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Can anybody tell me if this is a good deal? A friend has brought off this guy a few times and says his systems are cheap. "Conformation needed"! .....Or if you could recommend a better deal i, have a £1000 budget. The system needs to be pre built or a Barebones where i can add easy things like Graphics card,Mem etc. Reason being i don't want to build a system for myself,maybe in a year or two ! :eek: Thanks in advance
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...sPageName=WDVW
Same or equivalent components comes in ~£775 from Scan inc. VAT but excl. delivery.
Just so that you know that you are paying over £100 for build & test.
BTW, that isnt 2 x 6600GT's in SLi as the title leads you believe. It says further down something along the lines of "There is only one graphics card supplied in this system"
Quote:
Originally Posted by Clstrphbc_donut
That don't seem to bad does it £100 for the build?
Does the Scan model come with 2 cards and does it come with the OS?
Heres the scan system with equivalent components...
182.54 3500
101.64 A8N-SLi
127.03 MSI 6600
93.93 Asus Vento
45.11 Hiper PSU
101.04 1Gb Corsair Value
42.42 Samsung Black DVDRW
69.80 200Gb SATA Maxtor
Total: £763.51
Personally I'd buy it myself, and use the £100 i saved to buy a better graphics card/better memory/different case ;)
BTW, in case you didnt notice that eBay machine doesnt come with an OS -And its also £30 delivery, so if you buy it in parts from Scan or from this guy, delivery is going to be about the same.Quote:
The system has been fully tested and evaluated under Windows Xp but will not be supplied with an operating system.
The difference between barebones and building it yourself is quite literally screwing a few things into a case.
Just build it :), its always good to get the experience from it.
Asus Vento argh............ The world's most disgusting case.
Y YYYYY?
Y not get something Sleek like Antec, Lian LI amd Coolermaster ?
Neways.
You might wana browse through ebuyer they have very good prices. And also lowestontheweb.com
Quote:
Originally Posted by Agent
If the pc was for me i would try and build it myself,but as its my parents money i dont really want to make a balls up! They was going to go ahead with a pre built 'pc world' system until i step in and said "NO"! :stop: So they gave me 2 weeks to get something better for them. But now i'm afraid it looks like i am running out of time! :Oops:
God that case is bad, it looks like a frontal view of this plane!
http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphic...abig072803.jpg
Nah! That looks like 'Urco's' hat (Planet of the Ape's),but in white !Quote:
Originally Posted by Xcelsion
i built my first comp recently, and thanks to all the advice i got here i knew i couldn't go too far wrong :rolleyes:
if I were you i'd forego the pre-built stuff, unless its for your mother, and d.i.y. build, that way you get what you want, and no doubt have spare cd/dvd drives you can re-use and thus put a bit more money towards, say, memory or gfx card...I did :D
edit: i got a coolermaster case from scan, centurion 5 it was...great deal, looks smart, does the job nicely. if you're stuck for choice; get it.
The Operating system they are advertising with it is an evaluation copy of Windows XP 64 bit. This is available to download free from Microsoft at the moment, you may also have some driver issues with this OS.
So, what do they want it for?Quote:
Originally Posted by wannabgeek
Do they really need a socket 939 SLi capable system?
If they want it to go online to send pictures to relatives as the AOL adverts suggest all parents do, then an Athlon XP system would suffice. If however they want to watch DVDs etc, I'd probably recommend a basic Pentium 4. The 939 is really only for peeps who have more intense tasks such as games/basic CAD... etc.
Strangely enough an Athlon XP system is fine for watching DVDs too imho :pQuote:
Originally Posted by Xcelsion
But yes, if all they want to do is email, surf etc. then you can do the job a lot cheaper than a 939 system.
You say that, but I once tried a friend's Athlon XP, 2000+, and the dvd playing was extremely choppy, even after installing my dvd-rom drive on it.
I for one would rather have a basic P4 than a basic Athlon XP.
choppy? I was playing DVDs in software mode with a PII 266Mhz god knows how many years ago lol.. sheesh something seriously wrong there.
I know what you mean, I could play a DVD on my dad's old Pentium II 'Compaq Presario' laptop, but for some reason it wouldn't play on my m8's Athlon.
