hi guys, ive been away a long time, but i need your help.
my current pc is getting VERY long in the tooth now:
athlon XP 2400
MSI 6340 mobo
1 gig PC133
ATI 9800XT
its slow i know, but its as stable as you like, it NEVER misses a beat, and has done me proud.
but, i'm after a new one, and will pretty much need everything, so i may as well start from scratch.
i will we building over christmas i think.
i hear the Core 2 duo chips are the way to go, but which one?
the problem is, i dont really know how to go about speccing one up, my budget is pretty flexible, or maybe you lot should read SMALL hehe, but ive had a few thoughts.
1. SLI compatible mobo might be worth investing in, so i can buy a second graphics card later on, when there cheaper.
2. i dont play many games at the mo, but a new pc would certainly help, i'm looking forward to the next installment of half-life. I'm playing the new FEAR, but the PC is struggling somewhat as i'm sure you'll appreciate!!!
3. i use a TFT, so the max res i can use is 1280x1024, so a top end card is not really required (or is it?) lots of eye candy might be nice tho.
4. is it worth going for 2 gigs of RAM now? or getting 1 gig then upgrading later?
5. i would like a mobo that will last me a while, so maybe i could upgrade the cpu at a later date.
6. for some reason i am swaying towards Nvidia rather than ATI, since a friend has had quite a few probs with his 9800Pro.
i keep speccing up a complete system with a case, raptor HD, BIG HD, 2 dvd drives, mobo, cpu, ram, etc, and prices seem to be about £1000 ish, i would like to spend less than that, but i dont really know what i NEED.
so where do i start guys?
Many Thanks
Andy
my current pc is getting VERY long in the tooth now:
athlon XP 2400
MSI 6340 mobo
1 gig PC133
ATI 9800XT
its slow i know, but its as stable as you like, it NEVER misses a beat, and has done me proud.
but, i'm after a new one, and will pretty much need everything, so i may as well start from scratch.
i will we building over christmas i think.
i hear the Core 2 duo chips are the way to go, but which one?
the problem is, i dont really know how to go about speccing one up, my budget is pretty flexible, or maybe you lot should read SMALL hehe, but ive had a few thoughts.
1. SLI compatible mobo might be worth investing in, so i can buy a second graphics card later on, when there cheaper.
2. i dont play many games at the mo, but a new pc would certainly help, i'm looking forward to the next installment of half-life. I'm playing the new FEAR, but the PC is struggling somewhat as i'm sure you'll appreciate!!!
3. i use a TFT, so the max res i can use is 1280x1024, so a top end card is not really required (or is it?) lots of eye candy might be nice tho.
4. is it worth going for 2 gigs of RAM now? or getting 1 gig then upgrading later?
5. i would like a mobo that will last me a while, so maybe i could upgrade the cpu at a later date.
6. for some reason i am swaying towards Nvidia rather than ATI, since a friend has had quite a few probs with his 9800Pro.
i keep speccing up a complete system with a case, raptor HD, BIG HD, 2 dvd drives, mobo, cpu, ram, etc, and prices seem to be about £1000 ish, i would like to spend less than that, but i dont really know what i NEED.
so where do i start guys?
Many Thanks
Andy
