Currently I'm running

Abit fatality Mobo
AMD 6000 x2
Nvdia 8800gt
2 gig Ram
Windows XP pro 32bit


Now I've just started to the build process for my next PC. I'm going to buy the parts over the next 3/4 months but just started by ordering new case and psu

Case - Silverstone FT01 £152
Great review from Custom PC - not a hugh case and good with cooling
http://www.silverstonetek.com/products/ ... 1&area=usa

PSU - Be Quiet - Dark Power 850W £140
http://www.custompc.co.uk/reviews/11410 ... -850w.html

Now I'm holding off on new Mobo/CPU/RAM until I understand what the new Intel CPU is going to be like and what the prices will be. However I need to make a decision on the following and would welcome thoughts?

New Graphics Card - Not sure what camp to go with? (My monitor is a 22inch widescreen running 1680 x 1050)
Operating System - Moving to Vista 64 bit I think to be able to use more RAM.
What else to put into my Case - Blu ray / Temp Controls?

Its purely the base unit I'm replacing - have all the other bits and bobs.

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The stats below lie. I'm actually much much worse.

I've read a huge benchmark test today (in dutch unfortunatly), but it did make me believe that if i wanted to upgrade between now and next few months, i'd deffenatly go for the new Intel chip.

U can't read the text, but the graphs should be informational enough;

http://tweakers.net/reviews/1024/4/het- ... ina-4.html

Haha... bigger = better?

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SaintK: I'm completely lost

Don't even think about putting Blue Ray into your computer - this would be a waste of (quite a lot) of money. You can't even be sure how long the format will last. Not all movies and almost no games are released on Blue Ray and it's still very expensive. HD-DVD was scrapped but you can't call it a victory of the Blue Ray standard - sales have been going down anyway, especially since the porn industry doesn't quite embrace the format and historically it has always been the driving force behind video standards.

Temperature controls? Are you planning on overclocking? If not, and since you ask these questions I assume you are not an expert in this field, I wouldn't bother - especially since you can control your fans, check your temperature etc. easily with the BIOS or free software.

I agree with Saint that you should wait for the new Intel chips. From what I read they won't be THAT expensive (relatively speaking) and even if you decide on NOT buying one of them they will cause a tremendous drop in all other prices.

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War does not determine who is right - only who is left. - Bertrand Russell

Saint - Thanks for that link - the graphs certainly look persuasive. I've not been able to find any other benchmarks so this was really useful, apparently anyone with the preview chips had to sign a non disclosure agree until a certain date.

Lim - Point well made. Guess I won't be doing much overclocking - unless the hardware is factory overclocked already. I think I've got icthy feet as know I need to wait till probably after xmas before I can get hold of new CPU/Mobo and RAM so want to get everything else I might need before.

I've also heard that Nvidia will be releasing new versions of GTX280 & 260 this month so will probably sit on my hands until they appear. Did think about the ATI 4870 X2 but its pretty loud by all accounts and noise is something I want to keep down - as much as I can that is.

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The stats below lie. I'm actually much much worse.