Wrong processor?

bevan840

4.4!!! Wow, I bet that computer is lightning fast!! I don't know how to overclock though and I understand it to be tricky so I think I'll leave that to the experts

I clicked on the Intel 64 part and this is what it gave me:

Intel® 64 Architecture
Intel® 64 architecture delivers 64-bit computing on server, workstation, desktop and mobile platforms when combined with supporting software.¹ Intel 64 architecture improves performance by allowing systems to address more than 4 GB of both virtual and physical memory.

It says 64bit Atleast now I don't have to worry about accidentally buying a 64 bit OS and finding out mines only a 32 I've learnt so much in 2 days it's unbelieveable

JasX

bevan840 wrote: »

I have one little question about OS's though, when it says 32 bit & 64 bit, does it matter which one I purchase? Or can any system run either?

Older windows software boxes only contained 32-bit OSs (which work fine for both 32 or 64 bit machines). -license was valid for both if you got hold of the 64 bit disk and there was usually a slip to send off £9 postage and they'd send you the 64 disk anyway.

Newer boxes ones tend to contain 2 disks, one has everything in 32 bit versions, the other has everything in 64 bit versions.

It'll say on the outside of the box which version it contains, either way won;t be a huge problem but try to get one that has both disks.

Also if you're going to put the pieces together yourself someone should be able to point you towards a well written 'how to build your own PC' guide. might be a bit daunting at first but itsn't too tough and so long as you've read the a decent guide in advance, allowed yourself plenty of time, and a good working space you should be fine.

...be warned once your friends hear you know a thing or 2 about PC hardware you'll get pestered with requests to help them.... which I've found you're often able to convert into the odd free bottle of wine or so

bevan840

lol my mum already does that too me, and we're 400 miles apart!!! hehe although she seems to of done ok since I moved up here, only had 2 phone calls in one year but she has a lappy now which is working really well for her even my Dad has learned how to use the internet!!!!! :eek:

I'm looking at Windows 7, compared to when I had to buy XP because the copy the neighbour put on mine kept crashing, I bought XP for £120-£150 I think, and Windows 7 is £80 on novatech and £90 on ebuyer!! And I can get cashback from both!! :rotfl:

bevan840

Your Novatech Order has been dispatched :j:T:j Yay

bevan840

These are what I bought:

BB-322G. NOVATECH BAREBONE BUNDLE - INTEL CELERON E3200 - 2GB DDR2 800MHZ - INTEL G31 MOTHERBOARD - 4 BAY ATX TOWER CASE & PSU

WD-50AADS. WESTERN DIGITAL CAVIAR GREEN POWER 500GB 32MB CACHE HARD DISK DRIVE SATAII 300MB/S <8.9MS 7200RPM - OEM

OPT-7240S. OPTIARC AD-7240S 24X DVD+/-RW DUAL LAYER DVD-RAM SATA BLACK - OEM

ASU-84GS. ASUS GEFORCE 8400GS 256MB DDR2 HDMI/DVI PCI-EXPRESS - RETAIL WITH PHYSX & CUDA

All from www.novatech.co.uk

ComplexP

Wow, I've just read through this thread over my morning coffee and I have to take my hat off to Bevan for being willing to do a lot of the work herself and save a bundle in the process. Bravo.

Just make sure you carefully follow any advice you're given and make sure you're well earthed before reaching inside the case

A barebones machine seems to be a quite a decent option for anyone who doesn't mind getting their hands dirty but doesn't feel confident with starting from scratch.

I really hope that machine will be sufficient for playing The Sims 3 (it should be although it will likely have to be at the lower visual settings end). But after putting the machine together, upgrading certain parts in the future will seem less of a daunting prospect.

Perhaps when you're on better financial ground you can shove another 2 GB of RAM into it and spend about £100 on a graphics card. I think you'd then be able to play your chosen game with all the optional bells and whistles turned on.

