Need a new computer, Suggestions?

flake99

flake99

flake99

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Joined
30 Dec 2007
Posts
49
Hi there.

Well as you can see I’m a first timer here so please bare with me :)

I would consider myself a gamer, by this I like to play a lot of recent/up-to-date games such as COD4 and new games next year however the problem comes down to the PC I have. I’ve had this computer for 3-5 years (can’t remember but very long) and while at the time it’s been alright (not perfect/good) for games such as WOW, COD2 etc. I feel to be able to progress and play brand new games set for 2008 I have to either slightly upgrade my PC (graphics card), buy a setup PC or build my own. Now I’ve never really built my own PC before so I’m a beginner at it therefore I may be more suited towards the built ones on OC’s website however if upgrading my PC or building a brand new one from scratch is better, not that hard and cheaper then I’m up for that.

My budget is around the £500-700/800 point and would like a nice 19-22” monitor to go with it but not much of an importance however the cheaper the better :P

This PC should be good enough to last another 1/2+ years and be upgradable if needed in the future.

My current PC specs: (yup my pc sucks)

Motherboard: Intel Bonanza D875PBZ
PSU: Model No: FSP300-60THN-P
Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition SP2
Processor: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.40GHz
Memory: 2046MB RAM
Card name: RADEON 9800 PRO 128MB

Now for my options:

Upgrading – Not much I can really do besides updating the graphics card to an ATI Radeon X1950 Pro 512MB (AGP) and a 500W + PSU.

Built PC – This sounds a good option since I’ve never built a PC in my life therefore would make it easier for me so anything within the budget.

Build my own – While I’ve never built my own PC before if this turns out cheaper, not that hard to do then I will give it a go. Price budget stays the same.

Sorry for rambling on a lot but I wanted to clear everything up.

Thanks for reading and can’t wait for your replies :)
 
Thanks for all the replies :)

I did a little look around and put together eveything you guys have said and I hope its alright. I'm not too sure on the case whether its fine or if you guys can recommend a better one for roughly the same price or near abouts. Also if there is anything i need to add such as fans or other components just let me know :)

occoha6.jpg


This PC should last at least 1/2 years or so before I either upgrade the graphics card or processor so I hope its fine.

In terms of a monitor well I was thinking of THIS though not sure just yet

Anyways thanks again for your replies and thanks for the warm welcome melbourne720 :D
 
Thanks again for your help :)

Lol didnt know about the extra PSU in that case :P the akasa looks nice so i may go for that.

Two hard drives that sounds good so do i go for two of the same ones I've selected in my build or the one wingnuttz has posted?

In terms of graphics card as I'm no expert which of the two is better, the BFG GeForce 8800 GT OC 512MB or HIS ATI Radeon HD 3870 XT ICEQ3 512MB that wingnuttz has posted in his build?

I just remembered that I can get a free copy of a Windows Vista Business Edition through my university so would that be a good option or should I stick to xp? however if I do get the vista business edition I will increase the memory to 4gb so there any preferences to which ones to go for?

Thanks again :P
 
Thanks melbourne720 for all the help. K I put everything together but went for 4gb of memory, bigger hard drive, graphics card changed to a cheaper model and the akasa case.

Im not sure whether the memory or graphics card are of good quality so please let me know before finalizing everything :)

occo2.jpg


Thanks
 
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Ops I forgot to mention the following things:

I've noticed I havent got a sound card, what would be a nice one for gaming but not too expensive?

melbourne720 I noticed you said 2x hard drives are good, so should i get a 80gb for the boot drive and a 250 for the main hard drive or just stick to the one in my list above?

Finally in terms of the memory I picked is it better or if it will work to get 4x GeiL 1gb ULL as it is cheaper or get the 2x 2GB of any manufacturer?

Thanks
 
If I go for a 2 hard drive setup would having a Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 80GB as the boot drive and a Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB as my secondary hard drive be alright? I noticed the WD raptors but they are too expensive so what I just said be alright?

Plus as I'm new to all this, how would setting up the 2 hard drives work, install OS etc. on the boot drive and the rest of the applications, games etc. on the secondary hard drive?
 
