# Building my first computer (ish)



## Nokiacrazi (Nov 11, 2010)

Hi. 

I am thinking of getting a new computer. I will need a Motherboard, CPU, GPU, RAM, PSU and a Case for it all to fit, nice and comfortably.

Basically, will be for gaming and watching full HD blu-ray stuff, potentially 3D. Games such as Assassin's Creed Brotherhood (yet to release), Call of Duty Black Ops, and other DX11/DX10 titles to come. Obviously these will be very taxing.

I will not be doing any encoding. I will not be doing any hardcore overclocking. I might do a little CPU clockin' depending on what CPU it is and the potential performance overhaul.

My budget. A tricky area. Basically I'd like to spend as little as possible, for the best performance as possible (who doesn't). But really, I'd like to stick to £400-£600. 

I have narrowed down my CPU to either the AMD Phenom II X6 1055T 2.8GHz 9MB Cache Socket AM3 Retail Box Processor or the AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition 3.4GHz Socket AM3 8MB L3 Cache 125W Retail Box Processor

I have read and read reviews/threads etc, but I am no closer to deciding on which one I should have. Of course it also depends on the system...

So for the motherboard, I would like it to have DDR3 1600MHz compatibility, up to 8GB, with 4 slots (thats pretty much standard now, isn't it). I would like it to have 4x PCi-E slots in-case I want to have multiple graphics cards.

The RAM, I am thinking OCZ, mainly because I think it's good for performance/price. About 4GB would do I think, but read on to decide. Not too bothered about timings, as I don't think they make too much difference. Basically I think 1600MHz would do?

The graphics card! I am still going to hold of the system until the Radeon HD 69xx is released because Im seriously considering that. But I would think the Sapphire HD 6870 1GB GDDR5 Dual DVI HDMI Dual Mini Display Port Out PCI-E Graphics Card would suit my gaming needs for now anyway. If needed I could always get another one of those, since it does well in tesstilation?

PSU im thinking 750W so its futureproof i guess?

Anyway, any help would be appreciated. If I have been unclear about ANYTHING (more than likely) then please ask and I will clarify. 

Also, please ignore all my waffle, if you so wish and just decide on a decent setup. 

Thanks in advance.


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## overclocking101 (Nov 11, 2010)

Nokiacrazi said:


> Hi.
> 
> I am thinking of getting a new computer. I will need a Motherboard, CPU, GPU, RAM, PSU and a Case for it all to fit, nice and comfortably.
> 
> ...


if you must go amd the 1090T is the only cpu to have the 1055t is not as good at all by far and really why get something you will have to upgrade in 6 months. personally I would get an intel i7-8XX as they outperm amd's by a good margin


> The RAM, I am thinking OCZ, mainly because I think it's good for performance/price. About 4GB would do I think, but read on to decide. Not too bothered about timings, as I don't think they make too much difference. Basically I think 1600MHz would do?


timings matter a lot honestly a lot more then some realize. i would only get 1600mhz ram if its cas8-8-8 or lower preferably lower oterwise there is no point in getting 1600mhz ram you may as well get 1333mhz


> The graphics card! I am still going to hold of the system until the Radeon HD 69xx is released because Im seriously considering that. But I would think the Sapphire HD 6870 1GB GDDR5 Dual DVI HDMI Dual Mini Display Port Out PCI-E Graphics Card would suit my gaming needs for now anyway. If needed I could always get another one of those, since it does well in tesstilation?


the 6870 will play any of those games with good frames i would definately add one later on though for some crossfire goodness. to hell with waiting for the hd69XX cards they will be out of your budget anyways



> PSU im thinking 750W so its futureproof i guess?



a GOOD 750w is plenty if you get a crappy brand go for 850w but the psu is what you want to buy the most high end you can, it sucks having a crap psu that hardly powers your system


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## BarbaricSoul (Nov 11, 2010)

you looking for something like this?


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## BarbaricSoul (Nov 11, 2010)

btw, I went ahead and put the 850 watt corsair in there because it was only £7.98 more than the 750 watt corsair


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## JrRacinFan (Nov 11, 2010)

In addition to BS's build(a good one I might add) go the extra for this:
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prods/components/processors/amdphenomiix6/AMD/HDT75TFBGRBOX.html


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## Nokiacrazi (Nov 11, 2010)

BarbaricSoul said:


> you looking for something like this?
> 
> http://img.techpowerup.org/101110/build.jpg



Sort of. I don't need any HDDs, and I would never pay that much for a PSU, surely there must be good reliable ones for under £40?

Also, I have looked at that motherboard. Boy I know its a beast, and I am so temtped...But really it is quite alot to pay for a motherboard, I would really rather pay no more than £75 for the motherboard.



			
				JrRacinFan said:
			
		

> In addition to BS's build(a good one I might add) go the extra for this:
> http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/p...5TFBGRBOX.html



That price is less than the 1055T on that website. Why might that be? 

Thanks for help so far, continue to contribute please!


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## gumpty (Nov 11, 2010)

You could save £60-£70 by going with an i5-760 + P55 motherboard.

Seriously, games don't need 6 cores. The gain from going from 3 to 4 cores is minimal. And unless you are doing some intensive thread-heavy computing when you're not gaming I wouldn't bother.
Don't get me wrong, the AMD hex-core processors are great, but for your needs I don't see you needing one. The i5-760 vs X4 970/965 is a no brainer. At stock they are equivalent, but the i5 blows it away when overclocking (it's not as hard as you might think - with a half-decent cooler). Also, the i5 uses less power and is therefore cooler.


