My potential system

[jbecker84]

Hello my wise techie friends. Just after a little feedback on the system I am thinking of purchasing from Aria. I'm on a tight budget of around £400 and still have to decide on a graphics card. I play a lot of champ manager and Civ 4. Not too many graphics intensive games, although I wouldn't mind the option. I use photoshop from time to time too. I have a monitor which I will be upgrading a couple of months when I have a few more pennies and I will get an external HD at some point in the future so don't need a lot of space.

Interested to know hat you think, suggestions appreciated!

Product Name Price
(ex VAT) Total

Akasa Zen Silent-Cool - Black £25.95 £25.95

Samsung 18x DL DVDRW BLACK 12x RAM
18x Super-WriteMaster DVD & RAM WRITER SH-182D B/BEBN
£15.50 £15.50

Wireless 54MB USB Adapter £7.65 £7.65

Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 Retail
2x 1.86 2Mb 1066 MHz LGA775 BX805576300
£99.95 £99.95

1GB PC6400 Elixir DDR2 800 SDRAM
M2Y1G64TU8HB0B-25C
£57.95 £57.95

Foxconn P9657AA-8EKRS2H Socket 775
CORE 2 DUO SUPPORT / PCI-E / DUAL CH DDRII / Gb LAN / 7.1CH AUDIO / 10x USB / ATX MOTHERBOARD :.
£67.95 £67.95

160GB Seagate Barracuda 9 SATA-2
ST3160811AS - Slimline
£29.50 £29.50

Total inc. VAT: £357.72

[David]

To be honest I wouldn't change much. Particularly the case, they're amazing for the price.
A second stick of that RAM can be added later to really get you up to speed.

As for a graphics card, I'd suggest a DDR3-equipped 7600GT if you can stretch to it, though a 7300 should manage fine with Champ and Civ.

One thing I notice is that you havent included a PSU: 400w should do you for the components you've listed, but I can't stress enough the importance of getting a decent one. Something like http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductInfoComm.asp?ID=19633 would be ideal.

Hope that's some help!

[mac124]

Agree with David on all counts, just make sure the 7300gt is DDR3 though as they are FAR better than the DDR2 versions.

Personally im not a fan of modular psu's so i wouldn't go for that psu recommended by David (i AM sure its plenty good enough for the job though) i would recommend any of the below..

http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductInfoComm.asp?ID=25565

http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductInfoComm.asp?ID=24663

http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductInfoComm.asp?ID=24511

or if money is tight

http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductInfoComm.asp?ID=19868

DO NOT what ever you do go for the cheapest psu possible.

[djdaface]

How come your not a fan of modular PSU's any reason?


I was swaying towards getting my first one soon, like the idea.

[mac124]

Well any extra connection adds resistance and added resistance means voltage drops add high current and that also means heat, granted not alot in all cases, but all of which make me lean towards \"normal\" psu's. I would rather spend the same as a modular psu and get a better normal one. Just a personal thing but there you go :wink:

[jbecker84]

Hi guys, thanks for the advice. I have a few more questions if you don't mind?

Do you think 800mhz ram is necessary; would PC5300 restrict this system? It would let me go for a cheaper motherboard.

Do you think this system has overclocking potential? I have very limited overclocking experience and will have to do some research, but it appears it is the thing to do with these nice new C2D's.

I think I'll go with this (http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductInfoComm.asp?ID=19868) PSU as money is indeed tight and a 7300GT with DDR3 as suggested. Just out of interest, why is a decent PSU so essential? Is it just the amount of heat it gives out or does it actually improve performance?

I really appreciate the advice, just looking to get a nice balance. :D

[mac124]

Definately get the 800mhz and yes it should be a decent overclocker IF the motherboard is capable. You could always upgrade the mobo anyway as funds allow.

As to the psu situation, well cheapo psu's ie 500watt Q-Tec or similar might look good for £10 BUT they are normally quoting peak current or maybe even max current (power).
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/mac124/DSC00023.jpg
Where as the likes of Tagan / Seasonic etc etc quote 500w sustainable power. You try and run a decent pc from a cheapo psu and whilst it might work for a while it could all end in tears as when cheapo psu's blow it's not uncommon for them to take other pieces of hardware with them as the power rails might shoot upto god only knows what voltage. IF a decent power supply dies all the other kit in the pc should be protected as they also have over voltage protection short circuit protection etc etc.

The chioce really is yours but at the end of the day the psu is the \"engine\" for your pc and you wouldn't stick a corsa engine in a ferrari chassis would you? :wink:

[jbecker84]

Thanks for all the advice. Just ordered the following from Aria:

Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 Retail 2x 1.86 2Mb 1066 MHz LGA775

Coolermaster Centurion 5 Silver

Samsung 18x DL DVDRW BLACK 12x RAM 18x Super-WriteMaster DVD & RAM WRITER

160GB Seagate Barracuda 9 SATA-2

Xilence ATX2.0 480w PSU

1GB PC6400 Elixir DDR2 800 SDRAM

Foxconn P9657AA-8EKRS2H Socket 775 CORE 2 DUO SUPPORT / PCI-E / DUAL CH DDRII / Gb LAN / 7.1CH AUDIO / 10x USB / ATX MOTHERBOARD

nVidia GeForce 7600GT 256MB PCI-E 128bit DDR3, Dual-Link DVI, Tv-Out SLI

Had to go with the coolermaster in the end as the Akasa's had sold out and went with a slightly better PSU that was on sale. I'm going to hold out for a 22\" widescreen when they come back in stock. Hoping it's all gunna add up to be a nice new speedy toy.

Might be back to you in the future with some advice on overclocking but cheers for all the help!