PC People Help Please!

[Final Maxim]

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/pcrange.html?ISM

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/pcrange.html?NFO

ok first question, im gonna be buying one of these two, probably today.. now.. do i go

1: Intel Dual Core E6420 with 8600gt £515.

or

2: AMD Dual Core 4600 with 8600gt £468

Are these good spec machines as i dont buy pc stuff at all, i dont upgrade, i just buy new pc few years down the line.

My current spec is amd athlon 2200 (1.8gig), 512 ram, ati 9600xt.

I mostly do online gaming, download p**n and browse the internet.

-----------------------

question 2: im buying a new monitor too, this is the cheapest 19" i can find, good deal? good buy? any other reccommendations? will consider a 20-21" if under like £180 or so

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/6701592.htm

 

[Munson]

I would say that overall, the Intel setup would be about 10% quicker. It's more expensive though. If I had just those two choices NOW, I would definitely choose the Intel platform.

However, if you're not a hardcore gamer, or more importantly a video editing man, then the AMD platform is probably better value for you.

Hope that helps

 

[J203425]

Id take the AMD being honest, bought my first AMD processor about 4 years ago and now on my third, havn't looked back.

 

[mwatts_tci]

I think the intel will be much better for pornography, I have used my intel chip for years now, very heavily, you could even say relentlessly, for the downloading of grumble, never skipped a beat.

 

[ViolentJ]

I've read that the 8600 series are not worth buying, which is why I avoided it when i upgraded my machine recently.

This is what the graphics card guide on Overclockers says:

*** Naff NVidia DX10 Card Warning***

Sadly the 8600 GTS has proven to be a bit of a let down in the frames per second department. Even Gibbo can’t recommend them, and they loose out to the x1950 Pro in DX 10 games. It’s a bit early to say this is the FX series all over again, but anyone buying the 8600 GTS or lower cards (8600 GT, 8500, 8300) to play games needs their head seeing to! This sticking point appears to be the 128Bit memory interface – NVidia says they will release a new 8600 GTS, we shall wait and see…

Just to be absolutely clear:-

8800 – good!
8600 – bad!

 

[Final Maxim]

the one in the bundle is 256. or still same card?

 

[thecremeegg]

A better monitor would be this (tho its widescreen)

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/127412/rb/28183146075

A reputable brand, good quick repsonse time, and £20 cheaper

Edit: if you use google checkout to pay you get another £10 off

 

[Gumby]

Erm the memory interface is still the 128 bit (nothing to do with memory size - 256MB) and so avoid said card

Monitor wise I'm sure you can get a cheaper and slightly better one from overclockers.co.uk / scan.co.uk / ebuyer

Personally, I'd go for the Intel. But then at the end of a day it is your personal choice to make

 

[thecremeegg]

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/128142/rb/28183219365

non widescreen version

 

[Final Maxim]

thanks for the link to that monitor, looks sweet, think ill order that instead.


also, can anyone reccommend a bundle for under £600

needs to have 2 gig ram
intel core 2 duo
250gig+ hd
vista
graphics card? i dunno, its for a gaming rig though

cheers for the help

 

[ViolentJ]

For a few more quid you could go 22" Widescreen, I got this one the other day:

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/124438 - £165.87 inc VAT

 

[thecremeegg]

I assume you're not too handy with building a PC yourself? For £600 you could build yourself a good pc. Not sure of many places where you're going to get much of a better deal than that PC. As bad as the 8600GT is, its still not a slow card and does support directx 10, so you could get away with it

 

[Final Maxim]

i can build a pc mostly, only thing that i get stuck with is dos and installing the windows and that. i can build it all, just get stuck with setting it up.

also ive heard many people say it just aint worth building pcs yourself nomore as you cant beat prebuilt prices from places like this?

 

[ViolentJ]

Setting it up is easy, all you do is stick the CD in and use the wizard...?

Building your own is still worth it, only real way to get the exact spec you want using the brands you want. Worth it even more so if you're upgrading, instead of buying everything new you can reuse bits like the PSU and case, so that saves you money.

It's also a lot more fun than just opening up a box with a pre-built system in.

