Buying a new pc

joe123

Im looking to get a new pc in the next few months as the one I have now is getting pretty out dated

733mghz
64mbRam

What I know in terms of Pc technology is above the average but I still dont really know enough to be confident im buying a good pc ( i want it good enough to play games such a Half Life 2, Rome Total War and football manager )

So where is the best and cheapest place to buy a new pc? and how much would just the tower part cost excluding things such as the monitor, mouse printer etc as im guessing any tower will hook up to different printers and monitors?

I wouldnt know how to put one together myself so am I best off going to a local shop, Dell or a place like pc world?

Any advice would be great thanks

padraigf

www.komplett.ie - Good prices, Good delivery (debatebly) and friendly staff.

They'll put it together for you. Other than that a carefully built Dell. If you want to post a budget i'll help you configure one.

Nukem

Whats the budget ?
Came across this one for Jes today. Very good value here

joe123

To be honest im not even sure of my budget. I want a fairly top of the range pc that would easily be able to handle playing the latest games.

When using dell do they sell the main part of the pc ( the tower part is it called? the box that has the graphics card ram etc ) on there own or do you always have to buy extras such as the keyboard monitor etc?

All I want is the tower part that would handle the latest games with ease and not be out dated in a years time...although I dont want to pay crazy money.

maybe around €1200 euro???

jessy

joe123 wrote:

To be honest im not even sure of my budget. I want a fairly top of the range pc that would easily be able to handle playing the latest games.

When using dell do they sell the main part of the pc ( the tower part is it called? the box that has the graphics card ram etc ) on there own or do you always have to buy extras such as the keyboard monitor etc?

All I want is the tower part that would handle the latest games with ease and not be out dated in a years time...although I dont want to pay crazy money.

maybe around €1200 euro???

Forget Dell!

If ya want to be able to play the latest games ya better be prepared to fork out 450-500 on a graphics card. only leaves 700-750 for a " Top of the Range" pc.

The one thing we can all be sure of is that no mater how much you spend on hardware now, it will be outdated in a years time (Cant future proof).

Komplett is prob your best bet.

Kevin_rc_ie

the computer on www.jes.de the other guy refered to seems to be great value and is 1200 plus delivery whih i think is about 56 euro. doesnt include monitor. i've never bought from here but i hear they are reliable. not sure what the policy is on returns if something breaks unreasonably under their (i think) 2 year guarantee. just a side issue, a lot of people ask on boards i want something really good for very little money. everyone knows that this ideal doesnt exist. secondly, a computer that plays the latest games really well is going to have to be very good. and will be very resonable for another 18 months. but when another generation of games comes out the comp will struggle with them. and the next generation after that it will struggle a lot. having said that, who knows if they want to be playing the latest games in 3 years? woops, got carried away there. u should get what u want for 1200 but future proofing is even difficult paying 4000 grand on the comp. u'd be better paying 2000 on two different locations. sorry about the rant.

Vikings

jessy wrote:

ya better be prepared to fork out 450-500 on a graphics card.

Thats a bit over dramatic. My card (gf fx5900xt cost me 200E and) handles HL2, cs:s, rome total war just fine.

Nukem

Ya i agree.
Jessy thats a bit harsh - ok got a point in terms to play the latest games at top whack but you could get away with 180ish to 300ish (6600gt/x700pro - 6800nu/le-x800pro)

Nukem

Kevin_rc_ie wrote:

the other guy

Nice

Know serious, few pointers
PSU : Something over 350-up read charter and check back with us for make (no Qtec they are evil) Antec,Fortan,..............(read stickies)
CPU: AMD go socket 939 and Intel go socket 775 (AMD better for gaming but intel better for multi-tasking and rendering for CAD.....etc.....)
RAM: 512 seems to be the min now for games and stuff.
Mobo: all over the place just check reviews on the one you pick:
HDD: Personnel preference but some people say seagate (also see stickies)
Case: Personnel choice just google it and check reviews.
Gfx: New Pci-e x16 slots available check mobo for compatability and check reviews.

In the end google and boards are you friends

jessy

Nukem wrote:

Ya i agree.
Jessy thats a bit harsh - ok got a point in terms to play the latest games at top whack but you could get away with 180ish to 300ish (6600gt/x700pro - 6800nu/le-x800pro)

Fair Point, but he did say he wants to be able to play the latest games in a years time. New Unreal Tournament engine is supposed to be very harsh on Resources.

