getting new computer

Am looking to buy a new comp as this one i have is now well out of date. But not being technically minded could do with some help from the afterdawn crew ie YOU. Use my comp mainly for gaming. Need to know roughly what processor to be looking for. Also i need to know what this clock thing is when talking about graphics cards and processors???? It's not something i really know about but am finding out it is important if i want top end games to run smoothly. I was really pissed to have just bought an XFX GeForce 7600 GT graphics card only to find out it is pci and not agp as my motherboard is. So it's time to update. I'm not filthy rich so keep answers cheap and cheerful but good enough to do task. Any other help in my task would be greatfully recieved.

 

What is your budget & where are you?

 

england and as little as poss. About £500 - £600. But its a rough spec guide i need more than anything. A check list of things i need to be looking for as i am the utimate technophobe and haven't a clue

 

Right as for a checklist youl need:

A case
A PSU (Power supply unit) Sometimes comes in the case you get]
A motherboard
A processor
A graphics card but youve got that one covered.
A Cd-dvd-R/Rw drive
A Heatsink
A Harddrive
Ram
A floppy (Not essential)

Theres no point speccing you out a computer till tommorow as there will be a price drop on lots of processors. So il have a look tommorow!!

 

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/

These chaps have quite a selection. I have got most of my parts from them..

 

Or:

http://www.ebuyer.com

Always have found them to be a lot cheaper. ALso the 8 pound shipping from overclockers is ridiculous.

Lecsiy

 

thats excellent guys or gals. can i just say afterdawn.com is the best. everyone i have spoken to so far has been nothing but helpful. i'm sure most of my posts have been brain dead questions and i've had nothing but genuine help (no sarcasm as on some sites) as a response. Thankyou all. Have looked on ebuyer (as i get all my goods from there) but again i don't really know what i'm looking at as far as spec goes. If you could both keep me posted that would be great. Once again many thanks

 

I've used E-Buyer too, Overclockers can be expensive esp with the price of fans etc.

dizzynoob, what do you want to use your PC for?

 

Mainly for gaming.

 

i also use it for dvd backup of my collection of dvd's so a cd/dvd+-rw (pref Dual/double layer) but not essential. if i was going to buy as in a build yourself comp i already have 786ram, graphics card, toshiba 5112 cd/dvd-rw, ext 120 western digital hdd. But i would pref to buy all in one ready built with expantion ports dor later installs

 

Wait ive lost you. I thought you had a graphucs card. You cant send your card to a company and theyl put it in a computer with other things.

If you wanna use that card youre gonna have to build your own computer!

Unless you wanna buy a computer and pay for a graphics card you dont wanna use.

 

Unlikely that the RAM will be compatible with a new MOBO. You will need a new MOBO for your graphics card, which means new pretty much everything.



Bummer!

 

i have a comp. fairly mainstream. agp board, radeon 9800 pro card in it. bought from e-buyer the geforce 7600gt which i found out now is pci not agp. was told agp cards are really a thing of the past so although i can get a agp equivalant of the 7600 gt it's not really going to be worth it. so hence my need to be looking for a new comp as most things now are going to be out of date. i can send the card back to e-buyer and get a refund and look for a comp ready built with what i want in it or can keep the card and go along the lines of a build yourself sys.

have seen this titan vantage on overclockers :-

- AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice CPU
- AMD approved cooler
- Asus A8N-E nForce4 Ultra PCI-Express Motherboard
- GeIL 1GB Value (2x512MB) DDR PC3200 CAS2.5 Dual Channel Kit
- 160GB Western Digital Serial ATA-2 8mb Cache Hard Drive
- BFG NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT OC 256MB DDR3 PCI-Express Graphics Card
- NEC ND4570 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter
- Onboard 6 Channel Audio
- Floppy Drive
- Antec NSK4400-UK Silent Midi Tower Case
- Antec 380W Silent ATX Power Supply

is that a good spec ???

will send my graphics card back to e-buyer. can get it again if needs be but am hoping to get all in one sys.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Full_Systems.html

 

sorry. was one post behind there lol. I take it MOBO means mother board and nothing to do with music awards. I figured that that would be the case but as i said earlier i'm a thickie when it comes to knowing what spec is up to date enough to be worth getting but not so up to date as to cost me a second morgage.

 

Get a one gig stick of memory, 2.5 CAS, not 2x 512 (you can then upgrade to 2 gig without too many probs). You could do with at least a 3500 CPU (3700 San Diego preferably, has 1meg L2 cache). All this will give you a really quick PC, plenty of scope for upgrades. I would have gone for a 7900 card.

Spend as much as you can now, that will save you on expensive upgrades in the future, if you wish to upgrade that is!

It will be worth it, I guarantee!

Get this cooler, it rocks;

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Arctic_Cooling_CPU_Coolers.html

Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940)

It's at the bottom of the page....

That means you only have to get a chip, the stock fan is just OK!

 

would you suggest to buy pre built or to go the route of building myself? If i build my self is it easy enough to do?

 

build it yourself. it's easy enough, i'm only 13 and i managed it. Pre-built systems are generally way overpriced considering what you get.

 

Well, that depends! the only way to learn is to do it yourself. You will need an OS (operating system), XP is pretty much what everyone uses. Some people have been known to borrow a friends disc, but we cannot condone that here!
Building a PC is dead easy, there is no soldering, you just chuck the parts together! It all depends how technically minded you are. If you can wire a plug, you can build a PC. Do you have a friend who could help?
The satisfaction is pretty good when you build your own. Installing XP is easy enough.
From bits to a working PC can be about 4-6 hours. Depends on your capabilities.

 

given the right parts i'm sure with luck and gods will i could knock it together. have done basics like get ram, graphics cards in the past etc. but never have gone down the road of total diy. Is it much cheaper doing your own? If i was to diy would you be able to help me gather what was needed to put it together (asking alot i know so a no will not offend)

 

Ask as much as you wish, that is why we are here. We all have to start somewhere!

There are never stupid questions, only stupid answers!

It is a lot cheaper & you get a far better PC on the end.

We all like helping people, otherwise we wouldn't be here!