Hi i need some help of you guys as i need a new computer for lfs (i would also like to use it for race driver grid and gtr2) i am looking to spend around £300-400 i only want around 30-40 fps with a full grid of 30 cars nothing special any ideas theres a few on ebay p.s i only need tower and operating system no screen, speakers etc...

Can you build it yourself or not?

Indeed, if you can build it you'll get more for your money.

Depends - if you build it yourself it'll cost a little more but you'll have upgradability on your side, and you'll have a much bigger amount of knowledge if you need to fix it.

Dell can make stuff cheaper than I can (usually) now, but my stuff would have better quality components and would be easily upgradable / overclockable.

err.... i can take the corver off a computer plug it in and put in and take out RAM if that enough knowledge to build one? i would prefer to just buy one but if i can get more for my money will build one but if i only want around 30-50 fps is it worth building one?

Well i meant if you spend £600 on a custom built machine VS a £600 already made machine, the custom built one would be better.

Edit: Before trying to custom build one you should read up on it ALOT, you dont want to break a piece of hardware without knowing you have until you try to turn the machine on.
Ill get you some links if your serious about building your own machine

Second Edit: I mean it is EXTREMELY easy to break certain pieces, iirc you can break the mobo by just touching it!

thanks but the time it would take to build one and my limited buget makes building one seem alot of fuss

Im pretty sure it wouldn't take long to build one if you have all the tools and parts, it'd probably be done in less then a day, but i dont know because ive not done it myself, im sure jakg can tell you how long it can take.

do all the wires and bits come with it as i have looked through the internet and have put together 2 different baskets one AMD and one INTEL^ full of the bits i need i just need pursuading to build one my self as i am not confident it will work and it will just be good as a door stop

Im not too sure, i think they do.

Heres all the links i was given about building your own computer

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=DWUo8kkmRHE Build a computer part 1
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Ne_i0ci9yuI Build a computer part 2

Theres some more but i cant find them, ill post them when i do.

It only took me 4 hours, from opening the boxes to an installed OS. Apparently though, Dell's production staff have to be able to assemble a PC, much the same as the one I built (ie, the XPS') in less than an hour. Bit of useless information for ya

Definitely recommended to build vs buy, if you do it right you'll actually save money versus buying a ready-built (i.e., mine was €750, and an XPS that I was looking at which actually has far less power was €1200. Plus Dell are known to use inferior manufacturers). Plus there's the upgradability, and knowing what exactly is in the PC (kind of like organic foods lol). I wouldn't worry too much about how fragile they are, I dropped my CPU taking it out of the box 4 feet onto the motherboard below, and everything still works perfect. A good guide I followed is this one, it's well up to date with all the latest hardware, easy to follow, far more extensive than most other guides, and if you end up stuck, you can leave a comment on a particular step and someone will help you

To order parts I reccomend www.hardwareversand.de, despite what anyone else says about them. My stuff came from Germany within a week of ordering and sending the payment, and they have the cheapest prices you'll find...

For £400 you could get the same setup that I have (probably even better, prices are dropping all the time), and I get 100-200 FPS with dual screen. The only time I saw it less than 100 FPS was playing bump and jump with 18 players in front of me on a full layout

BTW, all the necessary wires and cables come with the motherboard

do you think the packages i found are any good and thanks for all the advice that will help alot

Quote from Migz :

Second Edit: I mean it is EXTREMELY easy to break certain pieces, iirc you can break the mobo by just touching it!

?!

As long as theres no static you'll be fine.

I've had graphics cards dropped on my foot that worked fine afterwards

Quote from Jakg :

?!

As long as theres no static you'll be fine.

I've had graphics cards dropped on my foot that worked fine afterwards

Yeah i was told that static in your hands could fry a mobo unless you wear a anti static wrist strap or simuler.

It could, but i've never worn one ever...

Quote from Jakg :

?!
I've had graphics cards dropped on my foot that worked fine afterwards

I oftern do wonder what you do in your spare time only jkin. I had a system built for me awhile back, I didn't really know anything, so I took the lazy option. I could choose my own parts, own anything but it had to be in a certain price range... You know it would be like a kid in a sweet shop running loose mmm sweets Anyway, I paid £800 and I had a decent amount of hdd ram and a fantastic gaming card for gaming! He did a fantastic job, really chuffed! (He built it for free) My point is that I looked on the Dell website and they were the same spec but a couple of hundred quid cheaper - So the only way they can be doing this is ordering in bulk, im not suggesting buying 1000 sticks of ram! I just mean you could buy a system and customize it? Sell the dell part on ebay and still have a saving!

am i wrong?

Quote from Migz :

Yeah i was told that static in your hands could fry a mobo unless you wear a anti static wrist strap or simuler.

I've never ever worn an anti static wrist band and everyone I know who has built their own computer has never worn one either. I've only recently started clicking the power button one last time to remove any charge left in the computer before I tinker.

I think you would have had to do some serious ballon rubbing to create enough static to fry a motherboard.

I always touch the grounded PC case before opening, just in case. I didn't pay the extra €10 for a anti-static wristband though, it's a bit nancy to be honest

Dell are cheaper both because they buy their parts in massive quantities (as in, they stock up every factory in a country in one order), and they use cheap Chinese parts. I bought cheap Chinese parts to upgrade my previous computer, and even they looked better quality than the PC's originals. Whereas by buying, you can ensure that you have top quality parts, with guarantees. My PSU has a 10 year Corsair warranty for example. My old Dell came with a 1 month warranty.

Ahah, so i dont need a anti static wrist strap?
Simply touching the case works too?

Anything grounded. Basically, anything with a metal casing that's plugged in does the trick, because it's grounded through the electricity circuit in your house. Unless you live in the US, which doesn't use ground in it's wiring system. Silly Americans.

Of course, just because your kettle is metal doesn't mean it's grounded. But your PC would be if it has a metal case, yes Or to be really safe (and this is being completely paranoid here) you could drive a metal stake 6 feet into the ground outside your window, and run a insulated wire up to where you plan on working. And then either touch the stripped end of it every few minutes, or strap it to your arm. And stand on something insulated, like a cat (or a ceiling tile, whichever you have lying around). Then you're perfectly safe

Although I only did it when I started the build, and I worked on a carpet floor. I don't think it's quite so bad as most people will make out. In 16 years I've also never gotten a static shock from touching something metal in my own house. So the charge (if any) isn't enough to do serious damage to PC components.

If your wrong expect a visit.
(extremely scary look whilst i pummel my fists together)
!