Another pc build thread.... Im sorry

[y2dom]

Hi,

Im after rebuilding my pc, (i posted a post aggggesss ago about getting a quad)

Anyway, after reading a view on here i have nicked a few links..

Can i ask your opion on some components, im a strict budget, (prob no more than £300)

http://www.cclonline.com/product-info.asp?product_id=14701&category_id=491&manufacturer_id=0
http://www.cclonline.com/product-info.asp?product_id=20805&category_id=491&manufacturer_id=0

I seen those Mobo bundle, which one is better? I would want at least 3gb ram, i wouldent run SLI but im after a decent ATI graphics card as that can output fullscreen video in vista (not sure if ill use vista, but may)

Im also proberly in need of a PSU and case, but im in no rush for this, as i can use my old stuff.

Would it be possible someone could post a link for a decent priced ATI graph card? and recommend another mobo if they dont think the one i have posted is that great.

I would like it to play HD content without any troubles, my current one struggles.
I have a few HD movies, in MKV format. While it plays, it is very jerky and there is a sound delay.
And through the HD dvd player connected to it, my current pc crashes.

I use my pc at the moment for,

Dvd encoding (uses loads RAM... Just kills my current pc)
General surfing
downloading
msn etc...


My current pc build is

Amd 64bit 6400+ 754 socket
1gig ram
320gig HDD


Thank you for any help.

 

[Liam]

If you want to play HD content and encode DVD and video FAST then I suggest you forget AMD and turn to Intel.

Near indentical spec intel and amd chips running HD content show a world of difference in CPU usage like 80% for AMD and 405 for Intel, the Intel chips tend to have bigger caches.

Liam

 

[y2dom]

Ok i have sort of taken concideration to what you have said, But then come across an AMD with 2mb cache.

Would this spec ive chosen be good together?

MB:
http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...790X+Socket+AM2++Motherboard+?productId=30537
CPU:
http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...e+6400++3.20GHz+(Retail+AM2)+?productId=28396
RAM: X2
http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...PC2-6400+C5+XMS2+DHX+(2x1GB)+?productId=27054
G.Card:
http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...deon+X1550+512MB+PCI-Express+?productId=28238

 

[dannygp]

My god things have come down in price since i packed in the pc's. If you could I would suggest Ballistix RAM. A 7600GT gfx card Minimum. However, I think AMD have caught up on the MB's. There is a website that shows you them all in comparison. Give me a few mins.

 

[dannygp]

My god, I paid £130 for a gig of Ballistix almost 2 years ago, can get 2gig now for £40 :O
Were very cheap, not sure what they are like compared to others now....http://www.overclockers.co.uk/

Have a look here for some pointers http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/index.php

The review which shows you the speed of all graphics cards, cpu's, motherboards, RAM etc is somewhere on the crucial website.

 

[jug]

y2dom, that spec is fine for the money but the gfx card isnt going to be able to run modern games.

A 7600GT gfx card Minimum.

stop living in the past, 7600gt was midrange 2 years ago, these days its old and pointless and worth £35.

 

[dannygp]

It was top of the range when i got it. Then a month later they had that 8.....

7600gt is a top gfx card. Still got it today. Very good gfx. Although havent played a pc game since CoD 3 came out and destroyed my CoD obssession

 

[jug]

7900gtx was top of the range 2 years ago, the 7600gt was a midrange card when it first came out, hence the low price tag.

 

[y2dom]

y2dom, that spec is fine for the money but the gfx card isnt going to be able to run modern games.

Thanks for the advice Jug
I dont really play games..

Do you know if that G.card will withstand HD playback, either x264 files/hd dvd or bluray?

 

[Liam]

Ok i have sort of taken concideration to what you have said, But then come across an AMD with 2mb cache.

Would this spec ive chosen be good together?

MB:
http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...790X+Socket+AM2++Motherboard+?productId=30537
CPU:
http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...e+6400++3.20GHz+(Retail+AM2)+?productId=28396
RAM: X2
http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...PC2-6400+C5+XMS2+DHX+(2x1GB)+?productId=27054
G.Card:
http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...deon+X1550+512MB+PCI-Express+?productId=28238

can appreciate your not wanting to spend alot of money but the mobo is rubbish, your looking for problems straight away with that, CPU and RAM are decent though, GFX erm nope nada your just wasting £30 TBH.

Spend at least £50 minimum of the GFX card anyway.

You need something that will be DX10b compatible or yo'll just be buying again soon.

If you can get a VAT number of a business then check here http://www.amd-businesscenter.com/i...ion=com_virtuemart&Itemid=2&vmcchk=1&Itemid=2

all the time and watch for the top item, you get the processor free and it costs up to £150!

Liam

 

[Stu DemonD]

If you can get a VAT number of a business then check here http://www.amd-businesscenter.com/i...ion=com_virtuemart&Itemid=2&vmcchk=1&Itemid=2

all the time and watch for the top item, you get the processor free and it costs up to £150!

Nice one - going to register with them

 

[ChrisUK]

Nice one - going to register with them

Stuuuuu can i borrow your business number?

 

[Stu DemonD]

Just registered with them, with that number which is tied to my business - so not going to jeopardise it.

 

[ChrisUK]

Just registered with them, with that number which is tied to my business - so not going to jeopardise it.

Lol ok .

