Custom Computers

[Bluegrass]

Looking to renew my outdated lump of dust and metal.

On researching Computer Planet, i've chosen a decent enough spec but im not sure if everything is compatible.

Such as, will a 350w PSU be enough for a 512mb ATI graphics card?

Or will the case, fans of a AMD 64 X2 and the grpahics card fan produce a lot of noise? (Although I doubt it's possible to tell from reading a spec??)

£309 all in sounds fairly reasonable - any problem with the spec for general gaming?

Black and Silver ATX tower case

AMD ATHLON 64 X2 4600+ 1MB SKT-AM2

ASUS SKT-AM2 M2N-MX SE PLUS M-ATX 2000MT/s

2GB DDR2 PC-6400 800 MHZ

Sapphire ATI HD2600PRO 512MB PCI-E

350w PSU

160GB SATA hard drive

Motherboard Integrated 5.1 Sound

Squeeze QuadroFlow VIII - Low Noise

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic SP1 64-BIT

[tom aky]

Looks god i think the fan noise wont be a problem and graphics crd should be great.

[Tomm]

I'd be worried about that PSU, definitely. It's not all about watts but if that's a cheap PSU that comes with the case it's unlikely to be up to the task. Secondly that 2600 is not going to be good for games at all. Something like an x1650 is cheaper and better (for games), but if you're serious about using it for games you want to spend a lot more on a graphics card. Also have you considered Intel core duos? I don't know the exact price difference but I know AMD don't compare that well to Intel for 90% of things.

[tom aky]

Intel core 2 duo are beasts on my lappy im using nvidia 512mb thats nice its 2gig ram 2.2ghz processor. If your looking for games pc id be happy to have a look around on web for one? Think AMD quadcore is only good AMD proccessor.

Edited June 4, 2008 by tom aky

[Bluegrass]

Excellent, thanks for the advice. I was unsure whether AMD or Intel were better, the general concensus on computer forums is both have good/bad points over the other. Regarding the graphics card - as a complete novice I would see '512MB' and think wooow it'll be great, but thanks for the warning. I'll research the x1650 (what make is that?). I think I can upgrade the PSU to, say, 650 Watts but as you said if it's cheap quality, its false economy buying higher wattage.

[tom aky]

I use NVIDIA 8400M GT its 512mb and works great on the games i play the test for me was the golf game i play on internet with old card i had it would lagg and glitch now its perfect.

[Tomm]

I'll research the x1650 (what make is that?).

Also ATI. Those are the only two cards I know that are less than £40, because I was looking at buying one and although the 2600 is newer, it's also slower for games as it's designed to be a cheap low power card for media centre PCs (so it has hardware decoding of DivX). Unfortunately I don't really know what to recommend.

EDIT: Actually I'm thinking of the 2400 not 2600. I don't really know what the 2600 is like, but probably not much better. Maybe have a look at this site: http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/graphic...-score,538.html

[forteh]

Lose the vista and it will be much betterer

I have near the same spec rig at home except I have a 4400 x2, 3 gig of normal ddr and 7900gs sli running win xp - it plays most recent games at high-max quality with reasonable framerates although some of the newer pc releases (not xbox360 ports) do make it struggle a bit.

You will definitely need a better psu, Im using an OCZ 520w and never had any problems with it - spend as much as you can afford on your psu, especially if you are intending to upgrade to a better spec at a later date

[tom aky]

Vista is only slow on windows related programmes it will not affect game speed.

[forteh]

Vista is only slow on windows related programmes it will not affect game speed.

It does if the graphics drivers are absolute bobbins

Also you need twice the memory for games to run under vista against xp

Edited June 4, 2008 by forteh

[JD™]

Feel free to check the other pages as well, but this is the one that graphically shows that Vista is slower in games than XP

[anzo]

It does if the graphics drivers are absolute bobbins

Also you need twice the memory for games to run under vista against xp

Ditto. Its rather demanding on resources - personally In this situation I'd stick with XP to get the most out of your components. But hey, some people like Vista...probably.

[strat-trials]

Personally i'd go for something like this,

The graphics card should play pretty much anyhting you throw at it, case is just a basic cheap case, decent psu, decent size hdd and enough memory for vista or xp. If you want 4 gig of memory you will need a 64 bit operating system, which i also left off so you could choose what you wanted.

My rig is, Pentium c2d e4300, 1.8ghz oc'd to 2.66 (dual core), ATI x1900xtx, 250gb hard drive, 2 GB memory and vista 32bit. Not found a game it cant play, even had Supreme Commander running dual screen with 2 other online players and just about managed to get through that. Again, crysis looked awesome, not tried DX10 yet but that will be next to really see if there is any difference.

[Tomm]

That graphics card (9600) is about 4 years old though, and was never particularly fast when it came out. It won't be much cop for modern games at a reasonable resolution and fps. You'll definitely struggle for £300, but I'd cut back in other areas to get a decent graphics card if you want to play recent games.

