New Build Advice.. Again!

[14k]

Key features I would like are stability, ability to leave on 24/7 if needed without any problems, quiet, alot of storage, I will be using it mostly for video/movie viewing/editing/making, music playing, games on the odd occasion (don't have time for alot of the latest games), web browsing, spreadsheet/database/word processing work.

Case: Antec Sonata II (includes 450W PSU I think)

Motherboard: Not sure (would like stability. I'm not interested in overclocking)

CPU: Athlon 64 X2 4200+ (Best price/performance? I heard the X2 line makes a breeze of watching Quake demos, surfing the web/msn/icq, and burning DVDs at the same time!)

Graphics: GeForce 7800 GT 256MB (Is this about the best for price/performance? I would like something that will run Q4 ok, otherwise just Dell 2405 capable with s/video out for output to TV if necessary)

RAM: 2 x 1GB RAM (does it matter what PCXXXX it is?)

Hdd: 2 x Western Digital WD4000YR (Was thinking SATAII but after seeing Anandtech's review of this drive thought I'd go for 2 of these. 1 for windows, program files, games, etc.. the other for movies/video, music, graphics, etc..) ps. anyone know what the difference between the KD and YR is?

Sound: Creative X-Fi Elite Pro (A bit pricey, but I think the external box will be useful for controling sound on other devices; DVD player, portable music player, - without having to have the computer on)

Going to use my old DVD Writer and possibly pick up a generic DVD-ROM somwhere.

I was going to say a budget of £1,000 including postage (Thats about 1,700 USD) or am I being too optimistic?

If its possible to get easy_build parts that would be a bonus too! im quite terrified about having to put this together myse

 

[eXx08]

I would go with everything you listed but:

-MSI K8N-Neo4 Platinum
-Opteron 165
-2 GB G. SKILL PC4000

 

[Rinaun]

I would go with a A8n SLI premium board or a DFI board. PC 3200 for the RAM, geil, Mushkin, OCZ, and Kingston are all reliable RAM vendors. Other than that i would still OC maybe 3%, 3% shouldnt cause ANY problems infact its probably better. doubt it would be any less stable. Yea opteron would be nice reliable

 

[Rinaun]

Originally posted by: Opteron Guy
I would go with everything you listed but:

-MSI K8N-Neo4 Platinum
-Opteron 165
-2 GB G. SKILL PC4000

Hes not OCing, so its useless.

 

[InlineFour]

i do not think a single 7800gt will run a dell 2405 resolution at decent fps. you may have to scale the down the resolution. go with corsair value selects, especially if you're not overclocking. for the motherboard, i'd choose an asus a8ne premium.

 

[14k]

Thanks I like the sound of the Asus A8ne board (haven't had problems with Asus before)

I'll get whatever is cheapest and available to me in the UK out of the following: geil, Mushkin, OCZ, and Kingston
Do I not need PC400 RAM? Is PC3200 much cheaper then and of minimal reduction in performance?

Thanks again, keep the opinions coming

 

[InlineFour]

even if you buy pc4000, it will just run at pc3200 speeds. and yes, pc4000 will cost a little more.

 

[eXx08]

Originally posted by: Rinaun

Originally posted by: Opteron Guy
I would go with everything you listed but:

-MSI K8N-Neo4 Platinum
-Opteron 165
-2 GB G. SKILL PC4000

Hes not OCing, so its useless.

edit: than get teh Opteron 170.

 

[14k]

I don't know much about the Opterons. Shall I get one of these instead of the X2 then?

 

[14k]

bump

any last minute suggestions?

 

[Soccerman06]

Youll be perfectly fine with a X2, dont worry about that. You could wait a couple weeks, wait for the refresh cards, and if they perform better buy em, if not, you save like $20-$40.

 

[imported_rod]

MoBo: ASUS A8N-E (or A8N-SLI)

CPU: I would get the X2 3800+ or X2 4400+.

RAM: Make sure it is PC3200 (or higher if you want to get the most out of an overclock).

SOUND: I wouldn't buy an X-Fi.

RoD

 

[14k]

Originally posted by: rod


SOUND: I wouldn't buy an X-Fi.

RoD

Why not?

Is the elite pro also a waste of money when I could just get the basic X-Fi. But how else do i use the 5.1 speaker set up for other devices without having the PC left on?

 

[LarryK]

if you can get this deal EVGA is great!

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=322728

 

[imported_rod]

Originally posted by: 14k

Originally posted by: rod
SOUND: I wouldn't buy an X-Fi.

RoD

Why not?

Is the elite pro also a waste of money when I could just get the basic X-Fi. But how else do i use the 5.1 speaker set up for other devices without having the PC left on?

I have a 5.1 Pioneer Home Theatre system, and I connect it to my PC via an optical SPDIF cable. It has CD/DVD/MP3/RADIO/DOLBY and I'm sure it has better volume and quality than PC based speakers.

RoD

 

[alimoalem]

Originally posted by: Rinaun
Other than that i would still OC maybe 3%, 3% shouldnt cause ANY problems infact its probably better. doubt it would be any less stable. Yea opteron would be nice reliable

never in my life have i ever seen more useless advice. 3% on 2 gigahertz = 60 megahertz. will any person be able to see that difference?

OP: about the ram and does the PCXXXX matter, it does to some degree but your buy should definitely not be based around RAM speed. get the regular 3200