Please help me spec my PC!

gonzo127

yes

AMD's latest socket is called AM3 but as stated has been around a while and they are due to release their 'bulldozer' chips in the near future which will probably be a new socket rumoured to be AM3+

and sandy bridge chipds are a different socket to other intel's SB uses 1155, older core i cpus use either 1156 or 1366

irisandalex

This is brilliant, thanks so much for the great information!

So, if I go for a base model sandybridge for future proofing, how likely am I to be able to fit a new processor in three years? Last time I bought a processor and motherboard (an AMD K6-2 350mhz) I remember that the motherboard would only support slightly faster clock speeds, so there was limited upgrade potential. Is the situation still the same?

gonzo127

as helpful an answer as i can give - no body knows whats going to happen in 3 years, i would expect they (sandybridge motherboards) will be able to support more CPU's released in the future however with how quickly the computer world changes i wouldnt like to guess how much more into the future it will be able to cope with

irisandalex

I'll have a check on ebuyer and see if they mention what clock speeds the sandy bridge motherboards accept.

Toxteth_OGrady

As graphic design is likely to be the most intensive app the OP will use this may help:

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/charts/desktop-cpu-charts-2010/Image-Rendering-3DS-Max-2010,2420.html

irisandalex

I'm struggling to understand the AMD processors.... looking for a basic overview!

Why doesn't the ebuyer website always offer 'sort by price'? grrrr.

CoolHotCold

The websites I use for pricing components are; OverClockers, Dabs, Ebuyer, Scan, Aria
I'll shop around when making a purchase but for specing a system I usually stick to these companies and almost always order from OverClockers as they have the best prices recently.

Ihatecameron

i personally can not stand a slow system

There are a few things to consider if you want a fast pc, Ram is essential, the more the better. Then there is the graphics to consider, having a seperate graphics card will boost the speed. Get a solid state drive, and finally no matter how fast a pc is, it will only work as fast as your internet connection allows. To recap, you need loads of Ram, a powerful graphics card, solid state drive and the highest speed connection you can get.

irisandalex

I was thinking an on board graphics processor would be fine. Does the graphics card make any difference with standard windows applications, i.e. non games?

custardy

irisandalex wrote: »

I was thinking an on board graphics processor would be fine. Does the graphics card make any difference with standard windows applications, i.e. non games?

i would always add a GFX card
it gives the system more grunt and frees up CPU power

the new AMD chips will definatly not fit the existing AM3 socket
they are going with the new AM3+ socket


for research,i prefer scans search for comparisons
easiest way is nail down the CPU that you will use
then you can decide on the mobo,which dictates ram etc

Ive ordered a few bits and bobs to build a system up.i went with the old 775 socket which folks will poo poo as its old
however for me i would be buolding a new system again to go sandy bridge
so this is fine for now

intel core2quad oem Q8400 2.6 GHZ £70
4GB corsair DDR3 RAM £38
samsung sata DVD drive £13
1 TB samsung HD £38
550w non modular PSU £41
Gigabyte GA-EG41MFT-US2H motherboard £51
Tuniq tower 120 CPU coller £20
Antec 900 case 2nd hand £55 (overkill for you)

no graphics card yet but the motherboard has onboard to get the system up and running
I'll get a GFX card over the next couple of weeks for about £60-£70
so without GFX card thats about £330
so £400 all in