Is my new spec any good to go? Or should I alter it?

[jaysbarbq]

Hiya Folks,

I hope you're all well.

Can anyone aid my choice with advice on a pc I need to build? The machine will be used for emails, internet, downloads, video editing, multi tasking, (possibly for virtual machines) etc. Not for gaming.

I have been using this for the last 4 years:

Athlon XP 3200

2.5GB Ram (Kingston)

XP Pro 32bit

300GB Western Digital HD (had 2 Samsungs fail!)

MSI K8N Platinum

Here is the initial spec which still has some blanks and may also be worthy of some changes if I can be convinced it is worth the bucks:

1 x Intel Quad Core q9450 Yorkfield core with Go Stepping (12mb cache, 1333mhz)

1 x Fan – Freezer Pro 7 - although I have read some peoples moans about the noise and size

1 x Motherboard – Possibly an Asus, not sure and also not sure about which model.... ???? I am very happy with MSI, but their 775 boards are not hitting the right notes. I do NOT want a DFI, Asrock, Abit or ECS. I have also noted some buggy reviews on 790i boards.

2 x 2GB RAM modules 800, 1066 or 1333mhz branded and overclockable (OCZ, Crucial, Corsair)

1 x floppy drive

1 x Nvidia 9600GT 512 DDR3 graphics card

2 x LG GSA-H55N (multi bezel – black/silver) 8.5GB Dual Layer DVDRW with LightScribe

1 x CPU compound (suitable for Intel Quad Core)

2 x Seagate Barracuda ST3500320AS 500GB SATA II drives with 32MB cache – mirrored with C:O/S, D: Installed Apps, E:Pagefile

1 x Western Digital WD5000AAKS 500GB SATA II drive, for backup of all .exe applications

1 x portable external drive (USB powered) – 320 to 500GB is fine (NOT Lacie)

1x VERY good quality wireless keyboard & mouse in black or silver (NOT Microsoft) – I like Logitech

1 x O/S – not sure about this yet. Choice of XP pro 32bit, XP Pro 64bit, Vista Premium 32Bit, Vista Ultimate 64bit

Your advice would be much appreciated.

[Luigi]

All sounds good, No point going with a 790i though, Id go for a solid ddr2 X38 or x48 motherboard, Ive had myn a while now and love it

[jaysbarbq]

Hi Teknokid,

Many thanks for your reply.

I have never had an Intel chipset board, always Nvidea and have been very happy with them, so am hesitant about a switch.

Can you tell me what the main difference would be if I went with Intel with my new config?

I have read good reviews on the following boards:

XFX nForce 790i SLI

MSI P7N2 Diamond

Asus Rampage Formula x48

Gigabyte x48-DQ6

That said, I also appreciate that the way forward is possibly 790i.

[Silentsnake]

1 x Intel Quad Core q9450 Yorkfield core with Go Stepping (12mb cache, 1333mhz) (I have this processor runs well better then my Q6600 havnt overclocked yet but ive been happy with it)



1 x Fan – Freezer Pro 7 - although I have read some peoples moans about the noise and size

1 x Motherboard – Possibly an Asus, not sure and also not sure about which model.... ???? I am very happy with MSI, but their 775 boards are not hitting the right notes. I do NOT want a DFI, Asrock, Abit or ECS. I have also noted some buggy reviews on 790i boards. (EVGA nForce 780i, EVGA good company, its reliable i havnt had any problems with it, or if you got some money spair buy the 790i board, for future proofing)

2 x 2GB RAM modules 800, 1066 or 1333mhz branded and overclockable (OCZ, Crucial, Corsair)

1 x floppy drive

1 x Nvidia 9600GT 512 DDR3 graphics card

2 x LG GSA-H55N (multi bezel – black/silver) 8.5GB Dual Layer DVDRW with LightScribe

1 x CPU compound (suitable for Intel Quad Core) (I reccomend this GREAT STUFF

http://www.watercoolinguk.co.uk/cata...roducts_id=251)

2 x Seagate Barracuda ST3500320AS 500GB SATA II drives with 32MB cache – mirrored with C:O/S, D: Installed Apps, E:Pagefile

