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New PC ??
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10-01-2012 10:30pm#1I am thinking of buying a new PC very soon and was wondering can anybody suggest a good machine that will last a few years, would love to build one but would not know where to even start.
My main usage will be the net and emails and gaming in particular, Oh yea and the odd bit of downloading of stuff
Stronghold 3 Minimum System Requirements
OS: Windows® XP (with Service Pack 3) or Windows Vista® (with Service Pack 2) or Windows® 7
CPU: 2.8 GHz Intel® Pentium® 4 or AMD® Athlon™ 64 3000+ or higher
RAM: 1GB for XP / 2GB for Vista and Win7
GFX: ATI® Radeon X1000/GeForce® 6 Series or better (128MB DirectX® 9.0c-compatible video card)
DX: DirectX 9.0c
HDD: 2GB hard disc space free
Audio: DirectX 9.0c-compatible sound card
Stronghold 3 Recommended System Requirements
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 2.2GHz or AMD® Athlon 4850e Dual Core
RAM: 3GB
GFX: GeForce 9600 GSO 512MB or Radeon HD 3800 series
My Current Machine (Compaq Presario SR1709UK http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?cc=us&dlc=en&docname=c00587146&jumpid=reg_R1002_US&lc=en)
Can I upgrade this machine to meet the required minimum spec ?
Currently it runs like a slow boat to china and will not run Stronghold 3.
Any recommendations please, mid range and not to hard on the ould pocket, (One reservation I have is brand, No Dell and No Packard Bell nothing but bad experiences with these in the past)
Many Thanks in advance0
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I am thinking of buying a new PC very soon and was wondering can anybody suggest a good machine that will last a few years, would love to build one but would not know where to even start.
My main usage will be the net and emails and gaming in particular, Oh yea and the odd bit of downloading of stuff
Stronghold 3 Minimum System Requirements
OS: Windows® XP (with Service Pack 3) or Windows Vista® (with Service Pack 2) or Windows® 7
CPU: 2.8 GHz Intel® Pentium® 4 or AMD® Athlon™ 64 3000+ or higher
RAM: 1GB for XP / 2GB for Vista and Win7
GFX: ATI® Radeon X1000/GeForce® 6 Series or better (128MB DirectX® 9.0c-compatible video card)
DX: DirectX 9.0c
HDD: 2GB hard disc space free
Audio: DirectX 9.0c-compatible sound card
Stronghold 3 Recommended System Requirements
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 2.2GHz or AMD® Athlon 4850e Dual Core
RAM: 3GB
GFX: GeForce 9600 GSO 512MB or Radeon HD 3800 series
My Current Machine (Compaq Presario SR1709UK http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?cc=us&dlc=en&docname=c00587146&jumpid=reg_R1002_US&lc=en)
Can I upgrade this machine to meet the required minimum spec ?
Currently it runs like a slow boat to china and will not run Stronghold 3.
Any recommendations please, mid range and not to hard on the ould pocket, (One reservation I have is brand, No Dell and No Packard Bell nothing but bad experiences with these in the past)
Many Thanks in advance
If anything, people here are going to steer you away from every brand.
Its nearly always cheaper, and better to buy the components and build the PC yourself.
Do you have a budget? What do you consider "not too hard on the ould pocket" to be?0 -
Fill this out, and we'll do what we can for you.
To be honest, I wouldn't worry about building it. It's very easy, and if you're really stuck, there's people here that'll be happy to help you with it. I can walk you through it over Skype, or if you feel like a drive to Maynooth, I can build it for you and show you how (it's fun.). 0 -
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Serephucus wrote: »Fill this out, and we'll do what we can for you.
To be honest, I wouldn't worry about building it. It's very easy, and if you're really stuck, there's people here that'll be happy to help you with it. I can walk you through it over Skype, or if you feel like a drive to Maynooth, I can build it for you and show you how (it's fun.).
If you want to ask about a new build, please include as much of the following information as possible in your thread:
1. What is your budget? [€500-600 at the moment
2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? Internet, email Gaming (Stronghold 3) and a bit of downloading
3. Do you need a copy of Windows? NO - not sure
4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? Yes ?? From my current machine Compaq Presario SR1709UK
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?cc=us&dlc=en&docname=c00587146&jumpid=reg_R1002_US&lc=en
5. Do you need a monitor? Yes and No, But I will consider an upgrade
5a. If yes, what size do you need.
