Hi folks,

I'm looking to basically upgrade my entire system (minus the case) to make it a decent gaming rig. I've built a system from scratch before but I have a couple of questions about what I should be buying in terms of components at this point:

-I'd be looking to probably get a Q9550 for a processor; considering it's 45nm etc. would stock cooling be sufficient? I wouldn't be looking to overclock.

-What are some of the best 'bang for the buck' graphics cards on the market at present? I've heard excellent things about the Radeon 4870?

-I'm sure this is a very old question now, but is it worth splashing out on Vista or just sticking with XP. DX10 would be nice but at the same time I don't see it as essential, and I'm very used to how XP functions now


Thanks in advance

- Stock cooling will be fine if you aren't overclocking.

- 4870 should be fine for up to 22". You might not get that absolute highest settings but you wont pay $550 either.

- Vista seems the way to go now, go for 4Gb of RAM and a 64 bit edition of the OS.

Have you got thoughts on any other components?

Jeremy

i agree with jpdykes. the stock cooler is fine unless you're super paranoid about noise, but not that the stock fan is all that loud anyway. i would actually suggest a 4850 as a video card. the performance in unmatchable at that price point. and yes, absolutely get vista x64, with 4GB of ram. you won't regret it

Thanks for the advice. One question about a 64-bit OS; I've always heard (perhaps wrongly) of a whole lot of issues that come with using a 64-Bit system; was this just with XP? Is vista a lot better in this respect?

In terms of other components I think I've got HDD storage, new DVD drives and the PSU sorted out. I'd have to work out what Motherboard to get but that shouldn't be too difficult once I've settled on the processor (although I guess I'll be using the same slot no matter what, really). Do you have any reccomendations here?

Thanks

There were some issues, many have been resolved. You may have some problems running very old programs.

Take a check of your PSU on this chart, you wouldn't want to gry anything!
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forum [...] p?t=108088

Recommendations for motherboard are Gigabyte or Asus, use a P45.

Jeremy

Ok, so I've gone through everything and have come up with this potential list. The one thing i'm not sure about is the memory- all the different pairs and configurations with totally different price points confuse me somewhat!


PSU - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/show [...] =CA-004-CS

Processor - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/show [...] =CP-203-IN

Motherboard - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/show [...] =MB-278-AS

Graphics Card - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/show [...] =GX-180-SP

HDD - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/show [...] =HD-146-SE

Memory (?) - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/show [...] =MY-104-OC

OS - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/show [...] =SW-037-MS

Total : £858.78


I think this is all compatible but some second opinions would be priceless Thanks again

All looks solid.....would double check the motherboard manufacturer to see if that memory is supported before you order.