£500 Pc

[bodhi]

Hey,

My dad wants a PC to replace the junk he has at the moment. I said i'd build him one, just wondering what people thought the best use of £500 would be?

Don't need a monitor/keyboard/mouse, just the main box of tricks.

He only wants it for email, internet and maybe the ocassional game (he likes medal of honour and some flight games etc). He doesn't want to spend a fortune on a graphics card, so just a graphics card which is good enough for running most games.

It has to be able to last a few years aswell, as my parents are sick of having to replace it all the time.

Any advice on the latests and greatest stuff would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Bodhi

 

[Electronics & Photo Fan]

He doesn't want to spend a fortune on a graphics card, so just a graphics card which is good enough for running most games.

Isn't that a contradiction?

 

[bodhi]

Yeah, it probably is. I just mean he won't want to play the latest games, but he will want to play some medal of honour/flight sim type stuff, but he doesnt want a £400 graphics card!

 

[Abarbarian]

You won't go far wrong with this memory for £35

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-058-GL

As an alternative to a 1950 Pro this might do , its fully DX 10 and Vista compatible .

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/133101


I'd go for a low wattage AM2 cpu meself as they are as cheap as chips and you can get a good board for next to nowt .

 

[floppybootstomp]

Working to budget, how's this?

Looks like quite a respectable system to me.

 

[bodhi]

Thanks guys,

Flopps, where did you find all that stuff? I was hoping to get an Intel Core 2 Duo processor of possible. Do you think i could get one for the budget?

Bodhi

 

[floppybootstomp]

Here ya go:

This stuff sourced from Overclockers, you can try E-Buyer and Scan, to name but two.

Mix and match to budget and cosmetic taste. Add a floppy drive for around £7.00.

You could economise on the memory, hard disk and video card to get a faster CPU but I think the above represents a nice balance for the money.

The Antec case/PSU comes in white as well.

Also consider a different CPU cooler to the stock one supplied if budget allows. I recommend Noctua, Scythe, Zalman and Thermalright.

 

[bodhi]

Hey mate,

Thanks for the start, it is much appreciated. I was on overclockers, but the main thing that confuses me is what is compatible with what nowadays!! I didn't want to buy a motherboard which didn't fit with the processor/graphics/RAM etc etc.

I would get a 320Gb Seagate drive i think (i like seagate and he wont need 500Gb of RAM).

Is the Geforce 8600 graphics card quite good for most games is it?

Oh, and i'll have to get an operating system. What is the general consensus at the moment? Would i be best to stick Vista onto this?

Cheers again.

Bodhi

 

[floppybootstomp]

Vista or XP eh?

I dunno, really, advantages and disadvantages to both.

Weighing up all the odds though, I'd go for Vista Home Premium 32 bit.

If only for the reason it's actually cheaper than XP

Which perhaps kinda tells us something about MS's brand new OS don't it?

 

[bodhi]

Yeah, thats another thing!! Firstly there are SOOOOO many hardware options out there which is confusing. And now just for a laugh, Microsoft bring out 10 million versions of Vista!! What's that all about!

Is Vista Home Premium 32 the cheapest version? Is there somewhere which tells you what each version has etc?

 

[floppybootstomp]

gotta rush..... pub beckons...... Home Premium is basically the Windows Media edition version of Vista.

Laters

 

[bodhi]

Did you enjoy yourself at the pub Floppy??

Is there much difference between the 32bit and 64bit windows vista? It's only about a tenner more!

Also, i quite like ASUS motherboards, and my mum was asking if i could get a board with built in wifi? They have wireless broadband and she uses it on her laptop and she wants the same on the desktop if possible? Do desktop motherboards come with build in wifi ability?!! :-/

 

[Abarbarian]

Certainly do .

http://uk.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=3&l2=116&l3=0&l4=0&model=1433&modelmenu=1

 

[Abarbarian]

Or this link provided by Sexy Bex in the daily roundup .

http://www.insidehw.com/content/view/318/9/

 

[floppybootstomp]

Asus/Wi-Fi is good

I have all Asus Boards.

