This is going to be my first PC and I'm going to have a bash at building it myself (a recommended by a friend) and I would like it to be cool and fairly quiet.
The PC will mainly be used for the general home office use ie. for internet, email, music, movies but not so much for gaming.
I could push my budget another £100 or so, if needed.
I intend to keep this PC for a few years, so hopefully the components I have chosen are reliable brands and will see me through.
I have read a PC build book to get some background info but as you'll see from my comments below, I'm still unsure
about some of the components and I really would appreciate some help here to make sure thats its _all compatible_ before I buy.
BU-030-OK AMD Athlon X2 3800 Retail / Asus A8N-SLi SE / 1GB Geil PC3200 Dual Channel Kit - Bundle (BU-030-OK)
CP-134-AM AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 3800+ (Socket 939) - Retail (ADA3800BVBOX) (CP-134-AM) 1
MB-101-AS Asus A8N-SLi SE nForce4 SLi (Socket 939) PCI-Express Motherboard (MB-101-AS) 1
MY-005-GL GeIL 1GB (2x512MB) PC3200 Value Dual Channel Kit CAS2.5 (GE1GB3200BHDC) (MY-005-GL) 1
£288.85 £288.85
GX-093-AS Asus GeForce EN7300GS-HTD 256MB DDR2 TV-Out/DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-093-AS)
£37.95 £37.95
CA-054-LL Lian-Li PC-7 PLUS Black Aluminium Midi-Tower Case (No PSU) (CA-054-LL)
£48.95 £48.95
FG-024-AK Akasa AK-183-L2B Ultra Quiet 120mm Fan - 3 pin (FG-024-AK)
£9.95 £19.90
CA-002-SS Seasonic S12 600W Silent ATX2.0 Power Supply (CA-002-SS)
£84.95 £84.95
HD-058-SE Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 250GB ST3250824AS SATA-II 8MB Cache - OEM (HD-058-SE)
£53.95 £53.95
CD-041-PL Plextor PX-755SA Serial ATA 16x16 Dual Layer DVD±RW ReWriter - (Black/Beige) - Retail (CD-041-PL)
£59.95 £59.95
HD-002-MI Mitsumi FA 404M 7in1 USB 2.0 Floppy & Media Drive - Black (HD-002-MI)
£12.95 £12.95
MO-052-VS Viewsonic VX2025 20" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Silver/Black (MO-052-VS)
£259.95 £259.95
KB-058-LG Logitech Cordless Optical Desktop Rechargeable Black/Silver - OEM (KB-058-LG)
£29.95 £29.95
OS-001-MS Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition inc. SP2 - OEM - 1Pk (N09-01528) (OS-001-MS)
£49.95 £49.95
SW-018-MS Microsoft Works Suite 2006 - OEM (SW-018-OEM)
£36.95 £36.95
SW-017-NO Symantec Norton Internet Security Suite 2006 - OEM (SW-017-NO)
£19.95 £19.95
Subtotal £1,004.20
VAT £175.74
Total £1,179.94
My comments on the choice of components (feel free to advise on each):-
=======================================================
-- Out of the above list I am still not 100% certain about my choice of CPU, Motherboard and Memory and I really need advice on this.
I'd like to go for an AMD 64 X2 3800+ (skt 939) cpu as it appears that is the way to go and what I have chosen is the cheapest 3800+ bundle with 1GB memory.
If you suggest I buy the cpu, mobo and memory separately then that would be OK too.
-- Should I go for SLi mobo and if so, what are the advantages?
-- Does the recommended mobo have onboard 2.1 or 5.1?
-- Do you get a fan and heatsink (with the cpu) in the 'Bundle'?
-- Do you need to upgrade the heatsink/fan from what is supplied in a CPU Retail pack? Seen something about a Zalman passive cooler?
What's involved in the installation?
-- Attaching the heatsink to the cpu (using the paste) is probably the most scariest part of the build for me.
Can someone assure me the installation isn't so bad ?
-- I was recommended memory by Crucial. I don't know anything about the GeIL brand. Is it any good?
-- The other item I am not totally sure of is the graphics card, I just picked one from info I had but it'll need to be compatible with the monitor.
How noisey are the fans on them? I would like a *recommendation* here please.
-- I have chosen the Lian Li case (plus replacement fans) and it was recommended to me on the OCUK forum.
-- The Seasonic PSU was a recommended brand from a PC build book I have.Have I gone overboard with 600W or should I get a 500W one?
-- The Seagate HDD was a recommended brand from a PC build book.
-- The Mitusmi FDD may be useful to have especially with the Media drive as I'll have pictures to upload from my digital camera.
-- The Plextor DVD drive was a recommended brand from a PC build book.
-- I have chosen the Viewsonic VX2025 monitor as it was recommended to me on the OCUK forum and I think 20" Widescreen is the way forward.
-- I have also added the necessary software for the build and have included it in costing.