1 x Western Digital WD5000AAKS 500GB SATA II drive, for backup of all .exe applications

1 x portable external drive (USB powered) – 320 to 500GB is fine (NOT Lacie) (i had a Western Digital My book i think they called 1TB External and only lasted me one week WTF! u may say lol, i know i didnt even drop it or anything!... so personally i would rather just stick to USB sticks lol)

1x VERY good quality wireless keyboard & mouse in black or silver (NOT Microsoft) – I like Logitech

1 x O/S – not sure about this yet. Choice of XP pro 32bit, XP Pro 64bit, Vista Premium 32Bit, Vista Ultimate 64bit

sry i ran out of time to complete the list but helped were i could

[Mr. Smith]

Intel chipsets are far superior than nvidia, the only reason to choose an nvidia chipset is if you are 100% going to run sli. If you are on a budget P45 chipsets are cheap now and good overclockers, X48 etc are better...

That gpu is weak mate, I think you'll be dissapointed. Can you stretch to £120? If so check this 4850 review

[jaysbarbq]

Thanks for the reply Mr. Smith.

Sure, £120 for a graphics card is no prob, as is the same with the mobo - budget is not a problem. I guess I'd like to spend between £120 and £220 on the mobo. I needs lots of USB's, firewire, IDE, Sata, speed and overclockability!

Ideally I would like to have a graphics card with 2 connectors on it so at some point if I decide to buy another monitor I can hook them both up. Is this possible?

[haofeng]

i think most graphic cards support dual screens.

[Mr. Smith]

OK, let's do this another way, what is your budget for the whole system and what is the purpose of the machine? (e.g. high res gaming, light gaming, just surfing the net etc)

[jaysbarbq]

Hi Mr Smith.

My Budget is circa £800 inc vat (not inc the OS), although for good enough reason I can stretch it a tad more - maybe up to a max of £1000.

The main computer use will be:

1. Lotus Notes (using a local 4GB database / Outlook
   
2. Downloads
   
3. MSN / Skype
   
4. Internet
   
5. Video Editing with Pinnacle Studio
   
6. Photo editing with Photoshop
   
7. Web design with Fireworks, Dreamweaver etc
   
8. Lots and lots of multi tasking
   

The possible extended use will be:

1. Virtual Servers in VMware
   

What I will NOT be using it for is gaming.... But would like to have a GPU on which I can attached two monitors and split my desktop accross the two.

I hope that helps?

BTW - I REALLY appreciate everyone's help here. Thank you.

[lamboman]

So, no gaming, in that case, you don't need a high end graphics card.

I will use Overclockers for this one, because their website is the easiest to use to spec up:

Q6600 - This is a better choice than the Q9450. It is WAY cheaper, and offers similar performance when overclocked.

P5Q Pro - good value motherboard, overclocks well, and has all the major features that you might need or consider.

GeIL Black Dragon PC6400 - Good kit, overclocks pretty well for the money.

Gigabyte 8600GT Fanless - Cheap, silent, and does the job.

2x Samsung Spinpoint F1 750GB - Very quiet, fast, and very well priced.

2x Samsung SH-S233Q/BEBN - Quiet, fast, well priced, with Lightscribe.

Tuniq Tower 120 - Still a great cooler, well priced. You could go searching for something slightly better, but they are usually a bit more expensive, and they won't cool your processor down a huge bit more.

Case - I won't choose something for you, as I would choose something that cools well, but you might not like the aesthetics. A Lian Li, Coolermaster, Silverstone, or Antec case at around £100-120 would be perfect for a machine like yours. Go for a quality case is all I can say.

Corsair HX520 - A quiet, effecient power supply, and a very popular choice.

Logitech MX5500 - Probably the best of all keyboard/mouse combos. Expensive, but worth it.

Windows Vista Home Premium 64 bit (OEM) - The best buy out of all the versions of Windows now. Ultimate is too expensive with not enough extra features, Basic is like XP pimped, and XP is getting a bit old, and although MS is still going to be supporting it, Vista is the way to go when it comes to 64 bit OSs.

This adds up to £900 without the external hard drive.

Hope this helps