New System

Rush

Rush

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Have just bought from a PC Liquidation sale

Benq 1x CD-RW 52x32x52x
Benq 1x 16XDVD+/-R (4x8.5GB Double Layer)
Genius 1x Maxfire Libre Cordless 12-Button Game Pad
Trust 1x 4500P 5.1 Home Theatre System
Q-Tec 1x PSU 550W Dual Fan
Red/Grey 1x 4 Way Computer Protection Socket
Genius 1x Netscroll Wheel Mouse

All for £76.45 Bargain.
I was 2nd in the queue and guess what no CPUs or Motherboards for sale !!

Now my original budget for a gaming system had decreased somewhat so i have done pretty nicely , what i need now is ?

1 AMD Athlon processor
2 Motherboard
3 Case (both the drives are white)
4 OS

I have TFT monitor ,HDD , and Keyboard.

I only live a short while from Overclockers in Stoke so anything they stock will be appreciated.

Budget now £400 ?? Any recommendations ???
 
Gaming system... Hmmm

I'm guessing Athlon 64 Socket 939, maybe 3200+ retail
1Gb RAM - GeIL value is good
6600GT or X800GTO...something like that

Aria have a good selection of cases with PSUs - thats what i like... their generic ones tend to be very good...£35 or so gets you a nice black and silver case with a 430w ATX 2.0 PSU
 
Already have a 6600 GT (sorry)

What about motherboard to support the 550w psu i have ?
or would it be cheaper to buy a case with a built in psu .
 
Oops sorry i misread...

OK cool... You have a bunch of stuff - your HDD serial ATA?

If your drives are white, why not get a black case with a door - to hide... instead of tacky white/beige case...?
 
Didnt state graphics card (my mistake)
No HD is 250 GB 7200 rpm .
 
The best thing you can do with the PSU is to throw it. Q-Tec have to be without a doubt the worst PSU manfacturer around. I've read what has happened to some people who use Q-Tec PSU's and it isnt good, the whole PC burning, PSU failing, breaking different components. My friends PC would just turn off if it was under any strain like gaming, i didnt know what it was till i changed the PSU. I changed it for my old dell 250w PSU, the one he had before was a Q-Tec 500W one! and it couldnt handle it.
 
Maybe you could get 2x 80Gb SATA II drives and RAID them, and then have the 250Gb IDE one as a secondary (backup)drive...

Is your 6600GT PCI-Express? It would need to be for a decent gaming system that uses S939... Socket 754 isn't really meant for gamers...

I will assume that it is:

All prices including VAT

www.overclockers.co.uk
Abit AN8 SLi nForce4 SLi (Socket 939) PCI-Express Motherboard £93.94
AMD Athlon 64 3500+ Venice 90nm (Socket 939) - Retail £144.47
GeIL 1GB (2x512MB) PC3200 Value Dual Channel Kit CAS2.5 £55.17
Samsung SpinPoint P HD080HJ 80GB SATA-II 8MB Cache - OEM £42.89
Samsung SpinPoint P HD080HJ 80GB SATA-II 8MB Cache - OEM £42.89
Hiper HPU-4K580-MK Type R 580W Modular ATX2.2 PSU - Black UV £64.57

www.aria.co.uk
Arianet MIDI Tower2 Blk/Sil with ATX2.0 460W £32.84

DO NOT USE THE Qtec POWER SUPPLY UNLESS YOU HAVE A DEATH WISH
You have to know somethings not good when the companies flagship PSU, the triple fan 650w Gold PSU is under £25 inc VAT! Im suprised OCUK still sell them!

Maybe something like the above spec?

edit: the above spec is £76.44 or so over your £400 budget... Good spec though!
 
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i'd use what chris has listed but with only one of the Samsung drives, im not really up on mid range PSU's but if it's under £25 for their best PSU, stay well clear !!
 
I run Aria.co.uk PSU's (the ones bundled with cases) on 100% full load for a few days straight and play games... they have been damn good for me!

The Samsung drives are very good - barely audiable - and they make a very nice RAID0 array when working together. Good for getting game files loaded quick.

The motherboard will Dual Channel the ram aswell, thats only 5% max increase though...

edit: is your mouse optical? I wouldnt game with anything else...
 
Read this, from Hexus.net

Quite funny!!!!

Retail Name (if known)QTec Triple Fan 650WRated Output Power650WSpecificationATXPower SwitchYesInput Voltage220-240V, 50HzFan(s)2 x 80mm, 120mmCable runs20-pin ATX
P4
half AT
3 x 4-pin Molex, 1 floppy
3 x 4-pin Molex, 1 floppy
SATAMax currents+3.3V = 30A
+12V = 25A
+5V = 45ACombined power for +3.3V and +5V325W

QTec's Triple Fan 650W is clearly a joke power supply. From the triplet of cooling fans that battle against each other to cool very little, to the supposed ratings that don't even add up to 650W, finishing with the massive failure for the PSU to get anywhere near its rated output. At 350W the outputs started to fluctuate rapidly before settling down.

By 450W, efficiency was dropping like a stone, input power increasing at a very rapid rate. At 50% efficiency and 900W of input power with the PSU making a horrible screeching sound, PD and I stood well back and recorded its demise on video. At 1100W of input power (1.1 kilowatts), it popped with a massive bang, the internal fuse letting go in impressive style.

For its rediculously low cost, the QTec Triple Fan 650W can only be described as a clown's supply. Buy at your own peril and don't say we didn't warn you. The worst supply on test by quite some margin and a complete misadvertisement of capabilities, suckering people into a poor purchase.

Recommended system: None whatsoever.
Click to expand...


http://img.hexus.net/v2/psu/taoyuan_34_2005/images/bench_efficiency.png

Look whos at the bottom!

If you want a decent affordable power supply that you know you can trust to look after your bits, Rush, buy a Hiper type R modular 580w PSU - they are truly stunning, and brilliant.
 
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Thanks Guys ..trying to take it all in before i enter overclockers and splash my cash...

My garden honestly now has a new tray to feed the winter birds peanuts..a Cellophane wrapped Q-Tec 550w psu... what the hell it only cost £12 cheaper than a bird tray (lol)
 
Send us a picture!

If you want a good case and PSU combination, the Akasa Eclipse 62 is a SUPERB case, and the Hiper Type R is also fantastic kit.

That would push you overall about £100 or so over budget... but the system i specified is kickass material, providing the 6600GT is PCI Express!

Let us know what you are going to do.

Chris
 
Chris ,
i will go with what you said ..but watch this space when i try to connect it all...
 
Oky doky :) Glad to be of assistance.

Note that if the graphics card is AGP, it will not even fit into the motherboard.

You getting the Hiper PSU and Akasa Case? (they are good buys)
 
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