£500 Build Idea's

[staffsMike]

More help, what is the world coming to.

I've been asked to do a build over xmas. The PC will be used mainly for programming development (C++ usually), running vista 64 bit (not required to purchase).

Obviously I have my own idea's about what to buy but without suggesting what I am thinking of I'd like to see if there are alternatives I'm not thinking of.

AMD/Intel doesn't matter.
Graphics don't need to be up to much but have to be nvidia if you go dedicated.
Must be decent quality and have percieved quality (ruling out cheapo biostar motherboards on this one)
Noise is an issue, so as quiet as possible.

So £500, less if preferable (as I'll be pocketing the change ).

[SiM]

Get a Dell.

you already know the "build from parts" suggestions that you will get from here...

Coolermaster CM-690 ~£60
Corsair 520W HX ~£70
DFI P45 is nice but Abit's IP-35 Dark Raider is good and saves £35 (~£65)
Intel E5200 ~£60, lots of grunt really and lots of overclocking headroom.
Scythe Ninja II ~£27
4GB PC6400 XMS2 ~£40 (last time i checked)
Western Digital 640GB AAKS/Caviar Blue ~£48
DVD Drive ~£15
ATi HD4850 ~ £120

£505 (with the dark raider)

Change GPU to suit needs and switch the CPU for a Q6600.

Come on Mikey. This thread is really just to boost your post count...

[staffsMike]

Get a Dell.

you already know the "build from parts" suggestions that you will get from here...

Change GPU to suit needs and switch the CPU for a Q6600.

Come on Mikey. This thread is really just to boost your post count...

Lol,

I'm thinking more along the lines of my full ATX AMD options.

I don't want a Dell for this as it will probably change a quite frequently and I have no idea what they are like noise wise these days.

Having said that you can get the cheapest i7 dell studio xps for £645 which is pretty damn good, considering it has a 640GB HDD and 4GB of RAM as well as an HD3650 and blu ray

[Powderhound]

Lol,

I'm thinking more along the lines of my full ATX AMD options.

I don't want a Dell for this as it will probably change a quite frequently and I have no idea what they are like noise wise these days.

Having said that you can get the cheapest i7 dell studio xps for £645 which is pretty damn good, considering it has a 640GB HDD and 4GB of RAM as well as an HD3650 and blu ray

I was looking at that earlier, but te 4GB RAM option is dual channel rather than triple.

[matty-hodgson]

do you need keyboard, speakers, mouse, monitor?

if not, this is what i'd suggest to you:


leaves a bit of money to buy fans, extra HDs, sound proofing, stuff like that

[Maccer101]

Black Antec NSK6580 (incl. 430w PSU) £72
Asus P43 board £60-65
E5200 £62
Scythe Cooler £25-30
2x2gb Corsair £40
9500gt Passive (pallit @ Scan for £42)
1TB Samsung F1 £74
Pioneer DVD £17
couple of low speed sub 20db 92mm fans for the front of the case £8

All above for about £400

reckon that would be nice and quiet, look pretty nice and save £100

BTW the Dell 530 Inspirons are quiet, but if think thats cos the BIOS fan control makes the rear fan spin slow to keep the noise down (run mine off molex with a Zalman fan controller now), when I replaced the Dell PSU for a Corsair VX450 the corsair was no quieter.

[MSIC]

The PC will be used mainly for programming development (C++ usually), running vista 64 bit (not required to purchase).

I'm not a programmer myself, but i'm guessing that you wont need to be thrashing hard drives alot?
So would one of the WD Green range be a good idea?

As for some thinking points, well, i know you can build the obvious spec nearly as well as i can (), so let's find something different.

Case/PSU/Mobo: Shuttle K48 £115 (i know, i know, but it's the only place). Review. Shuttle's site.
CPU: Your favorite, but not for overclocking this time. £64.
CPU HSF: Scythe Shuriken (low profile) £22 (Review)
Hard Drive: 2.5" Toshiba 320GB SATA £47 (i'm thinking of that PSU, as well as noise).
RAM: Not quite the usual but it's a downside of the spec. £22.
Graphics: On board.
Sound: On board.
Optical: Anything for £15.

Total = £285.

As i said, food for thought really, and although it wont break any records, you can see the potential.

[staffsMike]

As i said, food for thought really, and although it wont break any records, you can see the potential.

That's certainly off the beaten track lol I like it though

Matty and Maccer - That's essentially what I have specced but with an antec solo.

I'm just thinking I can get an AMD based 780G/ 790GX etc.. + a 9950 phenom for the same sort of money.

[UseItNow]

Case/PSU/Mobo: Shuttle K48 £115 (i know, i know, but it's the only place). Review. Shuttle's site.

You know what?

I've been eyeing up that Shuttle for some time since it's been on OcUK! The price is definitely food for thought and it's not bad to be honest.

Mike, if you are looking at the AMD route, take a look here, I know it's OcUK. The Phenom Quad 9850 OEM at around 80 Quid!
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...AM2)%20-%20OEM

[MadduckUK]

You know what?

I've been eyeing up that Shuttle for some time since it's been on OcUK! The price is definitely food for thought and it's not bad to be honest.

Mike, if you are looking at the AMD route, take a look here, I know it's OcUK. The Phenom Quad 9850 OEM at around 80 Quid!
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...AM2)%20-%20OEM

***, thats the resale value of mine stuffed

[staffsMike]

You know what?

I've been eyeing up that Shuttle for some time since it's been on OcUK! The price is definitely food for thought and it's not bad to be honest.

Mike, if you are looking at the AMD route, take a look here, I know it's OcUK. The Phenom Quad 9850 OEM at around 80 Quid!
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...AM2)%20-%20OEM

I've been so busy I've forgotten all about this, someone won't be happy

That's annoying cheap, I was almost resolved on the E5200.. but i wonder what is wrong with that phenom..

[SiM]

i wonder what is wrong with that phenom..

It' a phenom, therefore its slow.

[GeorgeStorm]

Phenoms arent that slow, and for that price, that is a great deal, overclock it to 3GHz, which should be easily acheivable, and you will have good performance in games, but then also in things like video/audio encoding etc....

Just me.........

[staffsMike]

It's not for games or video encoding in this case though. Probably stick with the E5200 or an X2.

[themaidenmaniac]

mike, you're still here, woo! Remember advising me on the ip35 q6600 setup this time last year?

[staffsMike]

At some point it all becomes a bit of a blur but I do remember you yeah. All going well I hope, you and the PC lol