Help with a desktop

[fozter]

Hello, I am not completely hopeless when it comes to computers, but I do lack some pretty necessary knowledge. Basically, I have a friend who is willing to give me a flat screen monitor, speakers, mourse & keyboard, all I have to do is find myself a decent desktop. If I had say around 150-200 pounds to spend, what spec do you think I could get? I would want to use the computer for internet browsing, watching movies and a big hard drive is pretty much a necessity although I wouldn't mind having to buy an external hard drive, and the best graphics game I play atm is only really half life 2, everything else is way older and less demanding in that field.

Can you help me OcUK?!

Thanks

 

[hnfmr]

OCUK Value computers may suit you (they come without peripherals, which you have), but they are over your budget slightly

I would recommend that you look at AMD CPU + cheap motherboard (needs to be compatible with CPU, socket etc) and memory (1GB) + case with PSU + hard disk + DVD drive.......these should be within 200 pounds range

 

[Phatzy]

AMD Athlon II X2 Dual Core 240 2.80GHz (Socket AM3) - OEM.
Corsair CX 400W ATX Power Supply (CMPSU-400CXUK) Corsair CX 400W ATX Power Supply (CMPSU-400CXUK).
Asus M2N68-AM SE2 GeForce 7025 (Socket AM2+) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
Samsung SpinPoint P 250GB SATA-II 8MB Cache - OEM (SP2504C).
**B Grade** Asus TA-D31 Midi-ATX Case - Black (No PSU).
Corsair 2GB (2 X 1GB) DDR2 XMS2-5400C4 TwinX (TWIN2X2048-5400C4 G).
LiteOn SOHC-5236K-05C DVD-ROM / 52x CD±RW IDE Drive - Black (OEM)


Total : £222.03

 

[.walls]

AMD Athlon II X2 Dual Core 240 2.80GHz (Socket AM3) - OEM.
Corsair CX 400W ATX Power Supply (CMPSU-400CXUK) Corsair CX 400W ATX Power Supply (CMPSU-400CXUK).
Asus M2N68-AM SE2 GeForce 7025 (Socket AM2+) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
Samsung SpinPoint P 250GB SATA-II 8MB Cache - OEM (SP2504C).
**B Grade** Asus TA-D31 Midi-ATX Case - Black (No PSU).
Corsair 2GB (2 X 1GB) DDR2 XMS2-5400C4 TwinX (TWIN2X2048-5400C4 G).
LiteOn SOHC-5236K-05C DVD-ROM / 52x CD±RW IDE Drive - Black (OEM)


Total : £222.03

why not get a board with an AMD 790GX chipset, which has an onboard Radeon HD3200 - which can apparently play Far Cry 2 at very decent res (sorry, don't have the link for the results of this, but I'm sure google will be more than generous). I would imagine that this would play HL2 quite admirably.

Also, going for DDR3 is probably a wiser choice, seeing as DDR2 is going up in price again now that it's pretty much dead - so if the OP decides to add more ram at a later date, it will be much cheaper (look at DDR1 prices now...)

 

[Darkmatters]

That is some good recommendations for a budget setup.