advice please , as usual new system build :D

[ricflairandy]

Last system i put togther was my current one that i have just sold. Which as it happens was a socket A!

Was going to just go and buy a dell system(nice and quiet), but now Im now looking to put another together and my have things changed!.

Anyway, im on a budget, as i dont play games and will probably use it mainly for internet, and streaming hdtv (somehow if i can find a way of doing it from upstairs to downstairs!).

This is what im looking at so far Can anyone reccomend any changes or advise on if this looks ok?

Asrock 775TWINS-HDTV - £42.24
Intel Pentium® 4 D 805(from what i gather, you cant beat the potential overclocked performance for the price) - £67.27
200 GB Maxtor DiamondMax Plus10 SATA2 7200rpm - £46.53 (may go for 320gb for a little extra)
OCZ® Value Pro 1GB DDR2 PC4200 533Mhz Dual Channel Kit with Copper Heatspreader £73.09
Latest pioneer dvdrw - £24


All i need now is some kind of case and cooling. Ideally i want it as quiet as possible, as its going in the bedroom. Going to ditch the tv at some point and get a tv card and replace the tv with it.

All advice welcome (unless your going to advise me to spend alot more!)

Thansk

[Clunk]

there are 2 things that i would suggest here. personally, i would dump the p4 idea and get an amd am2 setup, better bang for buck, should overclock well***

spend an extra 40 quid and drop an e6300 chip in there and change the motherboard for the asrockconroe****

***what psu are you getting? if you scrimp on the psu, you probably wont be able to overclock anyway.

how much is your total budget?

[ricflairandy]

Havent got a set budget, but needs to be as cheap as possible, which is the main reason im looking at the pd 805.

I could change the board fore the asrockconroe, which would mean an extra tenner, but the ability to go conroe in the future. Shame , as i liked the component out with the 775twins.

[MSIC]

Think about this setup:

Case & PSU £32 (i've bought one before, it's actually ok).
Asus AM2 motherboard £39 (inc onboard VGA with room for gaming in future).
AMD Dual Core Athlon for £102
or single core for £48 (if money really is an issue). Both come with acceptable HSF.
1 x 1GB DDR2 memory £63 (then buy another when you can afford, for both dual channel and 2 GB)
250GB Samsung quiet hard drive £50
NEC DVD Writer £23

[ricflairandy]

Is the amd x2 that much better than the pentium d?

The reason i was thinking the 805d was because in the future i could simply replace the cpu with a core duo 2 couldnt i?

My quick knock up prices yesterday where at around £250 for the lot and has slowly crept up to over 300 now!.


My main use will be encoding video, watching tv, streaming hdtv and internet. Mabey the odd game of football manager aswell.

[ytrewq]

If you want it Quiet then the AM2 is the way to go, as the X2 3800+ produces much less heat than the P4 805. It really depends on how quiet you want the system, so quiet you can't hear it from a few metres away or so you can't hear it period.

Looking at your spec you laid out, it most noise will probably be the Hard drive and the PSU (if you go for an X2 3800+), the hard drive could probably be suspended and well the PSU, could be changed down the line for a few £££.

[MadduckUK]

iv got the 939 version if MISC's reccomended motherboard.(http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=434319). same chipset as far as i can tell. and its good. very impressed for the stupid cheap price

[ricflairandy]

i like the case at ebuyer ANTLER PC-326 . Anyone seen any cases that look like that, the missus is having her say and it must be a white glos appleish look.

its not fair

[ricflairandy]

This is driving me insane. Originally i wanted to do it for under 250, as just a nice quiet pc that would be great for anything but games.

Now im bloody torn between sticking with the original price plan and getting an 805 d, changing completely for an athlon 3800 x2, or going even more extra and getting a core duo 2 e6300


What should i do? , are the differences between the 3 that big? Which is the quietest or uses less power?

AAARRRGGHH!

[Listy2021]

An e6300 is more energy efficient than an 805 D and thus easier to cool, resulting in a quieter system (and yes the performance of Core 2 Duo's is that much better that it justifies the extra money).

[Clunk]

i like the case at ebuyer ANTLER PC-326 .

I'll bet that's deer

if you are only going to use it for watching films etc, then a £500 pc, isnt going to look much different to a £250 one, if you are going to be gaming, or overclocking, then you need a few extra quality bits.

[MSIC]

Most people here would say that a new Core 2 Duo is the only chip to recommend. But then again, it's easy to recommend other people's money.
In terms of ability (broadly) it goes (best last):
Pentium D - Athlon 64 - Core 2 Duo
In terms of heat output and therefore noise control (best last):
Pentium D - Athlon 64 - Core 2 Duo
In terms of cost, highest last, it goes:
Pentium D - Athlon 64 - Core 2 Duo

You pays your money, you takes your choice. But a Pentium 775 system is a dead end without future upgrade (depending on compatability issues), the other 2 are not...

[ricflairandy]

isnt 775 core duo 2 ?

[Steve B]

not necessarily, the LGA775 socket has been around for a few years now, but only the newer chipsets, namely 965, 975x and some modified 945's can accept core2duo

[ricflairandy]

Right, so if i was to go for the original cheap option and get the 805 d with decent cooling, but get a board that supports core2duo i guess that would be the best cheap option available?

[ricflairandy]

And btw, im hoping that this spec will blow my current 2800xp out of the water?