Home "work" machine

Wanderer

Wanderer

Wanderer

Associate
Joined
28 Apr 2007
Posts
24
Location
London, UK
Hello all,

Looking to build a machine to work on when I am at home. It will be running server applications (SQL 2008, SQL 2005) as well as running Visual Studio 2005 etc. Probably look to dual boot windows 7 and vista 64bit. Working with 2 monitors.

I would like to be able to play some games, but that would only be games like chess, CIV IV etc. No FPS's or high framerate demands.

Budgetting £500-600 for everything but the monitors, and then probably squeeze £300 for 2 monitors.

I've considered:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-042-OE&groupid=43&catid=1444&subcat=

For monitors - 2 x:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-030-DE&groupid=17&catid=1425&subcat=
or maybe maybe
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-029-DE&groupid=17&catid=510&subcat=

The Titan with a Nvidia GeForce GTS 250 1024MB (guessing the Palit) seems to have:
Display Connectors: 2 Dual-Link DVI-I
So that should handle the 2 monitors, right?

If I call OC, do you think I can get to 6/8 GB in that?

Ideas/Improvement?
 
ye that build seems absolutely fine. the 250gtx is a very nice budget gc however if you can squeeze in a 4870 instead of a 250 then ul see a big improvement in performance.
love ati cards for their gr8 price to performance.

have fun
 
Your basket
Product Name Qty Price Line Total
AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 955 Black Edition 3.2GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 955 Black Edition 3.2GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £143.98
(£125.20) £143.98
(£125.20)
Asus M4A79XTD Evo (Socket AM3) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard Asus M4A79XTD Evo (Socket AM3) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard £81.98
(£71.29) £81.98
(£71.29)
OCZ Platinum AMD Edition 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C7 1600MHz Dual Channel (OCZ3P1600LVAM4GK) OCZ Platinum AMD Edition 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C7 1600MHz Dual Channel (OCZ3P1600LVAM4GK) £69.99
(£60.86) £69.99
(£60.86)
Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 450W ATX2.2 Modular SLi Compliant Power Supply Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 450W ATX2.2 Modular SLi Compliant Power Supply £68.99
(£59.99) £68.99
(£59.99)
Samsung SpinPoint F1 320GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD322HJ) Samsung SpinPoint F1 320GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD322HJ) £34.99
(£30.43) £69.98
(£60.86)
LG GH22NP20 22x DVD±RW IDE Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM LG GH22NP20 22x DVD±RW IDE Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
(£14.77) £16.99
(£14.77)
Sub Total : £392.97
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £10.00
VAT is being charged at 15% VAT : £60.45
Total : £463.42


GPU and case choice left to you.

I would consider buying 2nd hand 3850/3870 or 8800GT if you don't need something uber strong, those will do fine and u can probably get one at as low as 30quid now.
If not, then the HD4650 hang out at around 40quid range and they have dual DVIs as well so I guess that will be fine. Not worth spending 80quid on card that's going to be used for CIV4 ;).
 
Hmmm thanks for the responses. How does this spec comare:
Price:
Total £489.00
Includes VAT & Shipping

Components

PROCESSOR AMD Phenom™ X4 9750 (2.40GHz, 512kx4)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium SP1 (64 BIT) - English
HARDWARE SUPPORT 1 Year Limited Warranty - Collect & Return

MEMORY 8192MB 800MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [4x2048]
HARD DRIVE 1TB (7200rpm) SATA Hard Drive
GRAPHICS CARD nVidia GeForce GT220 1024MB graphics card
OPTICAL DRIVE DVD +/- RW Drive (read/write CD & DVD)
KEYBOARD Dell™ USB Entry Keyboard - UK/Irish (QWERTY)
MOUSE Dell 2 Button USB Scroll Optical Mouse - Black
FLOPPY/MEDIA DRIVES 19-in-1 Media Card reader

SOUND SOFTWARE Integrated Channel High Definition Audio

Accessories
Also included with your system
Base Inspiron 546 Minitower with Black Bezel
Dell System Media Kit Inspiron Desktop 546MT Resource DVD (Diagnostic & Drivers)
Standard Warranty 1Yr Limited Warranty - Collect & Return
 
