# New PC Specs



## Ads448 (Apr 4, 2007)

Hello,

I am still looking for a new PC, I have visited PCSpecialist and I have made this PC:

Processor (CPU)
AMD ATHLON™ 64 X2 6400+ (3.2GHz) 2 x 1MB L2 Cache (Socket AM2)
Memory (RAM)
4GB CORSAIR DDR2 667MHz - LIFETIME WARRANTY! (4x1GB)
Motherboard
ASUS® CROSSHAIR: DUAL LAN, SATA II RAID, 2 x PCI-Ex, 3 x PCI
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS (4 REAR + 2 FRONT) AS STANDARD
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
160GB SERIAL ATA II HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (7200rpm)
2nd Hard Disk
500GB SERIAL ATA II HARD DRIVE WITH 16MB CACHE (7200rpm)
RAID (HDD 1 & 2)
NONE
1st CD/DVD Drive
20x Dual Layer LightScribe DVD Writer ±R/±RW/RAM
2nd CD/DVD Drive
16x DVD-ROM WITH 48x CD-ROM
Graphics Card
512MB GEFORCE 8600GT PCI Express + DVI + TV-OUT
2nd Graphics Card
NONE
Sound Card
8 Channel SupremeFX High Definition Audio (CROSSHAIR)
Modem
NONE, I WILL BE USING BROADBAND
Network Facilities
2 x ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORTS (Crosshair)
Floppy Disk Drive
NONE
Memory Card Reader
NONE
Case
Stylish Silver/Black Trident case + 2 front USB
Power Supply & Case Cooling
500W (Peak) Quiet Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (£25)
Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22 dBA AMD CPU COOLER (£14)
Firewire & Video Editing
2 x IEEE 1394a FIREWIRE PORTS (1 onboard, 1 at back panel)
TV Card
NONE
Monitor
NONE
2nd Monitor
NONE
DVI Cable
NONE
Keyboard & Mouse
Logitech® Cordless Internet Pro Desktop Keyboard & Mouse (Black) (£16)
Mouse
NONE
Speakers
NONE
Printer
NONE
Surge Protection
NONE
Webcam & VoIP
NONE
Media Center Kit
NONE
Anti-Virus
NONE
Office Software
NONE
Warranty
1 Year Return-to-Base incl 1st Month Free Collect & Return
Delivery
Standard Insured Delivery to UK Mainland (Mon-Fri 8am-6pm)
Quantity
1

£661.00 incl VAT and Delivery


Now I have some questions...

1) Is this a good system or do you recommend changes?

2) I am going to be using it mainly for video effects/editing - is it still good?

3) I will want to connect 2 monitors to this and also my HDTV - Is this possible?

Finally...

4) Is this the cheapest I can get a system like this for, if not where can I get it cheaper possibly with better case?

Thanks in advance

Ads


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

I haven't visited PC Specialist lately, but check if they have the Athlon 64 X2 5000+ black edition that is on 65nm. It will run cooler. Also, I would look at either getting a better power supply or buying one to replace their's with. Additionally, you really don't need 4GB of RAM with any 32-bit Windows OS.

I don't know of any other places to configure a computer in the UK unfortunately.

What kind of video editing will you be doing specifically? You should be fine with the 2 monitors and the HDTV.


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## Ads448 (Apr 4, 2007)

Thanks for replying

I will want to use Windows Vista Ultimate in the future, hence the 4GB RAM. I will be doing normal video editing to begin with then possibly move into HD Editing.

Ads


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

Even 32-bit Vista can't use 4GB. You will need 64-bit Vista to address more than 3.5GB of RAM.

Will you be doing any 3D rendering or only 2D video editing?


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## Ads448 (Apr 4, 2007)

Yeah I was thinkin of getting Vista Ultimate 64 Bit later on.

Def. 2D editing. I may have to do some 3d editing, i want to keep that option open.

Ads


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

The 8600GT should handle light 3D editing, but if you will be doing more intensive CAD or other 3D editing you should look at an 8800GT.


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## Ads448 (Apr 4, 2007)

Okay I will do that.

Thanks for your help by the way, is there any other recommendations you can make me?

Ads


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## themisiek1 (Aug 20, 2007)

All I would say is get the 8800GT. That's just me, I like doing things BIG.


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## Tumbleweed36 (May 14, 2005)

I would also recommend the 8800GT for what you want to do with this rig and whatever you do, UPGRADE that power supply to something that is a brand name and to a bare minimum of 650 watts. 

