New PC Spec

[Rob P]

Hi,

I've been quoted £490 for the following system;

AMD Athlon64 3000 CPU
1GB 400Mhz DDR Memory
DVD Player/CDRW Combo Drive
160GB Hard Drive
5.1 Soundcard
FX 5700 256mb Graphics card
Firewire Card
Asus Mainboard
350W Case
3.5" Floppy Drive
Delivery

In your expert opinion does that seem a fair price? I've had a nose around other websites and they cant beat this price...
Thanks

[Podie]

Seems pretty reasonable to me... check that the hard drive is SATA though.

Also worth noting that quite a lot of motherboards come with firewire cards (eg the Abit NF7) so if they're charging for that, it might be a bit cheeky!

[docevi1]

I've just put those components into Overclockers and came out with a price of £450 not built or delivered.

the main thing to realise is that you will be getting cheapest components the seller can get, for isntance a DVD/CDRW combo drives are pants, the 5.1SoundCard and Firewire are onboard jobies (so no extra card), the case will be a cheapo ~£20...

If I were you I'd consider building myself as you can buy decent quality components for just a little bit more (say an extra £50 or so). Remember however you have Windows to buy on top of that and a monitor/keyboard/mouse (assuming you aren't heading to Linux and don't have a monitor/keyboard/mouse already)

A good estimator - I built my first PC back in 2001 and it lasted until late last year where I decided to upgrade. I bought a AMD 64Bit 3500, Asus Motherboard, 1Gb Ram, a 160Gb Seagate Baracuda hdd and a new cooler. The bill came to £500 or so and I expect this to last me for another 3 years comfortably

[Rob P]

Yeah i will be using existing monitor/keyboard etc to help spread the costs. The soundcard is a SB Live and I did ask for a "no frills" case!

I'll check the motherboard spec to see if the firewire is onboard...

I still might build it, it cant be that hard....famous last words

[Podie]

Missed the DVD / CD-RW...

A decent (Pioneer / Sony) DVD-writer (dual layer too!) is around £50...

[ThatPhilBrettGuy]

I look at it this way. To have a nice machine costs about £300 a year. I spend £1000 ish every 3 years on top quality stuff. Other people I know just add bits every so often. Interestingly we all average the same...

[atom290]

Check out Novatechs motherboard bundles

They come with motherboard, processor, Fan and RAM
www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/Bundles.html

[FourWheelDrift]

Rob P said:

The soundcard is a SB Live and I did ask for a "no frills" case!

Used an SB Live before? If not you will have sound problems with GPL (if you play it of course)

[Rob P]

FourWheelDrift said:

Rob P said: The soundcard is a SB Live and I did ask for a "no frills" case! Used an SB Live before? If not you will have sound problems with GPL (if you play it of course)

Ah, thanks for the tip. I do still play it so i'll have a look at alternatives.

[ErnestM]

Soundblaster Audigy 2 is the way to go if you want an SB product. Although they also have the new Audigy 4 Pro out for those that want a step up...

...if you REALLY like your music/sound you could always opt for an E-MU 1820m. I little over the top for your standard system, I grant you.

ErnestM

[docevi1]

on-board sound and a decent set of speakers will be much better than a soundblaster and natty PC speakers... I used to use a SB Live in my old system and it caused all manor of problems, to such an extent I decided to say "sod" it and move to the onboard sound of the Asus A8V and to be honest, it sounds much better nowadays as well