Time to buy a new computer - ~£900 to spend

[galadial]

The time has finally arrived, the money is in the bank, and I want to play Oblivion at more than a slideshow. The first question is - should i upgrade? Should i wait for AM2? Will socket 939 prices tumble after 6/6/06? Also, is the current technology able to play Oblivion well?

Anyway, these are my requirements:

1) I need a wireless network to link to my current PC
2) I need a 250Gb HDD to store my photos.
3) I have a monitor, printer, scanner etc.
4) I have ~£900 to spend but I could go up to £1100 - however I don't want to pay over the odds for the top end gear eg Radeon X1900 card

Any suggestions would be great.

G

 

[semi-pro waster]

I don't know how much the wireless network will cost but to be conservative here I've left about £100 in the budget, you could get an X1900XT or up the CPU probably if it doesn't cost that much or possibly change the motherboard for a DFI or similar if you want to overclock further.

CA-040-AN Antec Sonata II Piano Black Quiet Case - 450W Smart Power PSU (CA-040-AN)
£65.95 £65.95
MB-088-AS Asus A8N-E nForce4 Ultra (Socket 939) PCI-Express Motherboard (MB-088-AS)
£59.95 £59.95
MY-046-GL GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC3200 Value Dual Channel Kit CAS3 (GE2GB3200BDC) (MY-046-GL)
£94.95 £94.95
GX-048-PC PowerColor ATI Radeon X1800 XT 512MB GDDR3 AVIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-048-PC)
£194.95 £194.95
HD-046-WD Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB 2500KS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD-046-WD)
£55.50 £55.50
CP-152-AM AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 3800+ (Socket 939) - OEM (CP-152-AM)
£169.95 £169.95
FG-000-AR Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940) (FG-000-AR)
£15.95 £15.95
CD-026-NE NEC ND4551 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer LabelFlash ReWriter (Black) - OEM (CD-026-NE)
£25.95 £25.95
Subtotal £683.15
VAT £119.56
Total £802.71

 

[galadial]

This is similar to what I thought would be a decent rig. A few questions though:

1) will a 450W PSU be enough to power that rig with a possible CPU/GPU overclock and a second HDD and DVD-ROM?

2) Do I need a couple more case fans?

3) Sound card?

 

[ACESHIGH]

a 450w Antec PSU should be fine.

you can always add case fans if you feel its running too hot, but all should be ok at stock.

mobo has - AI Audio (8-channel Audio)
A8N-E has eight channels of audio output with Coaxial and optical S/PDIF connector designed to maximize your auditory experience. AI Audio also provides "Jack Sensing" and "UAJ" functions. "Jack Sensing" automatically detects and notifies user of any inappropriate connection. "UAJ" function enables both input and output functions each jacks, thus eliminates the confusion of Line-in, Line-out and Mic jacks once and for all!

 

[galadial]

a 450w Antec PSU should be fine.

you can always add case fans if you feel its running too hot, but all should be ok at stock.

mobo has - AI Audio (8-channel Audio)
A8N-E has eight channels of audio output with Coaxial and optical S/PDIF connector designed to maximize your auditory experience. AI Audio also provides "Jack Sensing" and "UAJ" functions. "Jack Sensing" automatically detects and notifies user of any inappropriate connection. "UAJ" function enables both input and output functions each jacks, thus eliminates the confusion of Line-in, Line-out and Mic jacks once and for all!

That sounds like a decent mobo. Can anyone give me an idea of the quality of the onboard audio compared to say a cheap Soundblaster PCI card?

Also, will this onboard sound solution work with my digital cambridge soundworks speakers?

 

[semi-pro waster]

That sounds like a decent mobo. Can anyone give me an idea of the quality of the onboard audio compared to say a cheap Soundblaster PCI card?

Also, will this onboard sound solution work with my digital cambridge soundworks speakers?

I don't use the onboard sound because I've got an Audigy2 but from listening to mates and what other people have said the solutions nowadays are perfectly decent and on a par with a cheap soundcard.

As long as your speakers don't have any connections other than normal 3.5" jacks then yes it will work no problem.