Advice on building a new PC

BillScarab

Another option instead of building your own is to get someone to build it for you. https://www.komplett.co.uk sell PCs where you can change just about every component so you get the PC you want ready built with windows installed (if you want it) and it will work when you get it. It's not quite as flexible as building your own as the components you can choose are limited but it's a good halfway house between an off the shelf machine and a home built one.

They do one with a core 2 duo processor for £552 which would be a decent base for a gaming machine although you would probably want a better Graphics card

http://www.komplett.co.uk/k/ci.asp?sku=10093

Another option is a Barebones system, these usually come with a case, motherboard, processor and RAM. You then simply plug in your old hard disk, dvd/cd drives, floppy drives, graphics card etc. Although you will need to reinstall windows if you change that much hardware.

Alternatively for an off the shelf machine a few people on MSE have recommended this from Gladiator computers.

http://www.gladiatorcomputers.com/ProductDetail.aspx?StockCode=PCSCENCB6300&Link=SearchResults


I've been thinking about building myself a new machine but will probably end up buying one like the komplett one as there's no real saving.

gantybop

Have you thought about getting an "upgrade kit"? Lots of online retailers do them, they comprise of a motherboard, processor, heatsink and memory, at very good prices. Then it's just a case of storage and graphics be prepared to be about £450 for this option, but it's cheaper than buying everything from scratch and you'd get better performance than a ready built machine.

sideshow_matt

After just completing 3 new builds (family and xmas time arriving) I have come to the conclusion, that unless you need a high end machine, you are better of getting one of the super duper deals from dell/comet/pc world.

They seem to build these low end machines (which is fine for the average user) in mass bulk, and source the parts very cheaply. Considering they put a genuine OS on there as well (something people forget to price in) they are very competative.

If you need a more high end machine you are looking 600 - 1k

Last high end machine I put together for £700 and it's not top of everything

AMD xp 4600 x2 dual core
2 gb ddr 400 ram
DFI Infinity SLI motherboard
coolermaster ammo case
Hiper modular 530watt power supply
Gainwood nvidia 7900gs
320gb sata hard drive
Artic freezer pro cpu fan
NEC dvd rw
12 inch cooler fans

Now if I had bought a similar spec from one of the online gaming specialists I would have been looking at £1200+ but even at this spec it has another graphics card slot, wanting to be filled to run the cards in SLI

Best advice is to have a think about what you will need it for, or you will be upgrading all the time

wolfman

Hmm, if you really want the most from a gaming machine, get a Core 2 Duo and overclock it. It's actually very easy to do and the chips are hugely overclockable.

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2802

I've got my E6300 running at 2.8Ghz (quite a bit faster than the 2.59Ghz Anand got) and temps for the cores are around 42C idle, 53C under load. And I've got my machine running super quiet so airflow isn't that great.

You need to pick the right combination of components though, and need a decent motherboard. Components worth having a look at are:

Core 2 Duo E6300 - £125
Gigabyte S3 - £60, or the Gigabyte DS3 - £95
Antec Sonata II with 450W PSU - £80
Artic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro - £18

David_B_2

BillScarab wrote:

Another option instead of building your own is to get someone to build it for you. www.komplett.co.uk sell PCs where you can change just about every component so you get the PC you want ready built with windows installed (if you want it) and it will work when you get it. It's not quite as flexible as building your own as the components you can choose are limited but it's a good halfway house between an off the shelf machine and a home built one.

They do one with a core 2 duo processor for £552 which would be a decent base for a gaming machine although you would probably want a better Graphics card

http://www.komplett.co.uk/k/ci.asp?sku=10093

Another option is a Barebones system, these usually come with a case, motherboard, processor and RAM. You then simply plug in your old hard disk, dvd/cd drives, floppy drives, graphics card etc. Although you will need to reinstall windows if you change that much hardware.

Alternatively for an off the shelf machine a few people on MSE have recommended this from Gladiator computers.

http://www.gladiatorcomputers.com/ProductDetail.aspx?StockCode=PCSCENCB6300&Link=SearchResults


I've been thinking about building myself a new machine but will probably end up buying one like the komplett one as there's no real saving.

I can highly recommend Komplett, this is where I bought all my bits from 2 years ago as well as a few colleagues. No problems that i can remember and was looking at then again for my next upgrade.

CAT-THE-FIFTH

Have you tried PC Nextday as they do some very good deals too!!

Here is one of their better deals:

http://www.pcnextday.co.uk/products/ProductDetail.asp?ProductCode=3362-3304

lee1234987-123

hey everyone i have decided to upgrade my computer too and i wanted some help, at the moment i have a basic motherboard - winfast 6100K8MB-RS also got:

AMD sempron processor 3400+
1gb ddr 400 ram (512x2)
512mb radeon x1300 series graphics

i was wondering wat i shud upgrade i was thinkin about doubling the memory, or getting a new motherboard and new processor.i was looking at Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core processor.
ill probably have £200+ to spend, i play games alot and usually have lots of programs/windows open cud anyone help me please

CAT-THE-FIFTH

You could get the following from Scan:

LN11319
AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Socket 939, ManchesterCore, 2x 2.0GHz, 1MBCache, Retail £88.49 £103.98
LN9153
ASUS A8N-Sli, NF4 SLI, S939, PCI-E (x16), DDR 266/333/400, SATA II, SATA RAID, ATX £45.99 £54.04
LN15427
256MB Palit 7600GT Sonic, PCI-E(x16), Mem 1500MHz, GPU 575MHz, 12Pipes, D-Sub/Dual Link DVI/HDTV SLI £74.56 £87.61

Net Total £209.04

Carriage £5.98

V.A.T. £37.63

TOTAL £252.65

You could spend more and get a 7900GS or X1950pro but it is worth saving that towards the first budget DirectX10 cards.

CAT-THE-FIFTH

If you sell your old bits you can also add another 1gb of RAM too and perhaps get a better power supply(unless you already have a good one!)

lee1234987-123

hi - to CAT-THE-FIFTH, thank you for your replies i have decided to go for some parts off the site https://www.scan.co.uk which i find a good site i have gone for:

LN15122
MSI K9N SLI-2F NF570 SLI, S AM2, PCI-E (x16), DDR2 533/667/800, SATA II, SATA RAID, ATX
LN15182
AMD AM2 Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Dual Core 2.2GHz, 2x 512KB Cache, Retail Energy Efficient
LN12201
2Gb (2X1Gb) Corsair Value Select, DDR2 PC5300 (667)

which comes out at a total of £334.12

i have a 300w power supply shud that be enough to handle this?