Any good desktops for around £600?

[JoeDaStudd]

I looking to buy a nice desktop for around £600, less would be a bonus.
Any ideas?

[PopeOfDope]

Are you willing to build it yourself?

[JoeDaStudd]

Only if someone tells me what I need and roughly how to put it together.
I've never made one from scratch (I got a fairly good knowledge of PC parts), but hey I'll never learn how to do it without I give it a go.

Ps. I heard making Desktops yourself isnt really worth the hassle anymore (not my opion, but just what ive been told)

[PopeOfDope]

Originally Posted by JoeDaStudd

Only if someone tells me what I need and roughly how to put it together.
I've never made one from scratch (I got a fairly good knowledge of PC parts), but hey I'll never learn how to do it without I give it a go.

Ps. I heard making Desktops yourself isnt really worth the hassle anymore (not my opion, but just what ive been told)

Making desktops is definatley worth it as you will get it much cheaper and it's garunteed to be upgradable too.

For your budget I recommend:

Processor = AMD X2 3800+ (Socket AM2) - £100 - Not as good as Core 2 duos buch much more affordable.
Motherboard = ASUS M2N-E - £60 - Great motherboard from ASUS, uses the lastest nForce chipset.
RAM = Corsair ValueSelect DDR2-677 - £80 - 1Gb of RAM should do fine for now, can upgrade later.
Graphics card = eVGA 7900GS - £130 - Great graphics, successor to the 7600GT for best budget graphics card.
Hard drive = Seagate Barracuda SATA hard drive - Any size you want, 160Gb is around £40
Optical drive = NEC-ND4571 - £20 - Great DVD burner, no coasters for me since I got it.
Powersupply and case = Antec Sonata II - £75 - 450W will be enough and the case is dead silent.
Soundcard = Optional, you can get an Audigy 2 ZS if you play lots of PC games or a Chaintec AV 170 if you just listen to lossless music. For most people, onboard sound is enough.

Grand total of around £505, so about £520 with shipping.

If you want to spend more, upgrade the processor into a Core 2 Duo, but you will need another motherboard and they are a bit lacking in range right now. Rumors suggest a Core 2 Duo pricecut in January so it's up to you

This page has plenty of pictures on how to assemble parts: http://sysbuild.corsairmemory.com/re...spx?id=2&sid=3
Building a PC is easy, just put stuff in slowts and connect them with wires. The slots can only fit one component so it's impossible to put something in the wrong way.

[JoeDaStudd]

Mmmm... Thanks I'll definately think about it. It looks easy as hell to put together. Just need to wait till I get payed next week then I'll look into buyin the parts.
Ps. I would have to load the Os myself if i did this right?

[PopeOfDope]

Yes you will have to install the OS. Which reminds me of something I forgot.

Buy a floppy drive.

If you want to install Windows XP onto a SATA hard drive, you need extra drivers. These drivers usually come with the motherboard. All you do is put the floppy in and when Windows XP asks 'do you need any 3rd party RAID or SCSI drivers' say yes and it will install the drivers for you.


If you plan on using Vista then you don't need a floppy drive.

[Train]

I built my own computer for around $500 and it serves me well!

[JoeDaStudd]

whats a good site/place to buy the parts from?
EDIT.
Ive found a site (Dabs) which has all the stuff put the total is about £30 more then you said any chance you could tell me a better site?