Help needed please.

Been thinking about buying a new computer and I was wondering what bits are recommended. Been out the loop for a while, so not sure what bits are best.

Want to spend no more than about £400. I've got CD drives, keyboard, mouse, etc... Just looking at Motherboard, Processor, Memory, HDD, maybe new graf card, not bothered about soundcard really. New case and powerpack is probably needed too.

Whats people opinions ?? I'm looking at ebuyers prices and they seem to be pretty good.

Thanks

Why build when you can buy?

http://www.nsysonline.co.uk/Shop/Builder_Systems.asp?BC=254

Adam

I got fired up by the other thread, am now buying parts to build a new computer

I read a couple of articles about CPUs and decided on the Athlon 64 chip. Supposed to run much cooler than a Pentium 4 with equivalent performance. On eBay, there seems to be a good price break on the 3200+ model. Just got one for $117 on eBay while writing this post

Bought a motherboard for it last night, a MSI K8T Neo-FIS2R VIA K8T800 socket 754 board, BTW, for $71. Reviews were pretty good for this processor, board combination.

Next is memory and a case and that will do it. Going to use old disk drives and peripherals. Weirdly enough, memory is cheaper elsewhere than eBay. Going to try ECC type this time to see if it adds stability.

Have fun!

Pete

hi, no real advice on components, but have a look on :

www.scan.co.uk
www.microdirect.co.uk

ive use both a lot, good prices etc.

oh and www.europc.co.uk have a lot of pre built jobbies cheap, spent thousands with them, great service.

edd

Having built a couple of puters my advice is this...

try to keep things balanced.... there's no point splashing out on a top processor if you then can't afford much in the way of memory.

check out reviews on products before you buy. And when it comes to case and fan make sure you get a CSU that's at least one step up from the one you need as a minimum

We get all our bits from eclipsecomputers.com. Based in coventry so handy for me at uni.

As for bits i have built several computers on the following brands:

MB - Gigabyte
CPU - AMD
RAM - Crucial or generic
HDD - IBM or Maxtor
GPU - NVidea (killed a few ATI cards, but the GF have stood up)

All recommended as good quality, not had any prbs wit any of the parts I have bought in the past few years.

David

A couple more suggestions:

-- My understanding is that for Windows XP, 1G of memory is optimal. I don't believe in skimping on memory but to look at brands recommended by the motherboard manufacturer. The memory supplier, in turn, can usually tell you which item numbers go with your motherboard. FYI, I found 1G of Kingston DDR400 memory for $107 without shopping too hard.

-- With the newer chips, a 450 watt power supply is the norm. Good article about cases here:

http://www17.tomshardware.com/howto/20040122/index.html

BTW, my goal is a decent general purpose machine that will hold up for five years, not gaming or doing fancy multimedia stuff. So, I'm aiming below the top rung, but buying decent stuff, I think. The cutting edge will make you bleed

Hi, i recently bulit my pc for undr £400, i chose the Amd64 cpu (only a 3200 but still fast!) i chose the best motherboard going by reveiws and spec at the time was a Asus K8V-SEDeluxe, a matched pair of Crucial 512 PC3200 memory, a middle of the road graphics card (about £50 for a saphire 256mb)and a case with side window and lots of uv lights and a 600w psu. I used my old hard drive and it works a treat! Would definately do it again, may not be any cheaper but its built how i wanted and you get the satisfaction of knowing you built it
Rescued attachment 1.jpg

remember the rules it dont need to be alot as long as its fast

also you dont nessasaraly need the best all the time

kind of a contrdiction but things like cpu and motherbaord you can skimp on 3200 64 is the norm now with a resonably priced mobo, i recomend fast ram rather than lots of slow ram you will notice the difference in windows access as well as amount of returns hard drive sata is great if your mobo supports it but you cant argue at 68 quid for a 200 gb ide drive!!! bargin i brought my 5th one the other week, nobody buys cd drives now one dvd burner does the lot for 30 quid and graphics cards dont go silly 100 pounds is plenty and either ati or nvidia both are good but persnoally i prefer ATI less problems ! more drivers!

Thanks people, I tend to get a bit carried away when selecting hardware

Nice computer Ben, might look into components (or similar) you used.

Didn't realise the power packs had got so powerful now and needing it. Will make sure i look at getting the right one.

There is so much choise on ebuyer now it's rediculous!!!

Thanks to everyone for your advise, keep it coming

All of my stuff came from ebuyer, customer service is crap if youve got a problem (about two weeks to reply to e-mail and no phone number) but i've only had one problem with them and have placed loads of orders. It's worth paying the extra for a big psu, especially if your planning on running lot's of cathodes, lazers ect

Wasn;t really planning on lots of bright lights and stuff. Cos it'll drive me mad if i leave computer on over night. Dunno, we'll see how carried away i get

Build it...
Use the bits you've got if you must, but you may find they lag behind your new bits?

