Built Vs branded desktops

[bob123]

although im going to get a new system, it seems such a shame to discard my old one. Thats why ive decided to ressurect the old system by getting a new motherboard. However looking around the major sellers, i cant seem to find a similar mobo? my specs are the following:

AMD thunderbird 1.4GHz
768MB DDR PC2100 RAM
Gigabyte GA7VTXE KT266 socket A DDR +snd ATA100 ATX
Geforce 2 MX64MB AGP
case - 300W ATX

regarding the mobo, i dont really know what all those letters mean. Can anyone recommend an outlet where i can get something similar or even better a mobo of that would be compatible with all these?

[wod]

an abit nf7-s v2 would work with that cpu and ddr ram. its probably one of the best socket a motherboards out but socket a boards aren't made anymore so it will be hard to find one

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/ASUS_Socket_A.html

some good boards on that link the top one is a good one

[Brim]

I've just built a pc for my little un with all new parts, just older spec and therefore cheaper.

Antec SLK1650B Case + decent 350w PSU ?45
MSI Nforce2 Ultra SoA Mobo ?40
80gb Maxtor Sata HD ?40
Radeon 9500 Pro ?30
Athlon XP3000 ?55
Sony DVDRW ?30
512mb DDR333 ?25

A decent system with some life still left in it for about ?250.00, made with better parts than most prebuild stuff. Plays HL2 nice too!

[Magnakai]

Hey, that's a pretty nice build!

[Iron Z]

..

Really, nowadays there is no reason to build your own UNLESS you want to.

if you like doing projects like this, or want something custom (like mine - a powerful PC in a HTPC case that is near-silent, which you cant buy).

If you just want a standard, good PC for the net, basic gaming (not worried about super high settings and 100fps) and MS Office, buy a branded.

The main advantage is that in the type of branded PCs they have now are really well tested for you by all the companys that buy them - so fewer hardware configs (and therefore fewer annoying "intermittent faults").

furthermore, you tend to get some legal Microsoft software, which in these days of MS Genuine Advantage patching etc is less hassle.

[Ginger Tosser]

Mr Iron, you talk sense.

I needed a couple of reliable PCs so i went the branded route.