*****THE OFFICIAL "SPEC ME" THREAD*****

[kiiight]

Hi Guys,

Another newbie here, please play gently with me!

BUDGET: £1500

Processor: Yes
Motherboard: Yes
Memory: Yes
Graphics Card(s): Yes
TV Card: No
Hard Drive(s): Yes
Optical Drive(s): Yes
Cooling: Yes
Water Cooling: No
Cable(s): No
Sound Card: No
Controller Card(s): No
Case: Yes
Power Supply: Yes

Keyboard: Yes
Mouse: Yes
Headset: No
Speakers: No
Monitor(s): Yes - 20" to 22"
Operating System: No

Uses: Main uses will be photoshop and music production.
Overclocking: Maybe, never really tried to do it, could be interested though.

Cheers

Lee

 

[otemu]

I Love this thread

BUDGET:£1500 - £1600 (but if you can get it lower great lol)

Processor:Yes (is core 7i worth it? or Quad the way to go?)
Motherboard:Yes
Memory:Yes (DDR3? or is DDR2 still best?)
Graphics Card(s):Yes single card solution please (285GTX??)
TV Card:No
Hard Drive(s):1TB (two if you can fit in budget)
Optical Drive(s):Blueray with DVD Writer (but it it helps with budget blueray is not essential)
Cooling: Do I need it?
Water Cooling:No
Cable(s): Do I need cables?
Sound Card:Always used onboard is getting a card worth it?
Controller Card(s):No
Case:Yes (Antect 900 maybe heard 1200 is massive? I do like fancy looking cases like the alienware)
Power Supply:Yes (Seems be quiet is popular)

Keyboard:Yes (are them gaming keyboards good?)
Mouse:Yes (Razor maybe?)
Headset:Yes (Seems this the way to go when playing FPS now but if it going to mess with the budget i can get it later)
Speakers:Yes
Monitor(s):Yes (24" - 26" would be nice but can budget fit that in)
Operating System:No already have orginal copys of 32bit XP and Vista

Uses:Well mainly in this order
Gaming (fallout 3, Crysis, Call to Juarez, Obvilion and any other high sepc game that get my mouth watering)
Design and Development (3d Max, Maya, Photoshop, Illustrator etc)
Movies (HD and DVD)
Multi-Tasking (Normally have several programs running at once when programming, use a lot of applications)
Overclocking:No (Unless you recommend it

To bad overclockers don't do computer desks......

Do Overclockers do discounts when you spend in bulk like this............

I normally keep my machines on a average 4 years so hopefully as best future proof as you can make it.

Thanks a lot look forward to your recommendation

 

[viperfx]

I want to buy a pc. I will use it for gaming and usual surfing. Also some web development. Im thinking of getting cheap parts so i have decided to get AMD processor and a nvidia card (cause of compatible issues with some games, such as free ones).
Here is a list of what i think i should buy, please post any suggestions and some feedback please.

AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 5200 2.70GHz (Socket AM2) - Retail £52.89
Asrock ALiveXFire-eSATA2 (Socket AM2) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £40.24
OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-6400C5 Dual Channel Vista Gold Series DDR2 (OCZ2G8004GK) £33.34
Zotac GeForce 9800 GT 512MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (ZT-98GES4P-FDR) £94.29
OCZ StealthXStream 600w Silent SLI Ready ATX2 Power Supply £60.94
Western Digital Caviar Blue 320GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (WD3200AAKS) £40.24
Samsung SH-S223F/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.09
NZXT Guardian 921 Crafted Series Tower Case - Black (No PSU) £68.99
= £407.02

Can you suggest please any better parts or do you think i have a part which is worth not getting?

 

[jambus]

Hi Guys,

Another newbie here, please play gently with me!

