help with my entire pc...to be honest!

Bad Ass

Bad Ass

Bad Ass

Associate
Joined
4 Nov 2004
Posts
278
Location
Norwich
Ok my pc is in need of a makeover.

my motherboard had given up the ghost i think so time to change.

I have as follows..
AMD athlon XP 3200+
Radeon X800XT PE (AGP)
1 gig of geil ram
80gig H/D

Now I can connect it to my pioneer plasma via VGA which is ok, but I basically need a new motherboard, and case.
It going to be mainly used for games, and thats about it.

Now I want to be able to get Dolby D and DTS from it, now I was going to try and get a good sound card (also something I'd need help with) (Ialso want it to do ES and EX (7.1)

As this will be connecting to my amplifier it needs to have an optical output. However I've been told I can get a motherboard with an optical output (basically to use it as a pre amp) and then use my amplifier as the processor, if that makes sense) and not bother with a sound card all together. So not too sure what to do there.

So, basically what I need is recommendations for..

1, A small case where I can use my existing equipment, i.e graphics card etc.
2, a motherboard thats going to suit my requirements
3, whether i need to get a sound card and if so what one.

I hope this makes sense and if you want me to elaborate on anything I've just tried to explain I'll try and re-word it. I used to be pretty good with pcs once apon a time, but times have changed quickly since I used to be properly into computers!

thanks, Martyn
 
I dont know about Motherboard or Sound Card, but the Antec Super Lanboy off Overclockers seems to be a favourite for £35 approx :)
 
please can someone help me out with the parts i need as we both have the only week off we can take before christmas, and my missus is buying the parts for me, as a christmas present, and as she's got most of the shopping done she's getting on my back!

:eek:
 
hmmm, not a clue, how would I find this out, and whats the difference? SOrry I should have found this out before hand
 
managed to fire up the pc, even though its a bit unstable and take some screen shots of the spec..

1 http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/1826/1ik4.jpg

2 http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/2352/2xk5.jpg

if the pics seem compressed click on them and they'll go to full size

hopefully that should tell you all you need i think, remember need cheaper the better, but what with PCI-E here i think top end AGP boards will be reletively cheap

also need to sound side of things and case side of things sorted too
 
oh its barton, def not 64bit i know that one! :D sorry if this is a long winded also, I'd rather learn for the future so i know and I don't have to pay some chimp god knows how much for something that if i take my time over I can do myself and save a lot of money and agro
thankyou in advance again for your help
 
If its socket A u gonna battle to get a motherboard. There is one at OCUK in b-grade clearance. Mabye u should look into a cheapy new system. U should be able to use some of your old gear though
 
so should I still be able to use my current graphics (AGP remember)ram, hard drive etc?

if so what mobo and processor would you suggest?
 
ok. I've just been having a word with the missus about this, and we may decide to stick the big two fingers up to technology, give up and but a new pc.

I feel so defeated..

So,

There's spec of a pc, just to get myself set as a benchmark of what i need, which is games, and will it be pretty future proof for the next 5 years or so?

AMD Athlon X2 4200 Dual Core 64 Bit Processor
2048MB PC3200 400Mhz DDR Ram
300GB Serial ATA II HardDrive
nVidia 7600GT 256MB PCI-E Graphics Card
16x Dual Layer +R/-R/RW DVD burner
7.1 8-Channel Capable Sound
1 x Gigabit LAN
Logitech Wireless Optical Keyboard & Mouse
 
what does that spec look like? also will that be future proof ish? and run pretty much anything? also I noticed that particular graphics card has about a million variations, are they pretty much similar?

that spec came to about 650 with xp installed..
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom