Hey all,
I will be building a new PC in the next two weeks before I head off to university, and I plan to take this with me of course; so the main tasks would be:
-> Office tasks running together with music, instant messenger clients and usual background tasks, so mild multi-tasking.
-> Listening to music (primarily mp3s).
-> Watching movies and the TV (via Tuner card).
There are so many components, and then so many combinations which I have to consider, but I really need to come to a decision soon. Therefore I would really appreciate your assistance in making my decision.
Maximum Budget for System: £600 (Including P&P)
I will then have to buy a printer, tv tuner and some speakers, so £500 would be the most preferable price for sure. Here are the things which are on my mind presently (the prices are just approximations, but for the sake of ease, let's base the budget around the approximate prices):
1) CPU:
[A] AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800 Dual Core (AM2) (£100)
Intel Pentium D 805 Dual Core (S775) (£69)
[C] Intel Pentium D 820 Dual Core (Second Hand) (S775) (£65)
[D] Athlon 64 3800 (AM2) (£73)
More Expensive (Likely out of range):
- Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 (S775) (£123)
- AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200 Dual Core (AM2) (£122)
General thoughts:
2) Motherboard:
[A] Asus M2V (AM2) (£46)
ASROCK 775DUAL-VSTA (S775) (£36)
[C] FoxConn K8M890M2MA-RS2H (AM2) (£37)
General thoughts:
-> S775: I'd most likely go with the above stated S775 motherboard if I followed this root, as it is really inexpensive but seems to have decent reviews.
-> AM2: I'd probably go with the above model, as the more expensive model is an extra £14 for an onboard graphics card and 7.1 surround sound, but as I will purchase a graphics and soundcard separately, there is no real advantage to it for me, especially as the onboard audio would likely be outdone by a cheap low-range soundcard anyway?
3) RAM:
[A] 1GB Corsair Value Select DDR2 PC5300 (£55)
Kingston Value Ram 1GB 533MHz DDR2 (£55)
[C] Corsair 1GB DDR2 533Mhz (£58)
General thoughts:
-> I'll probably go with the first option, as it is basically the same price for PC5300 as it is for the next step down. I don't think this RAM would be limited by any speed bottleneck in my system, so it would be worth paying an extra few pound more (including delivery) for this item , right? This also leaves me open for an easy future update to double my system memory (probably near Christmas).
4) HDD:
[A] Maxtor DiamondMax 10, 300GB SATA (£57)
Western Digital Caviar, 250GB SATA (£52)
General thoughts:
-> I'll probably go with the first option for a few pound extra, which is nothing for the extra £50 drive space. Unless somebody would strongly direct me towards the second WD Caviar option, if the extra speed or quietness of the drive would be worth taking a 50GB hard space drop for?
5) Graphics card:
[A] XFX 7600GS 256Mb (£71)
XPERTVISION 256MB GeF 7600GS (£63)
[C] BFG GeForce 7300 GT OC 256MB GDDR3 (£58)
[D] XPERTVISION 256MB GEFORCE 7600GT (£87)
General thoughts:
-> After reading this review and various others, it seems that the 7600GS slightly outperforms the X1600XT as well as being considerably quieter and of course cheaper. I'm not a big gamer so will likely avoid the 7600GT for this reason, as my main use will probably be movies and TV rather than any intense gaming.
-> However I am now unsure whether or not to choose above linked 7300 GT 256mb DDR3 or the 7600 GS 256mb DDR, can anybody help me out with this choice?
6) Soundcards:
[A] TRUST 5.1 SOUND EXPERT DIGITAL SURROUND (£12)
Sumvision PCI 5.1 (£6)
General thoughts:
-> I will be using this system in university mostly, and will use my PC as my sound system, probably hooking up some 2.1 speakers (Maybe the Logitech Z-2300s). My only concern is that the card offers high quality for CD and MP3 playback, as long as sound quality wise I will lose nothing performance wise over the more expensive cards (using these 2.X setups) I will be more than happy.
-> The trust 5.1 comes with a digital coxial output and the lead, so maybe this is a major advantage? But would this coaxial output be connectable to the Logitech-Z-2300s for example and would I notice any sound difference when mainly playing mp3s? :S
7) DVD Drives:
[A] LG GSA-H10NBAL 16x16DVD±RW (£23)
NEC ND-4570 16x DVD±RW/RAM (£23)
[C] LiteOn SHM-165P6S-09C 16x DVD±RW/RAM (£23)
General thoughts:
-> They all seem to be very reliable drives for basically the same price, but I will probably go with the LG, as I generally think their goods tend to be of high quality and the drive has the most positive ratings on the ****** site. I doubt there is any real difference in noise levels between the drives? If so, that would be something which would help me choose between the three.