Also, are you concerned about noise? Might be a factor to consider when getting a case and power supply (and GPU and CPU cooler, lol).


EDIT: the £60-£70 saving is compared to BarbaricSoul's price-list.


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## Nokiacrazi (Nov 11, 2010)

gumpty said:


> You could save £60-£70 by going with an i5-760 + P55 motherboard.
> 
> Seriously, games don't need 6 cores. The gain from going from 3 to 4 cores is minimal. And unless you are doing some intensive thread-heavy computing when you're not gaming I wouldn't bother.
> Don't get me wrong, the AMD hex-core processors are great, but for your needs I don't see you needing one. The i5-760 vs X4 970/965 is a no brainer. At stock they are equivalent, but the i5 blows it away when overclocking (it's not as hard as you might think - with a half-decent cooler). Also, the i5 uses less power and is therefore cooler.
> ...




I agree with a lot of things you have said.

I would be more inclined to go with the X4 965 and AMD motherboard simply because I would like comparability for crossfire in the future.

For noise, I am not too concerned. Obviously I would like it to be as quiet as can be, but I don't mind too much.

Also, if I do get crossfire 6870s for example, would I need additional fans/coolers? I doubt I would ever overclock any graphics cards or RAM, but I might tweak with the CPU a little bit.


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## BarbaricSoul (Nov 11, 2010)

Nokiacrazi said:


> and I would never pay that much for a PSU, surely there must be good reliable ones for under £40?



I can not emphasize this enough, DO NOT GO CHEAP ON YOUR POWER SUPPLY. The power supply should be considered the backbone of your computer. If it fails, more than likely it will fry someother part of your computer, like the motherboard, RAM, proc, or video card, or possibly, ALL OF THEM. Think about it? Is it really worth risking all your hardware by trying to save £40-50. Everyone on this site will agree with me about the power supply also. 

Now you might be able to go with a less expensive PSU, but in the power range your talking about wanting, your gonna end up spending atlest £70 for a "decent" power supply. Corsair power supplies are some of THE BEST.


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## gumpty (Nov 11, 2010)

Nokiacrazi said:


> I would be more inclined to go with the X4 965 and AMD motherboard simply because I would like comparability for crossfire in the future.



Good point. Socket 1156 is almost superseded, AM3 still has a couple of years left in it I imagine.



Nokiacrazi said:


> For noise, I am not too concerned. Obviously I would like it to be as quiet as can be, but I don't mind too much.



Some power supplies are noisier than others, so you should factor this into your decision because changing a noisy power supply in the future is not as cheap or easy as getting a quieter cpu cooler. I'd stick with the stock CPU cooler for now, but if it bothers you in the future or you want better cooling for a better OC, then that is something you can look at.



Nokiacrazi said:


> Also, if I do get crossfire 6870s for example, would I need additional fans/coolers? I doubt I would ever overclock any graphics cards or RAM, but I might tweak with the CPU a little bit.



No you should be okay if the case has decent airflow, which most do these days.


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## BarbaricSoul (Nov 11, 2010)

> That price is less than the 1055T on that website. Why might that be?



different website have different prices. I'm in the United States, so I don't know all the different sites that sell to Europe. Ebuyer.com is one of the more popular websites that service the UK.


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## gumpty (Nov 11, 2010)

Ebuyer, Scan, Aria, Novatech; these are all good places to start if you're in the UK.


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## Nokiacrazi (Nov 11, 2010)

Thanks for all the input guys, really appreciate it.

One last-ish question.

I have decided I need to change my monitor. It is at least 5-6 years old, still works fine, but since its the old type, it takes up far too much room.

It is a Samsung SyncMaster 793DF CRT 17".

Im looking to get a Samsung LCD monitor, that has full HD capability (pretty much standard isnt it), TV built in (maybe), all the rest doesn't really matter, although if it does 3D (dunno much about 3D screens yet) even better.

Basically would use it for FPS games, blu-ray, like I mentioned on the opening post.

Ideally 22-24"
Contrast ratio - dunno, I think higher is better?
cd^2/m^2? wtfs that? something about meters squared ? 

ms thing? lower better?

Anywho, thanks again, if you can help with the monitor would be great!


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## mlee49 (Nov 11, 2010)

There's a ton of good quality 24" LCD monitors that are relatively cheap on the market.  Brands I would recommend researching:
Dell
Samsung
Asus
LG
Hans-G

Google some monitor reviews and see what they say is really important and what is just BS(like Vista capable).


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## Nokiacrazi (Nov 12, 2010)

Which brands are generally best for monitors? (I know you are going to say theres not one brand thats just the best) but what monitors are really good at 24" LCD at reasonable prices.

Thanks.


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## robn (Nov 12, 2010)

mlee49 said:


> There's a ton of good quality 24" LCD monitors that are relatively cheap on the market.  Brands I would recommend researching:
> Dell
> Samsung
> Asus
> ...



This ^ and Benq has been really good for me. My tip tho: buy Dell, HP, Acer, etc. since they are just repackaging quality brand electronics in their own cases, and offer proper support if it kills itself.

