is this a good comp ?

[higgz]

will this be able to run games such as doom 3 and stuff without fps lag or anything

would have the following specs:

Cobra silver case with side window.

- 500w Power supply.

- 3 x 80mm blue led fans

- 2 x 80mm clear fans

Asus P4P800-E Deluxe motherboard.

- 8 USB 2.0 ports (6 rear, 2 front).

- 2 IEEE1394 firewire ports.

- Integrated LAN Controller.

- 1 serial port (COM1)

- 1 parallel port (SPP/EPP/ECP).

- 8-Channel Onboard Audio


- 2 Serial ATA ports.

- AGP 8X interface.

- 5 PCI slots.

Intel Pentium 4 3.0GHz Processor FSB800 with Hyper-Threading.

1024mb DDR400 Dual Channel memory (2 x 512mb)

ATi Radeon 9600 Pro 256mb DDR graphics card with CRT, DVI and TV Out sockets.

160GB S-ATA 7200rpm 8mb Cache Hard Drive

16 x DVD ROM drive.

NEC ND2510a Dual Layer DVD +/- R/RW drive.

3.5” Floppy Drive..

for around about the price of £749.99

or

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3698&item=5123060059&rd=1

are they good prices ?

kinda big Questions but big thanks in advanced :-p kwl

[PacNW CE]

All is fantastic except the video card. You can still play D3 on a 9600, just not very well. I'd look for a 6600 GT to replace it.

[higgz]

ok thanks alot, could anyone specify some components that you would recommend to be in a computer to buy ? that is ideal for gaming .. thanks

[Magua]

I would recomend you upgrade to a 9800pro for the video card. They can be had for under $200 now and are the best bang for your buck.

[higgz]

does anyone thing that this is good for gaming ?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....060059&rd=1

thanks alot!.

[scottluebke2003]

the 9600 stinks. However, the 9600XT with 128MB is a very good card. But for $200 you can get a 9800 Pro which is a very fast card. Remember, amount of RAM on a video card isn't always what it seems. Often times more RAM actually slows the card down.

[Magua]

links not working for me, but I definately wouldn't go with the 9600

[holoflux]

My rig has the same ASUS motherboard, but with a 3.3GHz P4c and ATI 9800 pro. This setup was state of the art about 1 1/2 years ago and at the time it cost me around £2000 to put together. These days Doom3 runs great on my machine, but gets choppy on the very high quality settings. I also bought a 9600 for a friend and tried it out in my machine first - the result was very dissappoiting: to put it bluntly the 9600 sucked.

IMO your proposal seems priced about right, but for gaming you would greatly benefit from at least a 9800 pro.

[bob05]

Like everyone else said, a 9600 is a waste. A 5900XT is a cheap alternative if you don't have the money for a 9800 Pro. :t

[higgz]

ok thanks guyz!:-@ LOL!, anywayz..
can someone write a list of a couple of things that i should include in my pc as i have descided to build my own which is alot better as i can get what i want, the thing im intrested in most is for the computer to be reliable and very quick loading time and run games such as doom 3 ( running games is that just down to the graphics card or other aswell ? )


thanks you guyz ! :t

[JediOfDarkness]

Actually, I wouldn't bother with the 9800 Pro, even though it is a great gaming card, I would wait for the GF6600's to hit the shelves and buy a 6600GT ($200?). It's supposedly going to be able to compete with the 9800XT and 5950U (or surpase them perhaps), while having DX9.0c and SM3.0 support. So that would be the best "bang for the buck" graphics card. And just to add to the fire, yes, the R9600 Pro/XT is not worth buying for a true gaming system. Though it can still play all of the games out today, you will be kicking yourself for buying it later on down the road when HL2, Quake 4, ect type games comes out, as you won't be able to play then with any real good quality levels.