8) Cases:
[A] NZXT Trinity Silver (£39)
NZXT Trinity Black (£41)
[C] Jeantech G-Max (£25)
General thoughts:
-> I am strongly leaning towrads the NZXT Trinity silver atm, as it seems that the case is a popular one, with numerous positive reviews online, and I also like the temperature feature, as I have always been curious about the temperature disparity between lengths of use and also between the annual weather seasons lol. I doubt I could get a better case for this price anyway, seems like an absolute bargain?
9) PSU:
[A] Sansun Arctic 500w Modular (£35)
Q-Tec Triple Fan 650W (£28)
[C] Sansun Black 600W (£18)
[D] Generic 550w ATX Silent Neon (£22)
[E] Sansun True 450W (£25)
General thoughts:
-> I know that good power supplies are essential. However due to my budget, I am thinking about taking a hit on going for an inexpensive power supply for now and updating probably before or at christmas when I have some more cash to a higher quality PSU.
-> I am leaning towards selecting the aforementioned [A] PSU model, as the reviews seem really strong. But of course, I wonder if I would be ok with one of the cheaper models listed above, especially as I am planning to update my PSU in the near-future anyway?
-> Out of general interest, what sort of power supply will I need to run this system? At least 500W I would assume? Maybe I could get away with the Sansun True at 450W maybe if not? Seems like a nice model.
10) Monitors:
[A] HANNS G HW191D 19" Widescreen LCD (£130)
General thoughts:
-> This monitor simply seems to be much better than any of the alternative near-priced competitors, and the reviews are also very positive across the board. I suppose widescreen will be useful for watching movies, TV and for office tasks, i.e. providing me with extra width when using word or excel?
-> If somebody has a better monitor to suggest around this range, or maybe some strong condemnation against widescreens (bear in mind I've a passive gameplayer) then of course please do let me know!
I will be building a new PC in the next two weeks before I head off to university, and I plan to take this with me of course; so the main tasks would be:
-> Office tasks running together with music, instant messenger clients and usual background tasks, so mild multi-tasking.
-> Listening to music (primarily mp3s).
-> Watching movies and the TV (via Tuner card).
There are so many components, and then so many combinations which I have to consider, but I really need to come to a decision soon. Therefore I would really appreciate your assistance in making my decision.
Maximum Budget for System: £600 (Including P&P)
I will then have to buy a printer, tv tuner and some speakers, so £500 would be the most preferable price for sure. Here are the things which are on my mind presently (the prices are just approximations, but for the sake of ease, let's base the budget around the approximate prices):
1) CPU:
[A] AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800 Dual Core (AM2) (£100)
Intel Pentium D 805 Dual Core (S775) (£69)
[C] Intel Pentium D 820 Dual Core (Second Hand) (S775) (£65)
[D] Athlon 64 3800 (AM2) (£73)
More Expensive (Likely out of range):
- Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 (S775) (£123)
- AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200 Dual Core (AM2) (£122)
General thoughts:
2) Motherboard:
[A] Asus M2V (AM2) (£46)
ASROCK 775DUAL-VSTA (S775) (£36)
[C] FoxConn K8M890M2MA-RS2H (AM2) (£37)
General thoughts:
-> S775: I'd most likely go with the above stated S775 motherboard if I followed this root, as it is really inexpensive but seems to have decent reviews.
-> AM2: I'd probably go with the above model, as the more expensive model is an extra £14 for an onboard graphics card and 7.1 surround sound, but as I will purchase a graphics and soundcard separately, there is no real advantage to it for me, especially as the onboard audio would likely be outdone by a cheap low-range soundcard anyway?
3) RAM:
[A] 1GB Corsair Value Select DDR2 PC5300 (£55)
Kingston Value Ram 1GB 533MHz DDR2 (£55)
[C] Corsair 1GB DDR2 533Mhz (£58)
General thoughts:
-> I'll probably go with the first option, as it is basically the same price for PC5300 as it is for the next step down. I don't think this RAM would be limited by any speed bottleneck in my system, so it would be worth paying an extra few pound more (including delivery) for this item , right? This also leaves me open for an easy future update to double my system memory (probably near Christmas).
