Spec me a pc....

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11 Jun 2007
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Hi guys, hoping some of the experts on here can help me. Ok so heres the tentative plan:

I already have a Dell Dimension c521 with the following spec

1. windows xp media center installed

2. 300gb hardrive - 220gb for the main drive and 80 gb back up drive

3. Amd x2 5000 dual core processor

4. 2gb of ram - probobly low speed

5. 256mb half height x1300 graphics card

6. Dvd rewriter drive

Im hoping to use some of the above on the new pc


Ok so heres my plan - this is what i would like in my new pc

1. Stylish case with lots of room for upgrades

2. Around 1tb of storage

3. 2gb of high speed ram with option to upgrade to 4gb in future

4. High wattage psu - i would like it to be very quiet though

5. tv tuner card so i can connect sky+ and back up my recordings and maybe even view them on my pc?

6. Combo bluray and hddvd drive for both playback and rewriting - however if this is very expensive, id be happy to leave it for a few months

7. quiet fan

Now heres my main issues -

1. i would like to use the 220bg hardrive i already have in the new pc - so i can use all the stuff i have installed and the xp operating system already installed

2. after a bit of reading, i think im right in saying that it is best to wait a few months before buying a high end graphics card - is there a new high end one coming out soon? - so would it be possible to use my half height 256mb x1300 as a stopgap for the new card?

3. i have no idea about motherboards etc - so i think intel are the best processors around at the minute - is this a good time to buy a high processor or are intel bringing out new stuff in the next few months? - the quad cores seem to be heavily reduced

4. if the combo bluray/hddvd is too expensive, can i use the dvd rw drive i already have as a stopgap?


The primary use is going to be

1. Media - possibly put some of my dvd collection on the hardrive - i already have a 500gb external drive
2. Internet browsing etc

3. Gaming - i may as well get the best spec graphics card etc when im at it, so playing the likes of crysis would be on the agenda.


Now ive never built a pc before, but idk - with a bit of reading i may be able to do it myself. However i would like to know how much it would cost to put it together - i presume there are websites who have this as an option

As part of the spec, i DON'T need

1. speakers
2. monitor
3. keyboard and mouse
4. Operating system - if its possible to use my hardrive and os as listed above


Bit of a long read, but any advice would be appreciated.
Im not 100% sure what the budget is going to be - but id say it would have to be a max of about 900 sterling including delivery to Ireland - not sure if that is realistic...
 
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maybe look along the lines of the following, included an 8800GT as the new cards will be expensive, depends if you can afford the 300+ i guess they might sell for.

not worth replacing the memory, if its working fine, unless you want to overclock.

wouldnt go for a blu ray drive yet the dvd-rw would be better for the time being.

can't recommend a tv card, and for a quiet fan do u mean cpu cooler or a case fan, if its case might be worth knowing what size 92mm etc.

Corsair HX 520W ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU (CMPSU-520HXUK) £59.99 (£70.49)

BFG GeForce 8800 GT OC 512MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail £154.99 (£182.11)

Antec P182 Super Midi Tower Case - No PSU (Gun Metal Black) £74.99
(£88.11)

Gigabyte GA-MA770-DS3 AMD 770 (Socket AM2/AM2+) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £46.99 (£55.21)

Western Digital Caviar GP 1TB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (WD10EACS) £136.99 (£160.96)

Sub Total : £473.95
Shipping : £10.95
VAT : £84.86
Total : £569.76
 
ok, i did a quick spec on overclockers:

1. Antec P182 Super Midi Tower Case (Gun Metal Black) / Antec Quattro 850W PSU - £174.98
(£205.6)

2. LG GGW-H20L Blu-Ray Rewriter & HD-DVD ROM Serial ATA Drive - Retail - £153.99
(£180.94)

3. Western Digital Caviar GP 1TB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (WD10EACS) -
£136.99
(£160.96)

4. Belkin 5-Port USB 2.0 PCI Card (F5U220VEA1) - £14.99
(£17.61)

Could i then simply use the motherboard, ram, processor sound card and hardrive (with os installed) from my current pc in the new case?

I could then decide how good of a graphics card i want and use my current one as a stopgap?
 
Ok i have put this together:

case:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-070-AN

psu:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-004-CS


optical drive:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CD-065-LG

hardrive:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-158-WD

Graphics card:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-051-OK

Added to this from old pc would be:

1. Motherboard
2. 2gig of ram
3. Amd x2 5000 dual core processor
4. sound card
5. 320gb hardrives

Comments on the spec...?
 
what size monitor do you have, if its smaller than 22" you can save by getting the 8800GTS without losing any quality.

still think the blueray/hd drive is a silly price, but up to you.
 
Ok, i think the better idea would be to just sell the old dell and go with something like this:

overclockers.jpg



Added to the above spec would be the main hardrive from my old pc which includes windows xp media center 2005, software etc
Dell 2407 monitor and soundbar
Keyboard and mouse
500 gb external hardrive

Comments on the spec please
 
i would like to use the 220GB hard drive i already have in the new pc - so i can use all the stuff i have installed and the xp operating system already installed
You'll be changing so much hardware let alone just (mobo) chipset which means that won't be possible. Besides new build, new/fresh install is the motto here - all to do with performance & easy troubleshooting if you run into any problems ;)

Your spec is ok-ish, just that...
  • GTS* performs in (certain) games, res, etc almost the same as a GTX
  • 520W Corsair will do
  • Money saved from above can go towards the better spec'd P5K 'Vanilla'
  • Oh & OEM Q6600 is cheaper
;)

EDIT:* new 512MB GTS
 
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You'll be changing so much hardware let alone just (mobo) chipset which means that won't be possible. Besides new build, new/fresh install is the motto here - all to do with performance & easy troubleshooting if you run into any problems ;)



Thats very disappointing news to say the least - one of the main issues i had with getting a new pc was losing all my software etc i have bulit up over the past 6 months or so - is there any way at all around this?
 
is there any way at all around this?
Just backup documents, downloads, etc & anything not requiring installation using excellent software like Acronis True Image (see here). As for the OS & subsequently software, you have no choice but to reinstall.

That's the (little) price we pay for advancement :(
 
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You can keep your windows install if you don't change your motherboard. That's the key component. Graphics cards can be swapped out at will, as can processors etc without a re-install. But if changing your motherboard then a fresh install is essential.
I'd say you have 2 options :

1) Do as you suggested by adding new stuff to your existing CPU / mobo & keep your windows install. Though the 520W Corasir would be perfectly adequate, rather than 620W.

2) Sell everything you had & build a new computer as per your 2nd suggestion. This will definately require a re-install & most probably a new copy of windows (because OEM versions are often keyed to work on only the motherboards of the company that supplied them). Still, it's worth trying to use the same copy of windows again first because by un-installing from your previous computer means it will only be on 1 PC & hence legit.
 
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