You gave no clues as what you want to use it for, may make a big difference to the spec. ie if you're into gaming you want a hot graphics card, but can save money by choosing a MB with onboard sound, would be a whole different spec if your an audiophile and going to want to use it as a home recording studio.
If your just surfing and word processing, save your money and spend it on your car!

Another plug for a local(to me) company would be http://www.komputerkrazy.co.uk/ competitive and had good service from them.
Regs

Not big on games on the computer, would like good graphics and plenty of RAM for other programs.

Just want a computer that'll do things quickly lol more USB slots would be nice too.

I've got a list of harware i'm working on, so i'll post it later see what people think

Ok, so i've come up with a list of hardware.

CPU
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Skt 754

MOBO
Gigabyte GA-k8VNXP Skt 754 VIAK8T800

RAM
2 x Crucial CT6464Z40B 512MB DDR 400MHZ

HDD
Maxtor Diamondmax 120Gb 7200rpm ATA133 8mb

GRAPHIX
GigaByte GeForce FX5500 128M AGP

CASE
I-Cute ATX Gaming Case 400W PSU

Anyone see any problems with that lot??

id realy go for a 939 socket amd, with the venice core chip, even the 3000 would be fine (nearly as fast as the older core 3200 anyway)

and pci-e graphics card.

that should give you a more future proof machine.

if ure building urself dont forget what alot of ppl do the importance of a QUIET power supply and some nice colling fans .. and if ure computer is in the same room u sleep in and left on over night a soundproofign kit might be a good idea not to expensive from

www.aria.co.uk

good site fairly cheap parts fast delivery

oh and a sata hard drive rather than ata.

if you realy want to stick with the 754 route, ive got an agp geforce fx5900 you could have for about 20 quid, (just got a 6800gt)

edd

You might want to get a heavier-duty power supply.

I screwed up myself. Bought a 450W case, but it has only 18 amps in 12V output. Have read numerous places now that the AMD 64 should have at least 30 amps in +12V supply.

Allegedly, my processor and two HDs will eat up all my 12V capacity, with nothing left over for memory, CD/DVD, floppy drive, etc.

So, I'm looking at different power supplies now

Edd,

A computer forum i asked on said the same thing skt 939 is best, so changing to that.

They suggested:
AMD Athlon 64 Venice 3000+ SKT939
EPOX EP_9NPA+ ULTRA
PQI Turbo DDR400 1GB (Dual Channel 2x512Mb) (Cant find that tho)
GeForce 6600 256Mb PCIe 16x
Maxtor Diamond MAX Plus 9 SATA 120Gb
(Might go for Plus 10 SATA 160Gb)

What you recon ???

I thought I might stick with Crucial RAM ...!!!???? dunno

pbura, I'll have a look for more power, get a bit expensive tho

that looks good, i dont know the motherboard, but they a much of a muchness.

the 6600 is a great gfx card buy at the moment.

yeah id go for the plus 10, but for the price of a 160 (55 quid) id got for the 200 (65 quid)

crucial is good ram, as is kingston, and corsair. any will work just fine.

edd

oh and as for powersupplies, mine is a 400 odd watt hiper jobbie, was same as the cheaper coolermasters i think, was 20 quid, runs my 3400+ amd 64, geforce 6800gt, 2 hds, a dvd burner, a host of usb devices and ive never once had a hickup, since september i think ive only had one blue screen of death. (which was my fault)

edd

Edd where do you buy bits from ? or where would you ?

http://www.microdirect.co.uk

thats where ive ordered my last 3 pcs from, i tend to buy everything in one go to save on postage, and hassles if something should go wrong.

http://www.scan.co.uk

is also apperently good, similar prices to micro direct, i used to live very close to md, so i started using them, then moved away and carried on with web orders, not to sure why, no good stores round here

edd

[Edited on 27/6/05 by EddThompson]

Cheers Edd, I'll have a look, see if they can do all the bits and are cheaper than Ebuyer and CCL Computers.

ccl are good from what ive heard, as for the mboard ive just had a look, http://www.microdirect.co.uk/ProductInfo.aspx?ProductID=9591&GroupID=304
would be the one i would use from micro direct, as they dont seem to sel the epox boards.

id stick with the nforce 4 chip set over the via, other than that they are very similar unless you want overclock and fiddle.

edd

[Edited on 27/6/05 by EddThompson]

ok, i'll have a compare and see.

sorry, the geek in me spluges out when it comes to pcs (and hifi/home cinema), been helping a friend piece on together so am relitvly in touch with current bits.


edd

Thats fine, glad you are... i used to be like that... but now i dont have the time!

