Buying a new PC

[worshipme]

Hi guys. I need some some of your expert help in buying a new PC. I currently have a pentium D 2.6ghz 1gb ram, nvidia 6200... pc which to be brutally honest is absolutely shite. My budget is about £600, and I need something that can play the new directx10 games, surf the net, store my music, games and dvds, multi task, and be reasonably future proof. I don't need any software or antivirus crap with it just the base unit and an OS. Any recommendations?
I've already done some research and this is all I've come up with so far:

Intel core 2 duo e6750
2048mb 800mhz ram
windows vista home premium (64bit)
400gb SATA 2.0 hard drive
With the video card do you think I should get the 8800gt or will the 8800gts 320mb be sufficiant (8800gts owners, I would like to hear from you, what's the card like?)
onboard7.1 sound
Also will a 400W PSU be good enough.
By the way this is online (DinoPC) where you can build your custom desktop.
And the final price is £610. Sorry Americans if that means nothing to you.
Good buy? right components?
BTW I'm new here so hi.
Thanks in advance

 

[A True Folder]

Welcome to the forum

What m/board did you have in mind?

At present the 8800GT is the best value for money.

400W psu would be borderline, if you can afford it I'd recommend a better one.

 

[Rudster8161]

get the 8800GT, much better deal. i have the 320mb version of the GTS and i was impressed while running at lower resolutions (1280x1024).

as for the PSU, get at least a 500 watt psu, with 28+ amps on the 12v rail.


also most americans on here that are regular can convert pounds to dollars just double it.

 

[worshipme]

If it's not too much trouble having a look at this website and building the best PC you can for £600, there are 2 motherboard choices and I'd like a bit of space to add some memory at a later date. Here is the link:http://www.dinopc.com/shop/pc/configurePrd.asp?idproduct=139

Also, I really understand nothing about motherboards is this a good one for my pc in my first post and does it support 800mhz memory?
Here are it's specs:

Asrock CONROE1333-1394
Support latest Intel Core 2 Duo 1333Mhz FSB processors as well as Quad Core models. Supports 4x Dual-channel DDR2 667 memory architecture. High-quality 8-channel audio brings a more vivid sound experience.

Chipset Intel 945GC A2 + ICH7
CPU Interface Socket 775
Front Side Bus 533MHz
800MHz
1066MHz
1333MHz (will operate in overclocking mode)
RAM Technology Dual-channel DDR2
RAM Slots 4 x 240-pin
RAM Speeds 667/533Mhz
Max. Memory Support 4GB
Expansion Slots 1 x PCI Express x16 slot
1 x PCI Express x1 slot
2 x PCI slots
Storage Controller(s) 1 x P-ATA100
4 x S-ATA300
On-Board LAN 10/100/1000
Realtek RTL8111B / RTL8111C
On-Board Audio Realtek ALC888 8-Channel audio CODEC
On-Board Video None
Back Panel I/O Ports 1 x PS/2 Keyboard
1 x PS/2 Mouse
1 x Parallel
1 x COM
4 x USB2.0
1 x IEEE1394
1 x LAN
6 x Audio
Features Hybrid Booster - Safe Overclocking Technology
Untied Overclocking
Windows Vista Premium 2007 Logo Ready

 

[Webhead]

If it's not too much trouble having a look at this website and building the best PC you can for £600, there are 2 motherboard choices and I'd like a bit of space to add some memory at a later date. Here is the link:http://www.dinopc.com/shop/pc/configurePrd.asp?idproduct=139

Also, I really understand nothing about motherboards is this a good one for my pc in my first post and does it support 800mhz memory?
Here are it's specs:

Asrock CONROE1333-1394
Support latest Intel Core 2 Duo 1333Mhz FSB processors as well as Quad Core models. Supports 4x Dual-channel DDR2 667 memory architecture. High-quality 8-channel audio brings a more vivid sound experience.

