Finally getting around to new build...

Discussion in 'New Build / Upgrade Advice' started by rob_hellfire, Nov 11, 2007.

  1. rob_hellfire

    rob_hellfire Geek Trainee

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    Right. just got out of uni so can make some money back.
    Still got ebts etc so trying to limit initial costs as much as possible.

    I've got this listof items all priced from dabs.co.uk for a guide while i ask fr advice before going on the search fr the best price. (i'm tight)

    Please be critical of choices but keep in mind im looking for a base to build on so MB, CPU and PSU probably most critical. i dont plan to overclock (not the confidence). Wil want to uprade ram gfx and hdd's when possible

    i should mention uses of the pc i suppose. WoW adict currently but i'm a general pc user be it games video encoding internet etc. not a huge spec required for top end gaming just enough to get me by ;P. wouldlike to fraps gameplay and do some editting at some point though.

    anyways

    PSU Corsair 450w £45
    dabs.com - Corsair Memory 450W ATX PS/2 SATA 12V (CMPSU-450VXUK)
    Abit IL9 Pro (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £50

    Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 £103

    Western Digital Caviar SE 160GB S300 8mb £32

    RAM £30
    generic cheap stuff :p
    XFX GeForce 8400GS 256MB DDR2 PCIE Dual DVI HEATSINK £31


    I haven't a clue about fx cards and dont fancy reading enough to get aquanted as coud probably spend forever doing so

    Any help appreciated as i hate the thought of buying something that's not good vluefor money

    Thanx in advance. Rob
     
  2. gazaway

    gazaway Geek Trainee

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    Ya, that graphics card is junk. First off, you want to find a video card with DDR3 memory, not DD2. And I coulda sworn the GS lines were for laptops.. I must be wrong.. If WoW is as intensive on 3d applpications as you get, then you won't need a wallet breaker of a card. An older 7900 should do you quite well, actually, but doesn't offer too much performance for future releases. A 7950 would do well also, or even an 8600 GT. I wouldnt go anything lower in performance than those and you can pick those up for around 100-130 USD.
     
  3. mut

    mut Geek Trainee

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    I have a 7900GS and in Outland the framerates can get quite low (with all settings maxed out) - currently getting about 30fps in Nagrand.
    You may want to try an 8600GT which my brother has, the 7900GS performs better in most games, but in newer releases and also in World of Warcraft the 8600GT beats it (from my experience of course, I'd advice you to check benchmarks out).
    I recommend the 8600GT, or if you can wait, the 8800GT which are currently £170 but expect price drops in the near-ish future.
     
  4. rob_hellfire

    rob_hellfire Geek Trainee

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    tbh i'm not wanting a perminant gfx card solution now as my budget cant cover it. else im gonna be waiting for the new year.

    This kinda shows why my video solution sucks soo bad :p

    BTH my current PC is
    amd 2600.
    shite MB
    broken standard PSU (was given the pc), reason for upgrade
    notoriously bad PNY gf 5200
    1G cheap ram
    etc etc

    It ran wow at like 11fps pre expansion. :S

    taken into consideration your comments but still on tight budget.
    Searching dabs aive found.

    dabs.com - Dabs Value NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT 256MB DDR3 PCI-E DVI (I-7600GT-G5FTC)
    £55 or $90 (us prices aproximated)

    dabs.com - XFX GeForce 8600GT 256MB DDR3 PCIE Dual DVI 540/1.4 (PV-T84J-UDF3)
    £75 or $120

    damn this is getting a long post. can DVI be changed to VGA by converter till i get a new monitor in the future? just thought

    Thanx for help ad looking like my bank's gona hate me again :p budgets are made to be broken. i just wont eat for a few weeks :p
     
  5. mut

    mut Geek Trainee

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    Yeah I'm using a converter currently.
    The 8600GT plays WoW far better than a 7900GS, and so much better than a 7600GT. I'd pay the extra £20 for the 8600GT.
    You would be able to play full graphics and get over 40fps in Outland with that card, possibly even higher.
     

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