Gaming World Forums
General Category => Technology and Programming => Topic started by: Massy2k6 on August 24, 2009, 02:35:29 pm
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I've recently been having a load of problems with my current PC, its a slimline edition I payed a fortune for about a year and a half ago and now its almost completely useless. It has I tiny fan which really doesn't do anything to help cool the PC down at all, I've had to result to taking off one side of the casing just so the PC can breathe otherwise it overheats too fast and doesn't allow me to do anything. Right now with the side of the casing off, the components inside still overheat after maybe 15-20mins and when I mean overheat I mean you could cook an egg on there.
Anyway, I don't have much money to spend so I'm looking at PC base units to save a little cash. I can continue to use my old monitor, keyboard etc. The last time I went PC shopping I got hold of the PC with the most RAM I could find which was 2gig back then. But now I cant help but wonder what stats I really should be looking for when buying a PC, I desperately want to avoid getting some fancy looking PC like the current one I have because they are useless.. I really don't care how big and ugly the thing is as long as it gets the job done. I don't plan on doing anything but use the PC for internet browsing and on line gaming, does anyone have any suggestions as to what I should be looking for?
I checked out gaming PCs from PC World which look like they could get the job done but they only sell those ones as whole packages rather than just the individual PC base. I live in the UK so I would prefer to look for something inside the country and preferably someone who delivers like PC World.
Im currently looking through these individual base units from PC Worlds main site but havnt a clue what to be looking for.
EDIT**
I know RAM is important for online gaming but ive come across 'graphics memory' most of which only come with 256mb is this what I should be looking at?
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You'll want one with at least +20 STR
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Alright moron, just tell us your budget and we'll tell you the best deal for you.
Do not ever buy anything from PC World. This will cause people to address you as moron.
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£250
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a new fan would be about £1.50
what are you using it for? do you want it new or second hand?
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What will I use the com for? Internet browsing and online gaming like I mentioned before. I would prefer a new com, I just dont trust second hand computers. I know its a tight budget but I always hear how building your own can save you a lot of cash although I wouldnt know where to start. Im not sure a new fan would help my current pc, the one I have now seems to be working it just doesnt really do anything usefull.
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Ebuyer sell readymade shit that's cheap but they mostly come with internal graphics. http://www.ebuyer.com/search?store=5&cat=191
You'd need a graphics card to play the latest 3d games.
You'd be able to use your existing keyboard etc.
I don't have time right now but it might be worth looking into tutorials into how to build your own PC. I'm sure there are other members here who'd be willing to go on a site like ebuyer and choose you some components but then you'd have to put it together (It's actually quite easy, you just gotta chose compatible parts).
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I've always been interested in building my own and just simply buying all the bits and pieces for it but I wasnt sure how experienced you needed to be to set one up especially after watching crazy youtube vids of computers blowing up after being wired up wrong.
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You have to bear in mind the processor you want, so start there. That processor will have a socket type (i.e. it determines what motherboards can take it).
Leading on from that if you look at motherboard specs for motherboards of that socket type it will tell you what type of RAM it supports and how much (i.e. how many slots there are)
Graphics cards generally work on most motherboards, it's the case that you need to watch out for as the higher end GFX cards require 2 slots and can be lengthy too.
You need a PSU with enough wattage to run your PC so these days about 500W for a gaming system.
You could steal your existing HDD.
If you look at Ebuyer's components menu it has sections for each major component and you can sort by price so just looking at the specs of the components you can figure it out gradually in your head by adding things to the cart.
If you build (i.e. add to your cart) a machine and printscreen the parts you used I will tell you if they are OK.
With your price range you could get a socket AM2 dual core AMD processor as they are cheaper at the moment and still play most games (i.e. not crysis). The 5000+ X2 i have in my machine atm cost me £150 2 years ago and is £42 now. I have one of those supporting an 8800 GTS and 2 gigs of RAM and it plays games wonderfully. Talking CoD4 in 1920x1200 full settings etc. You could get a similar setup with a cheaper but just as good Graphics card for cheap now I reckon.
You can build one then I will have a go after my exam tomorrow and we'll see what we can rustle up for your money. I'd do one now but sleep. Sleeep :)
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good lord what's the highest amount of RAM on the market right now? Because my old laptop has 192 MB of memory (well something like that, you devote so much ram to video memory so it's always lower than 256) and it seems like the standard went way up from when I got it, which wasn't /that/ long ago. Well I guess a half a decade is a long time but still
firefox pisses me off because it just keeps taking more and more ram, like hundreds more with each new edition (ok I'm exaggerating but it still sucks)
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most things are using like 4GB, although you can get up to 8gb depending on the motherboard and how much you want to spend on RAM (you would probably have to get it seperate from the laptop though). most laptops are coming with 2 to 4 gigs though (this is the higher end market)
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Pay attention to the guy's price range.
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3-4GB is enough for most online games, and if you want to stick to a 32 bit OS, you're limited to 4 anyhow.
A newer generation dual core over 2ghz is your best bet for your processor. Video card depends on your budged, might as well figure out how much you have left and get what's affordable. Lots of price-to-performance ratio charts out there that can really help you get most bang for your buck, for not only video cards but also processors and more.
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just pay attention to the deals on TigerDirect and Newegg... subscribe to their e-mail things they always have great PC deals.
I think they just had one with 4GB RAM, 1 TB hard drive, and a decently fast AMD Phenom dual core... all for $300. Slap in a $100 video card (or less... your call) and you'll be set.