New build, looking for good but cheap components.

Hi everyone.

I want to build my own pc because it is so much cheaper than buying one premade.

I know where to put things etc and it is pretty easy to do, so thought it would be fun.

I can salvage a 320gb sata hard drive and a couple of cd drives from my old pc and everything else i need to scrap i think, what do you think? Maybe the memory too? These are the specs:



Motherboard
CPU Type AMD Athlon XP, 1800 MHz (13.5 x 133) 2200+
Motherboard Name Shuttle AK38(N) (5 PCI, 1 AGP, 3 DDR DIMM, Audio)
Motherboard Chipset VIA VT8367 Apollo KT333CF
System Memory 512 MB (PC3200 DDR SDRAM)
BIOS Type Award (02/12/03)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM1)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM2)
Communication Port Printer Port (LPT1)

Display
Video Adapter NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 440 (128 MB)
3D Accelerator nVIDIA GeForce4 MX 440

Multimedia
Audio Adapter VIA AC'97 Enhanced Audio Controller

Storage
IDE Controller VIA Bus Master IDE Controller
SCSI/RAID Controller ALi SATA/RAID Controller
Floppy Drive Floppy disk drive
Disk Drive Hitachi HDT725032VLA SCSI Disk Device (298 GB)
Optical Drive CREATIVE DVD-ROM DVD6240E (6x/24x DVD-ROM)
SMART Hard Disks Status OK

Partitions
C: (NTFS) 152617 MB (137133 MB free)

Input
Keyboard Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard
Mouse PS/2 Compatible Mouse

Network
Network Adapter Belkin 54g Wireless USB Network Adapter (192.168.0.4)

Peripherals
Printer PDFConverter
USB1 Controller VIA VT83C572 PCI-USB Controller
USB1 Controller VIA VT83C572 PCI-USB Controller
USB1 Controller VIA VT83C572 PCI-USB Controller
USB2 Controller VIA USB 2.0 Enhanced Host Controller
USB Device Belkin 54g Wireless USB Network Adapter
USB Device Logitech Mic (Orbit/Sphere MP)
USB Device Logitech USB Camera (Orbit/Sphere MP)
USB Device QuickCam Orbit/Sphere MP


I want to have a nice computer for going on the net, chatting on msn and playing games online. My pc now does a pretty decent job, even though it is rubbish! But it stalls ALOT and overheats and i really think it is time to just have something 100% consistent and reliable.

Possibly something for making videos on etc too because i like using my webcam to record, which is a £70 webcam but looks terrible on this pc.

Any help is really appreciated, thanks,

Richard.

I'd say chuck it, no headroom processor-wise, AGP is almost dead, but going down fighting, and pricing is good at the moment for a lot of kit...so give us a budget and we'll play.


Liam

Don't scrap your old setup, it would make a decent server should the need/desire arise someday.

Cheap and good are usually at opposite ends of the spectrum, but there are good deals around. what's your budget? £1000?:D

Nice file server there, or a backup for those just incase.

Well seeing as i have a 320gb hardrive a server for files wouldn't really be a space saver would it....?

Maybe i can sell the old parts together to someone who knows no better for 50-100 quid.

My sisters boyfriend says that i can make a decent pc for gaming etc for 350-400 quid, without the screen of course.

I think all of these places selling £1000+ pc's use alot of gimmicks to up the price.

What do you reckon?

Depend on what games you wanna play, what OS, what brands you use, you could build it using crappy components for £350-400, or go for a rig that will last a lot longer and double the budget.


