New PC - Revisited

[Tetsuo_Shima]

Ok, so Ive been having some more thoughts on a PC and Ive finally come up with this at the moment.

From Evesham (reputably quite good), and Im probably going to order it at the end of next week, pending feedback:

Axis MKR Plus reconfigured as follows:

- AMD Athlon 64 X2 processor 4400+
- 2GB DDR RAM PC3200 2x1gb
- 400gb SATA 7200rpm HD with 16mb cache
- 512mb DDR Nvidia 7900GTX PCI-Express Graphics
- 19" Viewsonic VX922 DVI TFT
- 16x DVD ROM + Multi Format dual layer DVD Rewriter
- Creative Soundblaster X-Fi Xtreme Music soundcard
- Creative I-Trigue 3220 2.1 Speakers

All for the magical price of ... 1779 quid *cough*

If anyone has any startling revelations or stark disagreements with any of this, please state your business. I dont want to hear any 'Build your own PC, honestly, honestly, honestly ...' stuff though. Because Im lazy.

 

[elDiablo]

Evesham are good. Got one for my g/f's family, and it hasn't had any major problems, was delivered on time and with a smile!

Any idea what mobo you're getting with that? If it has on-board sound, are you really bothered with the Creative one as well? Unless you are a sound freak (like me and my beautiful 5.1! ), onboard is pretty decent these days. Nice graphics card (curse you!), nice screen. And are you sure you need an X2 CPU? I'm still not sold on the idea of them (honestly, if you try and virus scan at the same time as playing games, on a single HDD, you are still going to notice it... Not as much as a single, core, no, but still!).

And, er, that price is a BIT on the steep side! No way you can get the components and put it together yourself? Its usually cheaper... Even though you said you don't want to hear it, I'm just asking It's like lego! But better! Hell, if I lived near you, I'd fit it together for you for free And if not, you sure Evesham are the cheapest?

Anyway, looks good! Cut the price, could go for a 17" monitor, or a lower spec graphics, but if you are keeping this machine for a while it looks good

 

[Tetsuo_Shima]

Any idea what mobo you're getting with that?

I'm not actually entirely sure, I was a abit miffed myself at the fact they offred you no option on that one. ill have a nose around... Asus A8N32 SLi Im hoping for on that one.

If it has on-board sound, are you really bothered with the Creative one as well? Unless you are a sound freak (like me and my beautiful 5.1! ), onboard is pretty decent these days.

There is the option of 5.1 surround, but then theres the problem of a) my paper thin walls and b) distinct lack of places to put all the speakers without them getting tea spilt on them. ahem. As for the X-Fi, somebody recommended that to me... and Im trying to turn my PC into a media center so I can chuck out my tv, dvd player and that damn massive hifi. We do have (or rather, my bro has) a nice Sennheiser headset that could take advantage of its power also.

And are you sure you need an X2 CPU? I'm still not sold on the idea of them (honestly, if you try and virus scan at the same time as playing games, on a single HDD, you are still going to notice it... Not as much as a single, core, no, but still!).

Apart from the fact there is no option of single core processing with this PC, Id rather have a more up to date component rather than splashing out on all this and then having to upgrade the processor two months down the line. This is going to do me for a good couple of years or so at this spec Im hoping.

And, er, that price is a BIT on the steep side! No way you can get the components and put it together yourself? Its usually cheaper... Even though you said you don't want to hear it, I'm just asking It's like lego! But better! Hell, if I lived near you, I'd fit it together for you for free And if not, you sure Evesham are the cheapest?.

Steep, yes. But I have the money. Also, I had a look at buying all the parts individually and cracking them together; somehow it managed to come out more expensive that it costs for the whole shabang. Also, I havent a clue about putting together PCs, and all the various in-betweeny parts that no one talks about. Like fans and so on. PLUS, I want it all done and dusted in time for Battlefield 2142 so that I can participate in some clan goings on this time around.

As for Evesham the cheapest, no they arent. But they are reasonably priced, and its better than buying a cheapo PC from say MESH, and then discovering a pet hamster lodged in between the heatsink and the 7900.

Oh and one quick question while Im at it, you know the new Physics Processing Units that have just arrived on the market? Will they be available as a component in any PC i.e. will you be able to plug it into a PCI slot or is it one of those technical components that comes attached to your mobo or something? Just wondering in case I have to purchase one sometime.

