Hi I stay in SA where our choices are a bit more limited esp regarding stock availability My old PC is due for replacement ( nothing I buy works with windows 98 anymore ) About the closest (to what I want) I can get built at this stage is the following Intel 975XBX3KR board Q6600 cpu 2 X 2 meg sticks ddr2 800 dimm (pc800) sapphire HD 3870 card 400 gig sata seagate H/d 16mb The case is rated as a gaming case but power supply is only rated at 400W ?? optical drive mouse board etc Windows vista home premium os samsung 2232bw monitor I have not played games since half life/TFC and quake 3 arena but would like to try some of the newer games apart from that main use would be photo storage and editing burning dvd's general internet use kids will use it for facebook and music transfer etc Based on the above do you think the system will be sufficient or should I look to change components the main thing is all items are in stock at this time so I can get it built next week Any constructive comments would be appreciated Cheers from sunny and hot South Africa (could not resist that) Nigel
I have a few suggestions for you, nothing major though Firstly the case and psu, DO NOT ever get a case psu combo, especially with the quality of components you are putting in there, they will need a stable powersupply that delivers what it is rated at, you'll probably only need around 500w to be completely safe, anything by seasonic/corsair/silverstone will do the job As for the mobo, hmmmm 975 is a bit last gen these days, try getting a lower specced P35 board or maybe a 680i LT/ 650i, deppends on your budget of course.
I'd second goose's suggestions. Get a separate PSU from the case. Do a bit of research into the PSUs you can get and then make a decision. Also, I'd look at the mobo choice. The 975 chipset is old and you will find much better functionality (and more options) with a p35 or X38 mobo. Some 680 mobos are good choices too, but I'd stay away from the 650 based mobos. Hope that helps. Andy
thanks for the feedback I think they have this board in stock and its cheaper than the other KDP35DPM Intel DRAGONTAIL PEAK Core 2 Quad ATX M/B intel P35 : Intel DRAGONTAIL PEAK Core 2 Quad ATX M/B *Intel P35 *Support Core 2 Quad Kentsfield CPU (Q6xxx) *Support Dual DDR2 800 *Support 1333MHz *Support Vista Premium *3 PCI, 3 PCIe x 1 *4 DIMM (8GB) *PCI Express x16 Slot *Intel High Definition Audio (8-Channel) , *Intel Matrix Storage (RAID 0/1/5/10), *1 1394a, 2 EIDE, 1 ESAT5A, 6 Serial ATA II, 6 USB2.0 *Intel PRO/1000 10/100/1000 Gigabit On-Board *2 Front USB2.0 *Front Audio *Intel Consumer Infrared Receiver and Emitter they have a 550 power supply which as far as I know is seagate If I stick with the original case (not the so called gaming one) and take the optional power supply with this board it actually works out cheaper is this board a better option? Thanks again for the advice Cheers Nigel
KDP35DPM Intel DRAGONTAIL PEAK Core 2 Quad ATX M/B intel P35 : Intel DRAGONTAIL PEAK Core 2 Quad ATX M/B *Intel P35 *Support Core 2 Quad Kentsfield CPU (Q6xxx) *Support Dual DDR2 800 *Support 1333MHz *Support Vista Premium *3 PCI, 3 PCIe x 1 *4 DIMM (8GB) *PCI Express x16 Slot *Intel High Definition Audio (8-Channel) , *Intel Matrix Storage (RAID 0/1/5/10), *1 1394a, 2 EIDE, 1 ESAT5A, 6 Serial ATA II, 6 USB2.0 *Intel PRO/1000 10/100/1000 Gigabit On-Board *2 Front USB2.0 *Front Audio *Intel Consumer Infrared Receiver and Emitter Any comments on this board as I need to go ahead and order and this is the only board they have with P35 chipset Cheers Nigel
that system will take pretty much anything you can throw at it, but if you are just gaming casually it is a bit of an overkill. if you can afford it, i guess go for it. motherboard looks decent, seems to have all the features you could want. not many people use intel-branded mobos, i'm not sure why. power supply - i think you mean seasonic. that's a good brand, go for it.
