Help Voicy choose a PC!

Voicy

Voicy

Resident Panty Kicker
Hi again friends! (and Tincan ":(" )

So my parents' old pc died last night and instead of trying to find old spares to feex it I figured I'mma just give them my pc and get an upgrade.

So here's my current rig:

- Crappy case
- 2GB ddr400 ram
- AMD Athlon 3000+
- Nvidia 8600gt gfx card
- 250gb SATA SG.
- 300W Aeon or whatnot PSU

I'm looking at spending around R5-6k (well I wish a lot less, but that's not practically possible.)

So here's what I'm looking at so far:

Case: R800

http://www.prophecy.co.za/antec-super-lanboy-aluminum-windowed-side-panel-p-108.html

PSU: R 370

http://www.prophecy.co.za/extreme-power-390w-p-23777.html

or similar

CPU: AMD vs Intel?

Last year I was thinking of the E7400 intel core 2 duo's but I think the Quad's are down in price and/or AMD has a worth while chip...

MOBO:

No idea? (CPU dependent)

GFX Card:

Either keep my 8600GT for now or look at something cheapish/worth while. Is Nvidia still tops or is ATi worth it? (Never been an ATI fan)

RAM:

DDR800 or the new 1066 whatnots? Not too sure what's better rand/value right now...

Screen:

I currently use an old 17" CRT on the side for browsing and have a 32" Sinotech LCD tv as my primary screen. So that stays.

Keyboard + Mouse:

I currently have the Logitech Ultra Flat, but it's sucky for gaming because it's compact and doesnt have the PgUP - Home - etc. 6 button combo freestanding with the up/down/left/right cursors.

Ideally I'd like the flat MECER ones they give out to all the gov departments. They still feel the best.

Also my mouse = default old MS laser mouse for R50.


So please, help me Obi-wan-forumites, you're my only hope...
 
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So Voicy, got an early year bonus or what? New phones AND PC? Hehe, anyway I'll only give a suggestion on the card. A Radeon HD4670 can be had for around R1000 and will serve you very well at that price range. The rest I leave to Joker and the gang. :D
 
Isengard said:
So Voicy, got an early year bonus or what? New phones AND PC? Hehe, anyway I'll only give a suggestion on the card. A Radeon HD4670 can be had for around R1000 and will serve you very well at that price range. The rest I leave to Joker and the gang. :D
Click to expand...

Thanks man...

and nope, everything is just conking out now. Car also needs a service >_<

The pc upgrade is long overdue - and the phone's speaker stopped working so I cant hear calls/sms's.
 
On your budget I think Intel's older dual cores are the best bet. Quads are down, but still quite expensive, and the new Phenom IIs aren't cheap either.

I would look at saving money on the motherboard by getting something cheap and simple like this.

If your current graphics card does what you want it to do then there is no reason to upgrade. However, if I were you I would have a look around for a second hand 8800GT, they must be going pretty cheap by now.

Then just get generic set of DDR 2 ram modules and your done.
 
Thanks Tincan!

I'll be having a looksee at different options. My main concern now is dual vs quad core. And whether or not AMD is worth it...
 
Case: Antec Super Lanboy R800.55 Prophecy
CPU: Intel Core2 Duo E7400 R1703.78 Prophecy
Mobo: ASUS P5KPL-CM R881.13 Prophecy
RAM: Kingston ValueRam Memory - DDR2-800MHz - 2GB x 2 R293 x 2 = R586 Take2
= R3971.46

It's not all the items but it's some. And it's just a quick look. I reckon the E7400 is currently the sweet spot regarding price vs performance. I chose a cheap motherboard that gets the job done but that has nothing fancy. Take2 currently has lots of RAM on special if you want to go look.
 
The Joker said:
Sup Mr voicy.
'll sell you my Phenomx4 9950 Black edition rig or R8500.
Click to expand...

By any measure it's an awesome rig my friend, just slightly out of my league right now...

Solitude said:
Case: Antec Super Lanboy R800.55 Prophecy
CPU: Intel Core2 Duo E7400 R1703.78 Prophecy
Mobo: ASUS P5KPL-CM R881.13 Prophecy
RAM: Kingston ValueRam Memory - DDR2-800MHz - 2GB x 2 R293 x 2 = R586 Take2
= R3971.46

It's not all the items but it's some. And it's just a quick look. I reckon the E7400 is currently the sweet spot regarding price vs performance. I chose a cheap motherboard that gets the job done but that has nothing fancy. Take2 currently has lots of RAM on special if you want to go look.
Click to expand...

Thanks Solitude! So you reckon the E7400 is still the way to go? I was just a bit worried that it's something that would start lagging behind soon. There is a specific Mobo that goes very well with the E7400 and isn't expensive either, I'll have another look!
 
Voicy said:
By any measure it's an awesome rig my friend, just slightly out of my league right now...



Thanks Solitude! So you reckon the E7400 is still the way to go? I was just a bit worried that it's something that would start lagging behind soon. There is a specific Mobo that goes very well with the E7400 and isn't expensive either, I'll have another look!
Click to expand...

Its cool mate!!
E7400 is a really good cpu and mobo you should go for any asus, they are pretty much bullet proof and the new one's feature 8 channel audio and hdmi video output!!
 
What do you want to use the PC for? Games? Well a higher end dual core will do you fine. If you looking for process heavy things [home server, graphics editing, 3d dev etc etc] look into the quad cores.

I was looking into the intel Q6600, but I couldn't find any readily available.

My opinions:
Case: I've never really cared for cases, so long as it's big enough so that working in it isn't a pain it should be fine.

PSU:
I'd go for something a little more than 400w. PSU degrade output over time, so to be safe you get something a bit higher than what you think you'll need [390w] for the next couple of years. Keep in mind graphics cards will need extra power so if you want a super graphics card later on you should get more power.

GFX Card:
If you want to stay nvidia, try pick up a 9600GT if you can find out cheap. the 8600GT is ok for now, but expect to be playing future games on "low". I have a 8600GT, and it's starting to hit the point of being only able to play on 'normal' settings. Considering your power needs, a 9600GT is a safe way to go for now.

RAM:
Go for the 800, get 2GB [or more]. Keep in mind that windowsXP 32bit has a limit of 3GB, so don't go over that if you have windowsXP.
 
Thanks Keldarza, you make some valid points.

Keep in mind a 400W psu sucks up 1.8amps, so I'll have to spec according to what I'll need...

I'll be looking at a 8800gt at a later stage for bargain prices methinks, but the cpu was really worrying me. If the E7400 will still hold for the next 2 years then I'm quite happy to go for it.
 
It's a difficult choice Voicy. If it was me then I would have gone for the E7400. It's difficult to say how long it will hold for but then the processors that are faster cost quite a lot more.
 
Boetie Voicy

I reckon get a E7400,2gb RAM,9600GT

That will sort you out for for +- 2yrs or so.
Cases are purely a personal choice, just remember "gaming" cases don't come with a PSU. So anything 400W and above will be perfectly fine for awhile.

Most 9600GT's these days come with a HDMI,DVI output so that will be fine for ur TV LCD.
But i would suggest getting a 19" LCD screen or bigger to get max benefit out of it. They going for cheap these days +-R1200 for a LG.

i would not suggest getting a Phenom x 2 atm. M/boards would be hard to get hold off in this country for the meantime.
 
Hooray! thanks Gradius *skelm drukkie*

I've been chatting to some okes who reckon the E8400 is also not bad, but I'm not sure if the price difference is worth the performance upgrade. (I'm actually not even sure what either of them are going for at this stage)
 
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