XP Keys

[Wishmaster]

Im planning on upgrading my comp next month , or as soon as the rest of my student loan comes through and i just wondered.

Since my upgrade is pretty major. A complete switch to Athlon from a celeron, new case etc.

And as i asked earlier, possibly boot xp from two diffirent drives. One for me and one for my family. I might have changed my mind now and was wondering this.

The pc is a compaq and came with recovery discs. No xp disc. It does however have the serial printed on the top of the case.

My mate who is also upgrading is buying XP. Can i use his CD and my serial to install windows onto my new drive without all the compaq duff?


Also, quick question. PSU's They seem to vary wildy in price? I was in a small shop the other day and a 500w was less than 30 pounds. Whereas on the net they are much more expensive? Any good brands to look out for or avoid?

BTW i promise to stop asking so many questions soon.

[Optimus Prime]

Yes, you can use a Windows XP CD with a different serial-key it came with.

They differ because:

Good makes like Zalman etc cost about £60 for a decent 400W supply. Whereas cheaper ones cost about £20 for a 400W supply. Quality supply's are more expensive than cheaper versions.

[Wishmaster]

i figured that about the supplies. But whos good and whos bad?


edit: what do you think of this stuff?


http://www.microlandtechnology.com/m...age=recoverref

The quote is "Wishmaster"

Stick with a name brand PSU and you will be fine: Antec, Enermax, Raidmax, Sparkle, Thermaltake, Zalman, etc.

I use only Enermax models in my personal builds. Notice the word "personal," as in personal choice.

I can't believe this is now on my recommended list, but this dirt-cheap power supply is one of the best units available in the entry-level price range....

http://www.techimo.com/articles/index.pl?photo=145

The Thermaltake you selected is a nice unit. It is a little pricey, but you pay for quality.

Robert Richmond

[Wishmaster]

hmmmmmm. Even better, lol. Ill need to find somewhere in the uk though.

Ill probs check out the power supply i was looking at the other day. See what brand it was. Thanks Rob

[imac9556]

Originally posted by Wishmaster
i figured that about the supplies. But whos good and whos bad?


edit: what do you think of this stuff?


http://www.microlandtechnology.com/m...age=recoverref

The quote is "Wishmaster"

Hi,
I looked over your quote. I recommend that you do NOT buy from Chaintech products. I had a bad experience with them. The tech supp. is rude, and I mean, very rude (tech rep., Mark) and he charged $20.00 to RMA my MOBO when it was like 2 months old! I recommend Asus or some other brand
thanks

[Wishmaster]

i chose the chaintech board after reading a good review. What boards overclock well? Im pretty new to this but i want to be able to overclock the computer and tinker about a fair bit.

Thanks for the advice.

Perhaps ill start a new thread. I hope you guys can help me get the most for the least. heh.

[woodbutcher]

Abit NF7-S is an excellent board IMO.
Google it and you will find all kinds of good reviews.
You want ver 2, which supports the 400 mhz CPUs.

WB

[Wishmaster]

71 pounds eh.

The thing is i dont know much about whats good and what not. Mainly because i havent done anything like this before. Me and my mate are both upgrading our computers the coming weeks. I would like to overclock and fiddle. While he would rather just put it together and be done.

Actually im gonna make a new thread. Noody is gonna come here to answer these sorts of questions. heh

[bailey]

Originally posted by Optimus Prime
Yes, you can use a Windows XP CD with a different serial-key it came with.

They differ because:

Good makes like Zalman etc cost about £60 for a decent 400W supply. Whereas cheaper ones cost about £20 for a 400W supply. Quality supply's are more expensive than cheaper versions.

no, you cannot do this, sometimes some have been lucky and had it work, but mostly it cannot be done. it will give you a error of invalid key.