View Full Version : Is this worth the £
Nymphette79
11-03-08, 13:24
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/product/seo/283578
landofcake
11-03-08, 13:54
In a word, no.
Pre-configured/packaged machines are never worth it.
It's better to do some basic product homework and have your machine built personally.
If you have the mental capacity to wire a wallplug, you can put a machine together ;)
Nymphette79
11-03-08, 14:15
Pre-configured/packaged machines are never worth it.
It's better to do some basic product homework and have your machine built personally.
If you have the mental capacity to wire a wallplug, you can put a machine together ;)
Firstly, have never wired a plug in my life. And second I would love to get one built to my specifications but I dont have the cash so need the finance option the big shops offer :(
if pre-configured then DELL or Alienware only...
www.dell.com
Nymphette79
11-03-08, 14:44
So many to choose from.
I can probably afford to buy the graphics card out right so would it be better to get a cheaper PC on finance with poor graphics and then buy the card additionally?
William Antrim
11-03-08, 14:45
Urgh Dell!
Wouldnt touch them with a barge pole!
Yuck, sorry but no not my thing at all.
What you need is a rich hubby there hon, I think you should've considered taking Mr Cracker up on that offer about a ride up to leeds, I hear he is loaded and he has nearly passed his driving test.
What do you want a new pc for anyway?
Tbh I could get that spec built and couriered down to you for probably half the price that pc world wanna charge you. My current pc is marginally better than that on there and this is ancient now.
Nymphette79
11-03-08, 14:58
Coz my one is pants, I have to wait ages for images/videos to load on pages and when im gaming nothing appears on screen till im at that point, no mobs or people in the distance etc and then when I do get there it takes ages for all the features to load, like hair or trees. And plus its really really noisy and the case is so old its that hideous nicotine stained colour.
In my PC atm I have:
Nvidia Geforce 6200
768 MB RAM
AMD 2GHz Athlon 64 3000+
Coz my one is pants, I have to wait ages for images/videos to load on pages and when im gaming nothing appears on screen till im at that point, no mobs or people in the distance etc and then when I do get there it takes ages for all the features to load, like hair or trees. And plus its really really noisy and the case is so old its that hideous nicotine stained colour.
In my PC atm I have:
Nvidia Geforce 6200
768 MB RAM
AMD 2GHz Athlon 64 3000+
Have you tried a reformat? My pc is near enuf the same specs ( i mebbe have a lil more extra ram :p) and i dont seem to have any of the problems you listed :confused:
I think a reformat would unclog alot of your system but you would obviously have to back up all the stuff you wanna keep before hand... i reformat reasonably often and never generally have a problem (cept the fact i can no longer download stuff off itunes cause i supposedly have too many autorised pc's?) :(
my first 3 PCs were all self made. i bought all the components myself and built everything together.
most of the time everything worked fine. but when it came to problems with some components i couldnt do a thing except exchanging the specific components. so i killed my gf6600GT after 2 month and i had to buy a new one. no garantuee worked. i think i pwned 4 CPUs alltogether.
so i decided to buy a DELL PC. just to test if its possible to get a good PC with excellent components to a fair price. so i wanted a directx10 compatibel pc with vista installed and at least 2 years of garantuee.
specs:
intel quadcore6700
4096 mb ram
gf8800gtx
500 gb harddrive
and a new 22" widescreen tft.
got it for only 1700€ (same alienware configuration: 2300€).
i bought it last year, no problems until now, crysis runs smoothly on very high details. didnt have to phone once to dell support.
but i think youre right with the dell notebook section. there are several problems with the displays and so on.
james_finn
11-03-08, 15:46
Have you tried a reformat? My pc is near enuf the same specs ( i mebbe have a lil more extra ram :p) and i dont seem to have any of the problems you listed :confused:
I think a reformat would unclog alot of your system but you would obviously have to back up all the stuff you wanna keep before hand... i reformat reasonably often and never generally have a problem (cept the fact i can no longer download stuff off itunes cause i supposedly have too many autorised pc's?) :(
Not to go O/T here but dan have you tried under the options to remove all authorised PCs? You can do it twice a year IIRC and then you can reauth your newly reformatted PC.
