New build - totally out of touch with whats what! help!

Blinkz

Blinkz

Blinkz

Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
3,183
Location
Frimley, Surrey or 38,000ft
Hey guys, thanks for looking. I've not built a system for a good 5 years or so now and so really don't have much of an idea of whats what these days. My current system is a 2.8 gig P4 with a gig of memory and a ATI 9700 pro. I'm looking to build a decent gaming rig, also watch lots of movies as well.

At the moment my vague idea for the system is:

Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 LGA775 'Wolfdale' 3.16GHz (1333FSB)

Some P45 motherboard? No idea what make though.

4 gig Ram DDR2, but no idea what make.

ATI HD 4870

Samsung SM-2253LW Aqua 21.6" Widescreen LCD Monitor

300gig velociraptor HDD for the OS and much used programs

1TB WD hdd for storage

A Bluray/HD drive but not sure what make. Is there any benefit on being able to write bluray??

I've no idea about what CPU cooler, or for what case. I don't want to do any over clocking, so I don't know what level of cooling I need. I'd like it to be as quiet as possible! (mainly due to the watching movies I mention before!) Also have no idea how much power this will need?? and whats a good make of PSU? Aiming to spend £1500 or so.

Any pointers would be most welcome!!
 
stock cpu cooler will be fine if your not overclocking although unsure how loud they are compared to your noise tolerance, cheapest 4gb pack of ram you can get too because your not overclocking.
Corsair power supplies are virtually silent hx520 or hx 620.
 
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Really on the MB and ram and the fact that you are not overclocking you do not need a P45 really. You can get a full featured P35 for a decent amount cheaper and it will perform just as well stock as the P4x, etc. Same with ram really. Check reviews and buy a cheap 4 gig DDR2800 kit.

One thing to keep in mind that a lot of reviews and recommendations you get here and at other sites will be based on the assumption your gonna overclock so they recommend things that will fit that function. Since you are staying stock just save the cash as it will not raise performance and take the extra cash and shift it towards your savings, a game or some other extra addon like mouse, etc.

Just my opinion anyways :)
 
Thanks for the replies guys. What are the main differences between the P35 and P45?? and what is a good make (or a bad make to avoid!) of motherboards? What kind of power PSU should I be looking for? Does it matter which make of ATI 4870 to get? are they all the same??
 
Blinkz said:
What are the main differences between the P35 and P45?? and what is a good make (or a bad make to avoid!) of motherboards? What kind of power PSU should I be looking for? Does it matter which make of ATI 4870 to get? are they all the same??
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Have a read of this for the differences

http://techreport.com/articles.x/14882

Make of motherboards, cant really go wrong with Gigabyte Asus DFI or Abit. (MSI are fine too, but I had one die on me)

Bog standard ATi 4870's are all the same, some makes have longer warranties than others though.
 
Ok guys, finalising what I'm gonna get. Still not sure about the case, any suggestions? Ideally don't want it too noisy, but am not sure how much cooling I will need for the rest of it. Also, since am not planning on overclocking, should I just go with some cheaper RAM?

This is what I'm planning so far:
Blinkz-basket.JPG
 
Blinkz said:
Also, since am not planning on overclocking, should I just go with some cheaper RAM?
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Doesn't make sense then, plus as said if you want it to last go Quad-Core you have the budget!

The Antec 900 can get dusty & noisy. Its got 2 front fans & a top one. If not OCing, you don't need that much cooling.

That Blu-Ray writer, you're basically buying into a first generation component & as such, couple months from now the technology will drastically change/improve & get cheaper.

The 4870 (IMO) needs a bigger screen than a 21.6" :(
 
What do you mean it doesn't make sense? the ram?

The reason I'm going Duo is that for the money (I'm right on budget now, 1500) the E8600 is faster then the quad, Yea I said I want it to last but I might as well get the fastest I can now, I can always just upgrade to quad later if I REALLY feel the need, but I doubt I will.

Like I said I'm still not sure about the case, but am not sure how to balance cooling/space with a clean simple case. Can anyone recommend some decent cases?

Its a good point about the writer, I don't have much use for writing bluray right now, the main use will be to watch movies on it. I just really want a good DVD read/writer and to be able to read bluray and HD-DVDs.

Problem with getting a bigger screen is that it will cost more, and am right on my budget already. I'm connecting my 42' panny plasma to the 2nd out of the ATI so I can watch bluray movies etc, and I'm not so sure my desk could take much bigger then a 22'.
 
Meant don't make sense getting 8500 rated RAM if not overclocking. 4GB will also be enough if just gaming & so will Dual-Core :)
 
an antec 900 will be noisy

a 4870 with stock cooling will be noisy too, I'd get an aftermarket cooler

PC8500 RAM is overkill if you aren't overclocking, stick to PC6400. 4GB is also as much as you'll ever need.

I'd go for a samsung F1 drive over a WD.
 
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