New Rig For Jon Competition :o)

[Evilweetabix]

ok - having posted a few topics about random parts of my soon to be new PC and still not making my mind up, i have decided to take a different approach...

 

I get my xmas bonus early Dec, and shortly thereafter will transform itself into a largish pile of components in a DHL truck and from there to my living room.

 

i just need help deciding what components...which is where you guys come in

 

Spec me a PC with rough prices on parts/reasons/whatever and the winner will be the one that is closest to my final choice of build (as i will inevitably steal bits of some and add them to others).

 

The Budget:

[jammin]

Considering your budget is listed in pounds I'm assuming you are based in the UK?

If so, where are your preferred places to shop and are there any places you just won't order from?

[kingdingeling]

As you are apparently somewhere in UK, I shall use OverclockersUK, Aria or eBuyer whilst looking for components All prices include VAT.

 

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 - 176 Quid from Aria

Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3R motherboard - 94 Quid from OverclockersUK

G.Skill 4GB DDR2-1066 (PC2-8500) CL5 - 71 Quid from OverclockersUK

ATI Radeon HD4870x2 2GB DDR5 - 349 Quid from eBuyer

Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme CPU Heatsink - 38 Quid from eBuyer + Scythe S-FLEX 120mm 1200rpm Ultra Quiet fan - 13 Quid from OverclockersUK

Coolermaster CM690 Case - 59 Quid from Aria

 

= pretty much exactly 800 pounds

 

It's got a 45nm Quad so you're good to go with the music / photo editing, 4GB of RAM so to keep up with your photoshopping needs and a hefty HD4870X2 video card so whichever games you run won't stutter (it's the best single card out there at the moment lol!).

 

Do you need a monitor as well? I'd have to revisit the list to include a nice screen

[Evilweetabix]

Considering your budget is listed in pounds I'm assuming you are based in the UK?

If so, where are your preferred places to shop and are there any places you just won't order from?

 

Yup - based in Reading UK - preferred is Novatech since there is a store about 5 mins bus ride from my house, however their prices tend to vary quite a lot - chances are the parts will be bought from a combination of scan, yoyotech, ebuyer, misco and novatech, depending upon whats cheapest when i get paid - there is nowhere that i specifically won't shop except PC World because last time i went into the Reading one (desperate move after a nasty MBR destroying linux uninstall) they didnt even stock internal HDDs. that earns them a permanent ban in my book.

 

other than that completely free reign - im not looking for prices down to the last penny - just a rough approximation will do so i have easy reference when it comes to budgeting what to add/subtract from the build

[kingdingeling]

Mate I just had a look at Novatech, they are quite expensive comparably. Do you want to pick the stuff up locally or are you looking to order online?

[Evilweetabix]

Do you need a monitor as well? I'd have to revisit the list to include a nice screen

 

Nope - just the tower - Ill be using my current 19" LG until xmas rolls around and i can persuade the folks to go halves on a 22"/24"

 

looks nice, although i was flicking through the new Custom PC mag this morning in smiths, and they have a big feature on case cooling in which the coolermaster didnt come out too well (admittedly very few of the cases they tested did - i think the antec 1200 struggled to about 76% (first place) on whatever their criteria where) - ill have to stop by tomorrow and read the rest of the article and find out how they tested/whether it makes a practical difference etc

[Evilweetabix]

Mate I just had a look at Novatech, they are quite expensive comparably. Do you want to pick the stuff up locally or are you looking to order online?

 

ill probs be ordering online - chances are unless i can get the whole rig from novatech for slightyl more than online i wont bother - its a case of impatience vs price

[kingdingeling]

I have a CM690 sitting under the desk right here and I think it does a great job cooling. If you want, you can install up to 7 fans in it, which if done sensibly, will yield good cooling performance. The 1200 is also a good, but it's a whole lot more expensive also. The Antec 900 can be had for 67 pounds (including VAT) at OverclockersUK, that's an alternative you could look into. Cases are mainly down to user preference. Yes of course there are feature differences, but in the end a large part of the decision is personal preference because of the looks.

 

[Edit] Ohh I know the impatience vs. price bit I'm waiting for a packet of hardware from the US to arrive (I live in Germany) because it's just so much cheaper! I can't wait though

[ARandomOWL]

OK, this is my attempt:

 

Q9550 -

[Evilweetabix]

bah - youre lucky - im at work and have to make do with this Dell junk next to me. bloody proprietary motherboard design. its wrong - wrong it tell you.

 

i was looking at maybe getting another (undamaged) 900 but its a nightmare to keep tidy inside unless you take a hacksaw to it, and im still not entirely happy with the lighting on it. can't really fault the stock cooling though except for the annoying fan controls.

 

I think youre about right on the price for the case though - i was originally looking at something pricier, but if i can sqeeze an HD4870x2 into the budget by cutting back somewhere the case is definitely going to be the first thing to feel the axe <_<

[Evilweetabix]

OK, this is my attempt:

 

Sub Total: ~

[kingdingeling]

Those OCZ sticks will OC like crap though, if they'll budge at all! They're DDR2-800 instead of the DDR2-1066 G.Skills I listed. OCZ makes some good overclocking sticks, but not in their budget series, which includes the Gold modules.

 

If you're concerned with wire management (keeping it clean inside in general), the CM690 has some pretty neat features. The PSU is at the bottom and there's a hole for the wires to go right behind the motherboard tray, just as an example.