Can you guys check my specs please :)

Welshy · 17 Aug 2007 at 21:02

Hey guys, just having a look at getting the rest of my system, and here's the spec I've come up with:

Linksys WMP55AG Dual-Band Wireless A+G PCI Adapter £6.99

NEC AD7170A 18x18 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM £15.99

Antec Sonata III Piano Black Quiet Case - EarthWatts 500W PSU £67.99

Xilence XPF120R Red Wing 120mm Quiet Fan Xilence XPF120R Red Wing 120mm Quiet Fan £5.99

OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) PC2-8500 1066MHz SLI-Ready Edition Dual Channel DDR2 (OCZ2N1066SR2GK) £89.99

OcUK GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail £149.99

Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro CPU Cooler (Socket 775) £11.99

Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 "LGA775 Conroe" 3.00GHz (1333FSB) - Retail £151.99

Acoustic Energy Aego M 2.1 Speakers (Black) - Retail £66.99

Hitachi Deskstar T7K500 NCQ 320GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM £38.99

Total: £606.90 (all prices excl VAT)

You may have noticed a motherboard is missing, I've already bought a EVGA nForce 680i SLi (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard (122-CK-NF68-A1) off of someone over at MM, and an audigy2 ZS.

Would like a system that is quiet, good upgradability, good music system, and is relatively good at games (but not fussed about super duper graphics). Budget of around £600 really, though slightly flexible).

Are all these parts compatible and good for my budget? Thanks

MattJones2k6 · 17 Aug 2007 at 21:40

I would swap the hdd for a western digital, i just found them to be a better quality over the years and if anything does go wrong with them .... their quality of customer service is excellent!

truebluecfc · 17 Aug 2007 at 21:54

I'd get a Q6600 and you could spend less on the RAM.

Welshy · 17 Aug 2007 at 21:57

truebluecfc said:
I'd get a Q6600 and you could spend less on the RAM.

What would be the reason for getting a slower CPU?

Kalpsn2000 · 17 Aug 2007 at 22:01

The quads clock very well. Should get to 3.2GHz pretty easily.

But you would need a cooler such as the Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme or Tuniq Tower 120.

truebluecfc · 17 Aug 2007 at 22:04

Welshy said:
What would be the reason for getting a slower CPU?

Well because its the same price as the E6850 and you get 2 extra cores with it, yes its got a lower stock clock speed however the Q6600 will comfortably OC to 3GHz.

If you think your not need the Q6600 then why not get the E2160 and OC to it 3GHz and saving urself a fair bit of money, to me the E6850 is a waste of money considering what i've just said.

Welshy · 17 Aug 2007 at 22:10

oh sorry, I read that as the qual core E6600, not the quads, my mistake, apologies!

OK thanks for the tip

anymore?

truebluecfc · 17 Aug 2007 at 22:13

I'd get cheaper RAM, any 6400 RAM will do the job, for only a little more you can get 4GB RAM for the price your paying for only 2GB.

Also do you plan on overclocking?

Welshy · 17 Aug 2007 at 22:14

truebluecfc said:
Also do you plan on overclocking?

Not really no, maybe a small amount but im not wanting to push it

truebluecfc · 17 Aug 2007 at 22:22

Well you could for only a bit more get 4GB RAM which to me is worthit that is if you've got a 64bit OS otherwise some much cheaper PC5300 will be fine.

OCuK 4GB RAM (2x2GB)

Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2x2GB) Overclocks like a beast, 1000+MHz.

Welshy · 17 Aug 2007 at 22:36

truebluecfc said:
Well you could for only a bit more get 4GB RAM which to me is worthit that is if you've got a 64bit OS otherwise some much cheaper PC5300 will be fine.

OCuK 4GB RAM (2x2GB)

Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2x2GB) Overclocks like a beast, 1000+MHz.

I'm being told that slower ram will limit the fsb, is this true?

truebluecfc · 17 Aug 2007 at 22:54

Welshy said:
I'm being told that slower ram will limit the fsb, is this true?

Yeh it can limit your Overclock, although any PC6400 will give you enough headroom.

The PC5300 (667MHz) RAM can be run at 1:1 ratio meaning your RAM would be at stock speeds and will mean your CPU is at 3GHz, so if you got the Q6600 and you didnt want to push your CPU too hard that would be perfect, also means from your oringinal spec for an extra few pounds you've managed to get 2 extra cores and an extra 2GB RAM

DavidB · 17 Aug 2007 at 22:54

More of an issue is if the compatibility between the quad core and that motherboard.

Im not sure, but i havnt read anything on its specs saying its compatible, so may be a pretty defunct suggestion.

I'm being told that slower ram will limit the fsb, is this true?

If you do get the quad the fsb is only 266mhz, so the 800mhz ram could allow a processor fsb speed of 400mhz, which equates too 3.6ghz... more than enougth, although realistically i dont think you need to overclock past 3ghz.

truebluecfc · 17 Aug 2007 at 22:58

DavidB said:
More of an issue is if the compatibility between the quad core and that motherboard.

I'm pretty sure their both run fine, I think i actually read somewhere their good Quad Core Overclockers.

Welshy · 17 Aug 2007 at 23:02

Manual says it supports Quads

http://www.evga.com/products/pdf/680i manual.pdf