Advice on new computer and some questions...

[Capper]

Originally Posted by Running Rampant

Also, I found this very nice system already made up and just wondered what you guys thought of it?
eBay.co.uk: AMD X2 Dual Core 4600+ 7950GT nVidia 512MB GDDR3 (item 290073328466 end time 17-Apr-07 23:49:37 BST)

Sorry, I'd never recommend buying on FleaBay, too many bad experiences, and far too many bad people selling crap. Fleabay, and PayPal also do not care one lick about the end user, as long as they get their money.

spend the money, build your own system

[Quakindude]

Originally Posted by Capper

Sorry, I'd never recommend buying on FleaBay, too many bad experiences, and far too many bad people selling crap. Fleabay, and PayPal also do not care one lick about the end user, as long as they get their money.

spend the money, build your own system

I highly recommend your taking this advice. Build it yourself and never purchase things from eBay. The scams are so prevalent on there it's simply mind-boggling trying to figure out who is honest and who isn't.

Look for a good video card like the 7900GS. That will give you quite decent performance for less than $200USD.

Suggested mobo's:

Gigabyte S3
Or the more expensive Gigabyte DS3

What ever you decide, make sure you go with a C2D CPU. The stock cooler will allow you to overclock the CPU impressively, so don't feel like you HAVE to get an after-market cooler. As long as your case has good airflow, the stock cooler does a decent job of it. You can always add an after-market cooler later when you have the funds to get one.

[Running Rampant]

Thanks guys, but I was wondering about whether an Antec SONATA II with the 450W PSU would be enough to run a decent system? Like one with a Intel Core2Duo E6400, Gigabyte 965P-DS3, Corair 1GB PC5300 DIMM, GeForce 7950 GT and Seagate Baracuda 7200 320GB?

If so, thats a pretty damn good system for under £600

[wtcnbrwndo4u]

Originally Posted by Running Rampant

Thanks guys, but I was wondering about whether an Antec SONATA II with the 450W PSU would be enough to run a decent system? Like one with a Intel Core2Duo E6400, Gigabyte 965P-DS3, Corair 1GB PC5300 DIMM, GeForce 7950 GT and Seagate Baracuda 7200 320GB?

If so, thats a pretty damn good system for under £600

It should run it, but I'd be a bit weary. I think you should buy the cheapest Centurion case (which would run about 16-18 pounds for you) and then buy a better PSU.

[Capper]

don't be silly, the Sonata II is one of the best around, a fantastic deal when you include the PSU.

In a couple weeks ANTEC will be releasing the Sonata III which includes a 500W PSU.

[Running Rampant]

Originally Posted by wtcnbrwndo4u

It should run it, but I'd be a bit weary. I think you should buy the cheapest Centurion case (which would run about 16-18 pounds for you) and then buy a better PSU.

I would, but it seems its not that simple unfortunately

The cheapest half decent case I can find is a Akasa Zen-Black Silent Midi case for about £33 ATM, and the cheapest Centurion case I've found so far is £40.

Also, by the looks of it a good PSU might set me back a good £70 at least, for example a Antec Truepower Trio 650W is about £83.

Believe me, the Sonata II is probably the only decent option below £100 around

[One4yu2c]

The power supply included in the Antec Sonata is solid, delivering 32A across dual +12V rails, and shouldn't have any trouble with those parts. And as Rich pointed out, the Sonata III is just around the corner...

[wtcnbrwndo4u]

Originally Posted by One4yu2c

The power supply included in the Antec Sonata is solid, delivering 32A across dual +12V rails, and shouldn't have any trouble with those parts. And as Rich pointed out, the Sonata III is just around the corner...

Was just checking. I was kind of doubting a 450W PSU with a system with a 7950GT... But now that I look back, it shouldn't use more than 300W (entire system).

[One4yu2c]

Originally Posted by wtcnbrwndo4u

Was just checking. I was kind of doubting a 450W PSU with a system with a 7950GT... But now that I look back, it shouldn't use more than 300W (entire system).

It wasn't that long ago when Antec's Neopower 480w was considered high end, and users have used it to power rigs running 7900GTXs in SLI, yet today anything under 550-600w is suddenly considered inadequate. That's something we (HardwareLogic) want to try and do a better job of this coming year, is educating consumers against they hype in terms of actual requirements. With power supplies starting to rapidly increase in specification (1000w, 1200w, and even 2000w!), there's a growing trend in assuming that ginormous wattages are needed.

We saw a few companies at CES showcasing this real-world concept. Corsair had a rig running a quad-core QX6700 and two 8800GTX videocards in SLI powered by their 620w PSU, and Enermax was running TWO machines off of a single 1KW PSU, both outfitted with an 8800GTX.

[wtcnbrwndo4u]

That's tight! Lol, you think you could just buy a 2000W PSU and power the rest of your room (assuming it's loaded with power eating stuff, say Logitech Z-5500s)... and/or house!

Either way, that'd be tight.