Time for an upgrade

pcadvice

Hi all,

I’ve been using a dell dimension 8400 for gaming and I think im in need of an upgrade as it does not perform to the level I need or want. I have upgraded the ps to 750w, gfx card to nvidia 8600gt and now have 3 gig of ram but dont ask me what type. I have been playing wow since the start and the system struggles in 25man raids. I have spoken to a member of my guild who has suggested the following:

Amount: Artnr: Product Price Totall
1 110770 WD Caviar Green 1.5TB, 5400~7200rpm, 32MB, SATA2 119,00 119,00
1 123591 Asus P6T Deluxe V2, S1366, X58, 6xDDR3, PCIe, ATX 264,00 264,00
2 123678 Asus EAH4890 TOP/HTDI 1GB, 2xDVI, PCIe 217,00 434,00
1 123915 Lian Li PS-S850GE Silent Force 850 Watt, Modulair 180,00 180,00
1 130922 CoolerMaster Stacker RC-831,ATX,noPSU,Zwart 174,00 174,00
1 131523 Intel i7 920 2.66GHz, 4.8GT/sec, 8MB, S1366, Box 239,00 239,00
1 145301 OCZ Platinum 6GB(3x2GB) DDR3 PC3-14400, 1800MHz 141,00 141,00
2 145305 OCZ Vertex Turbo SSD 30GB, 2.5", 64MB, SATAII 124,00 248,00
1 330039 Samsung 3.5" Diskdrive, 1.44MB, zwart 15,00 15,00
1 400872 Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio, PCIe 63,00 63,00
1 418297 Lite-On iHDS118 18x48x DVD-Rom, Zwart, SATA 17,00 17,00
1 418324 Lite-On iHAS424 24xDVDRW, LS, SATA, Zwart, Retail 33,00 33,00
1 659547 Samsung 2494HM 24"WideTFT, 5ms, DVI, FullHD,Zw 249,00 249,00
1 900462 MS Windows Vista H. Prem. UK, SP1, 64b, box + W7 119,00 119,00
16 products Totall: 2.295,00

Is this system any good? Is it total overkill?

AlmightyCushion

If you are willing to spend that amount of money then go for it. You could get a very good system for less though. Go for a
q6600/q6700 for the processor.
4GBs DDR2.
Decent gigabyte/asus motherboard for about €100 max.
Use your existing 750w power supply.
Ditch the floppy drive and sound card (on board sound is great now a days).
You could go with a cheaper case like the antec 900.

Doing the above will save you quite a bit of cash but still give you an excellent system.

Solitaire

Slap your guildmate around the head for that one. Aside from some very strange (read: absurd) part choices that build in general is for e-penis extending, simple as that. Its overkill for gaming in general, let alone WoW! :eek:

CPU is overkill - its an enterprise-class CPU which thrives on heavy professional apps and isn't much better than a current C2Q or Phenom2 at gaming or general usage. The price of compatible mobo and memory pushes the price through the roof. CFd HD4890s are overkill for most builds too - they're great fun, but only if you really need to run Crysis or other high-demand games at 2560*1600. With a real-world monitor at 1650*1080 or even 1080p HD res a single HD4890, OCd to taste, is usually more than enough.

The case is utter overkill from a price perspective and utterly unneccessary from a performance one - even a sub-€90 Mini-HAF coupled with an appropriate CPU cooler is more than enough to keep an OCd i7 in check. Hell, a Xigmatek Midgard and a few fans thrown in is plenty, and potentially cheaper than €70. And the PSU is suck - don't be fooled by the Lian-Li badge, the OEM is sucky (Sirtec!) and performance and stability are off the mark. A good-brand 750-850W should be far better while costing half as much.

Now we get to the raving loony section. Floppy drive wtf?!!? Unfitting. They're obsolete. "Eco" HDDs like the Caviar Green are slow, low-power models not really suited to gaming. One or two more suitable 1TB 7200rpm HDDs will only knock you back €60+ each. Now its fun time. For a premium build a SSD is nice, but for even a mid-high-end gaming build they're not so hot - you need to keep databasing elements of game files (the most obvious candidate for being put on a SSD to increase speed) away from MLC-based drives as they eventually shred them. SLC SSDs are still too pricey for all except ultra-high-end builds and I won't recommend them to you - no need to burn an extra €5000 for eff-all improvement over a €500-800 rig! MLC SSDs are really only meant for heavy read-only use, and burn an awful big hole in the wallet for what they do. Why do you have an additional DVD reader? Not that that's a major issue... And €63 for an X-Fi Audio is a joke - its just a dongle that lets you use Creative software, not really a sound card at all! Ditch it or be prepared to spend more money on a real sound card.