As for everything else, it's a great system, but have you thought of getting an AMD64? A AMD64 939 with dual channel RAM will compete and beat any P4 in most all applications. Look around for a computer with an Athlon 64 3500/3800/FX-53, and make sure it has two sticks of memory, even though you can always add another later on if it doesn't. That'll allow your computer to run in Dual Channel mode. But if you're an Intel fan, the P4 3.0GHz is still a great CPU. Plus you can always easily get 3.2-3.4GHz out of it with good cooling, so no need to get a faster one.

[cuelebre]

I don't know much about that case but I would recomend something with 120mm fans on it.

******************
You said WHAT???:D

[higgz]

god!, the replies here are quick and very good :P when is that card coming out then ? do you know ? what is actually the best card you can get from £300 or below ?

[higgz]

ok what is the best card for this time or for around in about a week or two, as i am sellin of this computer to build my own and this should be sold by wednesday... so any ideas ? thanks

[Magua]

Right now the best card out in that range is the 9800pro. The 9800XT offers a slight performance boost but isnt worth the increase in cost IMO.

[MJCfromCT]

You have £300 to spend just on the vid card?

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-121-510&depa=1

I'd get that if I had that much money.

$435 = £243.40 if the converter i used is accurate.

[higgz]

what bit would you recommend ?

[higgz]

no well maybe i dont im just guessing that if i had £1000 to build a computer that i coul get a graphics card like that right ?


is this the same thing or just as good ?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=40158&item=5123953112&rd=1 good price ?
and would it rip doom 3 apart ?

[higgz]

anyone ?

[froggg1truebloo]

Originally posted by higgz
no well maybe i dont im just guessing that if i had £1000 to build a computer that i coul get a graphics card like that right ?


is this the same thing or just as good ?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=40158&item=5123953112&rd=1 good price ?
and would it rip doom 3 apart ?

looks the same on ebay/ BUT/ the one from newegg came with a free usb webcamera....good luck

[DocEvi1]

:t
There are far better places to place your order than Ebay in the UK, take http://www.meshcomputers.com/updated/xtreme_2.htm as an example, now that is a spectacular machine!

If you configure one of the lower end machines you can even fiddle with stuff that you don't want.

Oh, and mesh are very decent company from what I hear.

[JediOfDarkness]

I honestly can't see why anyone would waste their money buying an X800 Pro... an X800 XT, certainly, as it bests even the 6800U in some tests. But the Pro cannot compete with the 6800GT, which is actually lower in cost right now. If you have $400-$500US to spend on a graphics card, buy a GeForce 6800GT, as it's what I have and I LOVE it. I've got mine OC'd to 410/1100 right now without one artifact. Which btw 400/1100 is 6800 Ultra specs if you don't know.
And as for when the 6600's are to hit the stores, supposedly soon, but not in your timeframe it looks. The 6800GT is also a far superior card to the 6600GT, so if you go with the 6800GT you can't go wrong. Just as I said, the X800 isn't worth it unless you go with the XT.

[higgz]

ok thanks i can spend $400 odd dollars on a graphics card as i live in UK i cant get them as cheap as americans :(


(seriously sucks the prices for us )

[JediOfDarkness]

Well, how's this then, went to http://www.ebay.co.uk and found this for ya:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=67864&item=5123041820&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

Good luck

[higgz]

ok cool is that good for the price ?

thanks alot mate

[JediOfDarkness]

The 6800GT is the third best graphics card out right now, depending on how you look at it. The 6800 Ultra and X800 XT would be tied for 1st place, and the 6800GT would come in third, followed by the X800 Pro being fourth. But you can easily OC a 6800GT to the same speeds as an Ultra, as I stated I have done to mine, and basicly have the best graphics card out right now. The upside to doing this is that you don't take up a PCI slot like the 6800 Ultra does, and you don't need a 480W PSU like you do with the 6800 Ultra, even though you can get by with lower if you have one. And I'm not exactly sure, but I think that card would be about $350US, which would be an amazingly good price if that's right. Either way, that's the cheapest I've found one in the UK.