Power supply? Corsair 600W 80+ 28A 12V single rail £59.99 delivered.

Once you choose your gear Google shop for everything to get best prices (still stick to respected sites though). That power supply is £63.90 delivered from Scan for example.

Edit: Power supply cheaper sill on Ebuyer with free delivery option £54.51


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## mlee49 (Nov 13, 2010)

Nokiacrazi said:


> Which brands are generally best for monitors? (I know you are going to say theres not one brand thats just the best) but what monitors are really good at 24" LCD at reasonable prices.
> 
> Thanks.



I was mentioning which brands to look at, theres tons of reviews out there to help your decisions.


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## Nokiacrazi (Nov 13, 2010)

Thanks again. Sorry for my mis-reading.

Purely on gaming - which performs better.

The x6 core, or the x4 black edition ?

EDIT: Also, which of these two are the better for a AMD/Crossfire build?

ASUS Crosshair IV Formula or Gigabyte GA-890FXA-UD5?

EDIT2 : are there any 700/750+ power supplies that are crossfire ready? or specificly for AMD/ati builds?


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## InnocentCriminal (Nov 13, 2010)

Nokiacrazi said:


> Thanks again. Sorry for my mis-reading.
> 
> Purely on gaming - which performs better.
> 
> ...



Personally I'd go with the ASUS C4F or, if money is an issue, I'd get their M4A89GTD Pro/USB as that's just as good and cheaper, just doesn't have the awesome aesthetics.

As for the CPU and gaming, it really does depend on the game you're going to be playing. Recent articles suggest that dual core CPUs, even though they're "enough" they're starting to show their age and that quad cores probably offer the best value for money.

I'd find it hard to not get the X6 and if you can justify the price then go for it, otherwise an X4 would be more than adequate.


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## bbmarley (Nov 13, 2010)

you could shave a couple of xtra £ by swaping PSU to this XFX850w

XFX Pro 850W Core Edition PSU - Single Rail 9x SAT...

also comes in 650/750w

PC PSU deals - cheap computer Power Supply Units |...

should handle crossfire with ease


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## InnocentCriminal (Nov 13, 2010)

I seriously wouldn't recommend purchasing a non-brand or poor PSU. The PSU is the heart of your PC without a decent one (that will last years) you'll suffer the hard way.


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## freaksavior (Nov 13, 2010)

Nokiacrazi said:


> Sort of. I don't need any HDDs, and *I would never pay that much for a PSU*, surely there must be good reliable ones for under £40?
> 
> Also, I have looked at that motherboard. Boy I know its a beast, and I am so temtped...But really it is quite alot to pay for a motherboard, I would really rather pay no more than £75 for the motherboard.
> 
> ...



I want to ban you for saying that.

Watch this, then tell me if you still want a cheap psu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTVEtr14FEA


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## Nokiacrazi (Nov 13, 2010)

I understand the errors of my way now 

Thank you very much 

Anyway - thinking of going like this for a PC

ASUS Crosshair IV Formula - AMD 890FX
AMD Phenom II X4 965 - Black Edition
OCZ DDR3-1600MHz PC3-12800 (2x2GB) - Black Edition Ready
Corsair 650W TX Series PSU

I am going to stick with my Radeon HD 3870 for about 2-3 weeks, and hope that the 6870 prices come down, and then purchase that. If the price doesn't come down I am still going to buy it.

Also - haven't decided on a case. Im thinking about the CoolerMaster Storm Scout. Only drawback is that it doesn't seem to have USB3 ports on top? Or at all? Can anyone inform me?

Or give me a better case?


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## Achilles1600 (Nov 14, 2010)

The thermaltake V9 blacXedition, has USB 3.0 and is $109.99 ATM at newegg. here is the link... Thermaltake  V9 BlacX Edition with Docking Station...


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## Nokiacrazi (Nov 15, 2010)

hmm dont really like that case tbh. id would be so ideal if that CM storm scout case had atleast 1 usb3.0 port on the front.

Is it possible to find an adapter or something which does USB2.0 to USB3.0?


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## Nokiacrazi (Nov 19, 2010)

I found a case thats amazing, that has USB 3.0 on the front! Only thing is - its about £140 LOL.

Cooler Master HAF X.

Quite sexual really...

Anywho question - Can someone tell me what/where I can get the best WHITE LED fan for 200mm, 120mm and 80mm? Thanks.

Same for the fan, but for GREEN LED.

Thanks.

Also, how would I control the LEDs? With a switch or would they just be simple on with power, off without power.

Also could I control the fan speeds? Thanks.


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## InnocentCriminal (Nov 19, 2010)

Gross!

How anyone can find the HAF X an attractive chassis I really don't know.


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## Exile_Chavez (Nov 19, 2010)

Nokiacrazi said:


> I found a case thats amazing, that has USB 3.0 on the front! Only thing is - its about £140 LOL.
> 
> Cooler Master HAF X.
> 
> ...



White 200mm: XIGMATEK LED Fan Crystal series CLF-F2004 200mm Wh...

White 120mm: XIGMATEK Cooling System Crystal Series CLF-F1254 1...

White 80mm: XIGMATEK Cooling System Crystal Series CLF-F8254 8...

Green 200mm: XIGMATEK LED Fan Crystal series CLF-F2003 200mm Gr...

Green 120mm: XIGMATEK Cooling System Crystal Series CLF-F1253 1...

