New Computer

alphaomega16

alphaomega16

alphaomega16

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Joined
4 Jul 2006
Posts
2,349
Heya guys mate has asked me to build him a new coputer cause he is having some serious problems with his, no matter what he uses when he is downloading stuff it resets and this is after a clean install (Formatted all drives and re-installed windows) then the first thing he put on was a couple of bit clients and as soon as they were open it restarted.

He is also having problems where the computer seems to freeze and after he clicks something on the desktop the screen goes black for a second then he can use the computer again.

This is his current system.
Athlon XP1900
1GB Single Memory Module
MSI Motherboard (MS-7021)

he does a lot of video encoding so was gonna reccommend this

2 Gig DDR2 Twinx XMS2 C4 TWIN2X2048-6400C4
Gigabyte DS3 Mainboard
Core 2 Duo either a E6300 or E6400
EZ Cool 650w PSU

How much of a performance boost would he see over his current system ?

He was looking to get Tower plus Mobo/CPU/Memory/KB+Mouse with a budget of £500.

He doesnt really use it for games so graphics card not an essential.
 
Sounds to me like either his memory is b0rked or something is overheating like the CPU. Run orthos or memtest and check if the ram is duff. For the CPU run some kind of diagnostic tool like Everest free edition - to find out the temperatures!

Other than that, that new spec looks good to me and he would see a significant improvement over his old system.
 
alphaomega16 said:
Heya guys mate has asked me to build him a new coputer cause he is having some serious problems with his, no matter what he uses when he is downloading stuff it resets and this is after a clean install (Formatted all drives and re-installed windows) then the first thing he put on was a couple of bit clients and as soon as they were open it restarted.

He is also having problems where the computer seems to freeze and after he clicks something on the desktop the screen goes black for a second then he can use the computer again.

This is his current system.
Athlon XP1900
1GB Single Memory Module
MSI Motherboard (MS-7021)

he does a lot of video encoding so was gonna reccommend this

2 Gig DDR2 Twinx XMS2 C4 TWIN2X2048-6400C4
Gigabyte DS3 Mainboard
Core 2 Duo either a E6300 or E6400
EZ Cool 650w PSU

How much of a performance boost would he see over his current system ?

He was looking to get Tower plus Mobo/CPU/Memory/KB+Mouse with a budget of £500.

He doesnt really use it for games so graphics card not an essential.
Click to expand...

He would see a major increase in performance, everything will be in fast forward for him.

If he does a lot of video encoding then the e6600 with its 4mb cache would be better, but it would probably go over his £500 budget.
 
The 1GB was a new stick he was having the same problems before I replaced the memory so it cannot be that.

It was either the C2D setup I mentioned or a AMD 64 3500 system (Single Core) which would be a bit cheaper.
 
The PSU is overkill, so could cut back a few quid with maybe a 500W or so PSU instead, unless he intends for further upgrades, in which case I guess its not too bad for futureproofing.
 
I would go Core 2 Duo, he will benefit much greater from having dual core and like Gaz said with the extra cache he will also take advantage of that with his encoding work.
 
He said he could probably do between £500 - £550

I think I am gonna recommend this to him what do you think.

C2D E6400 £155
2 Gig DDR2 Twinx XMS2 C4 TWIN2X2048-6400C4 £207
Gigabyte DS3 Motherboard £82
EZ Cool 650W PSU £20
Coolermaster Elite 330 Black £30

That leaves £56 for a Laser Mouse and a wireless keyboard.

I think I might recommend him the one I was interested in from another post on this board.

Also about the PSU being over kill, it might be but its half the price than the other 2 the local shop does.
 
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Thats nearly 3x the cost I would have to goto the 1.8 ghz chip instead of the 2ghz one.

No this is local shop prices gonna pick it all up from there so if anything goes wrong can get it exchanged instantly

Would tell you where but unless you list stuf you buying from OCUK you cant ask anyone to help with bits you getting from somewhere else.

Pretty silly.
 
Awkward isnt it. Not heard of EZ Cool myself and by the look of it at £20 it looks like junk. Trust me, I wouldn't buy a PSU that is either non branded or is manufactured by no frills companies. The PSU is the backbone of your system it provides power to all that quality gear you are about to purchase, you don't want to power it with something that will probably be weak. I have made the failure of purchasing QTEC and other PSUs in the past and had problems booting up and doing other tasks.

Purchase something that has reliability behind it, it will cost you but you basically get what you pay for. Antec, Seasonic, Corsair, Akasa.
 
Well if anyone can recommend anything in core2 duo way that comprises of this (with a bit to spare for the Laser Mouse) from the overclockers site I would be grateful

Memory (Would like 2GB)
Motherboard (Would like to stick with the GB DS3 since its a good board)
Processor (Would like either E6300 or E6400)
Power Supply (Whatever is cheapest lol)
Case (The cheaper the better but think the one listed would be enough)

Also if the onboard video is crap I guess I will need a Graphics Card as well but nothing too extravagant.

Budget would be between £500-£550 and he might not be able to do it but if it comes to it max would be £600

I would send you a PM but says I cant lol

Well looks like the Gigabyte DS3 board is out of the question it only has 1 IDE channel.

He has 2x HDD and 2X DL DVDRW
 
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How about this mate? There's nothing much between the 6300 and 6400 so I put an OEM version of the chip and accompanied it with a nice cooler so you have the choice of overclocking for a faster chip if you desire!

Special offer GeiL RAM there and a decent PSU to power your system!

Haven't added a graphics card but with the remaining money you could pick up something like a 7300 or even less spec for £50-60

Akasa Ultra Quiet 460W Paxpower Active PFC ATX2.0 PSU - Black Nickel with Blue LED Fan £44.99
(£52.86) £44.99
(£52.86)
Tuniq Tower 120 CPU Cooler £29.99
(£35.24) £29.99
(£35.24)
GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC6400C4 800MHz Ultra Low Latency DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (GX22GB6400UDC) £114.99
(£135.11) £114.99
(£135.11)
Intel Core 2 DUO E6300 "LGA775 Allendale" 1.86GHz (1066FSB) - OEM £101.99
(£119.84) £101.99
(£119.84)
Gigabyte GA_965P_DS3 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £69.99
(£82.24) £69.99
(£82.24)
Asus TA-210 Series Midi Tower (Black) - No PSU £21.99
(£25.84) £21.99
(£25.84)
Sub Total : £383.94
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
City Link Parcel Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri)
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £10.95
Vat : £69.11
Total : £464.00
 
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