Building New Computer

brocher4

OSNN Junior Addict
Joined
9 May 2005
Messages
29
Hi There,

After eventually getting fed up of slow speeds and poor graphics playing games im now after building myself a new computer:)

So i now ask of you computer geniuses for your help to choose components for my new computer essentially for gaming :nervous:

I've set myself £700 for a completed tower with a AMD 64+ Processor and a ATI Graphics Card (just my prefrences)

Any info will be much appreciated:)

PS: Looking to buy from http://forum.osnn.net/www.ebuyer.comhttp://www.ebuyer.com/customer/home/ but if there is any other UK site that retails cheaper would be willing to buy from there
 
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Not sure what retailers are charging in the UK, or what other sites would be available. Some of the UK posters probably has an idea there. However, you're link isn't working. Not sure if the site is just down, or what's going on... The IP seems registered, but ;)

D:\Documents and Settings\goku>nslookup www.ebuyer.com
Server: dns.dfw1.speakeasy.net
Address: 64.81.127.2

Non-authoritative answer:
Name: www.ebuyer.com
Address: 213.232.80.131


D:\Documents and Settings\goku>ping www.ebuyer.com

Pinging www.ebuyer.com [213.232.80.131] with 32 bytes of data:

Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.

Ping statistics for 213.232.80.131:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 0, Lost = 4 (100% loss),

D:\Documents and Settings\goku>

This could end up being a prob, for peeps trying to look items up from there...
 
Seems rather high priced. What other online shops do you have?
 
It's possible those prices aren't out of place for the UK... I've heard some people post in the past on the price of hardware in their countries vs. what we pay here in the states... I think people in Hong Kong can get creamed on some of em prices...

It might also help to know what you have that might be of use in a rebuild, or if you're needing to buy everything... Even a case or PSU that will be useable (albeit the PSU would have to be looked at to see if it meets the recommendations for an A64) could help some...

On the PSU, you're going to want at least 18 a on the 12 v rail... You'll also need a 12-volt 4 pin connector, besides the ATX connector to power the thing. Floppy drive, you should presumably be able to just move over...
 
brocher
1) Tell us what you are running now and what your expectations are for the 700 pounds.
2) Type of games you like to play, etc.
3) Do you want as much capability as you can get now or is a planned upgrade in 1-2 years, when CPU and video prices have dropped, acceptable. This will drive the choice of an AGP or PCI-e MB which is a significant price driver.
4) Do you plan on keeping the old computer intact or can we use parts of it for the upgrade.

madmatt
UK prices are automatically 20% higher due to tarrifs on tech imports to protect local jobs. (Which is ironic considering Scotland has been taking jobs away from some of my USA tech suppliers.)
 
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While you are replying to Lee's post, please include the items you are looking to get new/replace from your current config.
 
I got bored waiting:

Low cost High performance gaming machine- NOT SLI capable.

Gigabyte makes a solid MB. Not much expansion room on this and not suited to overclocking but it has everything you will need built in. 43 pounds vat incl
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/prod...hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=101704

AMD 64 3700, w/fan, San Diego core (1mByte Cache).
Best single core price/performance curve. 149 pounds vat incl
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/prod...2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=90949

Memory 1GB (2x512) 400mHz Crucial .61 pounds vat incl
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/prod...2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=92002

Antec 480W PSU. 56 pounds vat incl.
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/prod...2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=90615

309 pounds VAT incl.

That leaves you 391 pounds for a video card if you reuse the case, keyboard, mouse and sound card if you have one. That is enough for an Nvidia 7800GT (XFX or MSI brand) (recommended), or an ATI 1800XT and money left over if you want more expansion slots than the gigabyte MB provides or a new case, kybd, mouse, more HD space or better optical drive.

Let the selection debates begin!
 
OK, without feedback, we could only make some assumptions that may or may not apply... I'm going to assume you need a PSU, but that your case, and drives can all be ported...

PSU: Antec TruPower II 550, 63.99 pounds

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/prod...2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=90616

Motherboard: Asus A8N-E SKT 939 NFORCE 4, 56.31 pounds

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/prod...2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=95458

memory: Corsair (VS1GBKIT400) 1024MB (2 x 512MB Matched Pair), £48.16

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/prod...2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=52057

gfx card: BFG GeForce 7800GT OC 256mb PCI-E, £174.90

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/prod...hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=101024

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 (ADA4200BVBOX) X2 4200+, £212.67

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/prod...2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=91328

Running total: 653.35 pounds, VAT included

700 - 653.35 = 46.65 pounds to spare for other components you might need, that haven't been specified. If you need more then that (not sure how much you can migrate over), you can get some cash from a lower end processor...

Edit: I didn't see Lee's post, as I was gathering info, but this is a bit of a higher end system, also within the 700 pound budget...
 
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Goku

You forgot to include the VAT. Add ~20% to those prices. When shopping UK you have to use the higher price shown in small print.
 
Well, what can I say, it would make more sense if they included the total cost in the bold, colored text, rather then try to hide it in the finer print :laugh:

Anyhow, it's still within the budget, but leaves less then 50 pounds for other stuff, as I edited the grand total in the post above. It really depends on what he need, wrt what he can do; and unfortunately he hasn't gotten back to us with any further info that would help us nail down what he actually needs to get new...
 
LeeJend said:
brocher
1) Tell us what you are running now and what your expectations are for the 700 pounds.
2) Type of games you like to play, etc.
3) Do you want as much capability as you can get now or is a planned upgrade in 1-2 years, when CPU and video prices have dropped, acceptable. This will drive the choice of an AGP or PCI-e MB which is a significant price driver.
4) Do you plan on keeping the old computer intact or can we use parts of it for the upgrade.
Sorry for time taken to reply.....

