Hi all,
I have just spent 20 minutes writing a very long post on this subject only for my IE to crash and it all to be lost, even from my copy. That is one of the many reasons I can't wait anylonger to move on from this ancient 98 system!
Basically I am a novice with computer hardware, however I have decided it is time to dive into the hardware world and start to learn a little more in this area. Where better to start than building myself (A much needed!) new system.
I am from the UK, and trying to find out just where it is actually best to purchase hardware from. I need to find out which online sales companies are cheap/reliable/good customer care. Any advice appreciated on this subject!
I have a budget of £1000 (Maxium +£100) and after doing some research in the past two days on the internet I am currently considering:
(Component/Provisional Selection/Found Price ->Thoughts)
Processor/AMD A64 3200+/£185
Depending on how my final system budgets ends I may just upgrade to the 3400+. However I think any kitty left to play with would go on other hardware.
Motherboard/MSI K8T Neo/£76
I know there are several others being recommend. Maybe you would recommend another above this, and could tell me the pros and cons of each?
RAM/1GB DDR PC3500/N/Haven't selected a brand yet...
PC3500 would be the best decision for my system on this budget I think? Or maybe it is PC3200, let me know your opinion. Additionally, I am aware that many people are saying buying from the likes of Corsair, Kingston, Kingshaw... isn't RAM based on specs and not manufacteurers? Isn't there any quality RAM providers outside the top price range manufact'?
Would I need ECC, dual-band or any of that other special type for my system?
Graphics Card/Gigabyte Radeon 9800 Pro 256mb/£237
I seen a basic Radeon 9800 with 256mb for a significantly lower price than this one. Would there really be a major difference in performance between the two cards now or in the future? What is your recommendation?
Soundcard/Creative Audigy2 ZS/£86
I was told by a few people Audigy is leading in the audio field out on its own, and it seems creative are the only active soundcard company? Maybe I just didn't find any alternatives yet.
Was wondering if their was a cheaper rival with a card offering the same stats for a lower price you would recommend, or if you thought I had made the right decision here.
Hard drive
Now this subject is also one I really need some help with. One guy I spoke to advised me to buy a 74GB SATI 10,000RPM hard disk. I will surely buy a SATI hard disk, however I wonder if I would be better buying a 160/200GB 7,200RPM SATI hard drive instead?
Would it have a significant effect on the performance of my system at the moment or in the future? Is so, how much and what would you recommend?
Afterall a 200GB 7,200 rps is still substantially smaller in price the 10rpm hard drive. Please note noise isn't a big issue, just aslong as it doesn't sound like morse code it shouldn't bother me too much? ^^
Case
There are so many cases. Mini, midi ATX, are they both suitable for my system? Is which you select just based on personal aesthetic preferance or are there real pros and cons to each? If so can somebody explain to me please.
A lot of these cases come with built on PSUs, I heard that it is quite important to have a half decent CPU, and its best to have 4watts for a system such of mine, is that correct, if not what would you recommend?
Would I need to purchase any additional fans or such, or are they usually contained with the casing? The heatsink fan and gel comes with the A64s I have been lead to believe, are they suitable until I decide ti overlock? (If I do..)
Monitor
After searching around I found a few TFT 15 inches for under £200. However I heard that all TFTs have a problem with ghosting atm and have been recommended to stick with a CRT for value for money and graphics, have I been told correctly?
Are there any monitors you would recommend? What is important, spec-wise in a monitor to make it good for gaming (Needs to be ok for infreuqent word processing tasks I do..)? Should I got for a 17 inch or 19 inch monitor with my budget? Would the difference in performance be noticeable if I used the same budget for a 17 and 19 and compared their performance?
Speakers
I have looked arround at the surround speaker systems offered. They range anywhere from £25 to £500, obviosly anything over £100 I haven't even considered on my budget.
What would you recommend and are any systems specifically known to work well with my sound card or are they all the same on that front? How much would you suggets I spend? I heard there was a creative surround system for around £70 too..
Other Stuff
There's a few other things I'd need as I am starting from scratch. I haven't been gaming for quite some years now as my PC isn't in the best way. Hence I have no idea about the PC gaming pad situation.
I am sure there are a lot of hardcore gamers here, I need to find a value for money, reliable and quality game pad which can cope with playing with all the latest games and stuff.
Ditto for a webcam, DVD-R(8x)W(5x)/CD-RW combo drive and cordless keyboard & mouse. There are so many around, so many places to look, I hope some experienced hardware experienced people could really help me out!
Any recommendations, suggestions are greatly appreciated people, I could really do with some help amd support!
Kind Regards
Calla
P.S: I really could do with an experienced mentor or two to speak with directly on MSN to help decide on my final hardware configuration and eventually when I purhcase my components to guide me on putting my PC together and getting it up and running! If you are not too busy and ready to help a novice, let me know 😀
"Today is a gift, that is why it is called the present"
I have just spent 20 minutes writing a very long post on this subject only for my IE to crash and it all to be lost, even from my copy. That is one of the many reasons I can't wait anylonger to move on from this ancient 98 system!
