Computer wizzes help me out please.

Garrik · December 2006

After new year im looking to do a major overhaul, well actually im just going to build a new pc from scratch, this will be the first time i wil have ever fully built a pc myself and im just looking for advice and tips, i know alot of you guys here are well up to date with the best hardware etc and i would appriciate it if you could recommend what i should get for my pc.

Im in the UK and i dont mind spending a fair amount on my PC although i dont really want to go higher than £2,500 that comes to about $4,895 for you guys in the US who read this.

So please could you guys give me a list of thing i should get this task and also and tips you may have about building one.

Thanks alot guys

Garrik

FilipinoFury · December 2006

Intel Core2 Duo E6600 or Quad Core EE6700 or E6800

Asus Str1ker 680i Motherboard

8800GTX or in SLI if you want

G.Skill 2gb (2x1gb DDR2 800) or Corsair Dominator

250gb to 750gb perpendicular storage 7200.10 or two Raptors

Lian-Li Case with FSP Group 700watt PSU or a PC Power & Cooling 1kw

If you want watercooling go with Danger Den. Or if you perfer aircooling Thermaltake Big Typhoon or any Zalman.

Get a anti-static wrist band or dont build it on carpet

You will probably need to eventually upgrade too 4gb of RAM with Vista if you want to game.

Garrik · December 2006

Originally posted by FilipinoFury
Intel Core2 Duo E6600 or Quad Core EE6700 or E6800
Asus Str1ker 680i Motherboard
8800GTX or in SLI if you want
G.Skill 2gb (2x1gb DDR2 800) or Corsair Dominator
250gb to 750gb perpendicular storage 7200.10 or two Raptors
Lian-Li Case with FSP Group 700watt PSU or a PC Power & Cooling 1kw
If you want watercooling go with Danger Den. Or if you perfer aircooling Thermaltake Big Typhoon or any Zalman.
Get a anti-static wrist band or dont build it on carpet
You will probably need to eventually upgrade too 4gb of RAM with Vista if you want to game.

Thanks alot =D ill check all those items out, im going to fo for 4gb of ram anyways i think, it will be worth it for the future anyways.

As for the GTX8800 is it simple to get them running in SLI, do you know ?

Also does anyone know any decent UK sites that i could get all this gear from.

Garrik · December 2006

managed to find most of it on ebuyer now. The only things i cant find are the lian-li cases and the asus striker 680i.

I tried the lian-li website the cases looks very nice indeed but i have no clue which one i need to fit my hardware in and it doesnt seem to let you order them straight from the website.

Any help is appriciated.

Garrik

Zepee · December 2006

Originally posted by FilipinoFury
Intel Core2 Duo E6600 or Quad Core EE6700 or E6800

Asus Str1ker 680i Motherboard

8800GTX or in SLI if you want

G.Skill 2gb (2x1gb DDR2 800) or Corsair Dominator

250gb to 750gb perpendicular storage 7200.10 or two Raptors

Lian-Li Case with FSP Group 700watt PSU or a PC Power & Cooling 1kw

If you want watercooling go with Danger Den. Or if you perfer aircooling Thermaltake Big Typhoon or any Zalman.

Get a anti-static wrist band or dont build it on carpet

You will probably need to eventually upgrade too 4gb of RAM with Vista if you want to game.

I must agree with all you wrote, however I noted something.... I'm not really up-to-date with hardware news, but isn't it about time for Ati to release their DX10 cards? Imean, he wants to buy the computer only in January, shouldn't there be a better Ati card out/nearly out?*..... Just saying not to take that graphics card as the best by the time you build the cmputer... better to wait and ask again like 1 week before you build it.

