New computer - PC Specialist?

[floppybootstomp]

What is the difference between the 2.2Ghz and the 2.4Ghz anyway?

0.2 Ghz

Basically, the faster the better, your machine will run faster.

General price for AMD 64 4600 Dual core is about £165.00

Here's another supplier: OCUK (scroll up)

AMD are no longer manufacturing socket 939 CPU's only AM2 chips and presumably Semprons, so socket 939 CPU's have mostly been reduced in price. Ignore the link where it's priced at £450.00, that was probably it's original price.

 

[Charlotte.O]

Thank you for clarifying that. So basically it would be a different of 2 x 0.2 GHZ, which I doubt would be noticeable at all?


You pointed out that AMD are not making socket 939s anymore. I want to buy this very good machine now, and not have problems with games for 2-3 years (perhaps optimistic, but I can hope!). Will buying a 939 socket go against that? Or do they have much life left in them do you think? I did look at AM2 sockets, but a lot of reviews say that the graphics card for example (7900GTX) is disappointing with the AM2 socket, as it is made with the 939 in mind. They are also a hell of a lot more expensive! And I wasn't able to get all the other components that I wanted as options to match with an AM2 CPU on PCSpecialist anyway.

 

[floppybootstomp]

2 x 0.2 Ghz won't be that noticeable, but if you were to compare two identical machines with the 2.2 & 2.4 chips, you probably would discern a difference.

AMD are changing chip formats so fast, AM2 may be a dead duck in one year or so, who knows?

Right now, Athlon 64 CPU's are a bargain, I say snap 'em up whilst they're available. And they are still, to my mind, up to date.

Only problem will be you'll never be able to upgrade. Or replace a faulty CPU or motherboard. Small considerations when you consider the advantages

 

[Charlotte.O]

Well thank you so much everyone, for all the help. I feel confident that this is a system that is worth the money and will perform well.


Floppybootstomp, thanks for the tips on the CPU. I found another quote from the site: Our processors and motherboards come with a 3 year warranty

With that in mind, replacing a faulty CPU or motherboard shouldn't be a problem, as I should think that if PCSpecialist don't have the exact same ones left in stock, they would have to replace with something equally as good or better.

So I am going to go ahead and click that order button, I shall let you know how it all turns out.

 

[Charlotte.O]

I got a very speedy reply from PCSpecialist this morning, saying that the PSU is manufactured by FSP. Is this a reputable brand? Would the 500W suffice or would I still be better off going with 600?

 

[muckshifter]

I got a very speedy reply from PCSpecialist this morning, saying that the PSU is manufactured by FSP. Is this a reputable brand? Would the 500W suffice or would I still be better off going with 600?

If it's good enough for Corsair, then it's good enough for me ... a 500 will be ample.


FSP are a reputable PSU manufacturer who make PSUs for Corsair.

 

[Charlotte.O]

Hi again,

I'm afraid I have yet another question! I went ahead and ordered a PC from PC Specialist on Tuesday evening, but it turned out to be a completely different computer to the one I initially posted! Following some advice I got the following machine:

CPU

INTEL® CORE® 2 DUO E6600 (2 X 2.40GHZ) 1066mhz FSB/4MB Cache

Memory

2048 MB CORSAIR DDR2-667 PC5300 - LIFETIME WARRANTY! (2x1GB)

Motherboard

ASUS® P5N32 SLI SE DELUXE: 2 PCI, DUAL LAN, SATA RAID

USB Options

SIX USB 2.0 PORTS (4 REAR + 2 FRONT)

Hard Drive 1

SATA II 320 GB HARD DISK @ 7200rpm 8mb cache

Hard Drive 2

NONE

Raid

NONE

CD Writer/Combi Drive

16x +/- DVD WRITER (8x +/- Dual Lyr) (5x DVD-RAM) (40x CD-RW) (£23)

DVD ROM

NONE

CD/DVD Writer

NONE

Graphics Card 1

NONE, I ALREADY HAVE A GRAPHICS CARD

Graphics Card 2

NONE

Sound

HIGH END ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL SOUND (RECOMMENDED)

