Unsure on Specs, opinions?

[Tyddraig]

Hey, I'm looking at getting a new PC. Now I know building your own is 'cheaper' offer but my knowledge is 7 or so years behind current tech. Now I've stumbled across something that is very appealing to me however when it comes to graphics cards I'm always at a loss sooo heres the specs:

Processor
* Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 Quad Core Processor 2.66Ghz,
* 4MB Cache
Memory
* 6GB DDR3 133Mhz
* Expandable to 8GB Max
Hard Drive
* 1TB (1x1TB) SATA II
Graphics
* nVidia GTS450 1GB dedicated GPU
and windows 7

Oh and this is for less than £500 it seems reasonable to me, I'm just after some second opinions on whether the specs are A) reasonable for price and B) not wasting money on a graphics card that isn't up to scratch like the rest of the machine appears to be.

[Nellah]

Are you building your own computer or buying a pre-built? And what's your budget? That's not awful for the price I think (I'm USA so I'm not sure about overseas pricing) but you can get a lot better for a little more, probably.

[Alan1187]

Old. CPU came out in 09, and the GPU is slower. Gaming rigs typically have GPU's with 60-90 at the end of the number, like current gen Nvidia cards are 560, 570, 580 that people typically consider the gaming graphics cards. Try and find a more recent system with a processor with i5/i7 in the title, and a GPU that is like 470, 480, 560, 570, 580. IDK what £500 is in USD, so I can't say if it's anything worth the cash.

[Tyddraig]

I don't want to go to over board to be honest £500 is just a rough idea, I'll pay more if I'm going to get some serious quality for it.

No I'm not building my own, mainly I'm not comfortable with my lack of knowledge to go about it correctly and choose compatible components.

[qw4]

Pretty sure that's about $750. This seems a little high for older tech and the video card is really on the low end. But at the same time, that's the price you pay for a pre-built computer. This build is right on par with what you're going to pay anywhere else.

[Deleted]

Take a look at some pre built bargains like http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/p...h/PC-1466.html


There are more on offer in and around your budget but this will do the job.

[qw4]

This is actually a pretty good build:

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/p.../irushpro.html

[Nellah]

This is actually a pretty good build:

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/p.../irushpro.html

That has no OS installed. With an OS it comes to £644.99. Still not a horrible buy, but just be sure you have an OS when you buy your computer, OP.

[qw4]

That has no OS installed. With an OS it comes to £644.99. Still not a horrible buy, but just be sure you have an OS when you buy your computer, OP.

I figured you had one already since you're on a computer.

You're better off with the first build you mentioned for 500. Don't be swayed into spending more than you want for the top end gaming rig just because people are telling you on here. That build is fine and you will be completely satisfied.

[Nellah]

I figured you had one already since you're on a computer.

OEM computers often don't transfer OSes to another machine. Dell, for instance, often uses Dell-only keys for their operating systems; Dell Windows XP will not activate on a non-Dell computer for example, and sometimes has trouble installing using regular OEM CD keys.

Plus, if he's on Vista, it's worth the cost to buy a Win7 installation in my opinion!

Agreed with your other point, though. That computer is no slouch. It depends on what you're upgrading from as to actual performance increase, but it'll handle WoW with no trouble at all and can run everything out there at medium resolution/detail or better.

[Tyddraig]

Thanks for the suggestions guys will take a look around. As for OS it will have to come with one as I'm on Vista (/emo) and I don't have an actual disk copy of it, for some reason it never came with one /shrug. Oh and I'm on a laptop, long story.

I'm not looking for some beef machine that can sure cancer but I am looking for something with a bit of umpf to it. Again thanks for the suggestions going to give them a look. I'm still quite tempted to get this build though.

Hmmm seems after taking note of i5/i7 and looking out for card numbers I can get better for similar prices...but there is so many to choose from..
i7's are a bit more than I'm willing to fork out for though. Just had a quick check with the obvious spots Ie Pcworld and currys but I really don't like looking there they usually have very generic builds.

[iSythe]

Best way to go for a budget build at the moment is to either go sandy bridge i3/i5. The i5 is a much better buy, but if you can't buy into it, for gaming the i3 still wipes the floor with everything else (You can only OC the i5, best is to go for i5 2500K). No matter if you choose i3 or i5, i would go a P67 MoBo so you have the option to upgrade to something you will be able to OC in the future.

[Tyddraig]

Okay guys a little nosey here and there and I've found these:
Processor Intel® Core™ i7-870 Processor
- 2.93 GHz (up to 3.6 GHz with Turbo Boost)
- 2.5 GT/s DMI
- 8 MB Smart Cache
Operating System Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium
RAM - 4GB installed DDR3 RAM (1333MHz)
- 2 installed memory modules
Graphics card ATI Radeon HD 5450
- 512 MB dedicated DDR3 video memory

And:
Intel® Core™ i5-750 Processor
- 2.66 GHz
- 2.5 GT/s DMI
- 8M Smart Cache
Operating System Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium
RAM - 4 GB installed DDR3 RAM
- 16GB maximum RAM capacity
Graphics card ATI Radeon™ HD 5750 Graphics
- 1GB GDDR5 dedicated memory

Both the same price, a little more than I'd like to spend but hey I don't actually have a budget.

[Nellah]

Neither of those computers really has a good video card. If the choice is between those two, get the top one and upgrade the video card to at the very least a GTX460. A GTX560 would be ideal.

[nwo]

Okay guys a little nosey here and there and I've found these:
...
Both the same price, a little more than I'd like to spend but hey I don't actually have a budget.

Go with the second setup if you absolutely must buy now. If not, then try to get a setup with an i3 2100 or i5 2300,2400,2500 CPU because they will be upgradable while the i5 and i7 system you posted will not be.

[Tyddraig]

I suck as this badly...back to browsing

[Deleted]

I have been thinking of making my own gaming machine to, im also in uk.

I made a thread yesterday about trying to find a cheap reliable source, overclockers and novatech were suggested, i also come across a site called pcspecialists and tbh after building the spec i wanted on all 3 sites it came out cheapest. However i have no idea if they reliable, maybe someone on here has and could mention if they are or not. Defo worth a look if they are

[Deleted]

Do not ever buy a PC from PC World, Currys or any other high street retailer they are useless heaps of crap. Go to the likes of Scan, Aria or even Novatech for pre built as you will get more for your money than the shitty high street retailers.

---------- Post added 2011-03-10 at 04:53 PM ----------

@ Fourfingers, Try out Aria and Ebuyer they are the cheapest we have access to in the UK and have good customer service and special offers on all the time.

[Tyddraig]

Ebuyer is where I was looking at the first build I posted. Yeah I only look there to get an idea, been looking at picking and choosing parts my self but with the recommendations I'm going up towards £800 and I just can't see my self paying that much I spent £500 on this laptop and that was a major fuck up.

[Deleted]

List what you have already like monitor or OS ect And i can have a look around to see if there is anything fitting for you and your budget and you can take a look and maybe see something useful