OT: I wouldnt buy any preconfigured PCs from PC World, to start with that one you have linked has no GFX card, so probably wouldnt play games that better than the one you have. Before splashing out on a new upgrade I would suggest (like other people) that you reformat and start your current one from scratch. That would allow you to check that you do need one (really depends what you play/use it for).
/Delphi
P.S. There are some well known PC component specialists which now do finance, I got a quad core 4GB of ram etc. for about £700 on credit with them ;)
Maybe have a go with the PC Builder service that Overclockers UK now do Nymphette, you should be able to get a more powerful machine for the same price as that PC World one and they also have finance options.
Just because you have a Pentium 4 Quad Core 3Ghz doesn't mean it's any good. There is more to computer components than a greasy sales-nerd with a purple shirt tells you, and you can aford a custom built machine if you want one, it simply depends on what you want. For £750, my brother (who actually runs his own PC support company can build you a very nice computer. I priced the parts up myself and had him add his fee, for a friend of mine.
It boasts;
Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 2.20GHz Socket 775 800FSB 2MB Cache Retail Boxed Processor
XFX 9600GT 512MB DDR3 Dual DIV TV Out PCI-E - 700 Mhz
An Intel board, with 2 GB of ram, a DVD Room, Windows Vista OEM Basic, a 17" Montior, (which without if you didn't need it would reduce the cost by £105.
A brand new case bundle including the Case, PSU, Keyboard and Mouse.
A 160GB Seagate Hard Drive 7200RPM SATAII/300 8MB Cache
My personal opinion is that anything shop brought is worth less than the materials it's made from, like 1% of that.
And to whoever mentioned DELL - NO, Just plain NO! Go and wash your mouth out with soap, then write one hundred times "I will not mention that name/word/company ever again in my life."
Nymphette79
11-03-08, 16:17
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-044-OK
Is that good??
Will it last me the 3 yrs it will take to pay for it??
Sorry about all the questions but my ex used to deal with all this stuff and now im going in totally blind so thank you for all ur help.
William Antrim
11-03-08, 16:33
Yeah it would but there is a monitor to be added on the top of that (presuming your monitor is as ancient as mine) and windows vista as well. You would be looking at another 200 quid on top of that.
If you want a pc to play nc, browse the web and look at youtube and msn etc and the odd game here and there (but not the latest ones) I would go look in the value section of the OCUK. Some of the pcs in there are a bargain for what you need hon.
I wouldnt go signup to 3 years finance on that ultima package, thats for people with more money than sense. Anyone who wants that kind of package would normally either build it themselves (buying the bits separate) or get a friend (like Zheos case) to do it for them. I would suggest getting the £220 option (it doesnt have a gfx card but you can get one of those pretty cheap from them too) as this will save you a fortune in the long run and is still a decent pc. Its a massive upgrade over what you've currently got anyway.
Also I would follow Mr Malones advice, formatting would probably solve half your problems!
Doc Holliday
11-03-08, 17:12
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-044-OK
Is that good??
Will it last me the 3 yrs it will take to pay for it??
Sorry about all the questions but my ex used to deal with all this stuff and now im going in totally blind so thank you for all ur help.
i think thats the one i was lookin at. gotta wait till i move home before i do this though. as for the whole build it yourself vs get it made well it comes down to if you have the choice to do either. personally i cant be fucked with waiting for someone to say ok yes i will build your pc for you only for it to get fucked up (happened in the past) so sometimes its better to just go and pay a bit more.
i intend to buy a decent one and i sure as shit am not gonna go playing with it in case i blow it up :) i might as well just pour petrol on 600 notes and light it.
good luck with it :)
i would point to a Intel Based processor... actually i don't know any computer shop in UK, usually i get my parts from swisszerland, i don't know how much you can forward try to get a self build sistem like this:
ASUS Extreme N8600GT SILENT/HTDP PCIe ( GeForce 8600GT 256DDR 2XDVI HDTV HDCP ) €87.55
ASUS P5N32-E SLI PLUS (NVIDIA Dual X16 SLI - Socket 775 - FSB 1333) €140.65
LOGITECH Cordless Desktop LX710 ( Clavier + Souris ) [967670-1250] €69.05
SATA300 250GB - 7200 WESTERN Caviar SE (8 MB) [WD2500JS] €49.90
SATA DVD ± RW 8.5GB SAMSUNG 20x Super-WriteMaster [SH-S203D/BEBN] Noir - Oem €21.75
DDR2 2GB [1GB x2] DDR533 (PC2-4200) - OCZ DDR2 Value Pro Series Dual Channel [OCZ25332048VPDC-K] €42.85
INTEL Core 2 Duo 2.66GHz E8200 + Ventilateur [ LGA775 - 6MB - 45nm - 1333MHz] €146.40
Tower COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 Silver/Black [ CAC-T05-UW ] ( 5 x 5.25 ) - No Power Supply €58.65
Alimentation 550W THERMALTAKE TR2 RX 16dB [W0134] €50.50
it's a total of €667.30.
