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There are? I might hold off my new graphics card purchase then. Might.
AGP cards are not significantly more expensive than AGP cards. The top of the range AGP cards are ~£150.

Reply 1781

cHybronix

Ok, just want an opinion what do you think about such a configuration (from Dell):

Inspiron E1505
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5600 (1.83GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 667MHz FSB)
15.4 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen SXGA+ Display with TrueLife™
2GB DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHZ, 2 DIMM
256MB NVIDIA® GeForce® Go 7300 TurboCache*
120GB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive
Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Premium
Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability
Integrated Sound Blaster® Audigy™HD Software Edition
Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N
85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Internal (2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate)

Reply 1782

omicronlyrae

estel

There are? I might hold off my new graphics card purchase then. Might.
AGP cards are not significantly more expensive than AGP cards. The top of the range AGP cards are ~£150.

mean PCIe?

else your post doesn't make any sense :p:

Reply 1783

5unny_F1

domisakin

Off to uni next year. Want the portability of a laptop, and a monstrous gaming machine on a relatively tight budget. What do you think of the Inspiron 9400? Also, when do you reckon is the best time to purchase one?

best time would be end august/start of september; thats when all the back to school and other deals come out :wink:

Reply 1784

Rich1987

Hi, i'm new to this business but was thinking of making myself a new pc and was wondering what people thought of it. Any non compatability issues? etc.

One question - how many spare PCI slots will i have left? or can i fit all these in? i.e. any space for wireless cards?

Do i need graphic card cooling?

see what you think

Motherboard - Asus 680i Striker Extreme
CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E6700
RAM - OCZ DDR2 PC2-8000 Titanium Alpha VX2
PSU - be quiet Dark Power Pro 850w PSU
Graphics - Asus EN8800GTX (times 2)
Cooling - Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Heatsink
Harddrive - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 750GB (times 2)
Sound Card - Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Elite Pro
Case - Antec P180 Mid Tower Case

Cheers

Rich

Reply 1785

estel

mean PCIe?

Errr... yes :s

One question - how many spare PCI slots will i have left? or can i fit all these in? i.e. any space for wireless cards?

Do i need graphic card cooling?

That looks nice, is a pretty slick looking motherboard :redface:

No, I don't think you'll need cooling for your graphics cards, which come with some pretty hefty heatsinks and stuff built in.
That particular motherboard comes with 4 PCI-e slots and 2 PCI slots. From those components, that should give you one spare PCI slot and two spare PCIe slots.

That sound card looks like utter overkill, but whatever floats your boat :P

Reply 1786

Rich1987

Thanks

Sound card - i'm a music person so this pc will be for music programs as well as games.

Yes i did mean PCIe.

The graphics cards actually take up 2 slots physically so i guess that leaves me with one PCI slot for a wireless card.

Cheers rich.

Anymore thoughts welcome

Reply 1787

Chaz_Hack_Rabbit

Time for me to ask about upgrading...Current Specs:

AMD 64 3200+ (Skt 939)
Ga-K8NXP-Sli mobo
1Gb RAM (2 x 512Mb Elixir PC3200)
Inno3D 6600 256Mb PCIe
Creative Audigy 4
120Gb and 160Gb HDD (IDE)
Liteon DVD writers (one is +/- RW, other is RAM as well - 18x DVD+/-R)
Dell 17" CRT and Compaq 17" CRT monitors...
Watercooling - Thermaltake Bigwater kit with Zalman Graphics block (rev 1)

I've got about £300 to spend on an upgrade.
Currently looking at getting a Leadtek 7900GS and X2 4200+ from ebuyer.com and then upgrading my cooling rig to a 1/2" system (XSPC DIY kit and an ep block I think)...
Any Recommendations?

Reply 1788

Bleached

hi there is this motherboard and this CPU compatible, heard a bad review of the motherboard but the processor seems efficient. are there any better for that price range? (fo rMotherboard and Processor! thanks guys :smile:

Gigabyte S775 Intel 945P ATX GLAN Audio
£54.20
http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=49MP&CategorySelectedId=11143&PageMode=1&NavigationKey=11143,4294959071,48760000

Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 Socket 775 1.86GHz
£106.99
http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=44HB&CategorySelectedId=11147&NavigationKey=11147,4294958803

Reply 1789

omicronlyrae

yep, they're compatible, and there's nothing wrong with the gigabyte S3.

Reply 1790

Bleached

are there any AMD competitions with the Core2?

Reply 1791

omicronlyrae

not for the price core 2 is at, no. AMD's equivalent stuff is more expensive, so it's more common sense to go with core 2.

Reply 1792

Rich1987

Hi,

Just wondering if people could comfirm that OCZ DDR2 PC2-8000 Titanium Alpha VX2 ram would be compatible with an Asus 680i Striker Extreme Motherboard?

Thanks

Rich

Reply 1793

estel

I'm 99% sure it is. You don't get much of a newer and better mobo than that.

Reply 1794

omicronlyrae

estel

I'm 99% sure it is. You don't get much of a newer and better mobo than that.

I, persoanlly, haven't heard anything to the contrary of them working together.

Reply 1795

Chaz_Hack_Rabbit

Again, upgrade tips on my current rig?

Gigabyte Ga-K8NXP-SLi
AMD64 3200+
2 x 512Mb Elixir PC3200 CL3
Inno3D Geforce 6600 256Mb
Creative Audigy 4
Ga-GPKG wireless adapter (54G)

What would you recommend upgrading with a £200 budget?

I'm not really gonna be able to afford any of the DX10 games when they come out and have looked at some reviews and the 8 series Nvidia cards and looking like a good investment atm...
I'm into gaming, mainly the likes of BF2, Americas Army, HL2, CS :s-smilie:

, UT2004

Reply 1796

zitwep

Ok here is the deal:

I am going to college in August and I want a new laptop. I currently have a powerful desktop which I will sell. I want a powerful laptop for college which will last a few years, I want a gaming system powerful enough to run new games coming out in the next 18 months. My plan was to wait for the geforce 8 series to come out for laptops but they would need to come out before august. I just realized that when they come out for laptops they are going to be the lower end 8400/8600 and for the 8800 to come for laptops it will take a while so I was wondering and think it's actually true, if a set up with 7950 GTX in SLI would not be much more powerful. But I am still in doubts with dx10 issues.

Laptops in SLI are very pricey with 2.93 GHz CPUs so I was thinking about a single 7950 GTX with a 2.33 GHz would be a good rig which would last about 2 years with performance demanding games. I think a set up with Dual 7950 GTXs would as outdated in 2 years as a system with a single 7950 GTX. I am leaving aside graphic upgradability.
What are your thoughts on this?

Thanks.

Reply 1797

Bleached

which PSU would you guys recommend for abotu £50? i dont know much abotu comptuers!