[forteh]

That graphics card (9600) is about 4 years old though, and was never particularly fast when it came out. It won't be much cop for modern games at a reasonable resolution and fps. You'll definitely struggle for £300, but I'd cut back in other areas to get a decent graphics card if you want to play recent games.

A single nvidea 9700gs on that system will play most modern games at acceptable framerates, you can pick them up for about 50 quid now

Infact I have one spare right now

[Bluegrass]

Thanks for all the replies. Been great help. I was aiming to use an online company (PCspecialist, Computer Planet) to customize the parts I want and have them build it because i don't feel too confident in building (can install new RAM, lol) Probably could build it if I put some time and thought in, but don't have much time.

Gonna go with Intel Dual Core. Although im confused as my current Intel CPU is a good 5 years old and is 3ghz, yet the newer CPU's seem to be less. Is this down to improved technology allowing performance yet lower GHz?

I also have 2 copies of Windows XP at home from other computers which I can re-use (I think one disc has been installed on 2 computers, so a third should be fine what with CD keys and all that??? hmm)

So think I'll change some components to something like:

Intel® Pentium® DualCore E2220 (2 X 2.40GHz)800MHz FSB/1MB Cache

2GB CORSAIR DDR2 667MHz

ASUS® P5N-MX: DDR2, S-ATA II, 1 x PCI-E x16, 2 PCI

512MB GEFORCE 8400GS PCI Express + DVI + TV-OUT

500W (Peak) Quiet Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan

£301 inc. VAT and delivery from pcspecialist.co.uk

With regards to installing my own copy of Windows XP, is it simple? Will the new copmuter arrive in the post, I turn on the machine, insert XP CD and click a few boxes to install?? Not familiar with the process.

[forteh]

Installing windoze is pretty easy if you apply a little logic and follow the instructions

I dont know about the mobo youre getting but if youre installing windows onto a SATA hard disk, mine requires that you have a floppy drive to install the drivers (from floppy disk) for the sata controller before you start trying to install windows - just something that you should be aware of; you can alway sborrow a floppy out of another machine

When setting up windows its a sensible time to create any partitions if you want to, I have my 160gig disk split into 20 and 140 so I can format C:\ but still retain most of my stuff on the D:\. All instructions are on screen so nothing really to worry about.

As youre buying new you should have current drivers disks and software, always worth going and downloading the latest version of the drivers for your hardware as the ones that they come with are invariably out of date the moment theyre shipped

You can always ask on a friendly forum if you get stuck

[anzo]

With regards to installing my own copy of Windows XP, is it simple? Will the new copmuter arrive in the post, I turn on the machine, insert XP CD and click a few boxes to install?? Not familiar with the process.

Pretty much, yes. Its all step-by-step and anyone could do it

Regarding the building, thats fair enough if you don't feel confident enough, but it is very easy indeed. Obviously read up on it and be careful not to make the same mistakes as others...but for me personally, building it up from components is part of the fun, but hey, its up to you

[trials_pimp]

That PSU Will not work with your spec.

I had a 350W PSU, and When I upgraded my Graphics card to a 8800 GTX my PSU Wasnt up to the task, and My graphics card was telling me it didnt have enough power and was running in reduced mode.

Got a Decent 700W from Ebuyer and now its lovely

[Krisboats]

Feel free to check the other pages as well, but this is the one that graphically shows that Vista is slower in games than XP

Shame that's over a year old now, back from when driver support wasn't really up to scratch. The performance in vista game wise is practically negligible now and its only the people who don't actually know what they're on about that continue to belittle it. I made a full comparison of my games 3 weeks ago to decide whether the full switch to vista was worthwhile. In far cry i get around 12 fps faster in vista than xp, CS:S seems to vary between 1-2fps slower and 5fps faster depending on what's happening on screen, supreme commander is around 1fps difference, crysis is 1-2fps slower in vista, dirt is the same in both, doom 3 is the same in both, quake 4 runs faster in vista as does oblivion.

Graphics card wise, the 8400 will be pants. Its so slow its not even on the toms hardware vga charts. The 8500 is one of the slowest on the chart too.

You'd be far better buying the card separately from somewhere like ebay and going for an older, but better card. Like the x1950pro for just £50. You would also be better off with an e2180 processor and a better fan. With the stock fan and changing a couple of numbers in the bios my e2180 is currently sat at 3.3ghz on the stock cooler. The e2180 is usually guaranteed to be able to reach 3.0ghz, the price difference between the two almost pays for the slightly more expensive card i suggested which would see far better results than a faster processor and much slower graphics card like you've got lined up.

You'd maybe be better off with getting a lower rated PSU from a more reliable line, like the enermax PSU's. The psu will not waste as much power as a larger unbranded one and it'll be far more reliable for running higher powered equipment. I.e. using 475watts worth of stuff is far safer on a decent 450/500watt PSU than using the same on a cheap 700watt one. People spend so much money on graphics cards and processors but always try and skimp out on the power supply, essentially the one item keeping them all running.