 

[elDiablo]

...Im trying to turn my PC into a media center...

Fair enough! Then that sound card should be fine to hook up to a stereo.

...This is going to do me for a good couple of years or so at this spec Im hoping...

Also a good reason to get the best you can at the time then I was just making sure!

Steep, yes. But I have the money...

Want me buy me a new PC then? If you had another ?150ish spare, I'd say go for the Dual GPU graphics card, but thats just because I'm a game whore

Oh and one quick question while Im at it, you know the new Physics Processing Units that have just arrived on the market? Will they be available as a component in any PC i.e. will you be able to plug it into a PCI slot or is it one of those technical components that comes attached to your mobo or something? Just wondering in case I have to purchase one sometime.

For this, I refer you to Haven's topic about the Physx cards. They are just a PCI expansion card, so you will easily be able to pick one up and stick it in. Personally, if you are getting a 7900GTX, and may possibly get another one later on (for SLi goodness), I would hold off getting a PhysX card just yet, and see how well nVidia's drivers do compared to it.

 

[Pestcontrol]

Expensive but fine if you're not into overclocking. This is a Pest Approved System Configuraton (tm).

The only problem i see has to do with the upcoming AMD platform/socket, AM2, which will mark the switch to DDR2 memory and offer a better upgrade path without being more expensive (or faster). For upgradeability it would be better if you waited a month or so, but otherwise it's fine.

 

[Gopha]

Expensive but fine if you're not into overclocking. This is a Pest Approved System Configuraton (tm).

The only problem i see has to do with the upcoming AMD platform/socket, AM2, which will mark the switch to DDR2 memory and offer a better upgrade path without being more expensive (or faster). For upgradeability it would be better if you waited a month or so, but otherwise it's fine.

Wrll, it depends on how long he keeps it for, this looks like a Long term computer and it seems that the Graphics card will be able to handle completely new games for the upcoming era suchas UT2007, Battlefield 2142,quakewars etc and many more to come I guess so it looks like it will be good for mmany years

 

[Pestcontrol]

That's not the issue, you will be able to swap out the graphics card for a new one for the next 8 years or so. The CPU or memory will not see the same upgradeability as the Socket 939/DDR will be replaced very soon and newer processors will use socket AM2 with DDR2 memory. That means upgrading the CPU will either be very limited or require swapping out the motherboard and memory.

 

[thatbloke]

The following spec can be had from Novatech for GBP1056.33 (inc VAT).

Athlon X2 Dual Core 4200
2048MB DDR 400MHz Dual Channel RAM
500GB 7200rpm SATA (2x 250GB RAID)
256MB DDR GeForce FX7900GT PCI-E
16x Dual Layer +/- DVD Burner
DVD Rom Drive
7.1 8-Channel Capable Sound
1 x RJ45 Network Port (10/100/1000)


Note this does not include a monitor, a phunky Creative soundcard (though it has 7.1 on-board) or speakers.

But I feel that this is pretty close to the spec you have posted up there, and may save you some money...

 

[decky101]

how much would these pc's happen 2 cost [specifically the one you are getting] as i would consider getting 1 as my home pc is sometimes a bit slow. I'm afraid i may have to steal the idea from you . it's guite steep isn't it [the price I mean] although my pc has 1gb of ram a 3.2 Ghz processor and it was 3 grand

 

[Tetsuo_Shima]

All for the magical price of ... 1779 quid *cough*

Im thinking about maybe cutting back with the monitor, RAM and sound though, that'd bring it back to about 1500. I say RAM because word-o'-mouth is that its a better idea to go for as little ram as possible and then just plug in your own because the RAM that Evesham use is basic.

Oh and decky, if you think your 3.2 ghz 1gb ram PC is slow, cry for me with my 1.8ghz, 512mb ram, Radeon 9200SE :/

 

[Pestcontrol]

Hmm, i was only looking at the parts and not the price, it'd be better if you brits had euros.

Anyway, Evesham's basic memory doesn't matter much, the performance advantage of better memories on Athlon 64 systems is small compared to the cost. I also can't recommend getting less memory and plug in more later, four sticks of memory instead of two does impact performance.

You could cut back on the sound, yes, the monitor you can just order elsewhere if you can find a better deal.