1) Currently im running Athlon Xp 2200+ (1.8ghz) 512MB Ram, Ati Radeon 9600 Pro and the Asus A7V600-X Motherboard, LG Dvd Re-Writer (wont burn dvds for sum reason) and a LG Cd Re-Writer (all in a zorro case)
2) Games playing at the moment Battlefield 2 and Need For Speed: Most Wanted
3)I could live with having a lower rate componant inwait of a price drop but as long as its higher than current config
4) Would love to keep current computer intact but if its neccesary to use components to keep price down then will do
 
OK, first thing you're going to want to do, is look at both Lee's as well as my own component's list. We both compiled our's simultaniously while waiting for some feedback, so hadn't seen each other's list while posting our own respective lists...

From there, if you are adamant on building a whole new system, you might want to go with his, as it has a lower price tag. Not as low as it might appear however, because I included a gfx card, whereas he had not. The gfx card I suggested comes to £205.51 inc VAT, albeit there are 9 in stock, so it might be on sale or something, dunno... My total without that would be

653.35 - 205.51 = 447.84...

Still, if you need a whole new system, you might want to go the cheaper of the 2, or price compare some components. An X2 4200+ proc for instance, will cost a lot more then an A64 3700+, about 90 pounds less... Either the Gigabyte, or the Asus mobo should be good, both use the same chipset etc, so nothing there. If you need all new drives and a case, we might end up needing to look at even a lower end proc (aka a 3200+ or so).

If you are willing to port your hardware, either will suffice, his being a bit lower end, mine being a bit higher end. You can get a DVD burner (to take care of your burning problems) for

£27.45 inc VAT LiteOn SHM-165P6S 16xDVD±RW/RAM beige OEM

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/prod...hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=101320

and be in budget either way.

Do you have any company/product preferences other then building an AMD A64?
 
Sorry for the lack of activity in this thread on my behalf, but would just like to tell you all that i have now ordered my new pc :nervous:

Qty SKU Description

1.00 314089 NEC DVD±RW burner, ND-3550A, 16x,
Dual, Silver OEM

1.00 307700 Asus A8N-E, nForce4 Ultra, Socket-939,
ATX, S-ATA, GbLAN, Sound, PCI-Ex16

1.00 309484 AMD Athlon 64 3700+ 2.2GHz Socket 939,
1MB, BOXED w/fan

1.00 316372 Maxtor DiamondMax 10 250GB SATA2
16MB 7200RPM

1.00 311800 Antec Performance One P180 Miditower,
Silver Aluminum (Without PSU)

1.00 308878 Tagan i-Xeye 420W, Dual Fan, Blue
Light, 2xSATA, ATX/EPS, PCI-E, 20/24pin

1.00 118737 Corsair Value S. PC3200 DDR-DIMM 1024MB
Kit w/two matched Value Select 512MB

1.00 313486 Microsoft Windows XP Home SP2
Software English OEM

1.00 306344 PowerColor Radeon X850XT 256MB GDDR3,
PCI-Express, DVI/ViVo, Tv-Out, Retail

1.00 302845 Sony Floppy Drive, 3,5" 1,44MB Silver
Floppy Drive Internal

Those are the components specifically picked by myself and built for £801
 
Have recceived delivery date (end of month) due to the processor being out of stock, so whn reccieved i'll post some pics :nervous:
 
For the benefit of those folks not used to UK prices - Ebuyer is the cheapest online retailer for most things in the uk - for other things there's froogle.co.uk, overclockers.co.uk, overclock.co.uk, komplett.co.uk, dabs.com, scan.co.uk.
 
LordOfLA said:
For the benefit of those folks not used to UK prices - Ebuyer is the cheapest online retailer for most things in the uk - for other things there's froogle.co.uk, overclockers.co.uk, overclock.co.uk, komplett.co.uk, dabs.com, scan.co.uk.

komplett.co.uk was where i ordered the computer from :nervous:
 
Ah what a nightmare, i've totally goofed up:dead:

Ordered the wrong case for my system to be built in so i've had to cancel the order and wait for my credit card to be re debited so that the funds are back in to purchase the new order (can't see why i wasn't able to just change the ordered as it wasn't in production stage) :cry:

Now i don't know how long i will have to wait till i can order new one, hopefully 2 days tops!

P.S/ The case i was ment to order was the Gigabyte GZ-FSCA1-AN Silver Aluminium Body
 
They billed your card before the material was in stock to ship AND before the order started porcessing!

We call that fraud in the USA and discourage it with lawyers.
 
brocher4 said:
Sorry for the lack of activity in this thread on my behalf, but would just like to tell you all that i have now ordered my new pc :nervous:

1.00 308878 Tagan i-Xeye 420W, Dual Fan, Blue
Light, 2xSATA, ATX/EPS, PCI-E, 20/24pin

Since your order is in limbo I would recommend a different power supply. That supply only has a single +12V rail @ 22A. That is really pushing your luck for the system you comfigured.

You need a supply with 2 +12V rails with 17-18A each or higher. That supply has most of it's capacity on the +3.3 and +5V rails which is what the last geenration of PC's needed. The new stuff (AMD K6, Intel P4, dual core and latter model video cards) need more power on the +12V.

Update - I just tried to research the technical data on the TAGAN power supplies and was not impressed. They have a dual 12V rails at 20A each, 430W supply at Komplett, but the combined +12V was only 26A. The TG-430-U15 is still pushing your luck for the system you selected since it is effectively only 6 more amps.

http://www.tagan.com/pages/products/easyconS/TG-430-U15_Tagan_UK_mini.pdf
 
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