Hi m8 welcome, l was in my 50's when l built my 1st PC a couple of year's back, with help of this forum and looking at some site's on how to build a PC. All l can say is take your time and when finished double check everything before you boot her up, Best of luck.
ADVICE for a perosn new to computing and building a computer for first time
- Thread starter sagarshah
- Start date
Associate
- Joined
- 15 Nov 2004
- Posts
- 1,745
- Location
- London
Welcome!
Looking at your current PC, the specs aren't too bad. If you aren't going to overclock your CPU, I would maybe look towards keeping your RAM too, could save yourself a few quid, alternatively if you'd like to get a decent 4gb kit (I'd recommend something like a Corsair or OCZ kit for your rig) then you could obviously just sell the existing RAM to put money towards it.
People in the thread have given you some good products so far, when spec'ing out a machine though it's worth looking at the whole picture, for example - what resolution is your monitor? If it's not too high I would say an HD4890 might not be required and an HD4850 would be enough. Get the part that fits the task rather than the "best" one. Also, although you will enivitably find companies whose products you like, try not to be too "brandist". For example ATI vs nVidia? It will vary from week to week which card is the best value and the right purchase for you. Anyway, I am rambling - Enjoy!
Looking at your current PC, the specs aren't too bad. If you aren't going to overclock your CPU, I would maybe look towards keeping your RAM too, could save yourself a few quid, alternatively if you'd like to get a decent 4gb kit (I'd recommend something like a Corsair or OCZ kit for your rig) then you could obviously just sell the existing RAM to put money towards it.
People in the thread have given you some good products so far, when spec'ing out a machine though it's worth looking at the whole picture, for example - what resolution is your monitor? If it's not too high I would say an HD4890 might not be required and an HD4850 would be enough. Get the part that fits the task rather than the "best" one. Also, although you will enivitably find companies whose products you like, try not to be too "brandist". For example ATI vs nVidia? It will vary from week to week which card is the best value and the right purchase for you. Anyway, I am rambling - Enjoy!
I have not seen many replies about the monitor. If you like gaming and you want a better experiance, i think it starts with the monitor. Obviously this will break your budget but its worth it. If your on a CRT or small LCD, even if you have a high res on those (1600x1200), there is no substitue for a 22" or 24" widescreen monitor.
If you have 1 you will know how much better they are and ignore the above
Socket 775 is far from dead and the current CPU you have will do fine, the same as me i think (e6850, got mine clocked to 3.7Ghz)
Try and make the FSB (front side bus), i think yours is 1333Mhz, match all around. Its better if your memory and motherboard can support higher, easier to overclock if you wish at a later date.
Other than that the rest of the comments are spot on, good PSU is a must, case is your choice, i personally have found antecs to be quite easy to work on
Good luck, take your time, the longer you take to decide on parts the cheaper stuff will be anyway. As its your first build, go against the man grain and read the manuals of all your products while you build. GFX cards in the right slot, memory in dual mode etc etc are easy mistakes to make and not notice
If you have 1 you will know how much better they are and ignore the above
Socket 775 is far from dead and the current CPU you have will do fine, the same as me i think (e6850, got mine clocked to 3.7Ghz)
Try and make the FSB (front side bus), i think yours is 1333Mhz, match all around. Its better if your memory and motherboard can support higher, easier to overclock if you wish at a later date.
Other than that the rest of the comments are spot on, good PSU is a must, case is your choice, i personally have found antecs to be quite easy to work on
Good luck, take your time, the longer you take to decide on parts the cheaper stuff will be anyway. As its your first build, go against the man grain and read the manuals of all your products while you build. GFX cards in the right slot, memory in dual mode etc etc are easy mistakes to make and not notice
Ignore his fanboy dribble, both companies release good components, and I personally just go with whichever offers the best bang for buck at the time I am buying. At the moment, this would be the 4890.
thank all...i think im coming to the end of my decisions and will start buying and building as soon as i get a copy of windows 7 (end of october)
i am going to keep my existing RAM (which is 2GB of DDR2) as i dont want to overclock.
also, im going to go for the ATI 4890 because its slightly cheaper and seems to do what i want.
sorry guys but im going to have to disagree with you, i am going to go for the case that i originally chose (NZXT) because i like it asthetically and as a first build i want my work to show in a cool case + im not too worried about sound/vibrations etc.