Modem

NONE, I WILL BE USING BROADBAND

Network Facilities

10/100/1000 NETWORK CARD FOR BROADBAND

Floppy Disk Drive

INTERNAL 23 IN 1 CARD READER (READS XD FORMAT) (NO FLOPPY)

Memory Card Reader

NONE

Case

Stylish Silver/Black Sigma case + 2 front USB

Power Supply & Cooling

500W (Peak) Super Quiet Dual Rail PSU + 120mm fan & CPU Cooler (£39)

As you can see, I decided not to include a graphics card, as buying one separately meant that I would save over £100. I was planning to get a 7900GTX but I made the mistake of checking ebay for prices, and there was a bargain 7950GX2 that I couldn't resist. The card has arrived (and by not ordering it with the machine I have saved over £200 so financially I thought I was doing something great!). It's huge! Size wise it should fit into the tower (I ordered the Sigma case at https://www.secure.pcspecialist.co.uk/index.php?page=imagesindex)

but I am now a little worried I went for something a bit too powerful. It says on the card that it needs to be connected to the PSU - no problem I thought, I doubt the FSP PSU would come without a PCI-E connector. But looking at the card, there seems to be two power sockets. I am now wondering whether it's normal for PSUs to come with two PCI-E connectors? Or does this card not need both connections linked to the PSU? If that's the case, how do I know which one to connect?

PC Specialist were ultra speedy at answering my questions before I ordered anything, but they're a little slow at responding now that I placed the order. I hope that this is because I'm asking specific questions about a machine that I have custom picked, and not because they're not too worried about answering me now that they have my money! Their site asks you either to phone, or to email, but not to email and then phone if you don't get an answer right away as this doubles their workload unnecessarily, but I'm considering ringing anyway which is what I probably should have done right away. They do ask you to allow them 2-3 working days to respond to queries, so I'll give them a little more time yet.

In the meantime, does anyone know whether I should expect a PSU which will have the connections required for the 7950 graphics card (PC Specialist told me they use FSP PSUs)? Or am I going to have to spend even more money and buy a new PSU? Something which I really don't want to do obviously, after getting it included in a custom prebuilt machine that has a warranty as is!

 

[floppybootstomp]

First of all, that's a nice machine.

You should have gone for a bigger power supply, note that your one is only 500W peak and only cost £39.00.

What you really wanted was 500W constant and probably costing around £60.00.

However, let's deal with what you have and hope the PSU is up to the job of running a hefty grafix card and a twin core Conroe.

Good idea only going for one DVDRW btw.

A typical modern PSU will come with two graphics card connectors, that's because some systems use two cards in either SLI or Crossfire mode. From what I've read it sounds as if your PSU has two card connectors, just use one and ignore the other one.If you look at this PSU review here on page three of that review you'l see the PSU connector connected to a graphics card. There is also a pic showing the card connector on it's own.

You will need to give the graphics card the PSU connector before your system will boot.

Let us know how you get on.

 

[floppybootstomp]

Amendment: I'm not sure, but your video card probably needs the six pin connector, not the four pin one, so that last pic may be a little misleading as it's a four pin connector, but you get the idea.

 

[Charlotte.O]

I honestly thought I was doing the right thing in buying a graphics card separately. Now I'm really having doubts! Thanks for linking me to your review, that was really helpful. I just got the graphics card out again, and have noticed a couple more things which I'm a little worried about! Yes, you are right that my card needs a six pin. I have taken a photo and you can see it here: http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c388/Spiritseekereq/P1010010.jpg

Which out of the two should I connect the PSU to? The top or bottom one? And upon looking for images of the 7950 that I could link here (rather than exposing you to my awful photography skills, sorry about that!) I can't find a card that looks like the one I have, which is scary! Every image that google images brings up only seems to have one 6 pin connector. Help! What do I have? Also, one place listed it as being 9 and a half inches long. The card I have is 31cm long!

Also, it has two connects for my monitor:
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c388/Spiritseekereq/P1010014.jpg
Which should I use? and my monitor's connector doesn't fit either!

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c388/Spiritseekereq/P1010015.jpg

I feel like I have jumped in at the deep end when I can barely swim!