maybe it's a bit expennsive for you.
in b4 wait for proper 9 series cards...
seriously wait and watch the comps with 8800s in drop in price :D
landofcake
12-03-08, 00:21
And DEFINATELY don't buy an 8600 series, those cards are totally worthless these days.
Nothing from PC world is worth the money. I'll never forgive them for trying to flog my mum a USB cable for her new printer for £14.99. Robbing c**ts.
www.scan.co.uk ftw tbh. Now where's DIS when you need him?
Firstly, have never wired a plug in my life.Women :rolleyes: :p
second I would love to get one built to my specifications but I dont have the cash so need the finance option the big shops offer :(Another way to look at it is to buy the thing in bits over time a little like you'd pay in installments. Each installment buys you another piece of the PC jigsaw. Just a thought...
sorry if you guys didn't like my suggestion about the geforce 8600. (tbh why does it suck?)
Nvidia Geforce 6200
768 MB RAM
AMD 2GHz Athlon 64 3000+
That is a decent system to run Neocron on already, which means the problems must be elsewhere, as danmalone pointed out. Maybe a bit more RAM couldn't hurt, though.
In regard to upgrading or getting a complete new computer I prefer to use a local shop here. Their prices are usually at the lower end. If something breaks I don't have to start a phoning marathon to hunt the right guy down, I just dump the broken part/computer at their shop, and can talk to them face-to-face. Getting a new computer will take a bit, because they do stress testing (memory, harddisk, ...) and inform you in case problems pop up. Last but not least they offer different financing plans. I dunno if a shop like this is around where you live ...
As to the "current" options within a given amount of money / financing plan: No idea. Things are changing every month, useless to keep tabs on that. But I guess with about €500-600 (excluding monitor and operating system; dunno right now how much that is in £) you can get a decent system which is superior to your current one.
But, as said above already, I would first check into the weird behaviour of your current machine. It sounds highly unusual.
Firstly, have never wired a plug in my life.Women :rolleyes: :p
http://xkcd.com/385/ :p
sorry if you guys didn't like my suggestion about the geforce 8600. (tbh why does it suck?)
because its not even middle class anymore.
i would use a 8800GT (200€) or wait for a good gf9k grafic card...
Doc Holliday
12-03-08, 23:36
Antec Nine Hundred
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 6000+ 3.00GHz
Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro
Asus M2N SLI Deluxe DDR2
Crucial Ballistix Tracer 2GB DDR2 1066MHz Memory (2x1GB)
Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT 512MB GDDR3
Seagate Barracuda 750GB 7200RPM SATA-II
Samsung 20x DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter
Sony Floppy Drive
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer 7.1 Sound Card
OCZ StealthXStream 600w Silent
Microsoft Windows XP Professional Edition
opinions? its £950 something from overclockers. yes its expensive and im not sure its definitely worth it.
I chucked in the seagate as an upgrade. the lower end gamer system is about £100 cheaper with a GT card and corsaire ram instead. also i dont fancy onboard sound so ive added the sound blaster. thoughts guys. been a long time since i followed the good, bad and the ugly of pcs and as i said i really dont want to spend a fortune on parts or have to wait ages to get it built.
any Yes or Nos would be good.
edit http://xkcd.com/386/ <-- awesome link ;)
james_finn
13-03-08, 01:49
No.
Intel not AMD are best at the moment, the DDR2 you posted has an obscenely high FSB, I would drop down for DDR2 600 - and look at getting 4GB (I have OCZ 4GB and they were 70 iirc). Yes on the GFX card and soundcard, although no on the case. The 900 is ok, my spare PC is in it at the moment, however it has no fan filters and is quite noisy - I would suggest the Antec cases.
