PC and TFT Monitor Advice Needed Please!!!

[BlackHammer]

Hi Guys,

I'm about to purchase a new PC with a budget of about ?600 and would like as much feedback and advice as possible if you can spare me 5 mins.

Can anyone advise me as to what I need and any 19" TFT monitors that offer great performance for their value as I may buy this separately. - I've seen some decent looking monitors, benq, LG and samsung for around ?200 mark.

Basically I'm after a set up that will allow general use i.e net browsing, photo & music storage, and your basic apps.

This will be my first purcahse within the PC world, so need some advice as to what to go with...

Im leaning towards an AMD processor rather than a pentium (good idea?!?!) and reckon i need at least 160 gig HD and 1024 RAM with DVD burner thrown in.

Any thoughts, suggestions ,and ideas as to where to purchase from would be much appreciated as I'm i'm in a real kerfuffle here!!!

Cheers,

Hammer.

[sj33]

I'm using an LG 19" Flatron L1915S LCD Monitor.
1280x1024 @ 75Hz. 12ms screen update.

?209 at Comet. I think it's a tad cheaper on their page. Bargin IMO.

As for PC spec... you will get people arguing to the hilt on these, but looking on a budget... I prefer AMD processors overall, and the AthlonXP range has dropped in price dramatically since the Athlon64 hit the scene. Worth considering them unless you really want 64bit.
1GB RAM is a good idea, make sure it's DDR400.
Graphics card... depends on your budget, but the Radeon 9800 Pro range goed for peanuts these days and run all the latest software lovely.

To be honest though, if your gonna go for a prebuilt machine at PC World or Comet or someplace, expect mediocre spec at top prices.

[nips]

After this thread, I'm going for the Neovo F-419 LCD Monitor.

The TV Tuner looks great

[Kotatsu Neko]

I'm using a DELL 2005FPW - 20" Widescreen TFT. I'd highly recommend one, although I was slighty miffed that just after I bought mine they went and brought out a 24" version... which I would certainly have bought instead.

Once you're used to widescreen gaming, as with widescreen movies, there's no going back.

[Ish]

Yeah I'm considering that 24" one at the moment. I've been resisting splashing out for a week but I fear the purchase is inevitable.

[BlackHammer]

Thanks for the info so far guys.

So my next dilema...After doing some research it seems that an AMD XP chip could well be the way to go, so should I try building my own PC or can I buy a pre built tower that will meet all my spec criteria. i.e. XP 3000+, 1024 RAM, 160+ HD, and DVD +/- burner all encased in a classy looking tower.

Are there any sites that people can point me to, or should i buy the components myself and build it. - Suggestions please???

[Kotatsu Neko]

Yeah I'm considering that 24" one at the moment. I've been resisting splashing out for a week but I fear the purchase is inevitable.

I've seen one in the flesh and wow, what a screen. Huge, high-res (1900x1200!) and so sharp. Not bad value too for such a massive screen.

The only snag with screens like this are:

1 - You need a big ass gfx card to power them when running games. (you need to run native res on TFTs for optimal quality)

2 - Some games don't support widescreen out of the box, but most can be easily changed to do so. (by changing a few details in an .ini file) - I use this site for such info -- http://www.widescreengamingforum.com/forum/

[SubparMario]

It's usually best to build your own as you'll get the best value for money and you can make sure you know exactly which components you're getting. I'd recommend buying parts from www.overclockers.co.uk. The usual reason for building your own is so that you can get every drop of gaming performance for your money though. If you're not confident in building and maintaining one yourself then it might not be worth going down this route.

It's a lot more convenient to buy a pre-built one, they can be pretty good value usually. I'd say that for your the uses you listed, a pre-built one from the likes of Dell and co. would be more than adequate. They're perfectly good machines, just with more of a focus on the all round package rather than raw performance.

[MikeRox]

my shuttle + components came from overclockers, but I've since heard from alot of people that their customer care when things go wrong is diabolical. lyris has a link somewhere.

[nips]

I think I'm going to go with good old e-buyer when I put my new machine together in the next few weeks, but I'll be getting the monitor and the gfx card from OCUK becuase they're the cheapest!

Is the 600 quid inc the monitor, or not, becuase for 600 you could make a mother of a PC, tbh! 400 should easily get you when you want though.

If I were you, I'd just go for an nForce 4 motherboard and work up from there... it may be slightly more expensive, but you could afford to get some mediocre parts now, but you'll be able to upgrade in the future with few problems!

[Ish]

1 - You need a big ass gfx card to power them when running games. (you need to run native res on TFTs for optimal quality)

I have a big ass graphics card

2 - Some games don't support widescreen out of the box, but most can be easily changed to do so. (by changing a few details in an .ini file) - I use this site for such info -- http://www.widescreengamingforum.com/forum/

I don't really play many games on my PC so not that much of an issue. Though I must admit the thought of playing some vertical scrolling shooters properly is quite exciting!

[BlackHammer]

In answer to your question nips, Im thinking ?400 just for the PC. I have been looking around and seen some tasty looking monitors for around the ?200 mark.

Still unsure as to where to start though...Im struggling to find anywhere i can get my desired tower so really am thinking of giving myself a new project and starting from scratch.

Is it feasible that I will be able to get everything i want for ?400???

I think I'm going to go with good old e-buyer when I put my new machine together in the next few weeks, but I'll be getting the monitor and the gfx card from OCUK becuase they're the cheapest!

Is the 600 quid inc the monitor, or not, becuase for 600 you could make a mother of a PC, tbh! 400 should easily get you when you want though.

If I were you, I'd just go for an nForce 4 motherboard and work up from there... it may be slightly more expensive, but you could afford to get some mediocre parts now, but you'll be able to upgrade in the future with few problems!

[BlackHammer]

Ive decided to buy a desktop rather than build one, I've seen the thread for "pc suppliers" but are there any specialist sites that you guys can point me towards that do desktops. Im on ebuyer now, any others?? please?!

[Kotatsu Neko]

Dell are the obvious but also sensible choice. They are incredibly cheap and do give you plenty of options for speccing systems up to higher levels.

I believe Shuttle also now sell pre-built systems.

[BlackHammer]

It seems that Dell wont sell a desktop on it's own. I.e without a monitor. - Is this correct??