for the PSU i will go for a OCZ 600w as ive had good reviews from it so far and dont worry my friend is quite good with computers (has built one before) and will help me in building process + im read greywolf's guide carefully (its a really good guide btw
)
so for sure the things i have chosen are: case, PSU, RAM, grafix
NOW MY NEW DILEMMA
lol (sorry for the hassle)
i want to make my kit really future proof and dont mind spending extra to make it. So, is it better for me to go for an intel i5/i7 kit.....will this mean i have to change all my choices? which is better, i5 or i7? what motherboard do i need for an i5/i7? will i nee dnew RAM? btw my CPU is a core2 duo @ 2.99GHz (not overclocked)
+++ you guys are talking about selling my RAM...do you mean online/privately? also, will i be able to do this with other parts, like the case, motherboard, CPU (if i get a new one), PSU
thanks again all
i am going to keep my existing RAM (which is 2GB of DDR2) as i dont want to overclock.
also, im going to go for the ATI 4890 because its slightly cheaper and seems to do what i want.
sorry guys but im going to have to disagree with you, i am going to go for the case that i originally chose (NZXT) because i like it asthetically and as a first build i want my work to show in a cool case + im not too worried about sound/vibrations etc.
for the PSU i will go for a OCZ 600w as ive had good reviews from it so far and dont worry my friend is quite good with computers (has built one before) and will help me in building process + im read greywolf's guide carefully (its a really good guide btw
)so for sure the things i have chosen are: case, PSU, RAM, grafix
NOW MY NEW DILEMMA
lol (sorry for the hassle)i want to make my kit really future proof and dont mind spending extra to make it. So, is it better for me to go for an intel i5/i7 kit.....will this mean i have to change all my choices? which is better, i5 or i7? what motherboard do i need for an i5/i7? will i nee dnew RAM? btw my CPU is a core2 duo @ 2.99GHz (not overclocked)
+++ you guys are talking about selling my RAM...do you mean online/privately? also, will i be able to do this with other parts, like the case, motherboard, CPU (if i get a new one), PSU
thanks again all
Last edited:
For future proof I think you should go for the i7 1366 socket over the 1156 i5/i7 processors or even 775. As i believe that i9 will use 1366 socket, and so might give you a CPU upgrade at a later date. If you do go i7 you will need ddr3 tri channel ram. Problem is the i7 setup will go way past your £400 budget.
ok, well i suppose the most hardcore game that im going to play is really COD6 so if my new system can take this with just a core2 duo then i'll sitck with that.....
although i read somewhere that windows 7 will need at least 4GB or RAM or am i just imagining things....if it does need this much then can i simply just buy more RAM?
although i read somewhere that windows 7 will need at least 4GB or RAM or am i just imagining things....if it does need this much then can i simply just buy more RAM?
okay thanks all but ive come up with two final setups....the first is my original idea with keeping the core2 duo and the seocnd is the basket ready for the future with an i5.
tell me if everything is correct and works with eachother+ if possible give me hand on which one i should finally go for
thanks a million to all of you....great forum+great webiste+great people
core 2 duo kit:
intel i5 kit:
tell me if everything is correct and works with eachother+ if possible give me hand on which one i should finally go for
thanks a million to all of you....great forum+great webiste+great people
core 2 duo kit:
intel i5 kit:
The i5 will perform better, but is considerably more pricey. You also need an aftermarket cooler with that OEM CPU. And that mobo you have selected is an mATX not a full size ATX.
like your case so there will be an unused gap in your case. havent heard much about the 1156 mobos but the mATX boards dont normally overclock aswell as full size boards (not sure if that matters to you).
Both are good upgrades.
like your case so there will be an unused gap in your case. havent heard much about the 1156 mobos but the mATX boards dont normally overclock aswell as full size boards (not sure if that matters to you).
Both are good upgrades.
Hey mate welcome to the forum.
I noticed you said you were going to wait until you get your windows 7 copy in October. As this is the case i would just concentrate on saving your money for now, as over the next month of so there are going to be some changes going on.
By the time it comes to actually ordering your items there will be lower prices and newer technology which may alter your choices.
I noticed you said you were going to wait until you get your windows 7 copy in October. As this is the case i would just concentrate on saving your money for now, as over the next month of so there are going to be some changes going on.
By the time it comes to actually ordering your items there will be lower prices and newer technology which may alter your choices.