What Should I Change?

I'm about to order a new system for home. My budget is about €1200. I don't need speakers, mouse, keyboard and my screen is grand too. I've gone through the PC Builder on Komplett and have done this:

Corsair Value S. PC5300 DDR2 2048MB
Sony DVD±RW burner, DRU-820A, 16x, Dual,
LG DVD Drive, GDR-8164SBB, 16x52,
Norman IC, 1 year license Virus Control
PC box
SoftThinks Installation/Recovery
Western Digital Raptor 150GB SATA
Cooler Master Ammo 533
NorthQ 4001AL, 400W Metallic Blue, 120mm
Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 2.13GHz Socket
Sunsway/ST Lab PCI Sound Card 6-channel
Microsoft Windows XP Home SP2
Asrock Conroexfire ESATA 2, Intel 945P,
XFX GeForce 7300GS 256MB DDR2, HD-ready
Sony Floppy Drive, 3,5" 1,44MB Black,


this comes to €1176


Is that the best ssetup i can get for in and around €1200?

angelofdeath

lose the floppy, norton and softthinks crap, if you want to game get a better gfx card, i don't know much about the 7300gs but the numbering would suggest a low end geforce 7, look for a 7800 or 7900, maybe a bigger wattage psu also

TerrorFirmer

Get a better GFX card. That 7300 is not only poor, it's abysmal and will be utterly useless for playing games (800x600 on low detail), which I assume you'll want to do.

the floppy and software crap is free, i cant get rid of them and I'm not much of a gamer.

havok could you reccommend a decent card from this list please?

ATI All-in-Wonder X800GT 128MB DDR, PCI-Express, DVB-T+PAL/SECAM, FM, Remote [info] +130.00
Club3D Radeon X1600PRO 256MB DDR2 PCI-Express, Dual-DVI-I, Retail [info] +21.00
Club3D GeForce 7900GT 256MB, GDDR3, PCI-Express, DVI/Tv-Out, Retail [info] +201.00
Gainward GeForce 7600GS 256MB Silent FX, PCI-Express,DDRII, "BP7600GS-256-TV-DVI" [info]
4 stocked. +42.00
Gainward GeForce 7900GT 512MB,1,2ns DDR3 ,PCI-Express, "BP7900GT-512-GS-TV-DD" [info] +309.00
Gigabyte 6600GT ,128MB GDDR3 PCI-Express, Tv-Out, DVI-I, Retail [info] +53.00
POINT OF VIEW GeForce 7300GS 256MB DDR Turbo Cache, 550Mhz/405Mhz, PCI-Express [info] -8.00
Point of View GeForce 7600GS 256MB DDR2 ,PCI-Express, DVI/TV-Out, 400/800Mhz [info] +42.00
POINT OF VIEW GeForce 6800GS 256MB GDDR3, PCI-Express, 425Mhz/1GHz,w/Farcry [info] +147.00
POINT OF VIEW GeForce 6800GT 256MB GDDR3 , Tv-Out, DVI, Retail, PCI-Express [info] +166.00
Point of View GeForce 7800GTX 256MB DDR3 ,PCI-Express, Dual-DVI/ViVo, with Farcry [info]
3 stocked. +332.00
Point of View GeForce 7900GTX 512MB, GDDR3, PCI-Express, DVI/Tv-Out, Retail [info] +382.00
Point of View GeForce 7950GX2 1024MB DDR ,PCI-Express,Dual-DVI, TV-out, Retail [info]
3 stocked. +473.00
PowerColor Radeon X800GTO 128MB DDR1, PCI-Express, DVI-I, Tv-Out, Retail [info] +32.00
Sapphire Radeon X1300 512MB DDR2, PCI-Express, Tv-Out, DVI-I, Lite-Retail [info]
4 stocked. +23.00
XFX GeForce 6500 TurboCache, PCI-Express, supports 256MB, Tv-Out/DVI [info]
4 stocked. -33.00
XFX GeForce 7300LE 64MB DDR, PCI-Express, DVI-I/Tv-Out, Retail [info] -29.00
XFX GeForce 7300GS 256MB DDR2, HD-ready PCI-Express, DVI-I/Tv-Out, Retail

bear in mind the prices on the right please.

