Upgrading Parts - Opinions wanted

[Septih]

Righto, let me start by stating that I'm in the UK, so dealing in pounds here. As a graduation gift to myself I've decided to buy myself a new computer (well almost, keeping psu/case/monitor). Starting with a budget of ?500ish, with potential to go up to ?700 only if it's really worth it. After looking through parts for the last 2 days here's what i've come up with:


CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 3.16GHz (Retail 775)
http://www.aria.co.uk/SuperSpecials/Intel+Core+2+Duo+E8500+3.16GHz+(Retail+775)+?productId=30244 - ?140.94
I chose this above the 8400 because I had a bit of cash left over and it seemed worth it. I'm assuming this comes with a fan - would appreciate knowing if people think it's worth buying a different one or not

Motherboard - Asus P5Q Pro Intel P45 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-280-AS - ?86.94 (Until 2nd July)
Decent board with crossfire capability

Memory - GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC2-6400C4 800MHz Ultra Low Latency DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (GX22GB6400UDC)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-058-GL - ?29.36 (Until 2nd July)
Fairly good on offer, decent brand. Don't think I'll need more than 2gb for now.

GPU - Sapphire HD 4850 512MB PCI-E2.0 Lite Retail
http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...0+512MB+PCI-E2.0+Lite+Retail+?productId=32165 - ?130.72
Went for the 4850 because it'll be able to play anything I want now and I can upgrade it cheaply with another one when they go down in price and i actually need to.

Hard Drive - 500Gb Hitachi SATA-2 P7K500 Hard Drive- 16MB
http://www.aria.co.uk/SuperSpecials...star+P7K500+Hard+Drive-+16MB+?productId=31456 - ?39.89
Had good reviews and a large enough capacity.

DVD RW - Samsung SH-S203P/BEBN 20x DVD?RW SATA Dual Layer Lightscribe ReWriter (Black) - OEM
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CD-092-SA
- ?17.61
Needed one, seemed well reviewed and cheap.

This come out at just under ?500 with shipping, but most of the improvements I could see were a fair bit more money for negligible upgrade.

I did manage to come across free shipping from scan.co.uk but their prices and limited stock meant that it wasn't worth using them.

I'm basically posting this here to ask if any of you can a) spot any grave mistakes i'm making as to choice of parts and b) see if any of you can suggest a better place to buy them from so i don't miss out on any great bargins.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Omnomnick]

Pretty good

You'd get a nice performance from that

 

[Blackthorn]

I'd definitely recommend getting some additional cooling for your CPU. For example, the AC Freezer 7 Pro is cheap and lowered the temps on my Q6600 by 40C from the stock cooler. It's a small price for the reassurance that you're not killing your processor.

 

[OmegaX]

It all looks good. But if you can somehow afford 4GB of RAM it will help you in the future.

 

[CyberPitz]

I'd say grab 4 gigs of ram. Cheap as hell. Otherwise, slick PC.

 

[Barney Fife]

I have the same DVD combo, love it and SATA, great for wire management.

I love the setup. Like GreatBlackthorn said: Buy an aftermarket HSF and thermal (I like ZALMAN 9xxxx models and Arctic Silver): small investment for your big investment.

Enjoy.

 

[Asus]

The CPU you linked to is a RETAIL version so it does come with the standard cooler in the box. Works perfect if you always have the AC running at your place although it is a little loud. If you live without AC or just want lower temps then I'd recommend a better cooler. If you do get the Arctic Cooling Freezer Pro, it already has good thermal compound applied to the bottom of it so you wouldn't have to buy and apply a tube of grease.

 

[Septih]

Right, I'll probably take your advice on the cooler, it's not a lot more and i'm already under budget. As for the ram, i'll sleep on it seeing as there's no point ordering till tomorrow. The dilemma is whether it'll get cheaper still or become more expensive (like ddr1) by the time i actually need to upgrade, I guess it's not really going to be that much different though...

Thanks for the advice so far anyways

 

[Barney Fife]

there's no point ordering till tomorrow.

Yes there is: If you order today they'll come a day earlier than if you order tomorrow. :burp:

 

[Septih]

Yes there is: If you order today they'll come a day earlier than if you order tomorrow. :burp:

Doubt anyone ships anything out at this time of night in the UK

 

[Barney Fife]

Doubt anyone ships anything out at this time of night in the UK

But then, they may take all day, maybe go to lunch, goof around and smoke outside and then process order at like 5:21PM-ish, your shipping sits idle at the loading-dock, while you wait anxiously eating nails. Then the UPS guy comes the fallowing day with a ticket on his ass for speeding on his way to pickup your precious order, throws your stuff to the back of the UPS truck like a sack of Potatoes, and drives over the speed pump at 200MPH.
Or, order now and early in the morning when they come to work fresh they'll see your order on the desk. you'll have a full day for processing, packaging and shipping.