I'm a big fan of netplus, and I'll even buy stuff from Austin (though I'm not a fan, but they have a bigger range).
- Nvidia 8 series is good (PCI express)
- Intel doesn't call them Pentium anymore :P Intel Core 2 Duo or Core 2 Quadro is what yer after
- The magic PCI express won't be on older motherboards, and the new pin layout for Intel Core processors also means you need a new one. You're right, in that motherboards are basically what you plug all the bit into to make it work.
- 2GB RAM is a minimum these days (it's about $100 or less). Make sure you get an Intel motherboard that can support more than 3GB (a surprising and up until recently, common problem)
- New Case - I'd recommend the Antec Sonata if you like black and Chrome. Chas's computer at UCC is the mk2, there's also an mk3 - http://www.antec.com/us/pro_en_sonatafamily.php
- Yes you can still get floppy drives. You can also (for about $45) get a floppy drive with built in a built in memory card reader
- Unless any of the drives are SATA (a thin (usually red) cable instead of a really wide (usually gray) one) you should really get a new hard drive too.
- Also, you should buy a windows license for maximum legality (ha). Think if you want XP or Vista. I suggest XP :P
no subject
- Nvidia 8 series is good (PCI express)
- Intel doesn't call them Pentium anymore :P Intel Core 2 Duo or Core 2 Quadro is what yer after
- The magic PCI express won't be on older motherboards, and the new pin layout for Intel Core processors also means you need a new one. You're right, in that motherboards are basically what you plug all the bit into to make it work.
- 2GB RAM is a minimum these days (it's about $100 or less). Make sure you get an Intel motherboard that can support more than 3GB (a surprising and up until recently, common problem)
- New Case - I'd recommend the Antec Sonata if you like black and Chrome. Chas's computer at UCC is the mk2, there's also an mk3 - http://www.antec.com/us/pro_en_sonatafamily.php
- Yes you can still get floppy drives. You can also (for about $45) get a floppy drive with built in a built in memory card reader
- Unless any of the drives are SATA (a thin (usually red) cable instead of a really wide (usually gray) one) you should really get a new hard drive too.
- Also, you should buy a windows license for maximum legality (ha). Think if you want XP or Vista. I suggest XP :P