First Home Build

[H3eadshot]

Hi, I've been researching forums and reviews the last few weeks non-stop gathering info and this is going to be my first build and I'd appreciate if you could critique it or maybe offer some suggestions to lower the price without losing any gaming power?

PS I did post in ''proper'' PC build forums but there's not a very promising Xpert:Noob Ratio there so I couldn't get too much help since my thread dissapears of the page in 6 hours...

Here goes..

mobo: ABIT FATAL1TY AN9 32X __ £99.99 Fagtal1ty ftw LOL.

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ __ £99.95

GPU: Novatech GeForce 8800GTS 640MB __ £192.00

Sound: Creative X-Fi Xtreme Gamer __ £58.74 (Please can anyone offer good excuses for the addition of this? Some people on this forum say this is the best investment you can make. On TomsHardware forums I was labelled an Audiophile :/)

RAM: 4Gb G.Skill DDR2 PC2-6400 PQ CL5 Series 800MHz Dual __ £141.11

HDD: 320gb SATA2 7200rpm Seagate __ £36.50

Case: Antec Nine Hundred Ultimate Gamer Case __ £57.50

PSU: Antec Neo HE500GB 500W ATX PSU __ £54.99

OS: Microsoft Windows XP Professional w/SP2 __ £67.19

Total minus Shipping. £807.12

Thanks in advance :]

[DOAW]

One thing I see is that you have 4gb of RAM. Thats fine, but if you want to use more than 3gb of that RAM, you need to have a 64 bit OS. You don't mention which version of XP Pro you're getting, bu they do have a 64 bit XP Pro. Not sure on the cost, but it couldn't be too much more.

[H3eadshot]

Thanks for your comments.

Tbh I'd rather save the extra £150 to just use the 3.3gb of the RAM that XP utilises.

Apparently the extra 0.7gb still is active in running backround programs.

[NYgurkha]

you do know that DX.10 is not useable without Vista.

[Ecko]

Originally Posted by NYgurkha

you do know that DX.10 is not useable without Vista.

At the moment, I've heard it's going to be released on XP systems. And if not, I'm sure some g33k will figure out a patch.

[[R-DEV]Masaq]

I'd hold off on buying a good graphics card. Get a low-end one that'll tide you over until the market has sorted itself out.

The DX10.1 update for DirectX will render existing hardware obselete. No idea why Microsoft has done it like that, but they have.

I also think you're daft for going with an AMD chip at present. Fanboy type comments aside, Intel processors really are miles ahead at the minute and AMB are just playing catchup.

Core 2 Duos - like the E6750 for example - can already run on a 1333Mhz FSB, and with the 45nm Penryn chips not too far in the future, the slimmer archtecture will keep Intel ahead for the forseeable future.

If you're going to upgrade now, a good P35 chipset board will see you through the transition to 45nm, and some boards actually contain dual DIMMs for DDR2 and DDR3 modules (although you can't run both at once).

If you can hold off until Intel's next chipset is released, the performance gains will be even larger.

I know it's a commen thing in PC building "Wait for the next big thing..." but in this case, waiting for DX10.1 is definitely advised and waiting for the x38 chipset would be a smart move - since you obviously have the cash to buy high performance kit.

[H3eadshot]

Funny you mention intel, Masaq, I was browsing last night and realised maybe a Gigabyte GA-P35T-DQ6 P35 + Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 Dual Core Processor would perform much better, AMD seem to perform better in regular windows apps., but I will not use any of these to a high enough standard for me to worry about whereas I'll mostly be gaming..

I'm hesitant about waiting for Intel's next chipset, mainly because I know it will cost an absolute bomb, I'm already over my limit so I'm going to but the sound
card out completely as the processor and mobo shouldn't be struggling to do the sound themselves..

Also I'm not really too bothered about dx10.1, I find it highly unlikely a new 1.1 supergame will appear and convince me to buy Vista+New hardware for at least a year.

Anyway, there's a huge PC components warehouse near me which I need to check out, should save money there. The HDD will be from there and at £36.50 its amazingly cheap compared with the closest price on the internet being £53.59, from tekheads.co.uk.

Also opting for a budget case - Tsunami Leo - from the warehouse, complete with 450W PSU will only set me back £22.50! Bargain.

Also following Masaqs advice I'll stay clear from Top-End GPU's for now and possibly get a GeForce 8600GTS 512MB PCI-E HDCP for £128.

To reduce price more I can get my hands on 3Gb DDR2 PC800memory for only £79.

With all these changes the price will be down to: £613.15 :]]


Renewed system as follows..


Gigabyte motherboard GA-P35T-DQ6 P35 £113.96

Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 Dual Core Processor £165.93

3 X 1 Gb DDR2 PC800 £79

320gb SATA2 7200rpm Seagate £36.50

GeForce 8600GTS 512MB PCI-E HDCP. £128.07

Tsunami Leo ATX Case + 450W PSU £22.50

OS: Microsoft Windows XP Professional w/SP2 £67.19


Thanks for everyones help so far, but I would love to hear your views/thoughts on this newer build. :]Thanks

[NYgurkha]

Why dont you just get 2 Nvidia 7950's and SLI it instead of getting a 8600 Ggts? it only has DX9 but its still a worthy contender and cheap.

Useful link withh price comparison of GPU's
Linkity poo