Build help for non-gaming system

A

actionshrimp

n00b
Joined
Apr 18, 2009
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4
Hey guys, I built my last PC around 4 years ago and am a bit out the loop now as to which parts are good and which aren't. I'd originally been looking at the Deskstar D350 and 450s here, then thought about doing my own build again.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
-Web browsing/Multimedia, also Development, sometimes quite CPU-intenseive tasks so would like quite a fast processor - not sure if a quad core would really be necessary, but might go for it for longevity if I can fit it in the budget.
-If possible a fairly quiet system too.
-Don't play graphics intensive games (I use linux and can never be arsed to boot into windows), but I do have dual monitors (24" 1920x1200 and 19" 1280x1024) and would like desktop effects etc to behave smoothly - would mobo onboard graphics suffice for that these days avoiding the need for an additional video card?

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
£400-500 incl. Tax and shipping

3) Where do you live?
UK (usually buy parts off ebuyer.com)

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
Motherboard, Case, RAM (4GB?), CPU, 1x1TB hard drive

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
-1x1TB Samsung SpinPoint F1 HD103UJ HD
-Antec "True Blue" PSU 480w (May need replacing - not sure)
-LG GDR-8164BL 16x52 DVD-ROM drive
-HP DVD640i DVD+/-RW

6) Will you be overclocking?
Probably not

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
dual monitors (24" 1920x1200 and 19" 1280x1024)

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
asap

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
-Planning to put a new 1TB drive with the existing 1TB drive into RAID-1, currently run a few disks on software RAID-5 with linux (wouldnt be doing this on the new system), but think it might be easier to set it up controlled by the mobo if I'm starting over again.
-2 LAN ports, have this on my existing setup and use it a lot more than I thought I would
-Fairly good onboard graphics with dual screen support if it's not worth getting an additional graphics card

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
Yes, ubuntu.

Hopefully nothing here conflicts with itself too much. Would appreciate your input very much, particularly with regards to the motherboard, onboard graphics vs additional card, cases, and also whether or not I'll need a new PSU (don't mind spending a bit here if necessary).
 
You'd be best served by a new PSU. The TrueBlue 480W is quite old by now, so it most likely can't produce the good power you'll need for a new system. What are the specs of your current system?

RAID1 is good for minimizing downtime. You do have a backup solution, right? (RAID is not a backup solution) ;) Just curious, but what do you use two lan ports for? You're most likely looking at an ATI or NVIDIA IGP chipset for your needs (if you want to watch 1080p video; these chipsets can offload to the integrated GPU; the G45 can, too, but its very slow in comparison). For dev, do you use VMs? If so, you'll most likely want a quad with a lot of RAM as well as an Intel chip with Virtualization Tech.

//edit... ebuyer loads rather fast for me, so I did some shopping...

This is to get you started... you'll probably need these...
£36 - Corsair 4GB Kit (2x2GB) DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 XMS2 Memory Kit CL5 1.9V
£71 - Samsung SpinPoint F1 HD103UJ 1TB 7200RPM 32MB Cache
£95 - Antec Sonata III Piano Black Quiet Mid Tower w/ 500W EarthWatts PSU
============
£202 + shipping

and a CPU/Mobo combo...

£118 - AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz Socket AM3 6MB L3 Cache
£53 - ASUS M3N78-VM GeForce 8200 Socket AM2+ VGA DVI HDMI 8ch audio mATX
============
£171 + shipping

£162 - AMD Phenom II X4 920 2.8GHz Socket AM2+ 6MB L3 Cache
£53 - ASUS M3N78-VM GeForce 8200 Socket AM2+ VGA DVI HDMI 8ch audio mATX
============
£215 + shipping

£188 - Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400 LGA775 2.66GHz 1333FSB 6MB L2 Cache w/ VT
£90 - Asus P5N7A-VM GeForce 9300 Socket 775 onboard VGA DVI HDMI Display Port 8ch audio mATX
============
£278 + shipping

Here's an alternative Intel board that I think can do dual displays, but I'm not sure. I couldn't find any confirmation with a quick google search, but you can look into it more if you don't like the price of the GeForce mobo. Though, Intel IGPs are vastly inferior to NVIDIA/ATIs... hence the price.
£60 - Gigabyte GA-G41M-ES2L G41 Socket 775 VGA 8ch Audio mATX

Other good, quiet cases:
£147 - Antec P183 Case - Black Super Mid Tower - No PSU
£105 - Antec P182 Gunmetal Grey Super Mid Tower Case - No PSU
£80 - Antec Solo Quiet Mini Tower Case - Piano Black/Silver - No PSU

You'll need a PSU with the ones I listed above, though...
£43 - Corsair 400W CX PSU 80 Plus Certified

...d'oh! forgot you wanted 2 LAN ports. Well, such a feature isn't common among IGP chipset boards. In fact, its only typically found in high end boards, so I would think you'll be better off simply buying a separate NIC card instead.
 
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Thanks for the reply enginurd! My current system is an Athlon 64 3700, 2gb ram, geforce 6800gt (although i suspect the graphics card/motherboard is dying - can take a fair few goes to get it to boot, part of the motivation/excuse to upgrade). The PSU currently also powers a bunch of about 4 200GB hard drives and the 1TB drive.

Ok, I'll keep in mind factoring in the price of the new CPU. RE the dual lan ports - at the min I've got crazy fast uni ethernet going into one, then a wireless access point coming out of the other to create a mini wifi network for a laptop + ps3 + phone, without the main PC's speed being limited by wifi speeds. Will be leaving here in a few months tho so it's not vital anymore really and like you say I can just get an extra NIC later if necessary.

Thanks for the info about the motherboard/graphics stuff too. I'll check out your recommendations - at the minute im slightly leaning towards the ASUS mobo with the geforce 9300. What's the verdict on AMD vs Intel chips these days?
 
Your development needs should tell you whether or not you need the Intel chip w/ VT.
 
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Ok after reading around, I'm thinking I'll go for the following:

Case: Coolermaster Elite 330 (127584) £28.98
PSU: Corsair 400W 12cm (150985) £43.00
RAM: Corsair 4GB Kit (130429) £35.77
HDD: Samsung SpinPoint F1 (143288) £71.29
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400 (148545) £187.95
+fan: Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro £16.35
Mobo: Asus P5N7A-VM GeForce 9300 (151427) £90.11
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: £472.84

Thought I'd go for a slightly cheaper case and save a bit of money for a bit of noise. Was also a bit sick of the flappy front on my current case which most of the Asus ones seem to have, so went for that coolermaster one which didn't. Thanks a lot for your help guys (esp enginurd).
 
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I think you mean Antec? Anyhow, the Elite 330 is also a good choice... not much louder than the other cases I listed and very nicely priced, too. I had a hard time searching for "cooler master" when I was on that site, so I didn't bother to list any. :( However, I'd ditch that AC F7Pro... if you're not OC'ing, its not much better than stock; and if you are OC'ing, its not good enough to get a good OC out of the chip... only decent enough to get a mild OC, around 3Ghz. You'd be better served by the Xigmatek HDT-S1283 or S963/S983, or the OCZ Vendetta2 (they also have a 92mm lil brother for it, but I can't remember the name). Don't forget to post pics! :)
 
Whoops yeah, Antec indeed. Great news about the elite 330 then. Was looking at the fan as I heard it was a bit quieter than stock, won't be OCing though so it's probably not worth it. thanks for the advice, will try and get some pics up when I'm done then ;)
 
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