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[Sniped Sniper…]

I'm going to buy all the parts and build a PC myself next month and I want to make sure I have everything I need written down, etc. I'm going to be using this Gaming Rig for the next... 4-5 years? Maybe 6+ even. So I need to make it like durable and throw away quite alot of cash on it. And btw I'm not going for SLI or Crossfire because it's twice the price for the 2 cards and only like 150% the power.

Could you please rate the following out of 10 and say if all the exact parts are worth? Thanks.


Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 2x 3.00Ghz - Processor    £134

Arctic Cooling Accelero S2 VGA Cooler - CPU Cooler    £12

GigaByte GA-P35-DS3 - MotherBoard      £55

2Gb Corsair DDR2 1066mhz Dominator (2x 1Gb) - RAM Memory     £36

500Gb S-ATA II 3Gb/s - Hard Drive     £37

20x DVD+RW DL S-ATA LightScribe - DVD-RW       £16

Sapphire ATI Radeon HD4850 Toxic Edition 512MB DDR3 - Graphics Card     £145

Windows XP Professional SP3 - OS    £88

Logitech MX518 Corded Optical (Laser) - Mouse      £30

Logitech G15 Keyboard (Blue Keys backlight) - KeyBoard    £52

Hiper HPU-4M880 Type M 880W SLI PSU - Power Supply Unit    £85

Creative Soundblaster Audigy SE - Soundcard     £20

Thermaltake Soprano DX VE7000BWS Black Case with Window - Case     £75

Asus LCD Monitor 17inch VW171D Widescreen Black - Monitor      £105

------------------------------
__________
___£890___
       ¯¯¯¯
Damn.


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sorry If It looks as if I'm boasting or something, I just want to make sure I have a great PC for the next few years that won't fail me. Thanks <3

[Keetmanshoop]

The processor, RAM, and video card need to be upgraded. The RAM and video card will definitely not last you the next 4-6 years. I have that sound card and it's worked fine for me for about three years now.

I'd search for parts but I just watched a documentary on how doomed we all are because we accept the monetary driven society and it has depressed and outraged me.

[Sniped Sniper…]

Ok thanks, Well which processor do you think I should go for? A Core 2 Quad 3.16ghz Maybe? I might overclock my card as well in the near future.
And oh by the way would it be possible to Switch from Normal to ATi CrossFire in the future? (2x Radeon 4850)

[Keetmanshoop]

That CPU sounds fine and as long as you have a Crossfire compatible motherboard and a healthier power supply (900w to 1100w, maybe?) it should be no problem for the double cards.

[Copper]

Ok thanks, Well which processor do you think I should go for? A Core 2 Quad 3.16ghz Maybe? I might overclock my card as well in the near future.
And oh by the way would it be possible to Switch from Normal to ATi CrossFire in the future? (2x Radeon 4850)

I have the P35C-DSR3. Basically a stripped down model of the more expensive ones. Who needs expensive extra features?

I say you forget the Zalman CNPS8700 LED and get an Artic Cooler for £10. The problem with the Zalman is that you have 120 mm fan parallel to the motherboard. It wouldn't fit on my last MB because of the motherboards's own cooling system and I can't fit a rear case fan in my case now. Which brings me to my next point, a spacious case is more important than a good looking one. Chances are you'll want to put it under your desk anyway (noisy as hell.)

Sli/Crossfire is only any good if you get both cards at once IMO. Why spend money on old tech when for a little more you can buy a faster card? Also last I checked Nvidia still had the better cards/drivers.

The keyboard pictured in your OP is the G15. G11 has no LCD.
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Ways to save money: XP Home and onboard sound is fine IMO unless you have a more expensive sound system.

[EG NeoMorph]

Copper is right about the Zalman's... They are quieter than the average cooler but the Arctic Cooler has a better cooling performance.

In fact in a shootout the Arctic Cooler outperformed models costing 6x the cost. It's only when you get those really huge coolers that need to be rigged with wire supports that it gets into more efficient cooling but will definitely have to get re-fitted if you move the box a lot (like if you go to LAN meets).

Try and find a shop that supplies bundles. You can save a bundle that way (pun intended).

One thing Eronios got erroneous is the need for Crossfire. As you are going for an nVidia gfx card you need to look for an SLI compatible motherboard and power supply. Crossfire is for Radeon dual gfx cards. If you aren't going for that then you don't need to look for it.

I do like Corsair memory, even though my first buy of performance memory with a top of the range (at the time) Asus motherboard had incompatibilities (Asus's fault). Typical that the those were the only two performance compatibility errors on the market at the time but I think it's happened a lot since... Never buy an Asus motherboard with Corsair memory heh. Gigabyte is definitely a good mobo manufacturer and I've built up a lot using Gigabyte mobo's and not had one go wrong on me...

Sign up for the newsletter offers from companies that sell components. Don't ignore some of the specialist suppliers who deal with some of the really cool stuff either.

One really confusing bit is your "Value PCMCIA USB2.0 & Firewire Cardbus - FireWire"... Most motherboards these days come with Firewire onboard. Hell, my mini-itx motherboard comes with it onboard and that's a tiny mobo and it doesn't even come on a riser... it's on the backplate.

Oh and don't forget essentials to building PCs. Arctic Silver, wire ties marker pen. The Arctic Silver for the CPU fitting, the wire ties for keeping the wires out of way (for better air circulation) and the marker pen for marking the holes to put the standoffs and listing build dates and signature.

