Hey there

I am currently in the process of buying a new gaming computer. I want one that will play the lastest games to a good standard (eg. high graphics + smooth gameplay) for the next couple of years. However i am by no means an expert on pcs and so any advice would be much appreciated.

I was intending on building :

• cpu: intel core 2 duo q6700
• Mobo: Asus P5Q Pro
• Heatsink: Scythe Kabuto
• Ram: 4gb Corsair XMS2 DHX DDR2
• Graphics card: His Radeon HD 4890
• HDD: WD Caviar Blue 640gb
• PSU: OCZ Modstream Pro 600
• DVD drive:any

That build i saw in PC gamer a few months back and would have cost me £708 according to the mag. However since then i have had a look on ebay and found :

• Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 2.33ghz 1333Mhz 4mb Cache SKT775
  Processor Interface : SKT 775
• CPU Cooler : Intel Retail Boxed
• Memory: Major Brand 8gb DDR2 800 PC6400 CL6.0 Memory Module
• Hard Drive: Branded 500gb Sata 7200rpm 16mb Cache HDD
• Graphics Card: Nvidia 9500GT 1024mb DDR2 Graphics Card VGA DVI HDMI
• Motherboard: Asrock N7AD-SLI 1600fsb NVIDIA nForce 740i SLI Chipset S/L SKT775
• Max Memory Support: 16gb DDR2 800
• Motherboard Expansion Slots: 2x PCI-E 16x, 2x PCI-E 1x, 2x 32-bit PCI
• Network Card: 10/100/1000 Giga PHY RTL8211CL
• Audio: 7.1 CH Windows Vista Premium Level HD Audio with Content Protection
• Optical Drive: 20x Lightscribe DVD Writer with Buffer Underrun Protection
• Power Supply: Branded 750w 24Pin Power Supply Unit

thats for £438, also to both i would need to add a wireless networking card. All i want to know is which is better, to me it would seem to be the latter as it has double the ram and i think a better cpu? HOwver i do also understand that the first one does hav a superior graphics card.But If i am right i dont understand why the second costs so much less than the first considering it is a beter machine. As i said, any advice would be much appreciated, i want a pc that will be play the latest games to a decent/high standard for the next year or 2 do you think either of these 2 will be upto the job?

Many thanks in advance

Hi and welcome to PC Help Forum.

A combination of the second PC with GFX the card in the first set up would be your best bet. If you can financially stretch to that, it would be my recommendation.

I wouldn't buy a CMOS battery off eBay, much less a whole computer. I've bought a lot of hard to find, used communication equipment off eBay and have been burned a few times by folks with very high Feedback ratings.

The eBay computer has a pitiful GPU (video card), and the words 'branded' and 'major brand' raise all sorts of flags in my mind. CL 6 is very slow for PC6400 RAM. Quality PC6400 RAM has a CL of 4; such as 4-4-4-12.

On the other hand, the parts you've specified for a build look good except for the CPU. I have a q6700 myself and it performs very well. Fact is, it's old tech, and you'd be better off with a q9400 or a q9550 on the Intel side.

AMD has some very good CPU's, too. Take a look at their Deneb CPU's and of course you'll have to choose an appropriate motherboard.

Newegg.com - Computer Hardware,CPUs / Processors,Processors - Desktops,AMD,Socket AM3,Quad-Core,Deneb

Please note I stuck with Quad core CPU's as that appears to be your preference. Mine, too.

I bought my Quad core PC off of a Company on EBay about 6 months ago, upon recommendation from a friend. It was cheaper than I could have built it for myself and it's still growling away here

OK guys thanks for the advice, however i am still a little unsure what to do. I mean i was attracted to the ebay one as it was a lot cheaper and looks like a better machine, however if the ram is slow then perhaps its not as good as it looks? Perhaps you could suggest a pc suitable for me? Either one that is currently available or a rig that i could build? Realistically needs to be under £750
Cheers

Also guys what OS shud i get for my pc? i was thinkin of gettin windows7 but is it backwards compatible? ie. will it play my xp games etc and finally is it wrth gettin ddr3 ram or is just a luxury i dnt need? is ddr2 good enuf?
cheers

You don't build your own? hehe. But you were correct. 12GB of RAM, even 8GB of RAM is overkill. Especially if you don't have a 64-bit OS.

And from what I've read 64-bit OS's are not that good for gaming since most of the work is done by the GPU processor and not the PC's 64-bit processor. They do give benefits to computational tasks though such as video conversion, and other processor intensive tasks like hard drive imaging etc.

The other thing to consider is software compatibility. Some programs don't have 64-bit versions and some of your hardware might not work on a 64-bit OS either. I'd hold back on a 64-bit OS until things become more standardised and you have 32-bit and 64-bit versions of everything.

Anyway, I've been pricing this up for my cousin's Christmas present (I'm not buying it for him! Just building it):

Prices may be very slightly different either way +/-

(Spreadsheet is attached...couldn't get it to display correctly)

Now certain things such as the hard drive and the case/psu you may want to spend a bit more on but this gives you a general idea. For the spec, its a very good price. If you went with 2GB RAM instead of 4GB you could have the whole thing for <£300.00

I would definitely get a Quad Core PC though and a HD 4850 or 4870 Graphics Card with 1GB memory. But the 4670 is a very good card as well.

All the components are from Cheap Laptops, Hard Drives, LCD Monitors, TVs, Televisions and more at Ebuyer.com if you type in the QF codes you will see the various items.

I recommend you build your own PC. Its really quite easy and there are even instructional videos on youtube if you need help with it.

As for DDR3 RAM and the OS...I would use XP because it is proven to be reliable and stable. Windows 7 still has/may have some kinks that need to be worked out.

If you can afford DDR3 RAM and a DDR3 motherboard within your budget then get it, although I have no personal experience of it. But if you can afford it, why not?