[diurno]

Hello everyone!
I have a AMD Pentium 4 2.1Ghz, 1GB RAM and a 6600GT but my little friend is getting a bit old (5years old) and I am thinking in upgrading! Which components do you lot reccomend me to buy? I play some games specially the last ones and I do a lot of image editing in Photoshop as I am a photographer, please please please help me! I dont have problems with money.

Thank you in advance

[philthomas]

An AMD Pentium eh ? .... cant say I have ever seen one of them

To be honest ... if the system is 5 years old, you would be far better off getting a new PC, as so many things have changed in that time, that upgrading is not really a viable option.

[diurno]

I have to say that probably I have to agree with you! I will buy a new computer but what to buy? I prefer to buy thing by thing like buy a processor in one place and then a motherboard and so on but I have no idea on what to buy that is my question!

[alex]

To answer that we need to know your usage, your budget, and your screen's resolution.

And also if there's any items you don't need (speakers etc)

[philthomas]

Originally Posted by diurno I prefer to buy thing by thing like buy a processor in one place and then a motherboard and so on but I have no idea on what to buy that is my question!

Do you mean you intend to build the box yourself ?

[diurno]

Yes, thats what I mean I want to build the box. I dont have problems with money so it is okay if it goes past £1000 I just want a goood machine that is going to last long. I mainly would like advice on motherboards, processors, graphic cards, power supplies, memory and case.

Edit: I forgot to add that I use my computer a lot and I really mean a lot, specially editing photos

[philthomas]

My advice, unless you have experience of building modern PCs and can source the parts cheaply, would be to find a company who make Custom Builds. That way you can specify exactly what goes into it and get advice on what is compatible and what isn't.

Building a modern box, can be a minefield, if you dont know what you're doing and could be very costly. I used to build my own, buying from various on-line suppliers, but when you add up all the courier fees etc., it can be just as cheap to buy a Custom or Bare Bones system.

One company that offer good value, custom PC's is Arbico .... they have their own website and are Power Sellers on ebay. Check them out and see if you can source all the parts any cheaper .... I doubt you will.

I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post their URL on here, but Google is you friemd

[diurno]

THanks a lot I will have a look at them

[Morglor9]

Originally Posted by philthomas My advice, unless you have experience of building modern PCs and can source the parts cheaply, would be to find a company who make Custom Builds. That way you can specify exactly what goes into it and get advice on what is compatible and what isn't. Building a modern box, can be a minefield, if you dont know what you're doing and could be very costly. I used to build my own, buying from various on-line suppliers, but when you add up all the courier fees etc., it can be just as cheap to buy a Custom or Bare Bones system.

In addition to this, most of the time when you go to a computer store for a custom build, they add a warranty on the labour, meaning the thing should be hooked up and configured correctly. You don't get that when you build it yourself.

The place I shop at (OTV Technologies, Saskatoon, SK) does a system build and OS installation, complete with installation of AVG Free Edition virus scanner and Spybot S&D for $30, which includes a one year warranty on labour. Great little store.

[alex]

You can't configure the precise components you want with any builder. Simply because you're limited to what they stock.

Also, in a lot of cases, you can't even specify the exact hdd or ram (as examples) you can only specify the amount or capacity.

I prefer building. You still get the warranty and in some cases it's a better warranty than what the builder gives* you (*for an extra cost). The only difference is it's on the individual components.

A lot of builders also compromise on some components giving a less than balanced build because they try and sell any prospective customers on the cpu or the gpu.

Nine times out of ten you can also save money building yourself.

[cyberspacegenie]

I built my first computer a few months back, and I have to say as long as you do your homework its not so difficult unless there is a problem with one of the parts. Personally I am glad I did it. I not only got the exact specification I wanted I also felt a great sense of achievement once it was finished.

Also in addition to Alex's comments I would add this. Building it yourself means that you know how it works and how everything integrates. Once you know how it works then changing and tweaking things becomes easier. I used to be hesitant about going inside a computer, but now I`m not . Building has been a good education for me. Just do your homework well and make sure you have a clear idea of what your usage is and what that requires. It is very easy to either spec too low and then find you need to upgrade things later or else spec too high and end up spending money on features you never use.

[philthomas]

Arbico are one of the best Custom builders I have found. , you can select your Mobo, CPU, RAM, Graphics Card, Hard Drive/IDE or SATA, and Make/Model of almost any component. If you want a Pioneer 112D Burner or a Sony, they will fit what you ask for, assuming you know what you want in the first place.

I agree that building your own is better and provides great satisfaction, but lots of people aren't experienced enough to install Windows, let alone a CPU/Heatsink etc. or fault find, when things dont work, when it's all bolted together.
Also prices for parts, when you factor in Courier Fees, often works out more than the built product.

I couldn't beat Arbico's price last time I looked, so I figured, let them build it, with all the same parts I would have chosen and save me the hassle

I actually emailed them my spec and got a quote back within 24 hrs.