*And the same with the Intel chip... could we see a new Quad-Core processor from AMD just as 2007 starts?

paulscott · December 2006

look at the mother boards form factor. and then at the cases form factor.

the number of expansion slots. PCI(expansion cards, sound ect.) and AGP(video)

also the number and type of hardrive connection(ATA/serial)

Tinybina · December 2006

Originally posted by Garrik
managed to find most of it on ebuyer now. The only things i cant find are the lian-li cases and the asus striker 680i.I tried the lian-li website the cases looks very nice indeed but i have no clue which one i need to fit my hardware in and it doesnt seem to let you order them straight from the website.Any help is appriciated.Garrik

The person above me gave you some very good options.. Another thing I would say is that you should just go to Ibuypower.com or a site simular to it like buyxg.com and build yourself a dream computer there (and for what you can pay it will really be a dream). While you do not have to purchase from them you can or you can then go to newegg and price how much it would cost you to buy all those parts and eventually build it yourself.

I found a few of these sites to be pretty well priced compared to Alienware or another site like that, I also found them to be cheaper then buying it all on Newegg. I found that the best deal for me was to buy a Barebone system from a Ebay store (since it had a 99.9 percent rating) and then I bought the ram and vid card and a few other pieces off of Newegg.

Garrik · December 2006

Thanks guys, some great advice here and i really appriciate it, im still keepingmy options open here for now. I just need to get a pc that will be able to handle next gen games, hopefully if i get a pretty much super computer now i will only need to make some minor updates (RAM, or Graphics cards) in the next 2/3 years.

Thanks again to you all, any more info is very much welcome.

Garrik

Garrik · December 2006

Just wanted to add, you guys in the US are so lucky having so many great sites to build amazing computers at low prices. I feel kinda shafted by the choices here in the UK atm.

Guess ill have to just pay the shipping lol.

Garrik · December 2006

I just built my dream computers on both buyxg and ibuypower both came to the equivalent of 2,200ish pounds, you guys in America have it so good, getting such great retailers like them, it's a great shame they dont ship to the UK .

Does anyone know of any that do ship to the UK.

grimweeper · December 2006

Originally posted by FilipinoFury
Intel Core2 Duo E6600 or Quad Core EE6700 or E6800

Asus Str1ker 680i Motherboard

8800GTX or in SLI if you want

G.Skill 2gb (2x1gb DDR2 800) or Corsair Dominator

250gb to 750gb perpendicular storage 7200.10 or two Raptors

Lian-Li Case with FSP Group 700watt PSU or a PC Power & Cooling 1kw

If you want watercooling go with Danger Den. Or if you perfer aircooling Thermaltake Big Typhoon or any Zalman.

Get a anti-static wrist band or dont build it on carpet

You will probably need to eventually upgrade too 4gb of RAM with Vista if you want to game.

I agree 100% here, thats all top of the line, cant really get better then that.

The case doesnt matter, get whatever one you like, even cases taht dont come with psu's are good you just have to buy them seperatly, but make sure the power supply is atx and ATLEAST 600 watts, becouse tahts a powerull system.

Blurr · December 2006

I actually just did the same thing a couple weeks ago. (Dropped $4,000 CDN on a PC I built myself)

As far as a Lian Li case goes, they're supposedly nice but it's not a "must-have". Get a case you like and can live with seeing every day for the next few years. Case really is a taste sorta thing, just make sure it's ATX. You probably don't need a power supply inside the case since you likely want to replace it anyways. I personally went with the Asus Vento 7700 case. It's pretty nice, looks awesome, and has a bunch of neat features and whatnot set up already. If you like the look of it, then I'd definately recommend it.

Monitor I went with the BenQ FP241W 24" TFT Flatscreen LCD, it's absolutely beautiful. $950 CDN (Probably the best 24" on the market, according to reviews I've read).

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 will give you the best bang for your buck. The next processor up in the line is almost double the price, for not that much gain. Anything above the e6600 you're basically paying for the Overclocking ability, which is nice but not necessary with these already awesome cpus. Besides this one overclocks quite well anyways.