Your basket
Product Name Qty Price Line Total
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/pimg/CA-070-AN_60.jpgAntec P182 Super Midi Tower Case - No PSU (Gun Metal Black) (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-070-AN) £78.99 (£92.81) £78.99
(£92.81) http://www.overclockers.co.uk/pimg/GX-052-BG_60.jpgBFG GeForce 8800 GT OC 512MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-052-BG) £124.99
(£146.86) £124.99
(£146.86) http://www.overclockers.co.uk/pimg/CD-096-SA_60.jpgSamsung SH-S203D 20x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CD-096-SA) £14.99
(£17.61) £14.99
(£17.61) http://www.overclockers.co.uk/pimg/CA-005-CS_60.jpgCorsair HX 520W ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU (CMPSU-520HXUK) (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-005-CS) £59.99
(£70.49) £59.99
(£70.49) http://www.overclockers.co.uk/pimg/HD-030-HI_60.jpgHitachi Deskstar T7K500 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (0A33437) (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-030-HI) £58.99
(£69.31) £58.99
(£69.31) http://www.overclockers.co.uk/pimg/MB-235-AS_60.jpgAsus P5K Intel P35 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-235-AS) £66.99
(£78.71) £66.99
(£78.71) http://www.overclockers.co.uk/pimg/AC-000-AC_60.jpgArctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound (3.5g) (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=AC-000-AC) £5.99
(£7.04) £5.99
(£7.04) http://www.overclockers.co.uk/pimg/HS-002-SB_60.jpgTuniq Tower 120-LFB CPU Cooler (Socket 478/754/939/940/AM2/LGA775) (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-002-SB) £29.99
(£35.24) £29.99
(£35.24) http://www.overclockers.co.uk/pimg/CP-172-IN_60.jpgIntel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 "Energy Efficient SLACR 95W Edition" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - OEM (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-172-IN) £125.99
(£148.04) £125.99
(£148.04) http://www.overclockers.co.uk/pimg/MY-086-OC_60.jpgOCZ 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-6400C5 Dual Channel Vista Gold Series DDR2 (OCZ2G8004GK) (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-086-OC) £49.99
(£58.74) £49.99
(£58.74) http://www.overclockers.co.uk/pimg/SC-045-CL_60.jpgCreative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer 7.1 Sound Card - Retail (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SC-045-CL) £46.99
(£55.21) £46.99
(£55.21) http://www.overclockers.co.uk/pimg/HD-001-OK_60.jpgSony Floppy Drive - Black (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-001-OK) £4.99
(£5.86) £4.99
(£5.86) http://www.overclockers.co.uk/pimg/SW-037-MS_60.jpgMicrosoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-Bit Edition DVD - OEM - 1Pk (66I-01939) (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SW-037-MS) £59.99
(£70.49) £59.99
(£70.49) Sub Total : £728.87 Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
City Link Parcel Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri)
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £20.95 VAT is being charged at 17.5% VAT : £131.22 Total : £881.04
/Delphi
Asurmen Spec Op
13-03-08, 02:33
No.
Intel not AMD are best at the moment, the DDR2 you posted has an obscenely high FSB, I would drop down for DDR2 600 - and look at getting 4GB (I have OCZ 4GB and they were 70 iirc). Yes on the GFX card and soundcard, although no on the case. The 900 is ok, my spare PC is in it at the moment, however it has no fan filters and is quite noisy - I would suggest the Antec cases.