I suggest one of these and the Toughpower is the best, the Trio would be second in quality and the OCZ would also work, but not the quality of the other ones listed: 

Antec Trio 650 <or> OCZ 700 <or> Thermaltake Toughpower 750 .


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

The PC Power and Cooling 610W will also do the job fine.


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## 1 g0t 0wn3d (Jan 31, 2007)

or the corsair 620


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## Ghosted (Dec 2, 2007)

i think in my build post i show a link to this but, a 5000+ black edition will clock up 3.1GHz just by upping the multiplyer to 15.5 and that's without any extra voltage, it ate around 2 - 5 Watts more power than it did on its standard clock and it has also been shown clocked at to 3.2 and 3.4 (raising voltages respectively) but that did denote a large increase in the power consumption (30watts more if i remember correct)

**edit** there it is
http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/10/22/budget_overclocker/

page 3 (mm page 3...)


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## HawMan (May 12, 2006)

Surely you could get the 6400+ and Overclock it to around 3.5ghz, Wouldnt that be faster than the 5000+ @ 3.2ish?


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

The 5000+ is on 65nm so you will achieve a higher percentage overclock (meaning faster RAM) and it will take less power and give off less heat in the process. And in the long run, you won't notice much of a difference between 3.2GHz and 3.5GHz.


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## aziz7207 (Aug 15, 2007)

Hey, i would suggest a better power supply...perhaps an 800W ...heres a nice one. 

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=270652


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## beefers1 (Aug 23, 2007)

i'm not too sure about he british/us/canadian currency conversion, but it looks ok. but for a system with those kinds of specs, i think you would do better building it yourself. also: did you consider dual graphics? if not, there really isn't much point in getting 4gb ram, as most programs won't be using that much for the next couple of years. but that's just my opinion. i'm not the expert here, and have never built a computer with those types of parts before. the only experience i have is from working on my current machine, which, as you can see, is crappy.


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## Ads448 (Apr 4, 2007)

Hello again,

Thanks to all of you for your help - my brain died a little inside when you spoke about multiplaying an stuff but...

I have updated the specs due to what you have said - does this sound more like a balanced system?

Processor (CPU)
AMD ATHLON™ 64 X2 5000+ (2.6GHz) 2 x 512K L2 Cache (Socket AM2)
Memory (RAM)
2GB CORSAIR DDR2 667MHz - LIFETIME WARRANTY! (2x1GB)
Motherboard
ASUS® CROSSHAIR: DUAL LAN, SATA II RAID, 2 x PCI-Ex, 3 x PCI
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS (4 REAR + 2 FRONT) AS STANDARD
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
160GB SERIAL ATA II HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (7200rpm)
2nd Hard Disk
500GB SERIAL ATA II HARD DRIVE WITH 16MB CACHE (7200rpm)
RAID (HDD 1 & 2)
NONE
1st CD/DVD Drive
16x DVD-ROM WITH 48x CD-ROM
2nd CD/DVD Drive
20x Dual Layer LightScribe DVD Writer ±R/±RW/RAM
Graphics Card
512MB GEFORCE 8600GT PCI Express + DVI + TV-OUT
2nd Graphics Card
NONE
Sound Card
8 Channel SupremeFX High Definition Audio (CROSSHAIR)
Modem
NONE, I WILL BE USING BROADBAND
Network Facilities
2 x ONOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORTS
Floppy Disk Drive
NONE
Memory Card Reader
NONE
Case
Stylish Silver/Black Trident case + 2 front USB
Power Supply & Case Cooling
700W Quiet Quad Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (£79)
Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22 dBA AMD CPU COOLER (£14)
Firewire & Video Editing
2 x IEEE 1394a FIREWIRE PORTS (1 onboard, 1 at back panel)
TV Card
NONE
Monitor
NONE
2nd Monitor
NONE
DVI Cable
NONE
Keyboard & Mouse
Logitech® Cordless Internet Pro Desktop Keyboard & Mouse (Black) (£16)
Mouse
NONE
Speakers
NONE
Printer
NONE
Surge Protection
Belkin 4 Socket 2M Surge Protector with £25,000 Protection! (£7)
Webcam & VoIP
NONE
Media Center Kit
NONE
Anti-Virus
NONE
Office Software
NONE
Warranty
1 Year Return-to-Base incl 1st Month Free Collect & Return
Delivery
Standard Insured Delivery to UK Mainland (Mon-Fri 8am-6pm)
Quantity
1

£654 inc VAT and Delivery.


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## Tumbleweed36 (May 14, 2005)

What is the Brand name of the power supply please? You listed it as 700W Quiet Quad Rail PSU.


