Where's the best place to go for a new PC?

[ChrisFilter]

Very nice. It won't play any games, but then you may well not give a shit. I'd go for a 750GB - they're not much more expensive.

ETA: Also, home users needn't really pay for Vista or XP. If you know where to look there are plenty of 'evaluation' copies floating about.

 

[Sunray]

For sound production ditch Vista and get an OEM copy of XP. The drivers are getting better for the sound cards, but still a bit shit. Creative hardware running on Vista is known to be very buggy. I think they are the main source of blue screens for Vista at the moment.

Get a pro-sound card for very similar money.

 

[FaradayCaged]

i hope you havnt bought it yet, the mobo you have selected probably wont fit into that case, your mobo is standard ATX whilst your case is desinged for a microATX mobo...

one of these very similiar cases will do http://microdirect.co.uk/(17353)Coolermaster-Elite-330-Black-silver-midi.aspx

 

[AndrewNumLock]

i hope you havnt bought it yet, the mobo you have selected probably wont fit into that case, your mobo is standard ATX whilst your case is desinged for a microATX mobo...

one of these very similiar cases will do http://microdirect.co.uk/(17353)Coolermaster-Elite-330-Black-silver-midi.aspx

Thank you!

 

[AndrewNumLock]

Thanks for the tips, advice etc everyone. I've just ordered all the bits now. The same as what I just posted, except a bigger Hard Drive and a slightly more expensive graphics card. I'm so excited! I'll post a couple of pictures when's it's all completed.

 

[FaradayCaged]

The same as what I just posted, except a bigger Hard Drive and a slightly more expensive graphics card.

thats what i like to hear! lol good man, bigger is always better

 

[Xanadu]

I always figured Dell was rubbish for computers in the more-than-£600 range

 

[alsoknownas]

It's more expensive than DDR2 that performs just as well, so it might as well be nine jillion times the price. The only people buying at the moment are overclockers and e-peeners. Everyone else is sucking up 4GB dual channel kits for £50 a pop.

What's an e-peener, out of interest?

 

[FaradayCaged]

What's an e-peener, out of interest?

ive always took it to mean those low-life WoW MMORPG type people, ala The Warlock off Die Hard 4

 

[alsoknownas]

ive always took it to mean those low-life WoW MMORPG type people, ala The Warlock off Die Hard 4

Oh, I see. And why the name?

 

[ExtraRefined]

Oh, I see. And why the name?

E-penis. Made larger by having the newest hardware amongst many other things

 

[alsoknownas]

E-penis. Made larger by having the newest hardware amongst many other things

Right.


Sorry I asked.

 

[Rikbikboo]

funny actually i am about to want to sell a pretty decent spec desktop.

amd 6400 black cpu
dual hard drives which i will wip
2 ati2900xt cards. (these both have 1gb of memory each
4gb of lovely ram ddr 2 800
asus mobo
and the 22inch lcd monitor to boot.
oh two dvd writers +-
nice box shiney lights etc
oh and 1100watt power supply

you need a decent psu for the gfx cards
its been a great gaming machine i just got my xps 1730 laptop ad am happy with my portable machine so its time to ditch the desk
oh and a lovely lighted keyboard. does blue purple or blue and have brightness control. playes crysis at max res 1680x1050 playable.

prolly soem other bits and bobs. ph yeas

drop me a pm maybe we can come to a arrangment.

 

[Cloud]

The day when I buy a built computer will be the day that I know I've gone totally senile.

Yes building your own can be a right pain in the arse and I've put various limbs through doors and windows in the process but I wouldn't have it any other way.

 

[mattie]

A quick question, but hopefully on-topic - what's the concensus about whether it's best to buy a barebones system or separate Motherboard, PSU and case? I bought an Asus Vintage from overclockers, around £90 and it's done me fine for a couple of years, and was a pile of piss to set up as it just needed drives, CPU and RAM dropping in.

 

[stdPikachu]

A quick question, but hopefully on-topic - what's the concensus about whether it's best to buy a barebones system or separate Motherboard, PSU and case?

Generally, it depends on your level of expertise/knowledge. Personally, I enjoy spending hours deliberating what the most efficient PSU is going to be if I buy this motherboard and this CPU and this RAM and assume it's going to spend 80% of it's life at 5% usage, 10% at 50% usage and 10% at 100% usage, other people know that they need ninety petabytes of RAM but only an 8Mhz CPU. Barebone kits mean you know everything is going to work well together, but gives you less leeway in getting exactly what you're after.

In summary:
If you're not willing to spend the time researching individual components but still want to build your own, barebones are great.
If you're a control freak with no life, spend a few hours researching all the various options and pick what seems to be the most favourable combination. If in doubt, ask the size wages of u75

 

[Cloud]

A quick question, but hopefully on-topic - what's the concensus about whether it's best to buy a barebones system or separate Motherboard, PSU and case? I bought an Asus Vintage from overclockers, around £90 and it's done me fine for a couple of years, and was a pile of piss to set up as it just needed drives, CPU and RAM dropping in.

If your shopping at Overclockers and worried about compatibility issues with the gear you're ordering then go for one of their excellent bundles.

Imo the barebones systems dont have decent enough PSU's