Custom built PC

[Gary Jackson]

Chaps, I'm getting a custom machine built by a shop that is local to me and was wondering if you could comment on the stuff that is going in it as I don't want to get ripped off, so to speak....the components that I have been quoted for as follows:

19" tft monitor (don’t know the make)
256 gfx card (don’t know the make)
x16 dvd writer (samsung)
x1 Gig of ram (don’t know the make)
AMD Sempron 2600 processor
Motherboard (don’t know the make)
Maxtor 120 Gig hdd ( don’t know what speed,5400 or 7200)

Ok, I have not really spoken too much to the guy building the pc but for all this it was quoted at £600 without the OS......As a thumb of rule, is all the stuff included in the price worth it? or would I have to see exactly the brand names of the components for you guys to see if it is all worth it for me?

I have done a bit of "chasing prices" up on the net but don’t really know what mobo type/ram/processor suits each other and I'm getting daft amounts on-line quotes, any chance you chaps could give me some ideas in a 'list' that I would expect from this price range of goods from a pc building shop?

ps, I have limited time to order it in time for the bairn’s christmas delivery!!

cheers for your quick response in advance.

 

[slam2k5]

Its probably not worth the money considering its from a local pc shop and most of my local pc shops are shite and stock sub-standard parts. If your definitely wanting a brand new system and the best within your budget then you might want to try www.ebuyer.co.uk. Buy all the components individually and put it together yourself. i quickly put together this from ebuyer:


AMD (Venice) Athlon 64Bit 3200+ Socket 939pin CPU
Asus A8V-E SE SKT 939 VIA AUDIO LAN PCI-Express SATA ATX Motherboard
Samsung SM913N 19" TFT 8ms 700:1 (1280x1024) Monitor
Pioneer DVR-110D 16x DVD±RW Dual Layer Internal IDE (Silver) Drive
Kingston 1GB DDR PC3200 RAM
PNY Verto GeForce 6 6600GT PCI-E 128MB GDDR3 Graphics Card
Seagate ST3200822AS Barracuda 200GB 7200RPM SATA/150 Hard Drive:
(Just add your own case)

£627.44 inc postage


Obviously you could change the system specs to your hearts content but this should open your eyes enough to see that your money could be better spent.

 

[huggi]

i have to agree with slam2k5

 

[jay]

definatly build it yourself!

It's quite simple

You could be getting socket A.

The components you listed cost around £410, that's assuming that they are new (could be the remains of an upgrade).

I agree with slam2k5
These companies stock substandard parts lke pcchips and pny ect. (thats the only way they can compete with DELL) and when they go faulty they blam the software, leaving you to pick up the bill.

There are many companies, like ebuyer, that are great value

www.lowestonweb.com/
www.dabs.com/
www.scan.co.uk/todayonly/
www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_This_Week_Only_25.html
[DLMURL]http://www.komplett.co.uk/k/k.asp[/DLMURL]
www.aria.co.uk/

Building a pc for gaming is the most expensive
IMO go for a socket 939 system like the:-
asus a8n-sli deluxe
athlon64 3000+ venice core
2x512mb corsair value sellect will do for starters

 

[Dutcho]

Jesss Gaz thats double the amount for the actuall cost, I just built the kids one each, better spec for 350, mind you they already had a monitor but fook man how much would a monitor cost.

He's taking ya eye's out.

 

[nara]

He's taking ya eye's out.

Yep, far too much.

 

[Dutcho]

Here's a quick price guide, added a TV card so you get the free view channels as well, all that's missing is the monitor.



AMD Sempron 2600+ (SDA2600box) Skt A Processor 256KB Cache 333FSB retail boxed with 3 year warranty 065078 *7 days
£51.67 £51.67 065078 *7 days £51.67 £51.67

MSI K7N2 Delta FSR Socket A nforce2 AGP8x 5.1channel audio LAN 098188 182 £30.20 £30.20

Hauppauge WinTV-Nova-t PCI Freeview Receiver for 38 Plus Channels in DVD Quality DVB Radio / Remote control / And Doubles as a PC Video Recorder 027669 92 £34.03 £34.03

Seagate ST3120022A 120GB 7200RPM UDMA/100 2MB Cache - OEM 047781 375 £40.71 £40.71

Kingston 512MB DDR PC3200 400MHz CL3 Memory Module 049294 1336 £24.29 £48.58

Sapphire Radeon 9250 128MB AGP8x DDR 64-bit DVI-I TV-Out Lite-Retail Box 066318 9 £25.76 £25.76

LG GSA-4167BAL 16x DVD±RW Dual Layer Internal IDE (Black) - OEM 097237 1086 £24.16 £24.16

Ebuyer Extra Value 0314TL-BB ATX Gaming Case in Black with USB/Audio/1394 Side window and 350w PSU(no power cord) 091831 362 £34.99 £34.99

Cart Total: £290.10
Order usually ships in 7 days
What is this? Deliver my Order by:
Shipping Band: *£5.79
Approx Cart Weight: 10.32Kg

Do you have a promotion code? Enter it here then click 'Update Cart'

Shipping Surcharge: £0.30
SubTotal: £296.19
VAT: £51.88
Total: £348.07

 

