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Building New PC - thoughts/suggestions

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    #2
    Solitaire
    Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 18,377 Mod ✭✭✭✭Solitaire


    CPU: Great
    Mobo: Don't bother even thinking of OCing a Q9550 without a mobo thats worth a damn, and such a mobo would almost certainly be ATX. If you can live with the Q9550 at stock then think about a good G43 if you can get a good'un cheaper than that. Not much difference between the two, it's G41 that stinks. The Asus G43 might be better and cheaper. Very good sound as well IIRC (Realtek ALC1200!)
    RAM: Whatever. Bear in mind PC6400 CL4 and PC8500 CL5 can also be had dead cheap as well.
    GPU: Not so hot, 9500GT is probably sucky even with Source and to top it off that's a DDR2 variant to boot. Look out for cheap HD4650/70. They have Sound Over HDMI too :)
    HDD: Fine, 1TB 7200RPM Hitachis are now floating around well under €65 though...
    DVD: Fine
    Case: Fail. Poor airflow, naff fan, cheap, nasty and the other issue is with a certain integrated component...
    PSU: EPIC FAIL. HEC ain't the worst brand but they're not far off. A ~€30 450W Superflower sh!ts on it from such a height... etc. etc. And HECs are usually overrated. Even if its a new model with plenty on the 12V rail the comp will have it stressed to the limit (and maybe beyond... :(). If its a dodgy old thing then I doubt your comp would start... and if it did it'd probably mess up your pricey CPU so bad you'd wish it didn't :mad:
    Monitor: Not safe! Dell are known for off-brand monitors and the dreaded Bait'N'Switch... they send in top-of-the-range units for reviews then actually sell vastly inferior AOC/CHiMei crap for the same price instead! :eek: A monitor expert could give you a better idea but if you want to spend >60% of your budget on just the monitors I'd do a LOT of research beforehand!

    You need to revise the case and PSU for sure, and those monitors might be dicey, it depends on if you actually get a genuine Dell (bear in mind a fake Dell is still endorsed by Dell, the [CENSORED]s!! :mad: ) Bear in mind that getting a cheap new-line Superflower and a solid CM330 Elite seperately will probably come to roughly the same amount while defecating all over that horrid setup (which I can't recommend for any quad-core-based build) you have above.


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    #3
    Jonathan
    Moderators, Education Moderators, Home & Garden Moderators Posts: 8,171 Mod ✭✭✭✭Jonathan


    Thanks Solitaire.

    Here is Build 2.0:

    CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 boxed, 12MB, LGA775 - €189.69
    MoBo: ASUS P5QL Pro P43, ATX - €69.84
    RAM: 4096MB DDR2 Corsair Twin2X CL5 - €39.42
    GPU: Club3D HD4650 512MB - €44.05
    HDD: Hitachi Deskstar 1TB SATA II - €64.77
    DVD: Samsung SH-223Q - €24.21
    Case: Coolermaster Elite 360 - €31.67
    PSU: Super-Flower ATLAS Design 450W - €36.04
    Monitors: 2x Dell 2009W - €288
    Soundcard/Speakers: I'll use the ones I already have for the time being..


    Total: €788 + €30 shipping = €818


    Better job?


    I think the monitors will be ok. I have a E198WFP which is also a TN panel, and it does the job fine.


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    #4
    Brian
    Registered Users Posts: 5,699 ✭✭✭Brian


    Get a Samsung SH-S223 as your optical drive. It's a much better one, especially with hacked firmware which doubles its speed.


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    #5
    Solitaire
    Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 18,377 Mod ✭✭✭✭Solitaire


    Sorry, for a sec I thought you were paying €288 for each monitor :rolleyes: €288 for two decent monitors isn't so bad.

