rgv_stu

rite im in the need of a newer pc the old one is getting rather unreliable...

so i have decided to build my own up only thing im puzzled about is motherboard and processor choosing.

ideally i want something like intel p4 3.2gig+ speed wise but i dont know what processor type to get or wether to choose an amd if so which type ?
its all too confusing with socket types, speeds etc

help please

i use the machine mainly for surfing net, cam pic editing, watching the odd dvd etc, not into games just want a good foundation to last me a few years.

also a half decent graphics card would be a help too

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

What's the budget?

(I can't answer the question...I'm just lurking as I'm half ready to junk this P3 on my desk )

Bartop

tbh for what you want it for I wouldn't worry to much although for video encoding Intel seem to have the edge on the whole - remember though to budget for a big hard disk (and back up) plus plenty of ram which will help on that front too.
Steer away from on board GFX if you can help it or at least get a Mobo with an AGP or PCI Express slot so you can upgrade later if you want..
Also worth budgeting for a nice screen as your gonna spend a lot of time looking at it

Tiggs

are you building your own for fun or to save money?

i had one built for me recently and there was no point in doing it myslef...would have saved hardly anything at all.

T

NotoriousREV

I wouldn't bother with Intel myself. £ for £, AMD has them licked. Go for Skt 939 AMD Athlon 64, preferably X2 (i.e. dual core, not dual proc). Shed loads of RAM and a pair of RAIDed SATA drives.

OllyK

have a look at www.scan.co.uk I have built numerous PC's over the years, but this time I had them build one. It was no more expensive for them to build it for me than buying the parts.

Tiggs

thats what i did:

AMD Athlon 64 dual core, 2GB ram, 2X250GB HD...etc, etc

I reckon the shipping was more than the bloke charged to build it!

rgv_stu

looking to save money, dont need software or half the crap they want to give me, and i get exactly what i want. hdd i was just going to get a 250 gig or similar and use my 80gig newish hdd for my ghost images as backup. its the processor socket type and make im confused with getting. i got a 3.4 gig p4 at work which just makes my 1 gig p3 seem dog slow now, plus its getting unreliable as everytime it powers up it detects a different amount of ram!

Tiggs

plenty of places that will build exactly what you want and charge you bugger all for doing it.....in fact, when i costed up my new pc i couldnt have built it myslef as cheap due to the discount on bits my builder got!

i specified everything on my pc from case to inwards!

BlkKnight

www.aria.co.uk & www.cclonline.co.uk offer those services as well AFAIK

Tiggs

yep...although i just emailed all the people on ebay selling systems and asked for a quote for what i wanted.....had a few reply and one bloke who said he wouldnt build what i wanted as it was wrong - for a few reasons he pointed out that made perfet sense....so after LOTS of emails back and forth he built what i should have asked for!.....superb service as he didnt try to up the cost of what i was doing at all, just suggested better options.

T

lightning101

I have yet to see a computer at any budget level that I can't build cheaper myself

Tiggs

thats what i thought but i went on line to scan and dabs and ebuyer etc and "bought" the bits that i have in my pc and it was £2 more to buy the bits (thats both cost including postage)

I assumed the builder got my parts a bit cheaper and thats where his £50? profit came from.

Foot_Tapper

It used to be quite a bit cheaper to DIY, now the margins have really closed.

The main difference with DIY is, you get the pc in the spec you want.
And if a guy can quote the more or less DIY price and do it for you then ur quids in, as Tiggs has just done.

Tiggs

should add...the "risk" with the way i did it was that the builder was somebloke i found on ebay so less security if it went wrong.

as it turned out he has been 10 X better than any other PC comp i have ever used. Took my final order on a Mon night - had the PC on my door mat by the Friday. Lots of help since via email, sent me all the boxes for bits in case i wanted to upgrade in the future and sel the old bits on ebay. Runs himself as a proper company, proper invoice for my accounts.....just fronts himself via ebay and why not if it gets him the business?

took a bit of hunting round but worth doing (unless you love building PC's....i had no time and no idea either!)