pcadvice

didnt want to make a new thread as its the same topic:D

ok im still in the market for a new pc and tbh i havent a clue what most of the stuff on that list is but going from your reply i can ignore that list.

i would post a list of parts but tbh i might aswell save us all alot of time and admit i wouldnt know where to start as i have a very limited knowledge of pc parts.

would you be able to suggest a list for me please?

the pc will be used for gaming, i want to be able to play basically any game at max settings if i want to with no loss of performance.

budget i would say is €2,000 max, if i can get a very good system for cheaper great.

i do need a bigger monitor 24"? i have a keyboard and mouse i could use if needed but im open to suggestions for those also.

basically i want a beast of a machine if possible, future proofing it as much as possible is important also.

im desperate at this stage as i cant even enjoy online games my pc is so bad/outdated and i dont want to buy a lemon.

thank you

IrishGrimReaper

If you want to stretch the budget that much to get an i7 by all means go ahead, but for games the i5 is just as good. Also good to see you're willing to do what it takes to "future proof" it

CPU - i5
http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=492762

Mobo- P7P55D-E
http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=513219

You could also get a UD3/UD5 instead, choice is yours really. This has plenty of slots and has the USB 3.0 standard and the new 6GBS sata. So it's a great buy for the future.

RAM - Crucial 4GB DDR3 1600Mhz, relatively cheap but still good.

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=518211
Or.
http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=481132

Performance should be about the same, just the second one looks better

GPU - 5850/5870 if you can find them in stock. Tbh though the 5850 is the best value for money and should handle games without a bother. Your choice on this one too.

http://www.komplett.ie/k/search.aspx?q=5850

http://www.komplett.ie/k/search.aspx?q=5870

HDD - Personally I'd get a 1TB Caviar Green or Samsung Spinpoint 1TB(I like the Green better). Use this for your data/games.

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=391606

And for your OS the brilliant Intel X-25 80GB M Generation 2 is just win. One of the best SSD's out there. With TRIM support too!

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=485983

PSU - I'd put a Corsair 850HX in there. (Or the one I bought, the Enermax Rev 85+).

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=460921

Case - Well alot of the case choice is down to personal opinion since this is what you look at the most and you want one you like to look at.

For a full tower the HAF is great value. (Don't get an Antec 900 whatever you do).

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=369755

But I'm an Lian Li fan and I love them.

OS - Windows 7 Home Prem 64 bit.

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=500040

Also if you plan to overclock in the future invest in a good aftermarket cooler. I have this one. And it's great a bit pricey but worth it, although theirs other good ones out there too. Not sure if the Mugen 2 has a 1156 bracket yet though.

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=496004

All that comes to €1,423. Shop around maybe the parts are cheaper elsewhere. Also forgot to add a DVD rom, anything that writes DVD will do really.
http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=573264

Edit: Oh and if you have a good 24" moniter there's no point getting something better, if you want you could get some nice peripherals. I use a Logitech G9 mouse and G11 keyboard, I like them lots but don't really use the macros keys on the keyboard.

I like this monitor myself, but I'm using a Samsung 22" T220 and that's more than big enough for me. 24" would be too much.

You could get yourself a nice sound system too?
Very pricey but great speakers, my brother has a set coming tomorrow if the weather will get better
http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=303911

And you want a good sound card too. Check out the Asus Xonar DX series.

Mister Man

pcadvice wrote: »

1 131523 Intel i7 920 2.66GHz, 4.8GT/sec, 8MB, S1366, Box 239,00 239,00

Lol for WoW that is just a bad idea......must people who buy I7's don't use them to full potentil and im sure WoW wont push it very far lol

Also those case's are a bit expensive, no point in them really (I didnt cheak that one out, but the brand im talking about)

Go with a antec or collermaster, much cheapeR, does the job

Honestly the guy that gave you this list sould get shot...If WoW is the only game you play there is no point ingoing with that build

If you do only play WoW go with a phenom X4 antec case, whatever motherboard you think is good (You can prob just throw your ram back into the new system) and get a nice new GPU, saving yourself 100's from that other list

pcadvice

thanks for the replies

tbh i have no idea re those parts m8, guess i will have to read some reviews but ty for your time.

i am not going to use that list i was given at all, i only used this thread so i wouldnt clutter the forums with a new thread re same topic.

at the moment i play wow and some cod but things change so i want a decent system capable of dealing with anything i might decide to do in the future.

any other ideas please?

