Online component retailers (+ new spec)

[Weeble]

'sup homies.
Quick question: which (uk) online computer component retailer do people recommend? I used to use eBuyer under my Dad's account but...well...they don't serve us anymore (long story).
I'm got roughly £500-600 to spend on a completely new system but am trying to find the cheapest place online to get it from... any suggestions?

The updated rig in question is going to be:
Processor
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 2.66GHz (http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=743028)
Akasa heatsink fan (http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=465712)[/*:m:3utq6rcl]
Motherboard
ABit IP35 Pro XE P35 (http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=819506)[/*:m:3utq6rcl]
RAM
2 x 1GB Corsair TwinX "Dominator" PC2-8500 (1066MHz) (http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=462617) - bearing in mind I'll be using Win XP Pro x64 as I can't be arsed with Vista[/*:m:3utq6rcl]
Graphics Card
Gigabyte 9800 GTX (512MB) (http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=793747)[/*:m:3utq6rcl]
The total of this one comes to about £532.80 (excluding VAT, including 500 GB Seagate hard drive)


Comments and improvements (within price range) welcome.
Also, is it best to go for a processor with included fan and heatsink, or just get an OEM processor and then buy a fan/heatsink separately?[/size]

Cheers darlings.


The old rig was....
old
Processor
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 (2.5GHz), L2 6MB Cache[/*:m:3utq6rcl] Motherboard
Asus P5N-E 650i nForce chipset[/*:m:3utq6rcl] RAM
2x1GB OCZ PC2-6400[/*:m:3utq6rcl] Graphics card
EVGA 8800 GT, 512MB GDDR3[/*:m:3utq6rcl]

[BlackWolf]

Processor no
Motherboard no
Memory(RAM) no

:P

I have no idea of price of 9300 in UK so cant give better options but its no from me.
650i sucks as motherboard i have heard only bad stuff about it. Unless your going for SLI system stick to p35/p45 or x38/x48.
With price of 2Gb of OCZ you should get 4Gb of any other ram. Just get any ram that is as fast as possible for as cheap price as possible. and dont go for amount under 4Gb its waste of time and money! You get 4Gb of memory by adding 1/4th of price of 2Gb to it... for example from 35 euros to 45 euros and you just doubled your RAM amount. So why to go for 2Gb?

8800GT is ok as graphics card... it sux but well not my comp. I wouldnt go for anything else but Ati 3870 or nvidia 8800 GTS prices are nowdays so close to each others on 8800 GT and GTS and GTS is like double the speed so dont see reason for going for GT.

If you want to cut expences then cheapest P35 mobo and E7200 processor and then good air cooling. Those E7200 processors are insanely good to overclock and people have reached insane clocks with those taking that those cost is under 100 euros!! Its best to buy atm.

[Welshie]

I use http://www.dabs.com

[Weeble]

Cheers you two.


Updated the spec now...


Processor
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 2.66GHz (http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=743028)
Akasa heatsink fan (http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=465712)[/*:m:2h8tyvti]
Motherboard
ABit IP35 Pro XE P35 (http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=819506)[/*:m:2h8tyvti]
RAM
2 x 1GB Corsair TwinX "Dominator" PC2-8500 (1066MHz) (http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=462617) - bearing in mind I'll be using Win XP Pro x64 as I can't be arsed with Vista[/*:m:2h8tyvti]
Graphics Card
Gigabyte 9800 GTX (512MB) (http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=793747)[/*:m:2h8tyvti]

Better?

[BlackWolf]

I would still go for 4Gb ram... with x64 you could go for 8.
RAM is cheap and it will improve speed that you actually see while using windows etc. where for example changing to better processor doesnt.
2Gb is MINIMUM nowdays. Most of new games really demand more.

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductI ... tID=766626 (http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=766626)
Thats for example.
I would tell you that corsair suxs but cause that shop doesnt sell anything else i dont think it matters.
(i have exactly that same memory as you put your link and i hate it it cant OC at all, wish i had gone for g.skill or so... would been actually even cheaper)

Make sure your mobo supports that CPU some mobos have problems without new bioses with those processors.
If you want to be smart you would get only 2core CPU
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductI ... tID=778510 (http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=778510)
Cost is under half of the Quad, uses less power, you can OC it like hell compared to quads and in actual use quads are as fast as duos.
Only reson why people praice quads is "for future" well it was same story when Q6600 came to markets and its still same story 9 months later. Yet no game etc supports 4 cores to extend that you would actually get some advantage out of those compared to price you must pay.

GPU is awesome choice.

[Weeble]

Thing is with the RAM is that Windows XP can only recognise ~3GB, or 3.2, and I don't have the cash to upgrade to Vista. Still worth getting 4GB?

re: the CPU, are duos seriously the same as quads? And if so would you recommend the E8400 over the E7200?

[Tim]

Thing is with the RAM is that Windows XP can only recognise ~3GB, or 3.2, and I don't have the cash to upgrade to Vista. Still worth getting 4GB?

re: the CPU, are duos seriously the same as quads? And if so would you recommend the E8400 over the E7200?

Are you sure about Windows XP? My understanding was that 32bit Windows could only use 3GB (Vista is included in this) whereas the 64bit versions can support a lot more.

As for the CPU/Heatsink/Fan I would get the OEM chip and select your cooling stuff separately. There is an excellent eBay seller - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/shinyhardware - which does lots of cooling hardware and cheap system exhausts etc.

I use eBuyer personally but in the past I've been a fan of Scan, Dabs to a lesser extent as they're owned by BT and are often overpriced.

[BlackWolf]

E8400 (which i have) vs E7200... def E7200!!
With some good cooler you can easily boost your E7200 to speeds like 3.6Ghz. People have overclocked their E7200 to much higher speeds than E8400 CPUs. Sounds ridiculous but is true.
Getting it to 3Ghz (E8400 speed) is no trouble at all! So why to pay for that extra? By no trouble at all i really do mean no trouble! Its so simple that everyone can do that.

First of all XP understands 4Gb of RAM not 3.2 its just allocated so 3.2 seems to be operational... theres workaround for it by microsoft.
And even that 1Gb more really do show. For example if you have some game open and then you alt+tab to windows do things and go back it really shows if you have RAM or not. To my understanding same problem exists even in 64bit version. But maximum amount of memory that 32bit system can handle is 4Gb and 64 bit can handle a lot more.
So with 64bit XP you really should go for 4Gb with RAM prices atm. you will not regret it.

And as its been said since win 95 came... you cant have too much RAM!

[Charlie_B]

I've had good service from www.overclockers.co.uk (http://www.overclockers.co.uk) and www.scan.co.uk (http://www.scan.co.uk) in the past.