Dan6061 Posted April 30, 2006 Report Share Posted April 30, 2006 (edited) My mate came over earlier today to see if he could figure out my netowrking problem. Now, the PC in my room is many years old, and he thinks it hasn't got enough power to run everything. Basically everything's packed up on it, but it's had a good innings. I've decided to spend some money, and build up a new one. For £281 VAT'd and Delivered I can get... CPUAMD® SEMPRON® 64BIT 2800 + 1600MHz HTT/256K (754 pin) Memory1024 MB DDR400 PC3200 WITH LIFETIME WARRANTY! MotherboardFOXCONN 760GX WITH SIS760GX CHIPSET, 8X AGP, SATA, 3 PCI USB OptionsSIX USB 2.0 PORTS (4 REAR + 2 FRONT) Hard DriveSATA 80 GB HARD DISK @ 7200rpm 8mb cache Second Hard DriveNONE RAIDNONE DVD ROM/Combi Drive16X DVD ROM WITH 48X CD ROM CD/DVD WriterNONE Graphics Card 1INTEGRATED SIS REAL 256E GRAPHICS Graphics Card 2NONE Sound CardHIGH END ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL SOUND (RECOMMENDED) ModemNONE, I WILL BE USING BROADBAND Network Facilities10/100 NETWORK CARD FOR BROADBAND - AS STANDARD Floppy Drive/Card Reader1.44MB FLOPPY DISK DRIVE CaseBlack Stylish Case + 2 Front USB Power Supply & CoolingStandard 350W PSU + 80mm Fan (See Case Info) Operating System requiredNONE Firewire & Video EditingNONE MonitorNONE KeyboardNONE MouseNONE SpeakersNONE PrinterNONE Anti-VirusNONE Office SoftwareNONE TV CardNONE Warranty1 Year Return-to-Base Warranty + 1 Month Free Collect & Return All that. Is it worth it? It'll generally be for Internet, MSn, few programs such as Flash, Dreamweaver, loadsa music, and probably a few games. I'm fed up of having my slow pc, that can't handle anything. I went for 64bit to be special. Tell me what you think... EDIT: From here by the way: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk Edited April 30, 2006 by Dan6061 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Siders77 Posted April 30, 2006 Report Share Posted April 30, 2006 I'd probably say no. You can build a much better PC off for just as much, maybe a bit more. I'll edit in a min. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krisboats Posted May 1, 2006 Report Share Posted May 1, 2006 So long as the "few games" you're wanting to play on it are like pinball and minesweeper, maybe the trials construction yard style games at a push. It would most likely do the rest of the things you wanted it to do but that sempron processor is an old one. You might be better off looking at something newer and faster for all the work in like dreamweaver and stuff, though the ram should be alright for you to be chatting to multiple people on msn while using dreamweaver and listening to music.I personally think you should maybe put a little more towards it if you can and look at building it up yourself, failing that maybe a dell pc, but i've always been a little wary of dells for soem reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomm Posted May 1, 2006 Report Share Posted May 1, 2006 I'm not really up on prices at the moment, but I do know that you'll have trouble playing any games on that machine. Maybe Counter-Strike 1.6 at a push. Of course you can always buy a graphics card at a later date. The motherboard you've got there isn't particularly good, although it'll probably do the trick. No-name RAM is also probably a bad idea - it's worth paying the extra couple of quid and getting crucial/corsair/OCZ value stuff. Also an 80Gb hard drive is really small and at today's prices I wouldn't go smaller than 300Gb. Although as with the graphics card I guess you could always buy another hard drive when you fill this one up (80Gb goes VERY quickly).You could probably also do with a PSU better than 350W. It'll probably run that setup you have listed, but as soon as you try and put in a decent graphics card and/or an extra hard drive, it'll break down and cry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBProductions Posted May 1, 2006 Report Share Posted May 1, 2006 I would say no as you need your GPU more than peeple think, also hard drive spec is a bit poo , I would run a boot drive of say 40gb for programs make it a decent make thats reliable then run two big SATA 150 say 80gb or 160gb raided up to make double and also will give you fast access times on your data therefore matching your processors abilities. The Power unit is a bit low as well to match all your components with a bit of leway, also I would pay that little bit extra and get a dvd writer as they dont cost much at all anymore.People will probably slate my suggestions but this combination has worked for me doing , some webpages , video editing , games , and photoshop and im not even using the 64bit chip either and only starting to show age after 1 1/2 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Token Posted May 1, 2006 Report Share Posted May 1, 2006 heh looks a decent spec for the price your paying, upgrading though is going to be a kick in nuts. You'll have to replace the power supply to feed all those new power hungry components. 