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## Ads448 (Apr 4, 2007)

That's all it says - there are no brand name parts


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## Ads448 (Apr 4, 2007)

I have emailed PCSpecialist to ask what Brand names they use for PSU.

Finally, do any of you or anyone know of anywhere I can get this system cheaper and/or with a better case, its just PCSpecialist cases are not the most coolest in the world.

Ads


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## Ads448 (Apr 4, 2007)

Hello AGAIN

This is a system I have made up on CyberPower - it's a damn nice case - any ideas?

£587.00 ex. VAT
£689.73 in. VAT
(before all applicable rebates)


CASE: Sigma Shark Type W Black Case
CPU: (Socket AM2) AMD Athlon™64 X2 5000+ Black Edition Dual-Core CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology
MOTHERBOARD: MSI K9A2 Platinum AMD 790X CrossFire Chipset DDR2/1066 4x(16X PCIE) SATA RAID MB w/GbLAN, USB2.0, IEEE1394, & 7.1Audio
MEMORY: (Req.DDR2 MainBoard)2GB (2x1GB) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory (OCZ Value Select or Major Brand)
VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT 512MB 16X PCI Express (Major Brand Power by NVIDIA)
VIDEO CARD 2: NONE
LCD Monitor: NONE
Hard Drive: Single Hard Drive (160GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 8MB Cache 7200RPM HDD)
Data Hard Drive: 500GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16M Cache 7200RPM Hard Drive
Optical Drive: SONY 16X DVD-ROM (BLACK COLOR)
Optical Drive 2: SONY DUAL FORMAT 18X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER (BLACK COLOR)
SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO

It's a 630 Watts Power Supplies(Hiper 630W Type-M SLI/CrossFire Ready Power Supply (85% Efficiency

So Yeah any ideas?

Ads


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## Tumbleweed36 (May 14, 2005)

Get rid of the Hyper power supply and try one of these brands:

Antec Trio 650
Corsair 620
PC Power & Cooling 610 or 650 or 750
OCZ 700
Thermaltake Toughpower anything at 650 or above (750 is a great one and on sale some placed)
Silverstone 750


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## Ads448 (Apr 4, 2007)

Right I have put this on it:

OCZ GameXStream 700W SLI Ready Power Supply

Does that sound like a good system? Can I run Two Monitors on that? Can i connect up to HDTV? Is it all good?

Sorry I'm not too clued up on makin PC's, thanks for all your help.

Ads


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## Ghosted (Dec 2, 2007)

crossfire chipset and a nvidia vid card? ..??


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## Ads448 (Apr 4, 2007)

Is that a problem?


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## 1 g0t 0wn3d (Jan 31, 2007)

no you just can't run 2 n vidia cards on a crossfire board but one will be fine


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

Also, don't waste your money on the 512MB version of the 8600GT because it is not noticeably faster than the 256MB version. Look at the 8600GTS or better yet the Radeon HD 3850 as a step between the 8800GT and the 8600GTS.


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## Ads448 (Apr 4, 2007)

Righty, I will do all of that.

Finally, can i have a 5.1 surround system linked up to my TV and also this new PC? Is that possible with this motherboard/sound card? :s

Thanks Again


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## Ads448 (Apr 4, 2007)

Right is this good now? LOL

Sigma Shark Type W Black Case
12" COLD CATHODE NEON LIGHT
Extra Case Cooling Fan(1 x Fan)
OCZ GameXStream 700W SLI Ready Power Supply
(Socket AM2) AMD Athlon™64 X2 5000+ Black Edition Dual-Core CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology
AMD ATHLON64 CERTIFIED CPU FAN & HEATSINK
(Socket AM2)MSI K9A Platinum AMD 580X Crossfire Chipset DDR800 Dual PCIE SATA RAID MB w/GbLAN,USB2.0,2xIEEE1394,&7.1Audio
(Req.DDR2 MainBoard)2GB (2x1GB) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory(OCZ Value Select or Major Brand)
NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT 256MB 16X PCI Express
160GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 8MB Cache 7200RPM HDD
500GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16M Cache 7200RPM Hard Drive
SONY 16X DVD-ROM
SONY DUAL FORMAT 18X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER
HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
PCI Wireless 802.11g 54Mbps Network Interface Card
Belkin 4-Socket Surge Protector

£564.00 ex. VAT
£662.70 in. VAT
(before all applicable rebates)

All these questions... Can it do the surround? Can it do the 2 monitors, Can I extend memory at a later date if needed? Can I connect up to HDTV?