    You can upgrade the PSU to the 550W version for a bit more overhead, seeing as the price differece is a whopping €1 :D

    Case is grand, I prefer the CM330 but if you want a desktop instead then fair enough :)

    One final issue - graphics card. That's the basic HD4650 lumbered with DDR2 memory. If you look on the next page you'll see the Sapphire version with fast GDDR3 memory.. for about €2 more. Believe me, its more than worth it! (hell, you can turn up the speed in Catalyst Control Centre and have a mini-HD4670 :D)


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    #6
    Effluo
    Registered Users Posts: 1,890 ✭✭✭Effluo


    Can i just bring attention to the user reviews of those dell screens....

    They are awful and when the user reviews are bad you know it must be really something wrong!


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    #7
    marco_polo
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 10,079 Mod ✭✭✭✭marco_polo


    Effluo wrote: »
    Can i just bring attention to the user reviews of those dell screens....

    They are awful and when the user reviews are bad you know it must be really something wrong!

    Could have two of these for the same price, a much more solid bet IMO.

    http://www3.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=22426&agid=353


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    #8
    Jonathan
    Moderators, Education Moderators, Home & Garden Moderators Posts: 8,171 Mod ✭✭✭✭Jonathan


    marco_polo wrote: »
    Could have two of these for the same price, a much more solid bet IMO.

    http://www3.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=22426&agid=353
    Yea but the base is fixed, and cannot be adjusted vertically.

    That also rules out having the Samungs in portrait mode.



    Bought the Dells now anyway, the 40% off + free shipping offer ends tomorrow.


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    #9
    marco_polo
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 10,079 Mod ✭✭✭✭marco_polo


    Jonathan wrote: »
    Yea but the base is fixed, and cannot be adjusted vertically.

    That also rules out having the Samungs in portrait mode.



    Bought the Dells now anyway, the 40% off + free shipping offer ends tomorrow.

    I saw that alright I wasn't sure if it was important to you or not, I am sure they Dells will be grand and they are a reasonable price in fairness.


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    #10
    Jonathan
    Moderators, Education Moderators, Home & Garden Moderators Posts: 8,171 Mod ✭✭✭✭Jonathan


    Build 2.1:

    CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 boxed, 12MB, LGA775 - €189.69
    MoBo: ASUS P5QL Pro P43, ATX - €69.84
    RAM: 4096MB DDR2 Corsair Twin2X CL5 - €39.42
    GPU: Sapphire HD 4650 512MB GDDR3 - €45.91
    HDD: Hitachi Deskstar 1TB SATA II - €64.77
    DVD: Samsung SH-223Q - €24.21
    Case: Coolermaster Elite 360 - €31.67
    PSU: Super-Flower SF550P14P 550Watt - €37.88
    Monitors: 2x Dell 2009W - €288
    Soundcard/Speakers: I'll use the ones I already have for the time being..


    Total: €792 + €30 shipping = €822


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    #11
    somakasvh
    Registered Users Posts: 146 ✭✭somakasvh


    CPU: Grand choice for your needs.
    RAM: Good value RAM for what you need. If you really wanted, you could upgrade to PC2-8500 C5 or PC2-6400 C4 for just a few € more which will give you (probably not noticeably) better performance.
    GPU: I'd rather go for something passive since the last thing you want is a whiny GPU fan. A passive 4650 goes for €52, or if you're absolutely not going to game on it and want to minimise heat in your case, a passive 4350 goes for €35.
    HDD: I've heard the Hitachi drives are reliable but I've yet to use one.
    DVD: I don't know what's drawn you to this one, but you're better off going for a SATA drive than IDE. I usually just grab the cheapest one off the site. At the moment, it's an LG for €21
    PSU: I've no experience with Super Flower, but the fact that theres no independant reviews of that PSU series on the internet would put me off. It could be fine, I don't know personally, but you won't go wrong with the Corsair VX450W , which is slightly pricier at €59 and I can vouch for it's silence and stability.
    Monitors: I've heard those Dells are ****, and even the customer reviews say they're crap so may be best to avoid. I'd instead suggest a pair of Samsung T200s which are 20" 1680x1050 like the Dell, and are also the same price. But perhaps you might push up a grade to the BenQ G2220HD which is 22" 1920x1080 and cost just €15 more each.

