Advice needed for a new Build please
I want to build a new computer and the budget is £550 but i can stretch to £600.I have already a 24 inch WS Dell Monitor/Keyboard/Mouse and I already have Winxp/Win 7 License.
All I need is the base system.I need the PC to be able to play back 1080p and Run a few Apps nothing that is that demanding though.I dont game so i rather spend the money saved on a GPU on a decent PSU/Case ,ie the case should have at least 4 sata ports to hold my various HDD archives.
I also need a set of speakers , 2.1 is fine to connect to the the PC and to a 24 inch samsung LCD.
The second thing i need is a Media player that can play dvix/xvid/1080p and output/downmix DTS etc [I dont have an Amp btw] and one that you can fit an internal 1.5 TB Sata Hdd to.I have a budget of 150 for this item.
Thanks for the help in advance.
Re: Advice needed for a new Build please
Asus M4A785TD-V EVO £71.26
http://www.scan.co.uk/product.aspx?ProductId=30348
AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition £70
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/AMD-P...MHz-85W-Retail
CorsairTwinX XMS3, DDR3 PC3-10666 (1333MHz) £85
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/4GB-%...S-9-9-9-24-DHX
Coolermaster Centurion 590 Black £51
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Coole...vable-HDD-rack
Or with a 500 watt psu as well £79
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Coole...00W-PSU-Fitted
500W Seasonic M12II-500 Modular 12cm Silent S2FC Fan, 80+ (85%)£70.50
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/500W-...-modular-cable
Logitech Z523 Dark Speaker System 2.1, Piano Black, 40W Total RMS £67
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Logit...-40W-Total-RMS
Dual core because you dont need much more for what you want to do. Built in ati 4200 graphics with 5 sata ports. 500 watt modular PSU will be plenty for your needs.
If you want more graphic power add a 512MB Asus HD 4350 Silent for £25.50
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/512MB...Sub-DVI-I-HDMI
Hope this helps.
Re: Advice needed for a new Build please
Why a crossfire board I would go with this + integrated graphics aren't the worst i've ever seen.
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/179183
Re: Advice needed for a new Build please
If you want to have bitstreaming of Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA the IGP in the new Intel Core i3 processors does support this and this is the cheapest way to do this.
The ATI HD5000 series also supports this too. OTH,if this is of no use to you the AMD 785G is the best option IMHO!
I would go with the AMD Athlon II X3 435 as this is ideal for a non-gaming computer.
This is what I would go for:
AMD Athlon II X3 435 ~ £64
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/AMD-A...MHz-95W-Retail
Asus M4A785G HTPC ~ £73
http://www.scan.co.uk/TodayOnly/Index.aspx
4GB 1333MHZ DDR3 ~ £88
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/4GB-%...S-9-9-9-24-DHX
Samsung F3 500GB ~ £36
http://www.scan.co.uk/TodayOnly/Index.aspx
Antec mini-P180 ~ £54 to £61
http://www.scan.co.uk/Search.aspx?q=P180
450W Corsair CMPSU-450HXUK ~ £51
http://www.scan.co.uk/TodayOnly/Index.aspx
SATA DVD rewriter ~ £16
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Sony-...Wx6-SATA-Black
Acoustice Energy Aego M ~ £112 to £123
http://www.ebuyer.com/search?q=acous...y+aego&x=0&y=0
Asus M4A785G HTPC even has a pair of phono connectors if you want to connect it to a stereo amplifier!!
http://asus.com/websites/global/prod...G_HTPCRC_B.jpg
Re: Advice needed for a new Build please
looks good so far,but why not quad core or intel i5 for a bit of future proofing ? and what about the media player ,any ideas?
Re: Advice needed for a new Build please
i cant quote with urls yet so question here for cat the fifth ,how come the speakers are so expensive ?
Re: Advice needed for a new Build please
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Taiko
looks good so far,but why not quad core or intel i5 for a bit of future proofing ? and what about the media player ,any ideas?
For the uses you are looking don't get suckered into the Core i5 and the high end quad core hype.
