hi all
i have been looking at getting a new rig for couple of weeks now and have looked at different combinations countless times. i have a buget of £750 ($1400) plz could you sujest rigs that will get me the best poossible spec for the price.

couple of things
I am looking to overclock so the parts chosen must alow me to do so, an well
i already have a monitor (samsung t220 22" )
the case must alow space for upgrading

I am going to be using the comp for gaming cod4, crysis . . . i will also be using programs such as 3d max and photoshop

i will be gratefull for all sujestions (plz list the site, take into account the shipping costs to the uk)

jourdain

CPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115037
Motherboard:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128345
Hard Drive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136178
Video Card:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814127359
Case&Power Supply:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811119142
Optical Drive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827136149

e8400
gigabyte ep45-ds3l
WD 640gb
4870
coolermaster 690
corsair 650w psu
xigmatek s1283 heatsink + retention bracket + arctic silver 5
samsung sata dvd
4gb ddr2 800 4-4-4-12

Q6600 retail 113 GBP
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/131950

P5Q Pro P45 Crossfire 85 GBP
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/145751

Corsair 750W, 76 GBP
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/134677

Sapphire HD 4850, two of them, 118 GBP * 2
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/145524

Antec 900, 68 GBP
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/118268

OCZ 4GB DDR2-800 60 GBP
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/138562

WD 640GB, 49 GBP
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/144339

Noctua NH-U12P, 44 GBP
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/147097

Vista Home Premium 64-bit OEM, 66 GBP
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/123067

Total 797 GBP.

I assume you've got a DVD, mouse, keyboard, speakers already.

If that's too much money, you can just buy the Noctua later and use the Q6600 at stock for now, or overclock it a bit on the stock cooler. Or you can buy the second video card later (but that will hurt gaming performance a lot more than using the Q6600 at stock).

Maybe do some research and find RAM with better timings, or DDR2-1066. It depends on how serious you are about overclocking and ho wmuch you can spend.

Here's a review for the Noctua cooler. It's the best air cooler money can buy these days.
http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=3268&p=2

The OCZ Vendetta 2 is cheaper and still does a great job:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/144345

This CoolerMaster CM690 case is 3 GBP less than the Antec 900, cools just as well, it's very roomy too, and has no annoying lights. Of course, if you like the lights, get the Antec 900.
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/131551

thnaks aevm
i like what you have sujested, i already have a version of vista 64-bit, guess i should have said that. With the money saved from the operating system do you think it is worth upgrading to a q6700 from a q6600. which of the 2 procesors is better when overclocked and the best for you money?

and just to let you no i am not to serious about overclocking, if i got q q6600 i would like to get it up to 3ghz-3.3ghz

also many reviews say that 1 4780 is better than 2 4750's, is this the case or have you had a different experiance?

Q6700 has a multiplier of 10, while Q6600 has only 9. That is, on a P45 motherboard with DDR2-800 and a good cooler, you can get to 3.6 GHz with Q6600 or 4 GHz with Q6700, all without pushing the MB or the RAM. That's why overclockers love the Q6700

If you're happy with 3.3 GHz, stay with the Q6600, DDR2-800 and the Vendetta 2. There's really no need to spend the extra cash on more expensive parts.

HD 4850 Crossfire beats a single HD 4870 in Crysis at 1680x1050 (50 fps vs 37 fps) and at 1920x1200, but loses by a bit at 2560x1600. Weird.
http://www.vr-zone.com/articles/Gr [...] 35-11.html

In WiC and UT3 the HD 4850 CF wins at all resolutions, which makes a lot more sense.

Still, if you'd rather go with the HD 4870, that's also a good approach. It means you can add another HD 4870 in 6 months or whenever it becomes cheaper or when you feel you need it, and HD 4870 CF will beat HD 4850 CF.

looks like i will be going with the q6600, and a 4870, which will be upgraded to 2x 4870's in the future

as i am going to upgrade in the future, could you sujest a slightly better graphics card that could run 2 4870's well and has a good overclocking.

I have never overclocked before so i am a bit worried about doing it . . . do you no of any company in the uk that can do i 4 me?

thanks for your help

You mean a motherboard that could run 2 4870's at full 16x speed, I guess... That would be an X38 or X48. The X48 is newer than X38 and makes overclocking easier but costs more. Some examples:

GA-X48-DS4, 140 GBP
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/145368

Asus P5E X38, 123 GBP
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/140041

aBit IX38 QuadGT, 117 GBP
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/show [...] =MB-138-AB

Edit: Don't worry about overclocking. The Q6600 is very fast even as it is. I have one myself and it's nowhere near 100% usage most of the time. I overclocked it for fun, then I turned it all back to stock later because it was just wasting electricity. It makes sense if you need more CPU power, but FSX is the only game I know where overclocking a Q6600 is worth it.

THNAKS FOR THIS IT IS A GRAT HELP

i asumed that by adding a 2nd 4870 i would need a better mother board, or would the P5Q Pro P45 Crossfire 85 GBP be ample?

also if i did overclock the cq6600 to 3ghz (which i probably would) is there any thing that needs to be change/overclocked on the mother board and ram. i would not alter the gpu as i sure it will be fine for my needs

coleman

We have a bunch of sticky threads about overclocking. Read them, they're created by people who know a lot on the subject. I make a point of not offering overclocking advice because I'm clueless about it compared to some people on this forum.

The P5Q Pro would be enough for HD 4870 Crossfire. I just wouldn't say "ample", because it will offer a few fps less than an X38 or X48 at 1680x1050. You have a 22" monitor, so that's the resolution you should care about. Read this review (all pages, not just the one I linked)

http://www.legionhardware.com/docu [...] id=761&p=8

Here's their conclusion (if you don't want to read the whole thing):

ok

so looking at the picture now i can either go for 2 4750's and the Asus P5E X38, (do they need that mother board or could i down grade)

or

a single 4870 with Asus P5E X38, with upgrading in mind to add another 4870 in the future

Finaly what effect does the screen resolution and monitor size have

All right, flip a coin or something. Either solution is very good.

With an X38, you don't have to care about monitor size and screen resolution any more, there will be no bottlenecks.

lol

i think ill go with the single 4870

shall i stick with the RAM you sujested and should i upgrade the power supply if i am going to have 2 graphics card?

If you get the Corsair 750W it's fine for two HD 4870 and a quad.

This RAM is cheaper and doesn't have big heat spreaders. Those can get in the way with some bigger CPU coolers or on some motherboards with lots of cooling pipes. Timings are not great though.
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/146049

This one costs more (72 GBP) but has great timings (which helps with overclocking).
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/142433