Advice needed for a new Build please

[Taiko]

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.

[dfour]

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.

[The_Wheelhouse]

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

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

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!!

[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?

[Taiko]

i cant quote with urls yet so question here for cat the fifth ,how come the speakers are so expensive ?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

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.

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.

[Taiko]

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

[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

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

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!

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

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

[Taiko]

thanks for the help guys ,will think about it and hopefully buy soemthing in the next few days.

[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

[Taiko]

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.