to build it for me as well (sacrilege, I know). Please excuse me if I'm not allowed to ask this question but can anyone suggest any companies that will supply & build please?

 

Thanks

 

Phil

[DirtyPolo]

- Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 "Energy Efficient SLACR 95W Edition" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail

- Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro CPU Cooler

- Antec 300 Ultimate Gaming Case

- Asus P5Q Deluxe Intel P45 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2

- HIS ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB GDDR5 - Retail

- Corsair 4GB DDR2 XMS2 PC2-6400C5 TwinX (2x2GB)

- Seagate Barracuda 500GB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM

- Corsair TX 650W ATX2.2 SLi Compliant PSU

- Pioneer DVR-216DBK 20x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter - OEM

- Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic SP1 64-Bit OEM

 

I've decided not to try and put this lot together (don't have time and, more importantly, don't want to **** it up) and will try and purchase the compenents from a company and get them to build it for me as well (sacrilege, I know). Please excuse me if I'm not allowed to ask this question but can anyone suggest any companies that will supply & build please?

 

Thanks

 

Phil

 

The only thing I would say is that I am not too sure about that case, as it is only a Mid tower case and that HD4870 is a big GPU and gets very hot as opposed to Nvidia cases, so you would probably be better off with a full size case instead.

 

And you are allowed to ask for such information, but it all depends if the company you chose has those parts, as a lot of companies I see that supply and build, tend to have a limited range of parts for you to choose from.

[Dalo Harkin]

Antec RULE

 

Just get a FULL size case as Polo says :D

[DirtyPolo]

Antec RULE

 

I'm afraid my Cooler Master HAF 932 wins 8/10 times when pitched against the Antec Nine Hundred, or even Twelve Hundred,

 

some even noted upto a 5 degree decrease when transferring their system from an Antec to the HAF :p

 

But who's counting? :)