The Asus Striker Extreme (680i) motherboard is a great motherboard but it's got a couple drawbacks. Firstly, Asus has shit for tech support. Secondly, if you're using their sound card that comes in the mobo, you may notice crackling in the sound, it's not hard to fix but kinda annoying, and asus hasn't bothered to fix it in an update yet. The drawback you'll most notice though is that it's near impossible to get. I actually got the last one in the city when I got mine (biggest city in the country) and they had all sold out the day they were shipped. I would still recommend it though, it's got great cooling and great features.

8800GTX is what you want for a video card, hands down. It beats every other card on the market right now, sometimes by double. It's absolutely no contest. You can even get an HD setup going with this card. Personally I play BF2142 and all my other games at 1920x1200 (with the BenQ 24" monitor) and it doesn't even flinch. You don't need to SLi them because they're already so powerful already. Instead of buying a second one, use the money on other parts for your system. You can always just get another one later if graphics becomes a problem, which it won't for a long time. As far as ATi cards, I don't trust their compatibility. If you're worried about ATi launching their new cards, I suppose you could wait, but even then I'd recommend getting an nVidia card, as they will be launching another set of cards to show up Ati once again. I went with the BFG model, their support and everything is really nice. Also note that the 8800 cards are very very long. Getting mine in the case was a very tight fit, I had to fiddle with it for a good 5 minutes just to get it in properly because it's almost right up against the hard drive cage (some cases have a HDD cage underneat the drive bay set so you don't have to take up space there). Again, not a huge deal but if you're doing anything smaller than an ATX you're in trouble, or if your case has some weird thing in the bottom/front.

Ram you want probably 2gb as well. 1gb will do you, but 2 is always better. Plus MMOs benefit alot from more ram. I personally went with the Corsair "Dominator" Twin2X 6400c4d. They were a decent price, easy to install, and will respond well to OC'ing if I ever need to. 4gb will do you well but it's almost overkill at this point. I haven't been able to use up all of my 2gb even playing MMOs or FPSs, but it's not like the 4gb will hurt you.

Hard drive, I went with Western Digital Caviar 2 SE 250gb, there's alot of leeway on hard drives cause they pretty much all work. Western Digital is generally a good brand to go with. Make sure your HD is SATA though, as it's a better interface from everything I've seen. Raptor is okay but the rpm doesn't make a huge difference, and you'll notice that all raptor HDs have lower space. Generally anything over 200gb is probably fine, but you know what you want to put on it and whatnot.

For cooling, you really don't need water cooling, unless you're in one of 3 situations. 1) You want the "neat" factor of having a watercooling setup 2) you're having problems with temperature (which you probably won't) or 3) you want absolutely no noise on your system . Anything beyond those three is basically just for showing off, like how cool can you get your cpu. I went with a Zalman 9500-LED fan and it's great. I can't really even hear it, and it keeps my cpu at a nice 33 degrees. I would definately recommend getting some Arctic Silver 5 thermal grease to put between your cpu and cooling unit though, it will help alot.

An anti-static wristband will be useful to you as well. They're not very expensive and can mean the difference between having to buy a second set of ram because you shorted out the first. The strap is a MUST if you're building on carpet. Otherwise just be sure to touch the metal part of your case (or plugged in power supply) before you touch any of your components. I actually had a discharge just from walking down a hallway with carpet to get a soda, and I'm really glad I touched my case cause the zap went to the case (harmless) instead of the ram I was about to pick up.

Power supply I went with the OCZ GameXstream 700W unit. 500w is probably the bare minimum, I'd recommend anything 600w or higher. Also with the 8800 card, it requires 2 extra power cables specifically for itself, so I'd recommend making sure that whatever powersupply you get, it's got atleast 2 (preferably 4) of the +12v lines. The only downside with the GameXstream series is it's got a ton of cables and they're not modular, so they all gotta be stuck in the case and take up space, not a huge deal but not clean either.

For a sound card, the Asus Striker Extreme motherboard does come with a soundcard, and it's pretty decent, but if you want a good sound card, you can't go wrong with any of the X-Fi series of Creative cards. The X-Fi extreme music is the basic model and is more than enough to make your ears happy.