You don't know what fun is until you've spent 2 hours trying to cable manage your case lol

 

[Final Maxim]

we need an entire pc though as my partners giving hers to her dad, shes having my old one for uni work and i get to have the new one.

what sites would you reccommend to build my own. this pc i used asus and ebuyer.

also whats the complete list of things i need to build a base unit.

tower
mobo (what socket should i be getting)
psu
ram to match mobo (2 gig)
processor (inter core 2 duo)
graphics card (maybe an 8800gts)
dvdrw (do i need a dvdr too or will just 1 single dvdrw be fine for everything)
floppy drive
any extra cooling?
do i need power cables or do they come with tower/mobo?
ide cables?


sorry for the newbie questions n help is much appreciated

 

[Chrisjk]

installin windows is a piece of p**s, u need not worry bout any dos stuff. literally put all gear together, pop in windows dics , follow steps to format drive, install windows then the drivers. dun

 

[Chrisjk]

we need an entire pc though as my partners giving hers to her dad, shes having my old one for uni work and i get to have the new one.

what sites would you reccommend to build my own. this pc i used asus and ebuyer.

also whats the complete list of things i need to build a base unit.

tower
mobo (what socket should i be getting)
psu
ram to match mobo (2 gig)
processor (inter core 2 duo)
graphics card (maybe an 8800gts)
dvdrw (do i need a dvdr too or will just 1 single dvdrw be fine for everything)
floppy drive
any extra cooling?
do i need power cables or do they come with tower/mobo?
ide cables?


sorry for the newbie questions n help is much appreciated

ull need a hard drive to mate. all cables u need will come withmotherboard(usually) and all power cables come with the psu. get a decent antec or hiper psu that has deatchable cables then u can only use wat u need
get at least 1 case fan for an exhaust or 2 so u can have intake aswell, akasa amber searies are v.quiet
motherboard u want LGA 775 socket type
get 1 dvd rw for now, ifu can afford it get a std dvd drive to so u can do disc to disc transfers

 

[Michael172]

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/pcrange.html?ISM

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/pcrange.html?NFO

ok first question, im gonna be buying one of these two, probably today.. now.. do i go

1: Intel Dual Core E6420 with 8600gt £515.

or

2: AMD Dual Core 4600 with 8600gt £468

Are these good spec machines as i dont buy pc stuff at all, i dont upgrade, i just buy new pc few years down the line.

My current spec is amd athlon 2200 (1.8gig), 512 ram, ati 9600xt.

I mostly do online gaming, download p**n and browse the internet.

-----------------------

question 2: im buying a new monitor too, this is the cheapest 19" i can find, good deal? good buy? any other reccommendations? will consider a 20-21" if under like £180 or so

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/6701592.htm

If your a gamer id go build a new compy by yourself. Its not hard, kinda like lego, only more delicate. You could buy the parts and have a small firm build the compy for you. Itd be cheaper and youd have a compy which can be overclocked when needed and also your in a position to buy new parts and ebay the old ones.

If not. Then Option 1. AMD are good, but The C2Duos have made a huge step up in performance. The trouble with the pre built computers is that (and especially ones from PC world) the motherboards are shite, and so is the ram and the psu and pretty much every other component which they use, it may have 800GB's of memory, but the speeds on it will be dia.


As for the monitor:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=17&catid=510


You dont want to be getting anything less than 6MS and the contrast ratio should be as high as possible.

I have an Asus MW221U which is a 22", a good monitor, if you can wait a month or so and save up, get one. theyre hot as s**t for gaming. Its also absolutly brilliant for p**n, the clarity is amazing.




hope that helps.

 

[Michael172]

if you want to build your own, go to www.overclockers.co.uk

Prices are not oftern the cheapest, so check ebuyer too. I bought all my stuff from 3 companies when i build my compy. the graphics card came form The netherlands. or whatever that country is called.

 

[Final Maxim]

ok im gonna go for a 8800gts, but theres so many, and i got a £600 budget. should i select graphics card first or last. or whats the best order to start looking at parts?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=701&catid=56&subid=877

thanks

 

[Michael172]

ok im gonna go for a 8800gts, but theres so many, and i got a £600 budget. should i select graphics card first or last. or whats the best order to start looking at parts?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=701&catid=56&subid=877

thanks

Western Digital Caviar RE 160GB 1600YS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM£33.99
(£39.94) £33.99
(£39.94)

OcUK GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail£154.99
(£182.11) £154.99
(£182.11)

Corsair 1GB DDR2 XMS2-6400C5 TwinX (2x512MB)£42.99
(£50.51) £42.99
(£50.51)

Asus P5W DH Deluxe WiFi (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard£111.99
(£131.59) £111.99
(£131.59)

Corsair HX 620W ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU (CMPSU-620HXUK)£87.99
(£103.39) £87.99
(£103.39)

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail£125.99
(£148.04) £125.99
(£148.04) Sub Total : £557.94Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
City Link Parcel Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri)
(This can be changed during checkout)Shipping : £8.95VAT is being charged at 17.5%VAT : £99.21 Total : £666.10


all you need now is a case, dvd drive and a power cable..........


ps. you wanna have performance, youll have to pay through the nose.

