Opinions appreciated on this cheap home PC & whether it's good value

[scaryjim]

Do you mean AM2+ 'AM3 ready' ?

Yes, I did

That x-case would fit everything in, but you'd need to get the bundled PSU and I'd be hesitant about that since they don't provide any details. £18 is pretty cheap for a PSU, and cheap PSUs are generally not a great idea...

I get the total of your components to be £196 - did you forget to register for free shipping from Scan?

[Terbinator]

Don't forget, If your using an AM3 board you can only use DDR3.

[Rob_B]

Yes, I did

That x-case would fit everything in, but you'd need to get the bundled PSU and I'd be hesitant about that since they don't provide any details. £18 is pretty cheap for a PSU, and cheap PSUs are generally not a great idea...

I get the total of your components to be £196 - did you forget to register for free shipping from Scan?

Oh yeah, I'm just not logged in

Don't forget, If your using an AM3 board you can only use DDR3.

Think I'd go for the "ASUS M3N78-VM GeForce 8200 Socket AM2+ VGA DVI HDMI 8 channel audio mATX Motherboard" Takes DDR2 (upto 800mhx for an AM3 chip I think)

So its an X3 435 from Scan - here £59.56
Mobo from ebuyer here £52.03
Crucial 2GB DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 Memory Non-ECC Unbuffered CL6 from ebuyer £36.99
250GB OEM Spinpoint from ebuyer? £22.85
Sony AD-5240S-OB DVDRW - £16.38

= £187.81

Case/PSU TBC
How are the OEM HSFs on the X3s?

[peterb]

<---snip

That x-case would fit everything in, but you'd need to get the bundled PSU and I'd be hesitant about that since they don't provide any details.

snip--->

No - I'd give the PSU a miss and buy it without. To be fair, the PSU's they sell separately look OK ish, but for a decent 500W psu I'd be looking to pay at least £45 for a known branded one. You could ring them up and ask them of course. As I said earlier - they are very helpful.

[Rob_B]

But they're just going to say it's fine aren't they? mATX PSUs are that much? Any suggestions on brand then?

ebuyer only have this http://www.ebuyer.com/product/164363 (or an 'extra value' one)
Scan have quite a few http://www.scan.co.uk/Shop/Computer-...TX-and-Fanless

[Rob_B]

My credit card is getting twitchy guys, I'm unsure on the HDD/RAM and PSU but set on the mobo, CPU & DVDRW....ordering in 10mins so speak now or forever hold your peace!

[peterb]

But they're just going to say it's f Brand wise - FSP, Seasonic. I bouine aren't they? mATX PSUs are that much? Any suggestions on brand then?

ebuyer only have this http://www.ebuyer.com/product/164363 (or an 'extra value' one)
Scan have quite a few http://www.scan.co.uk/Shop/Computer-...TX-and-Fanless

I meant just ask what the brand of PSU was installed.

As for brand, I'd look at an FSP - I bought one a couple of years ago to replace a cheapo one that melted the cables when a plug was plugged in incorrectly (on an awkwardly place floppy drive - the plug was displaced by one) Bzarrely, when I pluggd in the FSP, I did the same thing - the FSP just shrugged it off and refused to start.

FSP are also OEM mfrs for a number of branded supplies.

I'd look at any of these:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/400W-...Eff-PCI-E-SATA

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/450W-...and-24-Pin-ATX

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/400W-...12V-23-EPS-12V

But - not cheap. If you are looking at a Budget - possibly

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/350w-...4-SFX-uATX-PSU

Only 350 watts - but probably enough.

There is also this on clearence

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/500W-...ency-0Db-Noise!!

Don't know much about the brand though.

If you can live without fanless, there is a wider choice at lower cost.

http://www.scan.co.uk/Shop/Computer-...lies/480W-580W

[Rob_B]

Aah ok cheers, getting the parts now (except the HDD) & case/PSU. Will probably get that case though, kinda funky

[Rob_B]

Ordered everything except Case/PSU, really stuck for these, nothing seems to fit what I want, the Xcase seems the best so far as it can fit full height cards if I ever decide to turn it into a gaming PC (which I could given the parts I've bought I guess)



Something like this might be what I end up with, cheapish, 80mm fans but no idea on full height cards.

[scaryjim]

The bracket height for standard PCI is 12cm, so any case narrower than that won't take full height cards. That means the one you linked to above is a nono, I'm afraid. If you want full height PCI and slim, then you're going to be looking at 60mm fans, because they're the biggest that will fit in the space left above a standard IO section if your case height is limited to 12cm! You're also going to be looking PSUs other than standard ATX, which will push the cost up.

So, really, you need to decide what's most important. If it's the size, then I'd recommend looking at low profile cases as well as the ones that take full height PCI cards. If it's having the ability to expand to full height PCI cards, then you need to look at minitowers and cubes. The xcase is probably a reasonable compromise position, but then you need to find a decent PSU.

The nearest I can find to the xcase elsewhere is probably this extra value case from ebuyer, which fits the requirements of full PCI slots and narrow case. IN fact, I'd be surprised if the 2 cases weren't made my the same OEM with a different front bezel slapped on depending on customer . The advantage with buying the one from ebuyer is that it comes with a 200w matx PSU for - effectively - £3, which would let you at least get up and running while you consider buying a "better" PSU for the long term.

[Rob_B]

Cheers (again!) I'd seen that case but never noticed they were similar, I'd thought about the card height thing & think it'd be nice to be able to expand. To that end I've seen this one with a 400W no-name PSU supplied for £43 (inc P&P)

Or I'm looking at towers then a normal ATX PSU (which defeats the purpose of buying mATX in the first place though )

Scan have the Coolermaster Elite 360 + a 500W (*shudder*) EZCool PSU for under £30, are these still as bad as I remember? EDIT: PSU is £12 normally, yes, it'll probably be a stinker!

[scaryjim]

The InWin you've linked to is an mATX tower which takes a standard ATX PSU (so basically a standard tower but shorter). Ebuyer have a whole range of similar cases, mostly without PSU, including some other InWins with a similar design. Unfortunately Ebuyer's classification system isn't without its fails, so you need the check the specs carefully to see what you're getting!

[Rob_B]

Went for the one with the 200W PSU, put my ebuyer order on hold to add it, then the HDD I'd ordered was allocated to someone else as my order was on hold so I've lost that! Swines! Have a spare I'll use for now

[Rob_B]

Parts arrived early so been building it tonight, all working fine now, just need the monitor I ordered from Scan

The case is however, ugly, ugly as in 'what-the-hell-is-that-thing-with-gold-trim' ugly. Aah well, that's why it was £20!

Cable management isn't really an option due to size so it's a bit of a mess inside but seems to be fine, more playing tomorrow!

[scaryjim]

... The case is however, ugly, ugly as in 'what-the-hell-is-that-thing-with-gold-trim' ugly. ...

Sounds like a candidate for modding / repainting

[Rob_B]

Sounds like a candidate for modding / repainting

Wish I had the time or inclination

Gotta get a new PSU asap, runs fine but...

+5V = 20A
-5V = 0.5A
+12V = 8A
-12V = 0.5A
+3.3 = 14A
+5VSB = 2A