PC for Uni

[Zenith]

As I'm off to Uni next month I need to buy my own PC. This is what I'm thinking of getting atm
WD 160GB £69
AMD64 3500 £241
Asus Av8 D £90
DVD Rec £52
GeIL 1gig 3200 £105
Coolmaster Cent £45
ThermalTake 480W £47
TFT LG 1710B £257
Total £906ish
I have a 9700pro I can use in it for the time been. I want a x800xt but I've decided I don't really want to spend £320 on a graphics card so I'll probably wait till there a bit cheaper. I don't really want to spend £240 on a CPU but it seems the best choice as far as upgradeability goes. How does the spec seem to you and any idea how badly the system will be limited by the graphics card.

[BenW]

just on a side note, wait as late as you can because those processors have only just come out meaning they're going to be constantly falling in price

[Efaill]

Think thats a good spec for upgradability and lasting a while. The 9700Pro will be more than enough for gamming for about 12months so I wouldn't bother with it at all for a while. On the whole should last you ok.

[Aaron]

Looks very good, but there's a few points that you might want to consider:

• Portability. I ended lugging my PC around all over the place when I was at uni - home, uni, various LAN parties. The desks I had at uni were also very small, so the size of a system became very important to me. I see you've already gone for a TFT monitor, but have you considered going for a Shuttle system?
• Use. Are you taking a TV with you to uni? Hi-fi? You might want to invest in a TV card and possibly some nice speakers. PCs are great for these kind of things if you want to save space and money.

As a general PC though, it all looks very nice.

[Zenith]

Looks very good, but there's a few points that you might want to consider:

• Portability. I ended lugging my PC around all over the place when I was at uni - home, uni, various LAN parties. The desks I had at uni were also very small, so the size of a system became very important to me. I see you've already gone for a TFT monitor, but have you considered going for a Shuttle system?
• Use. Are you taking a TV with you to uni? Hi-fi? You might want to invest in a TV card and possibly some nice speakers. PCs are great for these kind of things if you want to save space and money.

As a general PC though, it all looks very nice.

Just looked at the socket 939 shuttle looks very nice but its rather pricey I've got a bit of time to think about it anyway . I had thought about a TV card but I'm not sure which one to get, is there one you can recommend?

[Byatt]

That looks great (almost exactly what I would have specced had I any cash), but I'd get a seagate drive - newer ones have 5-years warranty . Which uni are you off to?

[dgr]

get the nebula digital tv card for £90 including a 10% student discount (from their website). Best in class, 30 channels +...

[Zenith]

I'm off to Keele University. I'll check out that card

[Nomadd]

Er, and don't forget to INSURE it! The amount of stuff that goes "walkabout" at Uni is huge. ...And if doesn't get nicked, someone (you?) is bound to tip and beer over it; once again, insurance will cover you here. :-)

Nomadd (NOT and Insurance salesman. :-))

[Zenith]

I bought a x800 pe xt I couldn't help it The motherboard I want (Asus A8V) is supposed to be rubbish for overclocking unless you get the rev 2, do you know any places that sell the rev 2 board?