Opinions wanted

They work together and two HD4850s will rip through almost any game you throw at them.

so basically you can get any two along as they work with the motherboard and have crossfire?

Well, as long as the motherboard supports crossfire (Has 2 or more PCI-Express slots and a Crossfire Chipset) and you have the special connector (Crossfire Bridge) for it, they can work together. But only expect an ~50% increase in power, 2 won't specifically DOUBLE the power but it certainly helps A LOT.

my recommendation on crossfire or sli would be to get a better video card and then upgrade it in a few years when there are better out. this will use less power and be cheaper in the long run rather then trying to new video cards.

Always buy Nvidia GPU's

Yes but sometimes if the person don't have too much money he can buy two appropriate cost graphic card and make a crossfire thus will have the same time as the expensive one.

I will recommend you to buy two low cost card if you don't have too much money but if you have enough then buy an ATI Radeon HD 4850
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3338
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/ATI-Radeon-4850,5705.html

Or an NVIDIA 8800GT
http://www.nvidia.com/object/geforce_8800gt.html

I have decided that i am going to build two computers 1 for gaming which i will follow Rage_3K_Moiz advice.

With the money that i get for the computer that i am selling i am going to build a budget 1 for every day tasks such a surfing the net and listening to music. I am looking at spending about £300 on the basic one as i need to get a monitor.

Any ideas what to go for, or if someone can put together a basic 1 for me that is pretty good.

I will most likely get my parts from ebuyer or microdirect.

Cheers Baltan

Try this build:

• Gigabyte GA-G31M-S2L iG31 Socket 775 Onboard VGA 6 channel audio mATX - £34.66
• Intel Pentium Dual Core E2180 2GHz Socket 775 800MHz FSB L2 1MB Cache Retail Box Processor - £41.87
• Corsair 2GB Kit (2x1GB) DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 XMS2 Memory Non-ECC Unbuffered CL4(4-4-4-12) E.P.P. Technology Heat Spreader Lifetime Warranty - £33.65
• Sapphire HD 3450 256MB DDR2 VGA DVI TV Out PCI-E Graphics Card - £24.67
• Antec EarthWatts 380W 80%+ Efficiency PSU - 80mm Fan 4x SATA PCI-E - £32.73
• Coolermaster Elite 330 Black Mid Tower Case - No PSU - £27.41

Grand Total = £194.99 and free 5-day shipping is available for all the parts. I leave the HDD and DVD drive upto you.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

cheers i was thinking maybe a better graphics card and a little more power or maybe even a better cpu?? what you reckon as for the operating system what do i go for vista or xp?

cheers Baltan

I don't think you'd need more CPU or GPU power for a basic PC. As for the OS, I'd recommend Windows XP Professional with SP3 for both PCs.

I will also use the basic one to run some old games. Also what case should i get for the gaming rig?

In that case, you could step up to an 8500GT. For the gaming rig, I'd recommend the Cooler Master Stacker 832 or the Antec Twelve Hundred, whichever is cheaper for you.

So on the basic one get an 8500GT correct?

Yeah, that's it.

Ok cool. Just an update my friend is getting rid of his intel processor it just a Pentium 4 one, (its not dual or quad core). He is also giving me a 400w power supply if i take it. It will also come with a 120gb hard drive which is ide unfortunately and has xp on it!

What you reckon should i go for it and then get the same motherboard and power supply? It costs me nothing?

-Baltan

Yeah, it would be okay, since you won't be stressing the PC too much anyways. About the PSU, I'd recommend a new one, since old ones lose some of their efficiency due to capacitor aging.

ok cool. i will use the memory and motherboard along with the case that you suggested and graphics card, i am also looking for a monitor to use when i get my gaming rig any suggestions?

I find Samsung and Acer monitors to be the best. The Samsung SM226BW is what I'd specifically recommend.

Ok cool will have a look at them, forgot to mention that the power supply is new and has only been used once. I also wont be building any of the comps until i come back from holiday.

I might look at LG monitors aswell.

-Baltan

Was thinking for the basic computer i might look for a motherboard that cost around £60, can you recommend a good one for that price?

Also i think i might build an AMD system for the basic one and go with the dual core AMD just because they are cheaper?

-Baltan