[Binary0101]

Hey everyone. I'm going to build a gaming computer and i've just looked at the computer parts. Here are the parts i'm considering to buy:

Samsung SpinPoint T166 HD501LJ - hard drive - 500 GB - SATA-300 http://www.ebuyer.com/product/130454

Inno3D Geforce 8800 GT - graphics adapter - GF 8800 GT - 512 MB http://www.ebuyer.com/product/134393

Antec Nine Hundred tower - ATX http://www.ebuyer.com/product/118268

ASUS P5K-E/WIFI-AP AiLifestyle Series - motherboard - ATX - iP35 http://www.ebuyer.com/product/129126

Corsair XMS2 Xtreme Performance TwinX Matched - memory - 2 GB ( 2 x 1 GB ) - DIMM 240-pin - DDR II http://www.ebuyer.com/product/98710

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 / 2.4 GHz processor http://www.ebuyer.com/product/131950

Arctic Power 700W PSU - With PCI-E, 4x SATA, 20+4, ATX12V, 8pin +12V Connectors - Retail Boxed http://www.ebuyer.com/product/124927

I'm worried about the power supply unit and whether i might need to buy a new fan for the CPU. Also i would like to know if there are any general faults with the build. As the title says this is my first time building a computer so any pointers will be very useful. Thanks

[Carbon]

Err, dump that mobo, change the CPU to a E8400, and consider your choice of hard drive (I haven't heard good things about Samsung). I've never heard of "Inno3D", I would go with a trusted brand like EVGA (best), XFX, PNY, etc etc. PSU is fine, you don't need a aftermarket fan.

[Binary0101]

Thanks for the reply. I've been doing a bit of searching and here are some new parts

EVGA 8800GTS KO 512MB 256bit DDR3 PCI-E Graphics Card http://www.ebuyer.com/product/139641


Western Digital WD5000AAKS 500GB SATA II 7200RPM 16MB Cache - OEM http://www.ebuyer.com/product/124228

Btw what's wrong with the motherboard anyway? It was rated pretty high by people who bought it.

[alex]

Don't dump the mobo. Very good oc'er. Fast at stock; gamers chipset of choice at the moment. P35 (son of P965). A lot of bang for your buck. I've got a P5K.

Nothing wrong with the spinpoint either; very fast seek, quiet, cool running.

WD are rather good though, so either to be frank.

[Binary0101]

Thanks Alex. I think i'm going to choose the Western Digital as it's cheaper than the Samsung with the same disk space. I'm going to keep the P35 mobo. As for the CPU i'm having trouble deciding between Carbon's and mine.

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 2 x 3.00Ghz 6Mb Cache 1333 FSB Dual Core Processor http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/s....html?IL-E8400

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 / 2.4 GHz processor http://www.ebuyer.com/product/131950

The core 2 duo has a better clock speed, bus speed but less cache than the quad. This makes me think the core 2 duo is better although looking through some sites, the duo is cheaper. What makes the Quad that bit more expensive?

[alex]

The dual core is better for gaming as mhz still rule for that applilcation. Very few games are (as yet) coded to make use of 4 cores.

If your usage is encoding/rendering then you'll be better going quad simply because the majority of applications are multi-threaded and can make use of quad's.

It's all down to your usage.

The new version of the Q6600 (G0; which you'll get if you purchase) is also a fabulous overclocker. An extra ghz on air is easily attainable.

So if you're oc'ing I'd say go for the quad because then your mhz will oust the stock speed of the dual (gaming) and you'll have 4 cores (encoding/rendering).

The cache of a cpu makes no noticeable difference when gaming (using Intel's current line-up as the example) but can help with encoding/rendering/multi-tasking.

[alex]

Also (sorry) if going quad go for the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 pro. Quad's (the 65nm variety anyway) do run rather warm, even at stock. You'll need a good hsf to tame one. The AC7 is quite simply the best hsf on the market on a bang-for-buck basis.

I'm also not too keen on the psu you quoted. I'd prefer to see an Enermax infiniti or Liberty there. 700w is also overkill for the build quoted, even with the quad. 600w will do you nicely.

[Binary0101]

That's a lot to take in. I'm going to buy the E8400 as the computer's going to be solely for gaming. Hopefully the heatsink and fan included with the processor will be good enough (I don't feel like buying a new hsf).
What would happen if i used 700W for the build? surely the computer parts would take the amount of electricity needed.

[alex]

Originally Posted by Binary0101 That's a lot to take in. I'm going to buy the E8400 as the computer's going to be solely for gaming. Hopefully the heatsink and fan included with the processor will be good enough (I don't feel like buying a new hsf). What would happen if i used 700W for the build? surely the computer parts would take the amount of electricity needed.

700w will do fine, don't worry about giving a component too much juice from a psu; each rail is regimented to provide what's necessary within a tolerance. The higher wattage of a particular psu just means you can add more powerful graphics cards or more hdds etc and for your current build 700w is overkill.

The stock intel hsf will do fine if you're not oc'ing but the AC7 is also very cheap (around £15) and runs quieter on a stock-speed cpu than the Intel one bundled with the cpu.

[Binary0101]

I see, I see. Thanks for clarifying it, Alex. It's just that for £39.99, the PSU is cheap and it's rated really highly. I've searched for a enermax 620W PSU and it's priced at £93.84. I'm going to stick with the the 700W PSU since I may add more HDDs or upgrade the graphics card in the future.

Also i doubt i'm going to overclock the comp as I have no experience in it and I'm afraid I might destroy the parts

[alex]

If you're not oc'ing then definately go for the E8400. Very good choice.

Other than that, well spec'd. Enjoy.

[kanoakavirus]

from what i see your set up is pretty on the spot for simple gameing , i guess you could do with oc'ing your cpu as ive found for gaming at 4 hours or more can take a toll on your cpu i recomend going with a cpu at 3ghz but thats just my preference and its what ive found best for a pure gaming pc and you dont really need a psu of that wattage but if money is no object then go ahead as long as you know its like driving on the roads in the uk ye you can go out and buy a lambo or bugatti that reach speeds of 200 + but its no use on roads with a speed limit of 30 -70 all im saying is ive had a 360 watt psu for 3 years and i game on average 30 hours a week used to be 70 lol and my psu has never done me wrong :) hope any of this helps