Intel and even AMD want you to spend as much money as possible so of course they give this impression.
If you were do loads of 3D rendering,ray-tracing,HD video encoding,manipulation of massive image files and playing games at high resolution then perhaps it might be good to be spending over £100 on a CPU.Even then you can get away with spending less.
A fast hard disk like the Samsung F3 or even an SSD(which are a bit too expensive ATM) will make more difference in real life than a £100+ processor.
In most cases many applications are limited by the speed of the hard disc more than anything else. The Samsung F3 is a very fast hard disk for not much money.
Many people and forums will make you waste money on things you don't need - be wary of such people.
Anything over an X4 620 or let alone a Core i3 530 is just throwing money down the drain for normal use.
Windows 7 is also more efficient than Vista too.
Even the case and PSU I listed are a bit expensive. The case is built like a tank and has very good cooling for the size. It will last you for years even though multiple upgrades. The PSU is also made by a very good company(Seasonic) and has modular cables meaning there is less mess in the case meaning better airflow. Also Corsair have a long guarantee period with their PSUs too.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Taiko
i cant quote with urls yet so question here for cat the fifth ,how come the speakers are so expensive ?
They sound quite good and are built very well. If you can demo them before you buy then it would be better. OTH,if you cannot hear the difference between it and a a cheaper one I would go for the cheap one.
Re: Advice needed for a new Build please
Quote:
Originally Posted by
CAT-THE-FIFTH
For the uses you are looking don't get suckered into the Core i5 and the high end quad core hype.
Intel and even AMD want you to spend as much money as possible so of course they give this impression.
If you were do loads of 3D rendering,ray-tracing,HD video encoding,manipulation of massive image files and playing games at high resolution then perhaps it might be good to be spending over £100 on a CPU.
A fast hard disk like the Samsung F3 or even an SSD(which are a bit too expensive ATM) will make more difference in real life than a £100+ processor.
Many people and forums will make you waste money on things you don't need - be wary of such people.
Anything over an X4 620 or let alone a Core i3 530 is just throwing money down the drain for normal use.
They sound quite good and are built very well. If you can demo them before you buy then it would be better. OTH,if you cannot hear the difference between it and a a cheaper one I would go for the cheap one.
actually you are so right,i dunno what i was thinking,i would rather spend money on an ssd as my OS drive :)
Re: Advice needed for a new Build please
I should state that i already have a speaker system for myself ,i want a speaker set to give to the kids so they can plug into my old computer and old lcd tv,so i want it as cheap as possible :D
Re: Advice needed for a new Build please
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Taiko
actually you are so right,i dunno what i was thinking,i would rather spend money on an ssd as my OS drive :)
Don't go overboard on one as they are quite expensive. I would look on Scan and Ebuyer for the models with fit your budget:
http://www.scan.co.uk/Shop/Computer-...76/605/662/664
http://www.ebuyer.com/search?store=2&cat=4&subcat=2309
I would probably start a new thread regarding this as there are people who know more about the best models of SSD to buy than me!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Taiko
I should state that i already have a speaker system for myself ,i want a speaker set to give to the kids so they can plug into my old computer and old lcd tv,so i want it as cheap as possible :D
This set of speakers looks OK for the price:
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Creat...30-21-Speakers
Also Scan do have free postage:
http://forums.hexus.net/scan-care-he...tup-guide.html
http://forums.hexus.net/scan-care-he...0-07-08-a.html
Re: Advice needed for a new Build please
thanks for the help guys ,will think about it and hopefully buy soemthing in the next few days.
Re: Advice needed for a new Build please
These speakers aren't too bad - £35.50
or maybe theses - £ 26
Or the these are cheap - £15
Of course it's Amazon so free delivery
Re: Advice needed for a new Build please
Quote:
Originally Posted by
The_Wheelhouse
These speakers aren't too bad - £35.50
or maybe
theses - £ 26
Or the these are
cheap - £15
Of course it's Amazon so free delivery
thats the kinda budget i was looking for thanks.