Green 80mm: could not find

I found these, all same brand, all same series so they all look the same. All looking pretty good, I have a Xigmatek 120mm in my case and it moves some air. Power on=LED on, power off= LED off, unless you wire in a switch. You would need a VR fan speed controller and fans with controllable speeds to do that.


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## Nokiacrazi (Nov 19, 2010)

Exile_Chavez said:


> White 200mm: XIGMATEK LED Fan Crystal series CLF-F2004 200mm Wh...
> 
> White 120mm: XIGMATEK Cooling System Crystal Series CLF-F1254 1...
> 
> ...



Much obliged, however, can I buy from Newegg from the UK?

Maybe I should have said before that I am in the UK


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## InnocentCriminal (Nov 19, 2010)

Newegg don't deliver to the UK I'm afraid.


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## Nokiacrazi (Nov 20, 2010)

Ah too bad.

EDIT : So I guess I don't need a £160 ASUS motherboard. Ive been told only to get that if I am going to do some hardcore overclocking.

So what would suit my needs - gaming, blu-ray, etc.

I aim to have this build

AMD Phenom II x4 965 BE or x6 1055T or x6 1090T BE, depending on other factors (mainly price, but also mobo)
OCZ DDR3 1600Mhz  4GB (2x2GB) Dual Channel - BE (AOD)
Coolermaster HAF X (maybe, its such a sexual case and soo roomy) or Coolermaster CM Storm
Coolermaster modular 600-700W 
eventually AMD Radeon 6870, and then down the line another one of those to put in Crossfire.

So. Which motherboard is best in terms of price and performance. Please add more to the list or comment ask questions etc, but these are what im looking at.

ASUS Crosshair IV Formula - £155
Gigabyte 890FXA-UD7 - £165
Gigabyte 890FXA-UD5 - £161
Gigabyte 790FXTA-UD5 - £136
Gigabyte 890XA-UD3 - £106
Gigabyte 870A-UD3 - £76

Also, what actually is the Black Edition on AMD CPU/s and other things, RAM/ GPUS etc?


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## Nokiacrazi (Nov 21, 2010)

Also - what SSD should I get? Obviously under £100-£250 would be ideal...

Should I get it only so big that I run Windows/drivers on it?

Or do I want it with Windows/drivers & games and any other programmes I regularly use?


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## InnocentCriminal (Nov 21, 2010)

Nokiacrazi said:


> Also - what SSD should I get? Obviously under £100-£250 would be ideal...
> 
> Should I get it only so big that I run Windows/drivers on it?
> 
> Or do I want it with Windows/drivers & games and any other programmes I regularly use?



I think those questions only you can answer. Personally, I'd get two 'affordable' drives so that I can RAID them and have both Windows and games on them.


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## Nokiacrazi (Nov 21, 2010)

InnocentCriminal said:


> I think those questions only you can answer. Personally, I'd get two 'affordable' drives so that I can RAID them and have both Windows and games on them.



I don't really know that much about SSD drives. All I want is a system for gaming and watching stuff etc. I have simply heard that to get a system with very fast loading times, copying times, transfer times and in general high/fast performance you need to use an SSD drive. I don't even know how you install or set these up. Do you use PCI-E slots or is it the traditional power and SATA leads? Then is it plug and play? Or do you have to do something extensive?

And what's this RAID business? Thanks.


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## InnocentCriminal (Nov 21, 2010)

Two types of SSD, the first being SATA based, to get the most out of an SSD you need the new SATA 6Gbps (incorrectly referred to as SATA3) on your motherboard. Otherwise you'll be bottlenecking the drive with anything slower. 

The other type, is a PCIe based SSD - which, instead of using the SATA bus it uses PCIe instead allowing much higher data rates. However, SSDs of either type are still expensive for the capacities on offer.

Simplistically, you can treat an SSD as a normal, mechanical drive but with a few deferences; one of these being, you can't defrag it. I recommend you read up as much as you can about SSDs before purchasing one. This buyer's guide might help.  

RAID stands for *R*edundant *A*rray of *I*ndependent *D*isks - varying types of RAID but the main two are _RAID 0_ (Known as Striping) which allows you to use two identical drives as one big one. So, for example say you bought two SATA6Gbps 120GB SSDs and configured them in RAID 0, you'd have (theoretically) a 240GB. The benefit of doing this would be the increased performance you'd get if both drives were used independently. The negativity of striping the drives would me, if one fails, the other other does too.

The other most commonly used one is _RAID 1_ - mirroring. Pretty self explanatory. One drive copies the other, so if one dies, you can disconnect and carry on as if nothing has happened. It's for people that don't like backing things up.

The others, well they're not as commonly used and again, I recommend you read up on it as see if it floats y'boat.


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## Nokiacrazi (Nov 21, 2010)

Hmm....might have to wait a bit. What do you think of that Samsung F3 1TB drive? Sounds like one of the fastest drives (mechanical drive) so far? And only £41..


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## InnocentCriminal (Nov 21, 2010)

They're awesome, I have one. I also have the original 1TB F1 which is also awesome. I'm thinking about picking up another as I'm running out of storage space.


