Help me build my new computer...

Katgoddess

My current computer I built from an Asus barebones system 3 years ago. Things have changed a lot since then, so I need some ideas of what to buy this time.

Ideally an AMD processor again, and also a barebones system. Shuttles are supposed to be good?
I download a lot of music and video so need a B I G hard drive. For my photos as well. Remote control would be nice.
I like listening to music or watching videos while using other programs at the same time. This tends to crash my current computer.
I use Paint Shop Pro and Photoshop lots as I design t shirts as a sideline.
I don't use my computer for gaming.
I will be installing windows vista, unless you all tell me not to?
Optional - Have it look pretty and girlie. :A

Thank you in advance :heartpuls

Edit: I've just seen how much Vista is. I won't be buying that for a while...

Blacksheep1979

why do you want an AMD processor again? At the moment the intel core II duo range are kicking AMDs butt even the E6300 which is a £110 chip can (all be it overclocked) perform as well if not better than AMDs top of the line £450 FX62. As its dual core it should be good for photoshop and multitasking.

Would def reccomend 2gb ram if using photoshop - will make a load of difference. And again my usual advice is why Vista? Is XP not doing something you want it to?

Any gfx card should do the job, you don't need anything too expensive as photoshop uses the cpu and you aren't playing games. As for remote, if you get mce you could use a remote in that or you could get a wireless keyboard/mouse.

Can't give you any def ideas until you really say what price range you're looking at.

stevemcol

Bumped this back up because I'm surprised no one has answered (I'm interested in the answers as well (apart from the girlie bit you understand!).

AMO

stevemcol wrote:

Bumped this back up because I'm surprised no one has answered (I'm interested in the answers as well (apart from the girlie bit you understand!).

Blacksheep pretty much summarised it all up. Basically, in the past there were good reasons for going AMD - in essense better price/performance ratio.

However, since the release of Intel's Duo Core E6300 and above, the price/performance ratio value crown has shifted back to Intel.

Go here for a rough idea of performance comparison's for each CPU (it depends on the application):
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/cpu/charts.html?modelx=33&model1=430&model2=464&chart=171



AMO

stevemcol

AMO wrote:

Blacksheep pretty much summarised
AMO

Yes, sorry, my post crossed with Blacksheep's (both 3:31)

Katgoddess

I wanted an AMD because they were the better choice 3 years ago. Obviously they aren't now. Also wanted Vista because its the newest OS and have heard great things about it. But it sounds like I don't need it yet. See this is why I need you guys. :j

My price range is under 500 quid. But I can put extra in the budget to get a system that suits me. I really have no idea. My car has it's MOT next week so I'll know for sure after that.

So just as an example. Dell Precision 290 Business. Their price £855.40 including VAT and shipping.

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E6300 1.86Ghz, 1066Mhz FSB, 2MB L2 cache
XP Pro operating system. [Do I need pro? I already have home XP]
1.0GB (2 x 512MB DIMM) 533MHz DDR2 Non-ECC SDRAM Memory [I need 2Gb 2x1Gb or 4x516mb?]
128MB nVidia Quadro FX550 Graphics Card
500GB (7,200 rpm) Serial ATA II Hard Drive with NCQ
48X CDRW/DVD Drive [Will be transferring my own DVD-RW drive]
No floppy
No screen, speakers or mouse needed.
Integrated AC''97 audio sound card.

Comes to £1273.70 with the extra hard drive and memory.

Any comments on what I do or don't need while I look around for cheap parts. :cool:

Blacksheep1979

don't really need xp pro unless you know you need it - it just has some extra networking features/domains etc. You should be able to get a much better price than that - have you looked at evesham/mesh etc to see what their prices are?

roughly you are wanting

E6300 ~ £110
motherboard anywhere from £30-150 so say £50
2gb DDR II ~ £140
graphics card £30 or so
500gb hd sata ~ £110
dvd writer ~ £20


So thats about £440 and then you need a case - which could be anywhere between £30 and £200 - your choice. Or go for a shuttle and you only need cpu, ram, hd, dvd writer and poss gfx card (may have onboard graphics).

wolfman

You won't need 500gb. I'd maybe go for a 300gb drive. That'll be plenty. If not get a DVD Burner too, and put some of the videos onto DVD.

The E6300 is a good choice. Maybe combined with the Gigabyte DS3 (£90).

If you really want to get great value, overclock it. The Core Duo 2's are very overclockable. I've got mine running at about 170% and it never goes over 50C.

You'll need an aftermarket cooler. The Artic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro is a great budget option (£17). Given the choice I'd go for a Thermalright Ultra 90 (£20) and a decent 92mm fan (£7). You'll also need some Artic Silver 5 paste (£6). And the Vantec Bracket is advisable. It allows you to mount a fan (I've got a 92mm one) over the northbridge/southbridge which get quite hot with the DS3.

Make sure you get an ATI card too if doing the above, as some nVidia cause problems when trying to overclock. Also make sure you get RAM that can run at 1.8V.

For a case, the Antec Sonata II is very good value for money, and comes with a reasonable 450W psu. It's £80, well built and runs with silence in mind.

Basically the above adds about £40 to your total, but it's well worth it as you'll be able to overclock your cpu very easily. It's even possibly on the stock cooler, but you're better off getting some decent stuff that will run nice and quiet.