 

[Final Maxim]

cheers for the help, that went over my budget though

ive put together a build and wonder if someone could scan over it that everything will work with each other. Thanks.

CPU, MOBO, RAM -
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-037-OK&tool=3

GFX -
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-054-OK

PSU -
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-018-OK&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=

DVDRW -
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CD-086-SA&groupid=701&catid=10&subcat=185

Case -
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-026-TT&groupid=701&catid=7&subcat=

im gonna be using my current harddrive and ill just get a slave at a later date i guess

comes to £583.83

 

[Griff]

For the sake of a few more quid change the PSU and the case isn't the greatest. Aesthetics aside (which is always a personal preference) it's a fairly cheap/flimsy case with very poor cooling properties.

 

[Final Maxim]

it had good reviews the psu, one was with the graphics card im using. My cousin recommended around a 500-600 watt psu would be fine for this build?

as for the case, i aint interested in how it looks, i just want it to hold my things in place lol

 

[Final Maxim]

see the next decent one (which is 600w/50w more than the one i picked) is £88, more than double more for just 50w?

 

[wozzaa]

Its the brand though. some psu's for instance seen a 500w psu that was £25 yet my 480 old psu was £70. when you look into it properly you see why cheapo 500w is peak output not sustained which was under 400w where as ine was sustained 480 peaking over 500 so gave better cleaner power.

 

[Final Maxim]

reccomend another one out of that list for under 70 quid?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=701&catid=123

 

[wozzaa]

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-009-TG&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=

Would get my vote.

 

[Final Maxim]

you have a tagan in your machine?

edit - also, how can you tell that the psu i chose aint 550w? and can tell that the psu you picked (30w more) is worth double than the other?

just curious so i know how to look in future.

 

[Munson]

The key with power supplies is that a headline grabbing power figure is not always a good indication. Good solid RELIABLE power is what's needed to fuel a decent PC. A high end sensibly specced PSU would most likely be far better than a cheapo tin box claiming 1000w (as an example)

Do not cut costs on the PSU, it's your PCs engine and if you buy a shitty one you'll soon be buying another. I have the T-shirt

 

[thecremeegg]

Thats not a bad setup there, bar possibly the case. remember you'll prob need cables etc and a monitor

 

[seb]

was going to say the case is s**t.

new case

I have this one in my build. Although not the most expensiver around, it is definetely quality imo. HAd lots of points to connect mobo onto, plus it feels good, it has an air of quality to it and didn't feel like it was going to break in my hands.

 

[seb]

oh, and just to throw a spanner in the works, i found www.microdirect.co.uk to be the cheaper than ebuyer and OCUK when i went ot order my bits and peices.

 

[Griff]

Don't forget if you use Ebuyer at the moment you can get a tenner off using Google checkout (if it helps)

 

[Final Maxim]

Thats not a bad setup there, bar possibly the case. remember you'll prob need cables etc and a monitor

yea i got a monitor/keyboard/mouse etc on my pc

and dont all the cables (sata/ide) come with the mobo and power cable with psu?

 

[Final Maxim]

was going to say the case is s**t.

new case

I have this one in my build. Although not the most expensiver around, it is definetely quality imo. HAd lots of points to connect mobo onto, plus it feels good, it has an air of quality to it and didn't feel like it was going to break in my hands.

ta, just added that one instead, does look better

ill try pricematch that site, currently its £595.58

 

[seb]

i found microdirect was quite a bit cheaper than OCUK. like over a tenner for my CPU etc.

varies really as i did struggle to find all the same items etc. jsut have to take your time and see what alternatives there are also. I would recommend only ordering from one shop as otherwise you get stiched for two sets of expensive postage.

MD where good though, arrived following day etc and nothing bust. was well packed.

looks like you'll have a nice rig!

 

[seb]

http://cliosport.net/forum/showthread.php?t=216374&highlight=seb

this is my thread on my self build^^^

may be worth a read as i came across several noob problems - thermal paste etc

 

[Final Maxim]

wtf is thermal paste.

i i helped build my last pc, but this time i wanna build all of it, luckily il still have the internet while its being built, just wondering, do you know any websites with an actual guide of what goes in first, or isit just a case of psu, mobo, bang it all together etc.

 

[ViolentJ]

I got all my parts except the monitor from OCUK, the basket totals everything up as you go along including VAT and delivery, so it's easy to keep track of your end total. OCUK also have weekly offers, handy when the item you are after is on that offers list! Delivery is next day as well.

If you get a Retail CPU that includes the heatsink, then the thermal paste is already applied for you in a nice thin even layer