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## Nokiacrazi (Nov 26, 2010)

Coolermaster HAF X Case (£139.99) or Coolermaster Storm Scout (£69.99)

Arctic Power Pro 750W Modular 14cm Fan PSU - 4x PCI-E 8x SATA (£62.70)

Gigabyte GA-890GPA-UD3H 890GX Socket AM3 HDMI DVI VGA Out 8 Channel Audio ATX Motherboard (£98.49)

AMD Phenom II X6 1055T 2.80GHz (Socket AM3) Processor - Retail (£130.54)

OCZ PC3-12800 4GB (2x2GB) 1600MHz DDR3 240pin DIMM AMD Black Edition XTC Computer Dual Channel Memory Kit (AOD Ready) (£73.99)

Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3 1TB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm 32MB Cache (£40.88)

Comes to £546.37 using the HAF X. 
Comes to £476.37 using the Storm Scout.

Will add a Radeon 6870 down the line.

Is this a good build? Does anything bottleneck the other?

Will I be able to run 2x Radeon 6870s in crossfire in the future with this build?

Bear in mind this will mainly be for gaming.

I may also add a SSD...


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## Nokiacrazi (Nov 26, 2010)

bump, need a quick reply otherwise prices will rise again


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## InnocentCriminal (Nov 26, 2010)

I'd say get the Scout and save some money to go towards something of greater worth such as the GFX or SSD.


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## Nokiacrazi (Nov 26, 2010)

Yeah my brother would probably shoot me if I spent £140 on a case  what do you think of the case?


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## InnocentCriminal (Nov 27, 2010)

Personally, I think the HAF series look shite! Aesthetics aside, they cool brilliantly. The Scout looks great and can cool brilliantly for it's price. I was planning on picking the case up for myself so that my GF can have my 300. 

If I was in your situ, I'd go for the Scout so that I could put the saved money towards something else. I'd also read/watch a crap load of reviews to really make my mind up.


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## Nokiacrazi (Nov 27, 2010)

What do you think of this motherboard : Gigabyte GA-890GPA-UD3H 890GX Socket AM3 HDMI DVI VGA Out 8 Channel Audio ATX Motherboard

I would probably put it with:
AMD Phenom II X6 1055T 2.80GHz (Socket AM3) Processor - Retail
OCZ PC3-12800 4GB (2x2GB) 1600MHz DDR3 240pin DIMM AMD Black Edition XTC Computer Dual Channel Memory Kit (AOD Ready)
Arctic Power Pro 750W Modular 14cm Fan PSU - 4x PCI-E 8x SATA

in the Scout case!


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## InnocentCriminal (Nov 27, 2010)

Nokiacrazi said:


> What do you think of this motherboard : Gigabyte GA-890GPA-UD3H...



Is the onboard GFX necessary? If not, get an 880 chipset.


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## Nokiacrazi (Nov 27, 2010)

InnocentCriminal said:


> Is the onboard GFX necessary? If not, get an 880 chipset.



Onboard is not necrssary. Didn't realise.that was difference between versions.


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## Nokiacrazi (Nov 27, 2010)

InnocentCriminal said:


> Is the onboard GFX necessary? If not, get an 880 chipset.



Onboard is not necrssary. Didn't realise.that was difference between versions.


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## Nokiacrazi (Nov 27, 2010)

So would you say this is more appropriate for my build?

Gigabyte GA-880GA-UD3H 880GA Socket AM3 8 Channel Audio ATX Motherboard £79.92 inc. vat
or this
Gigabyte GA-880GM-UD2H 880G Socket AM3 8 Channel Audio mATX Motherboard £58.99 inc. vat
or this 
Gigabyte GA-870A-UD3 870 Socket AM3 8 Channel Audio ATX Motherboard £77.40 inc. vat
or this
ASUS M4A88TD-M EVO/USB3 880G Socket AM3 HDMI DVI VGA Out 8 Channel Audio MATX Motherboard £75.29 inc. vat

By the way, if you could recommend any AM3 motherboards that suit my needs it would be great - not limited to Gigabyte in any way, but I would prefer Gigabyte, Asus or MSI tbh.


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## InnocentCriminal (Nov 27, 2010)

What features d'you absolutely need?

Any 880 based board that you like the layout of will suffice I'm sure.


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## Nokiacrazi (Nov 27, 2010)

J





InnocentCriminal said:


> What features d'you absolutely need?
> 
> Any 880 based board that you like the layout of will suffice I'm sure.



I would like to be able to run 2 6870s in crossfire eventually. Also I would like it to not bottleneck any other components.


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## Nokiacrazi (Nov 27, 2010)

Asus M4A79XTD EVO 790X Socket AM3 8 channel audio ATX Motherboard

After reading up on that Mobo, it seems like it will suit my needs perfectly!

EDIT : just seen this one, about two pounds cheaper : Asus M4A88T-V EVO/USB3 880G Socket AM3 ONboard 128MB Memory DVI VGA HDMI Out ATX Motherboard. Probably suits my needs too...Its a 880 so im not sure..hmmm

If there's a reason why I shouldn't get it or I should consider another, perhaps same price, marginally lower/higher price, or I should go for a completely different one, please say 

Anywho, I will probably use this with a Phenom II x4 965 BE or a Phenom II x6 1055T or a Phenom II x6 1090T BE... OCZ Black Edition DDR3 1600Mhz 4GB ram (dual channel) and a Radeon 6870 (x1 to start with then maybe x2)

Can anyone tell me what black edition is?


