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kiwiceedee

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#24431 23-Jul-2008 22:10

Hi - I am looking to get a new PC, definately want to be able to play decent games but also general multimedia use, using office applications etc.

Not sure if its safer to go down the Dell XPS track or look at something like Playtech (are they any good?) as they seem like reasonable value for money. e.g for $1699. Otherwise any other reccomendations? Cheers

· Intel Core 2 DUO E8200 2.66GHz Wolfdale 45nm 1333MHz FSB 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Dual Core Processor

· Arctic Cooling Freezer Pro 7 (for LGA 775) CPU Cooler

· G.SKILL 2GB kit (1GB x 2) DDR2-800 (PC-6400) CL4-4-4-12 low latency memory

· PlayTech approved Nvidia 750i SLI Ready LGA775 Motherboard

· 640GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s 7,200 RPM w/ 16MB Cache

Graphics

· PlayTech approved Nvidia Geforce 9600GT 512MB GDDR3 PCI-E 2.0 SLI Ready Video Card in SLI

Graphics 2

· PlayTech approved Nvidia Geforce 9600GT 512MB GDDR3 PCI-E 2.0 SLI Ready Video Card in SLI

Audio

· High-Definition 7.1 Performance Audio

Optical Drive

· 20X Dual Layer DVD±RW/CD-RW Burner LightScribe w/ Nero Software

Network

· Intergrated 10/100/1000 GB Network

Power Supply

· Silverstone Strider ST50EF High Performance 500W Power Supply SLI ready

Case

SILVERSTONE SST-PS01B Black ATX Blue LED fan (side window option available, limited Stock)

xpd

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#150955 24-Jul-2008 14:11

Funny you should mention Playtech, weve got one of the guys from PT in a meeting here right now hehe....

Id go for PT over Dell - youll get a solid machine thats built extremely well. We use them for our workstations and very rarely have any problems with the systems. Sure, they might be a little bit more expensive than picking up the parts yourself, but theyre flexible on the parts they have in their package deals. ie: Dont want the fancy TT case, change it for another cheaper case in their inventory and save a few more dollars :)

XPD / Gavin

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eXDee

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#150999 24-Jul-2008 15:57

Heres what i'd change:
e8400 or e8500
thermalright ultima or ultra extreme
motherboard with intel p45 chipset and crossfire support
1x ATI 4850 - $320 vs $400 for two 9600GT's -and the 4850 gets almost as many 3dmarks as 2x 9600gt, however this wont reflect real world performance, since not all games scale well with multi card support, so the 4850 would probably perform better overall and its cheaper. The crossfire p45 mobo will mean you can add a second 4850 later.

kiwiceedee

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#151122 24-Jul-2008 22:29

Cheers - are you sure you dont work for Playtech... the next model up has pretty much everything you suggest. Do I need 2 x ATI HD 4850 or is that overkill? Do you know with crossfire if you have to match it with exactly the same card in the future or is it more flexible than that?

Intel Core 2 DUO E8400 OC to 3.5GHz Wolfdale 45nm 1333MHz FSB 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Dual Core Processor

CPU Cooler

Advanced Stage 1 CPU Water Cooling 12cm Radiator

Operating System

Windows Vista Home Premium 32bit Service Pack 1 OEM Edition with 60day Microsoft Office 2007 Trial (or Windows XP Home OEM upon request)

Memory

G.SKILL 2GB kit (1GB x 2) DDR2-800 (PC-6400) CL4-4-4-12 low latency memory

Motherboard

ASUS P5Q Pro Intel P45 ICH10R EPU Motherboard

Hard Drive 1

WD6400AAKS 640GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s 7,200 RPM w/ 16MB Cache

Graphics

PlayTech approved ATI Radeon HD 4850 512MB GDDR3 PCI-E 2.0 CrossFire Ready Video Card in CrossFire

Graphics 2

PlayTech approved ATI Radeon HD 4850 512MB GDDR3 PCI-E 2.0 CrossFire Ready Video Card in CrossFire

Audio

High-Definition 7.1 Performance Audio

Optical Drive

20X Dual Layer DVD±RW/CD-RW Burner LightScribe w/ Nero Software

Network

Intergrated 10/100/1000 GB Network

Power Supply

Silverstone Strider OP700 High Performance 700W Power Supply CrossFire Ready

Case

SILVERSTONE SST-TJ04W Black Aluminum with Window ATX Midi Tower Case

eXDee

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#151390 25-Jul-2008 18:14

I sure don't work for playtech, though i wouldnt mind, employee discounts are always nice. I personally use C1 actually.

RE your pm: I would definitely go Playtech over dell. However i believe playtech among many stores allow you to choose parts and they will build it for a fee.
2x 4850 is crazy fast, which is why i suggested one with a crossfire motherboard. The 4850 will be available for at least a year brand new, and there will be plenty on trademe around then too. Its turning out to be a popular card so that will push trademe prices down a fair bit.
However if you can afford the pricetag then go for it, but be careful with prebuilt computers from some companies, they will try and sneak cheap components in, often the Power supply or RAM, or will be overpriced. Fortunately playtech hasn't done this, all parts are quality by the look, and at a good price, especially the fact that it has watercooling, which is usually charged at a premium. Only issue i have with that build is that motherboard will only do 8x crossfire, rather than full 16x, which might take off a bit of performance.

This is what im likely upgrading to within the month, if it helps:
E8500 (for overclocking, otherwise go e8400)
Thermalright CPU cooler (probably a TRUE) for overclocking
Asus P5E motherboard or equiv (full 16x crossfire support)
1x ATI 4850, adding another one in the future.
2gb of ram (probably gskill or crucial, again overclocking)

I already have the OS, Case, power supply, and drives etc.

BTW, check the Gameplanet default PC build thread here, its updated often and is what is agreed to be the best value for your $$$.

Hope this helps.

kiwiceedee

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#151392 25-Jul-2008 18:20

Your a star - thanks a lot

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#151734 27-Jul-2008 10:31

Get seduced by the Mac side of The Force!

I never play games - have a console for that - but there's always loads of games for Mac on sale in Magnum Mac.

For everything else, it has to be Mac every time, especially now that you can run Windows on them. No idea why you would want to - but you can!

Lenovo

Shop now for Lenovo laptops and other devices (affiliate link).

eXDee

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#151748 27-Jul-2008 11:12

Right, apparently the p5e is pci-e 1 not 2 or something, got a bit confused with the letters. Anyway, we've ordered parts from computerlounge.
e8500
TRUE
p5q pro
Crucial ballistix 2gb
ati 4850

puzzer

18 posts

Geek

#157095 15-Aug-2008 02:46

E8500 is good one