The PC Thread

From: DrBoff (BOFF) 8 Apr 2006 12:22
To: Dave!! 50 of 126
Well, Trig was actually more use than you. Good work.
From: Dave!! 8 Apr 2006 13:50
To: DrBoff (BOFF) 51 of 126
Why? I offered correct and vital advice!
From: Peter (BOUGHTONP)10 Apr 2006 08:41
To: 388405efit03=1-0 (KABINGER) 52 of 126
Is that a good or a bad thing? :S
From: 388405efit03=1-0 (KABINGER)11 Apr 2006 02:54
To: Peter (BOUGHTONP) 53 of 126
Well, with all the formatting it looked like ads to me. Kind of funny actually, if not overkill.
From: DrBoff (BOFF)10 May 2006 22:31
To: ALL54 of 126

Hello nice computer people! I think I am going to take the plunge pretty soon after exams, give me something to do in the holidays! >.<

 

Anyway attached is an image of my basket, but I've never done anything by components before so I'm just checking I don't need to get anything else.

 

I'm going to rip the sound card out of this one (it does me fine and is 5.1), and maybe one of the CD drives, I've got this monitor, and have yet to add the graphics card as that's the hard one to decide - just depends what money I want to spend overall. But do I need to add shit like IDE cables and whatnots? Also have I picked any hooters that you can spot? :D

 

Any help much appreciated :)

EDITED: 3 Dec 2007 15:24 by BOFF
From: Dave!!10 May 2006 22:55
To: DrBoff (BOFF) 55 of 126

IDE or SATA cables will come with the mobo usually. Only slight criticism is that it's a fairly cheap mobo. Personal experience suggests that it's always better to spend £70 or so (more the better) in order to get a decent board. Rest looks fine though!

 

Oh, and also worth noting is that standard AMD coolers tend to be less-than-quiet. I'd reccomend replacing the cooler at some point. Again from personal experience, the Zalman CNPS9500 absolutely rocks bollocks! But you can of course easily do this after you've bought the thing.

From: Serg (NUKKLEAR)11 May 2006 00:56
To: DrBoff (BOFF) 56 of 126

As Dave!! said, I'd recommend getting a better motherboard (Asus, Abit, maybe DFI if you can afford it). Other than that, my advice would be to get a Crucial Ballistix memory kit - they work at tighter timings and I don't think the price difference is that big at all.

 

The PSU should be fine, I currently luuurve Seagete, make sure you have enough fans for cooling (1 front and 1 rear should be more than enough), again get a silent(er :& ) CPU fan, and you could even get an ATi/NV Silencer for your graphics card of choice, which will be considerably quieter and will expel the hot air outside the case straight away. Also try to have the front intake fan blowing on the hard drive(s), it will only do them good. Or ask Trig tbh.

From: TEHTrigger (TRIGGERTEH)11 May 2006 01:00
To: DrBoff (BOFF) 57 of 126

I mean its upto you really......... I mean come one......

 

Technlogy that isnt fully used yet............

 

I mean........... its up to you ........... but...........

From: TEHTrigger (TRIGGERTEH)11 May 2006 01:01
To: ALL58 of 126

http://www.techneek.co.uk/reviews/Zalman-CNPS95/19.html

 

Heavy heavy heavy and large.. I would not choose Dave!!'s recommendations.

From: Ixion11 May 2006 07:23
To: DrBoff (BOFF) 59 of 126
Unless you've already got a PCI express graphics card you'll be needing one to get a picture on your computer telly.
From: Dave!!11 May 2006 08:47
To: TEHTrigger (TRIGGERTEH) 60 of 126
Compared to some heat sinks which are nearly a kilogram in weight, the Zalman is close enough to the recommended weight not to be a problem. 80 grams is nothing really.

And from THG:

quote: THG
The Zalman CNPS9500 LED is the clear winner of our test, offering very high cooling performance while producing very little operating noise. The manufacturer offers an eye-catching design with fan speeds that can be throttled back to comfortable levels using the bundled Fanmate 2, all while not seriously impacting performance.


Yeah Trig. What crap advice I'm offering!
From: DrBoff (BOFF)11 May 2006 09:22
To: Ixion 61 of 126

That's the plan!

 

Also thanks to other peeps, I will look at other motherboards.

 

If I'm buying a fan/cooler do I need anything specific or will they all fit to whatever case/mobo?

From: Dave!!11 May 2006 10:31
To: DrBoff (BOFF) 62 of 126
They'll fit into any standard ATX case. Most motherboards are compatible, but to be sure, check here. However, it only covers boards made up to August 05. But it's a pretty comprehensive list.
From: DrBoff (BOFF)11 May 2006 11:10
To: Dave!! 63 of 126

Cool beanses. Think I've got it sorted now - whole system for about £750.

 

About graphics cards - there's no reason to go for a particular make, is there? And I take it 7800GTs are the cream of the crop at the moment?

From: TEHTrigger (TRIGGERTEH)11 May 2006 11:26
To: DrBoff (BOFF) 64 of 126
No, ATi's are.
From: Dave!!11 May 2006 12:06
To: DrBoff (BOFF) 65 of 126
The X1900 is probably the fastest card around at the moment.
From: THERE IS NO GOD BUT (RENDLE)11 May 2006 12:06
To: DrBoff (BOFF) 66 of 126
7900GT, in terms of price/performance. Toss-up between the 7900GTX and the X1900XTX in terms of more-money-than-sense.
From: DrBoff (BOFF)11 May 2006 14:16
To: THERE IS NO GOD BUT (RENDLE) 67 of 126
Reeto.
From: DrBoff (BOFF)12 May 2006 23:11
To: ALL68 of 126

Hello Nice People I have another question.

 

What is the best way to get Windows?

 

The computer I have at the moment was bought built from Evesham, so the License is on the computer. Can I use this key and just download Windoze (seeing as I don't have an XP CD, just two 'recovery' CDs.

 

But if this is not possiblé, I don't want to Jimlad XP properly, so I'd want to buy it. But the only student License I can seem to find is the Student Pro Upgrade one! So I take it I already need a windoze for that to work? It's all very confusing.

 

Also might it be better to wait for Vista so I don't have to pay mondo upgrade costs or is that too far in the future/ not really that much anyway.

 

Thanks for your help!

From: Ixion12 May 2006 23:20
To: DrBoff (BOFF) 69 of 126
Your XP key should work but you will need to get the matching windows Version which is likely Windows XP Home OEM.