First time system build - Help & tips?

[gaz1185]

Hello everyone,

New user here just wondering if i could get some tips on the pc i'm looking to build, the parts i'm currently looking at are (with scan codes):

Motherboard - ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe NF570 SLI, S AM2, PCI-E (x16), DDR2 533/667/800, SATA II, SATA RAID, ATX (LN14259)

Processor - AMD AM2 Athlon 64 4600+ Windsor Core, Dual Core 2.4GHz, 2x 512KB Cache, Retail (LN14251)

Memory - 2Gb (2X1Gb) Corsair Value Select, DDR2 PC5300 (667), 240 Pin, Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 5-5-5-15 (LN12201)

Hard Drive - 250GB Seagate ST3250823AS Barracuda 7200.8 , SATA 150 , 7200 rpm , 8MB Cache ,NCQ (LN9461)

Graphics Card - 256MB Sapphire Radeon X1950Pro, PCI-E(x16), Mem 1400MHz GDDR3, GPU 580MHz, 36Pipes, Dual DVI, TV-Out (LN16176)

or

256MB XFX 8600GT XXX, PCI-E (x16), Mem 1600 MHz, GDDR3, GPU 600 MHz, 2x Dual Link DVI-I/HDTV (LN18228)

PSU - 550W Xclio Greatpower Modular SLi U-Quiet 14cm Fan 87%+ Efficiency ATX2.2Trio+12v EPS 4SATA 6x PCI-E (LN13697)

Cooling Fan - Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro - (Socket 754, 939, AM2) + ALL AMD Opteron (LN13081)

Case - Akasa Zen Case - Black Silent Cool Midi-ATX Computing case w/2 silent 12cm fans w/o PSU (LN15198)

or

Xclio-II CS-3060 Midi Tower Case 250mm Side Fan Super Cooling Dual Core Ready w/o PSU (LN13271)

I'm looking to stay around or under the £500 mark, so if you guys could give me some tips or ideas, also more importantly if these parts will work together

Thanks for any help!

[Flewis]

Go for the intel chips, C2D vastly outperforms the AMD chips. An E4300 is only £75 and will overclock easily with the stock cooler and at stock volts. You would need a C2D mobo though such as the gigabyte DS3 (must be 965 chipset though).
Go for the Akasa Zen over the xclio case, the build quality will be noticeable. Those 25cm fans dont last long by most accounts. With the GPU its whether you want DX10 or not, X1950 will perform better tho under current drivers.

[saltynay]

no c2d is not the way when sub £500 this is what I would build

cpu: athlonx2 4400+
motherboard:MSI K9NBPM2-FID,
Ram: g-skill 1gb (6400) (you can add an extra gb later to dual channel)
Case: your choice I added £85 to the end price which should be enough
hdd: seagate barracuda 7200.10 320gb ( you can get less and save some cash)
gfx: XFX8800gts 320mb (overclock it when you have your system stable)
Psu: 450w coolermaster ( the one you chose is not a great brand in my opinion and way to much power then your system needs look at my sig it is running off a 430W 24/7

total price: £587 you can save money on hdd and case though

[Flewis]

Xclio do make good powersupplies as long as they are of the greatpower range. There is no need to spend £85 on a case for a budget system, the akasa zen would be fine.

The graphics card depends on how many games you play, if you can afford it then the 8800gts would be worth the money.

[dave87]

I would seriously consider some of the new Antec NSK series cases, as they come with a half decent PSU which would certainly power a rig along the lines of that which you have suggested.

[saltynay]

ooo does that mean for once you guys like my build ideas lol. I only added such a big budget for case to allow him to have a greater choice afterall it is him who will be looking at it every day

[kalniel]

no c2d is not the way when sub £500

Yes it is.



+vat = £374

Leaving plenty for the OS and any other upgrades.

[saltynay]

the amdx2 4400+ would get higher clock speeds once overclocked.

add £100 for 8800gts
I don't like samsung hardrives seagate cudas are fast reliable and have a long warranty.
the ram is suggested would be better for overclocking
you can swap to that psu if you want save yourself £30 but I wouldn't trust the price and brand

[Flewis]

id personally rather have that system than an AMD one. I would get a 965 chipset mobo though and maybe spend another £15-20 on the psu.