BUDGET: £1500

Processor: Yes
Motherboard: Yes
Memory: Yes
Graphics Card(s): Yes
TV Card: No
Hard Drive(s): Yes
Optical Drive(s): Yes
Cooling: Yes
Water Cooling: No
Cable(s): No
Sound Card: No
Controller Card(s): No
Case: Yes
Power Supply: Yes

Keyboard: Yes
Mouse: Yes
Headset: No
Speakers: No
Monitor(s): Yes - 20" to 22"
Operating System: No

Uses: Main uses will be photoshop and music production.
Overclocking: Maybe, never really tried to do it, could be interested though.

Cheers

Lee

Hey buddy, can understand why you might not want to, but in terms of main uses, ditch the idea of a PC, particularly if you're into music production or even photo manipulation. Get a mac with Logic Pro (the single best music production programme to date) and Aperture (for photo's, far better than photoshop IMO and far easier to use) you can also use Photoshop on a mac. Unless your going to game, you'd be far better off with a mac. Like I said, can understand why you wouldn't want to, I personally don't like mac but not a single person I know who is at least semi professional at either of the two main uses you've stated uses a PC. Anyway, just my two cents

 

[kiiight]

A mac would be great, but I already own genuine software for a pc and all my current projects are pc based. It's just easier to use a pc and although it's main uses are music and photoshop, it's still used by my girlfriend and me to surf the web, word process etc. A pc is just easier all round. Cheers for your two cents worth though. It's nice to know what other people think.

 

[viperfx]

bump

 

[thepower8]

Hi, Im new here and this would be my 1st build

BUDGET: £650

Processor: Yes
Motherboard: Yes
Memory: Yes
Graphics Card(s): Yes
TV Card: No
Hard Drive(s): Yes
Optical Drive(s): Yes
Cooling: Yes
Water Cooling: No
Cable(s): No
Sound Card: No
Controller Card(s): No
Case: Yes
Power Supply: Yes

Keyboard: No
Mouse: No
Headset: No
Speakers: No
Monitor(s): No
Operating System: No

Uses: 3D Cad rendering and high end gaming.
Overclocking: Maybe, never really tried to do it, could be interested though.

I will be using it on a 32" 720p LCD

Cheers

 

[dalzY]

What shall I do?

Zalman GT1000 Z-Machine Case - Black

EVGA GeForce GTX 260 "Core 216 55nm" 896MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI

Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 "Energy Efficient SLACR 95W Edition" 2.40GHz

Corsair TX 750W ATX2.2 SLI Compliant Power Supply

Asus P5Q Intel P45 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard

Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM

OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 PC2-8500 Gold Edition 4GB Dual Channel

Zalman CNPS9700-NT nVidia Tritium CPU Cooler

Samsung SH-S223F/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter (Black)

Thinking of buying this machine
What do you think? Should I front up a few more hundred pounds and go i7?
Or just upgrade in a year or 2 with a new mobo, chip and ram?

Thanks,

 

[icey_haj]

Acrebo:

That price is including this Asus 22" monitor.

 

[icey_haj]

snip

 

[mindjuicer]

BUDGET: £200-300

Processor: Yes
Motherboard: Yes
Memory: 1-2GB
Graphics Card(s): Not yet
TV Card: No
Hard Drive(s): No
Optical Drive(s): No
Cooling: Yes
Water Cooling: No
Cable(s): No
Sound Card: No
Controller Card(s): No
Case: No
Power Supply: No

Keyboard: No
Mouse: No
Headset: No
Speakers: No
Monitor(s): Not yet, eventually a 3D one.
Operating System: No

Uses: Looking for bang-for-buck. Current AGP motherboard is dying so need to upgrade ASAP. Long term uses will be Windows 7 and proper 3D gaming (probably with a 3D monitor). Hence, in ~6 months, will probably buy an Nvidia card with a ton of fillrate and an IZ3D monitor.
Overclocking: Probably

 

[sketch145]

BUDGET: £200-300

Processor: Yes
Motherboard: Yes
Memory: 1-2GB
Graphics Card(s): Not yet
TV Card: No
Hard Drive(s): No
Optical Drive(s): No
Cooling: Yes
Water Cooling: No
Cable(s): No
Sound Card: No
Controller Card(s): No
Case: No
Power Supply: No

Keyboard: No
Mouse: No
Headset: No
Speakers: No
Monitor(s): Not yet, eventually a 3D one.
Operating System: No

Uses: Looking for bang-for-buck. Current AGP motherboard is dying so need to upgrade ASAP. Long term uses will be Windows 7 and proper 3D gaming (probably with a 3D monitor). Hence, in ~6 months, will probably buy an Nvidia card with a ton of fillrate and an IZ3D monitor.
Overclocking: Probably

How about this?


