help, I'm out of touch!!

tindale

tindale

tindale

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Joined
12 Jan 2004
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278
Location
Bicester, Oxon
I know you guys can help, I've taken my eye off the ball, for a year or so, and now I've forgotten how to spec a good system.

I've decided to lie my Athlon 2800 Ideq SFF media centre machine to rest, and start again, this time with something which can play games on the lovely big LCD screen :D

So far, I've got an ATI 1950 Pro, and want some components to go with it, but I've no idea whether to go AMD or Intel, or where to start. The case isn't important to me, as long as it doesn't look hideous, and so far I've got:

Intel Core 2 Duo E6420 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.13GHz (1066FSB) - Retail £104.99
GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC6400C5 800MHz Value DDR2 Dual Channel Kit
£49.99
Antec NSK1300 ATX Cube Case - 300W PSU Antec NSK1300 ATX Cube Case - 300W PSU
£49.99
(Abit IP-95 Micro ATX (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £29.99
HDD and DVD drive are already sorted, and TV will be through USB.

Is this a balanced system? Should I go with AMD instead (I'll not be into serious overclocking, as I'd like it cool and quiet). And will 300 watts be enough?

thanks for the help, you've helped part me with my cash before, so please do it again,
 
If you're gaming and building from new then Intel have the lead here - their Core architecture is fast, overclockable, and well priced.

I'm going to assume your X1950 Pro is PCIe.

What you've specced there is a good(ish) start, however there are a few things to consider when buying a SFF.

Firstly, there are two main types of SFF - the Shuttles, and the mATX systems. If you wanted a Shuttle, then something like the SD39P2 would suit you perfectly, pair it with a good Core 2 Duo processor, good RAM, and HDD/CD and you'd be away.

If however, you want a mATX system, then there are a few more options. Probably the best idea is to go with one of three cases - the Silverstone Sugo SG01 Evolution, the Sugo SG03, or the Lian-Li V300. The NSK1300 is a nice looking case, but I think it suffers from heat issues a bit, also the PSU in it isn't customisable.

One of the three cases I listed would allow you to add your own full size ATX PSU and I recommend one of the Corsair HX series for that.

Now, motherboard. That one would be fine if you don't want to overclock. If you're willing to stretch, then one of the G33M chipset boards would be the best. Either the Asus P5K-VM or the Gigabyte G33M-DS2R are perfect, and they come with support for the new Intel CPUs out later this year (Penryn).

Beyond that it's really down to you. I would recommend staying SATA when buying HDD and Optical drive, as it helps with space.

I would spec you a suggestion, however you've not put a budget! If you come back with one, i'll see what I can do. :)
 
thanks for the quick reply. I'm not really looking to spend much more than £350, beating mind that I've got the HDD, DVD and graphics card already (and yes, it is PCI-E).

Also, I'd rather go for m-atx than a shuttle style barebones, as at least that way I've got some flexibility.

Any tips would be appreciated.
 
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I'm also going to assume you don't need a keyboard, mouse, or OS. :)

Gigabyte GA-G33M-DS2R Micro ATX (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £76.36
OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) PC2-6400C4 Dual Channel Platinum Revision 2 XTC Series DDR2 £62.26
Lian-Li PC-V300 Aluminum Micro ATX Mini Tower Case - Silver £70.49
Corsair HX 520W ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU £68.14

That brings the total to just under £280, however you still need to add a processor.

If you're going to overclock (which is well possible with that RAM and motherboard) then i'd recommend going for something like the E2140, E2160, or E4400, and clocking it up. Buy a cooler like the Zalman CNPS-8000 for this.

If you're not overclocking, then go for a higher speed processor, personally I think the E6750 is a good price, but it's down to you. The advantage here is that the Intel stock cooler in the box should be sufficient.
 
thanks again. Time to go and see the bank manager (and scour the for sale forum) to see what we can afford....
 
Thanks for your help, I've plumped for:

Akasa Ultra Quiet 400W Paxpower Active PFC ATX2.2 PSU - Black Nickel £34.99
Western Digital Caviar SE16 400GB 4000AAKS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM £44.99
OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) PC2-6400C4 Dual Channel Platinum Revision 2 XTC Series DDR2 (OCZ2P800R22GK) £52.99
Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.66GHz (1333FSB) - Retail £109.99
Lian-Li PC-V300 Aluminum Micro ATX Mini Tower Case - Black £67.99 Gigabyte GA-G33M-DS2R Micro ATX (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £64.99

now to go and see who wants to go any buy some second hand stuff before the bill comes :eek:
 
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