5b. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the near future? 1280 x 1024 pixels
6. Do you need any of these peripherals?
Keyboard - Have - Logitech Illuminated Keyboard
Mouse - Have - Microsoft Wireless Laser Mouse 6000
Wireless Card - ?
Card Reader - Currently Build in to SR1709UK
Speakers - Have (In Monitor and External) External are Argos best
7. Are you willing to try overclocking? Whats is this ?
8. How can you pay? Good old cash
9. When are you purchasing? Next 30 days, all going well
10. If you need help building it, where are you based? South Dublin
Maynooth, I actually am out there quite often with friends, I may take you up on that.
PM your details and we can have a chat about it.0 -
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LOL, right, sorry.
First component there is your processor. In this case Intel's i3 2130. It's a dual core chip, and a very powerful one at that. Your Pentium in your current computer might be a dual core as well, but per core, you're looking at, at the very least, a 50% improvement.
Second item is the motherboard. This is just a very basic one, as you're on a bit of a budget build.
Third is the case. Again just a cheap and cheerful one, though it's very good for the price. All the components listed here have been scrutinized by the veterans here, and we've found the best possible components at every price point.
Forth is your hard drive. 320GB vs. your 80GB. Bit of a jump there.
Fifth is your graphics card. It's an AMD Radeon 6850. It'll be able to max out Stronghold 3 without breaking a sweat.
Next is the PSU. Powers everything, etc.
And last is your copy of Windows 7, to bring you up to date (I assume you're running XP or something)
And I've realised I've forgotten RAM, so you'd chuck this in as well. The more RAM you have, the more stuff you can have open at once without things slowing down.
Odds are with this computer, you could have a game or two of Stronghold 3, a couple of media players, and Firefox open all at once and you'd still be able to do whatever without slow-downs.
Any other questions? (No such thing as a stupid one!)0 -
Serephucus wrote: »LOL, right, sorry.
First component there is your processor. In this case Intel's i3 2130. It's a dual core chip, and a very powerful one at that. Your Pentium in your current computer might be a dual core as well, but per core, you're looking at, at the very least, a 50% improvement.
Second item is the motherboard. This is just a very basic one, as you're on a bit of a budget build.
Third is the case. Again just a cheap and cheerful one, though it's very good for the price. All the components listed here have been scrutinized by the veterans here, and we've found the best possible components at every price point.
Forth is your hard drive. 320GB vs. your 80GB. Bit of a jump there.
Fifth is your graphics card. It's an AMD Radeon 6850. It'll be able to max out Stronghold 3 without breaking a sweat.
Next is the PSU. Powers everything, etc.
And last is your copy of Windows 7, to bring you up to date (I assume you're running XP or something)
And I've realised I've forgotten RAM, so you'd chuck this in as well. The more RAM you have, the more stuff you can have open at once without things slowing down.
Odds are with this computer, you could have a game or two of Stronghold 3, a couple of media players, and Firefox open all at once and you'd still be able to do whatever without slow-downs.
Any other questions? (No such thing as a stupid one!)
But can it cook?! ( sorry, I could not resist a stupid question )
Op, that will be a very solid low budget pc. It will stronghold like a champ. In time you wil be able to upgrade CPU to i5 2400 etc, but it's not vital for gaming now.
If you have a few spare quid I would recomend grabbing 6870 instead of 6850. It will be just few quid more, but well worth it.
If I am not mistaken you will be getting a German version of windows there, so you might aswel download english installation and burn it on disc, then use the license key.0 -
Nope, the copy I chose is English (for ease of installation.) Having said that, nice way to save €6 to put towards a 6870...
http://www1.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=39510&agid=1004
€147.50 vs. €123.
At 1280x1024, it gives you approximately a 13% performance boost, for 19% more cost, so it's decent value in that regard.0 -
Serephucus wrote: »Nope, the copy I chose is English (for ease of installation.) Having said that, nice way to save €6 to put towards a 6870...
http://www1.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=39510&agid=1004
€147.50 vs. €123.
At 1280x1024, it gives you approximately a 13% performance boost, for 19% more cost, so it's decent value in that regard.
Good morning sunshine!
So they started to stack up with English versions now? I bet they did not expected such success from some island thousand miles away. Good news so!
A bit offtopic, but those sandy i3 really get a good spot in budget builds. Unfortunately amd is lossing battle there too.0 -
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