Arch@ngel

Hi guys,

I'm trying to put together the best possible rig for a friend with a budget of £950 (all-in including shipping/cabling/etc).

He already has Keyboard/Mouse/Speakers and a Retail copy of XP Home 32bit to install.

All components could be swapped out for others, however I'm fairly set on building it around an E8400, and he has a preference for Seagate HDD's (which I won't challenge unless theres room for a veloci/raptor).

This is the first quote I've just put together. My friend is only interested in gaming, and may add a second HD48x0 in the next 3-4 months. (With a view to building an entirely new system in 12-18 months)



CPU:
Intel Core 2 Duo, E8400, Wolfdale Core, S775, 3.0 GHz, 1333MHz, 6MB Cache
£114.90

CPU COOLING:
Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme 120mm Heat Sink Fan for AMD/Intel CPU (bare sink no fan)
£34.89
Thermalright Ultra120A & Ultra120 eXtreme 120mm fan wire Clips
£2.34
120mm Noctua NF-P12 Vortex-Control Quiet Case Fan (Using Vortex-Control Notches)
£13.97

CASE:
Antec 900 - Nine Hundred Ultimate Gamer Case with 200m Top Fan w/o PSU
£72.84

PSU:
620W Corsair HX Series Modular SLi PSU, ATX, EPS 12V, whisper quiet, 5 year warranty
£85.41

GPU:
512MB Sapphire HD4870, PCI-E 2.0(x16), 3600MHz GDDR5, GPU 750MHz, 800 Cores, 2x DL DVI-I/ HDTV, HDCP
£186.83

GPU COOLING:
Thermalright HR-03-GT 6 H-pipe Heat sink for nVidia 8800GT, ATI 3850/70 VGA Cards (fan not Inc) 92mm
£32.89
Noctua NF-B9-1600 Vortex-Control 92mm Quiet Case Fan
£11.74

MOBO:
Asus P5Q Deluxe, iP45, S775, PCI-E 2.0 (x16), DDR2 1200/1066/800, SATA II, SATA RAID, ATX
£121.95


SOUND:
Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Extreme Audio Sound Card 24Bit 7.1Ch OEM
£26.97

RAM:
4GB (2x2GB) Corsair TwinX DDR2 PC2-8500 (1066), 240 Pin, Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 5-5-5-15, EPP, DHX
£80.90

HDD:
500 GB Seagate ST3500320NS Barracuda ES.2, SATA 300, 7200 rpm, 32MB Cache, 8 ms, NCQ
£66.96

OPTICAL:
Pioneer DVR-215DBK 20x DVD±R, 10x DVD±DL, DVD+RW x8/-RW x6, SATA, Black, OEM
£16.43

Cost of above including delivery/TIM/misc cables etc: £~880


Potential issues with the above:

- While a single card solution is much preferred, this system will be paired with a 24" LCD at 1920x1200. Would 2 x 3870's (or 2 of anything else) potentially provide better frames at this resolution?
- GTX260/280 worthwhile?
- PSU overhead for adding a second 48x0.
- Would like to fit in a Velociraptor if possible.
- Overkill with fans if the system runs at stock.
- Happy to run with on-board sound if it makes/breaks the budget to include more expensive components.
- Better HDD performance with a different Seagate 750GB or 1TB drive?

Will be buying parts from any or all of the following:

www.aria.co.uk
www.dabs.com
www.novatech.co.uk
www.scan.co.uk
www.overclockers.co.uk

or anywhere else with better prices

Input thoroughly appreciated (or entirely new build suggestions if you have the time)

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Chozart

• CPU: ok
• CPU Cooling: OCZ Vendetta 2 £28.72 incl. VAT
• Case: ok
• PSU: Corsair TX750 (750W) £76.36 incl. VAT
• GPU: ok
• GPU cooling: stock.
• MoBo: DFI LANPARTY DK-X48-T2R, S775, PCI-E 2.0 (x16), DDR2 1066/667/800, SATA II, SATA RAID, ATX £140.96
• Sound: onboard
• RAM: G.Skill 4GB DDR2 PK PC2-8500C5 (2x2GB) CAS5 Dual Channel Kit (F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK) £88.11
• HDD: ok
• Optical: ok

Still one video card, but some cash left, and close to be able to go Crossfire with two 4870's.

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Shin2k35

I'm not skilled with high resolutions, but I'd assume the HD3870X2 would struggle at 1080.

__________________

Chozart

A pair of 4850's is the second best option of course.

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Arch@ngel

Thanks for your great suggestions Chozart. Taking them onboard, the total comes to £978.94 + delivery. I'll hunt around for the lowest prices and see if the budget can be stretched another £~50. Hopefully I can put together some 4870 Crossfire goodness this weekend

EDIT: Been wondering about going with a single 4870 now, and picking up a 4870X2 in Aug/Sept for Tri-Fire? The benchmarks I've seen at 1920x1200 with Crossfire 4870's are rather uninspiring, sometimes the single card fares better.

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