Another new computer thread

[Vae]

As Mycenae's computer is on it's last legs I'm going to pass mine (a Dell C2D 6400 with 4Gb Ram and a Radeon 40 for reference) over to her and build or buy a new one for myself.

So advice please on what I should be looking for in a base unit.

I'm looking for whatever is good value at the moment. No fixed budget but maybe £400-500 as a guide. Not particularly interested in overclocking and the CPU probably won't be upgraded in future because by the time I come to replace it I'll probably do this exercise again in 2 years.

I've got a 2 copies of Win 7 32bit on order (wish I'd made it the 64 bit one now).

 

[nath]

I was under the impression that Windows 7 retail has both 32bit and 64bit available on the same disc? Did you order an upgrade/OEM version?

 

[Vae]

I was under the impression that Windows 7 retail has both 32bit and 64bit available on the same disc? Did you order an upgrade/OEM version?

Hmm you might be right actually - I just ordered the pre-order full version. So that's good news. Although I do have to ask what are the requirements to use the 64bit version i.e. will it work on the Dell machine I mention above?

 

[nath]

To my knowledge, all that's required to run a 64bit OS is a 64bit CPU. You've got a Core 2 Duo in that Dell so you should be fine .

 

[Vae]

To my knowledge, all that's required to run a 64bit OS is a 64bit CPU. You've got a Core 2 Duo in that Dell so you should be fine .

Ok that's good to know. Now just got to work out what hardware I need to buy. Any suggestions welcome

 

[soze]

Just a rough knock up can prolly find most cheaper elsewhere. MB gives the option for Crossfire but i dunno if that psu is up to it.

Coolermaster Black Elite 330 Case With eXtreme Power 460W PSU with Side Window 146338 26 in stock £60.18 £52.33 £60.18 £52.33

ASUS P5Q PRO Turbo iP45 Socket 775 8 -Channel Audio ATX Motherboard 165395 72 in stock £89.65 £77.95 £89.65 £77.95

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Socket 775 (3.0GHz) 1333FSB 6MB L2 Cache Retail Boxed Processor 139971 57 in stock £122.96 £106.92 £122.96 £106.92

Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3 1TB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm 32MB Cache - OEM 173804 919 in stock £54.99 £47.81 £54.99 £47.81

XFX HD 4870 1GB DDR5 Dual DVI HDTV Out PCI-E Graphics Card 169208 73 in stock £118.06 £102.66 £118.06 £102.66

Kingston 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 1066MHz/PC2-8500 HyperX T1 Memory Kit CL5 2.2V 159196 155 in stock £51.12 £44.45 £51.12 £44.45

LG GH22NS40 22X SATA DVD±RW/DL/RAM Black Bare Drive - OEM 151999 > 200 in stock £15.99 £13.90 £15.99 £13.90

Cart total inc vat: Cart total ex vat: £512.95

 

[Vae]

Many thanks Soze - That gives me a good idea where to start looking