Computer upgrade

[michaewlewis]

not sure... sorry. they make power adapters, if you don't have the right cable in your pc.

[boo]

lol!
im sure when  the time comes, ill be able to make it all fit together.....somehow

[boo]

another question, would it be worth the money to buy a lower end quad core intel rather than the relatively high end e8200 dual core?
and i started another topic for this but to no avail but which graphics card can i get for under £80?
thanks

[wefr0]

My dad said that buying a new case would be cheaper these days....
Im not sure if thats what he said... How old is your  comp?

[boo]

it is about 18months old but even when i bought it off eBay for £200 ($400), it was crap!
all the components, right down to the case are inferior.
it was a custom build so he was able to scimp on everything!

[michaewlewis]

another question, would it be worth the money to buy a lower end quad core intel rather than the relatively high end e8200 dual core?

depends on what you're going to be using your pc for. Windows XP won't put much use to the extra cores unless you're using virtual pc or other software that specifically takes advantage of them. Vista is better and will know exactly what to do. Also, make sure you don't get an oem processor. Those don't come with fans and if you don't buy a good enough fan, you can slowly kill your cpu.

[boo]

im using XP pro and dont intend to change to vista any time soon
ill stick with the dual core then.

sorry about my ignorance but OEM?
ive heard it alot and dnt know what it means.

thanks for your help michael

[michaewlewis]

OEM = Original Equipment Manufacturer
Basically, it means all you get is the one piece of hardware you asked for. No extras like fan, heat sink, cpu grease, manual, etc., just the cpu. It can potentially save you money, but if you don't save any money if you forget one of the necessary items and end up frying your cpu.

[Calum]

Do you have any evidence to show that Vista can use multiple cores better than XP?  Just curious.
Whether you'll see any benefits from quad core compared to dual core depends on what you'll be doing with your computer.

[michaewlewis]

I don't have any evidence of my own. Sorry. I'm just going off of what our supplier/consultant keeps telling me. When I rebuilt my pc at work I asked him if it would be better to get a quad core or dual core, and he told me that xp wouldn't do much with the four cores unless I was using virtual pc a lot, but that vista would have increased performance.

[Calum]

Based on my experience and what I've read, Vista doesn't really use multiple cores any better than XP.
It all depends on the applications that are used, and whether they are written to take advantage of multiple cores.
Alternatively, if several applications are run at once, each can use a different core.
I don't think the OS is really a factor unless it doesn't support multiple cores/CPUs, which all modern operating systems do.

boo, I would actually recommend the quad core if it's not much more expensive than the E8200.  I have the E8200 myself and it's a great performer, but I have found myself wishing I had a quad core at times.  The only reason I didn't get a quad was because it was out of stock and I needed the computer ASAP.

[boo]

THIS is the cheapest quad core cpu i found, just £20 more expensive

i just wish that ic oudl buy from newegg! i hate the fact that they dont deliver to the UK.
oh well

i still dont know about the graphics card for under £60 now. any ideas?

[boo]

This was the mobo that was suggested. there are 2 problems with it. firstly, it only has 1 IDE port and i need 2 without having to spend more money. also, it is a tad expensive. i was thinking more like under £50. is this wise or should i spend that extra bit to get this or something the same price with 2 ide's?

sorry to be such a burden but i need to get it right first time with everything

[boo]

sorry again but another question, this time about RAM
im buying 2x1gb of ocz platinum PC2 6400 RAM
i have been told that a 32bit OS can only utlize efficiently 3GB. should i buy another 1gig stick or 2 512mb sticks?

[boo]

i just looked on eBay and the Q6600 is £10 cheaper than than the E8200 on Dabs.com