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Ok after a lot of researching and fiddling things around I think I have my final setup which I will order tomorrow hopefully :)

Please let me know what you think.

occo8.jpg


I managed to get everything under the £700 mark which I'm pleased about. My reason for the change of CPU was that I plan on upgrading the CPU to one of the new quads that people have been talking about later on in the year prob around the Q3/4 mark. I will of course OC the CPU to around 3gz+ and of course the rest of my PC.

The change of coolers was to save a bit more money and from the reviews and comments left by people here I think its a great bargain and will support my CPU nicely.

So I guess thats it so if I need to change something or you recommend something better let me know.
 
Damn lol now when I look under the Lian Li cases I cant decided which to get even though you recommended the PC7. I actually like the PC-G50 however its a mid and not a midi so would this affect me e.g. space etc. like will everything on my list fit without too much hassle.

I also decided to go for the tunic instead as melbourne720 has suggested so would that make things worse with that case(PC-G50 or PC7)?
 
Final setup:

occo9.jpg


ok got my final setup done. Changed the case to the Lian Li PC-7 Silver version, changed the DVD drive to match the case, changed the CPU cooler to the tunic due to recommendations by melbourne and finally changed the graphics card to the leadtek due to it being on the weekly sale thingy as its the same price as my previous one and has a larger fan which I guess would help with temps.

Also changed the CPU to the 2180 as it was also on the weekly sale thing and was the same price as the 2160 however if the 2160 or 2140 is better in terms of OC let me know :)

In regards to the termal compound I will stik to it as its currently in stock and want to get my system before this friday so i can spend the rest of the week building and overclocking it.

But thanks again to all those who helped me, much appretiated :)
 
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Just recieved everything 1 hour ago, Man im so excited lol just like a little child at christmas.

Will start building it as soon as I have my lunch :) for energy :P will try take some pictures during building and finished :)

Wish me luck on my first build :P
 
Hi again :P

Well I fitted everything on friday which took me roughly 6 hrs or so to build but since it was my first ever build I took my time, had breaks (lunch and snacks :P) . The only main problem I had was since I've got an old BT broadband modem it was only compatible with XP (32) and below so couldnt have XP (64) and VISTA installed :( Going to get this sorted and upgrade my broadband soon I hope but for now I'm stuck with XP (32) which isn't that bad really though it doesnt recognise the full 4GB RAM.

I have a few questions so ask and hopefully you can asnwer them :)

1. Should I remove the 2x 1GB RAM sticks or just leave it in?

2. I started with my very first OC and got it to 3.1GHz however when I load CPU-Z it shows 1.860GHz. See the picture below:

CPUZ.jpg


How do I resolve this?

3. As mentioned above I did my first ever overclock and was wondering if the following settings used are alright and whether these temps are alright: (I used CoreTemp to find it)

(I'm using the bios names/layout)

CoreTemp.jpg


External Clock - 310MHz
Multiplier Factor: 10x
DRAM Speed (CPU:DRAM) - 1:1
CPU Core Voltage - 1.45v
DDR2 Voltage - 2.1v
CPU VTT Voltage - 1.28v

I'm going to do stress tests soon but jsut wanted to get these out the way first.
 
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Just a few quick questions...

1. What are the best temp programmes as when I check the temp on SPEEDFAN its a lot different to that of CORETEMP so what is more reliable?

2. My case is a Lian Li PC-7 and I was wondering what fan will fit onto the top vent and which would you recommend?

3. What are the best temps or what is expected with my cpu with a arctic cooler 7?

4. Last, when I did the stress with orthos I did the Small FFT's test on the CPU it seemed to go fine however the desktop starts to be slugish and doesnt really respond like its freezing at around 20 mins into the test and nothing responds or takes ages too.

Thanks
 
Ok cool thats good too hear :P

What is the most accurate temp software to see the temp of my cpu etc. as stated in my previous post CORETEMP shows something different to SPEEDFAN?

What temps should I see idle and load on a e2180 @ 3.00+ with a artic cooling freezer 7 pro?

Thanks
 
Anyone know about the questions posted in the last two posts by me? would like to know so I can finally sort everything out

Thanks :)
 
Thanks for the replies :)

Well when i use prime95 for the torture test my max load temp I saw is 72 degrees which seemed high to me but I dont know what I can do. Should I reattach the cooler or add more thermal paste or even get a new cooler?

Plus Ive got a Lian Li PC-7 case, what would be the size and good fan to attach to the top part of the vent?

Thanks
 
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