First Build In A Few Years: Review Please

sosolidshoe · 08-27-2008, 07:16 AM

Hey hey,

This is the first build I've done in a few years now, I'm a little out of touch with the hardware market, so I'd appreciate it if you guys went over my choices and give the system some critique. I know a lot of these componants are OEM, I have a local contact for all the cables and bitz I need. My budget is extremely limited, the total for these componants is £535.99 plus shipping, and I can't really afford to go over £550. Main focus is gaming, with potential to expand into music production and image editing. My choice of mobo is based on the fact it will support 1600Mhz for the CPU, vast amounts of RAM, and the later inclusion of a second GFX, but if anyone has a better suggestion I welcome it.

Anyway, the specs:

Asus P5Q Deluxe P45 Socket 775
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400
Arctic Power 700W PSU
Gecube HD 3870 512MB
OCZ 2GB Kit (2x1GB) DDR2 800MHz
Samsung HD502IJ SpinPoint F1 500GB
Optiarc AD-7200S 20X DVD+RW
Sound Blaster Audigy SE 7.1
Aplus Twin Engine Case

Thanks in advance.

**wrench97** · 08-27-2008, 04:45 PM

You might want to look a 4850 card over the 3870 http://www.ebuyer.com/product/145524
The Stream processors on the 4850 make a big difference
For specs only
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161218
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161235

I would also bump the PSU to a higher quality unit
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/135514
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/134695

Good choices on the CPU and MB.

sosolidshoe · 08-28-2008, 04:18 PM

Thanks for the suggestion, but alas it looks like I'm cutting my budget even further thanks to a heftier than expected gas bill(the rat b*****ds), so I'm swapping out the Arctic Power PSU and the Aplus case for this deal:

Coolermaster Elite 330 Black Case With CM eXtreme Power 650W PSU

and cutting back to this GFX:

Gecube HD 3850 512MB

I can cope with not playing the latest stuff on high settings in order to actually play the latest stuff. I melted my last GFX with a bad OC, I'm currently stuck on a crappy P3 CPU machine that can barely run Mozilla and WMP at the same time, so just about anything is an improvement, heh.

Those two swaps save me about £70 overall. What do you think of the PSU; it's a Coolermaster, but it's only a 70%+ efficiency model. I'm not planning to OC or otherwise stress the system while on this build. I'll be upgrading to a bigger case and larger, better PSU when I upgrade the sound and graphics later this year, so I think it should handle things for now.

08-27-2008, 07:16 AM	#1 (permalink)
sosolidshoe Registered User Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 3 OS: XP Pro SP3	First Build In A Few Years: Review Please Hey hey, This is the first build I've done in a few years now, I'm a little out of touch with the hardware market, so I'd appreciate it if you guys went over my choices and give the system some critique. I know a lot of these componants are OEM, I have a local contact for all the cables and bitz I need. My budget is extremely limited, the total for these componants is £535.99 plus shipping, and I can't really afford to go over £550. Main focus is gaming, with potential to expand into music production and image editing. My choice of mobo is based on the fact it will support 1600Mhz for the CPU, vast amounts of RAM, and the later inclusion of a second GFX, but if anyone has a better suggestion I welcome it. Anyway, the specs: Asus P5Q Deluxe P45 Socket 775 Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Arctic Power 700W PSU Gecube HD 3870 512MB OCZ 2GB Kit (2x1GB) DDR2 800MHz Samsung HD502IJ SpinPoint F1 500GB Optiarc AD-7200S 20X DVD+RW Sound Blaster Audigy SE 7.1 Aplus Twin Engine Case Thanks in advance.

08-27-2008, 04:45 PM	#2 (permalink)
wrench97 Mentor Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 7,340 OS: XPSP2	Re: First Build In A Few Years: Review Please You might want to look a 4850 card over the 3870 http://www.ebuyer.com/product/145524 The Stream processors on the 4850 make a big difference For specs only http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161218 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161235 I would also bump the PSU to a higher quality unit http://www.ebuyer.com/product/135514 http://www.ebuyer.com/product/134695 Good choices on the CPU and MB. __________________ Power Supply and Selection

08-28-2008, 04:18 PM	#3 (permalink)
sosolidshoe Registered User Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 3 OS: XP Pro SP3	Re: First Build In A Few Years: Review Please Thanks for the suggestion, but alas it looks like I'm cutting my budget even further thanks to a heftier than expected gas bill(the rat b*****ds), so I'm swapping out the Arctic Power PSU and the Aplus case for this deal: Coolermaster Elite 330 Black Case With CM eXtreme Power 650W PSU and cutting back to this GFX: Gecube HD 3850 512MB I can cope with not playing the latest stuff on high settings in order to actually play the latest stuff. I melted my last GFX with a bad OC, I'm currently stuck on a crappy P3 CPU machine that can barely run Mozilla and WMP at the same time, so just about anything is an improvement, heh. Those two swaps save me about £70 overall. What do you think of the PSU; it's a Coolermaster, but it's only a 70%+ efficiency model. I'm not planning to OC or otherwise stress the system while on this build. I'll be upgrading to a bigger case and larger, better PSU when I upgrade the sound and graphics later this year, so I think it should handle things for now.