New Build Suggestions

[ChristopherP]

Hey all...

Got a couple of orders from a mate of my dads... he wants one for himself and a budget one for his sister.

Here are the specs:

His one:
Abit AX8 VIA K8T890AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice 90nm OCZ Value Dual Channel Kit 2x512MB Sapphire ATI Radeon X800 GT 256MB GDDR3 TV-Out/DVI Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 Plus NCQ 120GB Pioneer DVR-110DBK 16 x 16 DVD±RW Dual LayerMitsumi FA 404M 7in1 USB 2.0 Floppy & Media Drive Antec Performance TX640B-EC

Saitek Desktop Optical Blue USB MouseNewmen Silver MultimediaLogitech Speakers X-230 2.1 32w RMSMicrosoft Windows XP Home Edition Acer AL1715B 17" TFT 12ms 450:1 (1280x1024) 'Slim Line'

£830 inc VAT & P&P

His Sisters:

Abit NV8 nForce4 4X (Socket 754) PCI-Express Motherboard AMD Sempron 64 2800+ 1.6GHz GeIL 512MB (2x256MB) PC3200 Value Dual Channel Kit XFX GeForce 6200 Turbo Cache 256MB Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 Plus NCQ 80GB Samsung TSH-552U 16 x 16 Dual Layer DVD±RW ReWriter Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Logitech Speakers X-230 2.1 32w RMS
OcUK Value Floppy Drive - Black
Arianet CaseArianet PSU
Arianet Value RF KB & Optical Mouse

£410.00 Inc VAT & P&P

Does anyone have any suggestions to improve the performance of either of these systems...? The Prices can NOT increase, and the speakers can't be changed

Whats the X800 GT like compared to other £110 graphics cards...?

Any advice appreciated....

Chris

 

[muckshifter]

I would take a look at the nForce 4 MBs for the first system

 

[Me__2001]

i reckon it will be somewhere near the performance of the X800XL/Pro, which for the price and going on HL2 and Doom3 benchmarks perform well, even at 1024x768 with 4xAA and 8xAF

only thing i can think of is to OC it and change the HSF and install an arctic cooler on the graphics card, or spending more on an X850 series or a faster CPU

 

[ChristopherP]

The prices simply cannot change...

 

[Me__2001]

i think alot of tweaking and maybe a mild OC is all you can do

 

[ChristopherP]

So no-one thinks there are any better component combinations that could get a better system for the same price?

And theres no WAY im overclocking a clients machine!

 

[Me__2001]

i haven't tried yet, be back in a bit

where are you planning to buy it all from ?

 

[ChristopherP]

OCUK, Ebuyer and Aria

 

[Me__2001]

ok had a quick look on OCUK and have come up with the following

Athlon64 3500, A8N-SLI, 1GB geil value RAM bundle £317.07
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Athlon_64_Bundles.html

leadtek 6600GT £108.04 (you could always use this instead of the X800GT)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/6600_GT.html

and all of the other bits, should get you somewhere near that price

 

[G~MAN]

get a 6600gt as the x800 lacks SM3 .... so if u get the x800 you are buying into out dated technology

 

[ChristopherP]

Is the 6600GT actually a BETTER card than the X800GT though? Anyone?

 

[G~MAN]

well its cheaper and supports SM3 which will be used in most games to come ... if you can get the 6800GT do ... but i would get a 6600GT over the X800GT

 

[Me__2001]

from the review i just read a hexus the X800GT beats the 6600GT at HL2 and Farcry but the 6600GT is better at Doom3

if the reviews are accurate then i'd stick with it

http://www.hexus.net/content/reviews/review.php?dXJsX3Jldmlld19JRD0xNDg1JnVybF9wYWdlPTE=

 

[ChristopherP]

The X800GT looks miles better than the 6600GT in the review... I think i made a good choice there then i guess

 

[G~MAN]

well the X800GT is the better card ... but it is a bit more costlier if u are on a tight budget ... and you will be buying into dated technology

 

[G~MAN]

why dont u get a barebones system ... go onto scan and have a look at the 3XS isotope or something ....

its good value for money and you can have a graphics card and CPU of your choice

so you seem to like the X800GT and the AMD64 3000+

worth a look i think

G~MAN

 

[ChristopherP]

Can anyone tell me if the NV8 needs an ATX 2.0 PSU? Cheers...

CORRECTION (SORRY MUCKS) I MEAN NV8

...d'oh

 

[muckshifter]

Yes - No ... who is the MB manufacturer?

 

[ChristopherP]

Abit

 

[Me__2001]

you not using the NV8 anymore ?