[higgz]

yeh, see its a bummer americans get so cheap prices $350 is only aroudn about £215

[JediOfDarkness]

OK, I guess I have my foreign currency conversions a little off, as I was thinking that EUR270 would be $350US, but I guess not. In US the 6800GT costs around $400-$450 depending on the brand. I paid $420 for mine.

[JediOfDarkness]

Here's another option if you'd be up for bidding on one:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=67864&item=5123122231&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

[higgz]

ok ill take alook thanks :)

you got any sites that tell you how to overclock your pc


is this anygood ? http://www.sysopt.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&postid=1178505#post1178505

[JediOfDarkness]

Yes, this forum is pretty good :p
But there are many good places for OCing. One place is http://www.tweaktown.com/, another http://overclockers.com/. You can also just use Google and do something like "How do I overclock such-and-such CPU" and search through the results.

[higgz]

i have had this pc for around about 2 years now i was wondering if you could tell me how t o find out what components i have inside without taking alook, as far as i can remember there was somewere i seen it :confused:

[holoflux]

4 Ways to get system info:

1. Control Panel > System > Device Manager . . . right click (on a listed device) > Properties (or something similar depending on OS).

2. Start > Programs > Accesories > System Tools > System Information > Hardware (loads of information)

3. Hit F2/5/[Del]/etc. to access BIOS and browse.

4. Right click on 'My Computer' > Properties (summary info only)

[higgz]

ok thanks alot.

[higgz]

what would be the best ram to get ?

[MJCfromCT]

http://www.sysopt.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=169942

Hopefully that'll help. :)

[cheeseman]

higgz



if you are a big gamer than go with the FX 6800GT, if not a big gamer than the ATI 9600 will do fine

[higgz]

yeah i am a big gamer! so its the FX 6800GT now ?
so many diffrent cards... dont know were i am now :confused:

but i am afraid that with a tight budget of around £850 + £150 for a monitor: i aint going to get such a good computer.

Also i know im going to pick the wrong Ram for the motherboard and other stuff as i am 15 and havnt had alot to do with building a pc just putting it together

[higgz]

okey!, what is the graphics card out there ? or however much money you had ?

[DocEvi1]

VERY LARGE AMOUNT OF COUGHING ;)

Originally posted by DocEvi1
:t
There are far better places to place your order than Ebay in the UK, take http://www.meshcomputers.com/updated/xtreme_2.htm as an example, now that is a spectacular machine!

If you configure one of the lower end machines you can even fiddle with stuff that you don't want.

Oh, and mesh are very decent company from what I hear.

You'd be best of buying straight off...

[MrBurns]

Originally posted by higgz
will this be able to run games such as doom 3 and stuff without fps lag or anything

yes, if you dont use resolutions greater than 1024x768 and also use no AA/AF. If you want to play these games w/ higher resolutions or AA/AF, you will need a better gpu.

[JediOfDarkness]

OK, first of all, the 6800GT is *NOT* an FX series card. It's a 6 series. And the "best" card out there, no matter how much the money, is sorta up for grabs between the 6800 Ultra and the X800 XT. But once you go one step lower, there is no competition. The 6800GT easily bests the X800 Pro, as I stated above. But, as I also stated, save the extra $100 and buy the 6800GT, then use CoolBits to OC it to 400/1100, should run perfectly, and if so, you've got a 6800 Ultra for $100 less.

As for the best RAM, I would go with something like DDR400 Mushkin, Corsair, Kingston, Geil... something along those lines. Never buy generic (house brand) RAM, not worth even fooling with. If you're going to want to OC your system, you may want to think about getting either Corsair XMS or OCZ Preformance series, but you're not planning on OCing, don't bother with anything over DDR400.

[MrBurns]

the 6800 ultra is better than the gt, so the gt is not the best card out.

[JediOfDarkness]

Who said the 6800GT *was* better than the Ultra? If that's what you got from what I've said, maybe I've confused you... the 6800GT can be OC'd to 400/1100 \(Ultra speeds) easily, most of the time, and so then you basicly have the same thing as an Ultra, but not really "better", though I've got mine OC'd to 410/1100 right now so it is perhaps slightly better. The 6800GT and the 6800 Ultra have the same specs besides the clock differences (and the Ultra has slightly quicker RAM, but it's really a non-issue unless you want to OC it higher than 1100MHz).

