[Bodiniho]

Hello, basically I am a student and I want a PC that can handle games such as Half-Life 2, Football manager, Age of Empires III, and just be generally a speedy and reliable machine for internet/Microsoft office programs.

I have a budget of £300 and will want this PC to last me at least 4-6 years worth of games and programs. I already have a decent monitor, speakers, external hard disk, keyboard, and mouse. Is it possible to get a machine going for this kind of price region? Or is it worth me just buying a cheapo laptop for the time being and trying to save up some money for a more expensive machine?

I was having a look online but I just have no idea about computers! Any advice?


Thanks, Bodiniho.

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Hi there Bodiniho, have a look at the link below & see what you think!
http://www.acerdirec...UYP/version.asp
When you can save up some more cash I would look at upgrading 1st
the psu & then the graphics card but it should do you for now.
I found this as a comparison for you http://www.pcworld.c...200130-pdt.html

Edited by phillpower2, 09 August 2010 - 10:40 AM.

[phillpower2]

Hi there Bodiniho, have a look at the link below & see what you think!
http://www.acerdirec...UYP/version.asp
When you can save up some more cash I would look at upgrading 1st
the psu & then the graphics card but it should do you for now.
I found this as a comparison for you http://www.pcworld.c...200130-pdt.html

Edited by phillpower2, 09 August 2010 - 10:40 AM.

[Bodiniho]

Hmmm, thanks mate! I am wondering first of all will this computer be compatible to be built and do all components work together?

Case Novatech Tower Case, 500w PSU, card reader 42.99
Motherboard Novatech Asus M4A785TD-M EVO AMD 785G Micro ATX 73.99
CPU (Processor) Novatech AMD Triple Core Athlon II X3 440 3.0GHz 64.99
RAM (Memory) Novatech Corsair Value Select 2GB 48.99
Hard Drive Novatech Western Digital Caviar Black 500GB Hard Disk 46.99
Optical Drive Novatech LiteOn IHAS124-19 24x DVD+/-RW Dual Layer 13.99
Video Card Novatech Novatech ATI Radeon 5570 1024MB GDDR3 67.99

Second of all will this computer capably handle Half Life 2, Age of Empires III and Football manager, comfortably?

Third of all, would this computer: http://www.pcworld.c...200130-pdt.html be able to run the games mentioned above?


All advice welcome! Thanks, Bodiniho!

[phillpower2]

Not a bad system youve put together there its more than
the £300 budget you mentioned in your OP but there is no competition
between your proposed build & the one I suggested in the link, save
the extra bit of cash & build your proposed rig it is a lot better!
When your OP said budget £300 & you had no idea of computers I thought
you wanted a factory built pc that could be upgraded

[Bodiniho]

Haha i didn't make that build myself, i merely downgraded a more expensive version of someone else's suggestions! I am thinking of possibly saving alot of money on purchasing a Novatech motherboad bundle instead... For example my motherboad/processor/ram is costing £188, where as i can get:

http://www.novatech....MBB-93502G.html

That will save me £40 off pushing the price back down to £300ish.

The processor seems to be faster also, assuming that X4 > X3 and Quad > Triple Core.

Any advice on this possible switch?

[phillpower2]

Still more than adequate for what you require and easier achievable,