[jay]

Sorry Dutcho, have to disagree

Don't get socket a it's not upgradable

athlon64
www.lowestonweb.com/Products/DisplayInfoMain.asp?e=1E10889D-7A74-4C3B-860B-D71C792E8DBE
dvd-rw www.lowestonweb.com/Products/DisplayInfoMain.asp?e=BEF41F8D-5895-4CCF-8BD0-CCF74509DEE6
free delivery for both

www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/in...m9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=82819&_LOC=UK
buy used for £60 if you choose

nforce2 like nforce4 needs dual ram
www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/in...2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=54471

several hdd to choose, apparently the bigger the better
www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=87668

best on the market is
www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/in...2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=95683

pci-e mobo needs pci-e graphics
www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/in...2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=97821

sorry to tread on your toe's dutcho, but he's willing to pay £600, so I hope you see my point, no offence intended

 

[Dutcho]

That's not a problem, I just whipped up a cheap version m8

 

[Gary Jackson]

Well I went to see the ppl at the compuer shop yesterday and cancelled the order, he asked why....I replied, in the quote you didn't give me any 'makes' or brand names of the stuff you are putting into it and a few of my m8's have suggested making one with all 'branded' gear.....the guy in the shop just said "well, we do better componants on request and the quote was on a budget you supplied"...ok I said and left....lol

Anyway, back to the subject...getting a bit confused with all the gear that is getting put up, I dont know what would be best processor wise. Dutchy suggests a good amd athlon like the one in mine now and has convinced me to keep off 64 bit ones, so I think a normal athlon will do the job nicely...

cheers for all replies chaps, much appreciated indeed.

 

[Dutcho]

C
256 gfx card (don’t know the make)
x16 dvd writer (samsung)
x1 Gig of ram (don’t know the make)
AMD Sempron 2600 processor

@Jay

Just It wasnt a 64 bit in that quote

 

[Dutcho]

It all depends what you want the machine for at the end of the day, yes amd 64 bit is their future but there is little support at the mo for it and if you wanna play a few games and web browse why bother IMO.

 

[Dutcho]

sorry to tread on your toe's dutcho, but he's willing to pay £600, so I hope you see my point, no offence intended

I don't believe he is Thats just what some rip off mechant quoted him m8

 

[jay]

You can save alot of money NOW, but when it comes to upgading it would mean selling the pc and building a new one.
If you spend now you can upgrade later by:-

going raid (raid5, 10 with SATA2)
going pci-e (upgrade from unboard graphics)
going sli (that's 2 graphics cards in 1 machine)
going dual core

none of the above can be achieved with athlonxp

I am currently running a dual boot (2 operating systems), windows 64bit and windows media centre. roud:
Although it's a 64bit proccessor it is bachwards compatible with 32bit, hence windows media centre.

After bios, it takes 15 seconds to enter windows 64bit (programs included), I mainly use this os, gaming aswell, but some programs are unsuported.

Or you could save £200 and spend it on the xmas party:Cheers:

 

[Dutcho]

Gaz, put a new psu in machine, fired up but no post beeps so it looks like it is the main board

Tried another cpu memory ect but still no posting.


Got all those wires sorted for ya though


:Cheers:

On the other hand Jay, if you want a cheap system now's the time while they phase it out.....lol

No really I see your point BUT not everyone wants to constantly update a machine to keep it up to the lastest spec.

I still have an old p2 333 that runs fine for the internet

 

[jay]

Then we agree to disagree Dutcho.

As you say it depends what you use it for.


I won't be upgrading for a few years.

athlon64 3800+ dual core (37deg)
asus a8n-sli
twin 6600gt's in sli
2gig geil performance
wd4000yr
asus vento case (27deg)
enermax 660w
haupage 500mce
roud:

cost a furtune but i'm on it 4 hours a day

 

[Dutcho]

And how much will I save if I buy that system 4 or 5 years down the line when the cheaper system is starting to feel the strain ?

 

[Gary Jackson]

Well all your posts have been very interesting indeed and with a load of help from Dutchy choosing the componants for me, this is what i'm ordering:

AMD Sempron 2600+ (SDA2600box) Skt A Processor 065078 £51.83

MSI K7N2 Delta FSR Socket 098188 £30.20

Seagate ST3120022A 120GB 7200RPM 047781 £40.71

Kingston 512MB DDR PC3200 400MHz CL3 049294 £23.59 x2 = £47.18

ATX Gaming Case in Black 091831 £34.99

LG GSA-4167BAL 16x DVD±RW Dual Layer (Black) 097237 £24.16

Mitsumi OEM Black Internal Floppy Drive 062047 £3.34

MSI Mx4000-T128 AGP 128MB DDR TV-Out 058189 £20.44


But may change the hdd to a western digital.

I think this will be a very nice system for the bairn, not forgetting the 19" tft

 

[Dutcho]

If you change the hard drive make sure it is 7200 rmp

 

[little_pob]

Can I just point out that AMD have stopped making socket A processors.

So in the future your upgrade options will be more limited, than if you went for a socket 754 or 939 motherboard and processor. Still it makes for a cheaper option in the here and now...