64bit is the sex at the mo, but to run Windows Vista this coming december you'll also need 2gb of ram to be comfortable with that. Gaming would also be pretty much a no no using it for msn an dreamweaver an poo like that would be pretty cool though oh and also Windows Vista requires graphics card to cope with HDCP and a new monitor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Siders77 Posted May 1, 2006 Report Share Posted May 1, 2006 oh and also Windows Vista requires graphics card to cope with HDCP and a new monitor Where have you heard that from? It seems a little silly buying Vista then having to fork out on a new monitor, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Extreme_biker0 Posted May 1, 2006 Report Share Posted May 1, 2006 It's from the internet bud, and it's true. There's no way i'll be paying to upgrade to vista with this crap in it.Buy it, no. Wait till I know it's been patched then pirate it, yes.With regards to the computer buying, I'd look at the offers that dell have on every now and then. Dell computers come with all support and stuff which is good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Siders77 Posted May 1, 2006 Report Share Posted May 1, 2006 That's stupid. But then again, it is Microsoft. You can get the BETA version of Vista pirate from a few places I wouldn't mind trying it though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Nick Riviera Posted May 1, 2006 Report Share Posted May 1, 2006 dont bother , its too f'kin slow.i hated my beta version , so i went back to XP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomm Posted May 1, 2006 Report Share Posted May 1, 2006 oh and also Windows Vista requires graphics card to cope with HDCP and a new monitorOnly if you want to play protected videos. VGA output will work fine for everything else.And if the Beta of Vista is rubbish, then finished version obviously will be Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Extreme_biker0 Posted May 1, 2006 Report Share Posted May 1, 2006 Ah cool that's all right then. I mean the pirate video's that (I hear) are on the net arent exactly going to be protected anyway. So the only people this protection system will hurt is those that pay for their dvd's. Sure is making me consider stopping pirating videos and buying them On another note, unlike previous versions of windows, aparently this one is going to stop you downloading updates if you are running a pirated version.What with windows security having more holes in it than a proverbial sieve, this could be quite a serious issue, and one that would make me consider linux as an alternative, seeing as all I use the pc for nowadays is office, the internet, and as a terminal server. Anyone know anything about terminal services on Linux? Any good etc? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomm Posted May 1, 2006 Report Share Posted May 1, 2006 Ah cool that's all right then. I mean the pirate video's that (I hear) are on the net arent exactly going to be protected anyway. So the only people this protection system will hurt is those that pay for their dvd's. Sure is making me consider stopping pirating videos and buying them Yeah, basically. I think it's also for up-and-coming things like pay-per-view films and things like that. Which I guess is a good idea, so I'm not going to turn my nose up at that. I think Vista will be worth paying for, though. It's really nice to have software updates and everything else working well. Considering how much you use your computer, £90 (or however much it'll cost) is not THAT much to pay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Extreme_biker0 Posted May 1, 2006 Report Share Posted May 1, 2006 Yeah, basically. I think it's also for up-and-coming things like pay-per-view films and things like that. Which I guess is a good idea, so I'm not going to turn my nose up at that. I think Vista will be worth paying for, though. It's really nice to have software updates and everything else working well. Considering how much you use your computer, £90 (or however much it'll cost) is not THAT much to pay.I would not normally argue against paying for software, but this case is different. First off, Windows XP home currently costs £170, so expect Vista to cost more than that. Secondly, the reason I resent paying that, despite thinking Microsoft have done a good job and deserve my cash, is that the product is not fairly priced. Bill Gates is the richest man in the world, followed by several other Microsoft top-dogs.£90 yes, ~£250, erm Linux please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaRtZ Posted May 1, 2006 Report Share Posted May 1, 2006 My computer knowledge is very limited, but what I do know is my desktop pc has a 2.1ghz processor, and im complaining its so slowMy laptop (currently in use) has a 3gb processor (hyperthreading? can someone explain that?) anyway its pretty damn good. I use it for video editing and that takes quite a big chunk out of my "computingliness" but it can stil handle itAs said above, I would suggest getting one compleltly customized built for you but then again, as before iknow nothing mr fawlty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deagledaddy Posted May 1, 2006 Report Share Posted May 1, 2006 I would not normally argue against paying for software, but this case is different. First off, Windows XP home currently costs £170, so expect Vista to cost more than that. Secondly, the reason I resent paying that, despite thinking Microsoft have done a good job and deserve my cash, is that the product is not fairly priced. Bill Gates is the richest man in the world, followed by several other Microsoft top-dogs.£90 yes, ~£250, erm Linux please. Hes most likely talking about the OEM copy which will be available....Like Windows XP home' is actually only £60 and Pro about £80/90 i think chillax aye! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomturd Posted May 1, 2006 Report Share Posted May 1, 2006 My computer knowledge is very limited, but what I do know is my desktop pc has a 2.1ghz processor, and im complaining its so slowMy laptop (currently in use) has a 3gb processor (hyperthreading? can someone explain that?) anyway its pretty damn good. I use it for video editing and that takes quite a big chunk out of my "computingliness" but it can stil handle itAs said above, I would suggest getting one compleltly customized built for you but then again, as before iknow nothing mr fawlty Hyper threading is pretty much the equivelent of having 2 processors. This could be totally wrong, but in normal processors, for each cycle it makes, it executes one statement. Each cycle can be referred to as the 'tick tock' of the clock. With HT processors, one statement it executed on the tick, and one on the tock. Doubling the speed of the computer.As for the thread, no matter where you go, unless theyre selling it way way cheap (unlikely), it will be cheaper to go on ebuyer.com, buy the bits yourself and build it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Cable Posted May 1, 2006 Report Share Posted May 1, 2006 Yea, vista is going to be fairly flashy from what I can see.....