Self-build small form factor white PC

EddyHall

Hi all,

I have just finished putting together the specs for my first self-build PC. I'm going for a system that is as white as possible and as compact as possible.

I think I have got it around £500 - £550 and would like to keep it that way. Do you think I'm buying these bits as cheaply as I can? And from the right sort of places?

The PC is going to be used for mp3s, digital photos, broadband, Office stuff, intermittent gaming, looking pretty, DVD burning etc. Nothing too strenuous.

Anyway, here's the spec and prices.

Aopen XC Cube EZ18 - White, £120 from Directfrom.com
http://directfrom.com/productview.asp?id=2079

AMD Athlon XP 2800+, £65 from Microdirect.co.uk
http://www.microdirect.co.uk/ProductInfo.aspx?ProductID=2747

Maxtor DiamondMax 10 160Gb hard disk, £50 from IT-Buy.co.uk
http://www.it-buy.co.uk/products_item.asp?Component=6B160P0&Cat=3&SubCatID=7&FamID=7

2 x 512MB DDR333 PC2700 RAM, £51 from Microdirect.co.uk
http://www.microdirect.co.uk/ProductInfo.aspx?ProductID=3152

ACER 1711 17" TFT - White, £148 from RL Supplies.co.uk
http://www.rlsupplies.co.uk/products/product.asp?id=2310

NEC ND-3540A DVD burner, £35.54 from Scan.co.uk
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=205186

Leadtek WinFast A6200-TD128 GeForce 6200 128MB AGP graphics card, £76 from ebuyer.com
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=7758675149&action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=85833

Also, can you advise me on some nice, simple, small, good looking, good quality PC speakers? I'm looking at the Harman Multimedia Soundsticks II or the Harman Creature Speakers II in white. I'm looking to spend £50 - £100.

Thanks,
Eddy

wolfman

You can get a better graphics card, have a look at:
http://www.microdirect.co.uk/ProductInfo.aspx?ProductID=5822&GroupID=330

Also, I'd be tempted to spend and extra £10 and get PC3200 ram instead of PC2700. The Geil stuff has always been fine for me despite what others sometimes say. You can get 512mb Geil stuff with aluminium heatspreaders for about £30, so 2x = £60.

With regards to the burner, I've got the NEC ND3520 and I do like it but I slightly prefer my friends LG GSA-4163BA. This site does great 15+ page reviews of burners, the LG comes out top:
http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/Reviews/Home.aspx?ArticleTypeId=2&SubCategoryId=32

Finally, the monitor. I'd spend an extra £10-20 if I were you and get the Relisys TL795, NEC AccuSync LCD72VM, or Belinea 101735. I think the NEC is probably the best of the bunch, and probably the best buget monitor about.

http://www.pcpro.co.uk/buyer-labs/70384/nec-accusync-lcd72vm.html

You can find it by typing in "NEC AccuSync LCD72VM buy" in google, it usually retails at about £160-170.

T4i

wow,

Who's be doing there homework then? I've just had a look round and the prices you've got are very good.

I don't think you are going to find cheaper prices......Do you want a sub with the speakers?

I'm a big fan of h/k, i've got a amp and cd player by h/k and its

T4i

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/JBL.html

JBL Creature II 2.1 Speakers White - Retail (SP-000-JU)

Not heard them in action but I'm a big JBL fan too. Has anyone reading this got any? Verdict?

drlight_2

I did the same as you but then started again as i realised i was going to pay for postage. I got it all from one place for 8.99 P&P (ebuyer.com)