Ok, Im about to order all the bits for my new PC build.

I've narrowly avoided a couple of pitfalls (like AGP connectors being superceded by PCI-Express x16 (PCI-E) connectors etc

However...I need some advice on memory.

Which is better/more upto date between DDR2 533/400, DDR400/333... do they use the same type of sockets, and do they have to be installed in pairs, like old Pentium memory used to?

Also, are there any disadvantages to Serial ATA disc drives and interfaces, compared to good ol' ATA?

Gary, P.M Rick - he's very knowledgable on this sort of thing

Hey

In terms of memory your best to stick with the normal DDR not the DDR2 unless you can really afford it as currently there is hardly any noticeable difference between the two and many pieces of software will not utalise its full potential.

In terms of Serial ATA over the standard ATA100/133 Drives Id choose Serial ATA anyday due to increased RPM, Data transfer and generally much better quality. Ive also known Serial ATA Drives to beat SCSI drives and even last longer! So much for the £600+ SCSI drives


Anyway good luck and if you want a good place to check prices out take a little visit to http://www.ebuyer.com/


Kind Regards
Mike

I have a spare computer at home I was going to buy bits for and get a super duper machine for next to nothing, looked into it and it is a mine field so buying another laptop instead...

Needs a complete overhaul, my computer man couldn't work it out and saiod it would be cheaper to buy another computer than pay him for his time so I think it is a dead parrot

No such thing as a "dead parrott", unless you have either:

1) Fried the processor

2) corrupted the BIOS

3) loaded incorrect drivers and made the whole thing unstable

4) have a RAM chip on the way out

5) been to "adult" sites and had all sorts of junk dumped on your machine (lol)

Most software or Windows Boot issues can be sorted out by just replacing the Hard Drive. Then connecting the original hard drive as a secondary and moving any important blocks of data and documents across from within Windows.

Unless a component on the Motherboard has been fried, or the PSU has gone faulty and sent a surge through the processor then the above is often the best solution.

To keep your O/S running smoothly:-

(1) Install a firewall and Antivirus. Zonealarm and Norton are a good option

(2) Don't install too many "free" programs and tool bars. These Freebies come at the expense of using your computer as an Ad Server. Almost all of these programs come bundled with spy and adware which will take over your PC, add lots of registry entries and generally slow down it's performance. Not to mention the possibility of a program "phoning home" to the creaters mothership to spill the beans on your surfing interests and target even more Ad's to your PC!.

(3) If you visit a site (especially one on a free host), which asks you to install a plug in, always be very careful about what it actually installs, and if in doubt click no. These can sometimes install autodiallers, which sit dormant on your PC, and then activate your modem and dial premium rate porn sites without your knowledge

(4) Run a program such as adaware at least once a week

(5) Clean out your cookie and history cache on a regular basis. There are programs which will do this for you, and also clean the Windows Swap file and Index.dat file which over time can become very large and slow down your system.

(6) Defragment your harddrive every month. In earlier versions of windows (98, 98SE and ME) this is better done whilst windows is running in safe mode (Pressing F8 key whilst windows boots).

If its a PC and broke then send it over to where i work and ill sort it out !

as for PCI Express dont panic yet as the new BTX standard and PCI express cards will take a while to filter down the the british retail market.

DDR2 is not a benifit unless you have a system board that can handle it.

but with all this confusion going on now is a good time to pick up a bargin pc !

Modern system boards will allow you to adjust memory timings and FSB (front side bus) it all depends on what you have in the system#

but it seem like lots of money to shell out just for a little bit of speed increase,

most current pc systems run memory at 200, 266 , 333 , 400 Mhz

PC 2100 = 266 Mhz

PC 2700 = 333 Mhz

PC 3200 = 400 Mhz

so an intel P4 northwood 3.2 ghz cpu with a FSB of 800Mhz would be a quad pumped 200Mhz FSB (only the cpu goes at 800Mhz) so you need 200Mhz DDR or 400Mhz DDR,

now if your mother board is clever then it will run the memory at a diferent speed from the CPU FSB or there abouts this works with new Athlon 64bit systems.

when you fit faster memory to a system eg 500Mhz DDR2 then you can adjust memory timings or CAS and RAS settings in the BIOS to get better performance.

But no one will garantee how far you can push the system before it becomes unstable.

I have seen 2.4Ghz P4's runing the CPU's at 3Ghz with the right cooling and memory.

All this over clocking and fast ram is just lots of cash for a few more Mhz,

spend the cash on somthing average and increase the amount of RAM in the system before you spend money on faster RAM or faster CPU , Lots of ram is cheep and makes everything go fast !

hope this makes some sence

Why all the fuss about CPU Speed?. There is only (humanly) so many tasks you can do at the same time . Does a page opening 3 millionth's of a second faster matter so much?.

I have a P4 1.8ghz PC with 512mb of memory. It happily runs around 15 programs in the background including Anti-Virus, Firewall and website Monitors as well as the usual office applications and a home network. Even with the now outdated Windows 98SE everything runs happily I can open and close new windows and applications within seconds and I still have 55% of system resources free.

I hear abour overclocking, dual xeon motherboards with 2 processors, Water cooled processors and this pre-occupation with CPU Speed. At the end of the day i'm not running a server , so why should I upgrade from a 1.8 to a 3.0? what are the advantages?, I can't physically do any more tasks, than i'm happily giving it to do at the moment. After all, the top of the range PC today, is tomorrows obsolete dinosaur, and in PC terms, "Tomorrow" comes very quickly

My saving grace on this is that I'm not planning on overclocking my new PC, or squeezing every last ounce of processing Umph out of it, just upgrading my old, confused Pentium 3, 733mhz PC, with something that'll be still be fairly "average" in 3 or 4 years time.

I've been stung before with certain chipsets not being 100% compatible with certain applications/add-ons etc, so am going for a really new (just out) Intel motherboard that (apparently) only takes the DDR2 memory modules which I mentioned above. (I guess its possible that it "might" work with slightly slower, older memory - i've not looked into that possibility.

My only slight "extravagence" on this PC is that I'm looking at going for a PC case with a window in the side, and a couple of coloured LED's inside to light up the "workings".

if it says only DDR2 only then it proberbly means it!