You may need a Friend who Knows about computer Parts to help you out on this Task If you want a Fast computer and have a Limited Budget (and Not much Knowledge of the Internals) This is a good Place to start. A Computer Magazine! But Not the Latest. Ask around for a Copy of "Computer World" or Better still "Personal Computer World" Say at least 2 to 4 years old They may Have back issues at the Publishers .Any edition is good Open the Dealers ads page up Look for somebody who sells computer parts
Next Look for the Top spec Processor on the Page ...The Price will be Meaty write the Code number down
My find was what's installed in my current machine, an AMD Athlon 64 4000+ 939 socket. Price in April 2005 (PCW) £457.08 (inc tax) or about $640 for our American friends)
Watch this.... I Paid about £95 For the same processor in 2007 (Stock was being run down for the New "Duo core" types) Last year they had it down to £35 in I think it was CEX? Also the 939 socket board was obsolete Had several Updates since and the Latest AMD + standard Socket boards for Multicore processors where starting to appear Which Has Standardised Matters for Now (These are now cheap too) The early Boards can be picked up from about £60 I paid £90 for Mine discounted from £110 (same as the 939 Board) Chose the Asus Brand again which is top Spec and very reliable!
Memory Curiously Has remained at a Near static Price and It Needs some searching to find fast memory what will Work with the Motherboard Pay about £25 to £30 Look out for Clearance stock
Hard drives/DVD Drives Have all Tumbled in Price Max capacity in 2005 Was 400GB for £ 225 ...2009 perhaps £40-50 tops? DVW-RW drives they where £160 2009 price £ 20 to £30 Max perhaps Sub £20 for a Lite-on Model which are SATA enabled If the Board you at Looking at is Both SLI and SATA socketed then It'll be very fast The Asus SLI Motherboard has 2 LAN Sockets and Lots of USB connectors Many other makers are sparing in the numbers or use cheap components
Price of a built up machine in 2005 plus monitor , Keyboard and New OS ...Typically No change out of £1500!
I waited... Paid just over £ 200 and reused the old CRT Monitor and Keyboard from my blown up system
Am already planning My next setup to Multicore which I estimate will Cost only £100 more than my current setup and I think the Prices will hit Parity by early 2010 as I've jumped the gun slightly early this time And if you compare the 2005 to 2009 model prices, a Very Fast system is now at £ 800 ish as opposed to £ 1500 in 2005 (Top of the Range)! Only CON is the Build for retail version (in the Shops) often utilises a Cheap motherboard with No Expansion! Whereas the custom Build Often has Several slots spare PS Another clue as to Cost cutting is in the Choice of the Power supply Unit . Cheap Sub 400 watt units and those Built by unknown Brands May have only short lives. But the Good news is you can get a Unit to cope with all your work needs for about £35. This will be in about the 500 to 650 watts range
Graphic card specs have gone wild in the 2005 to 2009 period you can now purchase a Card which was "In the Hundreds" in 2005 or expermental. In 2009 the same is about £ 60 and they have More updates on the way NOTE We have the CUDA GPU Chip which acts as an Independent Processor Not even a dream in 2005
And what about todays expensive Bits and Bobs? I Predict most of it will Be in the Bargain Bins in 2012 And the way things move in computer technology Even they'll be struggling against whats to come.
-------------------- History so far.. 10 years surfing & 29 Years Computing (First ZX81 1k)
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BedstorfromAP
Reg'd: Thu
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Loc: 32 Bus Stops West of Wigan UK
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