Need a High-Spec PC For My Money... HELP!

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dynamo86

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Guys, I need to chooce my next PC to take me through the next few years.. I want the BEST fo the money I'm going to spend.. Which is £650 MAXXXX!

So far, I have found 2.. one custom, one HP. Please give me your opinions/vote on the two, or recommend/propose your other machines/retailers.



MACHINE 1
* ASUS P5NE-SLI
* Intel Q6600 Core 2 Quad CPU
* ThermalTake PurePower 450W PSU
* 3GB DDRII 800Mhz RAM - Samsung
* 18 X Lightscribe DVDRW - Asus
* 320GB 7200rpm S-ATA2 Hard Drive - Samsung
* 2 x GeForce 8500GT with 1GB of RAM giving a total of 2GB video RAM DX10 ready
* Asus TA-210 case


MACHINE 2 - HP Pavillion m9090 (Click)
* Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Processor
* 2.4 GHz, 1066 MHz FSB, 8 Mb Cache
* Genuine Windows Vista (R) Home Premium
* 2GB Memory
* 500GB Hard Drive
* nVidia GeForce 8600 GTS 512MB


On a side note, des anyone know of this place: PCSPECIALIST.CO.UK - Custom PCs, Custom Computers, Custom PC, Custom Built Computers, Gaming PC ? Seems quite good value, but I thnik the cases really suck..

Appreciate your help guys, thanks!
 
I'm not really good with these uk sites....

For a videocard HD 3850, HD 3870, 8800GS, 9600GT, 8800GT, 8800GTS are all good choices, go for those.

CPU if your finding a quad won't fit your budget, go for a e8400, or a core 2 duo with atleast 2mb of cache.
 
at the moment i'm using computer hardware, components, systems and peripherals at the lowest prices from IT supplier Aria Technology to get my pc together, and they have a tech centre that put it together for you at a price though (around £42 - £45)


what i would suggest for a build is this (sorry i can't get links at the mo)

motherboard - gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R iP35 express £70

cpu - intel E8400 £126 (out about march) or the intel E6750 £120 or even the Q6600 for £160 (Q6600 is a quad core, other 2 are dual)

hard drive - western digital 320GB sata hdd £46 or a 500gb for £60

graphics - radeon 3870 256mb £100 or the 512mb for £119

ram - patriot ddr2 800mhz, there is a few packets of 1gb, 2gb and 4gb, i would pickup 2 x 2gb, there £35 each, really depends on the amount of ram you want
psu - corsair 550W vx £50

the cost up to here is £469, picking out the most expensive parts

now its just the case and operating system, the case and os is personal choice, the operating system starts at £51 for xp up to £104 for vista ultimate

with £50 for case and going for ultimate the cost is £623
 
at the moment i'm using computer hardware, components, systems and peripherals at the lowest prices from IT supplier Aria Technology to get my pc together, and they have a tech centre that put it together for you at a price though (around £42 - £45)


what i would suggest for a build is this (sorry i can't get links at the mo)

motherboard - gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R iP35 express £70

cpu - intel E8400 £126 (out about march) or the intel E6750 £120 or even the Q6600 for £160 (Q6600 is a quad core, other 2 are dual)

hard drive - western digital 320GB sata hdd £46 or a 500gb for £60

graphics - radeon 3870 256mb £100 or the 512mb for £119

ram - patriot ddr2 800mhz, there is a few packets of 1gb, 2gb and 4gb, i would pickup 2 x 2gb, there £35 each, really depends on the amount of ram you want
psu - corsair 550W vx £50

the cost up to here is £469, picking out the most expensive parts

now its just the case and operating system, the case and os is personal choice, the operating system starts at £51 for xp up to £104 for vista ultimate

with £50 for case and going for ultimate the cost is £623
Some nice suggestions there, thanks! I knew about Aria, but wasn't aware of their PC building tech-team!! That's awesome news, I'll just select my super cool components and get them to build it! Although, I did find it a bit expensive over there, after they add on VAT.. What do you think about pricing there?

And is the GFX radeo 3870 better than an nVidia GeForce 8800GT(X)?
 
And one more question:

What RAM do you think I should get?

I'm thinking 4GB, 2x 2GB, but is that a little excessive?
 
funny though it is i found them to be cheaper then all the other places i looked at, i look at all the shops near me ( 8 - 9 ) of them along with ebuyer, microdirect and overclockers and here at aria is the cheaper of the lot

all tham prices i put up are including vat, not exact prices though (where it says 101.78 on site i always say 102)

and sorry but i ment to say the 3850 not the 3870, theres a £30 difference in price

and yes and no the graphics is better in some instances but not in others, your best bet is to look at some benchmarks for both then go from there
 
And one more question:

What RAM do you think I should get?

I'm thinking 4GB, 2x 2GB, but is that a little excessive?

ok firstly sorry for 2 posts in a row

personally i'm going for 4x1gb strips, the memory i put up they sell as 1gb packs, 2gb packs (2x1gb) and 4 gb packs ( 2x2gb)

go for the 2x1gb pack, £70 and your away, or theres some 800mhz ocz going for £2 cheaper i think

edit - the £70 is for 2 packs of 2x1gb (so 4gb for that)
 
Hey Steve, cheers for that, here's what I came up with and its incredibly cheap so far!!!

What do you think of the parts so far:

Antec Sonata III Quiet Super Mini Tower £ £ 63.95
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4GHz 95W G0 Stepping (Retail 775) £ 136.19
ASUS P5N-E SLi NF650i 775 £ 58.95
500Gb Western Digital SATA - 16MB - 7200RPM £ 50.95
nVidia GeForce 8600GTS 512MB DDR3 PCI-E £ 71.25
HP 20x DVDRW LightScribe Black 1040i-B £ 15.95
Kingston 2GB PC2-6400 CL5 (2x1GB) £ 29.95

VAT: £74.76
TOTAL: £501


What do you think of the parts selected and do I need anything else?
 
Double post again I apologise, but I am shopping for RAM and I know I need DDR2, but jeez, look at all these types:

# DDR2 PC10000
# DDR2 PC4200
# DDR2 PC5300
# DDR2 PC5400
# DDR2 PC6400
# DDR2 PC7200
# DDR2 PC8000
# DDR2 PC8500
# DDR2 PC8888
# DDR2 PC9136
# DDR2 PC9200
# DDR2 PC9600
# DDR2 Reg/ECC

Which one??
 
let me pick on that little hole there, the motherboard has a 650i chipset not knocking it but i dont think its what you need unless your planning on putting 2 graphics in and with that a bigger power supply (700W+ )

a p35 motherboard would do nice

with the ram also most motherboards can handle 800mhz so thats pc6400, check what the motherboard says and see if it fits what you need
 
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