Well this looks about it "KDP35DPM-PC KDP35DPM Mecer Xtreme Core 2 Quad (1333MHz FSB) Computer: [MB] KDP35DPM Intel DRAGONTAIL PEAK Core 2 Quad ATX M/B intel P35, [CPU] C4D-6600 Intel® Tray Core2TQuad Q6600 Processor - 2.40GHz Dual Core, Socket 775, 8MB, 1066MHz FSB, 65nm, 64-Bit Ready, 3 Year - No Heatsink & Fan [GRAPHICS] NX88T512H nVidia GeForce 8800GT PCI Express x16 512MB DDR3, DX10 W/Dual DVI-I, HDTV [HDD] ST3400620AS Seagate® BarracudaT 7200.10 Series - 400GB Serial ATA II (SATA2) Plus - Serial ATA 300 (3Gbps) With 16MB Cache @ 7200RPM - NCQ [MEMORY ( X2 )] DDR2-8-2G 2GB DDR2-800 DIMM (PC800) [VCASE] PC30323BK+ Micro ATX Tower + 250W ATX2 (SABS), W/Front Audio & USB-Black [PSU] FSP550-80GLN 550W Universal EPS 2.8 (SABS) [OPTICAL] GSA-H55L 48 x CD Read / 48 x CD Write / 32 x CD Re-Write / 20 x DVD+R/DVD-R / 6 x DVD-R Re-Write (DVD+RW/ DVD-RW / DVD-RAM Super Multi Light Scribe IDE Drive, Double Layer) - Black [KEYBOARD] 6301 Mecer 104 Key Multimedia PS2 K/B - Black [MOUSE] MM-205PB1 Mecer Optical Wheel PS2 Mouse - Black [OPERATING] VSTD-HPR Microsoft® Vista Home Premium (DSP) <red>(All DSP software can only be sold with new systems)</red> [MISCELLANEOUS] R 100, [WARRANTY] 2 year carry-in ( R 0 at 0% of value ) " The above is what I have settled on but now no stock of the GT cards untill last week January Thanks guys for all the advice This forum and site has been great for help and tech reviews etc Hopefully now I made a better choice than what I had in mind to start with Cheers Nigel
You just got one problem with that build as far as i can see. Unless the miscellaneous item (R 100) is a heatsink/fan then you are missing a cpu heatsink/fan. If you arent going to extreme overclock then this should be fine Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro .
BX3? i thought 975 was until BX2. i may be wrong. ditch the Intel 975X board. reliable but expensive. i second p35 chipset suggestion.
yes I changed my mind to the P35 board the 975 was what I was going to use originally when the post started A heatsink and fan is included Cheers Nigel
Ah you are getting the retail version of the Q6600 with the stock heat sink and fan included then? Whilst there is nothing wrong with the stock cooler there are definitely better options, the Freezer 7 Pro listed above is probably the best value for money cooler out there. I have that on my Q6600 and I have had no problems with it what so ever, and it is reasonably quiet The cooler is the only thing I'd change now, the rest of the system looks really good
Thanks cooler does look nice once I get the tower I can then hopefully finish of the last few tweaks myself I just want to get the build done by them with components they stock so the whole lot comes with a good warranty. I wish I had the confidence / knowledge to asssemble a system myself as I could get more for my money if I shopped around but I would run the risk of having a 1000 pounds worth of spare parts if I dont get the thing running Cheers Nigel
Hey Nigel. Im also from SA, in cape town. the best and cheapest place i found to get urself a okay to top notch gaming computer is a place called cafeviva also known as cafejava. its across the road from cavindish sq in claremont. check out their prices on the website. they are by far the best i found in cape town. good luck. P.S like he said, the weather is awesome........! ________ HONDA CBX1000
I am up in JHB so I was dealing direct with Mecer using their build options from their site but they dont have all the stuff you want. We use Mecer at my work we are running about 40 to 50 machines and they have impressed us with their reliability they have gave basically no problems except a few cd rom drives which packed up and a couple popped power supplies which I think is more our shocking electrical delivery here or non delivery. Cheers Nigel Its been raining here for 4 days solid