CD drive is really up to you. I'd recommend getting a drive that does both CDs and DVDs cause both are still in use alot. Don't forget to geta floppy drive.

So short list:
BenQ 241W 24" Monitor
Intel Core 2 Duo e6600
Asus Striker Extreme (680i) Motherboard
GeForce 8800GTX
2gb Corsair Dominator 6400c4d Ram
Western Digital 200gb+ sata drive
Zalman air cooling CPU fan (Zalman 9500 is a good one)
600w+ Power supply (OCZ GameXstream series is good, or modular cable type, see above)
X-Fi series sound card
CD/DVD drive
Basic floppy (also called Legacy) drive

Things you'll need to help you put it together:
Anti-static wrist strap
Phillips head screwdriver
Arcitc Silver 5 Thermal Grease <-- For providing good heat transfer from cpu to fan
Arciclean 1+2 purifiers <-- Incase you screw up and need to clean your fan/cpu lol
Can of air for dust blowing (ie Blow Off duster)
Lint-Free Static-Free cloths for cleaning things <-- Important to have, you can use cloths for cleaning eyeglasses

Also in closing I'd like to recommend you keep your old comptuer hooked up and active so you can go online to get help or whatever if you have a problem.

Good luck in building your system, and I'm sure we'll all like to hear how it went afterwards!
Ps. a good site that helped me was www.rabb1t.com (check his 'my pc' section) he explains alot of stuff on picking components which might help you.

Blurr · December 2006

Originally posted by Garrik

I just built my dream computers on both buyxg and ibuypower both came to the equivalent of 2,200ish pounds, you guys in America have it so good, getting such great retailers like them, it's a great shame they dont ship to the UK .
Does anyone know of any that do ship to the UK.

I know how you feel. I live in Canada and most of the US sites don't ship here either. Luckily we have a few really good Computer stores here too. Like NCIX and CanadaComputers.

One way you can check for places actually in the UK is by going to a manufacturer website of something that you want, and checking out their 'retail partners' lists. It actually helped me find my PC case when nobody else had it. For example when I went to the ASUS UK site, and checked for "Where to Buy" on motherboards, I came up with these links:

E-Tailers
-	Dabs.com
-	SCAN
-	E-buyer
-	Micro Direct

	Physical Shops
	<?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = ST1 />London Tottemham Court Road
-	Yoyotech
-	Computashop
-	Epsilon

So you might try those guys. I have no idea if they're any good (i didn't check them myself) but they're on the Asus website so they should be able to help you get Asus things, like the Striker Extreme motherboard.

RedHermit · December 2006

Don't buy an expensive graphics card just yet... DX10 is just around the corner and there will be a whole new wave of awesome graphics cards on the shelves then.

Garrik · December 2006

Wow, awesome help again big thanks to Blurr for that very in depth post.

I just found a site called CyperPowerSystems and its basically the same setup as ibuypower etc but they are in the UK, so im happy about that.

Im finding myself going slightly over budget though, mainly with the cpu and graphics cards. I wanted to get 2 8800 gtx's just for the super power that it would bring, over-kill i know but thats what im like. My other problem came with the cpu, is it worth getting the quad-core, core 2 extreme QX6700 2.66GHZ instead of say the core 2 duo E6700 2.66GHz or the Duo E6600 @ 2.4 GHz, would it make that great a difference for the extra 400 pounds id be spending.

I could go with my super build and get it for about 2600 without the VAT that is (not a problem anyways) or i could probably knock it down to a more comfy 2300ish, that would be without quad-core though, i think i would still want to get the 8800 in a pair for SLI, id also be getting a 1100w PSU to go with it to.

Hmmmmm

This is so difficult lol.

Garrik

Garrik · December 2006

Originally posted by RedHermit
Don't buy an expensive graphics card just yet... DX10 is just around the corner and there will be a whole new wave of awesome graphics cards on the shelves then.

