It's that time again and im ready for a long overdue system upgrade (Been easily 2 years+!).

So in short, though i like to think im hardware Savvy, some aspects are just way to Tech for me (see PSU specs for an example). So i'd like an opinion of the parts i've shortlisted:

CPU: Q6600 G0 Stepping Core 2 Quad (2.4) OEM (~£150)- Nuff said, stable as a mofo. Will get with:
Fan: Zalman Aero cooler (something like that, around £30)
Mobo: MSI P35 Platinum (£90-100)(or Neo2 for cheaper) - Big fan of Asus, but the MSI reviews and cooling solution make it very nice.
GFX: GeForce 8800GT 512mb (~£170)- Tricky one, Ati 3870 is great value also and cheaper. Also vastly improved new versions of each will be out next month, though i fear the price will be near or above the £200 mark, though i won't be buying the parts till around end of Feb.
RAM: Branded 2 x 2GB DDR2 800 - Proven, vastly cheaper than DDR3 ~£65.
PSU: Antec NeoPower 650W - 3 x 12V rails (i hear u need more than one to make the above mobo work stable,else doesn't POST, meh). Modular Cabling, ultra quiet, ~£70 (ouch), but good value/quality PSU). I have a good 600W at the moment, but that means nothing, it'd fry.

So any idea's/suggestions would be appreciated. This should be able to cope with most new games on high, including Crysis in theory.

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http://www.ebuyer.com/product/132563 - single rail goodness

and to be frank, if the mobo needs multi rail to boot it I would steer clear, go with your original vibe and pick Asus

Zalman are fine coolers, they look amazing (if anything a little form over funtion), I have a CNPS9700 and it is purdy... If max cooling is what you are after I would look to thermalright http://www.thermalright.com/new_a_pa...pu_cooler.html

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You can also try the Tuniq Tower 120 Ultra Silent cooler. Currently using it on the Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 3.0GHz 1333Mhz with minimum fanrotation.
Working like a charm, mid 30's in idle, and 40 + on full load.
And, it really IS silent!

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Those Thermalright ones look scary, they must tqke up stupid amounts of space and i bet they aren't cheap, though the silent approach does appeal.

Yeh im surprised that although the P35 Platinum is widely regarded as best in its class by reviews such as toms hardware, users have said BIOS is a bitch, shuts off at random and gives random POST errors. I have an Asus P5GD2 deluxe now, was one of the top boards at the time, you get loads of stuff with Asus too, so think you're right, though which one is a litttle harder.

Think there's the P5k range that looks ok.

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I heard the Core 2 Quad works pretty cool, even when overclocked, at like below 30C, which is prob bollox, but either way don't think heat would be a big issue with it, just a quiet,efficient, quality fan.

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Youre right, whatever cooler you decide to choose you'll be satisfied. Most coolers of the more know brands do their job and then some.
what was important for me was silent and efficient witch I guess goes for most people.

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My CPU runs ~ 80C, at one time ran over 100C....I don't trust a dam thing BIOS says anymore .

One things for sure though, it sounds like a jumbo jet, especially at night, so i'm going to go for silence rather than flashy LED lights and super RPM now heh. Might get a new case too, i like my Coolermaster ATX, but it just has one 80mm fan at front and one 120mm at back. Seen some nice ones for ~£60 though, with more fans than Man Utd.

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How about the cheap n cheerful, super stable and over-clockable (if you want) standard Asus P5B - for under £55 http://www.ebuyer.com/product/113965

TBH it will do just fine, supports upcoming CPU's (1333 FSB / 45nm / quad core etc), I would seriously question why spend any more, the P5B is a very very good value bit of kit...

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Because i'm a snob

Agreed, though, but i hate skimping on anything, and motherboards are something i struggle with because there's some features i overlook or over/under-estimate their importance.

As long as it has some nice copper chipset cooling (sick of hot systems), and has the stuff you mentioned, then yeh, guess it would be fine. I like the idea of Sli and the like, but i've always thought buying two cards would jsut mean double the heat and problems heh.

I'll check out Tom's hardware in a bit and try and dig out Asus reviews. I think Midrange, it said the P5K was a cracker, so in theory the P5 series is fine, actually i have a P5Gd2 in my aging system.

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Gah Asir, that has a P965 chipset, sod that, P35 i'm going for, its mint and mid-range and marginally more expensive.

Will look for a P35 version of that, with the ace copper pipes

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I got the 8800 GT 512mb, amazing card for the money.

Got it on an Abit IP35-E board which was great value for money.

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Antec P182, have one running in my bedroom and can barely hear my PC at night.

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i agree with wharry p182 is fucking awesome have it at work and is fucking silent.

If i were to tell you every single MSI motherboard we had at work died would you reconsider your choice ?

MSI are shite, avoid them like the plague.

ASUS have always been a good call for Intel, just avoid them like the plague for AMD.

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http://lern2play.mine.nu/ !

I'd also suggest Celery Ram, Potato heat sinks and baby carrot capacitors.

Getting back on 'topic'.

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Make sure you get new potatoes though, you dont want last years model.

None of that King Edward Rubbish.

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OK then, if I was going to go above the P5B, then I would think about skipping the P35 and going straight to the X38 based P5E http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Compo...roductId=28816

Just about the best board any money can buy atm...

hahah http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1YLR73j-Nc

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X38, waste of time unless you're being sarcastic hehe (just come back from the pub lol)

Price is so much higher, marginal difference, P35 is proven, stable, top dog in terms of price/perfromance it seems.

X38's are in the DDr3 geenration of things and although i wont build this until late feb/early march, it probably won't be worth the money then. Think the p5k deluxe looks ok, though in the end, might jst risk the BIOS-buster MSI p35 heh.

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Wow, i did well typing that seeing as i couldn't really see what i was typing. /salute

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