Core 2 Duo < £1k

EdinAndy · 4 Aug 2006 at 01:17

Hi guys,

I'm looking to buy a new gaming PC to replace my current one: XP2200, 512MB, ATI X800Pro.

I'm not going to overclock with it (never really done it before) but I do want it to be as quiet as possible.

Here's what I've bought so far (I stuck an order in as soon as I saw the E6400 was available!):

£61.95 x 1 - Tagan TG530-U15 530W ATX2.01 Easycon SLi Compliant Modular Silent PSU (CA-008-TG)
£42.50 x 1 - Samsung SpinPoint P SP2504C 250GB SATA-II 8MB Cache - OEM (HD-018-SA)
£51.95 x 1 - Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition inc. SP2 - OEM - 1Pk (N09-01528) (OS-001-MS)
£5.95 x 1 - OcUK Value Floppy Drive - Black (HD-001-OK)
£15.95 x 2 - AcoustiFan DustProof Quiet 120mm Fan - 3 pin (FG-005-AF)
£139.95 x 1 - Intel Core 2 DUO E6400 "LGA775 Alendalle" 2.13GHz (1066FSB) - OEM (CP-137-IN)

Total: 403.21

So that leaves the mobo, memory, graphics card, HSF, case and CD drive. How does this look? :

MB-062-GI Gigabyte GA_965P_DS4 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard (MB-062-GI)
£104.95 £104.95
HS-011-ZA Zalman CNPS7700-ALCU Ultra-Quiet CPU Cooler - Retail (HS-011-ZA)
£18.95 £18.95
CA-005-AK Akasa Eclipse 62 Aluminium Case (CA-005-AK)
£69.95 £69.95
MY-083-CR Crucial 1GB (2x512MB) DDR2 PC2-5300C5 Dual Channel Kit (CT2KIT6464AA667) (MY-083-CR)
£59.95 £59.95
CD-041-PO Pioneer DVR-111BK 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter - (Black) OEM (CD-041-PO)
£22.95 £22.95
GX-040-GW Gainward BLISS Geforce 7900 GT "Golden Sample" 256MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-040-GW)
£164.95 £164.95
Subtotal £441.70
Shipping (City Link Parcel Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri)) £9.95
VAT £79.04
Total £530.69

That's a total of £933.90

What do you think?

semi-pro waster · 4 Aug 2006 at 01:26

If you aren't going to overclock I'd say get a cheaper motherboard, there has also been talk of issues with memory compatability so maybe something like the Intel motherboard based on the 965 chipset which is cheaper and doesn't appear to have any issues.

I'd definitely aim for 2gb Ram, it is cheap and won't do any harm even if you don't often need it.

Finally I'd change the graphics card to an X1800XT 256mb, it is cheaper and doesn't suffer from the reliability problems that affect some 7900gts.

Other than that it ought to be a nice system.

hairyhen · 4 Aug 2006 at 04:09

Hows about the Artic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro, in lieu of the Zalman?

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2006/08/01/conroe_heatsink_group_test/1.html

Zefan · 4 Aug 2006 at 04:12

With those two cut downs of price (The x1800xt the arctic cooler) you should be able to stretch to 2GB of ram aswell

UKTopGun · 4 Aug 2006 at 11:15

I'd change:

7900GT to X1800XT (+£43)
Crucial 1GB to G.Skill 2GB DDR2 LA PC2-5400 (-£47)
Gigabyte Motherboard to Asrock ConroeXFire-eSATA2 (+£60)
Zalman CPU Cooler to Artic freezer 7 Pro (+£9)

That leaves you with an extra £65 to spend on something else which I would have said to put towards a E6600 but as you have already bought a E6400 nvm!

fenderbass86 · 4 Aug 2006 at 11:18

Don't get the G.Skill ram, get some Corsair XMS2.

UKTopGun · 4 Aug 2006 at 11:26

fenderbass86 said:
Don't get the G.Skill ram, get some Corsair XMS2.

Why? It's more expensive and has the same latency?

fenderbass86 · 4 Aug 2006 at 11:30

G.Skill isn't working with many 965 motherboards at the moment.

Stelly · 4 Aug 2006 at 11:34

fenderbass86 said:
G.Skill isn't working with many 965 motherboards at the moment.

If your going to get G.Skill get the HZ series mate

Stelly

UKTopGun · 4 Aug 2006 at 11:37

Stelly said:
If your going to get G.Skill get the HZ series mate

Stelly

But is it worth spending that much if hes not going to overclock?

ZXSpectrum · 4 Aug 2006 at 11:39

If you are not bothered about Overclocking get the Intel board... They are solid as a big, solid, solidlike thingy!

That should give you a bit extra to get 2Gb of ram...

And i would personally go for a X1800XT ...

EdinAndy · 6 Aug 2006 at 23:10

Hi guys,

Thanks for all the replies!

Is there any benefit to me having PC2-6400 over PC2-5300 RAM when I'm not overclocking?

Still thinking about what to get - but hoping to put the order in soon!

fenderbass86 · 7 Aug 2006 at 07:40

No, stick with PC2-5300 if you're not overclocking, you could even get some value RAM at PC2-4200.

Stelly · 7 Aug 2006 at 08:50

fenderbass86 said:
No, stick with PC2-5300 if you're not overclocking, you could even get some value RAM at PC2-4200.

Yes I agree if your not overclocking get the PC2-5300

Stelly

melchy · 7 Aug 2006 at 09:32

I'd probably pick up the Black Lian Li PC7+ case as well which will save a little more money.