Yes i suppose your correct there actually and that is probably a good idea.

hmmmm

elvigy · December 2006

Originally posted by Blurr
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 will give you the best bang for your buck. The next processor up in the line is almost double the price, for not that much gain. Anything above the e6600 you're basically paying for the Overclocking ability, which is nice but not necessary with these already awesome cpus. Besides this one overclocks quite well anyways.

This is a good point. Getting the quad core, while nice if you can afford it, doesn't do much for you and won't for a while. Only recently have programs started to make good use of dual cores, there is nothing on the horizon that I'm aware of, off the top of my head, that would make getting a quad core worth the extra money.

Tinybina · December 2006

Originally posted by Garrik
Originally posted by RedHermit
Don't buy an expensive graphics card just yet... DX10 is just around the corner and there will be a whole new wave of awesome graphics cards on the shelves then.

Yes i suppose your correct there actually and that is probably a good idea.

hmmmm

I purchased a 7950 gt 513Mb from eVGA due to this. eVGA has a 90 day step up program where you can use the card you bought and basicly send it in and get a discount on a better card, and in this case it will be a 8xxx series card if I choose to do that in 90 days.

Also reading your other post might I suggest you look at buying certain parts like Ram, Powersupply, Video card, etc from Newegg or another site like that. When I purchased some of my system on Newegg and some of it on a computer site it came out cheaper then buying it all on one site. Also keep in mind that Newegg has bundle deals, which will help you lower your cost.

Blurr · December 2006

Glad you found a good site to buy from.

As far as going over budget, I have some thoughts.

First of all, getting two 8800gtx is over kill by far, I mean like way overkill. I have just 1 8800gtx and it's overkill for any game on the market. Seriously any game you can give me, I can run at highest settings without any slowdown. Oblivion is a piece of cake for the 8800gtx. I would recommend starting with just 1 so you can stay within budget, and then you can get another one once you get more money, lol.

The thing about dual core and quad core is that dual core isn't even really that necessary at this point. Unless the game is specifically made to do otherwise, all games can only ever run on 1 core at a time. (atleast, I've never heard of one that runs on 2) This means that while you may have 2 cores, only 1 will be running the game, and the other will take care of everything else (running programs etc). If you have a quad core, then 1 core will be running the game, and 3 cores will spread out everything else. Now if you run lots of high cpu-intensive programs, then yeah a quad core might be good for you. But if you're only ever running 1 game at a time and a few other things, then a dual core is plenty. The Core 2 "Extreme" series is basically the same as the other Core 2 series, except the main difference is that they've had their multiplier unlocked. This is tech speak for "extra overclocking potential". See the QX6700 is the exact same as the e6700, except that the multiplier is unlocked. The difference in price is huge though. With a 6600 you can easily overclock it to 3.6ghz if you need to. The e6700 was approximately double the price of the 6600 last time I looked, which is nuts considering the difference is a simple 0.26 Ghz. If that worries you, simply Overclock the 6600 (it can take it quite well). With the QX series it's almost the same clock speed they're just made to overclock a little easier, there's more potential for the hardcore overclocker. So unless you're really really into overclocking, I really strongly recommend only the e6600 or e6700. The extra you're paying for is all a tax on "ease of overclocking".

An 1100w PSU might be way overkill too. I'm sure my 700w could cover two 8800gtx's in SLi, but at the very least perhaps you should think about dropping it down to maybe an 850w or something. Power supplies are most energy efficient when they're close to their rated wattage. You'd probably save another 100 or so pounds I bet.

In short:
2 8800gtx = overkill, 1 would be just fine, however I won't blame you if you absolutely have to have 2
Quad Core = unnecessary, dual core is more than enough unless you run 3 or more high cpu programs (like video editing)
QX6700 = paying for extreme overclocking, e6600 or e6700 is plenty if you're not hardcore on oc'ing
1100w PSU = crazy overkill, you can drop it down to 850w and still have plenty, or 900w if you want, which will save $$

I only have 1 8800gtx, and my cpu is a e6600 not overclocked, and I still get scores of 10,000 on 3dMark06. That's a great score and you should be able to easily reach that without going over your budget.