Your basket
Product Name Qty Price Line Total
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/pimg/CA-070-AN_60.jpgAntec P182 Super Midi Tower Case - No PSU (Gun Metal Black) (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-070-AN) £78.99 (£92.81) £78.99
(£92.81) http://www.overclockers.co.uk/pimg/GX-052-BG_60.jpgBFG GeForce 8800 GT OC 512MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-052-BG) £124.99
(£146.86) £124.99
(£146.86) http://www.overclockers.co.uk/pimg/CD-096-SA_60.jpgSamsung SH-S203D 20x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CD-096-SA) £14.99
(£17.61) £14.99
(£17.61) http://www.overclockers.co.uk/pimg/CA-005-CS_60.jpgCorsair HX 520W ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU (CMPSU-520HXUK) (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-005-CS) £59.99
(£70.49) £59.99
(£70.49) http://www.overclockers.co.uk/pimg/HD-030-HI_60.jpgHitachi Deskstar T7K500 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (0A33437) (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-030-HI) £58.99
(£69.31) £58.99
(£69.31) http://www.overclockers.co.uk/pimg/MB-235-AS_60.jpgAsus P5K Intel P35 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-235-AS) £66.99
(£78.71) £66.99
(£78.71) http://www.overclockers.co.uk/pimg/AC-000-AC_60.jpgArctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound (3.5g) (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=AC-000-AC) £5.99
(£7.04) £5.99
(£7.04) http://www.overclockers.co.uk/pimg/HS-002-SB_60.jpgTuniq Tower 120-LFB CPU Cooler (Socket 478/754/939/940/AM2/LGA775) (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-002-SB) £29.99
(£35.24) £29.99
(£35.24) http://www.overclockers.co.uk/pimg/CP-172-IN_60.jpgIntel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 "Energy Efficient SLACR 95W Edition" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - OEM (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-172-IN) £125.99
(£148.04) £125.99
(£148.04) http://www.overclockers.co.uk/pimg/MY-086-OC_60.jpgOCZ 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-6400C5 Dual Channel Vista Gold Series DDR2 (OCZ2G8004GK) (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-086-OC) £49.99
(£58.74) £49.99
(£58.74) http://www.overclockers.co.uk/pimg/SC-045-CL_60.jpgCreative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer 7.1 Sound Card - Retail (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SC-045-CL) £46.99
(£55.21) £46.99
(£55.21) http://www.overclockers.co.uk/pimg/HD-001-OK_60.jpgSony Floppy Drive - Black (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-001-OK) £4.99
(£5.86) £4.99
(£5.86) http://www.overclockers.co.uk/pimg/SW-037-MS_60.jpgMicrosoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-Bit Edition DVD - OEM - 1Pk (66I-01939) (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SW-037-MS) £59.99
(£70.49) £59.99
(£70.49) Sub Total : £728.87 Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
City Link Parcel Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri)
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £20.95 VAT is being charged at 17.5% VAT : £131.22 Total : £881.04
/Delphi
Floppy drive? wtf....
Also I dont see the point now adays in getting sound cards, most motherboards come with high quality integrated sound cards.
Its like monster cables >.>
and make sure the Q6600 is GO stepping!
60E for windows?!?!
[CENSORED]
Floppy drive? wtf....Last autumn I was happy to have one of these things around (because my "new" computer didn't have one, either). Modern BIOSes can be flashed right after powerup of the computer, from floppy disc. So, not really needed, but good to have one around in case of emergencies.
Also I dont see the point now adays in getting sound cards, most motherboards come with high quality integrated sound cards.With an AC97 codec (which is usually the thing used in these cases) your CPU has to do all the sound calculations, while real soundcards (aka those with a DSP) can do all that on their own. If the motherboard provides such a thing, there is no need for an extra soundcard anymore, exactly.
i've have an AMD 64 X2, which is damn slow compared to an intel pentium D. so that's why i suggest intel based system... and because i'm an Asus fanatic try to get an Asus motherboard...
With an AC97 codec (which is usually the thing used in these cases) your CPU has to do all the sound calculations, while real soundcards (aka those with a DSP) can do all that on their own. If the motherboard provides such a thing, there is no need for an extra soundcard anymore, exactly.
Well if someone gets a multicore processor, maybe a quad core, it's quite useless to get a soundcard...
Doc Holliday
13-03-08, 12:49
thanks delphi. ive always gone with amd since forever. i just preffered it and a lot of friends always recommended them.
i dont get whats wrong with a high fsb but i have never really looked in to what it does and how it can be + or a - but i will take your advice. also cheers for the heads up on the case. the black one mentioned is about 20 quid more. im thinking it looks like a beer fridge but it looked sleek and if its more practical then its worth it. are you sayin yes or no the sound blaster card then guys? not needed? last time i bothered with sound cards onboard sound was diabolical in most cases so i assumed it is still the same
Voodoo_Magic
13-03-08, 13:04
thanks delphi. ive always gone with amd since forever. i just preffered it and a lot of friends always recommended them.
i dont get whats wrong with a high fsb but i have never really looked in to what it does and how it can be + or a - but i will take your advice. also cheers for the heads up on the case. the black one mentioned is about 20 quid more. im thinking it looks like a beer fridge but it looked sleek and if its more practical then its worth it. are you sayin yes or no the sound blaster card then guys? not needed? last time i bothered with sound cards onboard sound was diabolical in most cases so i assumed it is still the same
I was the same Doc, and all my friends was. But Intel really are outshining AMD in the dual core range, for power AND price for power atm.
