Hi i'm new and need some help

[DarkRyu]

Hi all,

I'm new to these forums so thought it was best to say "Hi" rather then just jumping in to my question,

I just bought half-life 2 and i cant play it (PC is old and not compatable) anyway i have decided its about time i bought a new PC so thought i would ask to see what advice and links you guys can ive me to aid in buying it

Thanks

Ryu

 

[corkscru74]

All depends on your budget really. How much are you prepared to spend?

Personally I spent about £600 to upgrade my system for HL2. New Graphics card is a must (go for DX9 compatible - Radeon 9800 XT or one of the new X800 cards). RAM - 1Gb is the minimum really. New CPU - 3.2Ghz P4 or maybe go for the Athlon64 if you want some future proofing. Again it all depends on how much you're prepared to spend.

 

[short recoil]

If you have enough practical skill you should build the computer yourself from components, i built my first computer without any help, in most cases a motherboard manual basically tells you how to build a computer.
www.ebuyer.co.uk
www.overclockers.co.uk
www.komplett.co.uk
www.eclipsecomputers.com
Are where i have used (amongst others)

Honestly homebuilding can save you a couple of hundred, is rewarding and to those who say "what about warranty" .......all my bits in my current comp have 3 year warranty, unless you do something really silly its usually just one component to go wrong.

I'm sure there are plenty of building guides out there as well.

 

[michaelsil1]

You can go the AMD 64 754 route and save some money on a really good system.

I also recommend that you build your own system.

 

[Ryjalon10k]

I play hl2 with a pentium4 2.66ghz processor, 256mb of ram, a 256mb graphic card. I play in 800x600 screen size, with high model/texture detail. I get anywhere between 30-130 fps, depending on which part of the game im in, and how much is going on. this goes for playing counterstrike source, and other mods.

you could spend 600 bucks on a brand new dell computer, and 200 more to get a good graphic card.

 

[DarkRyu]

Well i'm looking to spend about £800 but i dont need the best of the best just a family PC that can be used for games/work - i would prefer to use AMD 939pin chips as i want to be able to upgrade it in the future when £££££ isnt so tight (still broke from x-mas ) and i'm not really looking to build one as after building one before i found that i didnt make much of a saving compaired to the work/research needed in to doing so,

Ryu

 

[short recoil]

For under about £900 (this was a few months back) i put together the rig in my sig.
I presume you already have monitor e.t.c?
........and i bought expensive parts, x800xt pe cost me nearlly £400 with the added arctic cooling silencer.

 

[Ryjalon10k]

Go with the minimum rec's on the HL2 box, and just get a 256mb+ graphic card. that should run you under 1k.

 

[Yombi]

Go with the minimum rec's on the HL2 box, and just get a 256mb+ graphic card. that should run you under 1k.

where do you get your parts from? :\ that scares me lol

EDIT: what currency?

 

[DarkRyu]

Go with the minimum rec's on the HL2 box, and just get a 256mb+ graphic card. that should run you under 1k.

I have the min specs and it doesnt work - and like i said its about time for a new PC so i can play the newer games like HL 2 Doom 3 ect

Yeah i am only looking to buy the tower as i have all of the other parts, i wont be re-useing any of the parts on my current system as im giving the tower to a family member as theres is even older then mine :O

Ryu

 

[short recoil]

For £800, home build a 3200+ 64 bit (754 pin.....dont moan), 1024mb reasonable ram, a geforce 6800gt AT LEAST.

 

[Ryjalon10k]

dell sells pretty cheap computers now. the one i have goes for about 650, i got my video card for free, a guy my dad works with said it didnt work in his comp hehehe...

i know alot of people dont like dell...but....seriously, you cant go wrong.

 

[Ryjalon10k]

EDIT: what currency?

usa dolla's

 

[Yombi]

usa dolla's

1k USD for a min spec computer that runs HL2? I take it you buy your computer from huge scummy ripoff companies

 

[DarkRyu]

All i want is an AMD 939pin Pre-Build - as i said i didnt save much building a PC before and had more problems then it was worth so i wont be building it myself, anyone know any good sites that are selling good PC's for Price v Performance?

Ryu

 

[Ryjalon10k]

1k USD for a min spec computer that runs HL2? I take it you buy your computer from huge scummy ripoff companies

no, DELL like i said earlier.....

my computer is almost 2 years old. buying one like it right now, minus the graphic card would cost about 600 bucks. and the graphic card in it now has a value of about 200 bucks...

600+200= 800<1000$

 

[CookieCuttah]

When buying the PC, where do you buy the Operating system?

 

[Hectic Glenn]

I'd go dell, even tho most people will disagree. For about 500/600 quid you can get something that will run it, but you'll need to upgrade the gfx card. If you are a pc building nub, then dell would be even better for you.

 

[Ryjalon10k]

When buying the PC, where do you buy the Operating system?

Dell computers come with operating systems already installed.

Dell has great package deals..ect ect... im not going to go on about how good dell computers can be if you are on a tight budget...

 

[Ryjalon10k]

I'd go dell, even tho most people will disagree. For about 500/600 quid you can get something that will run it, but you'll need to upgrade the gfx card. If you are a pc building nub, then dell would be even better for you.

i would type....TOLD YA HAHAHAHAA SHOULDA LISTENED TO RYJALON....AHAHAHHA....

but im not ghey.

im out for tonight, so pm me if you wanna reply to my retarded posts.

 

[DarkRyu]

Dell dont do AMD simple as - i want an AMD due to there power and Performance for the price, someone must know a better site then dell :O

Ryu

 

[CookieCuttah]

I don't want a dell. I want to know where I can buy one seperatly.

 

[DarkRyu]

I will post an example of what im meaning as no one seems to get me http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/ take a look - this is the kind of thing im looking for, a website where i can chop and change what parts i need (yes its like dell),

Ryu

 

[bvasgm]

Dont' know if anyone has mentioned this yet, but if you want to build it yourself (a good way to save some money) a really good site to buy the parts from is newegg.com. Really quick shipping as well as good prices...just a suggestion.

 

[DarkRyu]

Maybe i need to highlight this once more.....

I will not be building this pc myself

please dont give me building it myself advice as i dont need it all i want is a site where i can buy a prebuild that will be good as a family PC but also able to run new games like half-life 2

 

[Greatgat]

Yeah, noticing some of the other replies, I would have to agree that a lot of it depends on your budget, and how willing and able you are to building your own computer. I built a pretty rocking computer from scratch about a month ago for about $1100, which is pretty good considering what I have in it. Prebuilt, you will pay a premium.

And on another note, I just noticed I am no longer a "Headcrab" but am a "Zombie". Hooray for the simple pleasures!

 

[DarkRyu]

Well im looking to spend about £800

Ryu

 

[bvasgm]

Well, since it's pretty clear that you don't want to build it, the $750 computer on the site you posted looks pretty good.