Metropol

After watching an extract from The Gadget Show and reading the For Dummies book, i'm tempted to try building a PC. However, i'm afraid of buying incompatible parts. The Gadget Show revealed that a "self-built" PC was made using a component package from Scan Computers. I've looked on the site and I can't find any packages.

Can anyone recommend a site or link with bundles of components that are compatible? Many thanks.

If you let me know your budget and what you want the PC to do I'll give you a rundown of what would work with what etc..

Bail wrote:If you let me know your budget and what you want the PC to do I'll give you a rundown of what would work with what etc..

Well my mum is wanting a PC for herself sometime this year, preferably with an mATX tower case..she doesn't want anything too big. She's looking to spend around the £300 mark (minus a monitor - she already has an LCD) so possibly around there. Cheers, Bail.

I wouldn't bother building one on that budget, there are some pretty good deals for base units around that price that may well be able to out-spec what you could build yourself - see ebuyer for example.

Motherboard: Asus A8V-VM Socket 939 VIAKM890 - £31.85
http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/112239

CPU: AMD (Venice) Athlon 64Bit 3200+ - £44.01
http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/88109

RAM: Ebuyer 512mb DDR PC3200 - £23.83
http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/49447

HDD: Seagate ST3802110A Barracuda 80GB - £27.93
http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/97632

Case / PSU is up to you, just get one with a PSU thats at least 350w 400w £15 and up

Total: 147.62(ish)

That'll get you a media spec PC (enough for Word, Internet and the usual stuff) But also one you can upgrade if you wanted, faster CPU, more RAM etc... Despite what others say building it yourself IS cheaper than buying off the shelf. Obviously I've gone with eBuyer entirely here, if you shop around you may find higher spec components at cheaper prices etc...

Also note I've pretty much gone for the cheapest option here at every point, unless the cheapest item had a bad review, thats a good thing about eBuyer almost ever product is reviews by "normal" people, so they're a good judge.

The main thing to think about are the motherboard, and its "socket" make sure you get a CPU that fits, in this case Socket 939.

mmm, I stand by my opinion for that price range. You'll have to tack on the best part of £100 for an OS (in theory) which is normally included with a base unit. AND someone else gets the hassle if it starts playing up - in my experience that's priceless . At least add a tenner for a DVD drive though, it's not really media spec without!

I know where you're coming from though Bail, it's self-built all the way for me.

Sput wrote:AND someone else gets the hassle if it starts playing up - in my experience that's priceless .
I know where you're coming from though Bail, it's self-built all the way for me.

Thats where we differ then, I've had nothing but bad experiences from shop PC's that broke in some way or another, the retailer just tries to find any excuse not to refund/repair.

That's why I'm so pro self build now, you know what your getting, you don't get ripped off, and you save money. And if you build you own you gain more knowledge of how they work and thus more problem solving skills...

But also scout around before parting with money, check and recheck component prices and reviews.

Thanks for that, guys.