Chipset Intel 945GC A2 + ICH7
CPU Interface Socket 775
Front Side Bus 533MHz
800MHz
1066MHz
1333MHz (will operate in overclocking mode)
RAM Technology Dual-channel DDR2
RAM Slots 4 x 240-pin
RAM Speeds 667/533Mhz
Max. Memory Support 4GB
Expansion Slots 1 x PCI Express x16 slot
1 x PCI Express x1 slot
2 x PCI slots
Storage Controller(s) 1 x P-ATA100
4 x S-ATA300
On-Board LAN 10/100/1000
Realtek RTL8111B / RTL8111C
On-Board Audio Realtek ALC888 8-Channel audio CODEC
On-Board Video None
Back Panel I/O Ports 1 x PS/2 Keyboard
1 x PS/2 Mouse
1 x Parallel
1 x COM
4 x USB2.0
1 x IEEE1394
1 x LAN
6 x Audio
Features Hybrid Booster - Safe Overclocking Technology
Untied Overclocking
Windows Vista Premium 2007 Logo Ready

Just had a look at the website, and on somethings it doen't give you much choice, you'd be better off going on other websites such as: ebuyer.com / overclockers.co.uk /scan.co.uk / microdirect.co.uk as those website have more choice and will probably be cheaper.

I'd recommend something like this:
Processor: Intel Core 2 Qaud (good for multitasking, future proofing etc)

Processor Cooling Fan: Thermalright Ultra-120 Socket 775 Processor heatsink

Motherboard: Asus P5K Motherboard

Power Supply: Corsair HX Series 620W Modular PSU ATX12V v2.2 APFC (Way more power then you'll need but it will give you some extra headroom if you decide to overclock and upgrade in the future).

Memory: Corsair 2GB Kit (2x1GB) DDR2 800MHz PC2 6400 XMS2 Memory Non ECC Unbuffered CL4(4 4 4 12) E.P.P. Heat Spreader Lifetime Warranty

Hard Drive: Samsung SpinPoint HD501LJ 500GB SATAII Hard Drive 16MB Cache OEM Samsoung drives are nice and quiet and more importantly fast, they sometimes even load games faster then the raptors!

Graphics Card: EVGA 8800GT 512MB GDDR3 Dual DVI HDTVOut PCI E Graphics Card (CAN ONLY PREORDER AT THE MOMENT BUT WORTH THE WAIT!)

Case: pick one here aslong as its' ether a Midi Tower or Full Tower it will be fine: http://www.ebuyer.com/store/2/cat/Cases

DVD/CD Rewriter: LG GSA-H55NBRL 20X DVD?RW/DL/RAM Inc Nero Beige & Black Bezels - Retail

OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium x32Bit OEM 1PK DVD

Plus add your own keyboard/mouse/monitor

The above is all from Ebuyer couldn't find out the exact price due to the graphics card not on stock yet so couldn't add it the the basket but it will be around £600 plus a little bit more I think, anyways thats just the example if you buy parts from different sites it will work out cheaper.

Anyway hope this gives you an idea what to look for.

 

[worshipme]

Trouble is I've never built a computer before, are there simple instructions to follow?

 

[Webhead]

It is quite simple, heres a step by step guide on installing and preparing each componet: http://www.buildyourown.org.uk/pc-building/

 

[A True Folder]

Webhead, your cpu cooler link is broken, what was the cooler? otherwise I pretty much agree with your parts list, I didn't see the total price but if you're going Vista 64bit and the budget is good I'd say 4GB of ram, glad you upped the 667MHz ram to 800MHz, it was one of my recommendations

 

[Webhead]

Webhead, your cpu cooler link is broken, what was the cooler? otherwise I pretty much agree with your parts list, I didn't see the total price but if you're going Vista 64bit and the budget is good I'd say 4GB of ram, glad you upped the 667MHz ram to 800MHz, it was one of my recommendations

Thanks or telling me that! Fixed the link now this is the cooler: Thermalright Ultra-120 Socket 775 Processor heatsink

EDIT: Just realised I linked to the 64bit version of Vista, i'll replace it now with the 32bit version. <-- FIXED!

 

[99tollap]

For simple instructions on building a PC, check out this:
http://www.custompc.co.uk/features/601270/build-a-perfect-pc.html

As for your spec, its sounds good. But why not try what im doing? Buy an Intel E2160 which is a much cheaper proccessor, then overclock it (you should be able to get at least 3ghz out of it with a semi decent mboard). This will be roughly as powerful as the processor you are planning on buying. With the extra money you could get a second graphics card, more ram or whatever.

Just a thought...