stevejazzx

INTEL Core 2 Duo E6600 2,40Ghz FSB 1066 S.775 2x2MB: € 149.99
- MSI P965 Platinum (P/S/GBL/SATA/DDRII): € 84.90
- PCI-e 512MB ATI RADEON X1900 XT TV-out- DVI: € 289.90
- SATA-II 200 GB WesternD WD2000JS (7200rpm-8MB): € 34.90
- 2048MB DDR-II RAM G-Skill CL4 533MHz € 129.00
- DVD-RW Plextor 16x/16x/4,0x RAM DL SH-S162A/BEBE (CaseColor): € 27.90
- Aspire X-plorer Midi-Tower - Silver: € 69.00
- Intel CPU cooler
- 525W MAXSILENT 525Watt 2xSata 20/24Pin: € 19.90
- Realtek ALC888 8 channel audio
- 10/100 Ethernet LAN

1
1.204,40 €
1.204,40 €


A much beeter spec for you with an amzing gpu

http://www.ankermann-pc.com/en/index.html

theres a thread on them in here, they seem reliable.

Thats without Vat factored in, comes to about 2400. quite like that site though, some nice options.

this comes to a nice €843

System: INTEL Core 2 Duo 1,86Ghz
E6300 FSB1066 S.775 2MB
Equipment:

- INTEL Core 2 Duo E6400 2,13Ghz FSB 1066 S.775 2x2MB: € 39.99
- MSI P965 Platinum (P/S/GBL/SATA/DDRII): € 84.90
- PCI-e 256MB ATI RADEON X1600-Pro TV-out- DVI: € 59.90
- IDE 250 GB Western-WD2500JB (8MB cache-7200rpm): € 30.90
- 256MB DDR-II RAM G-Skill CL4 533MHz
- DDR-II upgrade from 256MB to 1024MB G-SKILL PC533: € 53.00
- DDR-II RAM 1024MB G-Skill 533MHz CL4: € 76.00
- DVD-RW NEC ND-3750A 16x/16x MULTIFORMAT +&- DL (CaseColor): € 29.00
- DVD-Drive IDE Samsung 16x/52x SH-D162C/BEWE (CaseColor): € 15.90
- NL Oranje Modding: € 39.00
- Intel CPU cooler
- 425W MaxSilent MS4 2xSata 20/24Pin 12cm PCI-X: € 15.90
- Realtek ALC888 8 channel audio
- 10/100 Ethernet LAN

I dumbed down the graphics card, have i gone too far though?

any changes you recommend to this set up?

mordeith

angelofdeath wrote:

lose the floppy,

I wouldn't recommend that, unless you salvage the one from your old PC of course. I left it out on my first build last year and then couldn't install XP as it needed a floppy drive. Luckily I hadn't scrapped my old PC as yet and was able to transfer the floppy drive from that.

stevejazzx

Deleted User wrote:

Thats without Vat factored in, comes to about 2400. quite like that site though, some nice options.

how did you make that out

it includes vat and shipping

INTEL Core 2 Duo E6600 2,40Ghz FSB 1066 S.775 2x2MB: € 149.99
- MSI P965 Platinum (P/S/GBL/SATA/DDRII): € 84.90
- PCI-e 512MB ATI RADEON X1900 XT TV-out- DVI: € 289.90
- IDE 250 GB Western-WD2500JB (8MB cache-7200rpm): € 30.90
- 1024B DDR-II RAM G-Skill CL4 533MHz
- DDR-II upgrade from 256MB to 1024MB G-SKILL PC533: € 53.00
- DVD-R Samsung 16x/52x IDE SH-D162C
- DVD-RW LG GSA-H10A 16x/16x MULTIFORMAT + & - DL (CaseColor): € 33.90
- Ankermann Tower 6x USB 2.0
- Intel CPU cooler
- 525W MAXSILENT 525Watt 2xSata 20/24Pin: € 19.90
- Realtek ALC888 8 channel audio
- 10/100 Ethernet LAN

1
1.061,40 €
1.061,40 €

Total value of goods (Net): 915,00 €VAT (16%): 146,40 €
Total value of goods (Gross): 1.061,40 €
(Please only click once!)
You can change your order at any time.

Sorry about that, just did it again and the vat is how you put it..

A bit freaky really, It was there, then it wasn't.

Edi: i realise what happened... i got Cookied, i forgot to remove my first set up from the basket!