-- Is there any component I have missed?
Thanks a lot.
The PC will mainly be used for the general home office use ie. for internet, email, music, movies but not so much for gaming.
I could push my budget another £100 or so, if needed.
I intend to keep this PC for a few years, so hopefully the components I have chosen are reliable brands and will see me through.
I have read a PC build book to get some background info but as you'll see from my comments below, I'm still unsure
about some of the components and I really would appreciate some help here to make sure thats its _all compatible_ before I buy.
BU-030-OK AMD Athlon X2 3800 Retail / Asus A8N-SLi SE / 1GB Geil PC3200 Dual Channel Kit - Bundle (BU-030-OK)
CP-134-AM AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 3800+ (Socket 939) - Retail (ADA3800BVBOX) (CP-134-AM) 1
MB-101-AS Asus A8N-SLi SE nForce4 SLi (Socket 939) PCI-Express Motherboard (MB-101-AS) 1
MY-005-GL GeIL 1GB (2x512MB) PC3200 Value Dual Channel Kit CAS2.5 (GE1GB3200BHDC) (MY-005-GL) 1
£288.85 £288.85
GX-093-AS Asus GeForce EN7300GS-HTD 256MB DDR2 TV-Out/DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-093-AS)
£37.95 £37.95
CA-054-LL Lian-Li PC-7 PLUS Black Aluminium Midi-Tower Case (No PSU) (CA-054-LL)
£48.95 £48.95
FG-024-AK Akasa AK-183-L2B Ultra Quiet 120mm Fan - 3 pin (FG-024-AK)
£9.95 £19.90
CA-002-SS Seasonic S12 600W Silent ATX2.0 Power Supply (CA-002-SS)
£84.95 £84.95
HD-058-SE Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 250GB ST3250824AS SATA-II 8MB Cache - OEM (HD-058-SE)
£53.95 £53.95
CD-041-PL Plextor PX-755SA Serial ATA 16x16 Dual Layer DVD±RW ReWriter - (Black/Beige) - Retail (CD-041-PL)
£59.95 £59.95
HD-002-MI Mitsumi FA 404M 7in1 USB 2.0 Floppy & Media Drive - Black (HD-002-MI)
£12.95 £12.95
MO-052-VS Viewsonic VX2025 20" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Silver/Black (MO-052-VS)
£259.95 £259.95
KB-058-LG Logitech Cordless Optical Desktop Rechargeable Black/Silver - OEM (KB-058-LG)
£29.95 £29.95
OS-001-MS Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition inc. SP2 - OEM - 1Pk (N09-01528) (OS-001-MS)
£49.95 £49.95
SW-018-MS Microsoft Works Suite 2006 - OEM (SW-018-OEM)
£36.95 £36.95
SW-017-NO Symantec Norton Internet Security Suite 2006 - OEM (SW-017-NO)
£19.95 £19.95
Subtotal £1,004.20
VAT £175.74
Total £1,179.94
My comments on the choice of components (feel free to advise on each):-
=======================================================
-- Out of the above list I am still not 100% certain about my choice of CPU, Motherboard and Memory and I really need advice on this.
I'd like to go for an AMD 64 X2 3800+ (skt 939) cpu as it appears that is the way to go and what I have chosen is the cheapest 3800+ bundle with 1GB memory.
If you suggest I buy the cpu, mobo and memory separately then that would be OK too.
-- Should I go for SLi mobo and if so, what are the advantages?
-- Does the recommended mobo have onboard 2.1 or 5.1?
-- Do you get a fan and heatsink (with the cpu) in the 'Bundle'?
-- Do you need to upgrade the heatsink/fan from what is supplied in a CPU Retail pack? Seen something about a Zalman passive cooler?
What's involved in the installation?
-- Attaching the heatsink to the cpu (using the paste) is probably the most scariest part of the build for me.
Can someone assure me the installation isn't so bad ?
-- I was recommended memory by Crucial. I don't know anything about the GeIL brand. Is it any good?
-- The other item I am not totally sure of is the graphics card, I just picked one from info I had but it'll need to be compatible with the monitor.
How noisey are the fans on them? I would like a *recommendation* here please.
-- I have chosen the Lian Li case (plus replacement fans) and it was recommended to me on the OCUK forum.
-- The Seasonic PSU was a recommended brand from a PC build book I have.Have I gone overboard with 600W or should I get a 500W one?
-- The Seagate HDD was a recommended brand from a PC build book.
-- The Mitusmi FDD may be useful to have especially with the Media drive as I'll have pictures to upload from my digital camera.
-- The Plextor DVD drive was a recommended brand from a PC build book.
-- I have chosen the Viewsonic VX2025 monitor as it was recommended to me on the OCUK forum and I think 20" Widescreen is the way forward.
-- I have also added the necessary software for the build and have included it in costing.
-- Is there any component I have missed?
Thanks a lot.