Liverpool FC Forum

[hawkmoon269]

Ok...I'm planning on building a new computer for home.  After 4 years with an Athlon 2200 and a GeForce 5500, I think I deserve an upgrade.  So this is the spec I was thinking, so comments and advice are appreciated:

1 @ AMD Athlon 64 3800+ 2.4GHz (Socket AM2)

1 @ Asus M2N32-SLi-DLX nForce 590 SLi (Socket AM2) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard

1 @ GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC5300 667MHz Value DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (GX22GB5300DC)

1 @ BFG GeForce 7600 GT OC 256MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express)

1 @ Zalman CNPS9500-AM2 Aero Flower (Socket AM2/939/754) CPU Cooler (HS-021-ZA)

3 @ Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 10 NCQ 80GB 6V080E0 SATA-II 8MB Cache - OEM (HD-095-MD) ###RAID 0 array###

Subtotal £545.60
VAT         £95.48
Total         £641.08


I mainly play games and edit video on the computer, so I'm looking for a good allrounder - but can't make up my mind whether to jump now with the above system, or hedge my bets and build one with a Intel Pentium 4 930 Dual Core "LGA775 Presler" 3.0GHz (800FSB), so that it can be upgraded to the Itel Conroe when it comes out.

Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh..........   

[Sabre]

Haven't checked the state of the art last months, but I've had a PC since 1988 and I know that buying the very last technology is a waste of money. Because

a) the price of the latest technology is too high on the early stages
b) It takes a while until the game programmers use the capabilities of the new hardware

[hawkmoon269]

That's what I was thinking - hence the 7600 and 3800.

[Mikz]

Jbg is the man to talk to about that, although I havent seen him on the forum in a while.

[adamnbarrett]

Jbg is the man to talk to about that, although I havent seen him on the forum in a while.

I haven't seen John around for a while either 

[2520years]

It's all Chinese to me, but I know JBG's around as he posted yesterday.  I've looked into building computers as I've got some mates who do it, but it never works out cheaper than buying one for me.

[Mikz]

Exactly. Although ya do see some bargains for parts on ebay.I know if i built one , and it was time to switch it on -it would be -STAND WELL BACK......BOOOOOOOOM!!

[2520years]

Exactly. Although ya do see some bargains for parts on ebay.I know if i built one , and it was time to switch it on -it would be -STAND WELL BACK......BOOOOOOOOM!!

I knew one of mine one needed replacing when smoke came out of the vents...natural wear and tear I told my family.

[hawkmoon269]

I've built quite a few for other people, when budget/spec weren't the object.  Mostly, large multi-processor NAS boxes for work.  But when I have to make a decision about spending my own money....welll that's a different matter.....

[Reinas No.1 Fan]

Include windows x64 in that list mate otherwise its pointless having a 64bit machine

[hawkmoon269]

Include windows x64 in that list mate otherwise its pointless having a 64bit machine

I don't think XP64 would give too much of an advantage yet.  The Mobo only takes 4Gb of Ram, so won't make use of the added Ram addressing in XP64.  Also, games/apps aren't really 64bit aware yet - so again not too much of an advantage. I saw a demo were they benchmarked XP32 against XP64 running several games - the results were virtually the same.

[Reinas No.1 Fan]

Well I have a 64bit processor in mine running win 32, however my friend is running win 64 and the difference in certain areas is alot better. I do graphical programming so that why i may see a benifit.

[JBG]

Windows 64 is a complete waste of time if you want to game. Driver support is still weak and that operating system will never be properly supported given that Vista is on the horizon.

The system you have choosen is pretty good, not state of the art but you are getting an excellent bang for your buck.

[hawkmoon269]

I'm not really looking for bleeding edge stuff - just cost effective.  I dont really want to spend more than approx £600.

[hawkmoon269]

So what graphics card - sub £140 - do I go for?