The Phenom II 720 overclocks like a beast and to be honest you're going to want at least tri-core to go 3d.

Also the motherboard I've chucked in supports SLI so you can use 2 graphics cards (you'll need all that power for running 3d graphics)

4GB of 800Mhz memory is probably minimum for 3d gaming (also its the same RAM I use in my system)

I've heard good things about the coolers that are included with the phenom II's so you might not need the scythe cooler.

 

[mindjuicer]

I think that's a great system. I've done a fair bit of research since and AM2+ seems to be the most future-proof motherboard that is reasonably priced.

I've also realised that you have to pair CPU & graphics card closely:
http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=807

As such, it's a bit wasteful to buy a Phenom II unless I get at least a 4850 to go with it.

I'm leaning towards 790GX over 750a simply because of AMD are more likely to support it over its lifetime. If the IGP on the 750a was better it would be worth getting as dedicated Physx hardware.

I'm also going to try to repair the caps on my motherboard since I'm just going to junk it anyway.

Thanks for your help. This is a great service.

 

[original.wood]

hi, i posted a thread before but based on a system i found that i wanted to better or equal to.

BUDGET: £600

Processor: Yes
Motherboard: Yes
Memory: Yes
Graphics Card(s): Yes
TV Card: No
Hard Drive(s): Yes
Optical Drive(s): Yes
Cooling: Yes Air
Water Cooling: No
Cable(s): No
Sound Card: No
Controller Card(s): USB 2.0, card readers, fans
Case: Yes
Power Supply: Yes

Keyboard: No
Mouse: No
Headset:No
Speakers:No
Monitor(s):No
Operating System: Vista

Uses: Everyday, Gaming, Video Conversion AVI - DVD burning
Overclocking: medium

 

[icey_haj]

hi, i posted a thread before but based on a system i found that i wanted to better or equal to.

 

[Snaggle]

need a spec . have done one myself but wanna see what u guys come up with please

BUDGET: £500 (give or take £20)

Processor: Yes
Motherboard: Yes
Memory: Yes (4gb)
Graphics Card(s): Yes
TV Card: No
Hard Drive(s): Yes (500mb)
Optical Drive(s): Yes (sata dvdrw)
Cooling: Yes Air
Water Cooling: No
Cable(s): No
Sound Card: No
Case: Yes
Power Supply: Yes

Keyboard: No
Mouse: No
Headset:No
Speakers:No
Monitor(s):No
Operating System: Have vista 64

Gaming pc . WOW/BF series etc . So what can you do !!

 

[Snaggle]

Nobody??

Persil

 

[steve258]

Nobody??

Persil

and save £11 on delivery as a member if you are eligible.

 

[dim_pwn]

Hey Guys. (>.<)

I really am out of touch with whats-what so be bowing to your better judgement on what i need.. Thanks in advance.

BUDGET:£800-1200 Sorry to be vague but i really just want something that just hits the point in performance where paying more gives diminished returns for £. Might pay more if needed but hopefully i can get it in this range.
Processor: Yes (I like the look of i7 but open to suggestions)
Motherboard: Yes
Memory: Yes (as much/as fast as poss 4-6+)
Graphics Card(s): Yes good gaming one(s) (2 poss? Will pay more if worth it)
TV Card: Not sure
Hard Drive(s): 1 (1TB min) Should i get other smaller/faster HD as well for installing games/windows on? Help?
Optical Drive(s): 1 (DVDRW) Guess thats all i need unless you have any suggestions for something fun.
Cooling: Yes (prefer more than needed)
Water Cooling: No
Cable(s): No
Sound Card: Yes
Controller Card(s): No
Case: (personal choice)
Power Supply: Yes - dont wanna cut corners here....