(ouch that was bad)

stevejazzx

how would vat on 1200 even add up to 2400 anyway?

this is your best config i can see

the 6600 conroe 2.4ghz one....
1900xtx
1gig or 2 gig ram
western digital 16mb buffer hd,
500 watt or more psu
decent mobo, maybe go for asus
and a plextor dvdrw


all for 1200 delivered from ankermann

komplet are great, but this site looks much cheaper

i've pretty much settled on this setup now.

I'll be buying one of those 250gb external medion Hard-drives to accompany the raptor.

Before i order this, does anybody have anything to say about it? Like have i overdone something, and then left something bare? This is the first time i haven't bought a computer straight out of the shop, so i'm a little nervous of messing it up.

System: INTEL Core 2 Duo 1,86Ghz
E6300 FSB1066 S.775 2MB
Equipment:

- INTEL Core 2 Duo E6600 2,40Ghz FSB 1066 S.775 2x2MB: € 149.99
- MSI P965 Platinum (P/S/GBL/SATA/DDRII): € 84.90
- PCI-e 256MB ATI RADEON X1600-Pro TV-out- DVI: € 59.90
- SATA 74 GB Western-Digital RAPTOR WD740GD: € 112.90
- 256MB DDR-II RAM G-Skill CL4 533MHz
- DDR-II upgrade from 256MB to 1024MB G-SKILL PC533: € 53.00
- DDR-II RAM 1024MB G-Skill 533MHz CL4: € 76.00
- DVD-Drive IDE Samsung 16x/52x SH-D162C/BEWE (CaseColor): € 0.00
- LIGHTSCRIBE SAMSUNG 16x DVD-RW DL SH-S162L/BEBN (CaseColor): € 48.90
- Floppy Drive: € 6.50
- NL Oranje Modding: € 39.00
- Intel CPU cooler
- 525W MAXSILENT 525Watt 2xSata 20/24Pin: € 19.90
- Realtek ALC888 8 channel audio

Total price = €1,049.90

Add another 100 for the external HDD and i'm €50 under budget.

PogMoThoin

The x1600 wouldn't be able to play modern games without lowering the settings or resolutions. The x1900 you had 1st listed would be much better if you can stretch your budget.

Does it Justify adding €150 to the overall price of the system?

how about the X1800 as a compromise?

PogMoThoin

Better choice . Judge for yourself: http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/index.cfm?a=wiki&tag=rmp_vds
or here, FEAR benchmarks: http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/digest3d/0606/itogi-video-f-wxp-1280-pcie.html

Very handy page there. In light of it, i've downgraded the motherboard slightly, and upgrade the gfx

System: INTEL Core 2 Duo 1,86Ghz
E6300 FSB1066 S.775 2MB
Equipment:

- INTEL Core 2 Duo E6600 2,40Ghz FSB 1066 S.775 2x2MB: € 149.99
- MSI 945PL Neo-F (P/S/GBL/SATA/DDRII): € 25.90
- PCI-e 256MB ATI RADEON x850 XT TV-out & DVI: € 159.90
- SATA 74 GB Western-Digital RAPTOR WD740GD: € 112.90
- 256MB DDR-II RAM G-Skill CL4 533MHz
- DDR-II upgrade from 256MB to 1024MB G-SKILL PC533: € 53.00
- DDR-II RAM 1024MB G-Skill 533MHz CL4: € 76.00
- DVD-Drive IDE Samsung 16x/52x SH-D162C/BEWE (CaseColor): € 0.00
- LIGHTSCRIBE SAMSUNG 16x DVD-RW DL SH-S162L/BEBN (CaseColor): € 48.90
- Floppy Drive: € 6.50
- NL Oranje Modding: € 39.00
- Intel CPU cooler
- 525W MAXSILENT 525Watt 2xSata 20/24Pin: € 19.90
- Realtek ALC888 8 channel audio
- 10/100 Ethernet LAN

only adds €40 to the other setup

Edit : if the motherboard should be changed back, i could do this at the expense of the Raptor HDD. I could easily make back the price of the motherboard by changing that to a large HDD instead.

PogMoThoin

That mobo doesn't support core 2 chip. Only 965 & newer 975 mobo's do. Go back to your original choice. Loose the raptor. New Seagate hd's are nearly as fast as raptors. Look for the .10 series of seagate hd's, these the latest ones.

Excellent, thats exactly the thing i was afraid of doing. okay, motherboard back to how it was originally, and drop the HD back to a 300gb Seagate.

Thanks a million.

