Graphics card

[GazCaff]

PM sent.

 

[Ian B Walker]

Not at all - I'm the most techy savvy one in the house - lol

Shudders with fear

 

[robert.saunders]

Shudders with fear

well, I didn't want to say......

 

[pammy]

Shudders with fear

well, I didn't want to say......

Oy!! I don't do too bad - not really

 

[masqueraid]

it is possible to build a bargain games machine if you know what you are looking for and can salvage some existing parts

Absolutely! I sense IT Knight in shining silver coming to pammy's aid

To be honest any off the shelf PC for anything less than £500 is going to struggle with any game less than 18months old.

Sorry, have to disagree here - £500 can buy an awful lot of games machine off the shelf these days. This is not for a hardened gamer but enough to fire off a head shot before the competition.

 

[GazCaff]

Sorry, have to disagree here - £500 can buy an awful lot of games machine off the shelf these days. This is not for a hardened gamer but enough to fire off a head shot before the competition.

Ahh, I've opened a can of worms by saying this. I think it boils down to what you expect from your system. I'm a bit of a technophile when it somes to PCs which is why my latest build is an Intel C2D overclocked to 3.6Ghz and 2Gig of DDR2 ram overclocked to 1125 and cooled by water and I'm just waiting for my ATi 1950XTX to be returned.

I like to play Oblivion, for example at 1680x1050 with the eyecandy turned on. A £500 off the peg PC will simply not do this, but to be fair it will probably be capable of playing Oblivion but at 1024x768 on minimal settings.

Horses for courses I guess.

btw, the parts for my latest upgrade (by reusing existing parts) cost me less than £400, but it does depend on what you want to get and what you need to change in the upgrade.

 

[pammy]

Ahh, I've opened a can of worms by saying this. I think it boils down to what you expect from your system. I'm a bit of a technophile when it somes to PCs which is why my latest build is an Intel C2D ..........

You lost me from there on

 

[masqueraid]

Horses for courses I guess.

Fair enough, just didn't want to leave that unchallenged. Nice system you have there. Still on £500 you'll easily be able to spot the Dark Brotherhood sneaking out of the shadows to do away with you in some unpleasant way.

Now back to Stalker ...

 

[shadowninja]

I hear what you're saying - figuratively speaking of course - but I won't get that kind of spec for that kind of money from a local guy - will I?

perhaps not. time vs money, I guess. you're taking a risk that the computer will be perfectly fine.

 

[pammy]

Have been offered a new build PC:

AMD Dual Core X2 3800+
1 Gig DDR
160Gig Hard Disk
Nvidia 7300GT
Dual Layer 18x DVD-RW
3 Yrs Return To Base Warrenty
Windows XP Pro

£300

Yes/no?

 

[grober]

Is the "base" you return it to going to be there in 2-3 years time would be my main question? I take it that no monitor is included so hope your old flat screen is OK? Budget for buying/obtaining windows Vista and another Gig of ram in the next couple of years once Vista gets off the ground. What ports/expansion slots does it have. Are all your printers etc going to be connectible? latest computers wont have a parallel port for example. do you need a floppy disc drive or a card reader etc

 

[Benzowner]

Pammy, me not being as technically minded as some on this forum, I would think virtually any newer PC will out perform your sons old system. If he enjoyed playing the games on the old pc, any new one would, imo, show an improvement, so if the price is right for you, I would say yes. Just my 2p

 

[masqueraid]

£300

Yes/no?

Yes

 

[pammy]

Well many many thanks for all that help chaps - have decided to go for the one I've been offered.:bannana:

Many thanks to Gazcaff for the offer to rebuild. I do like that idea - but I am bothered that it would still end up being patch after patch as old components fail. I'm not sure that the original strike that the blew the MoBo didn't do more damage and this is how it's manifesting itself.

So new it is.

I'll have one very happy laddo - and also my lap top back to me!!

 

[whizzkid11]

Have been offered a new build PC:

AMD Dual Core X2 3800+ <--- £53.45 inc VAT
1 Gig DDR <--- £41.62 inc VAT
160Gig Hard Disk <--- £31.75 inc VAT
Nvidia 7300GT <--- £42.24 inc VAT
Dual Layer 18x DVD-RW <--- £17.81 inc VAT
3 Yrs Return To Base Warrenty
Windows XP Pro

£300

Yes/no?

Hi Pammy,

The price list above should give you an indication of cost of the components - this is just from a local reseller. It is missing the case + motherboard etc - but indicates the guy is not making a lot on it.

However, you need to be careful of the components being used - and tbh, I am a firm believer of "you get what you pay for". The graphics card will most likely be 256Mb, which for gaming is not a great deal nowadays. The memory can be of many different speeds, as well a denominations.

If you can get a complete breakdown of the parts spec, I am sure we can help you decide on possible upgrades - but looking at the spec at this price - don't raise your expectations too high.

My personal philosophy is built a system that is designed to last 3yrs... I have bought 3 retail manufacturer systems, and have issues with all 3 within 6 months - based upon quality of components used. Therefore, your choice of going with a system built by a somebody to your sepc is the right one, but you need to make sure the right components are used, and its usually better to spec a system slightly higher than you may presently need.

And if you want to go Vista which you will in 2008, you need a half decent spec system. Its worth spending alittle more now to save on upgrading next year.

Just my 2 cents worth!