Things Sure Have Changed..

[Leeky]

My present PC i built in early 2003, if i remember correctly it cost me about £800 in total to build. Was a 2ghz P4 which at that moment in time was cutting edge.

I've decided to buy a new PC, almost got caught and bought a branded one from Comet rather than build one myself as it seemed like the days of building your own PC have been and gone.

Anyway i wanted opinions on what i've decided to go for as like i said its been nearly 3 years since i built my P4 and hardware/costs have changed a lot so its taken a while to get to grips with what is out there.

Spec -

AMD Athlon 64 3200+

1GB DDR

200GB Seagate S-ATA 7200rpm

Foxconn 4K8AC-RS Motherboard (4x DDR, PCI Express, S-ATA, Nforce, Onboard Audio and Lan)

NVIDIA Geforce 6600GT 256MB GDDR

Windows XP 64

Obviously im going to have to put this all together myself but the machine in total will set me back £400.

Sound reasonable?

I have also 2x 120GB HDD's, Hauppauge TV card, another 1gb of ram, DVD/RW and firewire already out of my old machine to go into this new one.

[Gnome]

That's very reasonable IMO.

Especially for the kit and that fact that £400 would buy you a basic Dell machine, etc.

Who supplies you??? :D

[Leeky]

That's very reasonable IMO.

Especially for the kit and that fact that £400 would buy you a basic Dell machine, etc.

Who supplies you??? :D

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I get my parts from a company called Greenacre based in Reading. I get trade rate as i used to work there (and still do whenever they need some cover) ;) but otherwise they still are the cheapest around.

If you want to call then their number is 0118 9678989, make sure you tell them you got them on a recommendation from Leeky and they will probably give you free postage or something

[MIP]

Have a look here:

Stuff to buy here

There's a "Asus V9999TD GeForce 6800 128MB DDR TV-Out/DVI (AGP) - Retail (GX-085-AS"

Half way down the page. Even though its got less memory, it'd still be quicker by about a third than the 6600GT.

There are also compatability issue's with XP 64. If you've got normal XP, its worth installing both, dual boot. Infact, if you have XP, it might be worth just sticking with that, untill they release windows vista in about a year.

And although you can get a generic power supply, if you buy a branded one like 'antec' or 'enermax', then you can end up with more stable power, a more stable system, and one thats protected from surges and spike. Its better to have a 400W branded psu than a 600W no-name.

Oh, and on a tangent, you recommended me a garage in andover for my cambelt change n stoof. Would you mind PMing me their details, that'd be much appreciated

[sotal]

Looking at my local trade only place. I can get the above components (or very similar) for £328 inc VAT if that's any help

Not sure if you were including things like a case in the £400 or if you were using your old one

Also I didn't include Windows XP 64 as I'm guessing you might find that somewhere?? If not that adds another £99 to the price

[Leeky]

Half way down the page. Even though its got less memory, it'd still be quicker by about a third than the 6600GT.

There are also compatability issue's with XP 64. If you've got normal XP, its worth installing both, dual boot. Infact, if you have XP, it might be worth just sticking with that, untill they release windows vista in about a year.

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Cheers for the info, but that cards costs over twice what im paying for this 256mb one. Also windows vista is going to use hardware authentication, so you will 99% likely need one of the newest motherboards which have a unique global identifier to run vista.

On top of that its best to wait for an OS to have its first Service pack before going onto it as you then can avoid most of the initial issues

Looking at my local trade only place. I can get the above components (or very similar) for £328 inc VAT if that's any help

Not sure if you were including things like a case in the £400 or if you were using your old one

Also I didn't include Windows XP 64 as I'm guessing you might find that somewhere?? If not that adds another £99 to the price

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I thought i'd make sure i had a legit copy of windows as microsoft really are cracking down within the next 2years. £400 is everything, including retail windows xp 64. Only thing not included is a screen. Im still trying to figure out whether to buy a new tft 19" or stick with my 21" CRT :)

[sotal]

@MIP Overclockers is alright. I pop in quite a bit as I go past them nearly everyday they're just round the corner. Normally known for being a bit more expensive than most places round here but they do like to stock good products

[sotal]

Leeky post the prices of each item on your shopping list and I'll compare them, then if you find any are cheaper you can haggle!

[MIP]

Also windows vista is going to use hardware authentication, so you will 99% likely need one of the newest motherboards which have a unique global identifier to run vista.

On top of that its best to wait for an OS to have its first Service pack before going onto it as you then can avoid most of the initial issues 

I didn't know that. Won't that give MS a problem with actually selling upgrade coppies of vista? Not like microsoft to do themselves out of extra cash.

[sotal]

I thought the hardware authentication was just an idea. Didn't think it was definite yet and to be honest I doubt it will hapen. As MIP says it will lock all the older PC's out from using it. I'm guessing it wouldn't take long to crack anyway!

[Leeky]

I didn't know that. Won't that give MS a problem with actually selling upgrade coppies of vista? Not like microsoft to do themselves out of extra cash.

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From an OEM point of view (where microsoft sell the majority of their software) this wont be an issue.

Its not 100% that microsoft will do this, it may not be implemented after all. Microsoft were going to have Vista using their new WINFS system but i have since heard that they have decided against it thank god

We have a copy of Vista here and have been playing with it and to be honest i wont be using it any time soon ;) I'm gonna stick with XP, the only reason i want the 64 bit version if because im getting a 64 bit cpu. Otherwise i would just stick with XP 32

[knowlson]

We downloaded the MSDN copy of vista yesterday think one of the geeks here is going to try and install it

£400 sound like a good deal dude is the copy of windows you are getting oem or a retail version?

[Leeky]

is the copy of windows you are getting oem or a retail version?

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Retail dude, in the nice DVD style box

[Karma Supra]

Soundsa similar spec to my machine dude!!! I built mines months ago though... it cost me more then that :(

[Leeky]

Soundsa  similar spec to my machine dude!!! I built mines months ago though... it cost me more then that :(

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:D Hehe, how do you find the AMD cpu dude? I used to have an AMD Athlon 1ghz a few years back before i went to an intel. You finding it nice and stable now you got your power issue sorted?

[sotal]

I've got the 64bit 3Ghz AMD in my new Work machine that I built - It's spot on and very stable they don't use anything like the power that my AMD Athlon XP1800+ used that was just stupid.

Only thing I could do with is another gig of ram (1 just wasn't enough)

I tried the 64bit XP to start with but it was a right pain - didn't seem much faster and half my software didn't work. It's not for the average user but you don't sound like the average user ;)

[Karma Supra]

CPU is fine now I have decent power supply... don't bother with AMD cool an quiet" keep it turned off it seems to cause more problems then its worth!!!

I run lots for fans slowly on the coolermaster case.. loads of air flow, not much noise ;)

I'd deffo go this route again! but like i say I bought it ages ago and you pay a premium for "new" technology :( Currently at a gig of ram... may get more ;)

[Leeky]

Currently at a gig of ram... may get more ;)

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Well when you want more ram just let me know and i can get it for you on the cheap

[Karma Supra]

Sweeeeeeeet

[Gnome]

Duuudddeeeee!!!!

:D

[Ryan1985]

Wot does mine say? :P

Anyway, back on topic, Leeky, build me one and I'll pay you for all the bits and your time, I need a new computer, this thing is a boat!

Is it safe sending computers?

[Moffmo]

Wot does mine say? :P

Anyway, back on topic, Leeky, build me one and I'll pay you for all the bits and your time, I need a new computer, this thing is a boat!

Is it safe sending computers?

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plenty of people do it...