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Looking for advice on my upcoming PC build

L

luco

Member
OK, here we go:

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
Primary uses in the order:
1. The only PC in the apartment, so all web browsing will be done on it. I frequently browse with 10+ windows/tabs open at once. 🙂
2. Watching SD DivX content
3. Watching HD H.264 encoded content
4. Very limited gaming: the only games I want to play: GTR2, DIRT, Richard Burns Rally.

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
around $800

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
Canada

4. IF YOU have a brand preference.
Nope!

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
No.

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.
Yes!

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
No plans for that, but I may tinker with the 780G GPU settings and overclock that a little.

And here is my shopping list so far:
CASE: Antec Fusion Black 430 $190
PSU: 430W Included with case $0
MOTHERBOARD: Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H mATX $94
PROCESSOR: AMD Athlon X2 4850e $100
HEATSINK: Scythe NINJA PLUS $45
RAM: A-DATA PC2-6400 2GB 2X1GB DDR2-800 $52
VIDEO CARD: onboard (ATI HD3200 IGP)
SOUND CARD: onboard $0
HDD: Samsung SpinPoint T166 HD501LJ 500GB SATA $105
OPTICAL DRIVE: Sony NEC Optiarc AD-7190A Black DVD-RW $34
OS: Vista Home Premium $110
KEYBOARD/MOUSE: Logitech diNovo Laser dekstop $170
REMOTE CONTROL: ATI Remote Wonder Plus $0 (already have it)

Total before shipping and taxes: $900 (I used ncix.com for pricing)

What do you think of this?
I've read many reviews of the new AMD 780G chipset and it sounds like it should handle my very modest gaming needs and I can still add ATI HD3450 for Hybrid setup later. This rig will be connected to a 42" Toshiba 1080p LCD TV.

I will be getting HD PVR from my cable company this summer, so I don't see a need for a TV tuner card, as I am not planning to capture the recordings on the PC.
Later on, I will swap in a Blu-Ray reader.

Thank you for any feedback.
 
Any reason to pick out such an expensive case/PSU combo? The Antec Sonata III is $130 at ncix.com.
Drop the Scythe NINJA PLUS heatsink if you're not overclocking and stick to the retail stock heatsink.

That saves you $105 alone, and with that I'd pick up 2x2GB DDR2-800 for an extra $35: http://www.ncix.com/products/i...57&manufacture=MUSHKIN
Pick up the Samsung Spinpoint 750GB for $150 instead: http://www.ncix.com/products/i...AS&manufacture=Seagate
Also, get Vista 64-bit to fully use 4GB at $120: http://www.ncix.com/products/i...&manufacture=Microsoft

Ends up being about the same price, except you get more RAM and HD space.
 
Thank you for the reply.

I am looking to use this PC in my living room, so the Antec Fusion is mainly for look/space/design I guess. My current PC is build with Antec Sonata (their first version), so I love that series too. I know it's expensive. If there ia another HTPC case that is cheaper and includes a decent quiet PSU, I'm open to switching.

I wanted to get the Ninja heatsink because the PC will be in the living room, so that would eliminate stock PSU HSF and reduce noise a bit.

Thanks for the other points. I'm definitely thinking of doing 2x2GB setup. I've never ventured into 64-bit computing. What is the advantage and is there any implication for software I can use?
 
Basically more RAM usage. 32-bit OS only allow for ~3.25-3.5GB of memory use. If you paid for an extra 800MB, wouldn't you want to use it?
 
Thanks for the replies again.

Hm... I would really like to get that Antec Fusion or Silverstone LC13B, but that one doesn't come with PSU, so it would work out to be the same price.
I am still undecided about the 64-bit.

Any comments on the IGP? I know it's still a new chipset, so I'm not sure how it will handle those couple of games I plan to play.

I currently have ATI AIW X800XL video card in my A64 3000+ system. How would ATI Radeon HD3200 compare to that? How about with Hybrid graphics setup with additional HD3450?
 
DiRT is pretty demanding, it's not going to run at 1080p or 1920*1280 with that IGP. GTR2 is a little less demanding, and not sure about richard burns rally. If you really want to play those games and enjoy them with some nice graphics, the least you'll need is a 9600gt or similar videocard. What's 110-130$ when you've got such a expensive 42" HD TV ? I'd get a nice videocard to at least make a LITTLE use of it.
 
Well, that changes my whole game. I was going with AMD specifically because of their new 780G chipset platform with impressive onboard gaphics and ability to add an HD3450 and run it in hybrid mode to boost the graphics performance when needed. But, you're right, it would be frustrating to have to scale down the resolution or detail on a 1080p set.
 
I'm back for some more advice as now I'm really undecided as I mentioned in the above post. My budget obviously increased quite a bit if I want to get some graphics on that 1080p TV set. 🙁

So, here's a list of things I am happy with with so far:
CASE: Antec Fusion Black 430 - $165 (found this cheaper!)
PSU: 430W Included with case $0
SOUND CARD: onboard $0
HDD: Samsung SpinPoint T166 HD501LJ 500GB SATA $105
OPTICAL DRIVE: Samsung SH-S203B Black SATA DVD+RW $34
OS: Vista Home Premium 64-bit OEM $119
RAM: OCZ Gold XTC PC2-6400 4GB 2X2GB DDR2-800 Dual Channel Kit $69
KEYBOARD/MOUSE: Logitech diNovo Media Desktop Laser $175
REMOTE CONTROL: ATI Remote Wonder Plus $0 (already have it)
------------
so far: $642

Side note: That diNovo is expensive! If someone can suggest a cheaper keyboard/mouse combo that will perform fine at 12ft, please do. From my research, Bluetooth is my best option.

Next up is a video card.
At first, I was hoping to survive with onboard 780G chipset and its ATI HD3200 IGP, but that would be good just for watching movies. However, it would allow me to get by until I actually purchase the DiRT game and get some time to play it. At that time, I could buy a decent video card to go along with it. Obviously, I would have to go with AMD CPU in this case.
Or, I'll forget the whole onboard graphics and get something like this:
ASUS GeForce 9600GT 650MHZ 512MB 1.8GHZ DDR3 - $163 AR

Question is whether this would fit the mATX Antec Fusion case.


Now the fun part... AMD vs Intel!

OPTION AMD:
MOTHERBOARD: Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H mATX $94
PROCESSOR: AMD Phenom 9500 Quad Core Processor 2.2GHZ 4MB 95W Socket AM2+ $220
---------
$314

OPTION INTEL:
MOTHERBOARD: ASUS P5K-VM mATX LGA775 G33 DDR2 $117
PROCESSOR: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Dual Core $220
---------
$337

Side note: Would Scythe NINJA PLUS reduce noise significantly in any of the above setups?

So, there you have it. Just a reminder that I am not an overclocker and besides wanting nice 1080p graphics on that DiRT and couple of other racing games, I will not be playing FPS like Crysis on full detail etc. So, please suggest some budget alternatives to do the job if possible.

Thank you very much again.
 
There are some very nice deals! I think my list just got cheaper by 50-100 just by doing a quick scan! Thank you.
 
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