£500 quad-core system - struggling!

[Mojo_jojo_mark]

You said for surfing and cad programs, ditch the 9600 and replace that with an 8600gt, I use this now till i can afford an upgrade, it runs 3d studio pretty good, and as for 4gb, settle for 2gb. Its a tight budget to be aiming that high, thats about 50-60 quid back already

[Mithrandir]

Here's a couple of things you change to make a small saving:

Samsung 500gb (t166) for £44 from Scan

Coolermaster Elite 330 Black Case With CM eXtreme Power 460W PSU £43.99

[Taz]

Thanks all. I'll be ordering everything in a week's time. I know it's been a tough challenge but, thanks to the advice in this thread, i've managed to shortlist the following items:

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 - £143.29
Scythe Miné - £23.84
Coolermaster Elite 330 - £42.99
500 GB Samsung HD501LJ - £44.29
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium - £61.79
Samsung SH-S203D/BEBN 20x DVD±R - £16.79
256MB HiS HD3450 - £32.91
Abit IP35V - £54.54
4GB (2x2GB) Corsair DDR2 6400 - £60.68

TOTAL: approx. £481.09

So, there you have a 4GB, Quad-core, Vista 64-bit base system for under £500.

[staffsMike]

isn't that the PSU people keep moaning about being noisey?

I'd be tempted to get that very cheap sharkoon case on scan and a corsair vx 450W.. it'll cost you the extra £20 but I think it would be worth it.

or one of these
Antec NSK4480 Black & Silver Mini-Tower ATX Case - With 380W EarthWatts PSU - Ebuyer

or these
Antec NSK6580 Mid Tower ATX/MATX Case - With 430W EarthWatts PSU ATX12V 2.0 USB/FireWire/Audio - Ebuyer

[PsychoChimp]

I agree with Mike on the case/PSU combo.

Either any cheap case + VX450 or Antec NSK4480.

I've got the VX450 and an NSK4000 (NSK4480 without PSU)and am pretty happy with both, except the case only has an 80mm fan intake.

Chimp

[staffsMike]

the nsk6580 has two 92mm's at the front which is why I thought it was worth mentioning

also the IP-35E is only £3 more if it gets back into stock which has better chipset cooling if nothing else. Also the dark raider may pop up for a similar price on today onlys so watch out.

[Vimeous]

Swap the Scythe for an Artic Cooling Freezer Pro 7?
Certainly cheaper and if you're not OC'ing should be pretty quiet.

You want quiet so bigger fans the better. Anything with 80mm's will be too noisy.

[staffsMike]

I don't think the freezer 7 pro is particularly quiet when the fan is spinning at the sort of speed required to deliver good temps. It's very good for the money but the mine is worth the £8 or so extra by far.

It can get very quiet but the mine will give better cooling with very little noise.

You can save a bit of money with this
Sapphire HD 3450 256MB DDR2 VGA DVI TV Out PCI-E Graphics Card - Ebuyer and if you got the nsk6580 you would get free delivery on that

[PsychoChimp]

I have a Freezer Pro 7 but will probably swap it soon because on full speed it is very loud.
I'd spend the extra and get something decent like a Scythe or TRUE.

Also need to find a way to jam a 120mm fan into the Antec NSK4000 but that's a different story...

Chimp

[Mithrandir]

or these
Antec NSK6580 Mid Tower ATX/MATX Case - With 430W EarthWatts PSU ATX12V 2.0 USB/FireWire/Audio - Ebuyer

This would be my choice for a budget case and psu.

These are nice cases and the psu seems solid. Better than the coolermaster one I posted.

[Taz]

Okay guys you've convinced me about the Antec NSK6580 case. Would the 430W PSU be sufficient to power a Q6600 quad-core (non-overclocked)?

Also, i'll got the Abit IP-35E mobo instead of the V.

[PsychoChimp]

That should be plenty to power your system with the HD3450 and Q6600.
If I remember correctly, I think the EarthWatts PSUs are made by Seasonic and so should be very good?

Chimp

[staffsMike]

Not sure about seasonic making them but they are pretty solid PSU's from what I have read.

Plenty enough power for that system with overclocks or not imo

That's going to be a great build for that budget, tonnes of power for anything you want it to do.

[Mithrandir]

The earthwatts should be more than enough I think.

HERE is the official page.

HERE are some reviews although for the 500w version (although I would suspect they're very much the same)

[Taz]

I've had a think about the HSF and have specced the Artic Cooling Freezer Pro 7. It seems a lot easier to fit compared to the Scythe Mine and the system will be running at stock speeds. Apparently, it's fairly quiet at stock speeds. I've also gone for the Abit IP35-E motherboard.

The shortlist is currently looking like this:

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 G0 SLACR...........................................£132.76
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro......................................................£14.38
Antec NSK6580 Mid Tower (inc. PSU).........................................£59.69
500 GB Samsung HD501LJ Spinpoint T166..................................£44.29
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1* 64Bit 1Pk OEM......£61.79
Toshiba/Samsung TS-H653, 20x DVD±R.....................................£14.09
256MB Sapphire HD3450...........................................................£26.43
Abit IP35-E..............................................................................£57.92
4GB (2x2GB) Corsair TwinX XMS2, DDR2 PC2-6400 (800)............£58.33
Microsoft B2L-00045 Comfort Curve Keyboard + Mouse...............£14.06


TOTAL:...................................................................................£483.74

I've managed to throw in a Microsoft keyboard and an optical mouse and still keep things below £500. One or two of the items are from this weekends Today Only on Scan. The case/PSU is from eBuyer and the other items are from Scan's normal prices. Would the Scythe Mine be that much better than the ACF 7 Pro at this budget level?

[Webby]

For the extra £10 I would probably get it while you have no plans to OC at the moment you may decide to in the future at which point the better cooler will be a big benefit. It will also be quiet at all load levels while still keeping your cpu cool, the ACF7P may be fine at stock speeds with low loads but under full load I would think it will still ramp up the fan speed and the noise.