[MrBurns]

but normally you can oc higher clocked cards higher, so even when you oc, you still have an advantage from the ultra.

[JediOfDarkness]

OK, but I'm not comparing the OC'd 6800GT to an OC'd 6800 Ultra, rather the OC'd 6800GT to a regularly clocked 6800 Ultra. I have, however, seen 6800GT's hit speeds nearly as high as 6800 Ultra's can hit (438/1200 for the GT and 450/1200 for the Ultra). My point here, however, is that you can pay $100 LESS, get a 6800GT, OC it, and get the same preformance as someone that has a regularly clocked 6800 Ultra. Now of course if you have the money to get an Ultra, go ahead. But there are other things to consider. 1) the Ultra takes up a PCI slot while the GT does not, and 2) you do not need a 480W PSU to use the 6800GT while you do with the 6800 Ultra.

[higgz]

god jedi!,
your awesome you saved me i was going to buy a Ultra.. but now i get to save around £60 - £80! yey!

now if i was to buy this...here (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=51064&item=6708400394&rd=1)

would it beable to go in there ?...and what water cooling would you recommend to have for it?...


cheers!...

[MrBurns]

I also wouldnt buy the ultra, except if i had a lot of money. i just wanted to say, that you cannot say, that the gt is better than the ultra, because the ultra is still the best. the gt is better in the price/performance ratio, but the ultra is a little better in pure performance.

[higgz]

okey, cheers dude!

[JediOfDarkness]

Higgz, that case would work perfectly. It is a Full ATX, meaning that any motherboard should fit in it. Be sure to put good cooling in it, at least two fans, to help keep your system nice and cool. Good luck with building your system and do let us know how it goes.
And to Burns, I'm not gonna keep going about this, but I just want to say once again that I haven't said that the GT is better than the Ultra, rather you can buy a GT and get the *SAME* preformance as an Ultra, give or take. I'm not in any way saying that if you were to buy a GT and an Ultra that you could ever expect the GT to be better than the Ultra if you OC'd them both to their max, but rather by overclocking the GT you can get the same preformance as a standard Ultra, give or take a couple fps.

Higgz, if you need any help OCing any componants in your system, if you deside to do so, let us know and we'll be glad to help ya out! :t

Edit:
As for the water cooling, it depends if you're wanting one with highest preformance or one that's quite. Never buy a cheap water cooler, either. On cheap ones the tubing is sometimes low quality and will leak. It only takes a few drops of water to leak onto your motherboard to short it out, so be weary of this. Try going to http://www.overclockers.com/topiclist/index31.asp and looking around. Find one that has a good review and that is in your pricerange and it should work out fine. Good luck!

[MrBurns]

also cheap water cooling systems sometimes only have the performance of an air cooling system, but they are still much more expensive.

[JediOfDarkness]

Yep, even some of the more expensive ones won't give you any more cooling preformance than air cooling. The difference is the noise. Water cooling a system is almost always quiter than air cooling it, though their are some exceptions if you buy high quality, quite fans and heatpipes.

[MrBurns]

i wouldnt spend any money on a water cooling system, wehn the performance isnt better than w/ air cooling. i dont care much about boise. because good water cooling is too exspensive for me as long as i am a student, i will stay w/ air cooling for a while.

[JediOfDarkness]

Well, I would go with water cooling, for sure, but I woudn't go with a cheap one. If I could get up $200-$300 for a good water cooling system, then I'd go for it. But, even if you bought a cheap one, and it didn't leak, you could always put in an extra radiator or two to get the water really cold. It's just buying good water blocks is so dang expensive... $125 for a GeForce 6800 water block?? You might be able to find one a little cheaper, but that's the price on the only one I've found with 1/2" OD tubing.