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Thread: New PC Advice

  1. #1
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    New PC Advice

    I've been spending some time looking through lists trying to come up with a new PC to replace my rapidly out-dated model.

    I'm quite happy with the choice I've made but it's time to ask those who are wiser than I am.

    I'm open to any advice, criticisms or any tips anyone may have regarding the choices or any alternatives they may think of.

    Primarily this is a gaming PC and here it is:

    AMD 64 X2 4600+ 2.4ghz Processor
    Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe Motherboard
    Crucial DDR2 BallistiX PC6400 2048MB Memory
    Gainward 8800GTS 640MB Graphics
    Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB Hard Drive
    Gigabyte Triton Silver Aluminium Case
    Thermaltake Toughpower 750W PSU
    Windows Vista Premium Home Edition 64-Bit OEM

    I plan to add a further graphics card, another 2GB of memory and a dedicated soundcard as well in the future.

    As I said, I'm quite happy with these choices but there are a few questions I have.

    Firstly, I'm looking at replacing the stock cooling fan that comes with the processor. Does anyone have any suggestions on a better model?

    Secondly, is the 750Watt PSU enough to run two graphics cards and the rest of the system? Is it too much? I only want to pay for what I'll actually need.

    Can anyone recommened a decent Creative soundcard? I'm torn between the X-Fi Extreme Gamer and the X-Fi Extreme Gamer Fatalty Pro at the moment. I'm more concerned with overall system performance than sound quality. Can anyone offer and advice on this?

    I had a look at the WD-Raptor HDD's but decided the £80 difference would be better spent elsewhere or kept in my wallet That's maybe something for the future.

    Like I said earlier and and all criticism and advise is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

  2. #2
    Senior Member Lgbpop's Avatar
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    Nice system, but why skimp on the CPU? The 4600 is a good one, but for another $40 (small increase above the total cost of your proposed system) you can get the 5200 with twice the L2 cache - 2 x 1MB and is slightly faster as well. It would improve your benchmarks considerably.
    Thank God we're not getting all of the government we're paying for!

  3. #3
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    The added L2 really helps out in some things. Worth it.

  4. #4
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    For the cooling, I use this:

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835118223

    Variable fan speed, so you can lower the noise when you're not gaming, dropped my cpu temp considerably.

  5. #5
    Extreme Member! BipolarBill's Avatar
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    Skip Vista for now. Stick with XP.
    MS MCP, MCSE

  6. #6
    Senior Member Lgbpop's Avatar
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    If you really want Vista, wait another five or six weeks. M$ is supposed to drop SP1 around the end of July, it should correct a number of maddening little things.
    Thank God we're not getting all of the government we're paying for!

  7. #7
    Ultimate Member AllGamer's Avatar
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    Dual Boot

    have both XP and Vista together
    i7-3970X, Corsair H80, 32GB G.SKILL, ASUS RAMPAGE4 Formula, VG278H(3x27")+3D Vision2, EVGA GTX 690(x2), OCZ ZX1250W, 256GB Vertex4(x2), Seagate 3TB(x5), Antec LanBoyAir, Logitech G510, G600, Z560THX, T.Flight Hotas, PZ35, Sennheiser PC163D, TrackIR5

  8. #8
    Ultimate Member Comage's Avatar
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    I'd say up the CPU to a 5600+. The 5200+ runs at a slower memory controller speed of 742MHz (because of its multiplier), instead of 800MHz.

    The 5600+ also has 2MB of cache, 1MB for each core.

  9. #9
    Ultimate Member Rugor's Avatar
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    When I was dual booting I found it really helped to have each OS on its own HD and use the BIOS as a boot manager.
    "Dude you're getting a Dell." Obscure curse from the early 21st Century, ascribed to a minor demon-spirit known as "Stephen?" [sp].

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