New PC Help

Well my old machine is officially dead. Wont even turn on now and there is a distinct smell of burning coming from it :(

Have looked inside, cleaned out all the dust and tried to aid the cooling, but it seems i am having no luck...:(
 
I suggest:

Intel Core2 Duo E6300 - R1676
http://www.pcint.co.za/components.asp

Biostar TForce 965PT - R1064
http://www.prophecy.co.za/biostar-tforce-965pt-socket-motherboard-p-2551.html

Team Elite DDR2-800 2GB kit - R1700
http://www.prophecy.co.za/team-elite-ddr2800-p-21354.html

iSonic Omega Megapower 600W Modular Cabling (apparently it scored 100% in a previous CustomPC SA issue) - R520
http://www.prophecy.co.za/isonic-omega-megapower-600w-modular-cabling-p-2289.html

250GB-7200RPM 8MB Cache SATA II HDD - R701
http://www.pcint.co.za/components.asp

19" Samsung Syncmaster 2ms 940BF (Although i hardly think an LCD monitor is essential, i think this is probably the best LCD monitor for its price. but it's better to buy one when money isn't an issue) - R2326
http://www.pcint.co.za/components.asp

As for a GFX card, i think it would be better to buy 2nd hand. I'd suggest buying a 6600gt for R500-R600 & then wait for DX10 cards to become cheaper in 3 or 4 months. When the mid-range GF8's & ATI R600 come out prices will definately drop. Buying a 7600gs brand new now makes no sense since it'll only be worth about R600 when you finally want to buy a DX10 card. But a second hand 6600gt will be worth about R400 in 3 or 4 months time. Hence you don't lose that much value unlike the 7600gs. Plus the 7600gs performs only slightly better then a 6600gt. Although it's hard to recommend what card you should get since you don't specifically state what card you currently have.

The total comes up to just under R8600. R6300 without the LCD. The only thing lacking is the GFX card, but in 3/4 months you should be able to get a decent one for R2k.
 
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Thanks for the detailed feedback man! Appreciate it I do.

It does look good to me so far as well. Where do you think I can find graphics cards second hand though?
 
Me again guys...

Looking at the above option, which comes in at just over 8k without a graphics card...

Would the card I have now even run on that machine in the meantime, if necessary? It is PCI and not PCI-E or anything like that.

Or would I have to get some kind of newer card either way?
 
Ok I have taken into account the above comments and have put together what we have so far. I have decided that I would get all the parts from Cafeviva here in CT, cos it is close to me, and that is where I bought my current PC so I know I wont have any issues taking stuff back if there are problems. So all the prices are from there...

CPU : E6300 R1899
Mobo: TForce 965PT R1249
RAM : 1GB DDR800 R1199
Case: R600
DVD-Writer(LG) R349
250GB Seagate SATA R799
GFX: 7600GS R999
19" PB LCD R2199

That makes R9293 for everything. The monitor I can always get at a later stage which brings the total down to closer to R7000.

I decided to drop 1GB RAM for now and go for a decent graphics card new rather than second hand. My thinking here was simply that I do not do very many graphics-intensive things with my PC. My gaming will be kept to a minimum, and I will use the machine mainly for browsing the net, watching movies and playing music, so I did not think the extra RAM was necessary...

What do you guys reckon? Should I start saving? :p
 
intel chips may be good ow but cgi companies like dreamworks etc use amd chips to render CGI images how sweet is it to know that.

latetes were use on "over the hedge" 3000 amd processors

some useless info :P
 
Do the AMD's not still run really hot and need a lot of loud cooling? Like the xp2500 I currently have?
 
hj2k_x said:
I decided to drop 1GB RAM for now and go for a decent graphics card new rather than second hand. My thinking here was simply that I do not do very many graphics-intensive things with my PC. My gaming will be kept to a minimum, and I will use the machine mainly for browsing the net, watching movies and playing music, so I did not think the extra RAM was necessary...
Click to expand...
If graphics isn't so important right now, maybe try and find a motherboard with a G965 chipset (basically the P965 with the on board graphics enabled, and the physical connector).

The G965 chipset has intel GMA X3000 graphics built in, and it should be able to haldle Vista with all it's effects, but gaming is out...

but for everything else, it should be fine, and you can always later buy a discreet graphics card.
 
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nGAGEd55 said:
If graphics isn't so important right now, maybe try and find a motherboard with a G965 chipset (basically the P965 with the on board graphics enabled, and the physical connector).

The G965 chipset has intel GMA X3000 graphics built in, and it should be able to haldle Vista with all it's effects, but gaming out...

but for everything else, it should be fine, and you can always later buy a discreet graphics card.
Click to expand...

Cool. This sounds like a more sensible idea than mine. I will look around :)
 
So new and improved specs...

CPU : E6300 R1793
Mobo: S- Series 965 GM with bulit-in gfx R1293
RAM : Teamelite 1GB DDR800 R857
PSU: 600W R519
Case: R487
DVD-Writer(LG) R349
400GB Seagate SATA R1287
19" BenQ LCD R2078

Total: R8663 with monitor. R6580 without...
 
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w00t prophecy is the way to go :).....that 600w is the omega i assume? modular + all cables nicely sleeved
 
That is the one.

How is their delivery? Can I count on it being here in 5 days? They are in Joburg I see, otherwise I would have been keener to collect...
 
I ordered the Asus 8800GTS 340mb from Prophecy at the end of last week. Today they phoned me and said they were out of stock but were willing to send me the Gainward card for the same price( Normally it would have cost R80 more). So now I'm not getting 3D Mark 2006 or RACE THE WTCC.

:(

At least they were willing to take that loss for a first time customer. That was impressive.
 
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May I ask why such a large PSU?
 
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hj2k_x said:
That is the one.

How is their delivery? Can I count on it being here in 5 days? They are in Joburg I see, otherwise I would have been keener to collect...
Click to expand...

i live in durban :eek: and they had my psu to me in 3days..... amazing......and on the prophecy forums you can post for any help you need etc youll see firestar etc reply very quickly

btw: that psu apparently got 100% rating in a customPC magazine :) .......its great and great value for money :)
 
Cool. All is looking good so far.

@Alan. Like Hansa said that PSU has got great reviews and is well-priced for what you get.

Also, I need this machine to last. Don't want to have to make many major changes to it for a long time. The Mobo supports, amongst other things, up to 6 SATA drives, so I was also bearing that in mind, as well as perhaps someday getting an awesome graphics card, which will suck a lot of power...
 
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