 

[Anon_F]

Recruiting time

Charlotte.O, when you get this fine pc up & running do you fancy helping out by using you pc to help others? then why not have a look at this thread then; www.pcreview.co.uk/forums/thread-2350494.php

If you decide not to, no worries

 

[muckshifter]

Well, you are learning, I hope not the hard way ...

OK, I cannot make out if that is a dual card or not, but it looks like one, if so you'll need two 6pin power cables off the PSU ... you're usually lucky to get one ... you may need to get a new PSU that WILL do the job.

One important change for this second generation of dual-GPU graphics card from NVIDIA is the requirement for only a single PCI Express power connection. The first iteration (never sold or marketed) was on a much longer PCB card and required two PCIe power connections for a single dual-GPU video card.

As for the "other end" that is what is called DVI ... not a worry, you can get an adaptor for that ... DVI to VGA ... a "retail box" would have one in the box for you. Mine did.



oh, and you need to use "macro mode" on your camera, if it has it.

 

[Me__2001]

the 7950 is basically 2 graphics cards in one so having 2 plugs for extra power makes sense, well to me it does

Edit: if its a SLI capable PSU which i would think it should be then you'll have 2 power connectors

 

[Charlotte.O]

Thanks for yet more helpful info, muckshifter. I've just had a quick look around and it seems the adaptor is only a couple of pounds, so that isn't painful at least. When I use it, which out of the two DVI connectors should I use though?


and Me__2001, I agree that it makes sense to have two plugs, but what is worrying me is that I can't find any pictures of a 7950 that does have two, they all seem to look like this, with only one plug:
http://www.itnewsonline.com/images/news/XFX-7950GX2-2.jpg

It's just making me wonder what I have bought, and whether or not I have got something different to what I thought I was buying!

 

[muckshifter]

I found it ... read my edit ... it does require TWO power connectors.


Never buy computer components from Ebay ... especially if no not what you is doing.

 

[floppybootstomp]

As others have said, connect both power connectors.

You should have got a DVI to VGA connector with the card, if you didn't you'll have to buy one.

You can use either of the two outputs of the video card, it's not important, you'll soon see whether you have an image or not

Also, make sure to load latest video drivers from Nvdia after installing the card.

 

[muckshifter]

Thanks for yet more helpful info, muckshifter. I've just had a quick look around and it seems the adaptor is only a couple of pounds, so that isn't painful at least. When I use it, which out of the two DVI connectors should I use though?


and Me__2001, I agree that it makes sense to have two plugs, but what is worrying me is that I can't find any pictures of a 7950 that does have two, they all seem to look like this, with only one plug:
http://www.itnewsonline.com/images/news/XFX-7950GX2-2.jpg

It's just making me wonder what I have bought, and whether or not I have got something different to what I thought I was buying!

Charlotte, it looks like you bought a card that was not intended for the market ... I do hope it works.

Have a close look at the DVI end, you may see a I or II mark ... if not choose the one at the top to start with. If that not work, try the other one.

 

[floppybootstomp]

Just out of interest, where did you buy the video card?

I've never seen one like that before but I see Mucks has done his homework and it looks as though it is some kind of prototype.

 

[Charlotte.O]

I got it from Ebay, a mistake I think! I did contact the seller and ask to return it as it was not clear that it was a first generation card in the auction. He said he would refund me so I posted it back today, fingers crossed it all goes smoothly!


I've really made the whole process of buying a custom built computer much more difficult than it needs to be I think! But I will get there in the end, no small thanks to your help here.

 

[chelseafc2005]

I got it from Ebay, a mistake I think! I did contact the seller and ask to return it as it was not clear that it was a first generation card in the auction. He said he would refund me so I posted it back today, fingers crossed it all goes smoothly!


I've really made the whole process of buying a custom built computer much more difficult than it needs to be I think! But I will get there in the end, no small thanks to your help here.

glad to hear that the seller is being cooperative now i would not reccomend buying computer equiptment off of ebay but if you do want to buy a computer item off of ebay i would reccomend you show us the item link before making the leap into purchasing it