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Well as you may know I have won a copy of Vista Ultimate but I have a shit PC, therefore an upgrade is in order - and a big one.

I said "compile" in the title of this thread as I don't want to fully build my own and I don't want to buy a full PC either, I want to mix the two:
The plan I have at the moment is to keep all my peripherals (i.e. the things you would normally get if you just buy a computer of the shelf in a box e.g. monitor, deskset) as well as my current CD drives, hard disk and floppy drive (even though it hasn't been used for ages) and stick them in a basic new box. When I say basic I don't mean the specs of the hardware in it but what it actually contains if you understand.

What I have in mind getting is something like one of these (not the mini towers though). These seem to be just what I want as they have all the main things already installed (I presume they come with the motherboard and the PSU installed...), the things that I wouldn't be confident enough to install myself. Then I could hopefully just whack in the CD drives, the old hard drive, and a new hard drive as well (although the current CD drives are white/beige so a matching or silver box would be better than black).

However I don't want to spend too much but want a system that is fast, reliable and can run Vista's "premium features" well.

Just a few more things I was thinking: obviously to run Aero well I need a decent graphics card, and I was was thinking of getting just a normal 32bit processor as 1) I don't know which version of Vista it is yet (there appears to be bad internal communication within MS. I know the full version of Ultimate includes 32 and 64 bit versions but there is loads of confusion about the ones that us competition winners are getting) and 2) I don't see that many benefits of 64bit.

Basically I want your advice please as you are a lot more knowledgeable on this subject than I am. Are any of the cheaper "barebone systems" linked to above any good? Around what speed processor should I get (and should it be 64bit)? Also I know practically nothing about graphics cards apart from that integrated graphics aren't very good so what specifications should I be looking for on a graphics card to run Aero well? Any other advice for me?

Edit: found these similar basic systems:
http://www.microdirect.co.uk/productlist...5,35&n=123 / http://www.microdirect.co.uk/productlist...5,35&n=124
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlis...&catid=110
http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/cat/Barebones/s...ne-Systems
http://www.dabs.com/productlist.aspx?&Ca...PageMode=1

I'll list some stuff later on (as I currently can't access the majority of the websites).

Quote:I don't see that many benefits of 64bit.

There is many benefits to 64-bit, once of course manufactures release better drivers, until then, I would suggest holding of running a 64-bit OS, but buying a CPU that supports 64-bit is worth while.

Quote:Also I know practically nothing about graphics cards apart from that integrated graphics aren't very good so what specifications should I be looking for on a graphics card to run Aero well?

I would recommend a card that has 256MB of memory for the aero interface, but vista runs fine on 128MB (I'm running vista on a ATi Radeon x300 with aero) the 256MB would come in when playing games.

For example, for £90/100 you can get a Nvidia 7600GT (http://www.nvidia.com/page/geforce_7600.html) which is pretty good, it should run Vista fine with the aero effects and possible some games. (it requires a PCI-Express enabled motherboard)

Chris Wrote:For example, for £90/100 you can get a Nvidia 7600GT (http://www.nvidia.com/page/geforce_7600.html)

That's the card I have, and it's running vista ultimate perfectly fine, with aero and dreamscene. PCI-E is indeed needed though.

OK thanks for the info on graphics guys, now onto the big question: processor recommendations (or specification recommendations) ...

the andyman Wrote:OK thanks for the info on graphics guys, now onto the big question: processor recommendations (or specification recommendations) ...

How much would you be looking to spend on a processor as part of the computer? And, what manufacture (AMD/Intel?)

I don't know how much I'm spending yet (the best value would be good). As for the old debate of AMD v Intel I've used both in the past and not found much difference so your opinions would be welcome. (I think I'm swayed towards Intel atm)

If you have the money, go for a Intel Core 2 duo, (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlis...3&mfrid=). For an AMD processor, there is the AMD Athlon 64 / X2 Dual core (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlis...=&mfrid=3) they are the best processors (IMO) around at the minute.

A more cheaper processor to look at would be the Intel Pentium D (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlis...ubid=570).

the andyman Wrote:OK thanks for the info on graphics guys, now onto the big question: processor recommendations (or specification recommendations) ...

Just to add on, I completely (wasn't supposed to do so, so fast) bought my new pc, and I bought the same graphics card, the guy said it was the best choice for a decent price

OK I'm kinda putting this "project" on hold, at least until I get my copy of Vista (shipping on 12th March).

However I did find this site which offers good value motherboard bundles which you can customise and add cases (including PSU) to.

They offer the graphics card that you both recommended (although it has the word "Palit" at the beginning which I presume means there is something different about it) but they also offer this one for half the price, is it any good?

As for processors they obviously offer various ones at various prices and for various motherboards (I think they have all the ones that Chris mentioned) so I'll have to look about what they have a bit more to see which processors, graphics and motherboards go with each other and for what price.

Also another question: do any modern motherboards support DDR RAM instead of DDR2? Since I got my current PC I upgraded its RAM to 1GB but its DDR and it would be nice not to waste it.

Quote:However I did find this site which offers good value motherboard bundles which you can customise and add cases (including PSU) to.

Be careful when buying the PSU, try and go for a well known brand name such as, Antec/OCZ/Seasonic with a good amount of power, the reason why I'm saying to go with a good brand name is because most of the generic ones (ie: unbranded) end up with problems or end up being loud.

Quote:They offer the graphics card that you both recommended (although it has the word "Palit" at the beginning which I presume means there is something different about it) but they also offer this one for half the price, is it any good?

It looks good enough to handle Vista's aero effects, But that one uses "TurboCache" technology meaning if you want the full 512MB it will start using the system memory.

Quote:Also another question: do any modern motherboards support DDR RAM instead of DDR2? Since I got my current PC I upgraded its RAM to 1GB but its DDR and it would be nice not to waste it.

Most of them are DDR2 unfortunately, however, here's some links to DDR motherboards: http://computing.kelkoo.co.uk/b/a/cp_111...e_ddr.html i'm not sure if there the "latest" ones out. If you can't find a good motherboard, I would suggest maybe selling the ram on a site such as ebay, then putting the money towards DDR2.