Topic: The Rest Of My System

[twiggy]

Ok here is what i was thinking for the rest of my system. Could someone point out the good and bad points for each part and if they no of any better deals. Also if you can if this parts would work well together? well here they are. (note this is just the core basics i havent considered any cd writers and stuff liek that yet but i will be doin soon).

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?
action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=20929 (MEMORY)

http://www.epcbuyer.com/code/products.asp?recid=965&subcatid=39&catid=24 (MOTHER BOARD)

http://it-shack.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=757360 (GRAPHICS CARD)

http://www.epcbuyer.com/code/products.asp?recid=403&subcatid=41&catid=24 (PROCESSOR)

http://www.epcbuyer.com/code/products.asp?recid=363&subcatid=37&catid=24 (HARD DISK)

Thanks Mark

* Simon edited a link to fit page.

[twiggy]

I have no sound card because the motherboard has a built in 6-channel audio. So i will see how this performs first and if needed buy a seperate sound card. Also the memory i will be buying more memory sticks when i get around to getting a bit more cash but just the 1 will do for now.

[Sandra]

That motherboard will support DDR PC2700 ram so you may
as well get that as its faster than the PC2100

The grahics card seems ok,but I am not clued up on them.
I cant find the voltage that it runs at,your board of choice,
runs at 1.5v some cards require 3.5v(I think) and wont interchange.
As far as I know you can run an 8 X in a 4 X AGP slot
but I would like someone tho confirm this for you,
either another member or the supplier.

That CPU should do fine,(I have an XP 2100 + in my PC)
Another Pals member,Camstop whos away on holiday at the moment,has just upgraded his to an XP 2400 and says it doesnt
seem that much quicker than his XP 1600 he had in before,
so I think you will be pleased with it.

Funnily enough Mark I am looking for a Seagate hard drive myself as I like Seagate.
I am just waiting for the 120gb to drop a little more or
my finances to improve.
That model is an ATA/100 other manufacturers make an ATA/133
which again will be supported by your board.
I am not sure of the advantages of a 133 over a 100 for
a hard drive as when I looked at the specifications for data
transfer some of the 100s were actually faster than the 133.
Seagate do claim to have the fastest drives at the moment.

I didnt add the prices together as I assume that you
have done so (what does it work out at?)
You may find that you need a better power supply than
the one thats in your case at the moment too.

Hopefully this will help you a little and someone else will add their thoughts later  

[Simon]

It might also be wise to consider getting a better heatsink and fan that what comes pre-packed with the CPU, Mark.  The AMDs do tend to run quite warm, as you may have already read, and a little extra spent on a decent cooler could save you lots in the long run.  Depends what they give you, of course, but the sinks / fans supplied in bundles are not always the best quality.

[twiggy]

Yeah i have a total price. This is with all them at the top but a 256Mb DDR PC2700ram. It also in cludes, CD-RW, FLOPPY DRIVE, CABLE FOR FLOPPY and a case, the grand total comes to £360.13.

[twiggy]

Yeah another thing scanners? I have never owned one so what is the like average spec? What spec do you recomend?

[Sandra]

Should be a nice PC for sub £400 Mark  
I didnt realise you were using a new case too,I assumed that you were upgrading your existing one.

If you are getting a new case dont settle for a 300 watt PSU,it will probably be ok but if you upgrade your CPU in another year or two you may find that its struggling,people are using 400 and 550 watt PSUs now.

As for the scanners again its a case of how rich you are or what do you need it for.
If like me you are on a limited budget and are only scanning photos as keepsakes and an odd document then most of the scanners that are around today should suffice.
I have an AGFA SNAPSCAN TOUCH 600 x 1200 and that does all I need,cost me about £50 last year I got the same model for a friend in a sale last weekend for £33  
I would avoid USB bus powered models like the plague(again personal preferences but I have had problems with bus powered USB),this one is connected by USB but is mains powered.

Has anyone one else any scanner recommendations for Mark  

[Simon]

Personally I use a cheap as chips scanner (this one), which suits me fine, but it depends what you want it for.  If you're going to be doing lots of highly detailed stuff, or photos, you might need a higher resolution one.  You can't go far wrong with Epson or Canon.

I've never had a problem with USB stuff, and I think you'll be looking at significantly more expensive models to get a parallel port.

[Robotochan]

I don't think there is much to care about these hard drives now, give it next year and the high spec Serial ATA ones will come out, should he a hell of a lot faster  

[twiggy]

This is the case i s was planing on using. (i have a thing for neon lights and things like that hehehe) http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X3Jldmlld3M=&product_uid=43004
Its 350w PSU is this any good? I still ahve some cash spare so i will be upgrading a few things. Can you upgrade this? get a 400 or 500W?

Thanks for all your help Mark.

[greenking]

Hi Twiggy  

I was looking at scanners last year and i found that for what i wanted a reasonable flatbed scanner was the hp 2200c.

It was 600dpi, 42 bit colour depth and uses usb interface.

It depends what you want to do with it i suppose but for good quality general purpose it was quite good for the price (about £60)

Although in the end a actually went for a second hand one because i was made an offer i couldn't refuse  

[Sandra]

First to Simon :

I didnt say that USB were no good Simon,I said that I didnt like the USB powered peripherals,so I would always go for one that had a mains power supply/adaptor where possible.The prices are roughly the same for each type.

Incidentally Mark that board has the later,faster USB 2.I dont know if there are any USB 2 scanners around yet but if they arent much dearer than the standard USB ones they may scan into the PC faster but as I havent seen any or any reviews you will have to check that out yourself.

The case looks ok Mark (flash bugger   ),the 350 watt PSU will no doubt be ok for your present requirements but as far as I understand it the faster the CPU the more power it will need,so it may not be sufficient when you upgrade your CPU possibly in another year or two,or run lots of bus powered USB peripherals from it(as I stated earlier I dont like those anyway).
Your board takes a 2800 CPU and maybe more,I think it said,in the specifications.
You could always replace the PSU at a later date although you may find it cheaper in the long run to buy a case without a PSU and buy a seperate 550 watt PSU for it,that way you should have plenty of power to run your fancy neons  

I was talking to someone last night about the ATA/100 v ATA/133 Mark for the hard drive.
He reckoned not much difference in them that you would notice.
He did however say that the 8 mbs cache available on the new Western Dighital and Maxtor was a big improvement over the standard 2 mbs cache of the other manufacturers.
If they are within your price range it may be worth considering one of those,incidentally the WD have a 3 year guarantee whereas all other makes are now only 1 year(as far as I know)  

[Lona]

Although in the end a actually went for a second hand one because i was made an offer i couldn't refuse  

And you have to take all the offers you can get, Greenking

[Simon]

Sorry Sandra, must have misread that bit.  Of the scanners I mentioned, only the Canon is USB powered.

[twiggy]

Ok what about this? Should i change to this graphics card? http://myahead.com/go/look/product.show_product?v_id=1802 or should i stay with my first choice http://it-shack.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=757360 ?

If it is better to change will it be able to run with my motherboard? http://www.epcbuyer.com/code/products.asp?recid=965&subcatid=39&catid=24

Thanks Mark