Buying a new PC and need advice/opinions please

[Ave]

Hi all im total noob to these forums so be kind pls

Im about to splash out on a new high end PC and want some advice as to to the best solution.

First up im probably gonna be using a company called pcspecialist and wondered if anyone here had any experience with them?
Im aware of a few issues by reading the testimonials but for the prices im willing to take a risk.

Right basically i want a top gaming system, im fed up with my old work horse i had for my work (use to be self employed web designer)

First up Motherboard im looking at this one:
ASUS® A8N32-SLI DELUXE: DUAL DDR, S-ATA, 2 x x16 VGA, 3 PCI
Is this a good solution for possible upgrading in the future ??
Or is the ASUS® A8N-SLI DELUXE: DUAL DDR, S-ATA, 2 x x16 VGA, 3 PCI just as good (as its alot cheaper)

Second Processor:
Im totally stumped here, all i know for sure is i want to use AMD. I have read that Single core systems are still pretty much best for gaming and if i went single id get 64bit fx57
OR i could go for Athlon 64bit X2 (4400 / 4800)
I realise that right now theres not much in it, but will dual core become a necesity ??

And finally graphics card:
Again im either going with one big Geforce 7800 GTX PCI
OR two Geforce 6800GS PCI's

Whats peoples opinions on this, i have read ALOT on these subjects the past week but would like to hear some opinions from people who have actual experience with this hardware.

Anyway thanks for reading and any advice/help much appreciated..

 

[aliasaid]

you said "first up" twice so i don't know what to answer first!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!! !!!!!!!! !!!
anyways.. just kidding.. ..

pcspecialist: no idea

mobo: asus a8n32 is one of the best on the market. as for upgradeability, i'd say they're both the same... since amd is coming out with a new core this summer anyways... i don't know how much better it is or whether its worth the extra $$ on the other sli mobo.

processor: for straight up gaming, the fx57 will KILL. but i would still go for dual core... this way you can multi-task, and also if you have resrouce-heavy apps running in the background (maybe an antivirus or something..) it would be like they're not there at all.. your call. if you ONLY game, and will only EVER game.. then i guess the fx57. if you're gonna do other stuff.. then go dual core! its the way of the future! and games that are coming out now are going to be utilizing dual core technology.. so actually even on the gaming front go dual core either of the X2's you mentioned are great. the 4800 is better obviously.. but if you're gonna overclock.. you could easily get those speeds and spend less...

graphics card: the 7900gt is about on par with the 7800gtx, and is cheaper. why not consider that? as for dual 6800gs.. no! definitely go for the single card solution. and i think you mean pci-express, not pci... (to state the obvious..)

good luck

 

[NosBoost300]

my opinion is... get a 7900 gt/gtx if its not too expensive in the uk.... if they are i'd say 2 7800gt's instead of 6800gs's if you can afford it. And for the processor... fx57 is a waste... unless your going to overclock it.. that thing can be a beast with its unlocked multiplier. I say you go dual core, get the x24400+, you will be no less than **** happy... gaming your gonna need 2 gigs of ram, i wouldnt fork up too much on graphics right now, maybe a single solution ... like i said 7900gt/x, unless you really want to go sli... i wouldnt cheap out too much on a mobo, you want to be assured it'll stay stable... whats your budget?? so we can get a rough idea of what you could get.

 

[mnelson07]

I'd have to agree with Nos as far as the processor and RAM goes. But, I think you should fork up the money for the graphics. Get a 7900 GT/X or 7800 GT/X and wait a little longer for SLI. I think it will be best in the long run if you intend to continue gaming. Buying two 6800 on SLI will be good for now, but when more games are released, one GT/X will do great by itself, and then you should gather enough cash to buy the second. Plan ahead, it pays off (no pun intended).

 

[Ave]

Hmm some good points, cheers guys and pls excuse any typos etc cause i work nights and have had no sleep today
:tired:

As to Ram i forgot to mention that huh, im gonna get 2gb but is it better as 2x1gb or just straight up 2gb.

To the core im swaying toward dual now as i dont ONLY game on it all the time, and would be cool to have music player running in background

My budget is around 1.4k

Anyways im sure that even one 7800 GT would be better than my current 128MB onboard (yes it's that bad lol)

Thinking now buy 1 x 7800GT which with the set up im choosing would be more than enough to run most game on def specs im sure and then add another 7800 later, id prefer to have less graphics card i think and higher ram and Processor

Just ran a price check at PCspecialist and here what came up for this setup, what u reckon??
AMD® ATHLON® 64BIT X2 4800 1MB L2 Cache
2048 MB DDR400 PC3200 WITH LIFETIME WARRANTY! (2x1GB)
ASUS® A8N-SLI SE: DUAL DDR, S-ATA, 2 x x16 VGA, 3 PCI
4 PORT USB 2.O CARD (TOTAL: 8+ USB 2.0 PORTS!)
SATA II 160 GB HARD DISK @ 7200rpm 8mb cache (Special Offer)
16X DVD ROM WITH 48X CD ROM
52X 32X 52X CD WRITER
256MB GEFORCE 7800 GTX PCI Express + DVI + TV-OUT
HIGH END ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL SOUND (RECOMMENDED)
2 x 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORTS ONBOARD
1.44MB FLOPPY DISK DRIVE
Stylish Silver X-Plode Case + 2 Front USB
500W (Peak) Silent Dual Rail PSU with 120mm fan (£25)
MICROSOFT® WINDOWS® XP PRO (inc. original CD & licence) (£95)
1 x FIREWIRE PORT ONBOARD (A8N-SLI DELUXE ONLY)
Black Logitech® Internet Keyboard + Hotkeys (£8)
2 Year Return-to-Base Warranty + 2 Years Free Collect & Return: £69
£1430 Inc VAT and Del

 

[Jam3s-Zer0]

36 GB Western Digital Raptor , SATA I , 10000 rpm , 8MB Cache

2GB (2X1GB) Corsair Pro LED Twin Pack DDR PC3500LL (434) 184 Pin Non-ECC Unbuffered CAS 2-3-2-6

Asus A8N32-SLi Deluxe 939 NF4 Dual x16 SLi DDR400 SATAII Raid 2xGbE Lan 8Ch Audio

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Socket 939 , Toledo Core, 2x 2.2GHz , 2MB Cache, Retail

Hiper HPU-4K580-MK Type R 580W Modular ATX2.2 PSU

A few things i had bookmarked. All straight from Scan.co.uk