Kind Of New To This

[twarlow]

Hi,

I'm trying to build a custom computer and I have been searching eBuyer for the past month for components. I came to the conclusion that I am going to buy a barebone computer and then put some extra components into it like a graphics card, RAM and a new PSU, etc.

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/store/2/cat/Barebones

Now I am faced with a problem. I know absolutly nothing about graphics cards, and PSUs and custom computers for that matter. So I was wondering whether you guys could point me in the right direction.

Here is the graphics card I was recommended by a friend:

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/127278

I need my computer to be able to run Windows Vista Home Premium and also be able to run the new Halo 2 game for PC.

It would be really helpful if you could show me what barebones pc i should go for, and also what RAM and Graphics Card would enable me to run the software I have. I would prefer if the price was reasonable and all the components came from ebuyer, but other websites, if the delivery is free, are welcome.

Thanks in advance.

Tom.

 

[emp]

That graphics card is a piece of junk, but you didn't know that. Here's the crash course, only Geforce 8/Radeon HD2K series that are good are 8800GTS and GTX (Ultra is just an overclocked GTX) and the Radeon HD2900XT. And even then, the HD2900XT cannot properly do AA (which is something that you'd expect to do after forking out $400 for a GPU)

Now if you want to run Halo 2 properly i'm guessing you'll need somewhere along the lines of X1950/7900s, here are a few suggestions:

Antec NeoHE 500W Modular ATX2.0 PSU

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/99137/rb/0

Sapphire X1950Pro 256MB GDDR3 DVI TVO HDCP PCI-E Graphics Card

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/119203/rb/0

OR

Sapphire ATI X1950XT 256MB GDDR3 VIVO dual DVI PCI-E Graphics Card

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/119441

Mind you, the difference between the X1950Pro and the X1950XT is substantial, and if it was up to me, I'd probably head the X1950XT route. And you'll also find 512MB versions of both cards, the X1950Pro 512MB version is not worth it, because the card isn't powerful enough to make use of it, however if you have a very large display (resolutions higher than 1280x1024) maybe the X1950XT 512MB would be worth considering.

 

[twarlow]

Thanks Emp. I'll add those pages to my favorites. What processor are we talking then?

 

[emp]

Depends on your budget. We can go all the way to QX6800 if you want hehe.

 

[twarlow]

well, Budget doesn't matter at the moment i'd just like the cheapest, but I want to get the most out of it in the upcoming year, as more and more good games come out.

 

[emp]

Then you're probably looking for an AMD setup since it's better bang for the buck right now.

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ (2.5GHz) Socket AM2 Energy Efficient L2 1MB (2x512KB) Cache Retail Boxed Processor

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/125203/rb/0

And you'll need DDR2 800 ram

Corsair 2GB Kit (2x1GB) DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 XMS2 Memory Non-ECC Unbuffered CL5(5-5-5-12) Heat

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/98710/rb/0

And you're good to go.

 

[twarlow]

Nice one, i'm sorry for making you do all of this, but you've been a great help, are there any barebones computers that could run these components (preferably), or should I just go from scratch?

 

[bballsk8er333]

you not making him do anything, trust me

we love it

edit:well, I do anyhow!

 

[emp]

No sweat, keeps me entertained, otherwise I'd finish all my games way too quickly

If I were you I'd just get a new mobo and do it on your own since that's pretty much all that you're missing (You can most likely reuse your old case, if not let me know)

EVGA nForce 590 SLI Socket AM2 8 channel Audio ATX

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/127863

Asus M2N-E SLI Nvidia nForce 500 SLI MCP Socket AM2 8channel audio ATX

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/121169

Gigabyte GA M57SLI-S4 SKT AM2 Nvidia MCP55P PCI-E 8Channel audio ATX

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/113844

I'd get the eVGA one (I like eVGA, just a personal preference), but all would work just fine.

 

[twarlow]

Could you pick out a hard drive and a dvd/cd drive. Also, i do need a case, colour is no matter. Sturdy, cheap with some extra space for extra fans etc.

 

[emp]

I'm not picking the fans, that's for sure

Coolermaster Centurion 5 Silver - No PSU

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/103565

Western Digital WD2500KS 250GB 7200RPM SATAII/300 16MB Cache Hard Drive - OEM

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/94403/rb/0

NEC Optiarc AD-7170S-0B 18x DVD±RW/DL/RAM Serial ATA Black - OEM

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/125208/rb/0

 

[twarlow]

haha! Don't worry, i wouldn't go that far!

Would it meet these specifications?

Intel Core 2 Duo @ 2.66 GHz or Athlon X2 3800+
2 GB RAM
Graphics Card: GeForce 8800 or Radeon X1950

 

[emp]

Those specs are weird you can't compare a 2.66Ghz C2D (E6700) to a X2 3800+ (That's about as fast as an E4300), and you can't compare the 8800 series with X1950, maybe HD2900.

Your specs would be:

X2 4800+ = C2D E6400
2GB of Ram = Same
X1950XT = fairly slower than 8800GTS but still packs a punch.

I don't know what game you're looking at, but that PC should be able to chew anything in the market and anything coming up (except Crysis, we still have no idea).

 

[twarlow]

The game is Colin Mcrae's DiRT. Will it play Directx 10 games?

 

[twarlow]

Right, let me rephrase the last question. What would I have to get in order to play Halo2 and Colin Mcrae DiRT at full graphics at a resolution of about 1024 x 768? I just don't want to end up with all my components bought and then fixing them together, and realising it won't run the games i have.

 

[emp]

I haven't played Colin McRae but I'm fairly certain that the X1950XT, X2 4800+, and 2GB can do it just fine. The X1950XT is probably the 6th or so fastest card right now in the market. The first 4 spots being taken by the 8800 ultra, GTX, GTS, and HD2900XT, and the other spot taken by the X1950XTX

I don't know how well Colin McRae performs, but I'm sure that you'll be able to set a 1280x1024 resolution with high settings. Let me look for some benchmarks and I'll get back to you.

BTW there are no true Dx10 games out there, and even then, they will still be supporting DX9 for quite a long time (maybe a year or two).

 

[emp]

Alright I looked into it, it seems that to play this game on MAX (or ultra as they call it) settings (Colin McRae) you need a video card with more than 512MB of video ram (i.e. GTS 640, GTX, 8800 Ultra, HD2900XT 1GB ) because of some weak optimization on the shadows from the devs, you'll be fine if you just don't turn a few settings to ultra and leave it at high. However Halo 2 should be a breeze to run.

If you REALLY need the ultra shadows (which is silly) then the graphics card that you'll need are ranging from at least $370-650 USD, but I have the impression you don't want to pay that much (I know I wouldn't).

 

[twarlow]

Nice one! I'll keep to what I have. Thanks a lot for that! Will I need to buy any extra cables?

 

[rammedstein]

nope, they should all come with the motherboard and psu, however, i would change that antec PSU to this

www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/109522 , bit cheaper, bit better performance,

and i might add this as some extra cooling, for piece of mind:
www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/116412

 

[Gundam1s]

rammedstein, your first link is dead and I don't think he has any intentions on overclocking his rig right now.

I second the choices Emp has made, they'll run your games with no problems.

 

[twarlow]

It's okay, I have cooling fans. I'm sure the PSU will be fine. If it's not, i'll send it back. Thanks for the help everyone. I'll be putting my orders in soon.

 

[emp]

Have fun.

 

[twarlow]

I Will