New PC to build

Adam20 · 16 Aug 2007 at 08:20

Hi guys,

Its been a while since i built a pc so i dont know what hardware is in and what hardware is out at the minute so im a bit out of date

My mum and dad has asked me if i can build them a new computer as theirs just makes it through the day these days.

Anyway basically i want a reasonable priced system, with good performance and one which can play all the recent games and upcoming ones really nicely. I know my dad is really wanting Splinter Cell Double Agent. I'll be planning on putting Windows Vista on it once built. They havent told me a budget yet, but i cant imagine it will be too high, just need a spec for a machine which is reasonable and will see them for another couple of years (especially when it comes to gaming).

Thanks all

the shadow · 16 Aug 2007 at 08:32

HI hi what is u budget? dual or quad.How about OcUK 2GB (2x1GB) PC2-6400C5 800MHz DDR2 Dual Channel Kit £51.99
(£61.09)
Intel Core 2 Duo E2160 "LGA775 Conroe" 1.80GHz (800FSB) - Retail £49.99
(£58.74)
Gigabyte GA_P35C_DS3R (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 & DDR3 Motherboard £69.99
(£82.24) or may be a cheaper board?
ATI 1950 how does this for starters. :cool:

Adam20 · 16 Aug 2007 at 08:35

Like i say i dont know the budget as of yet, theyve told me to get back to them and they will see what they think of the price.

I think dual would be fine, probably a bit faster clock speed than quouted there though.

Basically want a system which will see them through for quite a while really.

the shadow · 16 Aug 2007 at 08:38

u can overclock it.or just get a faster chip. :cool:

Adam20 · 16 Aug 2007 at 08:41

Oh and i think the graphics card would need to be a DX10 one.

DavidB · 16 Aug 2007 at 08:58

Its really hard without having a budget to know what to spec you, even a price range would be nice.

A computer that will last a few years could be between £400 -£3000, when you say you want a DX10 graphics card it pretty much puts you in the 8800 price range as the lower priced ones are performing poor.

When you say you want it to be able to play the latest games, do you plan to be having them on a massive screen , on highest resolution, with all settings set to highest ?

Would you be willing to overclock, for example those slow clock speed E2140/E2160 processors can make it to 3ghz easily, but if you dont want to try it, say so.

We could make you 100 spec's, but without more info theyd probably all be wrong.

melbourne720 · 16 Aug 2007 at 09:10

the shadow said:
u can overclock it.or just get a faster chip.

Agreed, once overclocked to 3GHz they are up there with all the other C2Ds (see sig).

The OP should take shadow's spec, add an 8800 GTS, and overclock.

Adam20 · 16 Aug 2007 at 09:16

Ok,

Lets say £600 - £700 for now.

Bit wary about overclocking as i want to build them a nice stable system, dont want it crashing all the time etc or being unreliable.

My dad will just be playing the games on a 17" TFT monitor, so we dont need another one of them, i imagine he would like the settings on the max supported res by the monitor (1280 x 1024) and the highest settings possible for the best gameplay but maintaining a smooth rate throughout.

truebluecfc · 16 Aug 2007 at 10:24

Vista 32 or 64bit btw?

the shadow · 16 Aug 2007 at 10:26

hes to vague. :cool:

truebluecfc · 16 Aug 2007 at 10:32

Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 "LGA775 Kentsfield" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail
£149.99
£176.24 inc VAT

Asus P5K SE Intel P35 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
£64.99
£76.36 inc VAT

OcUK 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-5300C5 667MHz DDR2 Dual Channel Vista Approved Kit
£99.99
£117.49 inc VAT

OcUK GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail
£149.99
£176.24 inc VAT

Western Digital Caviar SE16 320GB 3200AAKS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM
£38.99
£45.81 inc VAT

Pioneer DVR-112DBK 18x18 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter - (Black) OEM
£16.99
£19.96 inc VAT

Tuniq Tower 120 CPU Cooler (Socket 478/754/939/940/AM2/LGA775)
£26.99
£31.71 inc VAT

Antec Sonata III Piano Black Quiet Case - EarthWatts 500W PSU
£60.99
£71.66 inc VAT

£608.92
£715.48 inc VAT

A little over budget but seeing as you wanted it to last a while i thougt having a Quad Core & 4GB RAM would probably be the best in making it last a while, also great overclocking potential.

