€1000 Budget...what to get?

RuggieBear

So i'm thinking of building myself a new machine as i'm a bit bored with my shuttle. Have roughly a grand to spend. Give me some ideas please?

It needs to be:

1. very very quiet
2. capable of playing HD media/content (or at least capable when reasonably priced HD/BD dives come out.
3. not in a dead end upgrade path for at least a little while

This is what i'm thinking so far:

Item

|

Product

| Price

Case

|

Sonata III

|

112

CPU

|

E6320

|

155

CPU Cooler

|

Tuniq T 120

|

50

MB

|

Asus P5B

|

100

RAM

|

Corsair twin2x 2Gb

|

115

GFX

|

EVGA 8800GTS

|

300

HD

|

Spinpoint 500Gb

|

112

OS

|

Vista H Prem

|

98

that comes to 1042

I have vista Home premium OEM on my shuttle at the moment. Is it possible to transfer this to the new machine or do i need to buy another copy.

Any advice appreciated. Probably strip the shuttle for spare parts, eg, dvd burner, tv card and the like

Timans

You don't mention gaming so if you don't play games, don't get the GTS. You'll save lot's if you get an average card or even keep your current one you have as long as it isn't terrible. Also, if you buy from www.hardwareversand.de, you'll save lot's. I haven't used it yet but people on here have said it's decent and I'm ordering my whole pc from there.

If you want a future-proof pc, why not get the Gigabyte GA-P35C-DS3R? It's got DDR-3 slots and also will support the upcoming Penryn processors.

There is the NZXT Hush case which (apt name) according to reviews is brilliant for keeping noise levels down and looks quite good, not too over-the-top. Not sure if it will be your taste or not though.

I'm pretty much a newbie though, so I'd want for others to post. You haven't spec'd a PSU though, you'll probably need a new one.

RuggieBear

Timans wrote:

You don't mention gaming so if you don't play games, don't get the GTS. You'll save lot's if you get an average card or even keep your current one you have as long as it isn't terrible. Also, if you buy from www.hardwareversand.de, you'll save lot's. I haven't used it yet but people on here have said it's decent and I'm ordering my whole pc from there.

If you want a future-proof pc, why not get the Gigabyte GA-P35C-DS3R? It's got DDR-3 slots and also will support the upcoming Penryn processors.

There is the NZXT Hush case which (apt name) according to reviews is brilliant for keeping noise levels down and looks quite good, not too over-the-top. Not sure if it will be your taste or not though.

I'm pretty much a newbie though, so I'd want for others to post. You haven't spec'd a PSU though, you'll probably need a new one.

Cheers for that.

I do play games:) Mainly the slightly older FPS like farcry and HL2. TBH, I'm probably subconsciously gearing up for Crysis:D

The sonata III comes with an antec 500watt jobbie which should be ok for just one GFX card (i think).

I'll barely overclock it as the sonata isn't a particularly cool case.

I'll have a gander at that hush case.

Timans

Yeah, i'm the same. Crysis Probably won't even like it when it's released

I'm not sure whether the 500w will be enough, you'll have to wait for a tech head to confirm.

I'm currently deciding whether to get the Hush or a Lian Li. Tough decision.

RuggieBear

that hush looks nice alright

Timans

It's cheap as well, only €83 from www.caseking.de (all german site but is reliable) Only problem is, you'll have to buy a PSU as well as there isn't a PSU with the Hush.

I'd recommend checking www.hardwareversand.de , you can get an E6420 for the price you priced the E6320 at!

DirkVoodoo

Maybe an 8600 or wait for the ATi offerings in the midrange? That way you get directx10, low power consumption and are able to play HL2.

Spinpoints are extremely quiet, good choice!

Also, check out hardwareversand.de if you haven't already, its a budget builders paradise.

EDIT: Timans, I just recieved a LianLi PC7 there for a new build. Beautiful case, fantastic finish. It oozes quality and looks like a breeze to work with. No removable mobo tray is a minus for me.

papu

ati's 2600hd is on its way , currently priced at about 110 euros

http://prisguide.hardware.no/product.php?productId=74619

it looks like a very decent midrange dx10 hd card :P

conzy

RuggieBear! Long time no see

The antec Sonata III looks very nice and the Power supply is more than capable of powering that system, its good quality and has 2 17amp 12v rails...

mad m

Ruggiebear can you post a link to that Sonata III case for €112....Thanks

RuggieBear

mad m wrote:

Ruggiebear can you post a link to that Sonata III case for €112....Thanks

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-073-AN&groupid=701&catid=7&subcat=160

i might have actually gotten the conversion wrong

mad m

Thanks,how much does overclockers charge for shipping...

Edit.....48euro....ouch!

RuggieBear

****e...i had quite forgotten to factor in the shipping costs.

awhir

ruggie swap the tunqi with a thermaltake extream 120.

the case is fine.

get a p35 motherboard the 1 timans reccomended would be a good 1 to get.
I would recommending to do a small overclock to like 3ghz or so.(these chip can go upto 4ghz sometimes)

go for the 8800gts or the ati 2900xt you can get them for very cheap off that german site.

get the best value for money ram ya can get with CL4 timmings.(they should overclock fine)

if your budget allows go for the E6420 as the x8 multi is very handy.

go for vista as XP is a dead end upgrade.