Ads


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

Yes to all the questions at the bottom. 

Looks very nice, but consider going back to the MSI K9A2 or if possible the Gigabyte MA790FX-DS4 or DS5 so you will have the ability to upgrade to the Phenom quad core later.


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## Ads448 (Apr 4, 2007)

Right I am incredibly thick, so what is it you are saying? A diffrent motherboard? If so these are the available ones...


(Socket AM2)MSI K9N Neo-F V3 nForce 560 Chipset DDR2/800 SATA-II RAID 16x PCI-Express MBoard w/GbLAN,USB2.0,&7.1Audio()[-5]More ...	

SLI Ready	

(Socket AM2)Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe nForce 590 SLI MCP Chipset DDR2/800 MBoard w/ Dual 16x PCI-Express()[+51]More ...	

(Socket AM2)Asus M2N-SLI Deluxe nForce 570 SLI MCP Chipset DDR2/800 MBoard w/ Dual PCI-Express()[+26]More ...	

(Socket AM2)ASUS M2N-E SLI NF500 SLI Chipset DDR2/800 MBoard w/ Dual 16x PCI-Express,USB2.0,&7.1Audio()[+0]More ...	

(Socket AM2)MSI K9N SLI Platinum nForce 570 SLI MCP Chipset DDR2/800 SATA-II RAID MBoard w/ Dual 16x PCI-Express()[+29]More ...	

CrossFire Ready	

(Socket AM2)Asus M2A-MVP AMD 480X Crossfire Chipset DDR800 Dual PCIE SATA RAID MB w/GbLAN,USB2.0,IEEE1394,&5.1Audio()[+5]More ...	

(Socket AM2)Asus M2R32-MVP AMD 580X Crossfire Chipset DDR800 Dual PCIE SATA RAID MB w/GbLAN,USB2.0,2xIEEE1394,&7.1Audio()[+23]More ...	

MSI K9A2 CF-F AMD 790X CrossFire Chipset DDR2/1066 Dual 16X PCIE SATA RAID 
MB w/GbLAN,USB2.0,&7.1Audio()[+8]More ...	

(Socket AM2)MSI K9A Platinum AMD 580X Crossfire Chipset DDR800 Dual PCIE SATA RAID MB w/GbLAN,USB2.0,2xIEEE1394,&7.1Audio()[+20]More ...	

MSI K9A2 Platinum AMD 790X CrossFire Chipset DDR2/1066 4x(16X PCIE) SATA RAID MB w/GbLAN,USB2.0,IEEE1394,&7.1Audio()[+55]

Ads


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

I would pick the K9A2 Platinum out of those listed.


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## Ads448 (Apr 4, 2007)

Righty, and if i pick that i have the option of upgrading the motherboard in future? Is that what you are saying? Sorry lol


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## Ads448 (Apr 4, 2007)

That question above still applies, but this is the system I have made by your recommendations. 

CASE: Sigma Shark Type W Black Case
CPU: (Socket AM2) AMD Athlon™64 X2 5000+ Black Edition Dual-Core CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology
MOTHERBOARD: MSI K9A2 Platinum AMD 790X CrossFire Chipset DDR2/1066 4x(16X PCIE) SATA RAID MB w/GbLAN, USB2.0, IEEE1394, & 7.1Audio
MEMORY: (Req.DDR2 MainBoard)2GB (2x1GB) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory (OCZ Value Select or Major Brand)
VIDEO CARD: ATI Radeon HD 3850 PCI-E x16 256MB Video Card
VIDEO CARD 2: NONE
LCD Monitor: NONE
Hard Drive: Single Hard Drive (160GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 8MB Cache 7200RPM HDD)
Data Hard Drive: 500GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16M Cache 7200RPM Hard Drive
Optical Drive: SONY 16X DVD-ROM (BLACK COLOR)
Optical Drive 2: SONY DUAL FORMAT 18X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER (BLACK COLOR)
SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO

With this sound card you said i could run a separate surround system, how does that work exactly?

Ads


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

With the K9A2 AMD 790FX you can upgrade to a quad core Phenom without having to upgrade the motherboard.

With the sound system you have two basic options. I like the second one better personally.

1. You can connect a set of speakers directly to the computer's various analog output channels.

2. You can connect a receiver/amplifier to the digital/optical/analog outputs and connect hook up speakers to the receiver.


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## Ads448 (Apr 4, 2007)

Ah I see cool, second option sounds best.

