New Computer

[lulu1484]

Hi everyone, Sorry to hassle but could someone just confirm that my list is ok?

Really sorry to be a pain, i'm just all into this computer thing now and would really like to get "Hands On"

Thanks!

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Unless you want to be gaming at some point I would get a smaller and more efficient PSU.

Here are some ones I would look at:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/400W-...-year-warranty

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/350W-...ready!-24-740C

I would also check the Scan Today Only and Shop Offers web-pages in case any of the bits you want are on offer.

[lulu1484]

So the 400 watt one will be ok?, i was under the impression that a quad core needed more power.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

So the 400 watt one will be ok?, i was under the impression that a quad core needed more power.

It depends on the quad core you have and whether you are into massive amounts of overclocking too and need to have a high end graphics card.

I am running a lightly overclocked Q6600,4GB of DDR2 RAM,a pair of SATA hard disks,a DVD rewriter,a card reader and an HD4830 512MB on a 400W PSU.

An X4 620,4GB of DDR3 RAM with a motherboard with an integrated graphics card should run fine on a decent 350W to 400W PSU IMHO. AFAIK the Corsair CX400 is made by Seasonic.

[Zhaoman]

Most people tend to over-estimate their power requirements and sometimes by a long shot . I think your PC would realistically draw between 150W-200W so a 400W PSU would leave you with plenty of room for upgrades. This thread should help you out:

http://forums.hexus.net/hexus-hardwa...r-results.html

[lulu1484]

That thread helped, 400 Watt it is!

[M0nkeyb0Y]

That thread helped, 400 Watt it is!

post... thread is the whole thing, post is a single entry/reply

[lulu1484]

Ha, sorry! - I'll get there in the end!

[HotFrogger]

If you wanna save another bundle of pennies, I'd leave out the SSD. I know they're meanta be faster but for the price difference I don't think it's worth the extra second or so.
That's just my opinion though. Maybe wait until they come down in price and upgrade to one.
You'll notice the difference more too then

[M0nkeyb0Y]

Ha, sorry! - I'll get there in the end!

Ignore me - I didn't see the link to the thread!

[Zhaoman]

If you wanna save another bundle of pennies, I'd leave out the SSD. I know they're meanta be faster but for the price difference I don't think it's worth the extra second or so.
That's just my opinion though. Maybe wait until they come down in price and upgrade to one.
You'll notice the difference more too then

I think you are absolutely right, at this point an SSD is pushing the build a bit too far over budget. But as for whether an SSD is worth the price I'd say it is worth every penny. An SSD isn't just about loading the OS a few seconds quicker (which proponents of both sides seem to grab hold of and never let go) but it's actually mainly about general system responsiveness. The access times of an SSD is on a different level with a traditional hard drive which makes the system feel silky smooth. My dad recently got a Dell laptop with an SSD and I have to say it feels much slicker than my current system despite it having a much slower processer and memory etc. So if you can afford an SSD then it is definitely 'worth' it.

This article may help:

http://www.anandtech.com/storage/sho...spx?i=3531&p=1

[peackshelb]

[IMG][/IMG]

I've been looking at everything and with everyone's help, i've come up with this list.

Please can you look over it and check that i've not messed it up!

Thanks

Two more thoughts:

1) You will need an SATA data cable as well - unless you or your friends have one spare, or you buy the drive bundled with an SATA data cable such as is often found (and currently available) in Scan's Today Only deals.
EDIT: As correctly pointed out by Zhaoman and Pob255 below, most modern motherboards come with at least a couple of SATA data cables so no need to order extras.

2) I'm no expert on AMD heat sink fans (HSFs), but I gather that the ones that come with the processors aren't very good. If you would like a quiet machine you will probably need to add a quiet HSF to your list. Perhaps someone else reading this thread will have a good suggestion, otherwise you could try sites such as:
http://www.frostytech.com/articles.cfm
for reviews.

[lulu1484]

Ok, what type of hard drive would you recommend for Windows 7, and would this processor fan be ok?

Thanks

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Ok, what type of hard drive would you recommend for Windows 7, and would this processor fan be ok?

Thanks

A Samsung F3 500GB or 1TB would do the job. Regarding the cooler the X4 620 comes with a similar cooler to an X3 720. Here is a review of the X3 720 cooler:
http://ixbtlabs.com/articles3/cpu/phenom-2-cnq-p1.html

The cooler is pictured in this review:
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/Athlon_II_X4_620

BTW,some bits for your build are on the Scan Today Only webpage this weekend.

[Zhaoman]

Yes that fan is a good choice for your build and budget but I wonder if it's necessary since you're not going to be overclocking and that fan (from reports by users) isn't *that* much quieter than a reference fan. I usually either stick with reference or go all out and get the best/most silent one.

You don't need to order Sata cables as far as I know because motherboards usually come with 3 or 4 of them (at least all of my motherboards have) so you needn't worry about that. The hard drives previously suggested are all good, if your budget can stretch I would get an SSD, if not then the Samsung Pob first suggested or the WD in your image are both good drives.

[Pob255]

Two more thoughts:

1) You will need an SATA data cable as well - unless you or your friends have one spare, or you buy the drive bundled with an SATA data cable such as is often found (and currently available) in Scan's Today Only deals.

Most Motherboards come with 2 sata cables, so you shouldn't need to buy any.