Help with spec..need mobo/cpu

fobose · 21 Jun 2008 at 11:15

Hi,

Basically, my bro wants a new laptop but I think he should get a PC instead as his laptop never moves from his desk. I have spec'd up a rig but I am unsure of the mobo and CPU. I thought about the 780G mATX board and a AMD 4050e CPU to keep the cost down and energy effiecent etc..

He doesn't really like AMD but I have heard good things about the 780G chipset and the CPU. Would an intel board/cpu be much better? The problem is with the budget, it needs to be £500 really but I can make him stretch to £550 probably. If he went with a mATX intel board I presume he would prob need a dedicated graphics card to run vista's aero with no problem and play 1080p if required?

What I have below comes to £400.37 inc p&p.

Pioneer DVR-215DBK 20X SATA DVD±RW DL Int Black - OEM
Antec Black Mini P180 MATX Case - No PSU
Enermax Modu82+ 425W Modular PSU - 82+% Efficiency certified, 1x PCI-E, ATXv2.3
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium - Licence and media - 1 PC - OEM - DVD - 64-bit - English
NEED MOBO/CPU
OCZ 4GB Kit (2x2GB) 800MHz/PC2-6400 Memory Platinum Performance CL5 (5-4-4-18)
Logitech Cordless Desktop EX 110 - USB/PS2
Hannspree XM New York 19" TFT Monitor widescreen 1440x900 700:1 300cd/m2 5ms DVI Speakers Black 3 Years Warranty

I would like to keep the P180 case and modular PSU (recommendations on cheaper PSU??) The monitor is just some budget thing which has a nice stand and is very adjustable, any recommendations on that are welcome though.

*oh and he has a 500GB seagate 7200.9 drive to go in it already. Forgot to mention, space is an issue as he only has a small desk, the case will have to go on the desk *sigh* as floor space is limited. Noise is also an issue too, whats the AMD stock cooler like? I have plenty of "quiet" case fans lying around (noctua 1200rpm's) and such so wont be needing any new fans to replace the noisey tri-cool ones.

aproctor · 21 Jun 2008 at 12:23

just gaming get a good dual core, otherwise get a quad (intel) mobo wise, p35 board are pretty solid, just look at what features you need, i.e. do you need sli and raid?

fobose · 21 Jun 2008 at 13:00

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunatly the board needs to be an mATX board. He wont be needing a quad (this would be way over budget anyway). I should have said the usage before (doh), its going to be used for surfing/office apps/DVD's and eventually HD content.

The option to play games would probably be good but this will also put the PC over budget. I basically just wanted to build him a solid build which he can later upgrade to a better graphics card (perhaps my 8800GT when I upgrade). Are the ATi 3400 series cards rubbish? What sort of games would they be limited too?

Wont be needing RAID or sli/crossfire.

fobose · 21 Jun 2008 at 14:52

Right I have knocked this up now:

Pioneer DVR-215DBK 20X SATA DVD±RW DL Int Black - OEM
Antec Black Mini P180 MATX Case - No PSU
Seasonic S12 II 430W PSU - 12cm Fan 80Plus Efficiency
Microsoft Windows Vista 64 Home Premium OEM
Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 2.53GHz (1066MHz) Socket 775 3MB L2 Cache Retail Boxed Processor
Gigabyte GA-G33M-DS2R iG33 Socket 775 onboard VGA 8 channel audio mATX Motherboard
OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 800Mhz/PC2-6400 Memory Unbuffered CL5 DUAL CHANNEL KIT
Sapphire HD 3450 512MB DDR2 Dual DVI HDCP HDTV out PCI-E Graphics Card
Hannspree XM New York 19" TFT Monitor widescreen 1440x900 700:1 300cd/m2 5ms DVI Speakers Black 3 Years Warranty
Logitech Cordless Desktop EX 110 - USB/PS2

Total: £558.99 inc

Changed to some slightly cheaper RAM (no heatspreaders), cheaper PSU (not modular

) and added intel mobo/cpu with a hopefully okay graphics card for some light gaming?

What do you think?

fobose · 22 Jun 2008 at 10:30

No one have any thoughts on this? Should I wait for the new P45 mATX boards to become available?

Should I be looking at any other mATX cases too? They all seem expensive and I think the P180 mini has the best features/looks or have I overlooked one or two?