Liam

Either of the following 'value' gaming systems could be put together for close to $1,000 (USD), including a 19" LCD monitor:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 System

• RAIDMAX Smilodon ATX-612WBP (with 500W PSU)
• AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ (3.0 GHz)
• Gigabyte GA-M57SLI-S4 (570 SLI) AM2
• Corsair XMS2 DDR2-667 2x1-GB
• WD Caviar SE 200GB (8-MB) SATA 3.0 Gb/s
• GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB (PCIe)
• 19" LCD with 5-8ms Refresh
• Logitech X-530 6-Piece Speaker System
• LG GSA-H62NK 18X SATA DVD Writer
• Logitech MX310 Mouse
• Microsoft Digital Media Pro Keyboard
• Windows XP Home or Vista Home Basic

Intel Core 2 Duo System

• RAIDMAX Smilodon ATX-612WBP (with 500W PSU)
• Core 2 Duo E6750 (2.66GHz)
• Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L (P35)
• Kingston ValueRAM DDR2-667 2x1-GB
• WD Caviar SE 200GB (8-MB) SATA 3.0 Gb/s
• GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB (PCIe)
• 19" LCD with 5-8ms Refresh
• Logitech X-530 6-Piece Speaker System
• LG GSA-H62NK 18X SATA DVD Writer
• Logitech MX310 Mouse
• Microsoft Digital Media Pro Keyboard
• Windows XP Home or Vista Home Basic

Quote:

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Originally Posted by richardw

Well seeing as i have a 320gb hardrive a server for files wouldn't really be a space saver would it....?

---

Well, right now that 320 might be enough for you. But you will probably find that in the near future, it is to small. And most of us do find that to happen.

Do you have a back up of all that is on that drive? It will quit working you know, but we all just hope that it will be later. Much later, but sometimes that is not the way it happens. Been there is why I stated what I did.

Last time it was a spike that scramble C;\ drive so bad I could not get anything off it with recovery programs. HDD was OK after I did a clean install.

Just my experiences.

It will never be too small for my needs, it has so much space left and i hardly need to put anything else on it as it is.

The only real things i will lose if it packs up are pictures of me, most are on the net though which i can save back onto my pc later.

I want windows XP because i have never had vista and don't really think i want to switch, xp is fine and works great so i'm happy with it.

Without the price of that involved i am talking about anyway because software can wait until i've made the computer.

To be honest 400 pound to make a computer surely would be good enough, i mean spending 800 on a computer self built, would be like buying a £1300 pc prebuilt just about! I want to play games like fifa 08, call of duty, medal of honour all multiplayer with good graphics etc.

Where would be good to start looking for things? Also where would be good to get a screen for a good value?

Steer clear of PC World, and Comet/Curry's/Dixons etc, online we have:

www.overclockers.co.uk

www.komplett.co.uk

www.scan.co.uk

www.microdirect.co.uk

www.oyyy.co.uk

www.saverstore.com

www.novatech.co.uk

www.dabs.com

www.ebuyer.co.uk

www.cclonline.com


Liam

Thanks for the links. Pc World is one of those evil companies, who prey on the dim witted public, who think they are getting good value goods, which are actually massively overpriced. Everytime i see one of their adverts i cringe!

15,000 US Dollar = 7,426.92 British Pound
That is 3/4th of what a top of the line gamer cost.

1,000 US Dollar = 495.128 British Pound
Check out Falcon NW http://www.falcon-nw.com/config/build.asp
Look at Buget and Bragging Rights.
Good luck!

I have uncontrollable outbursts and end up needing an oxygen tank...

So do you need:

Case?
PSU?
Mobo (Bundle?)
Processor(^^^)
RAM(^^^)
Graphics Card?
Sound Card (Or will onboard do?)
Optical Drive(s)?

I just thought it would be about a quarter of your budget on case and PSU, and then if you pick up a bundle, and a graphics card, it may go over £400.


Liam

Not too bothered about sound, as long as i can play music nicely on it i am more than happy, which most on boards can now do. If i need to get anything better i can easily fit in a sound card.

I basically need everything apart from a harddrive, I have speakers and a webcam but they are just accessories in comparison.

I will pick some things out and see what you think of them.

Sod picking stuff out actually, whatever i choose will be decent and i'll show you when i'm ready to buy.

What i really need to know is things like overclocking, how much could i overclock certain things to get the most out of them, saving myself money.

If i could get lots of info on saving money tips then that would be great :)

I wouldn't say get the most out of them, although the Core 2 overclock easily, you will void your warranty on day 1....


Liam

I have always had AMD, whats better, AMD or Intel? Intel is always more expensive....