System: INTEL Core 2 Duo 1,86Ghz
E6300 FSB1066 S.775 2MB
Equipment:

- INTEL Core 2 Duo E6600 2,40Ghz FSB 1066 S.775 2x2MB: € 149.99
- MSI P965 Platinum (P/S/GBL/SATA/DDRII): € 84.90
- PCI-e 256MB ATI RADEON x850 XT TV-out & DVI: € 159.90
- IDE 300 GB SEAGATE ST33008 (8MB cache-7200rpm): € 54.90
- 256MB DDR-II RAM G-Skill CL4 533MHz
- DDR-II upgrade from 256MB to 1024MB G-SKILL PC533: € 53.00
- DDR-II RAM 1024MB G-Skill 533MHz CL4: € 76.00
- DVD-Drive IDE Samsung 16x/52x SH-D162C/BEWE (CaseColor): € 0.00
- LIGHTSCRIBE SAMSUNG 16x DVD-RW DL SH-S162L/BEBN (CaseColor): € 48.90
- Floppy Drive: € 6.50
- NL Oranje Modding: € 39.00
- Intel CPU cooler
- 525W MAXSILENT 525Watt 2xSata 20/24Pin: € 19.90
- Realtek ALC888 8 channel audio
- 10/100 Ethernet LAN

not even €1100, and no need for an external HD dump either.

PogMoThoin

Get a sata hd with 16mb cache. Don't get that 1.
Hope your not gettin an x850 gpu. Thought you said x1800.

the x850 XT was rated higher on both of those pages you linked to..

and i will change Hd's no problem, wasn't certain of the difference anyway.

DirkVoodoo

mordeith wrote:

I wouldn't recommend that, unless you salvage the one from your old PC of course. I left it out on my first build last year and then couldn't install XP as it needed a floppy drive. Luckily I hadn't scrapped my old PC as yet and was able to transfer the floppy drive from that.

I didnt have a floppy, just change the boot priority in the BIOS to boot from the CD drive.

PogMoThoin

Deleted User wrote:

the x850 XT was rated higher on both of those pages you linked to..

and i will change Hd's no problem, wasn't certain of the difference anyway.

Not higher than an x1800xt, thats what i thought you were gettin. x850wouldn't be much of an improvement over the x1600. My old rig has a nvidia6800, which is under pressure for modern games like FEAR, COD etc. The x850 would be a small bit more powerful than it. You wouldn't be able to play @ 1280x1024 without lowering some of the settings & turning off vsync. What res does your monitor support?

Edit: I'm probably pushing you well over budget. Just choose something good, everything else in your rig is top class.

Okay, final go. I'm not a huge gamer, so i don't think that i need a massive graphics card at all, but it'd be nice to be future-proofed for the next 3/4 years.

System: INTEL Core 2 Duo 1,86Ghz
E6300 FSB1066 S.775 2MB
Equipment:

- INTEL Core 2 Duo E6600 2,40Ghz FSB 1066 S.775 2x2MB: € 149.99
- MSI P965 Platinum (P/S/GBL/SATA/DDRII): € 84.90
- PCI-e 256MB ATI RADEON X1800 GTO TV-out & DVI: € 159.90
- SATA-II 300 GB MAXTOR 6V300F0 (7200rpm-16MB): € 49.90
- 256MB DDR-II RAM G-Skill CL4 533MHz
- DDR-II upgrade from 256MB to 1024MB G-SKILL PC533: € 53.00
- DDR-II RAM 1024MB G-Skill 533MHz CL4: € 76.00
- DVD-Drive IDE Samsung 16x/52x SH-D162C/BEWE (CaseColor): € 0.00
- DVD-RW NEC ND-3750A 16x/16x MULTIFORMAT +&- DL (CaseColor): € 45.90
- Floppy Drive: € 6.50
- Ankermann Tower 6x USB 2.0
- Intel CPU cooler
- 525W MAXSILENT 525Watt 2xSata 20/24Pin: € 19.90
- Realtek ALC888 8 channel audio
- 10/100 Ethernet LAN
- Yes, I want a superquiet PC: € 25

€1.069,90

PogMoThoin

:rolleyes: Looks good.
What about a copy of windows? Do you have a copy?

DemonOfTheFall

Wow, that's a nice price for that PC. Very finely tuned to what I would have bought, or close enough at least.

Main thing I'd change would be a motherboard that I would be sure of a decent overclock with

Yes, have windows and software required on current computer.