Basically I am a novice with computer hardware, however I have decided it is time to dive into the hardware world and start to learn a little more in this area. Where better to start than building myself (A much needed!) new system.
I am from the UK, and trying to find out just where it is actually best to purchase hardware from. I need to find out which online sales companies are cheap/reliable/good customer care. Any advice appreciated on this subject!
I have a budget of £1000 (Maxium +£100) and after doing some research in the past two days on the internet I am currently considering:
(Component/Provisional Selection/Found Price ->Thoughts)
Processor/AMD A64 3200+/£185
Depending on how my final system budgets ends I may just upgrade to the 3400+. However I think any kitty left to play with would go on other hardware.
Motherboard/MSI K8T Neo/£76
I know there are several others being recommend. Maybe you would recommend another above this, and could tell me the pros and cons of each?
RAM/1GB DDR PC3500/N/Haven't selected a brand yet...
PC3500 would be the best decision for my system on this budget I think? Or maybe it is PC3200, let me know your opinion. Additionally, I am aware that many people are saying buying from the likes of Corsair, Kingston, Kingshaw... isn't RAM based on specs and not manufacteurers? Isn't there any quality RAM providers outside the top price range manufact'?
Would I need ECC, dual-band or any of that other special type for my system?
Graphics Card/Gigabyte Radeon 9800 Pro 256mb/£237
I seen a basic Radeon 9800 with 256mb for a significantly lower price than this one. Would there really be a major difference in performance between the two cards now or in the future? What is your recommendation?
Soundcard/Creative Audigy2 ZS/£86
I was told by a few people Audigy is leading in the audio field out on its own, and it seems creative are the only active soundcard company? Maybe I just didn't find any alternatives yet.
Was wondering if their was a cheaper rival with a card offering the same stats for a lower price you would recommend, or if you thought I had made the right decision here.
Hard drive
Now this subject is also one I really need some help with. One guy I spoke to advised me to buy a 74GB SATI 10,000RPM hard disk. I will surely buy a SATI hard disk, however I wonder if I would be better buying a 160/200GB 7,200RPM SATI hard drive instead?
Would it have a significant effect on the performance of my system at the moment or in the future? Is so, how much and what would you recommend?
Afterall a 200GB 7,200 rps is still substantially smaller in price the 10rpm hard drive. Please note noise isn't a big issue, just aslong as it doesn't sound like morse code it shouldn't bother me too much? ^^
Case
There are so many cases. Mini, midi ATX, are they both suitable for my system? Is which you select just based on personal aesthetic preferance or are there real pros and cons to each? If so can somebody explain to me please.
A lot of these cases come with built on PSUs, I heard that it is quite important to have a half decent CPU, and its best to have 4watts for a system such of mine, is that correct, if not what would you recommend?
Would I need to purchase any additional fans or such, or are they usually contained with the casing? The heatsink fan and gel comes with the A64s I have been lead to believe, are they suitable until I decide ti overlock? (If I do..)
Monitor
After searching around I found a few TFT 15 inches for under £200. However I heard that all TFTs have a problem with ghosting atm and have been recommended to stick with a CRT for value for money and graphics, have I been told correctly?
Are there any monitors you would recommend? What is important, spec-wise in a monitor to make it good for gaming (Needs to be ok for infreuqent word processing tasks I do..)? Should I got for a 17 inch or 19 inch monitor with my budget? Would the difference in performance be noticeable if I used the same budget for a 17 and 19 and compared their performance?
Speakers
I have looked arround at the surround speaker systems offered. They range anywhere from £25 to £500, obviosly anything over £100 I haven't even considered on my budget.
What would you recommend and are any systems specifically known to work well with my sound card or are they all the same on that front? How much would you suggets I spend? I heard there was a creative surround system for around £70 too..
Other Stuff
There's a few other things I'd need as I am starting from scratch. I haven't been gaming for quite some years now as my PC isn't in the best way. Hence I have no idea about the PC gaming pad situation.
I am sure there are a lot of hardcore gamers here, I need to find a value for money, reliable and quality game pad which can cope with playing with all the latest games and stuff.
Ditto for a webcam, DVD-R(8x)W(5x)/CD-RW combo drive and cordless keyboard & mouse. There are so many around, so many places to look, I hope some experienced hardware experienced people could really help me out!
Any recommendations, suggestions are greatly appreciated people, I could really do with some help amd support!
Kind Regards
Calla
P.S: I really could do with an experienced mentor or two to speak with directly on MSN to help decide on my final hardware configuration and eventually when I purhcase my components to guide me on putting my PC together and getting it up and running! If you are not too busy and ready to help a novice, let me know 😀
"Today is a gift, that is why it is called the present"
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