Levity

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Apr 7, 2011
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Hi guys,

I have already posted here before and had my query successfully resolved. Once again, I'd like to summon your brainpower and request that you provide me a sip from your brewery of tech wisdom. Okay, I admit that's a bit cheesy and OTT, but you get the message: You guys rock!

On to the matter at hand. I am a noob builder wanting a gaming spec PC, but with multi-tasking capabilities too. I'd like to prioritise it in the following order:

1. Gaming
2. Multimedia theater
3. CAD rendering
4. Video editing
5 etc.

I want you to wield your magic and devise a spec that does all of the above coolly, calmly and comfortably. I'd like all this and more at a grand price of £200($326)

I've tried myself to make a choice, but I'm stuck at the first hurdle. Which combo of chipset and CPU should I proceed with? I'm enticed by the current flavour of Intel cache sizes, but then again that aspect might not make any difference in my budget-range. Scalability, however, is key. I wish to upgrade in the future without making wholesale changes. And that is where your knowledge base of the upcoming market comes in. Will AMD overtake Intel? If so, I'd love to opt for their cost-effective processors.

The big question is: What is the best motherboard that can allow an affordable, yet efficient current option for now, and an easy upgrade in the future, i.e., a new CPU, hard drive and RAM?

I prefer AMD, but markets favour Intel. Which graphics card, and what CPU will it best work with? So many questions, so few answers. Please help.


Kind Regards
Levity.
 

Levity

Distinguished
Apr 7, 2011
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I may be able to chip in £50 more. I intend to buy some used components from Ebay. No PSU or RAM. My current MB is socket 939, i.e., ancient. How much do you think I need to spend?
 

Levity

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Apr 7, 2011
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Features;
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.66Ghz wolfdale dual core processor
Nvidia nForce 680i sli motherboard
nVidia 9600gt 1gb graphics card provides high resolution graphics
Motherboard, graphics processor memory and cpu are all designed to be overclocked
2gb corsair xms ddr2 1333mhz
2x150gb hard drives high speed + 80gb hard drive
Running vista home premium
HDMI outputs
dvd writer
high quality cooler master 700 watt psu and raidmax gaming case

Guys, seen this ad. Seems within range of my budget. Is it worth it?

PS It's a used computer.
 

Pc Guru_07

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Jan 31, 2011
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Hey i would say that second hand pc looks good.That gpu is weak but you can still game considering you game at low resolution.And it can do light video editing.Not sure about CAD though.Make sure all the parts are working properly.Best way to test it, is to run prime95 and memtest for cpu and memory check.