(Non Related side point), I don’t think ya can really appreciate a game like Far Cry, Doom III, Half Life 2 unless there played at max settings (Need Top Quality card for this).

jessy

IncredibleBulk wrote:

Thats a bit over dramatic. My card (gf fx5900xt cost me 200E and) handles HL2, cs:s, rome total war just fine.

My crapy 5700LE dose as well, but only on medium/Low Quaility. Cant wait for my new X800XT:D

Nukem

jessy wrote:

(Non Related side point), I don’t think ya can really appreciate a game like Far Cry, Doom III, Half Life 2 unless there played at max settings (Need Top Quality card for this).

Says he with the 5700LE (not knockin i have a mx440 and a built in VGA :mad: :mad: :mad: ) know your pain

Completely agree - but as said you can never by the top of the line card as its only top of the line for max maybe ,what 3months?????? before something better comes in.

Nukem

Cr*p ya beat me too it - i will hopefully get a 6600gt this month or next and a x850xt Pe in the Summer (santa better get his ass here in June)

jessy

hey the crapy 5700LE is only a temp

Yep about 3-4 months at best before somthing new is out. i really think the X800xt or the 6800GT/ultra will be decent in 1.5 -2 years time(as in will still handle new games, I hope) :eek:

RicardoSmith

Basically if you want a gaming PC you'll build it cheaper yourself, from parts bought from the web.

PC world and local shops are too expensive. Dell are ok if you want to buy everything like monitors, and all the kit including software , XP, etc and get a warranty.

Personally if I was building a games PC I'd build it myself. I wouldn't build it to be future proof as that impossible. But if you make some smart choices it should be still decent in a years time and with occasional upgrades you'll be able to play the current games at that time.

At the moment I reckon a 939 board, 6600GT and a AMD 3000+ 64bit processor makes the most sense.

aaf

Just a word of warning on that computer on jes.de. The OS is more than likely in German and the keyboard will be in a german layout. Would still be a great bargain if you had your own copy of an OS and a wireless keyboard and mouse combo can be got for €40 these days

joe123

Well when i say not to be outdated in a years time I dont expect to have still top of the range for the next generation of games but not to have a pc thats totally useless at even running them.

I mean the pc i have now is 5 years old but i was still able to play the likes of max payne, football manager etc on it ( although slow )

Would independent shops be cheaper compared to stores like pcworld?

In the end ill probably go with Dell as it seems the least complicated option and not bad pricing either....?

By the way are there any guides or books on building your own pc as it would be a nice challenge to try it. Thanks for all the replies too

Jammer

aaf wrote:

Just a word of warning on that computer on jes.de. The OS is more than likely in German and the keyboard will be in a german layout. Would still be a great bargain if you had your own copy of an OS and a wireless keyboard and mouse combo can be got for €40 these days

The XP is fine, just borrow an english install CD from a mate and use the license number u get with the computer. sorted.

PC World actually have a 3GHz P4, 512mb, 160GB Compaq for €800 ex. monitor. Throw a 6600GT or x800 Pro in there and it'd be grand. Its AGP 8x/4x though.

Also, an AMD64 3000+, 512mb, 160GB + 17" TFT for €999.

Prices arent bad at times, bargains can be had. Bit like HMV and CDWOW! 98% of the time CDWOW are cheaper...but bargains can be had...

Slash/ED

Jammers suggestion suits what you're looking for perfectly imo, from what you've said.

Jammer

They also have a 3.8GHZ P4, 1024mb of DDR2, 500GB S-ATA RAID setup, X700Pro PCI-X, WLAN integrated, TV Tuner & Remote for €1999 ex. monitor, which is more MY cup of tea...you should check out all the inputs and outputs on this thing, a geeks dream!! mmmmmm ...... ::droooooolllll::

Greenman

joe123 wrote:

By the way are there any guides or books on building your own pc as it would be a nice challenge to try it. Thanks for all the replies too [/QUOTE

Click on this link!!!
BTW How do I minimise the link? I used to be able to do it before??

http://web.ask.com/searchcp?q=How+to+build+your+own+PC&t=How+to+build+own+PC&cache=00*1btnxr0aohayt&url=http://www.hardwarecentral.com/hardwarecentral/tutorials/109/1/&page=&ws=1