Hardware experts!

[Evo]

I'm a complete numpty when it comes to following the latest hardware, so could somebody who knows about these things let me know what they think of the following PC spec...


3.2GHz Intel Pentium 4 Processor 530 with Hyper-Threading Technology
Intel 915G Express chipset
2x256MB/ PC2-3200 (400MHz) DDR2 SDRAM
ATI RADEON X600 PRO (PCI Express)
160GB (Serial ATA)
DVD Recordable
Gigabit Ethernet- Integrated
TerraTec soundcard (unknown model) +speakers
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
IBM 18" ThinkVision L180p


:confused: :rolleyes:

[Fat Dog]

Fairly standard middlish spec. What are you going to use it for? Personally I would go for an Athlon 64 unless the answer to the previous is very particular.

Regards
FD

[Evo]

It's for business plus the odd bit of games playing. However, I don't think it's possible to change the specification. A friend has some kind of offer at work, and is wondering if he should take it. Price, which I forgot to mention, is around £800, incl.

Where I come from, "Express" is marketing-speak for "cut-down", so I'm not sure if "PCI express", "815G express" is good or bad. Google is a bit overwhelming when you haven't paid any attention to hardware for the last three years :O

[ORAC]

PCI Express is the replacement for the present PCI and AGP slots, which is why it has a PCI Express graphics card. AGP has a maximum throughput of 2Gs a second, PCI Express supports 4Gb a second.

The first generation PCI express cards reviews do not show any great increase in capability over the best AGP cards, but you will be ready for any upgrades and AGP x 8 is the end of the line. The X600 itself is an average middle of the road card. Looks OK for what you want to use it for and you can replace it with something better latter.

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

Evo,

ORAC is correct, you will not see any benefit going to PCI-E for the Vid card, since we only just filled up the bandwidth for 4X AGP and 8X AGP has more than enough bandwidth for the next gen Vid Cards. Going PCI-E now gets does get you ready for the future though. ;)

If you are going to go with "The Dark Side of the Force" (Intel), I would look at the 925X Chipset. It is the current leader for PIVs.

Personally I would look at the new 90nm Socket 939 Athlon64s. They are the hottest thing on the market and the first CPUs have hit the market at a sub $200.00 price. Put that with an nForce3 250GB or one of the new nForce4 Ultra/SLI mobos (Will launch Oct 19.) and you have a PIV killer on your hands for less money. :ok:

Take Care,

Richard

[Evo]

Thanks folks!

Richard, i've only looked briefly, but the cheapest S939 Athlon 64 that I found was the Athlon 64 3500+ S939 512Kb at £236.98 - a Gigabyte nForce 3 250 Ultra with RAID (the only s939 board i found) was a further £129.99. While I have no doubt that they're a awesome combination, on their own they're nearly half the price of the system in question. Maybe it's bl**dy UK prices again, but i'm not sure we're really comparing like with like :)

As an aside, I couldn't find the monitor listed at dabs.com (the only place i've looked, and the source of the prices above), but the inch-smaller L170p monitor is listed at £556.98 - either it's all a rather good deal, or they've got the monitor spec wrong... (edit: actually dabs' price is rubbish - the L180p is £327.65 elsewhere... :O)

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

Evo,

It is hard for me to look at U.K. Prices, they all seem like highway robbery to me. :eek:

There are two version of the L180p. The better one is twice the price of the other. (The cheaper one has a Response Time of 30ms which is really poor.)

Take Care,

Richard

[amanoffewwords]

actually dabs' price is rubbish

Maybe not, insight has got the L180p quoted at £343 and £612 - i.e. two entries for the same monitor

http://uk.insight.com/apps/nbs/index.php?K=L180p

Maybe the second one is a buy one get one free offer :confused:

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

Charles,

Check the Response Times on them, one is 30ms and the other 25ms, neither all that great.

Take Care,

Richard

P.S. It does not look like they have the correct info on the website you linked. :eek:

[Evo]

D'oh, this is why I don't do hardware :confused: :D

I've only managed to find one version of the L180, with a 25ms response time. Is that still poor? Would a L170m be a better choice then? It's an inch smaller, but the same resolution and seems to have a 16ms response time (http://www.dealtime.com/xPF-IBM_17IN_LCD_1280X1024_0_264MM_THINKVISION_L170M?redir=1#ful ldesc)?

As for UK prices... :{ :yuk:

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

Evo,

16ms would give you a lot less ghosting. ;)

Take Care,

Richard

P.S. There are many options for LCDs. Might want to also look at Samsung and NEC, which are excellent monitors.

[Daysleeper]

One of the major magazines in the uk ran a feature on build your own games machine.

The spec they used
Motherboard Abit KV-7 £43

processor AMD OEM Athlon 3000XP+ 400mhz fsb 512 cach £91

Thermalite Volcano 11+ heatsink fan £13

RAM 1024Mb pc3200 (400mhz)DDR £90

3D Card ATI Radeon 9800pro £140

HDD Maxtor Diamond +9 80gb 133/7200 HD £40

Sony 16X dvd-rom £25

Arianet ATX 420W Case £22

8cm Case fan £3

delivery £12

Total a shade over £470 pounds.

They got a 3d mark score of 5700. which compares to a shop built system costing £1500

Any comments?

Richard will now depress us and point out that in the USA it would cost 50% less to buy all the bits.
:E

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

Daysleeper,

I will not make any comments on how overpriced your hardware in the U.K. is, I promise. ;)

I would replace the VIA Chipset Mobo with an nForce and the Maxtor with a Western Digital though. :ok:

Take Care,

Richard

[Evo]

Richard, what would you make of a system based around

Gigabyte GA-K8N Socket 754 Nvidia Nforce3 PRO Lan USB2 FSB800 ATA133 -> £56.12

Retail Boxed AMD Athlon 64 3000 Newcastle 512k Socket 754Pin CPU -> £113.65

Plus a gig of PC3200 RAM and a Radeon Pro 9800? It's not going to be the state of the art machine that the S939 would be, but it's a lot cheaper (as with Daysleeper's example, it's less than £500 all-in). Plus £300 for a 17" TFT and it's looking like more bang for the buck than the original system on offer... :ok:

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

Evo,

That is sounding good. For Socket 754 Mobos I would look at:

ASUS K8N-E DELUXE:

http://images10.newegg.com/productimage/13-131-498-01.JPG

DFI LANPARTY UT nF3 250G

http://images10.newegg.com/productimage/13-136-147-06.JPG

Gigabyte GA-K8NSNXP

http://images10.newegg.com/productimage/13-128-245-01.JPG

MSI K8N Neo Platinum

http://images10.newegg.com/productimage/13-130-457-05.JPG

Take Care,

Richard