System builds
- Thread starter EagleOC
- Start date
Ah, yeah - forgot about that! 
Problem is, I don't have the time to build a system (two jobs, see?
) And I don't want all the hassle/crapness of 'off-the-shelf' builds a lá No competitor talk please!... 
I just need to build up a sytem that can cope with modern games as every one I buy at the moment is giving me grief. 9800 Pro 'n all...
Cheers
Problem is, I don't have the time to build a system (two jobs, see?
) And I don't want all the hassle/crapness of 'off-the-shelf' builds a lá No competitor talk please!... I just need to build up a sytem that can cope with modern games as every one I buy at the moment is giving me grief. 9800 Pro 'n all...
Cheers
We cant talk about it here im afraid, ocuk provide these forums for us and its not fair on them if we talk about other competitors.
Ocuk do a few prebuilt systems that make take your fancy.
Otherwise it might be worth going down the components route, by your gear form ocuk and build it yourself. There is a wealth of knowlage on these forums and all of the people here, myself included will be happy to help you choose the right components for you, and give you all the help you need when putting it together and testing it etc.
You should give it ago, there is nothing better than a custom build computer that you have crafted yourself
Ocuk do a few prebuilt systems that make take your fancy.
Otherwise it might be worth going down the components route, by your gear form ocuk and build it yourself. There is a wealth of knowlage on these forums and all of the people here, myself included will be happy to help you choose the right components for you, and give you all the help you need when putting it together and testing it etc.
You should give it ago, there is nothing better than a custom build computer that you have crafted yourself
*
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/full_systems.html
Nice stuff indeed.
What am I looking for though? I run Photoshop/Corel etc and all the usual office stuff. I also want to be able to play the latest games (without so much as a hint of a struggle!).
I'm also mindful of the need for futureproofing to a certain extent.
Are the prices there a guide to quality/capability? What could I go for as a minimum for the above needs?
Cheers.
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/full_systems.html
Nice stuff indeed.
What am I looking for though? I run Photoshop/Corel etc and all the usual office stuff. I also want to be able to play the latest games (without so much as a hint of a struggle!).
I'm also mindful of the need for futureproofing to a certain extent.
Are the prices there a guide to quality/capability? What could I go for as a minimum for the above needs?
Cheers.
How much free time do you have? You can easily build a computer up in one afternoon, with the OS install, updates, software, games taking much longer. See my sig for possible system. I can play latest games maximum detail, AA on, ultra high texture quality.
Here's my current spec:
• Abit NF7-S v2.0
• Athlon XP3000+ @ 43ºC CM Aero 7+
• 1Gb PC3200 DDR RAM
• Enermax 550W PSU
• Maxtor 40Gb HDD
• Maxtor 160 Gb HDD
• ATI 9800 Pro (256Mb)
I feel that the 9800 Pro really should be 'cutting' it still. However, every game I'm buying, it's just (alledgedly) overheating (I've checked for dust/busted fans etc). I get a freeze with a 'sound loop' (sometimes with a blank blue screen.
My system works fine for 2D so it seems such a monumental undertaking just to upgrade for the sake of gaming. I don't game often but when I do I want 'the full-on experience' if you know what I mean.
If it was just a case of buying a mega-expensive graphics card and/or more RAM, I'd go for that - but being that the board isn't SLi, I think I'm pretty stuffed i.e. I'll have to rebuild from the ground upwards.
Regarding free time, it's not just a case of building it up, it's the research needed to ensure I've got the best value and the right products. If you know the current market (which I don't) there's no time spent decidng. For me, it's a long process.
• Abit NF7-S v2.0
• Athlon XP3000+ @ 43ºC CM Aero 7+
• 1Gb PC3200 DDR RAM
• Enermax 550W PSU
• Maxtor 40Gb HDD
• Maxtor 160 Gb HDD
• ATI 9800 Pro (256Mb)
I feel that the 9800 Pro really should be 'cutting' it still. However, every game I'm buying, it's just (alledgedly) overheating (I've checked for dust/busted fans etc). I get a freeze with a 'sound loop' (sometimes with a blank blue screen.
My system works fine for 2D so it seems such a monumental undertaking just to upgrade for the sake of gaming. I don't game often but when I do I want 'the full-on experience' if you know what I mean.