[attachmentid=4269]so its going to require a overly decent system just to run the OS which is going to be a tad silly... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomm Posted May 1, 2006 Report Share Posted May 1, 2006 Hyper threading is pretty much the equivelent of having 2 processors. This could be totally wrong, but in normal processors, for each cycle it makes, it executes one statement. Each cycle can be referred to as the 'tick tock' of the clock. With HT processors, one statement it executed on the tick, and one on the tock. Doubling the speed of the computer.Kind of, but it certainly doesn't double the speed. It basically means the computer has two "logical" CPUs (although only one physical CPU), so the operating system can send two commands at a time to the CPU. So basically there are two queues (of data) for the CPU, so things move a bit faster when the CPU gets a bit of free time. It's supposed to be something like 25% faster than non-HT CPUs in some programs, and no difference in others. People have said that it "smooths out" windows a bit and makes multitasking a bit more friendly. I think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Siders77 Posted May 1, 2006 Report Share Posted May 1, 2006 I wouldn't mind trying Vista. Do you think it's worth 'obtaining' a copy and putting it on another HDD? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomturd Posted May 1, 2006 Report Share Posted May 1, 2006 I wouldn't mind trying Vista. Do you think it's worth 'obtaining' a copy and putting it on another HDD? Nah not really. I've done exactly that and its nothing that special at the moment. You may as well just look up screen shots, theres a few reviews around of the Betas already.Worked on a non HD monitor aswell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nuke Bowel Posted May 1, 2006 Report Share Posted May 1, 2006 all vista is, is a riptake of max osx tiger and firefox bastards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Extreme_biker0 Posted May 1, 2006 Report Share Posted May 1, 2006 (edited) all vista is, is a riptake of max osx tiger and firefox bastards.Haha sort of.For your information, Vista's GUI is very advanced, what with all windows being able to be rotated in 3d, etc. Yes the glassy-ness of it all is a copy of OSX, but it does go a step further. Expect some very cool looking apps once programmers get used to programming the new style. This is why the system requirements for vista will be so high.As for firefox??? I still plan to use firefox over IE7 in Vista, I don't quite follow your point. How is the new version of windows going to be a copy of the Mozilla firefox web browser? Nah not really. I've done exactly that and its nothing that special at the moment. You may as well just look up screen shots, theres a few reviews around of the Betas already.Worked on a non HD monitor aswellWe're talking about HDCP not HD as in high definition. HDCP is about stopping copywrite protected films being pirated, HD is just more pixies in yer telly.It would not stop Vista working, it just fuzzes up videos that you're not supposed to be watching. Edited May 1, 2006 by Extreme_biker0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nuke Bowel Posted May 1, 2006 Report Share Posted May 1, 2006 Haha sort of.For your information, Vista's GUI is very advanced, what with all windows being able to be rotated in 3d, etc. Yes the glassy-ness of it all is a copy of OSX, but it does go a step further. Expect some very cool looking apps once programmers get used to programming the new style. This is why the system requirements for vista will be so high.As for firefox??? I still plan to use firefox over IE7 in Vista, I don't quite follow your point. How is the new version of windows going to be a copy of the Mozilla firefox web browser? OSX will still be more advanced in many ways, it always has been and always will. For an example will we all have to run anti virus software on our vista opperation systems, because i certainly dont on OSX, there's no need. Well, mc have totaly copied the skin of Mozilla firefox, i/e 7 is going to be using tabbed browsing. When will they come up with they're own ideas and at the same time provide mc users security? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark W Posted May 1, 2006 Report Share Posted May 1, 2006 Tabbed windows = popular and useful, so why not use them? If a shitload of PC users use Firefox anyway, why not just incorporate the bits that people find useful and helpful into another internet explorer? It's hardly a crime I wouldn't call not having to use a virus checker "Much, much more advanced" or whatever either. Maybe due to the higher profile of Microsoft, plus the fact that more PCs are used worldwide (and people continue to be f**king stupid with how they use them...), more people creating viruses are targeting them? At the end of the day though, I've had my virus checker running since we got this computer, and it's just sat there happily doing it's job. Every now and then I get an "Attempted Attack blocked" message or something along those lines, but I'd still rather have to deal with that than that f**king fanny of a system on Macs for just general, every day use. Either way, me hating Macs and you liking them is beside the point in some way; although it's kind of relevant in that no matter what Microsoft made for the new Windows, you'd still hate it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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