Computers

PC Hardware

I used to run a business from home building, repairing and upgrading PC's. I did it for about 4 years but still occasionally help friends and family with their PC's.

I regularly upgrade my PC (don't tell the wife!). Here is my current computer spec. (last updated 25/08/04):
  • Pentium 4 2.8Ghz (800 FSB)
  • Asus P4P800 Motherboard Intel 645 Chipset
  • ATI Radeon 9800XT 256MB Video Card
  • 2 x Corsair XMS 512MB DDR RAM (PC3200)
  • 160GB Maxtor SATA Hard Disk 7200rpm (8MB Buffer)
  • 120GB Maxtor IDE Hard Disk 7200rpm (8MB Buffer)
  • Creative Audigy Sound Card
  • LG GSA-4040B DVD Writer
  • Samsung 16 x DVD-ROM drive
  • Super Flower Midi Tower Case
  • Antec 430 Watt True Power PSU
  • Iomega 100MB Zip Drive

    A picture of my "sad" PC is here: main_pc.jpg

    Done my PC update but 'still' no Half Life 2 release :( Far Cry & Doom 3 has arrived though :)

    Below are recommendations for 2 different types of computers based on current pricing of computer components.

    07/12/03 - Updated AMD CPU specs on both specifications. Updated Motherboard and Video cards specs on Gaming computer.
    24/07/03 - Major update on both specifications. All video cards are now ATI.
    04/05/03 - Updated the video cards on both specs.
    04/05/03 - CPU prices have come down so updated the CPU recommendations for both specs.
    02/03/03 - I have doubled up the memory on both computers specs due to the recent price drop of DDR memory.

    Recommended value computer (last updated 25/08/04):
  • Pentium 4 2.8Ghz or AMD Athlon XP 3000+
  • ATX Motherboard to suit with onboard sound (no onboard video)
  • 512MB DDR RAM PC3200 (400 Mhz)
  • 120GB Maxtor Hard Disk 7200rpm
  • ATI Radeon 9600 Pro 128MB Video Card (or NVidia Geforce FX5700)
    Recommended gaming computer (last updated 25/08/04):
  • Pentium 4 550 3.4Ghz (SKT 775) or AMD Athlon 64 3400+ (SKT 754)
  • Asus P5GD1 Intel 915P chipset (for Pentium 4 SKT 775)
  • Asus K8NE Deluxe nForce 3 Chipset (for AMD SKT 754)
  • Corsair/OCZ 1024MB DDR RAM PC3200 - 400Mhz (2 x 512MB Dual Channel)
  • 160GB Western Digital/Maxtor SATA Hard Disk 7200rpm (8MB Buffer)
  • ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB (or NVidia Geforce 6800GT)
  • Creative Audigy 2 Sound Card (or M-Audio Revolution 7.1 PCI Sound Card)

    Games

    Most of the games I play are known as First Person Shooters (FPS).

    Here are some of my favourite FPS games on the PC:
  • Doom
  • Doom 2
  • Duke Nukem 3D (where is Duke Nukem Forever, lol)
  • Quake
  • Quake 2
  • Half Life
  • Medal of Honor Allied Assault
  • Halo
  • Call of Duty
  • Far Cry
  • Doom 3
    Other games that are great on the PC (not FPS):
  • Day of the Tentacle
  • Monkey Island series
  • Dune 2
  • Command and Conquer
  • Worms
  • Mafia
  • Grand Theft Auto 3
  • Grand Theft Auto Vice City
  • URU - Ages Beyond Myst (much better than the other rubbish Myst games)
  • Max Payne 2

    Online Gaming

    Online gaming is great fun. Playing against real computer players is much better fun than shooting computer controlled players.

    Doom was the first multi-player game I played using a Local Area Network (LAN). At the time, the internet was not widely available like it is now.

    Great Online Games
  • Medal of Honor Allied Assault
  • Half Life Deathmatch
  • Counterstrike
  • Team Fortress Classic
  • Unreal Tournament
  • Ravenshield
  • Unreal Tournament 2004

    Broadband

    There are 2 main types of broadband connection. They are cable and ADSL. Other broadband services will be available soon (e.g. Satellite) but I have not seen them running.

    I currently have an ADSL connection with PIPEX. I went for the "no wires" option where you purchase your own filters and modem/router.

    I currently have a Netgear DG814 ADSL router.