Comp for parents!

ardy89

ardy89

ardy89

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6 Dec 2005
Posts
871
Basically, I'm an IT Technician and know my way a round a computer but have'nt been keepin myself very updated on the best bang for buck hard ware just lately. So anyway Parents want a new computer FINALLY, they havent give me a budget but i've told them for 400 quid they can get summat pretty ***, anyway for 400 quid wots the best combinations to go for, the 400 quid will include everything inside the case, keyboard monitor etc are not nessacary.

so what mobo, cpu, ram combination is best at the moment, already sure it will be core 2 duo lol!!

p.s. the 400 quid mite be able to be extended slightly!
 
Hi ,

Here:

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 1.86Ghz £120

Motherboard :Gigabyte Ds2 Motherboard £70

Ram: Geil 2Gb (2x1Gb) PC5300 £98

Graphics Card : BFG 3DFuzion Gefore 7300 £38

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Special Edition 80Gb Sata £28

Dvd Drive : Asus DRW 1608P3S Dual Layer Burner £25

Case: ThermalTake VC2000BNS Mambo Case £32

Power Supply : Tagan 380Watts £35

Overclockers Prices ^ Finishes At £413 Not Including Postage. You will need to purches a copy of Windows Xp Or Vista

Theres a basic setup

Jay!
 
Jay123 said:
Hi ,

Here:

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 1.86Ghz £120

Motherboard :Gigabyte Ds2 Motherboard £70

Ram: Geil 2Gb (2x1Gb) PC5300 £98

Graphics Card : BFG 3DFuzion Gefore 7300 £38

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Special Edition 80Gb Sata £28

Dvd Drive : Asus DRW 1608P3S Dual Layer Burner £25

Case: ThermalTake VC2000BNS Mambo Case £32

Power Supply : Tagan 380Watts £35

Overclockers Prices ^ Finishes At £413 Not Including Postage. You will need to purches a copy of Windows Xp Or Vista

Theres a basic setup

Jay!
Click to expand...


Great stuff, you recomend that mobo, I'm happy with cpu and memory?
 
yer i fort thats what u meant lol, it luks like a good board and was definitely at the top of my list anyway gonna go discuss with the parents and see *** they think, also gonna wait for the this week only's on ocuk which change tomorow am i correct? could be some bargains there
 
What will the computer be used for ie video editing, media center ,"just email" or Oblivion and bf2 on high :D You could save a lot of money by using Matx board and cheaper cpu (£60 amd 3600 x2)then putting the money into other things like quietness, hd space or nicer monitor.There's more to a computer than a fast cpu.
 
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fester said:
What will the computer be used for ie video editing, media center ,"just email" or Oblivion and bf2 on high :D You could save a lot of money by using Matx board and cheaper cpu then putting the money into other things like quietness, hd space or nicer monitor.
Click to expand...

I Agree :)
 
Hi, With a budget of £400 i dont think his parent wants a gaming , video-editing machine, The specs i put up are very capable of doing everyday tasks faster than AMD would ever do

Jay!
 
actually i knew i'd get these questions lol should have specified, basically i want the best spec possible for 400-450 so the spec i have been given is great cos its future proof, i can put vista on it and run it well, even tho this machine will be runin only web browsers and office programs i still want really good performance. I actually dont beleive it matters what the machines gonna be used for i just wanted the best spec for the money, not having a go at u guys by the way, simply sayin theres no need 2 save money if the parents dont mind paying a set amount.

Thanks i appreciate all your advice
 
Jay123 said:
Hi, With a budget of £400 i dont think his parent wants a gaming , video-editing machine, The specs i put up are very capable of doing everyday tasks faster than AMD would ever do

Jay!
Click to expand...
Yes but you have not included an operating system I'm sure his parent's don't want a pirate version of window's or use linux and an 80 gig hd these days is very small.
 
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ardy89 said:
{snip}
Click to expand...

If this is the case then thats cool get the spec that Jay posted, but I would suggest getting a bigger HDD as 80Gig is a bit small tbh, the larger HDD's are much better value for money....
 
ardy89 said:
actually i knew i'd get these questions lol should have specified, basically i want the best spec possible for 400-450 so the spec i have been given is great cos its future proof, i can put vista on it and run it well, even tho this machine will be runin only web browsers and office programs i still want really good performance. I actually dont beleive it matters what the machines gonna be used for i just wanted the best spec for the money, not having a go at u guys by the way, simply sayin theres no need 2 save money if the parents dont mind paying a set amount.

Thanks i appreciate all your advice
Click to expand...
Running vista aero with word,ie,outlook,msn,yahoo and a movie at the same time will use about 5-10 percent of the amd cpu 1-5 percent of the intel.If your using xp half these numbers.You can only tell the difference in speed if the cpu is being used at 100 percent.Uses where the cpu is being used at 100 percent are video encoding new games and supper pi.
 
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Product Name Price Qty Line Total
Abit NFM2-nView nForce 6150 Micro ATX (Socket AM2) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £59.99 1 £59.99
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 3800+ 2.00GHz (Socket AM2) - OEM £52.99 1 £52.99
Antec NSK4400 Mini Tower Case - 380W SmartPower PSU £42.99 1 £42.99
Samsung SH-S182D 18x18 DVD±RW ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99 1 £16.99
OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) PC2-6400 Dual Channel Platinum Revision 2 XTC Series DDR2 (OCZ2P800R22GK) £97.99 1 £97.99
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-Bit Edition DVD - OEM - 1Pk (66I-00788) £61.99 1 £61.99
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB ST3320620AS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM £56.99 1 £56.99
Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2) £13.99 1 £13.99
Sub Total : £403.92
City Link Parcel Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri) Shipping : £16.95
Vat : £73.65
Total : £494.52

This is a bit overkill but it's good to have the extra gig of ram as is the Abit am2 mother board .Socket am2 boards are on Amd's road map for at lest 2+ years. So u can just drop in a new cpu in 2 years time.
 
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fester has posted a good spec, but tbh I would go core2duo simply because its the best bang for buck, regardless of what the computer is used for, why pay the same price for hardware that isnt as good? Of course that's just my stance but it's up to you ;)
 
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