However, I was working to budget.....

And yes, pub was good

 

[bodhi]

Yeah, i reckon i could talk my dad into spending a little more if he got something good!!

I had a look at that Antec case Floppy and it looked great. I know what hard drive i want, and can work out the DVD drive also.

The main thing i need help on is what Motherboard, Processor and Memory i need which will all work together. I would like to get an Asus board with built in Wifi and an Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 2Gb or 4Gb of memory. Could you suggest a set up for that by any chance Flopps (or anyone ).

Also, have been looking and Intel have quad core processors now i see. Is the Core 2 Duo a dual core processor? Whats the big difference? (scowl to the first person to say 'one has 2 cores one has 4 cores )

Thanks for all your help guys.

Bodhi

 

[Adywebb]

Now listen here Bodhi - you started off saying your Dad 'only wants it for email, internet and maybe the occasional game' and a budget of £500, so folks have been trying to help you on that basis - if you keep moving the goalposts then previous research and recommendations on your behalf become wasted time

As Flops says the Asus built-in WiFi is good but did exceed your budget.

The cheapest Asus WiFi I can recommend is the P5K-E Wifi at £99.99 at OCUK or £90 at eBuyer - so its going to be another £30 -39 on your budget.

The difference between dual-core and quad-core is of course one has effectively 2 processors and the other 4 - but in real terms it means that you can perform more tasks at once and is particularly good for those engaged in high system tasks such as video editing etc - for gaming there is little benefit at present.

OK, if you are now willing to spend a 'wee-bit' more, then I would go for the Asus WiFi board I suggested above and match it with the E4500 CPU Flops recommended - however if you want to spend a even more, then get the Q6600 quad at £165

 

[Adywebb]

I fear I may have upset you with my last post Bodhi - in which I apologise.

I got a bit peeved because I had just compiled my last post after doing a bit of research for you, and when I previewed I saw you had posted again changing your spec, which made me start over again.

It was meant to be more tongue in cheek than anything, although it does highlight for others the problems we often have here when we spend time helping and then the goalposts change and we have to start over again.

So please stop sulking and get yer a*s back here

 

[bodhi]

Hey Adywebb,

Yeah, i was crying for hours after your horrible comments!! haha. Nah, you'll have to do better than that to upset me!!

I do appreciate everyone's help on here, and i try and give it as and when i can. I didn't mean to move the goalposts, it's just my dad can't make up his mind to what he wants. I did think about starting another thread, but then Muck's may have killed me!!

Probably best to forget the money side of things really and i'll try and concentrate on what he wants. He will play games (and if he doesnt i will when im home ), but he mainly wants something which will last a few years. The last one he had, had a crap motherboard etc and it's never been great, so i want to get something for him which is FAST now, and will still be able to do what he needs in a couple of years.

Cheers for your help so far.

From a quite happy Bodhi

 

[Adywebb]

Yeah, i was crying for hours after your horrible comments!! haha. Nah, you'll have to do better than that to upset me!!

In which case I shall try harder next time

Ok then:

Motherboard with WiFi

Best: Asus P5K Deluxe WiFi £140.99
Cheaper Alternative: Asus P5K-E Wifi £90.71

CPU

Up to date and best-bang-for-your-buck: Intel Q6600 £155-68
(Easily overclockable from 2.4GHz to 3.4GHz )

RAM

Good stuff and fantastic value: GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC2-6400C4 800MHz Ultra Low Latency DDR2 Dual Channel Kit £41.11

Equally good and again fantastic value: Patriot 2GB PC2-6400 C4 Extreme Performance (2x1GB) £46.94 (On special offer at the moment at £41-06)

(Perhaps even get 2 sets at these prices )

Graphics Card

I would get one of the new 8800GT's - but its all pre-order at the moment and demand is phenomenal due to price/performance.

(I will leave any further suggestions to those who know far more than I do about these things)

Case/DVD etc etc I'll leave to your personal choice, but if you need a seperate PSU then get the Corsair HX620W £85-65

Thats it for me mate - the rest is up to you