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## InnocentCriminal (Nov 28, 2010)

I know that the M4A785TD-V Evo gets highly recommended and as you don't need integrated GFX and if you don't want USB3 and SATA 6Gbps then the M4A79XTD should be sweet.

If the M4A88T fits your needs, the layout is what you want to work with then get that one.

As for the Black Edition moniker - it means that it has an unlocked multiplier allowing you to OC far easier than just raising the FSB.


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## Nokiacrazi (Nov 28, 2010)

InnocentCriminal said:


> I know that the M4A785TD-V Evo gets highly recommended and as you don't need integrated GFX and if you don't want USB3 and SATA 6Gbps then the M4A79XTD should be sweet.
> 
> If the M4A88T fits your needs, the layout is what you want to work with then get that one.
> 
> As for the Black Edition moniker - it means that it has an unlocked multiplier allowing you to OC far easier than just raising the FSB.





I would like USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gbps for the future.


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## InnocentCriminal (Nov 28, 2010)

Then get a newer chipset.


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## Nokiacrazi (Nov 28, 2010)

Such as?


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## InnocentCriminal (Nov 28, 2010)

Any of the 800 series, I don't they're is that much difference between them.


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## Nokiacrazi (Nov 28, 2010)

Okay I think I am going to buy this stuff..

Asus M4A88T-V EVO/USB3 880G Socket AM3 ONboard 128MB Memory DVI VGA HDMI Out ATX Motherboard
AMD Phenom II X6 1090T 3.20GHz Black Edition (Socket AM3) Processor - Retail 
OCZ DDR3 PC3-12800 4GB (2x2GB) 1600MHz 240pin DIMM / AMD Black Edition / Dual Channel 
Sapphire HD6870 1GB GDDR5 Graphics Card
Coolermaster Storm Scout All-Black Midi Tower Gaming Case - Black

Will this PSU do the job bearing in mind that in the future I will want to put another HD6870 in there?

Arctic Power Pro 750W Modular 14cm Fan PSU - 4x PCI-E 8x SATA


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## InnocentCriminal (Nov 28, 2010)

I can't help but think the PSU would be shite. If anything, I'd get at least this.


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## Nokiacrazi (Nov 28, 2010)

What would happen if I do indeed get a shite PSU and use it with the components? Would it potentially damage them, or would it simply blow itself up?

What about this, seems to have good reviews.

Antec TruePower New 650W Modular PSU - 80plus Bron...


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## Nokiacrazi (Nov 28, 2010)

checky here!

CM Storm Scout + Coolermaster Silent Pro 700W Modu...

I think that PSU is good? 

I forgot to ask - will a Sapphire Radeon HD 6870 fit into a CM Storm Scout case?


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## InnocentCriminal (Nov 28, 2010)

It'll be much better than that CompuCase crap. The PSU is the heart of your computer, which a decent one you risk compromising your entire rig. _Never_ purchase a crap PSU. That CM one will be sufficient I would have thought. Did you check the specifications of it and see if they meet your requirements?

The 6870 will fit, I know this because an ex-colleague had a 5850 in his.


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## Nokiacrazi (Nov 28, 2010)

InnocentCriminal said:


> It'll be much better than that CompuCase crap. The PSU is the heart of your computer, which a decent one you risk compromising your entire rig. _Never_ purchase a crap PSU. That CM one will be sufficient I would have thought. Did you check the specifications of it and see if they meet your requirements?
> 
> The 6870 will fit, I know this because an ex-colleague had a 5850 in his.



It says SLI Ready and people say that is the same as Crossfire ready? 
I think it is. I'll only be using 2 3.5 HDDs and maybe 1 2.5 inch SSD in the future.


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## wahdangun (Nov 28, 2010)

yupz if that PSU was sli ready than its surely can do crossfire

btw why you not chose corsair PSU?


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## Nokiacrazi (Nov 28, 2010)

wahdangun said:


> yupz if that PSU was sli ready than its surely can do crossfire
> 
> btw why you not chose corsair PSU?



It's bundled with the Coolermaster CM storm from ebuyer.


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## Corduroy_Jr (Nov 28, 2010)

InnocentCriminal said:


> Is the onboard GFX necessary? If not, get an 880 chipset.



880 is only 16x 4x for crossfire, where as he should be getting the 890gx or 890fx to crossfire

if it was me nakio i would pay the extra $50 and get the Amd 1090T black edition. now for the motherboard's look for 8+1 to 8+2 phase chokes, cause 4+1 phase cant handle a high cpu overclock, for a mild clock its ok


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## InnocentCriminal (Nov 28, 2010)

Corduroy_Jr said:


> 880 is only 16x 4x for crossfire, where as he should be getting the 890gx or 890fx to crossfire.



That makes sense.


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## Nokiacrazi (Nov 28, 2010)

InnocentCriminal said:


> That makes sense.



From what I've seen those are almost 2x the price.


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## InnocentCriminal (Nov 28, 2010)

Nokiacrazi said:


> From what I've seen those are almost 2x the price.



Then get the fastest single card you can afford. I honestly don't like dual video cards but some people do.


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## Nokiacrazi (Nov 28, 2010)

InnocentCriminal said:


> Then get the fastest single card you can afford. I honestly don't like dual video cards but some people do.



On another area, how much of a performance difference in general computing and gaming will having more than 4Gb of RAM have? Also will having over 1600Mhz make more of a difference?


