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Building a computer...
OK, so I need some advice from any geeky types out there 
. I'm wanting to build my own PC - my old Dell 800 is getting painfully slow and annoying, so I'm thinking of putting some bits together and coming up with a faster desktop.
Couple of questions for ya
Are there are makes of RAM that are particularly good? I'm looking for some stable, cheap 512 DDR.
Any sites (other than EBuyer of Dabs) that would do decent, good value RAM? Or any other bits for that matter?
I'm going to want to play Unreal Tournament a fair bit, so I want a semi decent graphics card (for someone on a budget!) Any ideas?
And finally, does anyone have any cunning plans as to where I would fit said PC when I came home from uni?!
(OK, so you probably couldn't help with that one!)
Sorry if its a bit random, I just need to pick peoples brains a bit - any suggestions welcome
. I'm wanting to build my own PC - my old Dell 800 is getting painfully slow and annoying, so I'm thinking of putting some bits together and coming up with a faster desktop.Couple of questions for ya
Are there are makes of RAM that are particularly good? I'm looking for some stable, cheap 512 DDR.
Any sites (other than EBuyer of Dabs) that would do decent, good value RAM? Or any other bits for that matter?
I'm going to want to play Unreal Tournament a fair bit, so I want a semi decent graphics card (for someone on a budget!) Any ideas?
And finally, does anyone have any cunning plans as to where I would fit said PC when I came home from uni?!
(OK, so you probably couldn't help with that one!)
Sorry if its a bit random, I just need to pick peoples brains a bit - any suggestions welcome
15 Replies and 6635 Views in Total.
What sort of budget do you have?
Posted: 19:19 Jul 07 2004
Around the £400-£500 mark...depending on how much I earn over the summer
Kind of limiting, but I'm not after real top of the range stuff, just relatively fast that can browse the net, play UT and not lock up everytime I tell it to do more than 2 things at once!
Does that help?
Kind of limiting, but I'm not after real top of the range stuff, just relatively fast that can browse the net, play UT and not lock up everytime I tell it to do more than 2 things at once!
Does that help?
Posted: 19:51 Jul 07 2004
Yup
Any bits you can/want to keep? like Monitor etc?
(Edited by Stoo 07/07/2004 19:58)
Any bits you can/want to keep? like Monitor etc?
(Edited by Stoo 07/07/2004 19:58)
Posted: 19:55 Jul 07 2004
Nope...my current pooter is a laptop so its going to have to be new everything...and I'd like it to black and kinda swish looking though
I don't want much....honest
I don't want much....honest
Posted: 20:02 Jul 07 2004
lol, okay then
I'll have a hunt around and see what I can come up with
I'll have a hunt around and see what I can come up with
Posted: 20:09 Jul 07 2004
I've got an ebuyer quote and things...I think I know roughly what I want, just wanted a bit of advice on RAM and graphics cards.
I really need something to do with myself other than uni work!
Heres some ebuyer quick find codes for the stuff I was considering...
47076 - Processor
51403 - Case, Keyboard, Mouse and Speakers
55275 - Graphics Card
46420 - RAM
58481 - DVD writer
52159 - HDD
48753 - Monitor
and the bf has a decent ASUS mobo he says I can pinch
See what you think
(Edited by head2head 07/07/2004 20:27)
I really need something to do with myself other than uni work!
Heres some ebuyer quick find codes for the stuff I was considering...
47076 - Processor
51403 - Case, Keyboard, Mouse and Speakers
55275 - Graphics Card
46420 - RAM
58481 - DVD writer
52159 - HDD
48753 - Monitor
and the bf has a decent ASUS mobo he says I can pinch
See what you think
(Edited by head2head 07/07/2004 20:27)
Posted: 20:22 Jul 07 2004
processor.. avoid!! It's really really slow 
case.. it'll be cheap and nasty (the cuts you can get from cheap cases are *nasty*)
graphics.. bit chuggy..
I came up with this:
It's bit over budget, but it's pretty future-proof, small, and potent
You could get that price down under the budget by going with a cheaper monitor (wouldn't recommend it), smaller hdd (do-able if you go with 80gigs, especially with the dvd-rw), slower cpu (xp2400 perhaps) and cheaper video card (not really worth it) though
I've built a few around that system and they always last really well, and are solid and reliable little systems
(Edited by Stoo 07/07/2004 20:59)
case.. it'll be cheap and nasty (the cuts you can get from cheap cases are *nasty*)
graphics.. bit chuggy..