Right i think that concludes my questioning 

Thank you so much for your help

Ads


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

No problem.


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## FreoHeaveho (Aug 22, 2006)

Why AMD?

pff. anyway, look at www.scan.co.uk in the UK.


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## beefers1 (Aug 23, 2007)

why not amd?


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## FreoHeaveho (Aug 22, 2006)

Intel own AMD at the moment without a shadow of a doubt. If you are building a platform from scratch now, then there is only one choice, INTEL! I really do want AMD to be competitive, but bang/buck, you can only go core 2 duo! AMD are really struggling at the moment!

http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu_2007.html

Finally, based on a 1066mHz fsb go for the Q6600 with the G0 stepping! Overclocks like a champion and will absolutely OWN anthing from AMD at the moment. Also, based on the problems with barcelona (http://www.techreport.com/discussions.x/13724) this situation is not about to change! 

If you must stick with AMD:

Skip the AMD Athlon 64 FX-62, unless you're determined to stick with Socket AM2. 
For socket AM2 gamers who want to spend around £150 order an Athlon 64 X5000+ Brisbane.


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## beefers1 (Aug 23, 2007)

the Q6600 is what i'm planning to get for my next PC. At $280, it isn't that expensive anymore.


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## FreoHeaveho (Aug 22, 2006)

cool dude, just my opinion, matt and the guys have lots of ideas and knowledge so add it to the mix!


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## beefers1 (Aug 23, 2007)

ok. i'm going out to buy it in a couple of days, when my mobo and vid card arrives. but we're getting off-topic here. anyway, AMD probably isn't a very bad choice if you're going with a mainstream system. probably the only time you'll notice a big difference is if you buy a high-end quad-core gaming system. In fact, they released their Athlon first, leaving Intel scrambling to catch up with the release of their pentium 4. that was back in 1999. now, however, Intel seems to have pulled ahead again with their core 2 series.


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## FreoHeaveho (Aug 22, 2006)

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/dualcore-roundup_8.html


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## sprokett (Dec 10, 2007)

I dont know if this helps but I just got offered this ready built for £799 delivered
ASUS P5B INTEL 965P/FSB1066/PCI-E/SATA/7.1 SND//LAN//DDR2 Motherboard
Intel CPU Core 2 Quad Core Q6600 2.40GHz 1066FSB LGA775 8MB cache (4x2MB) 
500GB SATA 8MB cache 7200rpm hard disk drive 
Dual Layer 20x DVD +/-R/RW 
Nvidia 8600GT SLI 512MB DDR PCI-E, TV Out, DVI 
Vista Premium 64 Bit
4GB RAM Kingston brand 
22" LCD TFT monitor W221 5ms DVI speakers (3yr Manufacturer's Warranty) 
Gigabyte Case with 700W PSU


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## FreoHeaveho (Aug 22, 2006)

Not bad. Check the PSU make and model. The GPU is very weak too. Other than that looks ok.


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

Although it looks like it will get decent performance, you can definitely get much higher quality, faster components for the price.


Antec Nine Hundred Ultimate Gamer 420W Case with Side Window

Extra Case Cooling Fan (1 x Fan)

OCZ GameXStream 700W SLI Ready Power Supply


AMD Phenom™ X4 9500 Quad-Core CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology (Socket AM2+)

Thermaltake Blue Orb II CPU Cooler

MSI K9A2 Platinum AMD 790X CrossFire Chipset DDR2/1066 4x(16X PCIE) SATA RAID MB w/GbLAN,USB2.0,IEEE1394,&7.1Audio

Corsair XMS2 Xtreme Memory w/ Heat Spreader 2GB (2x1GB) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory

NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB 16X PCI Express

22" (21.6" Viewable) 5MS Wide TFT Active Matrix LCD Display Monitor

250GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 8MB Cache 7200RPM HDD

SONY DUAL FORMAT 18X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER BLACK COLOR

HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO

ONBOARD 10/1000 NETWORK CARD

Logitech PS/2 Keyboard (Black) + Logitech Optical PS2 Mouse (Black)

PCI Wireless 802.11g 54Mbps Network Interface Card

INTERNAL 12in1 Flash Media Reader/Writer BEIGE COLOR


Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Home Premium 32-bit
or
Microsoft® Windows® XP Media Center 2005 Edition


STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT

http://www.cyberpowersystem.co.uk/system/gamer_ultra_930/#configurator_top

Price: £856.00 ex. VAT | £1005.80 in. VAT (before all applicable rebates)	
Estimated ship date: Friday, 21/12/2007


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