Look into it before you buy a AMD
sorry if you guys didn't like my suggestion about the geforce 8600. (tbh why does it suck?)
the 9600GT just came out in Denmark, it's cheaper than the 8800GT :S
james_finn
13-03-08, 19:21
I would definately advise against an AMD processor, even the new Phenom range that was released before Xmas is rubbish compared to any of the Core 2 range by intel. The processor I spec'd is a Quad core - currently the best processor for the money (unless you want to spend silly money on the new 1333MHz FSB processors...).
As for the sound card I would advise to get one, onboard is all well and good, but a) you loose quality with an onboard one (see XFi crystalliser for more info) and b) if you buy a new PC surely you want it to last as long as possible, sound uses up processor cycles which could be better used for games/applications etc.
The only reason you would want to get a high FSB ram would be if you intend to overclock the processor, back when AMD were top ram had to be run at a ratio to the processor, these days you can lock the FSB for the RAM and for the processor so they are seperate, so therefore the save in money more than makes up for any small change in maximum bandwidth you would get from having faster ram.
As for whether to get a 9600 or a 8800GT, I would still say go with the GT, the 9600 is good by all accounts, however it still doesnt beat the power of the GT.
/Delphi
@James: as you suggest to get a soundcard, could you point for good sound cards that aren't expensive?
@Doc Holliday: yes , AMD sucks in the multicore processors actually why that? well i think because that AMD buyed ATI (run out of money to invest in the multicore?)...
Voodoo_Magic
13-03-08, 22:38
@James: as you suggest to get a soundcard, could you point for good sound cards that aren't expensive?
@Doc Holliday: yes , AMD sucks in the multicore processors actually why that? well i think because that AMD buyed ATI (run out of money to invest in the multicore?)...
I used to be a ATI fanboi, but alas, not anymore either
I used to be a ATI fanboi, but alas, not anymore either
i used to be as well as you a ATI fanboi until i've starting using linux at home (since 2003), but i'm really pleased by my geforce 7600gt (my first Nvidia's GFX card) with full 3D hardware acceleration under linux since last year...
Mighty Max
13-03-08, 23:16
AMD sucks in the multicore processors actually why that? well i think because that AMD buyed ATI (run out of money to invest in the multicore?)...
Or perhaps because they don't own all those nifty patents Intel gathered in all years they now have researched HPC techs. Around Infiniband (where intel is one of the 5 members of the SIG) alone are several very valueable patents that also help communication between the cores.
Together with caching algorithm's and methods patented or just their know-how in the previous work with multiprocessor-platforms, they are simply in the better situation.
That doesn't mean AMD has not an as good R&D, but they used to concentrate on cycle-optimations then on more cycles/hw from the beginning on. (That was the main reason why AMDs did as good with less MHz, that was already at Am386's). They are now trying to pick up on multicores and they are doing it pretty fast (well at the cost of nasty bugs that shouldn't make it into retail: i.e. the non-atomic cache flag).
None the less they are still months behind.
Would like them to catch up, means faster dropping prices :p
Asurmen Spec Op
14-03-08, 02:07
thanks delphi. ive always gone with amd since forever. i just preffered it and a lot of friends always recommended them.
i dont get whats wrong with a high fsb but i have never really looked in to what it does and how it can be + or a - but i will take your advice. also cheers for the heads up on the case. the black one mentioned is about 20 quid more. im thinking it looks like a beer fridge but it looked sleek and if its more practical then its worth it. are you sayin yes or no the sound blaster card then guys? not needed? last time i bothered with sound cards onboard sound was diabolical in most cases so i assumed it is still the same
AMD destroyed the Pentium series of chips(which were shit, plain and simple in comparison) however the Core2 is better than anything AMD has, or anything that AMD looks to have released in the near future.
Cmon AMD, I used to love you :'(
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-048-OK&tool=3
I recommend overclockers, I've bought stuff from them 4 times now, its got everything on this site.