I came up with this:
Base unit: £140 - www.cpucitystore.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=150 CPU: £66 - www.cpucitystore.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=392 Ram: £63 - www.crucial.com/uk/store/PartSpecs.asp?imodule=CT6464Z40B&cat=RAM Graphics Card: £47 - www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=799489540&action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=56689 HDD: £68 - www.cpucitystore.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=356 Monitor: £82 - www.simply.co.uk/productinformation/93171/WW/ADI_MICROSCAN_V75F_17_FLAT_CRT_-_BLACK/index.htm Mouse: £30 - www.cpucitystore.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=415 Keyboard: £7 - www.cpucitystore.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=326 DVD:£55 - www.cpucitystore.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=413 Total = £558
It's bit over budget, but it's pretty future-proof, small, and potent
You could get that price down under the budget by going with a cheaper monitor (wouldn't recommend it), smaller hdd (do-able if you go with 80gigs, especially with the dvd-rw), slower cpu (xp2400 perhaps) and cheaper video card (not really worth it) though
I've built a few around that system and they always last really well, and are solid and reliable little systems
(Edited by Stoo 07/07/2004 20:59)
Posted: 20:55 Jul 07 2004
Will look into that, although thats probably too much over budget,,,is the processor really that slow? Whats more important...more RAM or a bigger CPU?
Posted: 21:09 Jul 07 2004
Yup, the celeron really is that slow, even a duron is faster..
512mb ram should be enough and you can always add another stick at a later date if you need more, the cpu's not going to make a huge amount of difference between the 2500 and the 2400, but you save quite a bit of money, if you want to save even more there's always a duron, but you lose a fair bit of power, but not as much as using a celeron would..
512mb ram should be enough and you can always add another stick at a later date if you need more, the cpu's not going to make a huge amount of difference between the 2500 and the 2400, but you save quite a bit of money, if you want to save even more there's always a duron, but you lose a fair bit of power, but not as much as using a celeron would..
Posted: 11:17 Jul 08 2004
Right OK...I was initially going to go with an AMD Athlon, but when the bf said he had a spare mobo for intel I was tempted...
Back to the Althlon then
Graphics card...any recommendations in terms of specs?
Thanks for all the help by the way...much appreciated
Back to the Althlon then
Graphics card...any recommendations in terms of specs?
Thanks for all the help by the way...much appreciated
Posted: 12:39 Jul 08 2004 
Totally depends what you want to do with your pc really......
On those kinda cpu (and budget) getting a Ati x800 or a Nvidia 6800 based gpu is totally useless
You are best off looking at the previous generation of gpu's.
If you want to use your cpu for watching tv / movie editing getting something down the line of a Ati 9800se all in wonder. Pretty cheapish nowadays and still it has a bit of a kick to it when it comes to games.
If you don't really need those kinda features you can get a previous generation mid range (ati 9600 pro / xt for example) relatively cheap with enough boost to it compared to your cpu.
It will not run games like doom 3 and half life 2 on very high resolution with everything on (but than again the current flagships can hardly do that )but it will still let you play these games without too much issues.
On those kinda cpu (and budget) getting a Ati x800 or a Nvidia 6800 based gpu is totally useless
You are best off looking at the previous generation of gpu's.
If you want to use your cpu for watching tv / movie editing getting something down the line of a Ati 9800se all in wonder. Pretty cheapish nowadays and still it has a bit of a kick to it when it comes to games.
If you don't really need those kinda features you can get a previous generation mid range (ati 9600 pro / xt for example) relatively cheap with enough boost to it compared to your cpu.
It will not run games like doom 3 and half life 2 on very high resolution with everything on (but than again the current flagships can hardly do that
)but it will still let you play these games without too much issues.
Posted: 12:54 Jul 08 2004 
I found these guys to quite helpful when I got a new PC a few weeks back:
Park Computers
Soft Sell Computers
Hope that helps!
Having said that, I'll ask Phoenix - Aeon to take a peek at this thread and see what he thinks... it's gotta be said, having a techie as one of your best mates has its advantages!
Park Computers
Soft Sell Computers
Hope that helps!
Having said that, I'll ask Phoenix - Aeon to take a peek at this thread and see what he thinks... it's gotta be said, having a techie as one of your best mates has its advantages!
Posted: 13:41 Jul 09 2004 
Also worth a look is www.komplett.co.uk
Good eggs, even if they are norwegians
Good eggs, even if they are norwegians
Posted: 17:08 Jul 12 2004
www.ebuyer.com
www.scan.co.uk
www.tekheads.co.uk
www.aria.co.uk
www.dabs.com
www.kustom.co.uk
www.savastore.com
www.insight.com/uk
www.stak.com
www.simply.co.uk
www.microdirect.co.uk
Should keep you going
www.scan.co.uk
www.tekheads.co.uk
www.aria.co.uk
www.dabs.com
www.kustom.co.uk
www.savastore.com
www.insight.com/uk
www.stak.com
www.simply.co.uk
www.microdirect.co.uk
Should keep you going
Posted: 17:41 Jul 12 2004