 

[y2dom]

can appreciate your not wanting to spend alot of money but the mobo is rubbish, your looking for problems straight away with that, CPU and RAM are decent though, GFX erm nope nada your just wasting £30 TBH.

Spend at least £50 minimum of the GFX card anyway.

You need something that will be DX10b compatible or yo'll just be buying again soon.

If you can get a VAT number of a business then check here http://www.amd-businesscenter.com/i...ion=com_virtuemart&Itemid=2&vmcchk=1&Itemid=2

all the time and watch for the top item, you get the processor free and it costs up to £150!

Liam

Um.. I was just about to order LOL.
Could you point me in the direction of a decent Mobo? A friend of mine has the board with that cpu and said it runs fine.

I only watch media from my pc and using it for the usual stuff like web/work etc.. No games.

I was going to run vista, but tbh prob wont now. That was the only reason to go ATI so i was able to fullscreen video on my HD tv.

Thanks for the advice tho

 

[Liam]

gfx http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=747609

mobo erm http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=500105

These are just examples though.

Liam

 

[PsychoHippy]

The thing you need to know about HD is it is aalways about the quality of your 3d card which deals with most of the rendering of the image.

i recomend nvidia over ATI. they are more reliable and i know they are more expensive.

also, look for a graphics card with a fast core and memory (anything over 500mhz core is considered fast for a 3d card. latest nvidias go upto 740ish)

also, check the BUS speed (also known as FSB) of your motherboard your buying or already have. the graphics card cannot run faster than the bus speed of your motherboard. and the person above me recomended an ASUS motherboard. i agree with him.
i think ASUS is the best make of motherboard. i have one they come with helpful support programs etc

and i recomend Intel instead of AMD because AMD procesors get HOT! very hot. everyone i know with an AMD complains about it (unless they have good cooling)


ALSO dont get 3gb of memory. always go for even numbers if you are getting dual channel memory. the pc prefers it. and if you are running windows XP remember you CANNOT use more than about 3.6gb of memory. windows xp cannot handle it.
to get more memory you need a 64bit operating system.

hope these tips help

 

[Stu DemonD]

i recomend nvidia over ATI. they are more reliable and i know they are more expensive.

Why?

Say you want to run a dual monitor system on SLi? Then want? A 3rd GFX card maybe?

 

[ChrisUK]

The thing you need to know about HD is it is aalways about the quality of your 3d card which deals with most of the rendering of the image.

I hope your not talking about HD Video such as movies as this has nothing to do with your graphics card other than it drives your monitor. HD video mostly requires good processor -> memory bandwidth and a good hard drive read rate achieved by using 7,200rpm SATA-II.

i recomend nvidia over ATI. they are more reliable and i know they are more expensive.

Again explain?. I know this to be pure crap. I've used ATI since 1996 in all my PC's and most of the PC's I build for clients and they have not once gone wrong.

also, look for a graphics card with a fast core and memory (anything over 500mhz core is considered fast for a 3d card. latest nvidias go upto 740ish)

Again duff info. Clock and mem speed does have a part to play but only when it goes with other figures such as memory pipelines, PCIe Lanes, and work per clock.

also, check the BUS speed (also known as FSB) of your motherboard your buying or already have. the graphics card cannot run faster than the bus speed of your motherboard. and the person above me recomended an ASUS motherboard. i agree with him.
i think ASUS is the best make of motherboard. i have one they come with helpful support programs etc

I agree Asus make good boards. The rest of that paragraph is rubbish. The Front bus is the physical connection on the motherboard between the CPU and RAM what has that got to do with the graphics card? .

and i recomend Intel instead of AMD because AMD procesors get HOT! very hot. everyone i know with an AMD complains about it (unless they have good cooling)

Maybe back in the days of the 1.4Ghz Athlon 'Thunderbird' core. Since then they have ran cooler than the equivalent Pentium. Just look at the 'Prescott' core on the P4 Ht's you can use them to heat your house ffs.

ALSO dont get 3gb of memory. always go for even numbers if you are getting dual channel memory. the pc prefers it. and if you are running windows XP remember you CANNOT use more than about 3.6gb of memory. windows xp cannot handle it.
to get more memory you need a 64bit operating system.

Why not? As long as the memory is installed in pairs it doesn't matter what amount is achieved you still get the Dual Channel performance. 4gb is perfectly fine on Windows XP. Any more is stupid though.

hope these tips help

Not really you have just confused him with duff info.

 

[BigglesPiP]

4GB or ram and an X1050????

AMD is great for an easy to upgrade cheapo PC, but intel is where the performance is at. Taking the same budget as you used above, I've come up with this spec, if you want. I'm not going to force intel on you, but this is what can be done.

P35 based Motherboard (terrific clocker, 45nm support)
http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Motherboards/Socket+775+%28Intel%29/MSI+P35+NEO-F+LGA+775+Motherboard+?productId=28016
Q6600 Quad 8MB cache (G0, runs cooler)
http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...95W+G0+Stepping+(Retail+775)+?productId=28356
nVidia 8600GT
http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...orce+8600GT+256MB+DDR2+PCI-E+?productId=26918
2GB of good memory:
http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...0+Gold+Gamer+eXtreme+(2x1GB)+?productId=26115

If your PSU is good enough, then this will blow any AMD spec. of the same price into the reeds.