Need help choosing a PC

James G

First of all I want to thank anyone who posts here in advance.

Family only recently got a new PC (quad core, 4 gigs of ram) and I'm feeling pretty jealous. Right now I'm using a very low end laptop and I need a new computer that'll last a while with new games and stuff coming out. I'll be doing gaming (l4d, cod4, maybe try out some other games with high requirements) and lot of work with photoshop & dreamweaver.

I don't need speakers, a monitor, keyboard or anything like that. Although, if they come with the PC then that'll be great.

I want to go with 64-bit (I'll be using 64-bit Vista, probably home premium)
4 gigs of ram
Intel Quad core
A good graphics card for gaming (nvidia preferably)
DVD-RW, maybe even a blu-ray reader
Around 500gb hard drive

I may be willing to build the computer myself if I get a much better deal than a prebuilt computer, but I really wouldn't want to mess it up.

So, does anyone know where I could get a computer with these specs for around 600-800 euro, and know what parts I should get? I also need suggestions of where to buy from.

Thanks to anyone that helps, this is a pretty big deal for me.

steve_

id check out komplett they do decent upgrade bundles. personally id go with XP 64 bit, vista is just.....you know, its vista. $gb of ram sounds good. A great little processor is the Q6600 which is a great overclocker. And a graphics card from 512 up will be good for gaming. for your price range your might find a 768mb card. It depends what resolution you might be playing your game at aswell. With a Q6600 and 4Gb of RAM photoshop and dreamweaver wont stand a chance

Kinetic^

steve_ wrote: »

id check out komplett they do decent upgrade bundles. personally id go with XP 64 bit, vista is just.....you know, its vista. $gb of ram sounds good. A great little processor is the Q6600 which is a great overclocker. And a graphics card from 512 up will be good for gaming. for your price range your might find a 768mb card. It depends what resolution you might be playing your game at aswell. With a Q6600 and 4Gb of RAM photoshop and dreamweaver wont stand a chance

XP 64 is a terrivbe operating system. Driver support for it is few and far between. I'd either go XP Professional 32bit with 2-3gb or Vista Ultimate 64 bit with 4gb+.

steve_

ok driver support aint great, but iv rarely encountered a major problem. I just rather it then vista

Kinetic^

steve_ wrote: »

ok driver support aint great, but iv rarely encountered a major problem. I just rather it then vista

If 64 bit is the way he wants to go then Vista is better supported. Better yet, I'd hold off till Windows 7 (64 bit) is released as it will be better then both.

Solitaire

Why do I have the sudden urge to go "LOLOLOLOL Nintel fanboi!!1!"

Constructive posting will resume tomorrow, but bear in mind I'm going to put up at least one Dragon platform build (mmm... AMD, AMD, and more AMD) just to wind up the OP

James G

Thanks steve_, I'll be sure to check out komplett.

I've been using Vista for a long time now and I really don't want to go back to XP. Considering 7 will be released very soon I think I actually will go with 7. I did play around with one of the beta builds and liked it a lot.

Does anyone know any specific cards I should get? I'll probably be gaming with the resolution 1024 by 768

Solitaire

James G wrote:

Does anyone know any specific cards I should get? I'll probably be gaming with the resolution 1024 by 768

A new monitor?

Actually, I wasn't being funny this time around!

And I echo the XP64 sentiment: don't touch it with a bargepole. Get the Win7 64bit RC (if you can) then buy a retail copy when it comes out. Its shaping up to be something sweet

Kinetic^

Solitaire wrote: »

Why do I have the sudden urge to go "LOLOLOLOL Nintel fanboi!!1!"

[chriscrocker]LEAVE INTEL ALONE!!!!!!!!![/chriscrocker]

jonny72

James G wrote: »

First of all I want to thank anyone who posts here in advance.

Family only recently got a new PC (quad core, 4 gigs of ram) and I'm feeling pretty jealous. Right now I'm using a very low end laptop and I need a new computer that'll last a while with new games and stuff coming out. I'll be doing gaming (l4d, cod4, maybe try out some other games with high requirements) and lot of work with photoshop & dreamweaver.

I don't need speakers, a monitor, keyboard or anything like that. Although, if they come with the PC then that'll be great.

I want to go with 64-bit (I'll be using 64-bit Vista, probably home premium)
4 gigs of ram
Intel Quad core
A good graphics card for gaming (nvidia preferably)
DVD-RW, maybe even a blu-ray reader
Around 500gb hard drive

I may be willing to build the computer myself if I get a much better deal than a prebuilt computer, but I really wouldn't want to mess it up.

So, does anyone know where I could get a computer with these specs for around 600-800 euro, and know what parts I should get? I also need suggestions of where to buy from.

Thanks to anyone that helps, this is a pretty big deal for me.

You can do much better than a q6600 with that budget..

Go to www.hardwareversand.de

Choose English, then PC configurator

For your CPU, sort by price, then go for a q9550, its a very nice processor, good bit faster than a q6600, bigger cache, etc

Motherboard is tricky, but between 60 and 100 euros should be fine, P43 board would be okay, ASUS and GIGABYTE are generally good brands

4 gigs of PC6400 ram, I very much doubt you will be overclocking so this is fine for now., about 40 euros.

Choose your case, go with something with more than just 1 fan, there should be suggestions here, important for good airflow even if you aren't overclocking

Power supply - try not to scrimp money here, spend about 70 or 80 euros, get a corsair, 550 to 650 watts should be enough

Graphics card - You have a choice Nvidia or ATI. Hardwareversand pc configurator won't let you have a powerful graphics card when you spec anything below a 700 watt power supply - its stupid I know, just buy a card separately at the checkout at the end.

Depends on your monitor, but I suggest an ATI 4870, 4890 or Nvidia 260 SP 216. When you choose a graphics card, find its exact name and type it in and find a _proper_ review of it and compare it to other cards in that price bracket.

Harddisk - 1 tb - Samsung - 70 euro

In total it should be about 750 euros with 30 postage and 20 euro they build it for you. You pay by direct bank transfer not credit card but they have some of the best prices around and a huge selection.
Take your time to read about the Q9550 processor, the AMD X2 955, the various graphics cards, etc, etc half the fun is doing a bit of research and really getting a great PC, rather than some rip off thing in Ireland.

Anti

My next build will certainly be a AMD BE, so much cheaper and unless you have a 26" + screen most of the intel chips are over kill. Christ i still cant strain my 18 month old Q6600 with anything