PC Upgrade Needed - Need Help with Spec

Muncher

Muncher

Muncher

Soldato
Joined
17 Oct 2002
Posts
7,169
Location
Ipswich
I think my main PC is due an upgrade due to a variety of problems with it now, it's a P4 2.26, 1GB, 240gb HDD etc

I won't use it to play games so graphics wise all it needs to do is run Vista aero nicely, minimal Photoshop use too.

I already have:

A 19" decent TFT
Coolermaster CM201 case
PSU
DVD-RW (Though a faster one could replace it for a few quid i guess)
Logitech Cordless Desktop Optical (Though again, if a better one is available for a few quid a new one wouldn't hurt, especially if the mouse didn't need rechargeable batteries)

I am guessing the following:

2.4Ghz Core 2 Duo - Seems sensible value
2GB RAM - No idea what, something cheap
Motherboard - Onboard Sound/Wifi/Bluetooth , no fans
Graphics Card - Something cheap, not needed for games, dual DVI? Should I go for onboard graphics?
Hard Disks - 2x 320GB-500GB drives whatever offers best value
CPU Heatsink - As quiet as possible, is passive cooling possible?

Any advice appreciated, I'm a bit out of touch with the latest hardware.
 
maybe this would do:

Noctua NH-U12F (Socket LGA775/754/939/940/AM2) Heatsink £30.99
(£36.41) £30.99
(£36.41)

Hitachi Deskstar T7K500 NCQ 320GB SATA-II 8MB Cache - OEM £45.99
(£54.04) £91.98
(£108.08) two of these

Sapphire ATI Radeon X1950 Pro 256MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail £84.99
(£99.86) £84.99
(£99.86)
Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 PC2-6400C4 800MHz Dual Channel Kit (BL2KIT12864AA804) £99.99
(£117.49) £99.99
(£117.49)
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail £127.99
(£150.39) £255.98
(£300.78)
Asus P5W DH Deluxe WiFi (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £114.99
(£135.11) £114.99
(£135.11) Sub Total : £678.92 Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
City Link Parcel Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri)
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £9.95 Vat : £120.55 Total : £809.42

id reccomend a raid controller as i dont think mobo has one, raid 0 on these drives would be sooooo fast
 
Last edited:
t31os said:
A x1950 for a system not being used for games?..... overkill.... very much soo...
Click to expand...


yes but most low end graphics cards dont come with dual dvi ports..you can still connect two monitors with low end ones but it is still something muncher asked for..
 
XFX 7300GT comes with dual dvi's, just to name one... not to mention Sapphire have one of the worst RMA services...

EDIT: OcUK don't do the XFX, just happen to know the XFX 7300GT has dual dvi's though.....

However he could save £30 by going with a cheaper dual dvi card, if he's not gaming thats £30 wasted as i see it.
 
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yeh my comment was based on the fact that there wasnt any low end cards that OCUK had that had dual dvis :)

also we werent given any sort of budget to work with..whats the highest you can go muncher?

the xfx is £70-80 and for just £20 more he can get a card that is at least 2-3 times more capable than the 7300 if his budget allows for it then why not?
 
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2-3 times more capable at doing what?........displaying desktop icons a ms quicker?....

Even a 7300GT is a good card for desktop use and light gaming, if the need was ever there (though no dual dvi 7300's on ocuk).

Like i said, its £20 / £30 wasted.....
 
if you were a car enthusiast and had 100k to spend would you just get any car just because it gets you from a to b?

if his budget allows for a 1950 then why not get the best for his money instead? that £20-30 cant exactly be used to upgrade anything else that stinka mentioned
 
Well if you had 100K to spend and you only needed a car to travel to the shop 15 minutes up the road, i'd hope people wouldnt buy a ferrari and pay more insurance etc.... when you could have a cheap car that costs less to run and buy just because you have the budget....

You put your foot in it there mate... ;)

The saying "more money then sense" springs to mind, just because you have more money doesnt mean you need to spend it.

This thread is really going offtopic now...... at least the lower cards may offer a passive solution to, less noise, and will require a less power hungry PSU.
 
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro CPU Cooler (Socket 775) £15.99
(£18.79)
GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC6400C4 800MHz Ultra Low Latency DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (GX22GB6400UDC) £56.99
(£66.96)
Gigabyte GA_965P_DS3P (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £74.99
(£88.11)
Intel Core 2 Duo E6320 "LGA775 Conroe" 1.86GHz (1066FSB) - Retail £94.99
(£111.61)
OcUK GeForce 8600 GT 256MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail £66.99
(£78.71)
2 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB ST3320620AS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM £87.98
(£103.38)

Sub Total : £397.93
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
City Link Parcel Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri)
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £8.95
Vat : £71.20
Total : £478.08

The RAM and HDD's are both on special this week, so that price may change...
 
I've just ordered this, should I be calling them to tell them I've made a mistake? :p

312032 Upgrade Kit Intel Core 2 Duo E6600,
Mainboard, 2048MB, PCI-Express

1 pcs estimated shipping on 2007-05-16

Confirmed 1.00 265.01 265.01
325580 NEC DVD±RW burner AD-7173 IDE Black OEM,
Dual, LabelFlash, Multirecorder(Ram)

1 pcs estimated shipping on 2007-05-16

Confirmed 1.00 21.50 21.50
325793 Hitachi Deskstar T7K500 400GB SATA2
16MB 7200RPM

2 pcs estimated shipping on 2007-05-16

Confirmed 2.00 59.50 119.00
324730 Gainward GeForce 7600GS 512MB DDR2,
PCI-Express, "BP7600GS-512-GS-TV-DD"

1 pcs estimated shipping on 2007-05-16

Confirmed 1.00 81.00 81.00


I am assuming my existing ATX PSU will be OK to power it?
 
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