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Two Systems - One must be picked and/or improved upon :)

S

Spurs986

Member
1. Budget = £350 inc VAT + Delivery.
2. Items you need the budget to cover = Motherboard, CPU, PSU, Graphics, Case , Memory.
3. Types of uses you want to use the computer for = Unsure, I really only need it for high definitation codecs like h264. x.264 and Football Manager although part of me wants to play games some recentish games and see if they've improved since the days of Counter Strike etc... although do have a PS3 so not a major issue. I also have a HD TV and a DVI 19inch monitor so won't be playing games larger than 1280 v 1080 at most and will be watching the films full screen on HD TV ideally.

I've got two computers in mind - both completely different. Both about £350-£360inc from ebuyer inc free delivery.

Can you give opinions? Including whether I need additional cooling for either, or improvements to the systems I've chosen.

PC 1
Antec BP500U
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB
Corsair XMS2 2 x 1GB 800MHz
Gigabyte GA-P35-S3G
Intel Core 2 Duo E7200
Cooler Master Elite 330
Zotec 8800Gt

PC 2
Shuttle SN68PTG5 AM2 Barebone - HDMI Output, Digital DTS
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB
Corsair XMS2 2 x 1GB 800MHz
AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Socket AM2 Retail Boxed Processor

If there is a much better idea and better value for money also let me know, I am really undecided and kinda feel guilty as initally my budget was £300.

Thanks Guys.
 
What kind of GPU comes with PC 2, onboard? PC 1 is pretty good. The 8800GT will certainly handle your HD requirements fine and will run all modern games at reasonable settings. If possible, see if you can get a PC with the 4850 installed instead of the 8800GT. They are pretty similar in price now, but the 4850 stomps the 8800GT. Only do that though if you can get it for the same price, otherwise it would be a waste considering your usage. If you are running a 64bit OS, I would consider throwing 2 more gigs of RAM in the system. RAM is so cheap now and will provide a nice boost in performance.

Overall though, I definitely recommend PC 1 over PC 2.
 
Thanks for the reply, yes System 2 is onboard graphics.

I can get the 4850 for a tenner more, but already overbudget... I've been using a AMD Sempron so this should feel amazing regardless.

I have three quick questions,

1, I will be using Windows XP SP3 (Is that the best OS to use considering my usage? Heard bad things about Vista generally)?

2, What percentage increase will the RAM give me do you think overall? I was considering getting a single stick of 2gb and upgrading in a few months? Could I make any trade offs in regards to graphics and go straight for 4gb?

3, No one has mentioned cooling, will this need any cooling? does the chip come with a heat sink do you think? (I'm rhyming lol) Will I need additional fans?


Think thats it for questions, really looking forward to building this, even if it as cheap as it can get lol.

Thanks for your help.
 
For system 1 I would look for a cheaper graphics card, the 8800GT is great for gaming but is a little overkill for playing back videos. Make sure the one you get has the hardware decode for the codecs you want to use. I'm not sure the 8800 series cards had this. Use some of the spare cash to get a bigger hard drive. The 500 GB seagate is about £7 more than the 250 GB one.

The CPU in system 2 uses lots of power (125W), and from a quick check its not supported by the shuttle system. The supported CPUs listed go upto 89W and no higher. I would suggest the X2 4850E (45W) or the X2 5400 (65W)but the shuttle site does not list them as supported. Shuttle do list the X2 5400 90nm 89W as supported so maybe the list is in need of an update

System 2 motherboard's onboard graphics will struggle with HD video. From a quick check it will do 720P, but not 1080P. To be honest if you are on a tight budget the a shuttle system is not the best way to go.

 
Originally posted by: robmurphy
For system 1 I would look for a cheaper graphics card, the 8800GT is great for gaming but is a little overkill for playing back videos. Make sure the one you get has the hardware decode for the codecs you want to use. I'm not sure the 8800 series cards had this. Use some of the spare cash to get a bigger hard drive. The 500 GB seagate is about £7 more than the 250 GB one.

The CPU in system 2 uses lots of power (125W), and from a quick check its not supported by the shuttle system. The supported CPUs listed go upto 89W and no higher. I would suggest the X2 4850E (45W) or the X2 5400 (65W)but the shuttle site does not list them as supported. Shuttle do list the X2 5400 90nm 89W as supported so maybe the list is in need of an update

System 2 motherboard's onboard graphics will struggle with HD video. From a quick check it will do 720P, but not 1080P. To be honest if you are on a tight budget the a shuttle system is not the best way to go.
Click to expand...

I think the 8800GT was the first card to have quality HD decoding. If I remember correctly, something about the decoder in the 8800GTX and GTS (G80) didn't decode as efficiently.
If you want something cheaper the 8600GT should suffice.

1) Vista has vastly improved, and either should be fine for your usage.

2) This article will answer this: LINK

3) As long as you aren't OCing, stock will be fine.
 
Thats interesting about the decode hardware, I havea 6600gt (AGP) or something similar and brought it thinking it would play HD codecs and was stupidly disappointed when it didn't, I assumed it would be processor related as I only have a 2600athlon xp.

Anyway taking into account advice from everyone - I think I will go with a 4gb solution now and a cheaper graphics card... any recommendations - I have a £50-60 limit... and would like to play hd codecs if possible? not bothered abuot games at moment - maybe for xmas - I'll get a £200 one or something..

Final question does the processor come with a heat sink or do I buy seperately?

P.S I love this forum! lol

Cheers
 
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