If it was just a case of buying a mega-expensive graphics card and/or more RAM, I'd go for that - but being that the board isn't SLi, I think I'm pretty stuffed i.e. I'll have to rebuild from the ground upwards.
Regarding free time, it's not just a case of building it up, it's the research needed to ensure I've got the best value and the right products. If you know the current market (which I don't) there's no time spent decidng. For me, it's a long process.
It's easy picking out the correct items, use the combo page to find matching components. Just make sure correct CPU, memory and videocard for that motherboard.
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4400+
or
AMD Athlon 64 4000+ San Diego 90nm
Corsair 2GB DDR XMS3200C2PT
Asus A8R32-MVP Deluxe
or
Asus A8N-SLi Premium
ATI X1900XT
or
Nvidia 7900GTX
Decide on case, monitor. Really can be done in a afternoon deciding what is suitable. No excuse really.
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4400+
or
AMD Athlon 64 4000+ San Diego 90nm
Corsair 2GB DDR XMS3200C2PT
Asus A8R32-MVP Deluxe
or
Asus A8N-SLi Premium
ATI X1900XT
or
Nvidia 7900GTX
Decide on case, monitor. Really can be done in a afternoon deciding what is suitable. No excuse really.
Oops I meant Bundle page.
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Bundles.html
After that obvious choice video card, hard disc, case, monitor. Basically go through each section adding things to your cart. For example 100 320GB hard discs etc.
Basically if you want a good gaming machine looking at a £250+ videocard, with enough memory, hard disc storage, display, case, cooling, and suitably fast CPU to go with it.
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Bundles.html
After that obvious choice video card, hard disc, case, monitor. Basically go through each section adding things to your cart. For example 100 320GB hard discs etc.
Basically if you want a good gaming machine looking at a £250+ videocard, with enough memory, hard disc storage, display, case, cooling, and suitably fast CPU to go with it.
Ok, my cart is now at £924 (and the divorce papers are being written as we speak ):
• AMD Athlon 64 4000 Retail / Asus A8N-SLi Premium / 2GB Corsair XMS PC3200 Dual Channel Kit - Bundle (BU-027-OK)
• Asus ATI Radeon EAX-X1900 XT 512MB GDDR3 AVIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-086-AS)
• Silverstone Temjin TJ05 - Silver (No PSU) (CA-006-SV)
Futureproof?
Will my existing items fit and work?:
Enermax 550W PSU
Maxtor DiamondMax HDDs (I doubt if I have the SATA 'thingies' anymore)
3-port Firewire Card
err, probably other stuff..
):• AMD Athlon 64 4000 Retail / Asus A8N-SLi Premium / 2GB Corsair XMS PC3200 Dual Channel Kit - Bundle (BU-027-OK)
• Asus ATI Radeon EAX-X1900 XT 512MB GDDR3 AVIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-086-AS)
• Silverstone Temjin TJ05 - Silver (No PSU) (CA-006-SV)
Futureproof?
Will my existing items fit and work?:
Enermax 550W PSU
Maxtor DiamondMax HDDs (I doubt if I have the SATA 'thingies' anymore)
3-port Firewire Card
err, probably other stuff..
What games are those? If you do get that motherboard you cannot have dual ATI GFX system. If you do want a upgrade path with ATI GFX buy the same motherboard as me. Unfortuantly Nforce and ATI 3200 chipsets aren't compatible with each others dual card configs (fine with single though) If you want upgrade path with Nvidia's buy that motherboard you've mentioned, but replace GFX with 7900GTX.
If possible I would consider a dual core CPU - Quake 4, Call of Duty 2, Battlefield 2 are some games with Dual Core support. I noticed DVD shrink uses the two cores (probably Windows sharing out load to both cores) Photoshop also will use dual core. I would swop that Asus ATI for another, they're all the same so get the cheapest. Powercolour or Sapphire for example. Get plenty of RAM. 1GB as a minimum, but because of pricing and issue of slower memory performance when using four sticks I would go for 2GB straight away - 2x 1GB modules (PS needs it!)