PhoenixUK said:
Your basket
Product Name Qty Price Line Total
AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 955 Black Edition 3.2GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 955 Black Edition 3.2GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £143.98
(£125.20) £143.98
(£125.20)
Asus M4A79XTD Evo (Socket AM3) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard Asus M4A79XTD Evo (Socket AM3) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard £81.98
(£71.29) £81.98
(£71.29)
OCZ Platinum AMD Edition 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C7 1600MHz Dual Channel (OCZ3P1600LVAM4GK) OCZ Platinum AMD Edition 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C7 1600MHz Dual Channel (OCZ3P1600LVAM4GK) £69.99
(£60.86) £69.99
(£60.86)
Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 450W ATX2.2 Modular SLi Compliant Power Supply Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 450W ATX2.2 Modular SLi Compliant Power Supply £68.99
(£59.99) £68.99
(£59.99)
Samsung SpinPoint F1 320GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD322HJ) Samsung SpinPoint F1 320GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD322HJ) £34.99
(£30.43) £69.98
(£60.86)
LG GH22NP20 22x DVD±RW IDE Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM LG GH22NP20 22x DVD±RW IDE Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
(£14.77) £16.99
(£14.77)
Sub Total : £392.97
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £10.00
VAT is being charged at 15% VAT : £60.45
Total : £463.42


GPU and case choice left to you.

I would consider buying 2nd hand 3850/3870 or 8800GT if you don't need something uber strong, those will do fine and u can probably get one at as low as 30quid now.
If not, then the HD4650 hang out at around 40quid range and they have dual DVIs as well so I guess that will be fine. Not worth spending 80quid on card that's going to be used for CIV4 ;).
Click to expand...

something like:
AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 955 Black Edition 3.2GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-244-AM
Asus M4A79XTD Evo (Socket AM3) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-366-AS
OCZ Platinum AMD Edition 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C7 1600MHz Dual Channel (OCZ3P1600LVAM4GK)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-165-OC
OCZ Platinum AMD Edition 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C7 1600MHz Dual Channel (OCZ3P1600LVAM4GK)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-165-OC
Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 450W ATX2.2 Modular SLi Compliant Power Supply
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-019-BQ
XFX ATI Radeon HD 4650 512MB TV-Out/HDTV/HDMI (PCI-Express) - Retail
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-132-XF
Samsung SpinPoint F1 320GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD322HJ)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-057-SA
Samsung SpinPoint F1 320GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD322HJ)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-057-SA
Coolermaster Elite 335 Case - Black (No PSU)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-160-CM
LG GH22LP20 22x DVD±RW IDE Dual Layer Lightscribe ReWriter (Black/Ivory) - Retail
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CD-085-LG

Sub Total : £519.90
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £11.75
VAT is being charged at 15% VAT : £79.75
Total : £611.40

Gives me 8GB ram...

And then 2 1920x1080 monitors:
Viewsonic VX2260wm 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-071-VS

Totals out at:
Sub Total : £763.36
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £15.25
VAT is being charged at 15% VAT : £116.79
Total : £895.40
 
Last edited:
Well, I work purely in the MS "stack" - I do SQL Server DBA work, and hence am looking at MS OS's.

Vista 64 as a "base" OS, and Windows so I can get up to speed on it. Might also look at Windows 2008 - although probably will just go with setting up VM's ...

----------------------added question

Just to confirm - the CPU does have heatsink already on, correct?
AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 955 Black Edition 3.2GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...odid=CP-244-AM

Also, would additional cooling be recommended?
 
Last edited:
Almost done

So, my almost final build is:
MyPCBuild-001.jpg


for the extra £17, should I go for:

Antec 300 Three Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case - Black (No PSU)

Planning to order this evening, so replies would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers
 
i get that as well, trying to order almost a grands worth of stuff and keep getting error, so i phone the bank and they say they haven't any clue or record of any transaction taking place so i assumes it must be a technical glitch.

and the case to be honest go with what you think looks best.
 
If you haven't managed to order yet you might want to swap the HDD's. the WD Caviar Greens are designed primarily with storage in mind - economical to run but a bit slower. As the HDD is the main bottleneck in a pc you probably want something a bit faster to use.

Although I guess you are raiding I would suggest the WD Black if you can stretch the budget a bit ( a few £ only). The 640GB Black would be ideal but is currently out of stock.
 
Thanks for that tip - I've changed the prder, and resolved payment issues. Now I just have to wait for Wednesday, and remind myself about PC building. Last time I built one was about 6 years ago :O
 
Last edited:
all arrived, on time.

strange - sent me an extra logitech G11 keyboard. Must get back to them about that.

time to follow the excellent build sticky. Hopefully my next post is IT WORKS post :O
 
arrr - think I hit my first problem - I look at the XFX HD Radeon 4650 card I got - doesn't look like the image of the one on the web, and the one I order. That one clear states:

- Outputs: VGA, HDTV, Dual-Link DVI
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-132-XF

and the image show 2 RED connections, whereas the one I have had a vga, tv-out and it looks like 1 hdmi. First tiime with DVI, so maybe I am jumping to conclusisons - anyone?
 
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