IrishGrimReaper

pcadvice wrote: »

thanks for the replies

tbh i have no idea re those parts m8, guess i will have to read some reviews but ty for your time.

i am not going to use that list i was given at all, i only used this thread so i wouldnt clutter the forums with a new thread re same topic.

at the moment i play wow and some cod but things change so i want a decent system capable of dealing with anything i might decide to do in the future.

any other ideas please?

Use the one I said. It's great and will last ages, not overkill with the HT that won't do you any good either.

Mister Man

pcadvice wrote: »

thanks for the replies

tbh i have no idea re those parts m8, guess i will have to read some reviews but ty for your time.

i am not going to use that list i was given at all, i only used this thread so i wouldnt clutter the forums with a new thread re same topic.

at the moment i play wow and some cod but things change so i want a decent system capable of dealing with anything i might decide to do in the future.

any other ideas please?

Yeah Irishgim's list is defo good if you have plan's on other stuff, I5's are pretty good from what i heard

jonny72

pcadvice wrote: »

thanks for the replies

tbh i have no idea re those parts m8, guess i will have to read some reviews but ty for your time.

i am not going to use that list i was given at all, i only used this thread so i wouldnt clutter the forums with a new thread re same topic.

at the moment i play wow and some cod but things change so i want a decent system capable of dealing with anything i might decide to do in the future.

any other ideas please?

Theres no such thing as a future proof PC of course, but there are parts that are extremely good and will last a long time.

As recommended to you, one of the best value/performance processor's out at the moment the intel i5 750. If you want to spend roughly 100 euro more on 5 to 10% performance increase you can go with the i5 860.
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3634&p=16

Then there are the graphics. The leader right now is ATI, their two flagship models are the 5850 and the 5870. There is a 5890, its about 600 euros, its just overkill.
The 5850 is just the card to get at the moment, great value/performance.

The 5870 is more costly, but gives you that extra 10 or 15%.


Those are the two powerhouses in your PC. All you need then is 4 gig ram, you can always expand later on no problem, but 4 gigabytes will do you for a very long time.

Case, power supply, fans, etc are all mentioned by Irishgrimreaper, good choices, there are many, but those are good choices.


Whats left? harddisks. The fastest 'normal' harddisk at the moment is really a Samsung F3 1tb drive, its extremely fast and only 75 euros, basically one of the best mechanical disks.

Since you have a high budget, we have to mention SSDs, Solid State Disks, fairly new, but high priced. All 7200 rpm disks, like the samsung I mentioned above, will take a minimum amount of time to boot up the computer, load up programs, etc, etc. The SSD's are completely different, they have no moving parts and can be MUCH faster than a normal harddisk. Basically you can cut all your loading, copying, etc times by half or more.

One of the best recognised at the moment is the Intel X-25 SSD, its about 80 gbs (perfect for your operating system and WOW, you can put all other games movies etc on the other harddisk). It would cost about 200 euros.

Thats it. If there is too much info, just read a review on that processor and that graphics card.

ScumLord

AlmightyCushion wrote: »

If you are willing to spend that amount of money then go for it. You could get a very good system for less though. Go for a
q6600/q6700 for the processor.

I have a Q6700 in my PC and it's pretty much the end of the road for this motherboard isn't that chip on an older manufacturing process and outdated now? If he wants to have upgradeability should he get a motherboard using the newer chips?

Gurgle

pcadvice wrote: »

Totall: 2.295,00
Is this system any good? Is it total overkill?

That is absolutely insane overkill.

For WoW of all things?

The requirements for WoW were fairly low when it came out, and thats 5-6 years ago now.

Solitaire

ARGH! Forgot how **** Paint was until now. Can't even merge two sets of pixels! :mad:

Anyway, for €1050 shipped minus OS/monitor/peripherals:




I had to use TWO stores because of the retarded stock situations going on at the moment. To make matters worse NEITHER site has a decent LGA1156 cooler for under €70 (once you add the fan). No Mugen2 Rev2 anywhere. So that's also missing (and unlike the OS and monitor you can't just grab one off HWVS ) Add €190-€300+ for an OS and monitor.