I need help with building a new PC

[Ian84]

I`ve decided to build another PC to replace my dinosaur, but its been 3 years since I built this one! and things have changed a bit so I need a bit of guidance. My current machine consists of a Athlon XP1600 1.4ghz CPU 266mhzFSB 512kb cache, 384mb 133mhz SDRam, built onto a PCChips M810L m/board with SiS730 chipset which has 2 PCI slots, 1 AGP 4x slot, 2 UltraDMA IDE inputs, and my current graphics is a nvidia geforce2 mx400 64mb fitted into the AGP 4x slot.

I`ve had a look at some quick processors & some possible boards, but i`m unsure about what kind of DDR memory I should go for & i`ve also noticed that a lot of boards now have a PCI Express slot instead of an AGP slot, so I don`t know which I should go for. Basically I want a ultra fast machine that can cope with CPU intense games. Any help would be great as this machines on it`s last legs!

 

[Igorian]

Do you have a budget in mind?

 

[nstreet]

Basically I want a ultra fast machine that can cope with CPU intense games.

Why not just buy an Xbox or Playstation. You will spend a couple of grand by doing it the pc way, Xbox £99. Plus you wont have any of the compatability issues that you often get with pc games.

 

[2scoops0406]

Basically I want a ultra fast machine that can cope with CPU intense games.

And the whole point of a graphics card is to take processing power away from the CPU onto the GPU, and top end retail graphics cards could have 1 Gb of on board RAM.

 

[Ian84]

I`ve got a budget of about £600, so it won`t be ultra fast, but quicker than what i`ve got. And I already own a PS2 so the PC is for all round use, gaming, web browsing, so on.

 

[Igorian]

The trouble with recommendations is that someone else will say it's pants and recommend something else. The best thing is to get some brand names and then do a bit of research.

IMHO:

PC chips are a budget board and best avoided. I would look at ASUS or EPOX. Choose one that supports Dual channel DDR for better performance.

Processor, really depends on whether you prefer Intel or AMD.

I would use DDR400, but choose a good brand like Corsair or OCZ. Whatever brand you decide on, if using dual channel, buy a matched pair.

It is worth considering that other factors can affect performance. For example, using a decent PSU rather than a £10 budget jobby can make a difference. Cooling should also be taken into account. I had a customer who spent £200 on a case (without PSU) and another £250 on PSU and cooling, so you can go really mad if you have the budget.

 

[Ian84]

My current machine is built from a PCChips M810L board with the SiS730 chipset & i`ve had a lot of weird things happening, whereas my last machine was a Intel board & that run sweet as a nut.

I`ve done a bit of research & found a board in PCWorld by ECS but it`s an ATI chipset & not intel, it can take a P4 up to 3.4ghz 800FSB & it can also take DDR/DDR2 ram, it`s got an AGPro socket, PCIExpressx16 plus the usual I/O sockets, but it`s rather cheap so I think its one to avoid, & as Xmas is only 6 weeks away, i`m going to make my dinosaur last a bit a longer by updating the bios & swap the Athlon 1600 for a 2400.

Thanks for the advice

 

[Igorian]

Yes, also avoid ECS boards. I've also had some compatibility problems with SIS chipsets, but that was a while ago. Gigabyte might be a better option if on a budget. They seem to be the most popular at fairs etc.

When you find a spec. u like, you can always post back for an opinion before you spend ya cash

 

[Ian84]

I`ve finally decided on a board, its the Intel D925ECV & it will take an H/T Pentium 4 EE 800/1066mhz FSB, so I have a choice of making it quick or s**t fast & it can handle upto 4gb of DDR2 400/533mhz plus a PCIExpressx16.

So now all i`ve got to find is a fast CPU and a case.

 

[darude]

Make sure your bus speeds tie up, if your FSB can handle 1066Mhz but you only get DDR400 ram then the hole system will slow down to a bus speed of 200Mhz (IE, FSB of 800), if you get say a 1066MHz FSB P4 at 3.6Ghz the actual clock speed will lower to around 2.8Ghz. Is your MB Double DDR compliant, you can use this to double your memory bandwidth.

Gigabyte do some good MB's for there price with intel chipsets. Intel MB's never get the best performance ratings when compared by price.

I'd avoid SIS chipsets on the MB, they have a reputation for lower the bus speeds for no reason.

PCI-Express is definatley a good choice for games, again if you have the Cash get and SLI compliant motherboad, it will let you attach more than graphics card, to let you double the GPU and Memory (not supported by all games).

 

[homertimpson]

AMD Athlon™ 64 3200+ Processor
Windows® XP Home
ASUS Nforce 410 PCI- X Mainboard
512MB DDR400 Memory
160GB Serial ATA Hard Drive
128MB Nvidia GeForce 6100 Graphics
19" TFT Flat Panel Display
Sony 16x Dual Layer DVD Writer
5.1 Channel Surround Sound Audio
Sound Blaster SB260 Speakers
Media Card Reader 15 in 1
Logitech Desktop KB & Optical Mouse
Classic Warranty-3Years parts & lab.

£549 at Mesh


I've built a few PC's for friends and relatives in the past 3 years - now I don't bother. The spec available from high street biggies like Mesh & Dell are hard to match or undercut - plus all the components are benchtested and compatable and have a full guarantee. Too much hassle now to DIY - unless you want the personal satisfaction of self built.

Check out the above PC to see what £549 can get you in todays market - and don't forget that most of the components are very up to date. [How long would you have to trawl through different pc shops and review sites to put your own good spec self build in place]

let the online retailers take the strain

Regards

Homer

 

[Ian84]

When I said that i`ve decided on a board, I actually meant bought & i`m building it in a Jeantech Butterfly V3 case. All thats left to do now is to get a CPU, GPU & some DDR2 memory which doesn`t seem cheap!

 

[gazza2]

try and beat www.europc.co.uk for spec and price

 

[webbygeeza]

for intense gaming your preference should be in the order of GFX Card > Ram (the more the better 2 gigs is ideal > CPU
majority of your $$ should be spent on a good gfx card and ram, what left should determine your cpu and main board, remainders for other components such as psu