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## InnocentCriminal (Nov 28, 2010)

I suggest you read this article.


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## Nokiacrazi (Nov 30, 2010)

Much appreciated on that article.

Is this a good price for this RAM in the UK?

OCZ OCZ3BE1600C8LV4GK PC3-12800 / 4GB (2x2GB) / 1600MHz / DDR3 / 240pin DIMM / AMD Black Edition XTC / Computer Dual Channel Memory Kit


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## Nokiacrazi (Dec 1, 2010)

Bump.

Are RAM prices at the lowest they have been?

What prices are low/norm/high in comparison to what is considered average?

As in motherboards, graphic cards, memory, processors, sound cards, periphrasis, monitors etc...


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## Nokiacrazi (Dec 4, 2010)

Do people think that when the 6970 & 6950 are released that the prices of the 6870 will decrease?


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## NdMk2o1o (Dec 4, 2010)

Nokiacrazi said:


> Do people think that when the 6970 & 6950 are released that the prices of the 6870 will decrease?



Probably not and not by any great amount if they do. 

As for your PSU, the 700w coolermaster is a lot better than that POS other one you linked, however! note that if you are planning on Crossfire, you will need a PSU with 4x pcie connectors as the 6870 uses 2!


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## Nokiacrazi (Dec 4, 2010)

NdMk2o1o said:


> Probably not and not by any great amount if they do.
> 
> As for your PSU, the 700w coolermaster is a lot better than that POS other one you linked, however! note that if you are planning on Crossfire, you will need a PSU with 4x pcie connectors as the 6870 uses 2!



can you recommend any such PSUs ? 

I was told that I could use that Coolermaster PSU for 2x 6870s...


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## NdMk2o1o (Dec 4, 2010)

OCZ 750W Fatal1ty Series Modular PSU - 4x PCI-E 6x...

Just bought one myself, reviews are good on these too.


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## Nokiacrazi (Dec 6, 2010)

I have had a thought... Scrap the entire plan!

My current system specs are:

MSI K9A2 CF
AMD Athlon 5600+ Dual Core 2.6GHz
GeCube Radeon 3870 512MB
4GB (4x1GB) OCZ DDR2 (Speed I think is 667 or 800)

Monitor is Samsung SyncMaster793DF.

Would I be able to play most modern games at good settings etc if I was just to get a 6870, and a decent monitor? Or is my build falling behind now..?


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## Dent1 (Dec 7, 2010)

Nokiacrazi said:


> I have had a thought... Scrap the entire plan!
> 
> My current system specs are:
> 
> ...





No because your 5600+ X2 is far too old and slow, it will cause bottlenecking. If you want to keep your processor you need to aim a lot lower on the video card, like a Nvidia GTS 250, ATI 5750 or slower, and even then you'll probably still bottleneck it. 

You are going to need a modern processor as well as a new video card. Luckily for you the MSI K9A2 CF is AM3 ready, so you can patch the motherboard's firmware and upgrade it to a Athlon II X3/X4 or Phenom II X3/X4/X6 and it'll happily run a ATI 6870 without issue.

I'm not sure what your budget is but the best compromise might be to buy a ATI 6850, 5850 or GTX 460 768MB or 1GB and use the money saved on a Athlon II X4. This can be done for around £200 total if you are smart about it


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## MohawkAngel (Dec 7, 2010)

Dump in a Phenom X2 AM3 socket 85watts 550BE.


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## gumpty (Dec 7, 2010)

Mohawk has the right idea.

Do a bit of research and flash your bios to the latest version and find out what processors it supports. Then price it up from that.

Your monitor is quite a low resolution. You'd see a huge benefit from getting a larger LCD. If you keep your current one, even a HD6850 would destroy any game at 1280x1024 - so going for a 6870 would be overkill if your planning on keeping it. You can get a full-HD 22" monitor for as little as £100. A lot of people rave about getting higher quality screens but for me, if all you're doing it playing games and surfing the net, then I'd just get one at the cheaper end. It'll be such a huge difference from your current screen that you wont notice the 2-5% better picture that the extra 50-200% cost gives.


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## MohawkAngel (Dec 7, 2010)

Please note that if your board begins with this serial number, 601-7388-010, your board will only support cpu’s of 95 Watt and lower. You cannot connect a CPU of 125 Watt since this will damage your board.


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## Nokiacrazi (Dec 7, 2010)

Dent1 said:


> No because your 5600+ X2 is far too old and slow, it will cause bottlenecking. If you want to keep your processor you need to aim a lot lower on the video card, like a Nvidia GTS 250, ATI 5750 or slower, and even then you'll probably still bottleneck it.
> 
> You are going to need a modern processor as well as a new video card. Luckily for you the MSI K9A2 CF is AM3 ready, so you can patch the motherboard's firmware and upgrade it to a Athlon II X3/X4 or Phenom II X3/X4/X6 and it'll happily run a ATI 6870 without issue.
> 
> I'm not sure what your budget is but the best compromise might be to buy a ATI 6850, 5850 or GTX 460 768MB or 1GB and use the money saved on a Athlon II X4. This can be done for around £200 total if you are smart about it



Absolutely, I have been thinking about upgrading to this:

Case + PSU
Motherboard 
CPU #1 or CPU #2
GPU
RAM

Would come to around £650 including delivery.