Basically, what I mean is, if you want to do more Media Based things such as ripping/encoding music or making movies, watching movies etc, its best to go for the P4.
That's some kind of setup problem then- I've been playing DVDs on Athlon platforms for years (& on less than XP2000+).Quote:
Originally Posted by Xcelsion
The P4 is certainly better than an Athlon XP for video creation (& Photoshop as it can use HT) but I doubt that there is much difference in ripping music.
True, but for the minimal difference in price, I'd go for a P4.
There again, I am an Intel fan. ;)
I do tons of encoding, and the P4E i got recently has kicked the bollocks off anything else i've seen, and i've managed to get a 720Mhz overclock from it, not bad for £150.
Intel :rockon:
So you replaced the drive. Thats one thing that you know wasnt causing it, didnt you consider looking at other causes ?Quote:
Originally Posted by Xcelsion
Your "m8s" Athlon has other issues then. Perhaps someone with a bit more knowledge would have been able to fix the underlying, real issue, without blaming something of no relevance.Quote:
Originally Posted by Xcelsion
Where do you shop ?Quote:
Originally Posted by Xcelsion
There is a lot more than a "minimal" difference. The AMD XP range of chips totaly floor Intel on a performace:cost ratio....
Ahhhh, we finaly get to the truth ! :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Xcelsion
It doesn’t matter that its almost certain that the choppiness wasn’t caused by the CPU, blame it anyway, because you’re an Intel Fan.
A fan boy of the highest degree.
The quicker you realise that Intel doesn’t care about an individual person in the slightest, you open your eyes, look at the real world position of AMD and Intel in the CPU market without a clouded judgment, the better.
Both chips have their advantages and disadvantages, but blaming an Athlon for the cause of bad DVD playback is silly.
:stop: Can we get back on topic please. Wannabgeek has asked a question and this thread has been hijacked and turned into a DVD thread.
Wannabgeek: If your parents are only interested in surfing/email/photos/word processing and making labels for home-made jam (don't larf my mum does this - she's quite good at d/loading fruit pics and resizing for the label - jam tastes good too) then they really don't need a S939/SLI/Geil ram/Asus vento PC or is your mum a secret HL2/D3/CS fan?
Remember that you will need to buy an OS as that 64bit windows is a beta version.
There are plenty of companies selling £500 PC's including OS & TFT that will do the job, (they'll also play dvd's ok too :woowoo: )
I have a gut feeling that you may want to use this system for gaming. Am I right? :devilish:. If so then you would save money by buying all the bits (+ OS) from Scan and building yourself. It isn't that difficult - easier than ikea furniture. Shiatostorm did it recently and got some good support from all here.
I didn't blame the perfomance on the Athlon, I said that I had a friend who had problems on his machine. Also, I reittered later on when I talked of DVD playing, I was also talking of encoding and video making, which the P4 is best at.
I am not going to be biased and say Athlon XP isn't a good chip, because it is. What I am saying, is that I would rather have a lower clocked Pentium 4 for the same price as an Athlon, for the encoding etc.
I am an Intel fan too, so I guess it accounts for me always buying Intel, but there again, the times I bought my PCs, the Intel chips available were the best. Of course, nowadays, that isn't so, the FX-55 is king (cept in video encoding etc).
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...roductID=63673
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=106044
For about £25 more, I'd rather have the 3.0ghz Pentium 4. :)
Wouldn't you call that a minimal increase? ;)
xcelsion - nobody gives two hoots about your comments, if you want to have a ding dong about dvd playback and encoding on AMD or Intel chips then start another thread.
Where are the moderators!!! - can they not delete useless posts. Please try and answer Wannabgeeks question or are you totally selfish? Sorry to flame but I really felt it had to be done.
Wannabgeek - look at scan for some good bare bones options.
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...ilterKeywords=
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...ilterKeywords=
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...ilterKeywords=
Lol, what the hell are you talking about iranu? How am I being selfish?
Oh, and if you have a problem with me, please PM me, don't make yourself look a jerk by insulting without the other person's view.
/\ I agree with what people have said.
If your parents are anything like mine, then they's be using word, IE and outlook express and that's about it. For those types of things, you don't need 1gb RAM - 512 instead. 200 GB HDD? My parents have had 12.1GB for years and that's done then fine. I think they're using less than half right now.