Edd, could you do me a favour and have a look on Microdirect and give me some recommendations on RAM ???

sure thing, was just out walking the dog

http://www.microdirect.co.uk/ProductInfo.aspx?ProductID=5608&GroupID=57

looks good, as your board will support dual channel (all the 939s do)

plus there the pqi stuff as well, a little more expensive, but might be worth the extra (although ive got geil stuff in this machine)

edd

Excellent, thanks a lot. Thats an OK price hopefully.

Just a case to check now

This is one s**t hot machine are you sure you're not going to play games!

quote:

---

Originally posted by Ben_Copeland
pbura, I'll have a look for more power, get a bit expensive tho

---

I've changed it a little, reduced the graphics card a bit.

AMD Athlon 64 Venice 3000+ SKT939
Asus A8N-E AMB SKT 939 NForce4 Ultra HT 1000FSB PCI-E SATA
Maxtor Diamond Max 10 16-Gb SATA
Sapphire Radeon x300SE HyperMemory
Geil Value 1Gb PC3200 Dual Chan 2x512Mb

So far about £330 which blows my mind cos i remember when it all cost like it was gold plated !!!

And not decided on case.


[Edited on 28/6/05 by Ben_Copeland]

Thought about gettting :

http://www.microdirect.co.uk/ProductInfo.aspx?ProductID=4803&GroupID=511

http://www.microdirect.co.uk/Productinfo.aspx?ProductID=5152

400W and cheap enough, a lot of the cases MircoDirect do, dont have PSU's... so its extra cost.

Here's how mine went, interesting to compare:

AMD Athlon 64 Newcastle 3200+ Socket 754 - $117
MSI K8T Neo-FIS2R VIA K8T800 - $71
CPU Heatsink Fan - $24
Corsair TWINX1024-3200C2 (2 x 512) CL2.5 memory - $122
(2) Seagate Barracuda 7200 RPM ST380817AS 80GB Hard Drive SATA - $132
XFX GeForce FX 5200 video - $45
Generic eBay case 450W - $51
Aspire ATX-MR450W power supply 30A on +12V - $38

Total $600! My first computer had a 32K CPU and no HD, and I paid over 2000 firmer US$ in 1983

I cheapskated the MB a little and sort of wish I'd taken an Nvidia-based board instead. Also have a power-hungry, noisy dinosaur of a video card Shopped long and hard for the power supply, and it's also sort of an underdog but probably better than anything I've had before.

Video review of a similar power supply

In retrospect, the PSU on the eBay case might have been enough with 18A on the +12V rail. I later estimated my needed amperage at 16A using this calculator:

http://takaman.jp/D/?english

Ben, try the calculator and you'll probably find that a 400W case will do the job. I'm sure that the forum geeks have a point when it comes to PSUs being a key to avoiding crashes, but there may be some hysteria because of really terrible problems with earlier ATX cases not being up to these new CPUs.

Pete

[Edited on 28/6/05 by pbura]

looks pretty good, the x300 is a great choise if your not playing games, ati are known for good picture quality.

any case will do, i tend to prefer the slightly more expensive ones (40 quid or so plus 20 quid psu) as i have bad memorys of shredded fingers, of course most cases are fine now

http://www.microdirect.co.uk/ProductInfo.aspx?ProductID=9894&GroupID=131

this is the new version of mine, screwless (well other than the motherboard, and the side panel it think) it makes life much easyer in assembly, quality case as well.

http://www.microdirect.co.uk/ProductInfo.aspx?ProductID=8991&GroupID=9

and again the same psu as i use, quality but cheap.

edd

The Calculator says 272.9W so 350,400W should do nicely

Cant seem to find the Amps for the 3.3v,5v,12v. Just will have to keep fingers crossed.

Got a Danish review for you :

http://www.hardware-test.dk/oc/litteratur.asp?id=4050&type=test

19A on +12V looks adequate (better than most I've looked at).

I'd go 400W as I've seen it mentioned that there should be a 30% reserve from total.

Found a great site about PC building (figures, now that I've bought everything) and it looks like we're both on the right track as far as good value for the technology:

http://www.mysuperpc.com/


Pete

We have the Benz case,

The reason why its called a Benz case is that it has the Mercedes Benz logo on the front, also there are two blue neon lights (made up to look like the front of a Mercedes)...