DirkVoodoo

Euro48 is the shipping method/code. Its £22 from OCUK which works out as €30, still not cheap tho!

RuggieBear

From hardwareversand.de
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 32bit SB-Version 89,14 €
Intel Core 2 Duo E6420 Box 4096Kb, LGA775, 64bit 155,63 €
MSI NX8800GTS-T2D320E-HD-OC, NVIDIA 8800GTS, 320MB, PCI-Express 273,52
Gigabyte GA-P35C-DS3R ,Intel P35, ATX, PCI-Express 122,39 €
Samsung HD501LJ 500GB 7200,16 MB Cache 91,99 €
2048MB DDR2 Corsair TwinX CL 4, PC6400/800 121,87 €
HP Pavilion w2207HP, 22", DVI, Widescreen 273,94 €
Total 1128.50 (+30 Shipping)

from OC.uk
Sonata III for 112
tuniq 120 for 50
Total 162 ( + 30 Shipping)

Grand total of 1350

So what do you reckon?

DirkVoodoo

Nice, are you going to be overclocking it much?

RuggieBear

probably see what i can get it to an then then just keep it at stock...silence is much more important to me. It'll be the main entertainment unit (TV, dvd, pvr etc) in the house!

DirkVoodoo

The I suggest swapping out the stock Tuniq fan for a scythe or similar. Anti and L31mrod can vouch for the stock fans noise at peak rpms, and seeing as you want a quiet system.

Timans

Ruggie, that looks exactly like my proposed specs, lol. Except I'm getting the 2900Xt

If I were you, I'd get a few more opinions on the mobo though as I don't really know enough to be relied on. I am currently deciding between the Gigabyte or the ABIT IP35, they're both P35 but the ABIT doesn't support DDR-3. But, the ABIT is apparently the better over-clocker and I've been told by one person that Gigabyte aren't good. :rolleyes:

Apart from that, very nice. Except for the case

challengemaster

Timans wrote:

Ruggie, that looks exactly like my proposed specs, lol. Except I'm getting the ATI piece of rubbish card which consumes way too much power and doesnt even stand up to the 8800gtS

Seriously though - very nice build. I'd say keep the tuniq. good hsf

Timans

challengemaster wrote:

Seriously though - very nice build. I'd say keep the tuniq. good hsf

You're one of those Nvidiots, aren't you?

awhir

Timans wrote:

Ruggie, that looks exactly like my proposed specs, lol. Except I'm getting the 2900Xt

If I were you, I'd get a few more opinions on the mobo though as I don't really know enough to be relied on. I am currently deciding between the Gigabyte or the ABIT IP35, they're both P35 but the ABIT doesn't support DDR-3. But, the ABIT is apparently the better over-clocker and I've been told by one person that Gigabyte aren't good. :rolleyes:

Apart from that, very nice. Except for the case

is that 1 person papu.

gigabites seem to be fine from C2D on.i have seen some nice results with them and they seem to be one of the best bang for buck motherboards.

DirkVoodoo

Ahem, read the following

Roundup of 3 P35 boards

The Gigabyte scores a 9/10, can't really be beat for the price it retails for.

Timans

awhir wrote:

is that 1 person papu.

gigabites seem to be fine from C2D on.i have seen some nice results with them and they seem to be one of the best bang for buck motherboards.

No actually, it isn't.

awhir

amm 2nd guess ur DaD ?

Timans

awhir wrote:

amm 2nd guess ur DaD ?

No, Yore Ma.

papu

Ruggie, that looks exactly like my proposed specs, lol. Except I'm getting the ATI piece of rubbish card which consumes way too much power and doesnt even stand up to the 8800gtS

WHATS THIS?? http://www.techspot.com/review/52-asus-radeon-hd-2900xt/page4.html

2900 is 16 euros cheaper than the 640gts , but it also comes with 5 free games soo chooooose the cheapest :P

challengemaster

papu wrote:

WHATS THIS?? http://www.techspot.com/review/52-asus-radeon-hd-2900xt/page4.html

2900 is 16 euros cheaper than the 640gts , but it also comes with 5 free games soo chooooose the cheapest :P

5 free games.. but you'll probably have to buy a new psu to cope with the power requirements. so.. yeah i dont think 5 games = price of new psu

papu

.whats this does the gts not need a psu? does it run off the souls of dead babies maybe? ....hes buying a new pc....therefor he will have a new psu....theres an 80-90 euro one on hdv wich will cope with the xt + whatever else he needs :P

challengemaster

indeed it runs off the life stream of PAPU when i kill him

seriously - i kinda meant for people who already owned older gfx cards and wouldnt be expecting the need for the power consumption of the XT, so didnt get a psu with that much power.. yet it'll run the gts fine :P