Spec me a computer =)

Chronicle

Chronicle

Chronicle

Soldato
Joined
4 Jul 2004
Posts
2,647
Location
aberdeen
Hi
Any chance someone could spec me up a computer for about £500-700ish (don't want to spend too much but will spend it if i need to).

It will be used a LITTLE to play games, but not much so can be a crap graphics card. Just need it to always work, be stable, and fast :P

Only really use it for the web, photoshop etc. Was going to just upgrade current computer with new ram, but decided might as well go ddr2 so might as well upgrade from scratch.

I need everything apart from:
Hard drives (i have a ide and a sata hdd drive)
A dvd drive (want to get a good dvdrw drive)
Case
PSU
and monitors/keyboard etc

The graphics card only has to be able to play games - as long as it will play CSS in a decent quality level (at a high resolution for a 21" widescreen) I'll be happy. I assume that as CSS is a few yrs old now most cheapish gfx cards play css fine?

I don't want to go mad and get a propper "gaming" pc, cos i don't need it. Just want to get a nice intel chip, good motherboard (with wifi built in if possible), a nice separate sound card, and as much ram as I can get. I am running XP pro 32bit. I (think I do anyway) want to go ddr2 - ddr3 seems too expensive and not any real point to it for me ... don't play games much at all.

Thanks
ps - regarding the sound card - i have a decent proper hi fi set up that I play my mp3s through (at the moment just with my mobos on board sound), it is worth getting a propper sound card rather than on board sound, yeh?
 
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Music 7.1 Soundcard - OEM £42.99 (£50.51)

OcUK ATI Radeon X1950 Pro 256MB GDDR3 HDTV/DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail £61.99 (£72.84)

Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 PC2-5300C3 667MHz Dual Channel Kit (BL2KIT12864AA663)
£56.99 (£66.96) £113.98
(£133.92)

Abit IP35 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
£77.99 (£91.64)

Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 "Energy Efficient 95W Edition" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail
£155.99 (£183.29)

Sub Total : £452.94

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 is being charged at 17.5% VAT : £80.83

Total : £542.72
 
Ah right, didn't notice that :P :)

Thanks :).

Is it worth getting the full 4 gigs, or is it better to get 2x1gb + 1x512mb?

Also, as I've had problems before with an abit mobo and ram that wouldn't work with it (wasn't even generic ram), going to make sure it'll work this time. From the list on http://www2.abit.com.tw/test-report/ip35_ip35-e.htm?2 though, of the pc26400 range, only http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-019-GS and http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-013-GS are listed (from the 1gb/2gb lots, anyway). They seem a bit expensive. Is there much difference between pc2 6400 and 5300?

Also is the "OcUK ATI Radeon X1950 Pro 256MB GDDR3 HDTV/DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail" the best gfx card in that price range (about 60-80 quid)? Is there any good nvidia equivalent? I prefer nvidias software than ati's really... found that it always works - had some problems with atis drivers before.

I also take it that with the IP35 motherboard i'll need a separate WiFi card? Anyone got any recommendation's from the list on http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=46&catid=116&subid=220 ?

Does anyone also know if I can get a slot loading DVD RW drive from in the UK (not asking where, just if its possible - not found one on any major computer component site). And if i were to get a blu ray player, can i play blu rays just as easy as i can play DVDs on my computer? And with the above mentioned GFX card, will i be able to view a blu ray, played through my pc, on a propper tv? This also brings me onto another Q (sorry about so many questions...) - is there a way to make the computer almost silent (say, as silent as a laptop when on "quiet" mode) without water cooling? Are the "silent" fans actually silent? Any recommendations?

Thanks! :)
 
I'd get the 4gb but preferably as a 2x2gb (although the motherboard doesn't list 2gb modules I'd be fairly sure they work) not least to keep dual channel on all Ram. If you aren't overclocking then PC5300 will be fine and even if you are then some Ram such as the Crucial Ballistix PC5300 C3 shouldn't hold you back at all.

The X1950pro is almost certainly the best card for the price but if you want an Nvidia card then the 8600GT would be the closest match price-wise and it isn't all that bad a card anyway.

Afraid I can't help much with wireless, even at the best of times I have a fraught relationship with wireless - it just doesn't appear to like me. ;) The only advice I can give is to say match up your devices as best you can from the same manufacturer.

I haven't seen any slot loading DVDRWs but Pioneer is probably the only company that would make them.

You could always pick a quiet fan (there will be recommendations in the Overclocking sub-forum) and then undervolt it to 7v (again instructions should be in that forum or a quick search in Google should find exactly how to do it). :)
 
Hi, Thanks for your reply.
On the specs sheet for the motherboard it says:
4 X 240-pin DIMM sockets support max. memory capacity 8GB
Supports Dual channel DDR2 800/667 un-buffered Non-ECC memory
Click to expand...
Is 2x2gb better than 4x1gb? Can't i run the 4x1gb in 2 sets of dual channel?

Also, is the ip35 the best motherboard in that sort of price range? Any better ones worth getting? I saw the ip35 pro, which is more expensive (And i noticed they used it in the £1k diy project thing in custom pc last month) but it seems the only difference is 2 x eSATA ports, but i don't really backup much data, and when i do i don't mind waiting a few hours to do it over usb etc.