Is good value for money but be warned about the power supply, the motherboard we used needed a 24 power connector whereas the Benz case is only 20 pin. Had to buy another PSU

Cheers

quote:

---

Originally posted by EddThompson
ccl are good from what ive heard, as for the mboard ive just had a look, http://www.microdirect.co.uk/ProductInfo.aspx?ProductID=9591&GroupID=304
would be the one i would use from micro direct, as they dont seem to sel the epox boards.
id stick with the nforce 4 chip set over the via, other than that they are very similar unless you want overclock and fiddle.
edd

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Tim 45

Is good value for money but be warned about the power supply, the motherboard we used needed a 24 power connector whereas the Benz case is only 20 pin. Had to buy another PSU

Cheers

---

read any forum anywhere and they will say something is buggy

there are plenty of boards about, the reason i chose asus is they keep the updates coming etc, and have a good build quality, gigabyte, abit or any of them will be fine.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Ben_Copeland

quote:

---

Originally posted by Tim 45

Is good value for money but be warned about the power supply, the motherboard we used needed a 24 power connector whereas the Benz case is only 20 pin. Had to buy another PSU

Cheers

---

oooooo good thing you meantioned that, the MBoard takes a 24pin connector

---

Maybe i'll just stick with Asus, or see if their is a GigaByte mainboard of same spec. Always liked gigabyte. Might just not bother and stick with Asus.

Thanks everyone for your advise. I've purchased my bits.

Will let you know how it goes.

yey

edd

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Let the fun begin

it all looks so neat in boxes, cableing nightmare when you get in the case,



have fun

Looks like the end of my buying computer parts on eBay, as most of the stuff I've received has been dodgy, and from 99% rated sellers, no less.

The generic case I bought was a flimsy POS that came dented, possibly because someone breathed on it. Hope I get my money back as promised.

My hard drives arrived today and they were not the highly rated ones I won in the auction but, instead, a three-year-old model. The old bait and switch? I'm holding out hope that the seller will make good.

Last but not least, here's how my CPU was packed, in a plain envelope with no bubble wrap. Hmmm, anyone taking bets on a DOA?
Rescued attachment Image009.jpg

Thats terrible. All mine came nicely boxed and safe. But then none of it came rom ebay. Gone right off ebay... far too many dodgy people selling dodgy stuff.

Computers all up and running now

Thankfully, the HD guy came back promptly and very professionally with an apology and a return authorization. The CPU will get a workout in burn-in, and back it goes if I get a hiccup.

Agreed that the non-eBay vendors were all top-notch, and products were received next day in most cases. Kudos to newegg.com, zipzoomfly.com, and tigerdirect.com. Found a very nice shopping tool in pricegrabber, which has a UK version.

Glad to hear you're up and running, Ben, you'll have to put up a pic

i must say i buy a whole lot of stuff off ebay, but have never even thought of buying pc parts, no idea why not, now im glad i havnt

edd

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Image deleted by owner

Could do with a black floppy drive ! might see if i can paint it

The cd drives come through flaps in the case, so you dont need black faces on them. And the case has a merc lights, bonnet, etc on the front. Hence the blue headlights lol

What do you need a floppy drive for now the bios will boot from cd and cheap, reliable usb stick memory is available for portability. My next one isn't getting one.

THought about pushing it back and refitting the "black" blank. Some computers complain if there's no floppy drive. It's nice to have, just in case. and i dont have to go buy usb sticks !!!!!

Image deleted by owner

Is that more to sirs liking

Click the boot up floppy seek off in bios and it won't look for one. I bought a 64meg usb stick for £10, must be equivalent to about 40 floppies and much more reliable.

Ta-da!

Those lights sure are flashy I'm an old conservative duff, and am sticking with a beige case. Going to have some serious fannage, though.

Nice job, very much in keeping with the Locost spirit of getting exactly what you want, while sparing your pocketbook

nothing like a nice bit of fannage

you still (unfortunately) need a floppy drive if you have seriel ata hard drive as a boot drive, windows needs to load the drive and it only looks at the floppy - bitch isnt it !

hmmm
im using a sata hard drive, and i dint have a floppy, cant remember how i made it work, maybe cause i used a disc with sp2 already on it,

edd

Well its all working lovely... "atm" So much faster

Finally received my replacement hard drives yesterday, so put it together. Had an anxious moment when the CPU wouldn't boot, but reseated it and it was OK.

Not too pretty, but very fast! Formatted the hard drive in 6 seconds and installed XP Pro in very little time, should have kept track. One segment that was supposed to take 21 minutes was done in 5!
Rescued attachment Image3.jpg

i own a small computer shop in spalding lincs, if anyone would like parts etc i would be happy to supply trade to users of this web site.