I've been considering getting a new PC for a long time. My current PC is acceptable, but it is simply impossible to upgrade it any further. It can hold 1gb of RAM max and has an AGP graphics card slot, which is also very limiting nowadays. I simply can't play (and don't buy) new PC games anymore and startup and general usage is also slowing down.

I've been through a few guides on building my own PC and decided it would be a better idea than getting a pre-built one. It means I'll finally be able to make a PC that will last and it will teach me alot about how the computer ticks.

I searched around for all the parts - as far as I can tell they all work together but I'm worried I may have forgot something, or perhaps I am putting far too little money into some things and too much into others.

I don't need a monitor, keyboard, mouse and speakers - I'm fine with my old ones and I THINK I can move my old hard drive, with Windox XP on it onto the new computer, slowly moving files from the old hard drive to my new one as they are needed, to avoid cluttering it up.

So, basically I want a computer that can be upgraded and will be able to play newer games.

On with the list:

Motherboard: MSI P965 Neo-F V2 socket LGA775 motherboard
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E4600 Socket LGA775 processor
Case: Antec Three Hundred Gamers Case
RAM: Generic 2Gb PC6400 800MHz DDR2 RAM
Graphics card: PNY GeForce 8800GT 256Mb PCI-Express graphics card
Hard Drive: Hitachi Deskstar P7K500 3.5 250Gb SATA hard drive
CD/DVD Drive: LITE ON Black SATA Super AllWrite DL DVD
PSU: 430 Watt true power silent ATX power supply unit
Floppy Drive: SONY 1.44MB BLACK FLOPPY DRIVE

I'd really appreciate someone running through this to see if it would actually work, or just recommendations for what needs to be changed or added.

What is your overall budget?

You need a better PSU.

You can certainly get a better CPU as well as Graphics card.

The two you list are rather "weak" and that PSU is no good at all.

Anyway a total budget would help with recommendations.


Also you will need to reinstall XP on the new system. It needs to be installed on the motherboard that uses it.

Originally Posted by jephree

What is your overall budget?

I'm trying to get it between £300 and £400. Right now it's about £330, without the hard drive (which I might not need, my hard drive's big enough) it's just under £300.

You need a better PSU.

I wasn't too sure about the PSU. I did a few checks on some of those online browser things where you enter graphics card, processor etc. and it tells you the wattage you need. Is the wattage the problem? Or are there other factors?

You can certainly get a better CPU as well as Graphics card.

I'll look into this. Should I just get a higher Ghz processor? Or should I take an entirely different path? I'll see what the price of graphics cards is like beyond the one I chose earlier.

Also you will need to reinstall XP on the new system. It needs to be installed on the motherboard that uses it.

I thought I might have to do that. I don't have an XP CD, but I expect I can borrow one off a friend as long as I have my key, right?
How much would be lost in a re-install of XP? I expect it's a lot, so it would probably be worthwhile to just get a new hard drive, meaning I can keep my old files backed up on the old drive till they're needed.

As to XP you need a CD that matches your installed version i.e. Home or Pro.

Then as long as you have your key no problem. You will need to reactivate and quite possibly this will require a phone call to a living human at Microsoft.

That being said here are other options although a Clean Install is the best for a new system:

Changing a Motherboard or Moving


For a gaming system the most important piece of hardware is the graphic card. Get the best you can then build a support system for it.

The high end cards now are £300 but the ex high end which is now the middle run @ £150.

These would include 8800GTX as well as 9800GTX with 768MB or 1GB memory.

These are very nice cards and will run any game out there.

With such a card you need a good PSU as well as for the CPU support.

You need a PSU that is both "Multi-Core" and "PCI_E Ready"

Wattage at 500 or 600 would be my recommendation but the "readiness" mentioned above ensures that it has the proper connections (leads).

You can get a much faster Core Duo CPU for not much more money.

Motherboards as long as they support PCI_E X 16 and Core Duo processors should be no problem and are actually the least important of your parts.

Getting a match on the FSB of the CPU and RAM and motherboard is best.

1333 is the latest common FSB although 1066 might be more economic.

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