Need help with a £200-250 build.. (around $400 - 430)

[Willeh]

Here's what I had in mind..

Abit IP35-E
Abit IP35-E (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard

OR

Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L Intel P35 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard

INTEL C2D for CPU but which?


8800GT 512 MB for GFX
PNY GeForce 8800 GT 512MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail

GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC2-6400C4
GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC2-6400C4 800MHz Black Dragon DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (GB22GB6400C4DC)

A few questions..
1. Which motherboard shall I go for? I'll be hoping to overclock as well.
2. Which CPU to go for? I heard the E2XXX line overclocks well and can even overtake the E4XXXs?
3. Whats the performance gain between an IDE HDD and a SATA HDD. I have a 320GB IDE HDD at the moment and I'm hoping to reuse it as an attempt to save money..
4. Shall I purchase a new PSU? Is reusing a PSU dangerous?

Many thanks

P.S. System won't be playing graphic intensive games e.g. FPS'S, instead it'll be playing simulation games. Also, I'd like to build a system that would last for at least 2 years opposed to one that would only last for 1

 

[b1gapl]

1. Either motherboard is a great choice, and both are very good for overclocking. Most people tend to go with Gigabyte boards over the Abit though.

2. Depends on how much you got left in your budget.

3. At the moment, there are no performance gains from IDE to SATA. But there is an aesthetic gain, in that the SATA cable is smaller in size, which makes for better wire management.

4. Reusing a PSU is not dangerous. Unless it's a really bad brand. What is the brand and specs of your current PSU?

 

[Willeh]

550W ATX Power Supply for AMD, and P4 mainboards 24Pin : nov-psu550
is the PSU

 

[b1gapl]

Never heard of that brand, but it should be sufficient for an 8800GT. What are the amps on the +12v rail? You can see that on the label.

 

[Willeh]

I think it's 25A

 

[ShaolinDreams]

thats ok then (for now)

an overclocked E2180 or E4500 paired with a 8800GT youll be able to play anything to a fairly decent level

 

[solidsteve]

you might want to look at computer hardware, components, systems and peripherals at the lowest prices from IT supplier Aria Technology

cheaper in a few parts, might be able to get a few £ off by shopping around

Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L iP35 Express (775) Motherboard - Aria Technology

just a thought here is the ga-p35-ds3l motherboard for about £10 less

 

[Willeh]

The board supports up to PC8500, shall I go for that then or is the PC6400 enough? There's only like an £10 difference

 

[b1gapl]

I don't think PC28500 is necessary, unless you like memory benchmarking, because the speed doesn't really make a difference in real world applications. Plus, a high performance kit of PC26400 can easily overclock to 8500 speeds and higher.

 

[dario03]

I can say from experience that the e2180 is awesome.

But I'm wondering is how is 200 to 250 come out to $400 to $430? Shouldn't it be $400 to $500? Or were you calculating that Vac tax thing?