I did notice on the ip35 though it only has one ide channel ("# 1 x ATA 133/100/66/3 IDE connector"). I need at least one ide hard drive, one ide dvd drive, and i want to be able to in the future fit a blu ray drive, too (or hd dvd). With this mobo does it mean i can only have 2 ide devices in total (assuming 2 on one connector?)


Also, I don't plan on overclocking at all.
 
I suggest 2x2gb for the simple reason that there is less to go wrong, 4x1gb should work equally well but it doesn't allow any later expansion (ok not an issue with a 32bit OS but as a point of principle it is a good idea).

If you aren't overclocking then all the P35 based motherboards should be much of a muchness aside from the possibility of features such as WiFi etc.

With only one IDE channel you can only have 2 IDE devices although you could always buy an add-in IDE controller card if needed. :)
 
ok. Cheers.
Am thinking of just getting a pre built one ... least then the hard part is done (selecting what parts ;) ).

Do most memory sticks work in all motherboards? I always thought they did till my last mobo (an abit one...) that refuses to work with some sticks of mine (like i said, not even generic ones... they're corsair or crucial or something).

Don't suppose anyone knows of a good upto date site comparing the main motherboards?
 
I think i've decided to basically get a whole new computer now (i'll just be still using old hard drives). I've come up with this -
http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/9070/ocuksn1.jpg

(or read it here:)
Sony Floppy Drive - Silver Sony Floppy Drive - Silver £5.99
(£7.04) £5.99
(£7.04)
Abit IP35 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard Abit IP35 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £77.99
(£91.64) £77.99
(£91.64)
Akasa AK-961 CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775) Akasa AK-961 CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775) £16.99
(£19.96) £16.99
(£19.96)
Thermalright Chill Factor Thermal Compound (4.8ml) Thermalright Chill Factor Thermal Compound (4.8ml) £1.99
(£2.34) £1.99
(£2.34)
Akasa AK-ZEN-01-WH Zen White Case - No PSU Akasa AK-ZEN-01-WH Zen White Case - No PSU £25.99
(£30.54) £25.99
(£30.54)
Western Digital Caviar SE16 320GB 3200AAKS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM Western Digital Caviar SE16 320GB 3200AAKS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM £39.99
(£46.99) £39.99
(£46.99)
OcUK ATI Radeon X1950 Pro 512MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail OcUK ATI Radeon X1950 Pro 512MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail £69.99
(£82.24) £69.99
(£82.24)
Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 PC2-6400C4 800MHz Dual Channel Kit (BL2KIT12864AA804) Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 PC2-6400C4 800MHz Dual Channel Kit (BL2KIT12864AA804) £76.99
(£90.46) £153.98
(£180.92)
OCZ StealthXStream 600w Silent SLI Ready ATX2 Power Supply OCZ StealthXStream 600w Silent SLI Ready ATX2 Power Supply £49.99
(£58.74) £49.99
(£58.74)
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Music 7.1 Soundcard - OEM Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Music 7.1 Soundcard - OEM £42.99
(£50.51) £42.99
(£50.51)
Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 "Energy Efficient 95W Edition" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 "Energy Efficient 95W Edition" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail £155.99
(£183.29) £155.99
(£183.29)
Sub Total : £641.88
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 is being charged at 17.5% VAT : £114.25
Total : £767.08

What are your thoughts on that? I may put it upto 4gb of ram, not sure. Only gone with a cheap case as its not like i'll be looking at the case.
 
Looks basically fine although I don't know anything about the CPU cooler or the thermal paste and you probably don't need the floppy drive but I suppose it does only cost £6. If you aren't going to be overclocking or at least not much then I'd just pick PC5300 Ram, something like the OcUK 4gb PC5300 would do sufficient and will save a bit of cash over the Crucial Ballistix. :)
 
Hi,
I need the floppy to install windows onto a sata drive (as im going to be using xp) (and can't salvage it from other computers for same reason. don't want to have to be taking them in and out of computers when i reformat every time).

And ocuk ram ... is it any good? tbh i wouldn't like to trust an ocuk branded ram any more than any other generic ram - as i am assuming that is basically all it is? But the price (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/search_results.php?sortby=&groupid=701&string=4gb+5300) is very appealing...

Edit - I've also chosen to save some money i think and may go just duo 2 core rather than quad as i don't really think it will give me much extra performance
 
Last edited:
I found some RAM on another site -
OCZ 4GB Kit (2x2GB) DDR2 667MHz/PC2-5400 Memory Kit Vista Upgrade Edition
for just 130 inc vat.

Would this be better than the OCUK stuff they sell on this site?
 
You don't need the floppy to install Windows onto a SATA drive any more or at least in 99% of cases not involving RAID you don't but as I said before it is only £6 so for the sake of peace of mind it is probably worth it.

OcUK Ram is fine, it is just generic Ram with either Elixir or Nanya chips, entirely unexceptional but should work with anything.

OcUK also sell the OCZ Ram, if you want branded Ram then there is no harm in it but in all honesty it probably won't make much of a difference if you aren't overclocking.

If going for Core2Duo then I'd suggest either the E2160 (good and cheap for overclocking) or the E6750 as the best combinations of price/performance. :)
 
Ah, didn't notice those on ocuk. IS there really not much difference if i am not going to be overclocking? Even for gaming?

I've installed xp on 2 or 3 mobos with sata drives and always needed the extra floppys... thought it was always needed on xp.

And i think now i've switched back and decided to go with quad.

Thanks for your help :) :)
 
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