Keyboard: No
Mouse: No
Headset: No
Speakers: Yes
Monitor(s): No
Operating System: Vista 64-bit (this ok for gaming?)

Uses: Mostly Gaming (WOW/AoC etc) - really just want a system that will play any current market game at full settings at max fps.

Overclocking: As i *wish* my GF would say more often......Never done that before but would be willing to try it...... so mild+ overclocking ability would be preferable.

 

[formatuk]

Hey Guys. (>.<)

I really am out of touch with whats-what so be bowing to your better judgement on what i need.. Thanks in advance.

BUDGET:£800-1200 Sorry to be vague but i really just want something that just hits the point in performance where paying more gives diminished returns for £. Might pay more if needed but hopefully i can get it in this range.
Processor: Yes (I like the look of i7 but open to suggestions)
Motherboard: Yes
Memory: Yes (as much/as fast as poss 4-6+)
Graphics Card(s): Yes good gaming one(s) (2 poss? Will pay more if worth it)
TV Card: Not sure
Hard Drive(s): 1 (1TB min) Should i get other smaller/faster HD as well for installing games/windows on? Help?
Optical Drive(s): 1 (DVDRW) Guess thats all i need unless you have any suggestions for something fun.
Cooling: Yes (prefer more than needed)
Water Cooling: No
Cable(s): No
Sound Card: Yes
Controller Card(s): No
Case: (personal choice)
Power Supply: Yes - dont wanna cut corners here....

Keyboard: No
Mouse: No
Headset: No
Speakers: Yes
Monitor(s): No
Operating System: Vista 64-bit (this ok for gaming?)

Uses: Mostly Gaming (WOW/AoC etc) - really just want a system that will play any current market game at full settings at max fps.

Overclocking: As i *wish* my GF would say more often......Never done that before but would be willing to try it...... so mild+ overclocking ability would be preferable.

Powercolor ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 2048MB GDDR5 TV-Out/Dual DVI/HDMI (PCI-Express) - Retail (AX4870X2 2GBD5-H) £344.99
(£299.99) £344.99
(£299.99)
MSI Eclipse SLI Intel X58 (Socket 1366) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard MSI Eclipse SLI Intel X58 (Socket 1366) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard £275.99
(£239.99) £275.99
(£239.99)
Intel Core i7 920 2.66Ghz (Nehalem) (Socket LGA1366) - OEM Intel Core i7 920 2.66Ghz (Nehalem) (Socket LGA1366) - OEM £229.99
(£199.99) £229.99
(£199.99)
OCZ Reaper 6GB (3 X 2GB) DDR3 PC3-15000 (1866MHz) Tri-Channel (OCZ3RPR1866C9LV6GK) OCZ Reaper 6GB (3 X 2GB) DDR3 PC3-15000 (1866MHz) Tri-Channel (OCZ3RPR1866C9LV6GK) £137.99
(£119.99) £137.99
(£119.99)
Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (WD1001FALS) Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (WD1001FALS) £97.74
(£84.99) £97.74
(£84.99)
Corsair TX 650W ATX SLi Compliant Power Supply (CMPSU-650TXUK) Corsair TX 650W ATX SLi Compliant Power Supply (CMPSU-650TXUK) £83.94
(£72.99) £83.94
(£72.99)
Noctua NH-U12P CPU Cooler (Socket AM2/LGA775) Noctua NH-U12P CPU Cooler (Socket AM2/LGA775) £48.29
(£41.99) £48.29
(£41.99)
LG GH22NS40 22x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM LG GH22NS40 22x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM £18.39
(£15.99) £18.39
(£15.99)

add a case you'll be on 1300, X-FI sound card comes with mobo. Overclock like a dream and easy, future proof and plenty of room for upgrade when needed (2-3 years or so)