That PSU should be enough, HD's will work (not that I would trust Maxtors) but I would buy a SATA for boot drive (noticed performance difference between the three I have, the two smaller drives are 7200rpm but PATA) Don't need firewire card, motherboard has them..unless you need more ports
You need hard drives, optical drives, power supply, monitor, keyboard, mouse, soundcard...depending on what you're going to salvage from your existing components, or build a new system and leave the other system in working condition.
If possible I would consider a dual core CPU - Quake 4, Call of Duty 2, Battlefield 2 are some games with Dual Core support. I noticed DVD shrink uses the two cores (probably Windows sharing out load to both cores) Photoshop also will use dual core. I would swop that Asus ATI for another, they're all the same so get the cheapest. Powercolour or Sapphire for example. Get plenty of RAM. 1GB as a minimum, but because of pricing and issue of slower memory performance when using four sticks I would go for 2GB straight away - 2x 1GB modules (PS needs it!)
That PSU should be enough, HD's will work (not that I would trust Maxtors)
but I would buy a SATA for boot drive (noticed performance difference between the three I have, the two smaller drives are 7200rpm but PATA) Don't need firewire card, motherboard has them..unless you need more portsYou need hard drives, optical drives, power supply, monitor, keyboard, mouse, soundcard...depending on what you're going to salvage from your existing components, or build a new system and leave the other system in working condition.
Last edited:
As a quick fix (I do actually value my marriage 
) would this work?
• PowerColor ATI Radeon X850 XT 256MB DDR3 VIVO TV-Out/DVI (AGP) - Retail (GX-058-PC)
• Corsair 2GB DDR XMS3200C2PT TwinX (2x1GB) CAS2 (MY-079-CS)
Here's my current spec again:
• Abit NF7-S v2.0 (Supports 2 DIMM DDR 400 Max 2Gb)
• Athlon XP3000+ @ 43ºC CM Aero 7+
• 1Gb PC3200 DDR RAM
• Enermax 550W PSU
• ATI 9800 Pro (256Mb)
How much better is this card than the 9800 Pro? Is it the best ATI AGP card available?
Sorry for the muck around but can I really justify a £1000+++ spend just to play the occasional game?... Probably not.
*
) would this work?• PowerColor ATI Radeon X850 XT 256MB DDR3 VIVO TV-Out/DVI (AGP) - Retail (GX-058-PC)
• Corsair 2GB DDR XMS3200C2PT TwinX (2x1GB) CAS2 (MY-079-CS)
Here's my current spec again:
• Abit NF7-S v2.0 (Supports 2 DIMM DDR 400 Max 2Gb)
• Athlon XP3000+ @ 43ºC CM Aero 7+
• 1Gb PC3200 DDR RAM
• Enermax 550W PSU
• ATI 9800 Pro (256Mb)
How much better is this card than the 9800 Pro? Is it the best ATI AGP card available?
Sorry for the muck around but can I really justify a £1000+++ spend just to play the occasional game?...
Probably not.*
I believe the Nvidia 7800 gs 512mb si the best agp card available at £282. I have the one down BFG 7800 gs.
Also, if you have 1 gb stick already, just get another matching 1gb one.
What is the fastest processor your mobo can support?
Btw, most high end gfx card require at least a psu with 12v @ 20+amps max. I learnt that the hard way.
Also, if you have 1 gb stick already, just get another matching 1gb one.
What is the fastest processor your mobo can support?
Btw, most high end gfx card require at least a psu with 12v @ 20+amps max. I learnt that the hard way.
Last edited:
The specs on the PSU itself should have information. A Nvidia or ATI 850 should be a upgrade over the 9800, google search for benchmarks/reviews. You're going to pay a premium for AGP videocards so I wouldn't spend too much (comparing the cost to PCIE cards of the same model) Need to upgrade brothers machine also (Geforce 440MX) so probably look into a £100-£150 card also.
Pairing a 7800 with that processor will not help massively. The graphics card will outrun the CPU and the high end cards depreciate enormously.
How about a 6800GS - that's still a massive improvement over the 9800, but it's relatively cheap at £135 at the moment. That's about what you'll lose in depreciation in 6 months on the 7800. And a 6800GS will run most games full-on at sensible resolutions.
How about a 6800GS - that's still a massive improvement over the 9800, but it's relatively cheap at £135 at the moment. That's about what you'll lose in depreciation in 6 months on the 7800. And a 6800GS will run most games full-on at sensible resolutions.