a cs/cs source pc only

[geordiedmw]

Ok as you may or may not know im pretty stupid when it comes to upgrading hardware etc on pcs,

if i was to have built a pc for cs / cs source only what would i need and oh by the way what operating sytem do u need or none at all???

i have an external dvd/cd writer that could be used for loading proggys so may not need integeral one for sytem.

i was thinking i could use my current pc for all my none gamin activitys etc then a gaming only machine.

If you all could suggest some things i would need ie mobo etc then maybe i can have a conversation with locall pc shop and hey presto they can build me one.

dont need a monitor as i have a nice tft 19inch one wich i could swap between pc's

if we can get a price of around £200 inc vat and shipping will start saving the pennys and buying pices bit buy bit then get it put together what do you think

now please no geek speak plain old fashioned english responses only

[TheTrout]

In all honsety Geordie, I think your budget of £200 might be a little low for your expectations of a gaming machine, especially as your starting from scratch. For the operating system though you would need XP (From what you've said in this and other posts I doubt you'd be up to getting Linux to work) :)

[TheTrout]

Having said that I suppose it could be done. You would manage with this, it wouldn't be "Play Source on top Settings" material, but it would play it without any problems.

Case (http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2VsZWN0X3Byb2R1Y3Rfb3ZlcnZpZXc=&product_uid=65706)
PSU (http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2VsZWN0X3Byb2R1Y3Rfb3ZlcnZpZXc=&product_uid=61308)
Graphics Card (http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2VsZWN0X3Byb2R1Y3Rfb3ZlcnZpZXc=&product_uid=52600)
CPU (you could raise this within your Price limit) (http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2VsZWN0X3Byb2R1Y3Rfb3ZlcnZpZXc=&product_uid=73079)
Memory (http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2VsZWN0X3Byb2R1Y3Rfb3ZlcnZpZXc=&product_uid=33075)
CPU Cooler (http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2VsZWN0X3Byb2R1Y3Rfb3ZlcnZpZXc=&product_uid=55764)
Motherboard (http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2VsZWN0X3Byb2R1Y3Rfb3ZlcnZpZXc=&product_uid=63166)

Total Price (Inc Vat & Delivery) = £184.51

This is just a quick look into it for you, you could tweak the bits and bobs to suit your needs and raise / lower the price.

[SentineL_]

a decent gfx card will cost u at least £120 (thats for a 9800pro) £200 for something a little better :|

[geordiedmw]

trout not bothered about playing on top settings just want my system to be able to handle it.

stupid question m8 about operating sytem does is come supplied or do i need to ahem (purchase it)

also is there a hard drive in this i really dont know as i would need probably 5 gig of hard drive to store cs and cs source

[TheTrout]

trout not bothered about playing on top settings just want my system to be able to handle it.

stupid question m8 about operating sytem does is come supplied or do i need to ahem (purchase it)

also is there a hard drive in this i really dont know as i would need probably 5 gig of hard drive to store cs and cs source

Doh, my bad. I always forget something.

Hard Drive (http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=40971) This will take you slightly over your £200 budget (by about £15 or so)

As for XP you would need to "Ahem (purchase it)" ;)

You might also want to consider paying slightly more for larger hard dirves. eg This (http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=6925252152&action=c2VsZWN0X3Byb2R1Y3Rfb3ZlcnZpZXc=&product_uid=40968) or This (http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=6925252152&action=c2VsZWN0X3Byb2R1Y3Rfb3ZlcnZpZXc=&product_uid=43152) As modern games take up a lot of room these days.

[geordiedmw]

thanks for the help trout, one more question m8 if you check out my cs source thread my pc cant handle source it has my current pc's specifications in there would this new machine run source better than what i have ?

[TheTrout]

Yes it would, mainly because of the extra memory and improved Graphics Card. My kids have a machine of similar specs to this one and it runs Source very well indeed.

[geordiedmw]

thanks trout reason why im asking is i cant decide wether its better to upgrade my current pc for all my needs mostly movies/torretns etc with my cs/source or to leave well alone and get this new one built purley for cs and cs source so thanks very much for the help

[TheTrout]

thanks trout reason why im asking is i cant decide wether its better to upgrade my current pc for all my needs mostly movies/torretns etc with my cs/source or to leave well alone and get this new one built purley for cs and cs source so thanks very much for the help

Well Geordie, I use my lpatop for things like movies etc, but normally always use my main PC for playing games on. The laptop doesn't perform anywhere near as well as my PC even though they are both very similar specs.