4) HDD:
[A] Maxtor DiamondMax 10, 300GB SATA (£57)
Western Digital Caviar, 250GB SATA (£52)
General thoughts:
-> I'll probably go with the first option for a few pound extra, which is nothing for the extra £50 drive space. Unless somebody would strongly direct me towards the second WD Caviar option, if the extra speed or quietness of the drive would be worth taking a 50GB hard space drop for?
5) Graphics card:
[A] XFX 7600GS 256Mb (£71)
XPERTVISION 256MB GeF 7600GS (£63)
[C] BFG GeForce 7300 GT OC 256MB GDDR3 (£58)
[D] XPERTVISION 256MB GEFORCE 7600GT (£87)
General thoughts:
-> After reading this review and various others, it seems that the 7600GS slightly outperforms the X1600XT as well as being considerably quieter and of course cheaper. I'm not a big gamer so will likely avoid the 7600GT for this reason, as my main use will probably be movies and TV rather than any intense gaming.
-> However I am now unsure whether or not to choose above linked 7300 GT 256mb DDR3 or the 7600 GS 256mb DDR, can anybody help me out with this choice?
6) Soundcards:
[A] TRUST 5.1 SOUND EXPERT DIGITAL SURROUND (£12)
Sumvision PCI 5.1 (£6)
General thoughts:
-> I will be using this system in university mostly, and will use my PC as my sound system, probably hooking up some 2.1 speakers (Maybe the Logitech Z-2300s). My only concern is that the card offers high quality for CD and MP3 playback, as long as sound quality wise I will lose nothing performance wise over the more expensive cards (using these 2.X setups) I will be more than happy.
-> The trust 5.1 comes with a digital coxial output and the lead, so maybe this is a major advantage? But would this coaxial output be connectable to the Logitech-Z-2300s for example and would I notice any sound difference when mainly playing mp3s? :S
7) DVD Drives:
[A] LG GSA-H10NBAL 16x16DVD±RW (£23)
NEC ND-4570 16x DVD±RW/RAM (£23)
[C] LiteOn SHM-165P6S-09C 16x DVD±RW/RAM (£23)
General thoughts:
-> They all seem to be very reliable drives for basically the same price, but I will probably go with the LG, as I generally think their goods tend to be of high quality and the drive has the most positive ratings on the ****** site. I doubt there is any real difference in noise levels between the drives? If so, that would be something which would help me choose between the three.
8) Cases:
[A] NZXT Trinity Silver (£39)
NZXT Trinity Black (£41)
[C] Jeantech G-Max (£25)
General thoughts:
-> I am strongly leaning towrads the NZXT Trinity silver atm, as it seems that the case is a popular one, with numerous positive reviews online, and I also like the temperature feature, as I have always been curious about the temperature disparity between lengths of use and also between the annual weather seasons lol. I doubt I could get a better case for this price anyway, seems like an absolute bargain?
9) PSU:
[A] Sansun Arctic 500w Modular (£35)
Q-Tec Triple Fan 650W (£28)
[C] Sansun Black 600W (£18)
[D] Generic 550w ATX Silent Neon (£22)
[E] Sansun True 450W (£25)
General thoughts:
-> I know that good power supplies are essential. However due to my budget, I am thinking about taking a hit on going for an inexpensive power supply for now and updating probably before or at christmas when I have some more cash to a higher quality PSU.
-> I am leaning towards selecting the aforementioned [A] PSU model, as the reviews seem really strong. But of course, I wonder if I would be ok with one of the cheaper models listed above, especially as I am planning to update my PSU in the near-future anyway?
-> Out of general interest, what sort of power supply will I need to run this system? At least 500W I would assume? Maybe I could get away with the Sansun True at 450W maybe if not? Seems like a nice model.
10) Monitors:
[A] HANNS G HW191D 19" Widescreen LCD (£130)
General thoughts:
-> This monitor simply seems to be much better than any of the alternative near-priced competitors, and the reviews are also very positive across the board. I suppose widescreen will be useful for watching movies, TV and for office tasks, i.e. providing me with extra width when using word or excel?
-> If somebody has a better monitor to suggest around this range, or maybe some strong condemnation against widescreens (bear in mind I've a passive gameplayer) then of course please do let me know!
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but yes the second is the better....