    Now with the case, you can go 2 directions. The coolermaster case you have there seems to be the smallest (in height) ATX case available. Cons are that it can only take 1 hard drive (2 if you squeeze one up against the mobo in the 3.5" external slot), theres not much room to work with in terms of cabling, and there's not enough room if you ever wanted to put in a proper GPU. But if that's ok with you, the case should do the job. Otherwise I'd suggest going for a standard sized case, which would be 3-4" higher and wider.
    If you decide to go ATX, I'd suggest avoid the Asus due to the horrific placement of the 24-pin ATX connector and go for the Gigabyte P43-DS3 which is around the same price instead.

    The other thing you can do is go microATX (although HWV's selection of microATX cases is pretty poor so you might need to look at another site). You could go for a cube-type case like the Silverstone Sugo SST-SG02B-F or a mini tower case like the Antec mini P180, and pair up with a G43 motherboard such as the Asus P5QL-CM for €68.

    EDIT: Just saw you bought the Dells, hope they work out for you


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    #12
    Amalgam
    Registered Users Posts: 6,026 ✭✭✭Amalgam


    I am loitering in Jonathan's thread.. Any opinions on his motherboard? MoBo: ASUS P5QL Pro P43, ATX - €69.84

    I would happily use the first motherboard too, MSI G45M-FD, Intel G45, mATX. The second is much tidier though. I have no idea what CPU to get though.

    What would people suggest as a conservative CPU to go with it? nothing fancy or needing a loud fan, but still an Intel capable of giving a tidy Windows 7 desktop experience. I retro game mostly.


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    #13
    Solitaire
    Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 18,377 Mod ✭✭✭✭Solitaire


    Heck, anything from an E5200 up is good. And OCing a budget LGA775 dualie ends in win.

    somakasvh: He might be doing some casual gaming and the fan on the cool-running HD4650 isn't going to do an FX5800 impression anytime soon :P


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    #14
    Jonathan
    Moderators, Education Moderators, Home & Garden Moderators Posts: 8,171 Mod ✭✭✭✭Jonathan


    somakasvh wrote: »
    GPU: I'd rather go for something passive since the last thing you want is a whiny GPU fan. A passive 4650 goes for €52, or if you're absolutely not going to game on it and want to minimise heat in your case, a passive 4350 goes for €35.
    I'm kinda at the top of my budget at the moment, so I can't really stretch to the passive 4650. That said, I think I'm getting more bang for buck by going with the 4650 that I have rather than the passive 4350.
    somakasvh wrote: »
    PSU: I've no experience with Super Flower, but the fact that theres no independant reviews of that PSU series on the internet would put me off. It could be fine, I don't know personally, but you won't go wrong with the Corsair VX450W , which is slightly pricier at €59 and I can vouch for it's silence and stability.
    I found this review, and while it isn't by any of the big name tech sites, it seems quite honest, and it gets a decent enough review. I don't think I can stretch myself to that Corsair.
    somakasvh wrote: »
    DVD: I don't know what's drawn you to this one, but you're better off going for a SATA drive than IDE. I usually just grab the cheapest one off the site. At the moment, it's an LG for €21
    Yea, I wasn't really giving that much attention, and didn't notice that it was IDE. I assumed most things had gone SATA these days. :pac:
    I changed it in a later revision of the build.
    somakasvh wrote: »
    Monitors: I've heard those Dells are ****, and even the customer reviews say they're crap so may be best to avoid. I'd instead suggest a pair of Samsung T200s which are 20" 1680x1050 like the Dell, and are also the same price. But perhaps you might push up a grade to the BenQ G2220HD which is 22" 1920x1080 and cost just €15 more each.
    Bought now anyway. I'm not expecting that much from them, just lots of desktop space. :pac:
    somakasvh wrote: »
    Now with the case, you can go 2 directions. The coolermaster case you have there seems to be the smallest (in height) ATX case available. Cons are that it can only take 1 hard drive (2 if you squeeze one up against the mobo in the 3.5" external slot), theres not much room to work with in terms of cabling, and there's not enough room if you ever wanted to put in a proper GPU. But if that's ok with you, the case should do the job. Otherwise I'd suggest going for a standard sized case, which would be 3-4" higher and wider.
    If you decide to go ATX, I'd suggest avoid the Asus due to the horrific placement of the 24-pin ATX connector and go for the Gigabyte P43-DS3 which is around the same price instead.
    I hadn't noticed that actually. Bit stupid to have a the most chunky cable running to the middle of the board.