And one last thing... Don't buy one before Jan/Feb as this is the MOST expensive time to buy a PC. I was doing the research to buy then from research I was doing recently. My only problems are experience with the latest models of CPU and GFX card. I do know that Intel are the top dog in CPU again (when I last built a PC it was AMD) and nVidia are still the top dog in GFX cards... other than that I'm brain dead from looking at all the serial numbers...

There is one thing you need to do to keep your machine (when it's built) in tiptop condition... that is get a program that will monitor your hardware drivers and keep an eye out for new releases automatically. I'm currently using Driver Detective but am not happy with it so if anyone knows a better one can you let me know?

[Sniped Sniper…]

Copper is right about the Zalman's... They are quieter than the average cooler but the Arctic Cooler has a better cooling performance.

In fact in a shootout the Arctic Cooler outperformed models costing 6x the cost. It's only when you get those really huge coolers that need to be rigged with wire supports that it gets into more efficient cooling but will definitely have to get re-fitted if you move the box a lot (like if you go to LAN meets).

Try and find a shop that supplies bundles. You can save a bundle that way (pun intended).

One thing Eronios got erroneous is the need for Crossfire. As you are going for an nVidia gfx card you need to look for an SLI compatible motherboard and power supply. Crossfire is for Radeon dual gfx cards. If you aren't going for that then you don't need to look for it.

I do like Corsair memory, even though my first buy of performance memory with a top of the range (at the time) Asus motherboard had incompatibilities (Asus's fault). Typical that the those were the only two performance compatibility errors on the market at the time but I think it's happened a lot since... Never buy an Asus motherboard with Corsair memory heh. Gigabyte is definitely a good mobo manufacturer and I've built up a lot using Gigabyte mobo's and not had one go wrong on me...

Sign up for the newsletter offers from companies that sell components. Don't ignore some of the specialist suppliers who deal with some of the really cool stuff either.

One really confusing bit is your "Value PCMCIA USB2.0 & Firewire Cardbus - FireWire"... Most motherboards these days come with Firewire onboard. Hell, my mini-itx motherboard comes with it onboard and that's a tiny mobo and it doesn't even come on a riser... it's on the backplate.

Oh and don't forget essentials to building PCs. Arctic Silver, wire ties marker pen. The Arctic Silver for the CPU fitting, the wire ties for keeping the wires out of way (for better air circulation) and the marker pen for marking the holes to put the standoffs and listing build dates and signature.

And one last thing... Don't buy one before Jan/Feb as this is the MOST expensive time to buy a PC. I was doing the research to buy then from research I was doing recently. My only problems are experience with the latest models of CPU and GFX card. I do know that Intel are the top dog in CPU again (when I last built a PC it was AMD) and nVidia are still the top dog in GFX cards... other than that I'm brain dead from looking at all the serial numbers...

There is one thing you need to do to keep your machine (when it's built) in tiptop condition... that is get a program that will monitor your hardware drivers and keep an eye out for new releases automatically. I'm currently using Driver Detective but am not happy with it so if anyone knows a better one can you let me know?

Ok thanks, well now I'll probably go for one Radeon 4850. Watched some vids on youtube and they look great for the price. Also I'm still confused about the motherboard a bit. Will the GigaByte GA-P35-DS3 work well with a Radeon 4850 and that Arctic Cooler Copper mentioned? And I'll also get rid of the Firewire then. Thanks again for the help everyone.

[nuclearHAWK87]

I have a computer. It has stuff in it. I can get internets on it. I can play wow on it. It has a CPU. Has some kind of graphics card. Has a random sound card. A board that gave birth to things....

[Copper]

Ok thanks, well now I'll probably go for one Radeon 4850. Watched some vids on youtube and they look great for the price. Also I'm still confused about the motherboard a bit. Will the GigaByte GA-P35-DS3 work well with a Radeon 4850 and that Arctic Cooler Copper mentioned? And I'll also get rid of the Firewire then. Thanks again for the help everyone.

That's a VGA cooler...you want a CPU cooler.

[EG NeoMorph]

I really need a new memory chip... mine is burned out I think...

One good site for reviews is Tom's Hardware... It has some really good reviews imho. Here is the October "Best Vid Card for the money" shootout review...


OOOOOOPS - Neo is in time travel mode again.... The link I posted was for 2006 lol... brb...

Ahhh... here we go... Sep 08... http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/Best-Graphics-Card,2011.html

[Sniped Sniper…]

I really need a new memory chip... mine is burned out I think...

One good site for reviews is Tom's Hardware... It has some really good reviews imho. Here is the October "Best Vid Card for the money" shootout review...


OOOOOOPS - Neo is in time travel mode again.... The link I posted was for 2006 lol... brb...

Ahhh... here we go... Sep 08... http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/Best-Graphics-Card,2011.html

Thanks, and yeah I've seen that. Great reviews on that site 

[Keetmanshoop]

One thing Eronios got erroneous is the need for Crossfire. As you are going for an nVidia gfx card you need to look for an SLI compatible motherboard and power supply. Crossfire is for Radeon dual gfx cards. If you aren't going for that then you don't need to look for it.

Oy! He was planning on going with ATI at the time. rar

[EG NeoMorph]

Oy! He was planning on going with ATI at the time. rar

Oh... when I looked he was going for a GeForce card... 

[shonline]

The Casing and the Keyboard are loooooking so dangerous.

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