New Shuttle PC buyage - some help please!

[Ish]

Dude, 21" is the same size as my TV, don't be stupid!

If I could fit 'em on my desk I'd have two of the buggers

[Dache]

What sort of monitor are you using now? Bear in mind that CRTs are measured from the bezel, while LCDs are measured from the actual screen. A 15" LCD is about the same as a 17" CRT, a 17" LCD about that of a 19" CRT, or around that.

[PeteJ]

**** it, I'm ordering it all now.

I'm using a laptop atm with 17" screen.

[Dache]

Ah, fair nuff then.

[Ish]

Get yourself copies of Half Life 2 and Rome Total War to go with it. You'll be lost for hours

[Valken]

And Farcry!

I finished my new PC last week and I've been spending the day OMFG-ing my way through HL2 and Farcry!

[PeteJ]

Well, it's all bought. Scary how easy it is when you get going!

Final specs:

Shuttle SN95g5
Athlon 64 3500
X800XT Plat
1gig (2x512) crucial DDR ram
160gig Maxtor hdd
Samsung 710T monitor
Windows XP pro
Keyboard...

And that's my new baby. Hurray! Knowing my luck it'll fail to run even Wolf 3D, but no worries, at least it'll be more powerful than my current laptop. *kicks*

Many thanks for all of your help, I would have been completely stuck if it wasn't for this place I'm sure I'll be back in a few days asking for further help, so don't go too far!

Ta,
Pete

(final price? don't ask )

[marcus]

Enjoy mate. Far Cry will make your jaw drop

[Treble]

Sorry to hijack the thread, but I'm after a new gfx card and thought it's easier to use this thread than start a new one =]

I'm wanting one to go in my new PC (Athlon 64 similar to Pete's, 1gb RAM etc.) and would like one at the ?200 mark. Is a vanilla X800 the best for this money, as i've seen a few going at that price?

[Concept]

Treb, a normal x800 (non-pro/XT) isn't all that beyond a 9800Pro/XT. For ?230, you can pick up a Nivdia 6800GT (which offers better performance than a x800Pro), and overclock it quite easily to 6800Ultra speeds. Here's the link to an Asus model, the cheapest 6800GT I came across:

http://www.microdirect.co.uk/ProductInfo.aspx?ProductID=8158&GroupID=334

Edit: Noticed inc. VAT it's ?270.

[Concept]

Enjoy mate. Far Cry will make your jaw drop

And Half-Life 2. Both are gob-smacking visually, but Valve's work just leaves me dead with the diversity of the aesthetic.

[PeteJ]

I got my card (X800XT Plat) from www.lowestonweb.com - who are a part of evesham computers (who are extremely good in my experience, all my previous PC's are from here!). They sell stuff in very limited supply for excellent prices. My card cost me ?300, which isn't bad seeing as I was going to spend more than that on a standard XT.

Have a look there (under videocards down the left) for some bargains

Their cards are the Evesham branded, but I dout that matters. I know someone with a similar card to the one I've bought and he tells me it's fantastic...

I look forward to HL2 very much

Edit:
Geforce 6800 Pro 128mb for ?124.98. "It plays Halo and Halfe Life 2 on the highest vido settings." Check out the reviews on the page

They've also got the GT, but that's ?274.99 - link

[Concept]

?300 for an XT isn't bad at all. A few months ago, when the yields for XT's were low and you couldn't find them for ****, I had to settle for a x800Pro for ?300, so picking up the XT PE for that price is very impressive indeed.

What card has Treble got now? If he has a 9800Pro, there's no point in picking up a standard 6800 or x800. The difference between the cards would be miniscule for ?200, and in my view, the slight increase in performance wouldn't justify the price. Ignore that however if your card is old.

To be honest Treble, I think your best bet would be to try and hunt around to pick up a used x800Pro/6800GT for ?200 (or just over), or save up a little bit more and get a next-gen card for new (around or just under the ?300 mark).

It'll be worth it.

[PeteJ]

Quick question - I ordered everything from Scan and Overclockers last night at about 7pm, yet I've not received any email to say they've received my order. Usually these places send out an auto response, don't they? I'm just slightly worried that something has fooked up (though from two places??), as Scan won't even accept my order number to view its status. My only thought is that they won't send out anything until a weekday; that's my hope anyway...

[Valken]

What resolution does the 6800pro 128MB play HL2 on the highest settings? And at what frame rate?

If you're gonna get a 6800 get the GT... or at least that's what I'd be saying if morew than 20% of them fitted into shuttle cases :S