New PC?

[Frink191]

Hey there

Well I've recently been having problems with my PC regarding the HDD (See my other thread in this forum for more details, it's called Disk Read Error). Basically I've rang my local computer store to see if they can fix the problem and they said it costs £35.00 for them to check it out and then there will be extra costs if I need new hardware. I've already had this PC checked out last October for a problem I had and it cost me £100.00 to replace the motherboard and PSU. We first got this PC in November 2003 and my parents then gave it to in October 2005 and I installed 1GB of memory and a better grapics card to do some gaming and such. But I cba spending more money on this PC if it's just going to break again, as it's no big uber gaming PC, the specs are:

Intel Celeron 2.60GHz CPU
1GB DDR RAM (was only 256MB DDR RAM before I upgraded)
256MB Radeon X1650 Pro AGP8x graphics card (before that I had an nVidia GeForce 6200 PCI on the old motherboard, before that was just intel intergrated graphics)
80GB NTFS Hard Drive (is currently not working due to the disk read error)

Basically, is it worth it to keep putting money into this PC if it's going to crash or is it worth buying a brand new PC, because I can get a PC from Mesh for £299 (just the tower) which has a pretty nice spec imo (it's better than my current PC).

Thanks for your help and time.

[Steve R Jones]

It's your call. Any and ALL computers can have issues....Not much you can do except fix em as you find em.

[Frink191]

But tbh my current comp can't play newer games such as Oblivion, Battlefield 2142 and stuff like that so I want a new and decent comp that can play those game relatively well on decent settings that look pretty good. How much would a PC like that set me back these days, just the tower and nothing else. And I live in the UK btw so price in GBP would help, although I could use a currency converter to checkout the price difference from Dollars/Euros to pounds etc.

[pullmyfoot]

US$700 will get you something decent to play it on medium settings. $1000 will get you a nice system which will play the stuff on medium-high

[Frink191]

Which is £345.00 in the UK...which is pretty cheap tbh.

[pullmyfoot]

well the more the merrier. how much are you willing to spend

[Frink191]

I've not got much, cos my PC just decided to crashout of the blue last night and tbh I cba shelling out more money to get thta old hunk-a-junk fixed and would rather have a newer PC. Is this PC any good for playing newer games such as Oblivion, Battlefield 2 and 2142, Stalker etc?

http://www.meshcomputers.com/Default...UCT&KEY=128125

I understand it needs a better graphics card but other than that are the specs any good for £299.00 (inc VAT)

[SoloCamo]

From your link:

Intel® Pentium® E2160 Dual Core Processor

They don't even know the correct name of the cpu they are selling

[Frink191]

So like, is it good or not then? If not could someone find a pretty good gaming PC for as cheap as possible and post a link please...

[pullmyfoot]

well its ok i guess. but it can be a little better. but add in a 8600GTS or whatever you can afford and you should be quite good.

[Frink191]

With that PC I have just linked you to? The Mesh one...

[pullmyfoot]

ya. with like medium settings in 2142. and you definatly want to make it 2 gigs to if its gonna be for gaming

[Frink191]

Ah right, btw I hear Vista isn't compatible with all games atm and so I don't really want Vista as my OS and would rather have XP so I know I am able to play those games. Do you reckon I should get Vista or...

[pullmyfoot]

well its up to you. do you have an XP cd handy? you could use that first and then instal vista later on. still buggy. but it should get better in awhile when the service pack comes out.

[Frink191]

Ah right, btw where you say I would be able to play BF2142 on medium settings, is that with 1GB RAM or if I upgraded it to 2GB RAM?

[pullmyfoot]

well it might be a little laggy. 2gigs will make it pretty smooth at medium. you definatly want 2gigs if your gonna play oblivion and battlefield. they are both ram hoggers

[Frink191]

Ah ok, also would it be worth adding a 256MB nVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT to the PC in the customise option, it costs an extra £70.00, and is that graphics card any good?
Actually, is this PC any good for gaming and what settings would this run BF2/BF2142, Oblivion, Stalker etc on?

http://www.arbico.co.uk/Arbico-Perfo...r-p-17352.html

And is it better than the Mesh one?

[pullmyfoot]

uh no. dont bother with that. youl be restricted to low settings with that card.. 8600GTS or better for the 8 series and a 7600GT at least for 7 series

[Frink191]

What about that PC I linked you to in my last post? Any good? This one:
http://www.arbico.co.uk/Arbico-Perfo...r-p-17352.html

[rebell07]

yes it is good choose the nvidia gfx card
the ez cool quite 550 Wat Psu
and 2GB ram
that brings price up to 381 Pounds inc vat

thats & sweet rig