Build your own PC

P_J · Nearly there... Joined: 24 Nov 2002 Karma :

For a while I have been looking at upgrading bits and pieces on my PC.

I got some RAM from Bandy (2 x 512MB) before christmas and it did not work. After a lot of searching I found the M/board manual and it turns out the Mother board will only take up to 512MB (using 2 x 256MB SDRAM modules).

I have a few bits and pieces that I don't really need to replace as yet so I do not really think I need a brand new PC.

I went to Armarda Computers and saw that they do a build your own PC section.

What kind of mother board is likely to come with this spec PC

https://homepage.ntlworld.com/highlander_pj/images/pcspec.jpg

There is no need for me to get a modem, I have NTL broadband, do not really need the on board graphics card as I have a nVidia card at the moment but it only adds £20 to the price. Have CD/DVD and CD-RW, floppy, keyboard, mouse, monitor etc

Has anyone had dealings with these people before or know anyone that has?

PJ
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Ste · Not Work Safe Joined: 01 Sep 2002 Karma :

Probably a budget one if it isn't specified at all.

Maybe e-mail them and ask?

P_J · Nearly there... Joined: 24 Nov 2002 Karma :

kev · I Hump Things Joined: 07 Oct 2002 Karma :

What ram did you get from her and would you consider selling it as you don't need it anymore.
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Syfoon · TRUCK!!! Joined: 29 Apr 2003 Karma :

Sod that Intel Celly.

Go for the AMD 2500XP BC.

They overclock like mad, apparently to a 3000XP with the OEM fan/heatsink!

Seems like a pretty nifty lil site. Might have to order my next box from there Smile

.
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P_J · Nearly there... Joined: 24 Nov 2002 Karma :

P_J · Nearly there... Joined: 24 Nov 2002 Karma :

carvell · Scuttler Joined: 05 Sep 2003 Karma :

Syfoon · TRUCK!!! Joined: 29 Apr 2003 Karma :

XS1954 · Spanner Monkey Joined: 22 Nov 2003 Karma :

P_J What ever board you get make sure it has the Nvidia chipset. Excellent performace with AMD processors and Nvidia grahics cards. If you play high performance games you will get no slowdowns and jumping. Get some DDR memory as well with the same bus speed as the processor. Sweet! Very Happy

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P_J · Nearly there... Joined: 24 Nov 2002 Karma :

Syfoon wrote:

P_J wrote:

Syfoon wrote:

Sod that Intel Celly.
Go for the AMD 2500XP BC.
They overclock like mad, apparently to a 3000XP with the OEM fan/heatsink!
Seems like a pretty nifty lil site. Might have to order my next box from there Smile

.

What speed is the 2500XP BC chip? Does it work out 2.5 GHz or is it slightly less (thats what I heard).
PJ

Bit less.
Then the overclocking starts, and its a bit more Razz

.

Is there much (noticable) difference between 2500 and 3000? Can't imagine so at that speed, being so quick to start with.

I've emailed the company for information on the mother boards used etc.

PJ
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Dreams will get you nowhere, a good kick up the arse will take you a long way.
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Syfoon · TRUCK!!! Joined: 29 Apr 2003 Karma :

divuk83 · World Chat Champion Joined: 27 Nov 2003 Karma :

clock speed of the barton 2500 is less than 2ghz, still bloody good though.
Don't waste money paying a shop to build you a computer out of there cheapo components, just do it yourself. Its really easy to do, any monkey (like me) can do it. Plus you will end up with a better specified PC for less money.

JimboJ · Manc Pikey Joined: 23 Aug 2002 Karma :

I wouldn't get anything less than DDR ram! like he says not many do sdram anymore, it'll be pointless if the motherboard you get is only SDram. Think of when you want to upgrade again!
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P_J · Nearly there... Joined: 24 Nov 2002 Karma :

divuk83 · World Chat Champion Joined: 27 Nov 2003 Karma :

its really easy mate, and in the unlikely event you got something wrong, just return it.

Case: Depends on how tarty you want it, but all but the cheap crappy cases and the mini cases will take standard boards.
Motherboards: I dont think its posible to buy boards that take less than 1.5gb of ram new anymore, and they all say on them anyway.
RAM: depending on wha the computer is for you may want faster stuff. what wil it be used for, gaming, overclocking, typing, graphics, video editing etc.
Processor. AMD's are the best value and clock well.
Sound card: An sb128 card is pretty much the same as what most motherboards come with now. On board sound is much better than it used to be, and if you get a decent board then there is no point getting a soundcard unless you are serious about your music and need all the features of a high end card.

McJamweasel · BCF Junkie Joined: 22 Mar 2002 Karma :

I honestly would'nt bother with the 2500 Barton chip. get the 2600 Thoroughbread instead. I read a test and it outperformed the barton and its cheaper.

The 2600 TB chip runs at 1900MHz, if I rememeber rightly the 2500 Barton runs at 1800.
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Jack2004 · Nova Slayer Joined: 02 Jan 2004 Karma :

I had my pc made for me, it wasn't bad for £750. I had all top software put on, e.g xp pro, office 2003 etc. Its a 3.06 pentium which runs at 3.06 which is good because pentiums normally run alot slower. Its 120gb harddrive, 512 ram, radeon 9200 128mb graphics, cd-rw at 52X24X52X, DVD player, Tv output. It also came with a cordless keyboard and optical mouse.

P_J · Nearly there... Joined: 24 Nov 2002 Karma :

P_J · Nearly there... Joined: 24 Nov 2002 Karma :

any quick comments on this?

https://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=51760

I was planning on sticking an xp2500 / 2600 in it and as far as I can tell, it supports DDR RAM.

What kind of PSU do I choose, does it make much difference?

PJ
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McJamweasel · BCF Junkie Joined: 22 Mar 2002 Karma :

It does indeed support DDR. Onboard sound and networking. Nice and cheap, the reviews are good so you should be ok with it.

The PSU needs to be an ATX type, other than that it doesn't really make much difference. 300W is standard now, and that plenty for most systems.
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Kickstart · The Oracle Joined: 04 Feb 2002 Karma :

Hi

The PSU does matter. We had problems with an Athalon 1.4 which turned out to be because of supposed 300w power supplies. Put a decent psu in there and it was fine. Make sure it is approved for use on Athalon cpus.

All the best

Keith
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John · World Chat Champion Joined: 27 Apr 2003 Karma :

P_J

The motherboard matters quite a lot, the one you linked to looks reasonable, but if you could afford a KT400 or an Nforce 2 rev2 (Nforce2 being the best) it'd might be better in the long run.

The 2600+ runs at 2083 MHZ, with either a 133(266) or 166(333) FSB. The newer chips are usually 166(333).

The 2500+ runs at 1833 MHZ with a 166(333) FSB.

The 2500+ has 640k of cache, and the 2600+ has 384k of cache, the clear winner is the 2500+, because it overclocks just at well as the 2600+, with almost double the cache. Basciailly, get the 2500+. Very Happy

And

Kickstart · The Oracle Joined: 04 Feb 2002 Karma :

McJamweasel · BCF Junkie Joined: 22 Mar 2002 Karma :

The 2500 barton (with the extra cache) hasn't benchmarked any faster than the 2600 TB, with the smaller cache.
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BCF: Be yourself, just don't be an arse.