New PC or build one

irishcarbomb2k

Hi Guys

The nearest attempt to building that I've done before is install RAM. I have a PC that I bought on Ebay two years ago with a Q6000 processor and it appears to be giving up the ghost (will not log me into my account on Vista). I've checked the errors and it appears to be on the hard drive so I am considering replacing the system with this?

http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/5972610/art/amd/pc-system-black-thuban-am.html

Its all the info I have, what do you guys think? I have a limited budget.

Shy_Dave!

Hi mate, I think most here will tell you that building your own pc is not just a lot cheaper but relatively straightforward.
I think the hardest part is actually making sure the parts you buy are actually compatible with each other.
I'm sure everyone here will help you with that. Also putting the pieces physically into the case is a piece of cake, you can find plenty of guides out there for it.

uberpixie

irishcarbomb2k wrote: »

Hi Guys

The nearest attempt to building that I've done before is install RAM. I have a PC that I bought on Ebay two years ago with a Q6000 processor and it appears to be giving up the ghost (will not log me into my account on Vista). I've checked the errors and it appears to be on the hard drive so I am considering replacing the system with this?

http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/5972610/art/amd/pc-system-black-thuban-am.html

Its all the info I have, what do you guys think? I have a limited budget.

Ah you want to replace an entire pc because of a harddrive error?
Why?
What error exactly are you getting? If the harddrive is physically faulty replace the harddrive......


Post up your full spec and advise exactly what you what your pc to do.

Overheal

Truthfully I dont know why you wouldnt buy a new hard drive first: if it doesnt work you can always transfer the new hard drive into your next PC. Even a Dell PC has enough space to support 4 or more hard drives, despite shipping with 1.

irishcarbomb2k

I'm not building/buying a new PC because of the hard drive, this is just giving me a reason to do so. Its really a media PC, always used for watching HD movies and at times I use it as a gaming PC. I have an xbox and ps3 also so I think I may be a little selfish in wanting new technology. The errors on the hard drive say that there are bad blocks. When I try and install or uninstall software it asks for a password which I never set up so I'm not sure how to get around it.
I bought the PC on Ebay so I'm not sure what the PSU power is and I also want to upgrade the graphics which is currently an N-Vidia 8800GTS graphics card. It has an intel Q6000 processor and 4GB DDR2 ram. I don't know what the Mobo is. So that's where I'm at. I figure it is cheaper just replacing the whole system with the above than upgrading this. The case is pretty big so I doubt there would be a problem with room inside. My Budget is 700 euro and I want to keep it as a primary media PC playing HD films and TV shows on a 42 inch 1080P telly as well as playing games. Thank you for your advice so far.

Overheal

I dont think you will see much of a return on your investment if your specs are already that high, but if you want to get into it for the sheer thrill of it, I would almost suggest disassembling what you have now to get a look.

Did my first build yesterday and there are still wires everywhere. It's a tad stressful having your hands all over your case thinking you're going to break something before you even power it on.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-radeon-hd-geforce-gtx,2676-7.html

That Article (its multi-page) shows you the best cards for bang:buck. And on the chart you can see whats going to be an increase for your card. You wont see any significant performance increases unless you go at least 3 tiers above yours.

I know you want to just get a new MoBo and Drive but theres other things to consider: Will the CPU fit into the socket; But then will it support your RAM which is probably DDR2 or will you need to buy DDR3 RAM. I would also find out what kind of PSU you have running at least, unless you want to buy one New.

The More you don't buy the more you can spend on a meaty Graphics Card. If your Budget is 700 Euro you could easily just buy a new hard drive, power supply, and a 500 euro Card: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-radeon-hd-geforce-gtx,2676-6.html. Building a whole new machine you're looking at a lot less available pool of cash to buy an improved graphics card from. Any processor or RAM better than what you have is going to cost a couple hundred straight away. DDR2 RAM is not exactly out of date yet; and admittedly theres no reason at this point to go above 4gb of ram. Another overlooked alternative is upgrading your peripherals: New LCD Screen, Mouse, Keyboard, etc.

irishcarbomb2k

So do you mean that upgrading the processor and ram will not really be noticable and if the PSU can support it, I'm better of spending the money on the graphics card??
I just want a PC that is fast and as I am purchasing a new TV to go with it, I want a good picture as I download or stream a lot of my films from Itunes/xbox etc. I also want it to play crysis and call of duty when I really want it. I would regard myself as an 'now and again' PC player, just get games for the graphics and play everything else on the games consoles.

marco_polo

Yeah I would agree with overheal here on a tight budget I would probably just get a brand new hard drive and an ATI HD5770 and see how that goes. You still have a quite decent CPU so you will going to see enough gains with a CPU / RAM / Motherboard to make it worth your while for now.

Whatever the PSU specs are if it is running a 8800GTS it should cope just fine with a HD5770. If looking at something better (GT460, HD5850) you would really want to check the PSU first.

irishcarbomb2k

okay, so I opened up my system. I have a winpower atx 600 watt psu with a foxconn P9657AA motherboard. 4 Gb of ram as I thought and a Nvidia 8800GT graphics card. So what do you think guys? Do I just buy a hard drive, operating system and 5850 graphics card?

uberpixie

irishcarbomb2k wrote: »

okay, so I opened up my system. I have a winpower atx 600 watt psu with a foxconn P9657AA motherboard. 4 Gb of ram as I thought and a Nvidia 8800GT graphics card. So what do you think guys? Do I just buy a hard drive, operating system and 5850 graphics card?

I would post up full specs if you could of the PSU. Those PSUs do not have a good reputation at all.

I would add a good quality 600W on the shopping list as well. You will get another 2-3 builds out of a good quality PSU.

A "600W" cheap POS almost NEVER gives even close to the watts they are rated at and generally are fire hazards waiting to happen.

A quailty PSU and a quality case are the two parts NEVER to skimp on for a build. Heat, power and noise problems are not good!

Post up a picture of the case you have....

Overheal

yeah. You can get windows 7 OEM cheaply enough and its a very nice OS. Good card and the PSU should support it if the quality is good.

irishcarbomb2k

i've tried to post a pic but with my hero in for repair, its very hard so I can only describe it. its a big black case with a large circular fan on the left hand side. There are room for 4 sata hard drives and plenty of room for sli graphics.

irishcarbomb2k

Okay so I took the plunge and ordered some parts for my upgrade. I can't afford the graphics this month but am looking at one of these from pixmania.

http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/5122252/art/sapphire-technology/radeon-hd-5850-1-gb-gddr5.html

Here is what I have ordered to upgrade my PC. Decided on a larger wattage PSU as want a little more power for updating later. Let me know what you think?

MS Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit SB-Version Englisch
Samsung SpinPoint F3 1000GB, SATA II (HD103SJ)
Xilence Power 700 Watt / SPS-XP700.(135)