Only a 320GB Harddrive but easily upgradable.

Also the cheapest 8800, DX10 like you asked and at 1280x1024 will do fine.

Adam20 · 16 Aug 2007 at 11:23

that hard drive would probably be ample space, they currently have an 80 in at the minute.

sorry im been so vague with the price, ive text me mum asking her if she can tell me what her budget is so i will let you know when i hear.

how good is that graphics card you've shown?

the shadow · 16 Aug 2007 at 11:37

one of the best cards available :cool:

truebluecfc · 16 Aug 2007 at 11:38

Adam20 said:
how good is that graphics card you've shown?

Good enough for your resolution, it is one of the best graphics card on the market behind the 2900xt, 8800 GTS 640MB and the 8800 GTX/Ultras so should last a fair while especially at the resolution you plan on playing at.

mart981 · 16 Aug 2007 at 13:33

I'm also configuring a system, just wondering why would you be including the extra £30 on the Tuniq if he's not planning on over clocking?

Do the quads have a heat issue or something?

Here's my current choices at the moment, not finalised by any means just has a similar budget, £600-700.

NEC AD5170 18x18 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM
(£17.61)
Leadtek GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express)
(£229.11)
Antec Sonata III Piano Black Quiet Case - EarthWatts 500W PSU
(£79.89)
GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC6400C4 800MHz Ultra Low Latency DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (GX22GB6400UDC)
(£70.49)
Gigabyte GA_P35_DS3R (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
(£88.11)
Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.66GHz (1333FSB) - Retail
(£125.71)
Hitachi Deskstar T7K500 NCQ 320GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM
(£44.64)

Sub Total : £557.93
Shipping : £10.95
VAT is being charged at 17.5% VAT : £99.55
Total : £668.43

Easy enough to add another 2GB down the road if necessary and a better cooler if you want to over clock.

melbourne720 · 16 Aug 2007 at 14:22

Overclocking is about taking a cheap (or good value) cpu and running it faster - why not an e2160 instead of a e6750? Stock speed is for the purple shirt brigade.

truebluecfc · 16 Aug 2007 at 14:25

I agree, buy a E2160 or a Q6600.

Adam20 · 3 Sep 2007 at 16:45

sorry about no response for so long.

my mum and dad have just come back off holiday and now told me what they are willing to spend. £650 max.

So i specced up this for them.

What do you think to it? is there something which should be changed for the machine to run better which is within that price limit?

Remove Qty. Product Name Quickcode Price (exc. VAT) Line total

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ColoursIT 8010-C43 #26562 £ 22.95 £ 22.95
52 in 1 Card Reader Black with USB #24902 £ 3.99 £ 3.99
Intel Core 2 Duo E4400 2GHz (775) #27049 £ 63.50 £ 63.50
Patriot 2GB PC2-6400 C4 Extreme Performance (2x1GB) #26802 £ 54.95 £ 54.95
XFX GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB PCI-E #28338 £ 159.95 £ 159.95
Asrock CONROEXFIRE eSATA2 775 Motherboard #23697 £ 42.99 £ 42.99
250GB Samsung Spinpoint SATA2 8MB #24030 £ 33.50 £ 67.00
Serial ATA Data Cable #7682 £ 1.60 £ 3.20
19'' ASUS VW193S Widescreen 5ms #28217 £ 99.95 £ 99.95

(click if you have changed any details)

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VAT £ 90.73
Total £ 609.21

truebluecfc · 3 Sep 2007 at 16:57

What so, you want a gaming spec for £650? including a monitor?

Adam20 · 3 Sep 2007 at 16:58

They fell in love with that 19" monitor, my dad wants to be able to play games like splinter cell double agent, c&c 3 and silent hunter 4, and more upcoming ones. He isnt no hardcore gamer, but wants to be able to play more than he can now!