Spec me some bits for...

[Grimley]

A 3 year old PC I'm planning to give to my Nephews for Xmas - months away I know but I usually start planning now

Have got already
3500+ socket 939 AMD cpu & board for it to go in
512 pc3200 DDR
Samsung SP2004 HD
IDE rewriter
Case
Keyboard mouse & monitor

Need

Graphics - something as fast as poss before CPU becomes bottleneck & PCI-E
PSU - enough to power said card & system
CPU cooler (cheap & quiet) - stock AMD coolers are B. awful
Another stick of 512 DDR PC3200

Ta

 

[fobose]

I take it you dont want to be spending to much on the computer? What size monitor will he be using?

This cooler: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showp...64 Pro PWM CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2)

Also I would use MM to pick up some cheap DDR, and perhaps something like a 8800GT or 3850/70?

Possible this for PSU: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showp...max Pro 82+ 385W EPR385AWT ATXv2.3 Silent PSU

 

[Grimley]

Didn't realise there was an Enermax that was that cheap!

8800GT, I would've thought dual core would be needed for it to be at its best

Freezer Pro 64 - fan on them are noisy at full speed, but I can always cable tie a 120mm fan on it like I did to silence my sisters PC.

Thanks

 

[montymint]

for gfx on a single core..

Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 3450 Silence 512MB DDR2 TV-Out/DVI/HDMI (PCI-Express) - Retail
£30.54 inc vat

or

Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 3650 512MB GDDR3 TV-Out/DVI/HDMI (PCI-Express) - Retail
£61.09 inc vat

edit: Bear in mind i cannot see the MM, you might be able to nab one cheap as chips there

 

[Grimley]

Thats more or less what I had in mind.

 

[fobose]

My motherboard limits my freezer pro to 800rpm (if I disable Qfan it spins at full speed and its very noisy), but at 800RPM my CPU is 33c idle and 50c max load

The 8800GT will bottle neck I would have thought. It really depends how much you want to spend and what the PC will be used for. Will he want to upgrade the CPU/Mobo/RAM later on?

Not bad for £60:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showp...MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail

You could always get one of the ATi £30 cards. I am sure someone else can give you more info on what sort of card will be able to run without bottle necking but if the price is similar to the 8800GS why not get one of them instead?

Members market has a 3850 for £50 inc delivery

 

[ukbrainstew]

I'd go second hand on the GPU as your money will go a hell of a lot further in that price range. Something like a 7900GT, X1800XT or X1950 Pro can be had for peanuts and offer very nice performance.

Edit: A £50 3850 would indeed be a very good buy, its a very capable card.