Also this one
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-029-OK&groupid=43&catid=1080&subcat=
I'm not so sure about the graphics card in this one though...
Voodoo_Magic
14-03-08, 12:12
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-048-OK&tool=3
I recommend overclockers, I've bought stuff from them 4 times now, its got everything on this site.
Also this one
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-029-OK&groupid=43&catid=1080&subcat=
I'm not so sure about the graphics card in this one though...
overclockers ftw
eclipsecomputers.co.uk for cheaper
but remember, you pay for what you get, in this case its customer service and delivery speeds.
Only know a 2 ppl who ordered from there,and 1 took 2 weeks to get due to stock issues, he checked website and phone and it said "Stock in" which changed to "Stock waiting" while he was talking to him lo.
Appears they do NOT have a live stock database
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/Nvidia-Geforce-9600GT,review-30353-18.html
For a comparison of what the 9600GT means (the answer seems to be:good value for money, but a dissapointment in terms of it being a "9 series" (hmm, geforce 4/Pentium 4 crap all over again?)
Also, don't slate AMD so unconditionally. Yes, C2D is a superior processor design. However, AMD processors can often provide more performance per unit of money at the point, plus the funky SPIDER platform means that you should be safe to upgrade for a long time, whereas intel are already saying that even the new chipsets/mobos like the X38 based ones won't support their next line of processors. That said, if you have to have the fastest, intel definatley have that with their C2QX line and X38 chipsets.
Oh, and I buy the vast majority of my computer stuff from eBuyer (http://www.ebuyer.com). Their service isn't perfect and they use citilink as a courier, but they are cheap, and I've never had any trouble when stuff needed returning.
Regarding the high speed on the RAm - I think Delphi is just saying it's a waste of money. There is a point about RAM speeds and Core2 processors though - most of them are very, very overclockable (I get about 30% out of my E6400 with no real experience, perfectly acceptable running temperatures with the stock cooler, and no stability issues). What you do need is RAM that can keep up with the FSB increases you are performing for this overclock.
Hell-demon
14-03-08, 12:51
Don't forget to take advantage of the exchange rate. The dollar is much much less than the pound, meaning cheaper hardware if you look properly.
ashley watts
17-03-08, 03:38
If money isnt an obstacle , get one built , i saw PC world and instantly thought rip off.
But if you havnt got lots of cash spend on a decent one then get one from there, there decent for all around messing about on but dont expect to play top end games with them :p
landofcake
18-03-08, 00:00
Bang for buck right now:
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
Graphics: nVidia Geforce 8800GT 512Mb
Ram: 2Gb DDR2-800 (PC6400)
Motherboard: Decent Intel P31 based motherboard (or P35 for a little more)
In the UK that'll currently set you back just over £350
Doc Holliday
18-03-08, 12:07
Bang for buck right now:
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
Graphics: nVidia Geforce 8800GT 512Mb
Ram: 2Gb DDR2-800 (PC6400)
Motherboard: Decent Intel P31 based motherboard (or P35 for a little more)
In the UK that'll currently set you back just over £350
that sounds smooth. im lookin for a brand new system but it looks pretty good to start with. add in a hard disk etc and that could be alright. thanks cake.
William Antrim
18-03-08, 16:54
that sounds smooth. im lookin for a brand new system but it looks pretty good to start with. add in a hard disk etc and that could be alright. thanks cake.
Get 2 then!
james_finn
18-03-08, 18:21
that sounds smooth. im lookin for a brand new system but it looks pretty good to start with. add in a hard disk etc and that could be alright. thanks cake.
Not to say I told you so, but thats the same as the spec I quoted for you earlier in the thread :P (However I quoted prices and gave pictures)
Doc Holliday
19-03-08, 14:35
Not to say I told you so, but thats the same as the spec I quoted for you earlier in the thread :P (However I quoted prices and gave pictures)
sorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry. yes your totally correct. still im in the process of moving house and its expensive to get the new one sorted. right now alot of my money is tied up in that and so seeing what cake wrote made it look instantly attractive due to small costs :)
that and im just not seduced by flashy ads and pics etc
that said i thank both of you for your help on the whole pc thing. its much appreciated. i have a good idea what im gonna aim for at least when i can finally say ok time to burn a whole in the credit card.
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