You certainly won't need an athlon 3500+ 64 processor. I manage with only a 2600 fine and am able to play HL2 and CS:S fine. So unless your parents aren't like most, just get an athlon 3000+ XP instead.
I don't know loads about graphics cards, but I think the one in ebay might be a good one. My parents manage with onboard graphics as they play no DVD's or games.
If I were you, I'd build it yourself. If you follow advice that people give you here, you'll be fine and won't mess up. Even if you ask what some people might find a stupid question, it won't matter - that's how we learn! I built my 1st PC 6 months ago, and apart from the HDD going faulty (not my fault IMO!), it was fine.
You could... even buy one of those mini cube systems with a Pentium M supported motherboard. They provide plenty of power, and would be small enough to fit into a home perfectly. :)
Hi Guys back from work!
Tell you the truth the reason being for a SLI was a selfish one,it was more for me playing games when i go to visit them!
Anyways i sorted it now! What i got was a deal Mesh Matrix 3500+Pcx.The total should of been £1260 but as i had Cash and i had brought off them before it was reduced to £1000 and i got extra 512 DDR 400 mem thrown in.Oh and delivery inc! If i didnt get something quick for them me 'Ol man would of got a PC world one! Thanks for your help in this thread. Most kind!!
Spec
AMD 64 3500+HTT
XP pro(should of been Home)
New AsusA8N-E PCI Ex 939 Mainboard
1GB DDR400
300GB SATA ultra Fast(150,16MB)
128 Nvidia 6600GT TV in DV out
19" Sony TFT
Sony Multi Format 16x Dual Layer DVD RW
Audigy 2 ZS
7-1 Creative Inspire T7900 spkrs
Logitech Cordless MX Dektop & Mouse"mx 1000 i hope...forgot to ask!
Oh yeh i forgot to add 3 yr Back to Base Wrrnty!
What are your parents going to use that for? My parents wouldn't any of that at all!
IMO, unless yours play DVD, games or do video editing/photoshop or something else that requires it, then I think you've over spent TBH.
As i Visit them quite often, she picks my little girl up from school,it'll give me something to play with!Quote:
Originally Posted by ajbrun
Yeah, but no offence - it's THEIR computer. I'm guessing they paid? If so, I think they wasted their money for THEIR needs. If you wanted a PC, I would have htought you should have brought it yourself instead of bumping up the cost for them.Quote:
Originally Posted by wannabgeek
This is just my opinion. I'm not saying what you did is WRONG, just I'd have done it a very different way :).
lol. I thought that might be the case.Quote:
Originally Posted by iranu
xcelsion - I have no probs with you. I might have been a little strong. I just find it frustrating when threads wander and no one answers the poor owner of the threads original question. He's done the deed now.
True - I'm sure this is not the case, but from here it looks like a sly way to get your parents to buy you a sparkly new PC...Quote:
Originally Posted by ajbrun
Oh, and a64s don't HT
I dont think they minded too much paying that little bit extra,remember they was going to go to 'Pissy World' and spend £899 on a lot lesser system! Besides my 'ol man' Loves playing COD on my PC,and now he has his own system to play it on!
Re skuzip Oh, and a64s don't HT!
I think that stands for Hypertransport Technology! "whatever that is"!
Anyway what i wanted to know was it a good deal ! Did i get ripped?... Plz dont say they did!
HT normally mean Hyper-thread which AMDs don't.
Socket 754,939 & 940 do have a HyperTransport bus though
Well, I'd say that it wasn't in anyway expensive :).Quote:
Originally Posted by wannabgeek
But, it depends what you mean by a good deal. I see a good deal as being something that's cheap, but also something that you'd USE. I think I've already made my opinion clear on that matter. I'll just say this though:
300 GIGABYTES!?!??! I have 120GB drive, and I'm only using 24.2!!!!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by ajbrun
It may of cost that bit more but they now have a future proof PC that hopefully won't need updating for a while!
I think some of you thought i was out of order bumping up the spec, being it was my parents money. But i did explain to them that they needed'nt of spent that much money! "I do have family values after all"! :)
Good point :).Quote:
Originally Posted by wannabgeek