 

[thatbloke]

/me points to his earlier post about the Novatech system...

And Decky I can promise you if your system is being slow, it ain't the processor and ram that's causing it.

 

[Tetsuo_Shima]

/me points to his earlier post about the Novatech system...

Its quite decent value for money, but there be a couple of reasons I wouldn't opt for that. The first being the 4200 processor. The 3800, 4200 and 4600 X2 processors utilise a slightly different core to that of the 4400 and 4800s. The result being slightly increased clock speeds but with impacted stability and memory bandwidth (or something). The second is that the graphics card has 256mb, but there seems to be a large push for the incorporation of 512mb graphics cards in recent games. 3. 500gb of storage is quite an excess as far as I'm concerned.

Thanks for pointing it out though, I've still got a whole week to decide on a few more cutbacks.

 

[Tetsuo_Shima]

Ive just spotted something rather interesting.

The first setup I mentioned cost 1779, right? Well, I just had a look at a few of the 'Review PCs' on the site and Ive come up with these alternative, yet attractive, offers.

1. PC Plus Axis Dominator 79GTX

Much the same as the first I mentioned, cept for a couple of main differerences: a 4800 instead of 4400 processor, a slightly smaller hardrive with a smaller cache (320gb 8mb buffer vs. 400gb 16mb cache) and roughly 70 quid cheaper than the1st PC, but exactly 100 quid cheaper than an MKR plus built to the same spec. (It also comes with VX912 monitor rather than VX922 but I changed that, 9.99 more) Total : 1709

2. Hexus Axis Denver 5000 which is a bit different.

It has an AMD Athlon 5000+ X2 core with AM2 capability. This means it allows me to add 1GB of DDR2 RAM, but only 1GB as yet.
I tweaked it a little bit to add a 400gb 16mb cache HD, a 512mb 7900GTX, an X-Fi Xtreme and a VX922 monitor which totals at 1753 quid.

Now the question is, what is the best PC to go for?

The Dominator has more grunt, and for less; but the Denver has AM2 capability for future upgradability.

Decisions, decisions.

 

[Tetsuo_Shima]

BUMP!

Im going down to my local independent PC retailer (Creative Computing) tomorrow to have a browse at their PCs and see if they can make me an offer I cant refuse. I drafted up a list of all the various components I needed and their respective prices from Novatech that I can wave in their faces if they're too expensive. Anyway, whilst I was browsing I came upon this system page that has some (in my view) remarkable deals on systems. Theres 1408 quid for a system with an AM2 board, 600gb of HD space and an amazing dual-512mb 7900GTX Sli setup. If you have a decent monitor and speakers you could connect up to the system, that be a heck of a deal right there. I probably wont consider that one for myself, but just a heads up if any of you other guys are planning anything crazy like me.

EDIT: Oh crap, I just realised I triple posted. Oh well...

 

[thatbloke]

EDIT: Oh crap, I just realised I triple posted. Oh well...

Well I'll post here just to make sure that you don't quadruple post then. Let us know what your shiny new system has when (if) you make up your mind!!!

 

[decky101]

Well, my home pc is probably slow because my internet connection is.... WIRELESS . But still it's 2mb wireless so i don't know what is causing the problem

 

[thatbloke]

Well, my home pc is probably slow because my internet connection is.... WIRELESS . But still it's 2mb wireless so i don't know what is causing the problem

define "slow". is your computer taking ages too boot up and/or run programs? Or is it your net connection?

I would recommend that you check for spyware and malware as that could be nicking your bandwidth.

Also, I have wireless that's shared between 4 other people. I have absolutely no problems with it whatsoever unless someone is running p2p filesharing software... then I can hardly even connect to the router (because they hog all the bandwidth for it) let alone through the router to the interweb...

 

[Pestcontrol]

2Mb wireless is horribly slow, where does it say this? If your wireless isn't 11 or 54Mb, it means you have poor reception and it is reducing the rate in order to compensate. If you have such a poor reception that almost automatically means its somewhat unstable as well and games will be jerky.

 

[decky101]

Games aren't jerky but they repeatedly say "there is a problem with your connection" and by the time your back your dead. My p.c is slow at loading programs. I checked for both spyware and malware and found nothing. I think it might have something to do with my brother repeatedly kicking it...