Garrik · December 2006

Originally posted by Blurr
Glad you found a good site to buy from.
As far as going over budget, I have some thoughts.
First of all, getting two 8800gtx is over kill by far, I mean like way overkill. I have just 1 8800gtx and it's overkill for any game on the market. Seriously any game you can give me, I can run at highest settings without any slowdown. Oblivion is a piece of cake for the 8800gtx. I would recommend starting with just 1 so you can stay within budget, and then you can get another one once you get more money, lol.
The thing about dual core and quad core is that dual core isn't even really that necessary at this point. Unless the game is specifically made to do otherwise, all games can only ever run on 1 core at a time. (atleast, I've never heard of one that runs on 2) This means that while you may have 2 cores, only 1 will be running the game, and the other will take care of everything else (running programs etc). If you have a quad core, then 1 core will be running the game, and 3 cores will spread out everything else. Now if you run lots of high cpu-intensive programs, then yeah a quad core might be good for you. But if you're only ever running 1 game at a time and a few other things, then a dual core is plenty. The Core 2 "Extreme" series is basically the same as the other Core 2 series, except the main difference is that they've had their multiplier unlocked. This is tech speak for "extra overclocking potential". See the QX6700 is the exact same as the e6700, except that the multiplier is unlocked. The difference in price is huge though. With a 6600 you can easily overclock it to 3.6ghz if you need to. The e6700 was approximately double the price of the 6600 last time I looked, which is nuts considering the difference is a simple 0.26 Ghz. If that worries you, simply Overclock the 6600 (it can take it quite well). With the QX series it's almost the same clock speed they're just made to overclock a little easier, there's more potential for the hardcore overclocker. So unless you're really really into overclocking, I really strongly recommend only the e6600 or e6700. The extra you're paying for is all a tax on "ease of overclocking".
An 1100w PSU might be way overkill too. I'm sure my 700w could cover two 8800gtx's in SLi, but at the very least perhaps you should think about dropping it down to maybe an 850w or something. Power supplies are most energy efficient when they're close to their rated wattage. You'd probably save another 100 or so pounds I bet.
In short:2 8800gtx = overkill, 1 would be just fine, however I won't blame you if you absolutely have to have 2 Quad Core = unnecessary, dual core is more than enough unless you run 3 or more high cpu programs (like video editing)QX6700 = paying for extreme overclocking, e6600 or e6700 is plenty if you're not hardcore on oc'ing1100w PSU = crazy overkill, you can drop it down to 850w and still have plenty, or 900w if you want, which will save $$
I only have 1 8800gtx, and my cpu is a e6600 not overclocked, and I still get scores of 10,000 on 3dMark06. That's a great score and you should be able to easily reach that without going over your budget.

Once again Blurr you have just cleared up all my problems, iv just re-built the machine and i can easily keep it within budget now, i guess the machine i was making originally, although great, it was abit O.T.T so yeah, im going with the single 8800GTX and im still deciding between e6600 and the e6700, as you said both are great and will run things amazingly for quite some time yet. As for the psu, i went with 1100 originally because i rad that to sli 8800GTX's it barely does it with a 700w psu, others said it was fine with a 700w psu. So me being me, i thought i would future proof it and go with a 1100w psu lol.

So how does this sound now then :

Case = a phat case with plenty of space and cooling.
Mobo = Asus striker 680i
RAM = Corsair xms2 (or whatever it is) 2gb (2x1gig) (ill probably make that 4gig )
Graphics card = 8800GTX

And im getting one of those physics things wether there good or not hehe.

Thanks again

Garrik

Iltorque · December 2006

Originally posted by Garrik After new year im looking to do a major overhaul, well actually im just going to build a new pc from scratch, this will be the first time i wil have ever fully built a pc myself and im just looking for advice and tips, i know alot of you guys here are well up to date with the best hardware etc and i would appriciate it if you could recommend what i should get for my pc.
Im in the UK and i dont mind spending a fair amount on my PC although i dont really want to go higher than £2,500 that comes to about $4,895 for you guys in the US who read this.
So please could you guys give me a list of thing i should get this task and also and tips you may have about building one.
Thanks alot guys
Garrik

sometimes when I start up my computer it makes this wierd low sounding grinding n oise than ti slowly fades away. haha

Blurr · December 2006

The 8800gtx only takes about 300w or so at full load (I read this somewhere, I forget where though), so a 700w could handle two of them if necessary.

