Due to set up a new PC soon and interested in how I should go about it.

Loony BoB · 11 Mar 2007 at 18:20

Budget: Approximately £600-700, with a bit of room if absolutely needed.

I already have a PC so can grab the media drives from there (FDD & DVD+RW) but wouldn't mind a DVD+/-RW to go with them. I've also been told that getting a card reader is a really good idea. The one area I'm most unsure on at the moment is the graphics card. I know that DirectX10 is the 'future' at the moment and am thinking it'd be best to wait 6-18 months for a decently priced graphics card which is designed for DirectX10, and just buy something cheap for now that will get me by. Does this sound sensible?

Otherwise, I've been considering the following for now...

Case & PSU
System board, CPU & RAM
HDD
Graphics Card
DVD+/-RW
Card Reader

...thoughts? Not sure on exactly how compatible everything is so the more advice you guys can offer, the better.

masslac · 11 Mar 2007 at 18:33

Looks good, though I'd change the HDD for a Seagate or Samsung (quieter) and also upgrade the 7300 (total crap tbh) to a 7600GT.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-019-BG&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=356

Vastly superior card, plud you'll be able to sell it for a decent price when it's time to upgrade.

Cupra · 11 Mar 2007 at 18:36

the card reader id get to go with this rig is out of stock but its thsi one

and rig is this

Loony BoB · 11 Mar 2007 at 18:43

Thanks for the quick replies.

I don't need a floppy, already got one, as per my first post.

I'm admittedly also quite keen on the Sonata Piano II, it's just always appealed to me since I first started investigating custom PCs. I assume the PSU & fans that come with it are decent, or would I need more?

Also, are there any reasons you choose those specific parts over the ones I had linked? Just wondering if there's something I don't know that I should!

masslac · 11 Mar 2007 at 18:46

Are you running vista? If not, there's really no point in spending money on a DX10 card yet.

Loony BoB · 11 Mar 2007 at 18:50

Nah, just XP for now. I won't be upgrading to a DirectX10 card for about 6-18 months, though, and I'll just be using my old PC's XP licence (will be throwing Linux on the old machine) so I don't need to pay for an OS. However, I might in the future upgrade to Vista and when I do, I'll be sure to post here looking for advice.

Would this hard drive be fine?
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-039-SA

masslac · 11 Mar 2007 at 18:56

Yep. The Spinpoints are great. Nice prices, too.