My PC, specced as shown in my sig has died again. This time the hard drives have errored (I have two 1Tb drives in it, can't remember the brand, but quality stuff) The main C: drive is readable now, but tempramental, sometimes starts, sometimes not. And number two is just making high pitched noises! Anyway, while I pull all the data I can off of them both, I'm looking at a new PC.
I mainly use it for office work, with a good lump of gaming. I play MW2, and similar stuff. So I need a good healthy specification with minimal cost please!
I need:
A new case that has its I/O ports on the front, as the case will sit under a desk. Current case is fine, but I fancy something new! Not bothered about looks so much,a simple cheap case would be fine as long as it looks pleasant to the eye. Whats a good brand known for good air flow and ease of access to build it?
I'd like a really good motherboard with lots of SATA ports, and a low end i7 maybe? to allow later upgrade of CPU without the need for a new mobo.
Plenty of memory, but what type?
I have a 260 GTX graphics card which I'll pop in for now, and a black fronted CD/DVD drive.
I'd like a really good CPU cooler becasue I do tend to overclock my computers, not hugely but enough to need good cooling, whats best?
And I'll need a new PSU, my current one is a Zalman 500w unit, but its pretty much at its safe limit at the moment, so a new, cool, and quiet model would need to go in. I don't want overkill that uses so much power the lights dim!
I currently have a Creative XFi sound card which I could reuse, but I assume there are better ones out there now, or even on board sound?
I'll need a new operating system, which I guess will be Windows 7 home premium as I don;t need anything else.
Budget is variable, from maybe £400-£850 ish. I want this one to last at least the 3 years the current one has without major need to upgrade. (Current one only had new graphics in 3 years) My current PC cost in excess of £1100 when I bought the bits for it!
Final question, is it better to buy pre-built? If so, for my needs, what would do the job, maybe in OCUKs pre built and pre clocked range?
I mainly use it for office work, with a good lump of gaming. I play MW2, and similar stuff. So I need a good healthy specification with minimal cost please!
I need:
A new case that has its I/O ports on the front, as the case will sit under a desk. Current case is fine, but I fancy something new! Not bothered about looks so much,a simple cheap case would be fine as long as it looks pleasant to the eye. Whats a good brand known for good air flow and ease of access to build it?
I'd like a really good motherboard with lots of SATA ports, and a low end i7 maybe? to allow later upgrade of CPU without the need for a new mobo.
Plenty of memory, but what type?
I have a 260 GTX graphics card which I'll pop in for now, and a black fronted CD/DVD drive.
I'd like a really good CPU cooler becasue I do tend to overclock my computers, not hugely but enough to need good cooling, whats best?
And I'll need a new PSU, my current one is a Zalman 500w unit, but its pretty much at its safe limit at the moment, so a new, cool, and quiet model would need to go in. I don't want overkill that uses so much power the lights dim!
I currently have a Creative XFi sound card which I could reuse, but I assume there are better ones out there now, or even on board sound?
I'll need a new operating system, which I guess will be Windows 7 home premium as I don;t need anything else.
Budget is variable, from maybe £400-£850 ish. I want this one to last at least the 3 years the current one has without major need to upgrade. (Current one only had new graphics in 3 years) My current PC cost in excess of £1100 when I bought the bits for it!
Final question, is it better to buy pre-built? If so, for my needs, what would do the job, maybe in OCUKs pre built and pre clocked range?