PC

512DDR
AMD 2700XP CPU
Radeon 9800XT(256meg) Graphics
120 Gig HD

Laptop

512DDR
3.4 Pentium 4 CPU
Radeon 9700 128meg Graphics
60 Gig HD

Theoretically 1.6 (Not Source) should play just as well on both machines, and yet it doesn't. The laptop just doesn't quite seem to play it as well as the stand alone PC. So I'd say go for the stand alone and leave your Laptop for the more mundane tasks.

[geordiedmw]

just spoken to local pc blokie who advises to put me in new memory and a graphics card will charge me £20 -30,

so going to look at mr troutys web details and see what kind of graphix card i can get along with the memory as well

[geordiedmw]

trouty its a pc not a lap top m8

[geordiedmw]

ok could add 512kddr pc2100 crucial memeory £37.59 crucial .com
and a connected3dat1 radeon 9800 pro for £102.98 ebuyers

this would cost me less to do as pc shopw would charge max £30 for installation what do you think trout or is their a better grafix card for me as still not sure whats best

[Afrodo]

Theoretically 1.6 (Not Source) should play just as well on both machines, and yet it doesn't. The laptop just doesn't quite seem to play it as well as the stand alone PC. So I'd say go for the stand alone and leave your Laptop for the more mundane tasks. Down to slower HDD and slower RAM surely.
Your laptop HDD is only likely to be a 5400rpm with a small buffer, whereas your 120Gb will modt likely be a 7200 with a 2mb or more buffer. And the ram will be slower on the laptop too. I noticed this a few years back at uni when my laptop was identical specs to my mates pc, but his just ran things quicker.

And Geordie, get an exact quote for any work that guy is gonna do for you. I've known people get stung when people say £20-£30 and then add charges for this 'unseen' thing etc. Also, before you buy the ram make sure it is the correct type for your motherboard.

EDIT: Just read the other thread so you've obviously already been told that.

[geordiedmw]

cheers afro m8 ram is def ok as checked out on crucial webby tool

[happynoodleboy]

Geordie post your current PC specs and maybe we can see what we can do with that? I have parts on my PC which are 3 PCs old... :D

[geordiedmw]

Noodles

sony vaio pcv rx406 pc
intel pentium p4 2.4ghz
memory 256 upgradeable to 1536 pc2100 184 pin dimm 266 mhz ddr
video chipset nvidia g force mx460
vid mem 64mb ddr

drivers fully updated on the grafix card as source made me do this to use it

[happynoodleboy]

Get a new graphics card and some more Ram. That processor should be fine.

Sony aren't always a good buy- they like to try and force you to use proprietary stuff... and boy do they charge through the nose for extras! I mean look at the memory stick- biggest rip-off ever!

Sorry its difficult to tell anything from those specs and tbh sony do use their own/disguised parts so you can't easily telll what is underneath the bonnet...

New Ram and video card should be fine though.z

[geordiedmw]

have to say thanks all for the help
i know what memery to get but still unsure of the grafix card can get a connected3dat1 radeon 9800 pro from ebuyers for £102.98 inc vat

is this a good card for a good price or am i better looking at an nvidia card of some sort and in what price area?

[Jo3_Pinneapples[CYM]]

if you go for the new ram and GFX card option DONT pay some guy in a shop to fit the parts
you could easly do that yourself
or i'm sure someone here could talk you thro it
( i would but wont be on line much for the next few weeks )

[SentineL_]

installing RAM is THE easiest component to install :D and an AGP gfx card isnt that hard either :p

just plug it in, and plug the extra Molex into the back of it for additional power and ur away :D just make sure u ground urself on the pc case before u touch any of the components to get rid of any static :)

[happynoodleboy]

100% agreed- esp as you are on a budget- installing an AGP card involves 2 steps- sliding the card in and plugging on socket into another. You CANNOT go wrong. And the Memory just slots in.

Do not pay someone to do it- it will take you less time to do than it took me to write this!