    Build 2.2:

    CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 boxed, 12MB, LGA775 - €189.69
    MoBo: Gigabyte P43-DS3 ATX - €64.90
    RAM: 4096MB DDR2 Corsair Twin2X CL5 - €39.42
    GPU: Sapphire HD 4650 512MB GDDR3 - €45.91
    HDD: Hitachi Deskstar 1TB SATA II - €64.77
    DVD: Samsung SH-223Q - €24.21
    Case: Coolermaster Elite 360 - €31.67
    PSU: Super-Flower SF550P14P 550Watt - €37.88
    Monitors: 2x Dell 2009W - €288 - Bought
    Soundcard/Speakers: I'll use the ones I already have for the time being..


    Total: €787 + €30 shipping = €817


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    #15
    marco_polo
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 10,079 Mod ✭✭✭✭marco_polo


    Jonathan wrote: »
    Yea, I wasn't really giving that much attention, and didn't notice that it was IDE. I assumed most things had gone SATA these days. :pac:
    I changed it in a later revision of the build.

    Oh man I made that exact mistake recently :) I doubt you would notice performance wise for a DVD drive, but cable management is a hell of alot more ugly :(.


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    #16
    Brian
    Registered Users Posts: 5,699 ✭✭✭Brian


    Eh? The S223Q is SATA...
    s223.png
    It is also the best DVD drive out there :S
    maximumpc.png

    Unlike the LG, which you might notice, came last.


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    #17
    Boston
    Closed Accounts Posts: 17,163 ✭✭✭✭Boston


    Does anyone really care about optical drive speed these days? Unless you plan to be ripping DVDs, what does it matter?


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    #18
    Brian
    Registered Users Posts: 5,699 ✭✭✭Brian


    Well, considering it's actually €5 cheaper than what Jon had originally decided on, I don't think it's a bad choice. I personally would not mind paying the €3 (15%) more than what the cheapest drive costs for more than double the performance.


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    #19
    Boston
    Closed Accounts Posts: 17,163 ✭✭✭✭Boston


    If you never utilise it, its a waste. I've a load of DVD drives at home from old machines. I simply don't buy optical drives anymore.


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    #20
    Brian
    Registered Users Posts: 5,699 ✭✭✭Brian


    Well maybe you can give Jon one of them so he can get that passive 4650 then :P


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    #21
    somakasvh
    Registered Users Posts: 146 ✭✭somakasvh


    Jonathan wrote: »
    I'm kinda at the top of my budget at the moment, so I can't really stretch to the passive 4650. That said, I think I'm getting more bang for buck by going with the 4650 that I have rather than the passive 4350.

    From The Tech Lounge review of the card: "Its failings are few, namely, it’s a little loud..."

    From Elite Bastards: "It may be cool and far from power hungry, but the one down-side to that tiny cooler utilised by this board is that it's loud. To be fair, at idle the Radeon HD 4650 HDMI's fan wasn't really noticeable under the general noise of other fans in the system, but run a 3D application for any period of time and you'll soon notice this graphics board's cooler kick in, ramping up noise levels quite substantially."
    Jonathan wrote: »
    I found this review, and while it isn't by any of the big name tech sites, it seems quite honest, and it gets a decent enough review. I don't think I can stretch myself to that Corsair.

