Old computer, new tech

[Vicious Horizon]

Ok, I'm gonna benchmark my new PC with ArmA II's reccomended hardware.

The GPU is fine, CPU I'm thinking of upgrading to something Intel Q6600 or higher (thanks to ez), but I'm guessing I'll need some 2GB of RAM. OH! I also need a new power unit, as the current one is knackered.

If you can link me to good places to buy this stuff from I'll be grateful much,

thanks, VH

EDIT: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Intel-Q6600-...4568422&sr=8-2 Q6600, but I'm not sure if it's worth getting a used (like new) one.. can't trust people on the net nowdays can you =S

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kingston-Tec...4569132&sr=8-1
2GB RAM for that much? I'm not sure tbh, I'll look around a little more.

OK! What I've decided on so far:

RAM http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...d=8&subcat=813

CPU http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...odid=CP-155-IN

Cooler http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...57&subcat=1395

Mobo http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...odid=MB-280-AS

Thermal Compound http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...odid=AC-000-AC

Case and PSU http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...d=7&subcat=160

And my trusty X1600 Pro.

£299.38 to go.

[Trigger]

My only input is that this Help Forum should be renamed To Help VC thread

[Vicious Horizon]

Haha, I should be mod of this forum, 80% of my posts are here xD

[Chalex4]

Does your motherboard support Core2 Quad? If it does then the Q6600 is a fantastic choice.

I would try some ram with a slightly higher frequency, perhaps 800MHz. This is what I stuck in Chazlene's PC a while back - and it's only a couple of quid more!

Oh, and I have always had great experiences with Overclockers.co.uk and Ebuyer.com, although the only thing that I would say really separates them is the superior RMA policy at Ebuyer.

[Vicious Horizon]

Brilliant, cheers Chalex. I won't be buying the second-hand one, as reccomendation from my Dad, so I'll be saving up £200 for it.

I'll check the motherboard, but just in case it doesn't, anyone fancy scouting for a cheap one that does support Quad?

Oh, and anyone know a power unit that'll support this stuff? I'm using a Sapphire Radeon X1600 Pro if that makes much difference.

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/164969 is that any better than the 6600, or am I being fooled by the higher number?

[VoX]

It slightly worse, if you are only gaming go for the 6600 or the 6700, I got the 6700 OEM for less than the 6600 and got my own heatsink. But if you don't plan to OC/want to keep costs down, a 6600 will do perfectly.

Also, you'll want more than 2GB RAM, THIS is the cheapest 4GB kit on OCUK.



www.scan.co.uk are a good place to buy things too, my delivery arrived perfectly on time and very well packaged.

[Calneon]

Brilliant, cheers Chalex. I won't be buying the second-hand one, as reccomendation from my Dad, so I'll be saving up £200 for it.

I'll check the motherboard, but just in case it doesn't, anyone fancy scouting for a cheap one that does support Quad?

Oh, and anyone know a power unit that'll support this stuff? I'm using a Sapphire Radeon X1600 Pro if that makes much difference.

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/164969 is that any better than the 6600, or am I being fooled by the higher number?

No it looks worse, lower clock speed and half the cache. Also, if you're only using ur PC for gaming a dual core would probably be better.

[Vicious Horizon]

Phant, I'm looking at specifically at Quad Core, seeing as pretty much the only game I'm gonna be playing for a while will be ArmA II, and it runs best on that thing. =)

Cheers VoX, just shows that the harder you look you'll always find more.. I was planning on buying 2 2GB RAM sticks actually, so thanks =)

Oh! Also, I know less about motherboards than I do about anything else, any know a good motherboard that a Q6600 will work with? =D

So VoX, even though the 6600 is a little more expensive, since I'm not planning to overclock you'd reccomend the 6600 over the 6700?

[D_K_Head]

...Needs more glowey things...

when the room can be lit by the power of your keyboard alone, you know it's a powerful machine.

[Vicious Horizon]

Haha, maybe another time XD

Guh, noone stocks Q6600s, overclockers do a good deal on the Q67 though..

[Target]

All you need to do with a mobo is make sure it supports everything ur putting in ur pc, ram, processor etc. Just go on Microdirect and OCUK and find a couple you think are okay and post them on here so people can check them, I don't think people can be arsed themselves trauling through pages of mobos for you but i'm sure they'll check your suggestions

[Vicious Horizon]

Haha. fair point, but I know nothing about mobos and I'll end up selecting something which is ancient and doesn't even support dual cores

I'll have a look though

EDIT: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...atid=5&subcat=
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...atid=5&subcat=
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...atid=5&subcat=
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...atid=5&subcat=

Last one is cheapest, but I dunno if the quality is good.

Not sure if all support DDR2 RAM.

Last one's reviews say it outperforms Asus' £230 things, might be worth a buy, no?

[VoX]

Go for the 6700 OEM and get THIS CPU cooler, should keep it fairly cool and is better than the stock cooler by far.

6700 = 266 x 10 = 2.66Ghz and the 6600 is 266 x 9 = 2.4Ghz. I have the 6700 and it's bloody fast, even at stock!

In terms of Motherboard, either the Asus P5Q or Asus P5Q Pro will support C2Q, and hace PCI-E 2.0 and a lot of SATA ports for your storage needs.

The P5Q is a good base, but if you want to get away from the crappy 24-Pin location or have scope to move to CrossFireX in the future, go with the Pro version. (Google and find out the Qualified Vendors List for RAM on the mobo before you buy though, it can cause some problems down the line.)

[Vicious Horizon]

Great. cheers VoX. Looking at the stuff I have in my tabs, I'm up to £288.50 on this build.. not doing to badly then xD

Still need a power supply, and I don't know what the wattage adds up to atm =S

[Calneon]

Go for the 6700 OEM and get THIS CPU cooler, should keep it fairly cool and is better than the stock cooler by far.

6700 = 266 x 10 = 2.66Ghz and the 6600 is 266 x 9 = 2.4Ghz. I have the 6700 and it's bloody fast, even at stock!

In terms of Motherboard, either the Asus P5Q or Asus P5Q Pro will support C2Q, and hace PCI-E 2.0 and a lot of SATA ports for your storage needs.

The P5Q is a good base, but if you want to get away from the crappy 24-Pin location or have scope to move to CrossFireX in the future, go with the Pro version. (Google and find out the Qualified Vendors List for RAM on the mobo before you buy though, it can cause some problems down the line.)

Yup i'd agree 100% with that cooler and the MB. Make sure you also get some thermal compound to put between the cooler and the CPU.

The P5Q-Pro is only £3 more than the normal one so might as well get that, as it gives you more options if you want to upgrade your graphics card.