New Computer Specification

[Mercifull]

Advice, pro's, cons, whats crap etc.

CPU - AMD AM2 Athlon 64 5200+ Dual Core 2.6GHz, 2x 1MB Cache
MOBO - Asus M2N 1394, NF430, S AM2, PCI-E (x16), DDR2 533/667/800, SATA II, SATA RAID, ATX
GPU - 640MB Gainward 8800GTS Bliss, PCI-E (x16), Mem 1600 MHz, GPU 500 MHz, 96 Streams, Dual DVI HDTV
RAM - 2GB (2x1GB) CorsairTwinX XMS2, DDR2 PC2-6400 (800), 240 Pins, Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 5-5-5-12
HDD - 320 Gb Maxtor STM3320820AS DiamondMax 21, SATA300, 7200 rpm, 8MB Cache, 11 ms
PSU - 500W FSP Sparkle Blue Storm AX500-A, 12cm Fan ATX2.0 (20+4Pin) SATA/PCI-E
DVD - LiteOn 16x DVD+/-RW/RAM SATA black drive & S/W
CASE - Coolermaster Cavalier 3 Black Tower Case

Monitor approx £120, speakers £30, OS £55, Keyboard/Mouse approx £15

Total approx £950

[Shane]

RAM - 2GB (2x1GB) CorsairTwinX XMS2, DDR2 PC2-6400 (800), 240 Pins, Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 5-5-5-12
HDD - 320 Gb Maxtor STM3320820AS DiamondMax 21, SATA300, 7200 rpm, 8MB Cache, 11 ms
PSU - 500W FSP Sparkle Blue Storm AX500-A, 12cm Fan ATX2.0 (20+4Pin) SATA/PCI-E
DVD - LiteOn 16x DVD+/-RW/RAM SATA black drive & S/W


For the video card needs more RAM to process "good". At least 3GB. The Maxtor Harddrives been known to crash. PSU need more power for the video card as it uses close to 425W just for the video card itself. The DVD drive has problems on Vista i've been told. Everything else is fine. :-)

[Mercifull]

The HDD i chose was reccomended by a friend who said it was really good so I think that'll be ok.
I think im going to go for an IDE DVd drive now anyway as its a tad cheaper. I will be using XP anyway so Visa isnt a problem for me.
The PSU, you're right. I will probably be getting a 600w one now.
And the RAM, pfffft cant afford 3GB so 2 will be ok for now. lol

[Serenity]

Looks good :)
Though I prefer Intel these days. I have a very similar system with an E6600

2GB of RAM is fine. You can't really use 4GB unless you run a 64bit OS.

The PSU might work if it's a good one. People usually overdo it with the power. I'm running my machine with a 480W one and have no problems. You might go for 600W though, to be on the safe side.

Samsung harddrives are good

[Joe Beaudoin Jr.]

With Shane here, avoid Maxtor. Get either a Seagate or Western Digital. i would recommend getting at least a 800W power supply, particularly since most of the power usage will be taken by the video card.

[Serenity]

With Shane here, avoid Maxtor. Get either a Seagate or Western Digital. i would recommend getting at least a 800W power supply, particularly since most of the power usage will be taken by the video card.
As said: complete overkill

800W is enough for two 8800 GTXs! 500W might be pushing it, but a good 600-700W will be perfectly fine for a single 8800GTS.

Or rather than going strictly by the power, buy a quality brand and see that it has lots amperage on the 12V rails. That's what's really important. Sometimes they cheat a bit and put more on the less important 5V rail. And a quality PSU has a better voltage stability and probably life expectancy.

[Mercifull]

Well things are getting a little desperate now :(
My graphics card died over the weekend, thats why I wasnt able to work on the forum at all (posting this from works laptop). I'm going to try to use some other drivers or something or as a last resort use the onboard chip which I think is good enough to last until my new pc arrives.

Going to get a 600w PSU now anyway from Coolermaster

[Shane]

For me 1000w is perfect (which I just got...) I am running not only a 8800GTX... but also 3 HDDS, 4 Huge fans, 3.4ghz, 8GB of ram (4gb is in the mail...), DVD, Hot Swapable SATA bay. So I needed the power to just keep it going... and in case I ever do a dual 8800 GTX video card.... I will be set. :-)

[Mercifull]

K its all ordered now. I'm only gonna be running one HDD and a DVD drive for the moment so the PSU is plenty good enough. Anything over 500 would have been fine.