ideas for new build..

[martinh]

I need a little help in picking the right parts, I've got a rough idea but don't know if theres any alternatives so if anyone has any advice could you post please.

my ideas at the moment (rough idea);

motherboard; ??
power supply; ??
processor; intel core 2 duo e6400
cooler; ??
memory; 2gb (1gb x 2) ddr2
graphics; anything relatively good, i want a bit above average graphics ??
hard drive; seagate 7200.9 500gig x 2
sound card; no idea
benq 16x dvd/rw

As i said, i will appreciate any advice as its my first build and i don't quite have a clue at the moment. I want decent graphics and a bit of speed but i'm on a budget.

thnx

[YukonMaster]

Hi and welcome to PCMedia Tech Forums,

Motherboard - P5B - Deluxe is one of the most recommended around here

PSU - I would look at a Corsair HX520 also recommended and very good quality

Cooler - For your setup you wont need a cooler, your stock PSU fan will do absolutely fine

Memory - 2Gb (2X1Gb) Corsair TwinX XMS2, DDR2 PC5400 (667)

Graphics - If your budget will allow it I would get a 8800 GTS, if not a 7950GT will work great

SoundCard - Don't buy a sound card until you hear the sound from the Mobo, most often it will be good enough

What are you planning on doing with it, multimedia or gaming?

YukonMaster

[freakitchen]

What IS your budget? That will help a heck of a lot with recommendations. Also, what do you want this system to be able to do?

[martinh]

About £1000 i suppose, maybe i could stretch about another £500. I want it for gaming mostly, but i want it to be all around good aswell.

[martinh]

bump

[freakitchen]

Here's what I'd build. This is coming in significantly under budget, but much of that is due to the fact that the video card I've chosen is a lower-performance 'placeholder' card, to tide you over until the full range of DirectX 10 cards have been released. Then you can make an informed choice on an upgrade.

Asus P5B-E Plus (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard (£82.24)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...odid=MB-219-AS

Antec P180 Advanced Super Midi Tower Case - No PSU (Black) (£81.06)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...odid=CA-049-AN

Corsair HX 520W ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU (CMPSU-520HXUK) (£70.49)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...odid=CA-005-CS

BFG 3DFuzion GeForce 7600 GS 256MB DDR2 TV-Out/DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (£71.66)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...odid=GX-026-BG

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB ST3320620AS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (£61.09)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...odid=HD-078-SE

Corsair 2GB DDR2 Value Select PC5300 Dual Channel Kit (2x1GB) (VS2GBKIT667D2) (£105.74)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...odid=MY-097-CS

Intel Core 2 DUO E6600 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail (£193.86)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...odid=CP-128-IN

LiteON LH-20A1P-487C 20x DVD±RW x12 Ram Dual Layer DVD-Writer - Retail (£25.13)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...odid=CD-064-LO

Total £691.28

Prices include VAT. You will have to figure in the cost of an operating system on top of this. You may or may not like the case I picked, this is just as an example.

Just a thought, if you do have £1000+ to spend, have you considered a nice flatscreen monitor (if you don't have one already, that is!). One more thing to keep in mind, is that the price of the E6600 processor is going to be dropping by quite a bit at the end of April.

[bosamar]

My recommendations below are based on my experience. I'm NOT into bashing Intel or other mainboard or DIMM manufacturers. I know you have choices in life.

I'd recommend a good MSI AM2 socket system. You don't want to throw money way on an older socket sub-standard system. Get a mainboard that is at least near the modern norm for todays PCing... One that you can upgrade later, if you desire. The mainboard I recommend below is a solid-performer from MSI:

It's up to you where you purchase your parts from. Just make sure you smart-shop in at least 2-3 locations/stores. The prices below are all from "PC Club" a national chain. http://www.pcclub.com/main.cfm

I'm lucky and live in an area where I can buy all my parts locally at the store. PC Club has mail order. Of course it's up to you where you get your parts. My list below is only for comparison and will give you a general idea how much $$$ you are looking at spending. You may be able to find some of these parts for a little bit cheaper elsewhere.

Mainboard: MSI K9N Neo ($85) http://www.msi.com.tw/program/produc...il.php?UID=733

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800 Dual-core AM2 stock cooler inlcuded ($120)

DDR2: KINGSTON ValueRAM 1GB DDR2 667MHz ($89) or KINGSTON 1GB DDR2-800 DDR2 Memory ($135)

Hard drive: WESTERN DIGITAL 250GB 7200RPM Hard Drive - 16MB SATA2 - OEM (WD2500KS) ($70)

PCI-E Video: EVGA e-GeForce 7600GS 256MB ($80) low-end card

PSU: THERMALTAKE TR2 500W+PFC ($50)

DVD-R: LITEON LH-18A1P 18x Dual Layer DVD±RW Drive RTL ($33)

TOTAL: $527 + tax

Use your old ATX chassis, monitor, mouse, keyboard, and speakers.

If you do chose to go with MSI, I have a PC build guide here: http://www.bosamar.com/K9N/build.html

Building your own PC is the smart way to go!

Good luck.

[LeftyAce]

STick with the C2D Freakitchen recommended. You'd be wasting your money on an AMD cpu right now. Performance/$ (Sorry no pound sign on this keyboard) the Intel C2Ds are far more economical.

[glc]

bosamar, please do not post parts lists to people in the UK from US vendors.

[freakitchen]

Sorry, Bosamar, I'd have to stick with my recommendation. The parts you suggest are fine, but the Core 2 Duos are the market leaders at the moment. Also note that the original poster is working in £.

EDIT: GLC was posting on the latter point while I was typing. Martinh, it might help if you add your location to your profile - it will show up under your username.

[bosamar]

Originally Posted by Freakitchen Sorry, Bosamar, I'd have to stick with my recommendation. The parts you suggest are fine, but the Core 2 Duos are the market leaders at the moment.

That's fine but not everyone wants to run Intel CPUs.... We do have choices...

[bosamar]

Originally Posted by glc bosamar, please do not post parts lists to people in the UK from US vendors.

My bad. Sorry,,,,

[glc]

Originally Posted by bosamar That's fine but not everyone wants to run Intel CPUs.... We do have choices...

Yes, and we base our recommendations on what we feel are the better choices right now for whatever reason. I personally wouldn't build with any MSI board ever again due to past problems, but that's me. I've only been doing this stuff for 15 years. Maybe their boards are the greatest thing since sliced bread now, but if past issues are any indication, I kinda doubt it, I've had to replace too many dead ones. I will stick with Intel and Asus, thank you. I'm not bashing anything either - just sharing my 15 years of experience.

[bosamar]

Originally Posted by glc I personally wouldn't build with any MSI board ever again due to past problems, but that's me. I've only been doing this stuff for 15 years. Maybe their boards are the greatest thing since sliced bread now, but if past issues are any indication, I kinda doubt it, I've had to replace too many dead ones.

I've had great luck with MSI having build one in late 2002 and another just recently. I actually would like to build an Intel box too. If I had the cash. If I was a rich man I'd like to build an Abit, a Asus, a Gigabite, etc. I'd fill my home with PC builds!

Thanks for the feedback!

[glc]

Well, I'd advise you to look at the capacitors on that 2002 board very carefully - if any of them have bulging tops and/or leaking electrolyte the end is near. MSI wasn't the only manufacturer to get bitten by the bad caps but they seem to have the worst problems with them of any manufacturer.