General hardware info/reading

[Lee Van Cleef]

Howdy.

I'm looking for some help. At some point in the near future I need to upgrade my PC, which I haven't done since 2000. I haven't paid much attention to computer technology since 2004 when I finished my degree in software development.

Anyone know any good places where I can get some reading material to catch up on modern technology, like SLI, DDR2 memory, Multiple core processors etc.

Chars
D.

[Anonymous]

www.tomshardware.com

Read up on there for the newest hardware and reviews too, check out the forum of theirs for things like cpu stats etc.

Also: Use www.wikipedia.org alongside it and any words you dont get, just look them up.

www.reghardware.com

Any will give you help, check the archives for more information.

[Cheule]

I often keep an eye on http://www.anandtech.com for reviews and info, it helped me make many a buying decision :)

[bigdan676]

Or you could look on here for help !

regards
Dan

[Anonymous]

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[bigdan676]

I agree with, PrivatePyle@Work about custom PC it is very useful, but
I normally buy a copy of MicroMart, just because it is very useful and is cheap compared to other magazines, only £1.99.

Regards
Dan
:D

[Lee Van Cleef]

Cheers for the advice y'all. I plan to keep on reading this forum, I've already read a number of informative topics about building PCs here so I'll probably ask for advice as I go about it.

What's a good mobo to start off with? I won't be able to buy everything in one haul, so I plan on getting a few bits or one major bit every month. I plan to spend a bit of extra cash on the Mobo so I can gte something with upgrade capability down the line. I'll also be building this thing from scratch so compatability with existing parts is not an issue. I'd love to contruct a PC that can play Oblivion as I've been a fan of the Elder Scrolls games since the mighty Daggerfall, I'd also like to get a PC that can do Morrowind and World of Warcraft some justice.

Secondly, I need to upgrade my OS. I currently have Windows 2k so I'm in need of a decent upgrade there. Is Vista worth a shout yet? Or could I get XP at a decent price?

[Anonymous]

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[ZoneAlert]

Look for a copy of Micro Mart magazine or browse www.micromart.co.uk ,I would also recommend www.cpu3d.com for hardware reviews. :wink:

[mac124]

Good place to start on the motherboard front would be the Asus P5B (either the Deluxe WiFi version or the slightly cheaper E+)

I have both and swear by them.

[Anonymous]

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[Aaron]

Id refrained from turning this into a 'plug your own forums' thread ;)

[Lee Van Cleef]

[quote:4b25dc43c7=\"PrivatePyle@Work\"]OK skipping over motherboard for a minute, if you want us to help you spec up a demon machine we need to know a bit more about you as a user. There is a BIG difference between doing justice to WoW and running Oblivion with all the eye candy cranked up to full at high resolutions. Also a rough budget is usually handy. Then we can make a better judgement.[/quote:4b25dc43c7]

Well, as you may have gathered from my general lack of knowledge on current things I'm not an intensive user. I play a few games on my PC in the event that it can run them, I do a hell of a lot of internet surfing and I use it to play my CDs/download and watch stuff that I shouldn't. I might use it to watch DVDs if that option becomes available. I'm not a hardcore gamer like I used to be. I do use Photoshop every now and then. I'd also like something that doesn't go to buggery when I try to run more than one program.

Budget-wise, as I said I'll be buying this in pieces over a few months so I'll try to make as much money available as possible, but I have to draw up a budget for myself before I know any kind of real figures.

[Anonymous]

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[Lee Van Cleef]

Yeah, my preference for CPU was E6600, the most powerful for the amount of money I wanted to spend.

I've had a look through the section for the last few weeks and a lot of it has been interesting reading. There are a couple of things that I'll need to get back to like the Case and PSU as I'm still not sure about getting the best stuff for cooling or what kind of supply is required for what I'll eventually build.

Though from what I've read here Lian-Li seem like good cases.

Edit -

I'm having a good root around with this stuff, some nice info on these forums. Not sure abot the case, whether to go with Antec 900, Wavemaster Coolermaster, Centurion or something else.

[Anonymous]

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[mac124]

Just to add to what PP said Lian Li are VERY nice cases (got a PC7B myself for my main rig) and whilst i would recommend it to anyone if you are a serious overclocker it might need a few mods, i have had to remove the HDD cage and to get decent temps with water cooling i run with no side panel on. You still need good airflow through the case with watercooling my rear rad was being \"cooled\" with warm air from the front rad and internal components so not really doing anything.

Good air coolers would include Tuniq Tower / Scythe Infinity / Coolermaster GeminII / Thermalright 120 Ultra Extreme.

[Cheule]

Processor wise you could buy the E6420, a 2x2.16ghz chip with the full 4mb cache. Or get the E6320 and overclock it?

[Aaron]

[quote:055aeb27e0=\"Cheule\"]Processor wise you could buy the E6420, a 2x2.16ghz chip with the full 4mb cache. Or get the E6320 and overclock it?[/quote:055aeb27e0]

I thought that as well, but I think the E6600 is only a tenner more.

[Lee Van Cleef]

[quote:91e39c53d6=\"mac124\"]Good place to start on the motherboard front would be the Asus P5B (either the Deluxe WiFi version or the slightly cheaper E+)

I have both and swear by them.[/quote:91e39c53d6]

I've done a bit of reading in mags (picked up Custom PC which is proving to be an interesting read, thanks to whoever recommended it) and review sites/forums and I'm pretty sure I want to go with the P5B from what I've read.