new computer
yo people, i have been working for 6 weeks now and i have around 400-500 quid, roughly and im getting a new room (in my extension) and i was wondering what computer i should get
preferably withm 1gig of ram, a graphics card to support directx 9c
17"flat screen, mouse & keyboard
and some decent stuff
i got MAX 500 quid to spend
cheers
B-J
Don't build your own from scratch. It's not any cheaper than what you can get from big custom sites like hp.com and ibuypower.com.
If you're just looking to upgrade, things become a little different. Likely, all you need is the motherboard, processor, and video card.
65 for a Socket 939 Motherboard 320 for an Athlon 64 X2 3800+ (Good, dual core, but half the cache of the 4400, also an easy overclocker,) Go nuts on the vid. card.
Then steal all the components from your current computer. Sound card can be as cheap as 30$ if you need it.
Yer..Defiantly build it yourself. The only reason you would buy a package computer these days is if you wanted the support and 3 year + onsite support.And even then you have to put up with the overseas (indian) "TECHS" that know absolutely nothing and have never heard of the word customer service.
I unfortunately do not know what you budget equates to in austrlain dollars but ill give some general advice.
If youve got the room GO CRT -cheap as..s picked up a 21 inch trinitron for 100 bucks second hand.. which is nothing and they are the best for gaming..on a budget.
A decent motherboard can make all the difference and can limit your upgrade potential.Try not to waste you money on buying a board that has features you may not use/need ie SLI
Athlon 64s are cheaper than their p4 equavelent.. but just rember its not worth another 70 bucks for a mere 100-200 mhz anything around the 2.8 Ghz area will do you nicely
Cards.. yer go the 6600's or the 6600GTs if you can afford them.
RAm -try to get your hands on 1 ghz if you can.. do some research into Timings if you want to understand what makes ram good.
Treading down the road to making/building your own computer will make you value and understand your system and how pcs work alot better. Building a pc is no where NEAR as complecated as people make it out to be.
Some good sites to do research on prudocts would defiantly have to be tomshardware or any of the overclockers sites out there
500 au would buy you a nice little p4 1 ghz laptop though..so work out what your needs are first
Yer defiantly.
Look.. my parents bought us a dell(the shame) :( for 899 australian. not including the 200 od or something for postage its raw specs where worth about 500. it arrived with a non working 56 modem. we rang tech support.. before they would send a tech out you have to connect to the internet and do some troubleshooting shit on their site……. well thats jsut bloody great seeing its the modem thats %^%& up. what if i didnt have a another pc you know. You wanto try explaining this to an indian whos accent so think you can not hear a word hes saying.
then about 2 months in.. the DVD drive conked out.. We used it like once
Seriously just stay the hell away from package computers. Take a peek inside a dell youll find it has NO upgrade potential at all. Whats the point of taking out a warranty till 2009 if by then it will be nothing more than a large paper weight specs wise.
Building your own computers is a simple as researching the parts you want and deciding what you want to put into it. Then its as simple as fitting the cards into the slots, and making sure everything has power and its plugged approriately into the motherboard. which is as simple as reading the manual.
Man.. theres nothing better than sitting down for a day.. and putting all your shiny new pieces of hardware together to at the end of the day have a GLOWING,PIMPED gaming box that boots up,plays your music, and chews through your games.
Its so rewarding.. i suggest you get to it :) good luck man