Good luck.

bevan840

Thank you ComplexP. I did try and do a home learning course in computer maintenance which included a DVD and a little toolkit, unfortunately you had to know every little detail about everything and when I rang for help they knew as much as I did about the course, nothing! But kept the toolkit (which has an earthing bracelet) and all the books etc hoping that one day I'd be able to sit down and do it. Unfortunately with my health issues concentration isn't brilliant and within 2 pages of the book nothing has sunk in

I have just done some fiddling on my spreadsheet, and if I spread my payments to my bill account instead of paying a full whack to it, I should be able to afford the OS now!!! Will make sure entirely that I can do it before I order it though.

Bells and whistles sound excellent and am happy just to be able to play it even if the picture quality isn't perfect, until I can afford something better (which will possibly be end of next year) When I should hopefully have both my CC's paid off

Cant wait And I am extremely grateful for everyone's help and advice on this subject, I know I've said it a few times already but I really am!!

spakkker

Hi bevan , I see you've ended up ordering just about what I suggested in post #66.
You could have kept using your old hard/drive but you would have to reinstall windows because the cpu and m/board chipsets are so different.
Novatech are being very cagey about the m/board- doesn't say what the onboard graphics are or the make - you need gma 3*** type or better ,which it probably has.
You may need a couple of sata cables -try and find out if the case includes any -they usually come with the m/b - to connect dvd and h/drive.
That graphics card is hardly better than onboard graphics - I've got one as you can see on the link below, I bought a hd4670 from novatech early this year for 50 odd quid. Much better but I don't game and my son-in law has it, see this chart
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-graphics-card,2118-7.html
Also this is my best o/clock -you'll see I have 8400 card not much better than 9200 in the chart , I run mine at 3.6 24/7 it's normal is 2.5 http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=553406
Don't worry about 64 bit- a lot of stuff won't work and the fact that it can read more memory is no big deal.
Modern intel cpu work different to old ~4yr~cpu which had gone down a dead-end route ,a p4 3ghz would be left for dead by a 1.6 dual core ,which is obsolete already, this new celeron is just a bonus ,better performance ,same old price,or cheaper.
Google is your friend!

ComplexP

I really wish there were more people willing to research a bit before buying the first computer they see in a shop. So many retailers are frankly taking the p*ss with a lot of the machines they sell.

I almost choked on my breakfast when I saw that Littlewoods computer; £600?? I wouldn't even pay half that. Either the people who set the prices at Littlewoods don't know what they are doing or they are treating the customer with a level of disrespect I find hard to fathom.

It works across the scale as well because I built my current PC myself which is pretty much at the top end of what can be bought at the moment and I estimate I paid about half what I would have spent in a shop (assuming I could have found a shop that actually went up the the spec I wanted).

This is a good reason to stay firm friends with the guy from school who was computer nuts (although he may be a bit odd, just look at me!) because he'll happily build a machine for you and the only thing he'll ask in return is the cost of the parts and the opportunity to show off his skills for a few hours

custardy

ComplexP wrote: »

I really wish there were more people willing to research a bit before buying the first computer they see in a shop. So many retailers are frankly taking the p*ss with a lot of the machines they sell.

I almost choked on my breakfast when I saw that Littlewoods computer; £600?? I wouldn't even pay half that. Either the people who set the prices at Littlewoods don't know what they are doing or they are treating the customer with a level of disrespect I find hard to fathom.

It works across the scale as well because I built my current PC myself which is pretty much at the top end of what can be bought at the moment and I estimate I paid about half what I would have spent in a shop (assuming I could have found a shop that actually went up the the spec I wanted).

This is a good reason to stay firm friends with the guy from school who was computer nuts (although he may be a bit odd, just look at me!) because he'll happily build a machine for you and the only thing he'll ask in return is the cost of the parts and the opportunity to show off his skills for a few hours

the thing with littlewoods is even if you take interest free payments,the interest is already there as they key it into the starting price
in general catalogues are used by those with poorer gredit(i know not all but i would say in the main) so theres a higher risk to the lender
its buyers choise if they pay those prices