Help needed in speccing a machine please.

zootfloot · 30 Jun 2009 at 08:59

Hi,

I need to spec up a machine for a friend, i have not kept in touch with latest developments and what gives most bang for buck etc and thats where you friendly lot come in.

He basically needs a tower, so he wants a case, OS, DVD writer cpu, mobo ram and HDD.

He games a fair bit but not on a particularly large monitor, and just wants the system to last him a good few years.

Budget is £650 delivered, and he is not able to go over that amount by more than a couple of quid.

Your help is greatly appreciated.

95thrifles · 30 Jun 2009 at 11:11

£3.42 over ok? could use windows 7 if preferred which would free up £80, this could be put towards either a) 4890 gfx card b) quad core CPU

icey_haj · 30 Jun 2009 at 11:21

^ I would go with the spec above.

Oh and change the RAM to this. Same price, but faster.
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-169-OC&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1387

To echo his advice, ditch Vista and try out Windows 7.

zootfloot · 30 Jun 2009 at 11:26

95thrifles said:
£3.42 over ok? could use windows 7 if preferred which would free up £80, this could be put towards either a) 4890 gfx card b) quad core CPU

Believe it or not thats just about the spec that i came up with, but i really wasnt sure.

He is going to go with vista, and get the upgrade version to 7.

Thanks chaps, much appreciated advice.

Kennysevenfold · 30 Jun 2009 at 11:59

Why not just use W7.? and save yourself 80quid just now.?

and get a 4890

zootfloot · 30 Jun 2009 at 12:05

Kennysevenfold said:
Why not just use W7.? and save yourself 80quid just now.?

and get a 4890

If he goes down this route do you know how much the upgrade to a full account is likely to be upon release?

He has the money for the system right now but i am not so sure that he will then if you get me.

Please ignore my stupidity!

Technics · 30 Jun 2009 at 12:19

I believe you can pre-order windows 7 for quite a low price like £50? (might be wrong)
So you could pay for that and use to RC until it arrives then change over. that way at least he can pay now and not worry about having the money in the future. well that's my suggestion XD

Kennysevenfold · 30 Jun 2009 at 12:32

Technics said:
I believe you can pre-order windows 7 for quite a low price like £50? (might be wrong)
So you could pay for that and use to RC until it arrives then change over. that way at least he can pay now and not worry about having the money in the future. well that's my suggestion XD

Keep the other £50 to pre-order W7

Product Name Qty Price Line Total

XFX ATI Radeon HD 4890 XT 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (Includes Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X.) £140.99
(£122.60) £140.99
(£122.60)

AMD Phenom II X3 Tri Core 720 Black Edition 2.8GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £105.00
(£91.30) £105.00
(£91.30)

Asus M4A78T-E AMD 790GX (Socket AM3) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard £98.99
(£86.08) £98.99
(£86.08)

Samsung SpinPoint F1 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103UJ) £66.99
(£58.25) £66.99
(£58.25)

OCZ ModXStream Pro 600w Silent SLI Ready ATX2 Modular Power Supply £64.99
(£56.51) £64.99
(£56.51)

OCZ Platinum Enhanced Bandwidth Edition 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C7 1600MHz Dual Channel (OCZ3P1600EB4GK) £57.99
(£50.43) £57.99
(£50.43)

Antec 300 Three Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case - Black (No PSU) £44.99
(£39.12) £44.99
(£39.12)

Pioneer DVR-216DBK 20x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
(£15.64) £17.99
(£15.64) Sub Total : £519.93 Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : FREE VAT is being charged at 15% VAT : £79.86 Total : £600.29