PogMoThoin

Deleted User wrote:

Yes, have windows and software required on current computer.

Did windows come with that pc ie. Dell or HP? Oem versions are not transferrable. You won't be able to activate it if its oem. Retail versions are transferrable. Just letting you know before you try.

conzy

DemonOfTheFall wrote:

Wow, that's a nice price for that PC. Very finely tuned to what I would have bought, or close enough at least.

Main thing I'd change would be a motherboard that I would be sure of a decent overclock with

Any idea what the Maxsilent PSUs are like Demon?

I was thinking of doing an Ankerman custom build for a friend, and I was wondering if I would be better off buying him a good PSU from Komplett..

Ankermann have a 380watt Tagan but i would say its a little on the weak side especially for a high end card...

oops, looks like i'll be buying windows too then..

this is what i mean about having to ask first

PogMoThoin

Just add the oem version to your order. Vista is out nxt yr, you won't be building a new rig before then & you'll prob upgrade 2 vista

DemonOfTheFall

conzymaher wrote:

Any idea what the Maxsilent PSUs are like Demon?

I was thinking of doing an Ankerman custom build for a friend, and I was wondering if I would be better off buying him a good PSU from Komplett..

Ankermann have a 380watt Tagan but i would say its a little on the weak side especially for a high end card...

Can't find any details on them... google turned up nothing for me.

If you looked into the power consumption of the GFX card, a 380watt might not be too weak.

If it was a 7900GT I wouldn't worry about it at all, those things use barely a drop of power. Check anandtech for decent GFX card power draw testing

VINNIEB

Hi all, sorry for hi-jacking this thread (mod remove if inappropiate)

What`s the story with 16% v.a.t. will OP be caught for the balance of 5% in line with our 21%.
I am impressed with Ankermanns prices and C.O.D. system and hoping to purchace in the very near future.

Thanx

Vinnie

Creamy Goodness

VINNIEB wrote:

Hi all, sorry for hi-jacking this thread (mod remove if inappropiate)

What`s the story with 16% v.a.t. will OP be caught for the balance of 5% in line with our 21%.
I am impressed with Ankermanns prices and C.O.D. system and hoping to purchace in the very near future.

Thanx

Vinnie

no, any item bought in the E.U is not liable for irish VAT. ie. you buy from germany you pay 12% VAT that's included in the price, you buy from the UK you pay 17.5% VAT that's included in the price. it's only when you import from outside the EU ie. the states that you are liable to pay extra.

VINNIEB

Thanks Cremo,
Sorry Evalyn Millions Pacemaker for the hi jack, good luck with your new computer.

Vinnie

mordeith

DirkVoodoo wrote:

I didnt have a floppy, just change the boot priority in the BIOS to boot from the CD drive.

Actually, now that I come to think of it I think it, it was some drivers for the MOBO that had to be extracted onto a floppy from the driver CD before they could be installed, so sorry 'bout saying you wouldn't be able to install XP without a floppy. My bad!

angelofdeath

yeah, but seriously, when are you gonna use a floppy apart from that one time installing sata drivers for xp

it won't be an issue for vista and it's not an issue for linux (afaik)

so just pull out an old floppy out of an old machine for the install and then throw it away, floppies are a waste of space

paul8200

You may not need a floppy. I've just finished a new build and my asus P5W Dh mobo could deal with a new sata disk straight from the box.

Naux

Cremo wrote:

no, any item bought in the E.U is not liable for irish VAT. ie. you buy from germany you pay 12% VAT that's included in the price, you buy from the UK you pay 17.5% VAT that's included in the price. it's only when you import from outside the EU ie. the states that you are liable to pay extra.

I thought that there was new EU legislation stating that any EU based e-tailer must charge VAT at the relevant rate for the country they are delivering to? Some UK based companies(eg amazon) certainly charge 21% VAT on Irish deliveries.

Sorry for slightly off topic but I'd like to buy some stuff at the prices quoted!!!

py2006

Wow, that ankerman site looks too good to be true!!! Has anybody bought from them before? Are they reputable etc?

Did the OP make a purchase yet??

BadCharlie

py2006 wrote:

Wow, that ankerman site looks too good to be true!!! Has anybody bought from them before? Are they reputable etc?

Did the OP make a purchase yet??

Yeah they look good. If i had knowing of them before now when my friend was buying a computer during the summer i would have told him to get his computer from them.