[strat-trials]

That graphics card (9600) is about 4 years old though, and was never particularly fast when it came out. It won't be much cop for modern games at a reasonable resolution and fps. You'll definitely struggle for £300, but I'd cut back in other areas to get a decent graphics card if you want to play recent games.

Your thinking ATI 9600,

I'm on about Nvidia 9600 that was released around Feb this year.

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/01/04/nv..._preps_9600_gt/

Also, going by the website you mentioned (pcspecialist) I made this,

Here is your chosen specification...

Processor (CPU)

Intel® Pentium® DualCore E2180 (2 X 2.00GHz)800MHz FSB/1MB Cache

Memory (RAM)

2GB CORSAIR DDR2 667MHz - LIFETIME WARRANTY! (2x1GB)

Motherboard

ASUS® P5N-MX: DDR2, S-ATA II, 1 x PCI-E x16, 2 PCI, etc

Operating System

NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED

USB Options

6 x USB 2.0 PORTS (4 REAR + 2 FRONT) AS STANDARD

Memory - 1st Hard Disk

250GB SERIAL ATA II HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (7200rpm)

2nd Hard Disk

NONE

RAID (HDD 1 & 2)

NONE

1st CD/DVD Drive

20x Dual Layer LightScribe DVD Writer ±R/±RW/RAM

2nd CD/DVD Drive

NONE

Graphics Card

512MB GEFORCE 9600GT PCI Express + DVI + TV-OUT

2nd Graphics Card

NONE

Sound Card

6 Channel Onboard High Definition Audio (As standard)

Modem

NONE, I WILL BE USING BROADBAND

Network Facilities

WIRELESS 54Mbps NETWORK CARD (£12)

Floppy Disk Drive

NONE

Memory Card Reader

INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (READS XD, MS, CF, SD, etc)

Case

Stylish Black/Silver Sigma case + 2 front USB

Power Supply & Case Cooling

500W (Peak) Quiet Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (£22)

Processor Cooling

STANDARD CPU COOLER

Firewire & Video Editing

NONE

TV Card

NONE

Monitor

NONE

2nd Monitor

NONE

DVI Cable

NONE

Keyboard & Mouse

NONE

Mouse

NONE

Speakers

NONE

Printer

NONE

Surge Protection

NONE

Webcam & VoIP

NONE

Media Center Kit

NONE

Anti-Virus

NONE

Office Software

NONE

External Hard Drive

NONE

Warranty

1 Year Return-to-Base incl 1st Month Free Collect & Return

Delivery

STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)

Quantity

1

Other Features Included As Standard...

Software

CD/DVD authoring software and Power DVD software is included with all DVD Writers.

Ports

Each computer comes with 1 x PS/2 keyboard port and either 1 x PS/2 mouse port or 2 extra USB ports.

Fans

Where necessary your computer will come with extra case fans fitted.

Memory

Our memory comes with a 100% tested lifetime warranty!

Bezels

All our drives come in either silver, black or beige and are all of a

high quality & matched brand.

Support

We offer lifetime hardware technical support during normal office hours.

Cables & Manuals

A power cable, all drivers, manuals, and a heatsink & fan are included with every order.

Service

Our computers come fully assembled & thoroughly tested. We are so confident

in the quality of our computers that we offer a free collection and re-delivery service* should you ever have a problem with your computer.

Installation

If you order an operating system it will come fully installed with the CD and licence key.

And Finally

If you are lucky enough to have seen a cheaper quote, click here.

The Windows Genuine Advantage

We have noticed that you have not added an operating system to your current chosen specification. Although it is not required that you purchase an operating system with your order, we strongly recommend that an operating system is supplied and installed by us, as we will be able to support you better should you have any problems.

If you are planning on installing a non-genuine copy of Windows on your order, did you know that you will not be able to obtain updates from Microsoft, which could leave security holes on your PC? You can learn all about the Windows Genuine Advantage here.

Price for this PC System:

Price for this PC System:

£321.70 ex VAT.

£378 inc VAT and Delivery.

Should be ok for what you want, from the options they give.

Edited June 5, 2008 by strat-trials

[Bluegrass]

Thanks for the comments. Although, my asshole of a brother put a spanner in the works and said "why not just buy a games console, PS3 or 360?" and now thats really got me thinking. My current computer is fine for internet and uni work, but I would upgrade primarily for games.

Just buy a console and use a usb keyboard/mouse for the cheaper PC gaming experience???

[anzo]

But do you have a decent enough TV to benefit from a PS3 or 360?

[Krisboats]

Power Supply & Case Cooling

500W (Peak) Quiet Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (£22)

Did you read anything i wrote? Whats the point in buying a load of decent hardware only to power it by a cheap, unreliable and inefficient power supply?

[strat-trials]

Did you read anything i wrote? Whats the point in buying a load of decent hardware only to power it by a cheap, unreliable and inefficient power supply?

I was just going throught the website he had quoted as saying he was going to use.

Obviously I wouldn't use a power supply like that, hence why in the machine I specced further up I had mentioned a better one, whilst staying between £3-400 overall cost.