New gaming rig build

M

mut

Geek Trainee
I'm researching some parts for a new rig which I plan on building quite soon (next few weeks). I want to be able to play games such as COD4, Crysis, WiC at a 1280x1024 resolution with high graphics and 4xAA.

CPU - Intel Pentium Dual Core E2180 2GHz Socket 775 800MHz FSB L2 1MB Cache Retail Box Processor [Ebuyer]
£52.34

MBOARD - Gigabyte GA-P35C-DS3R Socket 775 8 Channel Audio ATX Motherboard [Ebuyer]
£73.37

RAM - GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC2-6400C4 800MHz Ultra Low Latency DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (GX22GB6400UDC) [OcUK]
£35.24

PSU - Arctic Power 600W PSU With PCI E, SATA, 20+4, ATX12V, 8pin +12V Connectors Retail Boxed [Ebuyer]
£31.64

GPU - BFG GeForce 8800 GT OC 512MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail [OcUK]
£182.11

HDD - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 80GB SATA-II 8MB Cache - OEM (ST380815AS) [OcUK]
£61.08 (buying two to put in a RAID configuration)

Case - Not decided yet, looking to spend up to £50

TOTAL = £485 approx.

However, hearing about the upcoming price drops in the 8800 series, I am willing to hold off and live with my 7900GS a little longer.
That puts the cost of the build at about £300

Has anybody heard of Arctic Power PSUs? I want to buy a reliable PSU with at least 550W, the price of the Arctic Power is very nice. Unfortunately Ebuyer's review system is currently down so I can't see what people have written about the product, although I can see it has a 5/5 star rating.
 
Big B is definately your man for this Arctic PSU question. Personally, I haven't got any experience with that PSU (unless it is actually Antec, then I would stay away from it.) Just remember that the PSU is the most critical part of your buils and is the last place you want to skimp on. Personally I would go with a better name brand, but it's your money I guess lol.
 
Thanks for the reply gazaway. I was looking at the OCZ StealthXStream 600W for just £49.99. It's a known brand and doesn't cost too much more, if nobody can recommend the Arctic Power I may choose the OCZ.

I slept on the decision about spending £500 on a new build and it's left me a bit stuck. Im still thinking about it but what do you guys think:
Am I going to see a huge performance leap in the proposed rig over my current build?
I've been hearing about Intel's new 45nm Penryn processors, would I be wise to wait for these?
I'll probably end up delaying and delaying this until january anyway, will the Penryn mid-range CPUs be out by then?

Thanks.
 
Well, if you just updated your processor right now you would be fine. You're currently running a P D 805 which is absolute junk lol. But that means you have a socket 775 mobo right now you should be able to throw a C2Duo into.
 
My motherboard is a P5LD2 Deluxe which doesnt support C2D unfortunately.
Ill need a new mobo, new cpu, new psu and new gpu.
This GPU is glitching up all the time. In WoW im getting objects tearing all the time, shooting right across the screen. It is very irritating, it also enjoys turning things in CSS pink from time to time.
Would 2x80Gb hard drives in a RAID0 config give a good performance boost too?
 
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