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HazelGod · 12-05-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScaredLittleBoy

I'll run memtest tomorrow...

I think I will end up just buying a new bastard PC though

Not had this PC long though. Spose its not too bad if I just buy a tower maybe without RAM etc. Are there any sites that custom build PC's for you or should I just mek my own?

I say build your own. I got the impression from chatting with you that you're pretty familiar with PC hardware, and you're probably aware of just what kind of "quality" support you can expect from an OEM like Dell or HP...so build your own. Besides, computers are commodity items, not rocket science.

You already have a case, a floppy, an optical drive, a hard drive, and a video card...you'll only need a new motherboard, RAM (maybe), and CPU.

I say a new motherboard, because the SiS chipset on your HP's board sucks. If you choose an AMD processor, go with an AMD or nVidia chipset...and if you choose an Intel processor, use an Intel chipset.

New RAM is a maybe depending on your choice of motherboard. If it doesn't support the type you already have, you'll need new stuff. Memory is the one place you don't cheap out...go with the name brand stuff from Crucial or Corsair.

The CPU is your choice...but the Celeron in your machine now is complete crap. AMD and Intel are in another price war, so take your pick. They both have good lineups...you just have to decide what matters to you: high end performance or power efficiency?

One bit of advice, though...before you install any operating system, boot up Linux from a LiveCD and use this simple command to wipe that hard drive clean:

dd bs=4M if=/dev/zero of=/dev/hda

It might take a few minutes...this will write zeros to the entire device, including the boot sector and partition table areas. Everything on it will be destroyed. If there's a virus of any kind on it anywhere, this will get rid of it. The drive will be a clean slate where you can install whatever operating system you like. (Word of caution.../dev/hda references the first IDE drive in a machine, so only run this command with the drive you intend to wipe out attached to the system.)

Personally, I have both Ubuntu Linux and Windows XP on my machine. I use Linux most of the time, but I play games, too, so Windows is a necessary evil.

Seriously, though...don't install Vista.

EDIT:
One more thing...get a new power supply, and get a name brand like Antec or CoolerMaster. Bad PSU's are a nightmare to diagnose, so save yourself the headache up front.