Just about any ATX case should do, make sure you like it. If it comes with a good cooling setup, that's even better. You might think about getting a case with fans already built in (read reviews to make sure they're not just crap fans stuck in), that way you don't have to install them yourself and they are generally placed out of the way. As long as you don't have anything sticking out into the lower parts of the mid/back area, you should be fine with just about any ATX case.

The other things you mentioned look good. 4gig of ram won't hurt at all if it's within budget

One thing I might mention is about the Ageia PhysX card. Basically you're paying a couple hundred pounds (I think) for a card whose sole purpose is to deal with physics calculations. This may sound good but it only deals with things like explosions and projectiles and stuff. Things that fly or break or blow up will look somewhat better, but it won't affect the graphics of the world around you or your character or anything. So basically you're paying for better explosions and falling stuff. Also the biggest point is that the PhysX card only works if the game is specifically designed to use it. This means that for the majority of games, it won't even be working.

The list of PC games PhysX works on:
Bet on Soldier
City of Villains
Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter
Auto Assault
Rise of Legends
Unreal Tournament 2007

There's a few more I left out (10 max) because you probably never heard of them. Note that there's only 2 MMOs in there at all. So these are the only games that the PhysX card will even work with, and you'll be paying a couple hundred pounds to get only a mediocre gain to the way things go down in the game. I would suggest that unless you're hardcore into one of these games, don't even bother buying the card. The only one of those games that might be worth thinking about it (for me anyways) would be UT2k7 just because its an FPS and stuff will be blowing up etc all the time. That game isn't even out yet though, lol.

Also on a side note, the new 680i motherboards all have an extra slot put in by nVidia that many people are pretty sure is for a physics card, and the consensus is that this means nVidia will be putting out its own physics card in the near future. Hopefully one from nVidia would be better supported and work with most games.

So the other stuff is good, but with the Ageia Physx card, you may be paying a couple hundred pounds for it to sit there like a lump and not actually do anything.

Garrik · December 2006

Originally posted by Blurr
The 8800gtx only takes about 300w or so at full load (I read this somewhere, I forget where though), so a 700w could handle two of them if necessary.
Just about any ATX case should do, make sure you like it. If it comes with a good cooling setup, that's even better. You might think about getting a case with fans already built in (read reviews to make sure they're not just crap fans stuck in), that way you don't have to install them yourself and they are generally placed out of the way. As long as you don't have anything sticking out into the lower parts of the mid/back area, you should be fine with just about any ATX case.
The other things you mentioned look good. 4gig of ram won't hurt at all if it's within budget
One thing I might mention is about the Ageia PhysX card. Basically you're paying a couple hundred pounds (I think) for a card whose sole purpose is to deal with physics calculations. This may sound good but it only deals with things like explosions and projectiles and stuff. Things that fly or break or blow up will look somewhat better, but it won't affect the graphics of the world around you or your character or anything. So basically you're paying for better explosions and falling stuff. Also the biggest point is that the PhysX card only works if the game is specifically designed to use it. This means that for the majority of games, it won't even be working.
The list of PC games PhysX works on:Bet on SoldierCity of VillainsGhost Recon: Advanced WarfighterAuto AssaultRise of LegendsUnreal Tournament 2007
There's a few more I left out (10 max) because you probably never heard of them. Note that there's only 2 MMOs in there at all. So these are the only games that the PhysX card will even work with, and you'll be paying a couple hundred pounds to get only a mediocre gain to the way things go down in the game. I would suggest that unless you're hardcore into one of these games, don't even bother buying the card. The only one of those games that might be worth thinking about it (for me anyways) would be UT2k7 just because its an FPS and stuff will be blowing up etc all the time. That game isn't even out yet though, lol.
Also on a side note, the new 680i motherboards all have an extra slot put in by nVidia that many people are pretty sure is for a physics card, and the consensus is that this means nVidia will be putting out its own physics card in the near future. Hopefully one from nVidia would be better supported and work with most games.
So the other stuff is good, but with the Ageia Physx card, you may be paying a couple hundred pounds for it to sit there like a lump and not actually do anything.