    It's a review of a completely different PSU series and PSUs have changed a lot since 2002! The Super Flower is only listed on their german website and doesn't have 80Plus certification which would also put me off. Another option cheaper than the Corsair would be the Be Quiet! Straight Power 400W for €49


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    #22
    Jonathan
    Moderators, Education Moderators, Home & Garden Moderators Posts: 8,171 Mod ✭✭✭✭Jonathan


    somakasvh wrote: »
    From The Tech Lounge review of the card: "Its failings are few, namely, it’s a little loud..."

    From Elite Bastards: "It may be cool and far from power hungry, but the one down-side to that tiny cooler utilised by this board is that it's loud. To be fair, at idle the Radeon HD 4650 HDMI's fan wasn't really noticeable under the general noise of other fans in the system, but run a 3D application for any period of time and you'll soon notice this graphics board's cooler kick in, ramping up noise levels quite substantially."
    Humm... if I do go with the passive card, and a quieter PSU, then it might be worth my while spending the extra few bob.
    somakasvh wrote: »
    It's a review of a completely different PSU series and PSUs have changed a lot since 2002! The Super Flower is only listed on their german website and doesn't have 80Plus certification which would also put me off. Another option cheaper than the Corsair would be the Be Quiet! Straight Power 400W for €49
    I did see that, but I also saw that he updated it in 2008, so I thought he might have gotten a newer model and reviewed that.
    Doesn't matter anyway, changed to a OCZ now.
    400W be enough?




    Build 2.3:

    CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 boxed, 12MB, LGA775 - €189.69
    MoBo: Gigabyte P43-DS3 ATX - €64.90
    RAM: 4096MB DDR2 Corsair Twin2X CL5 - €39.42
    GPU: Club3D HD4650 512MB Passive - €52.03
    HDD: Hitachi Deskstar 1TB SATA II - €64.77
    DVD: Samsung SH-223Q - €24.21
    Case: Coolermaster Elite 360 - €31.67
    PSU: OCZ StealthXStream 400Watt - €44.28
    Monitors: 2x Dell 2009W - €288 - Bought
    Soundcard/Speakers: I'll use the ones I already have for the time being..


    Total: €800 + €30 shipping = €830


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    #23
    somakasvh
    Registered Users Posts: 146 ✭✭somakasvh


    I doubt your peak power consumption will ever be over 250W. Especially if you're not overclocking.


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    #24
    Jonathan
    Moderators, Education Moderators, Home & Garden Moderators Posts: 8,171 Mod ✭✭✭✭Jonathan


    Coolio.

    Just waiting for certain people to sign forms before I get my first pay cheque.

    I'll order then :D


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    #25
    marco_polo
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 10,079 Mod ✭✭✭✭marco_polo


    The 400W corsair is in stock again from tommorrow, and is only 41 Euro. I have heard that the Stealth OCZs are not quite as quiet as the name implies.

    http://www1.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=24637&agid=240


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    #26
    Brian
    Registered Users Posts: 5,699 ✭✭✭Brian


    Looking good (Y)

    Permission to hijack your thread with my build now? :P


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    #27
    Jonathan
    Moderators, Education Moderators, Home & Garden Moderators Posts: 8,171 Mod ✭✭✭✭Jonathan


    Sure.. just click here to reply.


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    #28
    Brian
    Registered Users Posts: 5,699 ✭✭✭Brian


    http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055602354

    :(


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    #29
    marco_polo
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 10,079 Mod ✭✭✭✭marco_polo


    Baza210 wrote: »
    Looking good (Y)

    Permission to hijack your thread with my build now? :P


    I know there is a recession and all that but you may as well start a new one. :D


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    #30
    marco_polo
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 10,079 Mod ✭✭✭✭marco_polo


    Baza210 wrote: »
    http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055602354

    :(


    Ah I see. I think the lack of replies is more due to the fact it was just a pretty solid effort apart from the Mobo, I remember reading it and didn't have much to add in terms of suggestions to improve it given the budget :)


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    #31
    Brian
    Registered Users Posts: 5,699 ✭✭✭Brian


    It's quite hard to get a cheap AM3 mobo because the ones that use DDR2 seem to be about €50 more than DDR3...


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