i have decided to go differently, and i have decided to switch from intel to AMD, for gaming purposes.
this is my current planned build:

MOTHERBOARD:
sata2, PCI-E x16, http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/119411

GRAPHICS CARD:
ati radeon x1950xt, 256mb, http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/119729

PSU:
600W, +12v 30A, http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/119227

RAM:
DDR2-800, 1GB, getting 2 of these, http://www.tpcsystems.co.uk/acatalog/Computer_Products_DDR2_PC800_1_X_1024MB_STICK_RETA IL_2949.html

CPU:
AMD Athlon 64 3800+ (2.4GHz), http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/119607

CASE:
good cooling, getting more fans, http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/91831

HDD:
SATAII, getting 2 of these on raid0, http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/94406

DISK DRIVE:
DVD-RW X8, http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/119566

feel free to mention anything and make any changes!!!

By The Way, i will be using this system for gaming!!!

also, feel free to ask any other questions!

thanks!!!

It seems a nice configuration if you like AMD CPUs.

Honestly I'd choose a Core 2 Duo instead.

But this is a question of personal preference, not meaning that your machine isn't great.

Cheers,
Gabriel.

i was thinking that way, but the prices of C2D are much higher, and AMD motherboards are cheaper than intel ones.
i also read somewhere that AMD are for gaming, intel are for multi-tasking!
i will be gaming, and this chip is 2.4GHz, where as C2D that i can afford are only 1.86GHz!

thanks,
computerbuyer101.

how about this card:

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

it seems good, and someone even says that it is better than the XT
thanks,
computerbuyer101.

Hi,

Jeez, I follow the link to see the motherboard you are buying... Holy cow, are you crazy man? This motherboard (AsRock) is a piece of crap. That is why it is far cheaper than competing motherboards. I would recommend you to replace your motherboard with one from a different brand, like MSI, Gigabyte, DFI, ASUS and even ECS. All tier 1 companies produce expensive high-end motherboards but they also offer mainstream models at affordable prices. Don't try to save money here. Otherwise you will have a high-end VGA installed on a very low-end motherboard. That doesn't make sense.

Another potential problem in your config is the power supply, which can be a "generic" one. I strongly suggest you to go with an entry-level from a good manufacturer like Thermaltake, Coolermaster, OCZ, etc. Don't think on "watts". The brand is more important than "watts".

The rest of you config is ok.

Cheers,
Gabriel.

hello, so, the motherboard is bad, are there any that you can recommend?
i want to run a ati radeon x1950xt, so that will need 30A on +12V. these are about the only affordable PSU's that i can find.

right;

1) as stated Ghz doesnt represent power and teh C2D is WAY better

2) as we went through in another thread, lots of fan's isn't going to be a huge benefit

3)the higher clock speed on the RAM isnt as beneficial to the athlon's as it is the core 2 duo's so you can get away with using ddr2 533

4) I recommended that PSU because I though we were doing this rig ona shoe string, as gabrielle states TBH it isn't any good and a hiper 480 type r would be much nicer.

5) that mobo isn't great by anymean's but all things said its not apauling enfact the chipset's are almost ok ;)

personally I would go for this:

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=25049511332&action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X3NwZWNpZmljYXRpb25z&product_uid=112086


,Reidy-





Edit: No that card is not better than the XT who ever said that needs shooting, please tell me its not you'r water cool'd friend.

again refer to the VGA chart in tomhardware although the x1950pro is a very good card the x1950XT is just that bit better.

Hi there,

For the motherboard:
http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/cat/Motherboards-AMD/subcategory/Socket-AM2-AMD

Any one from MSI, ASUS or Gigabyte.

For the power supply:

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/store/48/cat/Power-Supplies

You got some good manufacturers here: Seasonic, Antec and even Cooler Master.

Cheers,
Gabriel.

thanks for the recommendations, they seem good.
i was wondring on another thing, will the following drive work on a SATA-300 motherboard, as it states in the title that it will, but some reviews say that it is SATA2.

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/87673

thanks,
computerbuyer101.

Hi,

It is SATA-300, see at Hitachi's website:

http://www.hitachigst.com/hdd/support/7k80/7k80.htm

Cheers,
Gabriel.

thanks for that info, i can now buy that drive, to add to my system.


thanks,
computerbuyer101.

i am actually going to go for sapphire radeon X1950pro, because i don't quite have enough money to get the XT.

thanks...