[kalniel]

the amdx2 4400+ would get higher clock speeds once overclocked.

But not be as fast. Unless you're suggesting the E4300 isn't a good overclocker.. which would be odd

I don't like samsung hardrives seagate cudas are fast reliable and have a long warranty.

Samsung hardrives are fast and quiet - top recommendation from me, but seagate are also great.

the ram is suggested would be better for overclocking

The ram I quoted is perfect for OCing the 4300 - that's the beauty of that chip - you get a huge boost just by running the ram at 266, let alone getting to 333 which this ram is guarenteed at.

you can swap to that psu if you want save yourself £30 but I wouldn't trust the price and brand

Enermax are sound. It's just an old design of PSU, from when people didn't mistakenly think they needed 600W+

[Flewis]

you can swap to that psu if you want save yourself £30 but I wouldn't trust the price and brand

Enermax not trusted, they make top spec units, admittedly the coolergiant is old tech and will be phased out soon but you cant knock enermax. 1000W enermax galaxy anyone (except clunk who had one blow).

[gaz1185]

Thanks for such a great response so far guys!

Seen as though most of you say Intel is the way to go, i've created a system made from the parts you've mentioned and which is still around the £500 mark:

LN12201 - 2Gb (2X1Gb) Corsair Value Select, DDR2 PC5300 (667), 240 Pin, Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 5-5-5-15
LN15512 - 500W CoolerMaster iGreen Power Silent SLi 85% Eff' ATX 12V V2.2 EPS12V v2.91
LN16908 - Antec NSK6000 uATX/ATX Super Mid Tower case without PSU - Black+Silver
LN18122 - Intel Core 2 Duo E4400, Socket 775, 2.0 GHz, 800MHz FSB, Allendale Core, 2MB Cache, Retail
LN13080 - Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro - P4 up to 4.4GHz - S775 Dual Core / Core2Duo Ready
LN14162 - 320 Gb Seagate ST3320620AS Barracuda 7200.10, SATA300, 7200 rpm, 16MB Cache, 8.5 ms, NCQ
LN17232 - Asus P5N-E SLI NF650i SLi, S 775, PCI-E (x16), DDR2 533/667/800, SATA II, SATA RAID, ATX
LN16176 - 256MB Sapphire Radeon X1950Pro, PCI-E(x16), Mem 1400MHz GDDR3, GPU 580MHz, 36Pipes, Dual DVI, TV-Out

Lmk what you think of this one or leave any more suggestions

Thanks again!

[dave87]

Looking pretty damn good

[arbitor]

Enermax not trusted, they make top spec units, admittedly the coolergiant is old tech and will be phased out soon but you cant knock enermax. 1000W enermax galaxy anyone (except clunk who had one blow).

the galaxy was good, all the ones before are not that great so he has a very valid point.

*edit* i hope you know by the time you have finished listening to all of the opinions on this thread you will come out with a pc that is more than you need, i see it EVERY day on here, people get reccomended things they simply are not going to use, so do watch your budget otherwise you wil be told/tempted to spend more when you dont need to

[gaz1185]

Glad i seem to be getting somewhere Although now i'm not sure about the Motherboard, i'm undecided between the following 3:

LN17232 - Asus P5N-E SLI NF650i SLi, S 775, PCI-E (x16), DDR2 533/667/800, SATA II, SATA RAID, ATX

LN17817 - ECS NF650iSLIT-A NF650i SLi, S 775, PCI-E (x16), DDR2 533/667/800, SATA II, SATA RAID, ATX

LN18196 - MSI P6N SLI FI NF650i SLi, S 775, PCI-E (x16), DDR2 533/667/800, SATA II, SATA RAID, ATX

I think i'm swaying towards the MSI motherboard now, but would like your opinions.

arbitor, i'm still within my budget luckily, but i won't be making any more improvements now!

Thanks everyone!

[dave87]

As much as I love the NF2 chipset on my board, I would suggest trying to find a p965 or 975 based board, supposedly a lot better at overclocking.