New build

BIGBC

BIGBC

BIGBC

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Joined
21 Jun 2009
Posts
1,668
Location
Chester/Loughborough
Media centre project

Hey guys, im looking into building myself a new PC to couple with my shiny TV.

Ideally I want it to:
Game well (1920x1080 TV)
have plenty of storage for media and backups of my main PC
run quietly (ideally so I can leave downloads on over night and not be getting annoyed)
have alright power consumption
be small, (possibly a lay on desk design) so that transport is easy to/from Uni and LANs possibly

Budget is probably going to be upto £700 but would prefer it to be less, so knowing u guys its probably best to work to £600.

OS is already bought (W7 Pro 64) but a wireless keyboard/mouse may be a good shout.

I have considered upgrading my GPU in this rig and using the 9800GX2 in this new build - any suggestions on that?

I am planning to use VGA (have DVI converters), is there any particular reason to use HDMI instead? seems a ball-ache to me.

Which AMD CPU's are sold as dual core but may be able to unlock the other 2 cores? Would be something interesting to play with.

So yeah, any input/discussion would be appreciated :D
 
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Well the 9800GX2 will be quite power hungry and loud isnt it? so i suppose you will be looking towards a 5770 which are still good performers and are reasonably quiet and very power effecient,
The phenom II 550s are great little chips and can be unlocked to quads if your lucky ;), Pair with a MATX 785g motherboard and some ddr3 and you will be flying :D
It wont be too expensive either :), I can do a screenshot of what i think you should get if you want?
 
there's never a gaurantee you can unlock the other 2 cores...an X3 720 might be better for you since your going to be gaming.
 
Yeah go ahead with the spec if you want Biz.Kid09 would be interesting to see your ideas.
I know theres no guarantee but a Dual core is more than enough anyway.
The 9800GX2 aint quiet, but its not as bad as most of todays cards. Id put it on par with a 260 noise wise.
 
overclocking the dual would be good...it'd also give an excuse for you to buy a cooler which is also quiet ... so invest in a cooler defiently :)
 
To keep it quiet I will probably be buying a good aftermarket cooler and not overclocking until I feel i need it.
An Athlon X2 @2.9GHz and GTX260 is a combination I am used to and happy with, anything more is a plus.
An E6300 would be good fun.
And those new AMD dual cores seem to run very cool from my experience.

Biz.Kid09 said:
Ok BIGBC i will do one now, Dvd drive and powersupply needed?
Click to expand...

yeah will be.
 
25u2u11.png

There ya go mate, All you need to do is add your choice of case.
I would suggest going with 2 x f3 1tb as they are very quick but i went with one and then 1.5tb to give you more storage.
 
mATX could be handy.
Think 1TB would be enough to start anyways, likely add another later.
You missed a Graphics card, suppose I could always use onboard until the new nVidia's and probably update my main rig.
Like the sound of Dirt 2 for free though :D
 
Sorry i thought you said you were dropping your 9800GX2 in, Yeh Onboard will be fine until you get your new one. Have you decided what one your getting mate? Not knowing your budget i would highly recommend the 5770.
 
Yeah I was thinking about it, just weighing up my options atm.
With GPUs I normally try and get the top dog so it will last for a while. Running dual screens makes things interesting.
Im likely to wait for the new nVidia's, even if its just to lower the prices of the ATi's. So onboard could be a sensible stop-gap.
 
Im leaning towards something like this:
Untitled-1-20.jpg


and using the leftover money to go towards a GPU in my main rig later down the line.
Gonna research the difference on the CPUs in that price bracket now.
Kinda feel like the case is a little over-priced for the rest of the system but it does look nice lol :)

EDIT: any chance of the cheaper Athlon II X2's unlocking extra cores?
 
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Im really tempted lol, had better go to bed and think about it before I chuck my cash away lol.
Just realised I have a spare WD 500GB which can suffice for now too.
 
Nice build mate ;), The Athlons cant be unlocked i dont think however they are still a very capable chip and between them and Phenom II theres not a lot of difference.
 
Yeah thats what I was looking at, it wouldnt save me that much to drop it to a Athlon II 250 with DDR2 RAM so I will probably stick with the Phenom.
I think after sleeping on it I am pretty likely to go through with it lol. Will sell my Xbox and games too as I only ever use it for DVDs now.

Looking at that case, it has a slot for another 120mm intake fan, but has no exhaust by the CPU. Probably worth getting a tower CPU cooler to help the airflow then. Although the second intake shouldnt be needed until I stick the graphics card in there. Then I need a keyboard/mouse too.
 
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Im just about to put this order in:
Untitled-3.jpg


Any thoughts?
Will probably be adding another fan and tower cooler when I do the graphics.
Got a wireless set today too.

EDIT: just put the order in, will likely be waiting on stock for a while. Keep u guys posted, maybe make this thread into a project log?
 
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