I cant thank you enough for the posts and information included in them that you are constructing blurr, they are helping me out no end, i know a fair bit about hardware, enough to get by but not enough to know exactly what setup is optimum and which would be overkill and in turn worthless.

I guess ill wait for the physx card then in hopes that one will come out from nVidia, so again im saving a few extra pounds here its about £140 so thats awesome.

I just have one last question (im pretty much set up now thanks to you) all it is, do you think its worth me getting my rig setup in january-ish, or would i be better wiating for direct x 10 cards and the new release of processors from amd. I know i could go on forever waiting for the next best thing, are the 8800gtx cards directx 10 ?

Im very excited for age of conan that will probably be the game that the machine will be playing most.

Thanks again Blurr, i look forward to reading another knowledgeable article from you.

Garrik

Rabiator · December 2006

Originally posted by grimweeper
Originally posted by FilipinoFury
Intel Core2 Duo E6600 or Quad Core EE6700 or E6800

Asus Str1ker 680i Motherboard

8800GTX or in SLI if you want

G.Skill 2gb (2x1gb DDR2 800) or Corsair Dominator

250gb to 750gb perpendicular storage 7200.10 or two Raptors

Lian-Li Case with FSP Group 700watt PSU or a PC Power & Cooling 1kw

If you want watercooling go with Danger Den. Or if you perfer aircooling Thermaltake Big Typhoon or any Zalman.

Get a anti-static wrist band or dont build it on carpet

You will probably need to eventually upgrade too 4gb of RAM with Vista if you want to game.

I agree 100% here, thats all top of the line, cant really get better then that.

The case doesnt matter, get whatever one you like, even cases taht dont come with psu's are good you just have to buy them seperatly, but make sure the power supply is atx and ATLEAST 600 watts, becouse tahts a powerull system.

With that amount of power and generated heat, I have to disagree:

The case is important in the sense that it should have good ventilation. In at the front or maybe at the side, out at the rear and through the power supply.As a minimum, I'd want
-generous air inlets at the front
-an additional case fan near the CPU area that helps the power supply to draw the hot air out of the case.

grimweeper · December 2006

Originally posted by Rabiator
Originally posted by grimweeper
Originally posted by FilipinoFury
Intel Core2 Duo E6600 or Quad Core EE6700 or E6800

Asus Str1ker 680i Motherboard

8800GTX or in SLI if you want

G.Skill 2gb (2x1gb DDR2 800) or Corsair Dominator

250gb to 750gb perpendicular storage 7200.10 or two Raptors

Lian-Li Case with FSP Group 700watt PSU or a PC Power & Cooling 1kw

If you want watercooling go with Danger Den. Or if you perfer aircooling Thermaltake Big Typhoon or any Zalman.

Get a anti-static wrist band or dont build it on carpet

You will probably need to eventually upgrade too 4gb of RAM with Vista if you want to game.

I agree 100% here, thats all top of the line, cant really get better then that.

The case doesnt matter, get whatever one you like, even cases taht dont come with psu's are good you just have to buy them seperatly, but make sure the power supply is atx and ATLEAST 600 watts, becouse tahts a powerull system.

With that amount of power and generated heat, I have to disagree:

The case is important in the sense that it should have good ventilation. In at the front or maybe at the side, out at the rear and through the power supply.As a minimum, I'd want
-generous air inlets at the front
-an additional case fan near the CPU area that helps the power supply to draw the hot air out of the case.

WATERCOOLING FTW!!

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