Building One

[mczee101]

Hi i am about to put together a new PC, thought i wud buy the parts save some cash n get better components. However....

I got a budget of about 1300 quid could i have some suggestions for things like CASE, Graphics Card, and should it be an Anthlon or P4? Any ideas or feedback is welcomed.

I was goin to get a high end graphics card something like an Radon 9700 or Geforce FX but what do people think is the best card out at the moment.

Cases I have no idea looking to spend about 60 ish on it so any suggestions on where i can buy and what to get would b appriciated. (CantSpell)

Final thing is the Athlon or P4? Give me ideas help lol. I was goin get the fastest one that is out when i buy but what brand??
Ta for the help...

 

[Ian]

Hi There,

If you have a budget for £1300 and are intending to spend all of it, you can go for one hell of a system! I've just gone on the price guide and knocked up one of the best spec systems you can get for that price - although it is my personal favorite, and no doubt others will have some other ideas!

Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 - £106
Pioneer DVD-106 OEM 16x Slot DVD- £35
Lian Li PC-6089 Aluminium Case - £136 (not to all tastes!)
Crucial ATI 9700 Pro - £225
Samsung Sync Master SM151S Black 15" TFT - £264
Abit KD7 - £81
Liteon CDRW 48/48/12 - £43
AMD AlthonXP 2400+ - £132
Crucial 512MB DDR Ram - £93
Floppy Drive - £5

That comes to £1120 so far, but excludes a heatsink, keyboard, mouse or speakers - as they can vary a lot in taste. They can cost from £5 each to £50+, it really depends on what you are looking for. The Trust Wireless Deskset I am currently using retails for about £35, and includes a great mouse/keyboard.

Just my suggestion for a system

 

[Quadophile]

Audio part

For speaker's I'd say check out some of the Altec Lansing ones, they have a good range. I use the XA3021 and it is a very good buy.

I did a review on these speakers and if interested you may follow this link

Altec Lansing XA3021

 

[albasol]

For 1300 pounds you will be able to build a beast of a machine and the more people you ask the more confused you will become - everyone has thier own opinion of what makes a 'good' PC.
I have a thing for AMD but there will be others who can't see past Intel.
In my opinion the most important aspect of any machine is the motherboard, when you decide on this then look at processors - many manufacturers will make MB's for both INtel and AMD processors anyway.
The first thing to do is decide exactly what you intend using this machine for, read as many technical specs as you can find for the components that interest you (and check their compatability with one another), then find someone who can supply at a decent cost and who offers some kind of aftersales service. Once you spend this money it's gone.
So you will want to get it right.
I use these sites for components and find them very reasonable, delivery is fast and if you have any problems, returns are no biggy either:
http://www.dabs.com
http://www.overclockers.co.uk (ignore the name, they are component suppliers)

Good luck.

 

[1nteger]

Check out my thread on the Ultimate self-build pc...Apart from some of the more luxurious things like the monitor and joystick, that would be almost within your price range and it's already had some crtical feedback in this community...8)

 

[kish]

If you're going to be doing graphics intensive work or are a serious multi-tasker, then I'd suggest going for more than 512Mb of RAM.
Get a gig of ram and you'll really appreciate the performance of your new baby. Often, it's the amount of ram that causes a bottleneck on an otherwise high-spec'd machine.