Also, with the monitor issue, what is the REAL difference between a monitor like Acer and a monitor like Samsung? Same size, same everything apart from the name, but Samsung and other well known names are £40-50 more expensive.

Not everything apart from the name is the same on the surface, different panel, refresh rate, response time, contrast ratio.

What size were you looking at? Widescreen?

Intel at the moment rule the roost, and aren't more expensive in most cases when you place them side-by-side.


Liam

I don't know what it is but AMD make me feel as if i would be against the norm, a rogue and abit of a freedom fighter. Where-as having intel would make me feel like a conformist, why is that! haha, i bet i sound insane.

I was thinking of 22 inch monitor, but then when i measured my old crt monitor, it measured up as 14'' of viewable screen(19 inch from corner to corner) I think they measure lcd screens as the viewable screen, so i am imagining 22 inch of viewable screen compared to 14'' and that is massive!

So maybe 19-20'' screen is good enough! And yeah widescreen :P

I guess it depends on whether you're a fanboy towards graphics manufacturers, ATI+AMD are the same company now, Intel Core 2's and Quads outperform AMD chips pound for pound in gaming and video encoding, so if you want to do either, couple it with 2gb of DDR2 800, and an Nvidia 8600GT, on an Asus board, in a Thermaltake Case, with a Thermaltake PSU and you're good to go.


Liam

Looking at power supplies there is a vast difference in price. I'm just thinking, what is the massive difference? All they are are power for the real stuff to work surely?

Here is where most folks go cheap and later have major problems.
I.E. burn out mobos, cpu and other components.

Depending what all you place into your computer, you may want to start with a 600 watt psu and a good name brand. Some of those new video cards draw 300 - 350 watts by themselves.
Tagan, Xion, OCZ, Enermax, Thermaltake are good brands to use.
DO NOT short yourself on the ps.

I was looking at ddr3 memory, i know that it uses less resourses etc but would that be worth getting, or is it too expensive etc?


So suprised by the fact that i can buy 2gb of memory for £50 now, that's insanely cheap!


There is so much choice it's hard to choose. I am looking on komplett, because that's where i bought my hard drive, they seem to have very good prices. They only sell grpahics cards from companies that i have never heard of, Why no nvidia or radeon?

What companies?

DDR3 is a little bit young, and expensive, 4gb kit = £700.


Liam

I was looking at the corsair on komplett.

The GPUs on komplett they are selling are companies like xfx and point of view? who the hell are they? lol

Also with cases, i need as many fans as possible, i want it black and sleek in design, finding it hard to find one.

2 of the 120mm fans in the case will move lots of air.
One in front blowing in and the other in the rear by the ps blowing out.


No need for the computer to be really noisey.

One can always mod [modify] the case and put a fan in the side cover or a blow hole in the top. But you have to experiment with the side to find out if blowing in or out is the best way to have it.

Yes, what about the GPU, are those ones on komplett worth going for? Or is it best to stick with Nvidia or Radeon.

Those are the card manufacturers, Nvidia and ATI do the chipset and set the core and memory clock, and the manufacturers (Asus/XFX/BFG/POV/EVGA/Leadtek) add their own touch, and selected partners OC the cards too.


Liam

So which are better?

All of those are good, you want to steer clear of Biostar/PC Chips, and if you go for one of the better ones, compare numbers side by side, as if they are based on the same chipset then the only differences are likely to be factory overclocks.

I'd probably put them in the order of Asus/Leadtek/BFG in the top group, and POV/EVGA/XFX intermediate group, although EVGA and XFX tend to do bundles, and cool looking PCB/Fans, etc.


Liam

Quote:

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Originally Posted by richardw

I have always had AMD, whats better, AMD or Intel? Intel is always more expensive....

---

In the US at least AMD an Intel are priced within a dollar or two of each other for the same performance CPU.

IMO the real difference is in the chipsets. The third party chipsets for AMD are not as good as the Intel chipsets. Most current Intel mobos handle 8GB memory which for me is a huge advantage since all of my systems have at least 4GB memory (and are often running out of memory and paging). The replacements systems will all have at least 8GB memory except the notebooks that are limited to 4GB.

That said, find the mobo you want and go with it.