Miniumum Specs.

[JsT]

I'm getting a new PC - and a mate of mine says he'll make it up for me. But I'm wondering what is the minimum sort of system I should be looking for? I'm thinking something like..


2.5Ghz Processer
120GB HD (Or 2 60GB)
1024Mb RAM
Ge-force 4 Graphics (32Mb)


Reckon thats decent enough?

[Guest_]

Get an Athlon XP.
2200+ (1800 MHz) (or more) is good.
They're cheaper than P4s, and as quick (well, more powerful for less MHz).

The rest sounds good.
Get decent components, as they have a bearing on the overall speed.

A crap motherboard/memory will bottleneck a decent processor.

Edited to add:

I've got an AMD XP 2200+ with 512 mb ram, 4gig HDD and 32mb graphics.
It does me fine, but I'm not a gamer...so graphics aren't a major concern.

[Sera]

Originally posted by bad seed
Get an Athlon XP.
2200+ (1800 MHz) (or more) is good.
They're cheaper than P4s, and as quick (well, more powerful for less MHz).

Or if you have the money you may as well go for the 2400+

Make sure you get decent brands of RAM and hdds, especially the ram, as it is the most likely to fuck up.

If your mate plans on charging you to make it up, you could just do it yourself, cause it's really not that difficult :)

[Makoto]

Cleron are cheaper than Athlon??..Not bad chips. Good for overclocking.

[Mist]

Originally posted by JsT
I'm getting a new PC - and a mate of mine says he'll make it up for me. But I'm wondering what is the minimum sort of system I should be looking for? I'm thinking something like..


2.5Ghz Processer
120GB HD (Or 2 60GB)
1024Mb RAM
Ge-force 4 Graphics (32Mb)


Reckon thats decent enough?

Yup.

I'd get the two smaller drives, rather than one big one.

You probably don't need that much RAM.

If you are a gamer, get a 64 or 128 M graphics card.

[Mr_Wobble]

Well, as ever, one of the first questions is - what do you want to use the computer for? That will determine how important processor power, memory, graphics, hard disk space, etc, is.

I assume you want to play games on it, and therefore I would reccomend at least a 64MB graphics card, even at the expense of RAM (you can happily get away with 512MB).

Hard drives. If storage space is paramount, then get the 120 GB drive, then you can add another when you can afford it. If you want to go for two drives, then you'll find 80GB drives don't cost much more than 60GB drives.

You haven't mentioned a sound card or speakers. Important if you like playing games or watching films on it (I assume you will have a DVD drive in it).

The specs seem fine, but get a graphics card with a bit more memory.

Mr_Wobble ;)

[Bomberman444]

I was going to say exactly what wobble said, there isn't much point for 1024Mb of RAM, 512Mb is more than enough put that money towards a bigger graphics card (I got a Geforce 4 Ti 4200 at 128Mb but then i wanted OVERKILL) and with my Athlon 2000 and 512Mb of DDR333 RAM its one fast machine. Not seen it struggle with any game yet.

[Guest_]

Originally posted by -MrScruff-
Cleron are cheaper than Athlon??..Not bad chips. Good for overclocking.

they suck (celeron, that is)

[Me_and]

Originally posted by Felix Da Housecat
Cleron are cheaper than Athlon??..Not bad chips. Good for overclocking. Yea, if you're willing to go about soldering the bits together. Might be ok for someone who knows what they're doing, but if you're not even building the computer yourself, would you be willing to get the soldering iron out on your precious processor?

[-=Shacques©=-]

You want to go for a graphics card with at least 64Mb. They're quite cheap these days now. You even get a 128Mb card for not too much, either. But 64Mb minimum.
As for processors, it's more down to down to personal taste and what you really need it for.
Stay away from Duron and Celeron. Cheap they may be, but nothing else.

[-=Shacques©=-]

For a sound card, go for at least a 5.1 card. 6.1 and 7.1 *due soon if not already* are the next ones up.

[Carriage Return]

I would argue for ATI over NVIDIA, but ATI's drivers are nearly as bad as NVIDIA's for fscking your system

[jamesfowler2k2]

If you want a mid range pc get this

AMD xp 2400+ ECS mobo very reliable, 80 gb hdd 7200 IBM are good. LEadtek ge force 4 mx good and cheap. 256mb ram min.

I got a Duron 800 with 512mb ram ge force 2 mx had it over 2 years i cant say i play one game that looks poor yet. GTA vice city looks and runs execellent on my pc.

I can build pcs for very cheap prices from £210 if need be

[Ego]

Couldn't resist helping out here :)

Originally posted by -=Shacques©=-
For a sound card, go for at least a 5.1 card. 6.1 and 7.1 *due soon if not already* are the next ones up.

For 7.1 go for a Hercules Fortissmo III ---> Here (http://www.komplett.co.uk/k/ki.asp?action=info&p=26039&t=867&l=2&AvdID=1&CatID=16)
Anything else then a Creative Labs pretty-much-anything will do ya nicely ---> Here (http://www.komplett.co.uk/k/ki.asp?action=info&p=16759&t=867&l=2&AvdID=1&CatID=16)

Originally posted by jamesfowler2k2
If you want a mid range pc get this

AMD xp 2400+ ECS mobo very reliable, 80 gb hdd 7200 IBM are good. LEadtek ge force 4 mx good and cheap. 256mb ram min.

ECS? Reliable? Sure? My 3 K7S5A's are a pain in the arse... :rolleyes: :p Maybe just unlucky.

AMD XP 2400+ (runs at 2.0Ghz) and Heatsink/fan ---> Here (http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=43354) You could reasonably go quicker than this as AMD have just had huge price drops on their processors...

Never worked with this motherboard (mobo) but it looks good (loads of features) ---> Here (http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X3NwZWNpZmljYXRp b25z&product_uid=48954)

80GB Seagate Barracuda IV Hard drive ---> Here (http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=36369)

For graphics an GeForceFX (thats the new range) 5200 could be worth a look ---> Here (http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=48779) but if thats too much money then have a look at a Geforce4 MX440 ---> Here (http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=46209) .

(As a little tip a Ti will always be quicker than a MX of the same Geforce card. Eg a Geforce4 Ti xxxx is quicker than a Geforce4 MX xxx)

Hmm RAM. PC3200 (quickest for that motherboard) DDR RAM ---> Here (http://www.komplett.co.uk/k/ki.asp?action=info&p=27376&t=1014&l=2&AvdID=1&CatID=17&GrpID=9&s=pl) is some quality RAM - cheap and real good stuff.

Here (http://www.komplett.co.uk/k/ki.asp?action=info&p=30892&t=1014&l=2&AvdID=1&CatID=17&GrpID=9&s=pl) is some of effectively the same RAM which is a bit better for overclocking.

Let me know if you need anymore help :D

[Mist]

I'm looking at these motherboards and they look kinda cheap. Personally after bad experiences in the past I would say never skimp on your motherboard. Buy the most quality piece of kit you can afford by a well known manufacturer with a good website that offers support and updates. Everything else in your computer will suffer if you have a naff motherboard.