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Posted this in the gaming forum and then realised this place existed, so ummm here's the same post again.
Looking into getting a PC and to be honest I know jack all about computers these days. So I'd be greatful of any advice you can give me on specs to be looking for. I want a good PC that won't need to be upgraded for a while, doesn't have to be top of the range though.
Oh and also where's a good place to look for one? I'm the sort of idiot who buys the first one he sets eyes on when he walks into PC world so I really could do with some advice.
Oh and please don't tell me I'd be best off making it myself. I know it'd probably work out a lot cheaper but I have neither the time or the L337 skills for something like that.
Cheers for the help...if you helped.
Looking into getting a PC and to be honest I know jack all about computers these days. So I'd be greatful of any advice you can give me on specs to be looking for. I want a good PC that won't need to be upgraded for a while, doesn't have to be top of the range though.
Oh and also where's a good place to look for one? I'm the sort of idiot who buys the first one he sets eyes on when he walks into PC world so I really could do with some advice.
Oh and please don't tell me I'd be best off making it myself. I know it'd probably work out a lot cheaper but I have neither the time or the L337 skills for something like that.
Cheers for the help...if you helped.
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Do you guys recommend getting a soundcard or do you reckon I'd be okay with the built in sound?
I'm not the sort of person who's gonna link up my PC to 7.1 speakers and blast the neighbours out with the sounds of gun fire. I want to have decent sound, but I'm quite happy with the quality I get out of my normal TV speakers so do you reckon I'd be okay without a soundcard?
Also anyone explain why the 256 Raddeon X850XT so much more expensive than other Graphics cards and is it actually worth the extra money?
Oh and one last question, what's the difference between XP Pro and XP Home?
Man this PC buying business is confusing.
I'm not the sort of person who's gonna link up my PC to 7.1 speakers and blast the neighbours out with the sounds of gun fire. I want to have decent sound, but I'm quite happy with the quality I get out of my normal TV speakers so do you reckon I'd be okay without a soundcard?
Also anyone explain why the 256 Raddeon X850XT so much more expensive than other Graphics cards and is it actually worth the extra money?
Oh and one last question, what's the difference between XP Pro and XP Home?
Man this PC buying business is confusing.
I use the Nvidia Soundstorm onboard sound with no problems, i might get a soundcard at some stage though.
The biggest difference about onboard sound is the amount of load it places on the CPU. If you have a sound card, it won't load the CPU anywhere near as much - ask Alastair or NB for more details on that front.
Opinions on this 'puter please..
[URL] http://www.tiny.com/packages.php?prodid=12874 [/URL]
Oh and ummmmm Maxx PC's rock baby! :D
[URL] http://www.tiny.com/packages.php?prodid=12874 [/URL]
Oh and ummmmm Maxx PC's rock baby! :D
For that money, you should be getting a much better graphics card. Mine cost only slightly more then that about a year ago and my graphics card is better.
What would you guys say are the best graphics cards available then?
This is the one are that I really don't understand what's good and what's not.
This is the one are that I really don't understand what's good and what's not.
Best cards on the market at the moment are the ATI X850 XT PE or Nvidia 6800 Ultra. So I'd go for a 6800 GT (not GTO) or an ATI X850 XT but you are looking at £300 ish for the XT and £280 for the GT. Both will run modern games for a long time.
Tiltawhirl wrote:
> Opinions on this 'puter please..
>
> [URL] http://www.tiny.com/packages.php?prodid=12874 [/URL]
>
> Oh and ummmmm Maxx PC's rock baby! :D
Seriously, don't buy anything with Tiny on it. It's like buying a broken condom.
As for the soundcard, onboard has a performance hit. Doesn't matter if it has audio inputs for 7.1 etc or even the fact that the Creative Audigy 2 cards output superior audio, it definitley improves performance in games.
You probably aren't interested now, but you can clock hardware further than stock speeds providing you have fairly decent air flow/cooling. This is pretty much what I was buy if I was in your rat ridden/homeless shoes:
AMD Athlon 64 3800
X800 XT/X850 XT (depending on which you can get hold of)
1GB RAM (if you buy from a shop you will get generic shiznit)
Ceative Audigy 2 ZS
As I said earlier, the more money you spend on RAM, the tighter the timings/lower access time etc. I wouldn't bother going above PC3200 (DDR400) which is dual channel as a lot of RAM will clock further than suggested speeds and to be honest I don't think you will bother with that side of it at all. You want a PC where you can bang a game in, install it, play it, etc etc without all the c*ck ridden problems.
If I could I would post a link to a PC but I can't as they pretty much don't exist like that without asking someone to build it/build it yourself.
Of course if you are willing to chuck some more dosh at it you could always have it built here [URL]http://www.alienware.co.uk/main.aspx[/URL]
> Opinions on this 'puter please..
>
> [URL] http://www.tiny.com/packages.php?prodid=12874 [/URL]
>
> Oh and ummmmm Maxx PC's rock baby! :D
Seriously, don't buy anything with Tiny on it. It's like buying a broken condom.
As for the soundcard, onboard has a performance hit. Doesn't matter if it has audio inputs for 7.1 etc or even the fact that the Creative Audigy 2 cards output superior audio, it definitley improves performance in games.
You probably aren't interested now, but you can clock hardware further than stock speeds providing you have fairly decent air flow/cooling. This is pretty much what I was buy if I was in your rat ridden/homeless shoes:
AMD Athlon 64 3800
X800 XT/X850 XT (depending on which you can get hold of)
1GB RAM (if you buy from a shop you will get generic shiznit)
Ceative Audigy 2 ZS
As I said earlier, the more money you spend on RAM, the tighter the timings/lower access time etc. I wouldn't bother going above PC3200 (DDR400) which is dual channel as a lot of RAM will clock further than suggested speeds and to be honest I don't think you will bother with that side of it at all. You want a PC where you can bang a game in, install it, play it, etc etc without all the c*ck ridden problems.
If I could I would post a link to a PC but I can't as they pretty much don't exist like that without asking someone to build it/build it yourself.
Of course if you are willing to chuck some more dosh at it you could always have it built here [URL]http://www.alienware.co.uk/main.aspx[/URL]
I've been chatting to a few peeps and it looks like I'll be going for....
Athlon 64 3500
200 Gig hardrive
1 gig DDR400
DVDRW Dual Layered
Geforce 6600GT
Soundblaster 7.1 Audigy
All for just over £1000
It's a midrange graphics card but it should do all I require of it and also I can buy another of the same kind and slot in the back if I need better performance at a later date.
Oh and it's got a really funky CPU case.
Athlon 64 3500
200 Gig hardrive
1 gig DDR400
DVDRW Dual Layered
Geforce 6600GT
Soundblaster 7.1 Audigy
All for just over £1000
It's a midrange graphics card but it should do all I require of it and also I can buy another of the same kind and slot in the back if I need better performance at a later date.
Oh and it's got a really funky CPU case.
How much for the 6600GT?
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