Hi folks, i`ve been considering my 1st self build for a while now and i thought i would come to you guys for some advice, i`ve had a look round at some stuff i like the look of, i definately wanna go dual core, but the world of motherboards and cpu`s is a bit confusing, although i have noticed that AMD seem to be cheaper... I havent got loads of money to spare so parts have to be bought in stages not altogether so im leaning towards the cheaper end of the market for stuff.

I`ve picked out 3 GFX cards of similar price, which is the best?

8800gt

Play.com (UK) : Play Value Geforce 8800GT / 512MB / PCI Express 2.0 / Graphics Card : PC - Free Delivery

9600gt OC

Play.com (UK) : BFG GeForce 9600GT OC / 512MB / PCI Express 2.0 / Graphics Card : PC - Free Delivery

3870

Play.com (UK) : Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 3870 / 512MB DDR4 / PCI Express 2.0 x16 / Graphics Card : PC - Free Delivery



Hard drive 250gb (i dont need a huge internal as i have an external one)

Play.com (UK) : Western Digital Caviar 250 GB SATA II Hard Drive : PC - Free Delivery

Ram (2x1gb)

Play.com (UK) : OCZ / 2GB DDR2 PC2-6400 800MHz / Enhanced Latency Platinum XTC Edition Revision 2 Dual Channel Kit Memory : PC - Free Delivery

Dvd Drive

Play.com (UK) : Samsung SH-S203P/BEBN / 20X DVDRW Internal SATA Drive With Lightscribe / Black : PC - Free Delivery



MB and Processor (ditch the supplied ram)

Maplin > 4200 Athlon 64 Dual Core CPU, Board Bundle + 1GB DDR2 Memory


Power Supply Unit

Play.com (UK) : OCZ StealthXStream 600W / Power Supply Unit / Power Supply Unit / 120mm Fan : PC - Free Delivery

I dont need an OS cos i have a Vista DVD, my keyboard, monitor and mouse are fine.

I do realise i also need a case, but i aint got a clue whats best lol

Help!!

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make sure all the bits you purchase are vista compatible and go for as much memory as you can get

I'm not from the UK-- but I found a website with some real computer cases...
Play.com-- I dunno...I searched for computer cases and got laptop bags
look through here for cases... Thermaltake/LianLi/Coolermaster/Antec/NZXT
you can at least get some ideas-- you don't need to spend a fortune... but you want sturdy AND lightweight- with plenty of room for drives/good airflow
I also suggest 120mm fans-- for airflow AND quiet. Bigger fans move more air with less noise.


Cases |Specialtech.co.uk -

I'm so spoiled by Newegg.com in the US...

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Antec Nine Hundred - Gaming Case with 200mm Top Fan - No Power Supply Unit£57.85 I got an Akasa PSU 500watt for about £60

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500AAKS 250GB SATA-II 3.5" Internal 7200RPM 16MB Buffer Hard Drive£37.00Intel E6750 Core 2 Duo 2.66GHz Processor Skt LGA775 4Mb L2 Cache 3 yr wty£101.15Kingston HyperX memory 2 GB ( 2 x 1 GB ) DIMM 240-pin DDR II 800 MHz PC2-6400 Non-ECC Unbuffered£42.85Akasa AK-961 Ultra Quiet high performance heatpipe Cooler designed for Socket LGA 775£15.80Sony/NEC DVD+/-RW Dual Layer SATA AD7170S Silver OEM DVD Drive£18.15Logitech EX110 Multimedia Wireless Keyboard Optical Mouse£15.30Asus P5K Skt LGA775 For Core 2 Quad/ Ex/ Duo/ P Ex/ D/ 4 DDR2 SATA2 PCIe 8Ch Gb LAN ATX Mainboard£60.35
This was the basis of my 1st self build PC which I built about 6 weeks ago. It works well to date. I hope you have as much fun as I did. It gives you a really warm glow inside knowing you put it together yourself

...and that you can fix it yourself if it breaks-- and you know exactly what went into it.

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Thank for that link ih8bills, i like the look of this one> Coolermaster Centurion 534 +Plus Black - RC-534-KKN2-GP |Specialtech.co.uk - plus its cheap!

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this is really confusing now lol i just found this? AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4800+ / Foxconn 6150M2MA-KRS2H Micro ATX / OCZ 2GB (2x1GB) PC2-6400C4 Dual Channel Platinum Kit

Faster processor same ram,more ram slots, less money!

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more RAM slots is always better-- because IF you want to upgrade-- you don't waste what you have already...

That's the thing... there is so MUCH to choose from... but if that Motherboard is getting good reviews (it is) why not ??
Case is a good basic case --for not too much.
The thing you get with more money for cases is-- extra's like pretty finishes, fan controllers-- you can do your own later on.

Coolermaster Centurion 534 Review - Page 4 - Installation and Convenience

That case has side-facing drive bays and plenty of space-- it is not all aluminum (steel frame/interior)-- but unless you go to LAN parties or move it around a lot --who cares.
Plenty of fan-space.

If you don't know the vendor company--google it for complaints-- just in case...
just remember that the people who have problems with a company-- are more likely to post/call/complain-- We have the BBB and resellerratings.com in the US.
Companies are easy to check on-- most are perfectly good -- just check a little first.

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Pretty finishes dont mean too much to me, its gonna end up stuck under a desk and hardly get seen! Plenty of expansion space too, and as for the MB its everything i was after for a decent price. Just the GFX card to sort out!

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That's why I go looking for computer hardware websites... and avoid "general store" tech-shopping-- and eBay (for most things). You can find decent stuff the other way... but it's much more work + worry.

You are not a gamer--??
This board does not support DX10-- and only one PCI X-16 slot.
It's fine for most people (me included)

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