Yet Another Specification Thread.

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Joined
20 Jun 2003
Posts
710
Hello all,

I have been using an XP-M 2500+ box for quite some time now, but I am now being forced into upgrading as the motherboard has died and I really could do with dual-core. The trouble is that I have no idea what is the current state of PC hardware, so two options:

1) Bottle it, get Mac Mini.

2) Upgrade XP-M box, build my own machine.

Things that may be useful for you to be aware of, well I use Linux and have no need for Windows. I am not a gamer. I will be doing processor intensive tasks such as video editing and running network simulations.

My budget is around £600, I could try to stretch to £700. I intend to use the same case and monitor, the PSU is an Antec 350W thing and may need replacing. Requirement on the CPU is that it needs the Intel virtualization technology so I can have a good play with Xen. You can exclude bits such as keyboard, mouse and speakers from the spec if you wish, but if you do include them, I prefer wired. Finally 2Gb RAM would be nice.

Right, I'm off to investigate further, I look forward to your specs/thoughts/opinions. Thanks.

EDIT: Oh, musn't forget that I should be able to have it on and be able to sleep in the same room! :)
 
Something like this might do, I don't know if it has Intel's virtualisation technology but it is one of the latest CPUs they have made so if anything PC related does this should. Since you say gaming is not important I went for a passively cooled model but it is Nvidia as I understand the Linux support is still better. As for the rest it is a mix of solid components.

MB-011-IN Intel DP965LT 965 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard - Retail (MB-011-IN)
£69.99 £69.99
CP-128-IN Intel Core 2 DUO E6600 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail (CP-128-IN)
£197.99 £197.99
GX-087-LT Leadtek GeForce 7300 GT 256MB DDR2 TV-Out/DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-087-LT)
£49.99 £49.99
HD-079-SE Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB ST3250620AS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD-079-SE)
£49.95 £49.95
CD-035-NE NEC ND3550 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM (CD-035-NE)
£19.95 £19.95
MY-034-GL GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC5300 667MHz Value DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (GX22GB5300DC) (MY-034-GL)
£119.99 £119.99
CA-000-SS Seasonic S12 430W Silent ATX2.0 Power Supply (CA-000-SS)
£43.99 £43.99
Subtotal £551.85
VAT £96.58
Total £648.43
 
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