Obviously a little pricey, and that is when I thought - hang on, my current motherboard works fine, so it will last a while longer!



MohawkAngel said:


> Dump in a Phenom X2 AM3 socket 85watts 550BE.



For most games I am aware that a Dual Core would be absolutely fine. But I may aswell think about getting a Phenom II x6 for the future. 



gumpty said:


> Mohawk has the right idea.
> 
> Do a bit of research and flash your bios to the latest version and find out what processors it supports. Then price it up from that.
> 
> Your monitor is quite a low resolution. You'd see a huge benefit from getting a larger LCD. If you keep your current one, even a HD6850 would destroy any game at 1280x1024 - so going for a 6870 would be overkill if your planning on keeping it. You can get a full-HD 22" monitor for as little as £100. A lot of people rave about getting higher quality screens but for me, if all you're doing it playing games and surfing the net, then I'd just get one at the cheaper end. It'll be such a huge difference from your current screen that you wont notice the 2-5% better picture that the extra 50-200% cost gives.



I have been thinking about getting this monitor. Has good reviews, highly recommended, would suit my needs almost perfectly, probably slightly large for my liking, but in the end, the bigger it is the more uses it can have.



MohawkAngel said:


> Please note that if your board begins with this serial number, 601-7388-010, your board will only support cpu’s of 95 Watt and lower. You cannot connect a CPU of 125 Watt since this will damage your board.



Much appreciated.

It supports all Phenom II, which is what I will upgrade to. I have been looking at the 1090T, but that would then mean I need a new motherboard. So I guess it might well be the 1055T, which is excellent value for money and pretty future proof.


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## Dent1 (Dec 8, 2010)

Nokiacrazi said:


> Absolutely, I have been thinking about upgrading to this:
> 
> Case + PSU
> Motherboard
> ...



I would avoid buying that case/psu combo. You can buy a seperate case and PSU and it will be of a better specification and cheaper.

So the consensus is to keep your existing motherboard and ram, and upgrade to the 95W 1055T.


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## Nokiacrazi (Dec 8, 2010)

Dent1 said:


> I would avoid buying that case/psu combo. You can buy a seperate case and PSU and it will be of a better specification and cheaper.
> 
> So the consensus is to keep your existing motherboard and ram, and upgrade to the 95W 1055T.



I guess it is, but the 95W 1055T is not so much for value for money 

Using DDR2 RAM will not bottleneck the system, or limit its performance, will it?

Also, what other Case or PSU would you have in mind?


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## Nokiacrazi (Dec 12, 2010)

Nokiacrazi said:


> I guess it is, but the 95W 1055T is not so much for value for money
> 
> Using DDR2 RAM will not bottleneck the system, or limit its performance, will it?
> 
> Also, what other Case or PSU would you have in mind?




Anyone.


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## Corduroy_Jr (Dec 12, 2010)

dd2 to am3 for Amd is not much of a difference maybe 3 to 7% at most, now you're current motherboard is only 4+1 phase, don't expect a big overclock with even a 95watt cpu, with all that said you will be extremely happy upgrading from a amd 5600+ x2, to the 1055t


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## Nokiacrazi (Dec 13, 2010)

I think I am going to wait till late January, early February. 

I hope that current 6870 GPU prices will drop because of the 69xx series, and maybe, because of Sandybridge, perhaps AMD's current Phenom II prices will drop?

But if the prices drop enough, I may just go with my initial idea and get a brand spanking new system.

I just don't like spending a LOT in one go. I'd rather buy the system bit by bit, but...I guess its better when everything is bought at the same time, and constructed new...


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## gumpty (Dec 13, 2010)

Nokiacrazi said:


> I just don't like spending a LOT in one go. I'd rather buy the system bit by bit, but...I guess its better when everything is bought at the same time, and constructed new...



I know how you feel. Only thing is, upgrading bit by bit you never really feel like the upgrades make any difference - you never really notice much change. What you end up with is a computer that is miles better than the one you started with a few years back, but it's very hard to judge _how_ much better it is.


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## Nokiacrazi (Dec 13, 2010)

gumpty said:


> I know how you feel. Only thing is, upgrading bit by bit you never really feel like the upgrades make any difference - you never really notice much change. What you end up with is a computer that is miles better than the one you started with a few years back, but it's very hard to judge _how_ much better it is.



Thats exactly the thing.

I think, hmm, if I put a new CPU and GPU in, I will notice a difference.

But then I think, but if I just get it along with a complete system, with a SSD... /drool


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## xbonez (Dec 13, 2010)

Don't worry about starting small and adding to that. When I initially built my PC, it was pretty decent for that time (an year ago), but I knew it wasn't going to play games that came out an year later. So I planned to upgrade bit by bit, and watch for deals. It doesn't hurt as much to spend a 100 dollars or so every few months. I initially started with an HD 4890, down the line bought another when I got a really sweet deal. After a while, got a Black Friday deal on a 470, so I bought that and sold both 4890s (net money out of my pocket = $0).


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## Nokiacrazi (Dec 23, 2010)

My current monitor finally died.

Ordered this Samsung SyncMaster P2450H | Ebuyer.com, should be here tomorrow.


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## Nokiacrazi (Dec 24, 2010)

Its here.

It is bloody huge! Bloody brilliant for movies, games etc.

Only thing now is - need to get better GPU for games


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