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Please Help: Need Help Building Quad Core Pc!!

imranrasool

imranrasool

Inactive User
Hello Everyone,

I've just sold my current PC which was nothing to shout about and its time I built myself a super quick machine. I'm not an avid game player at all via pc, I've got 360 and ps3 so have never played any pc games. Also am not a huge downloader here are the bits I'm interested in and any advice would be greatly greatly appreciated.

1. Mobo - definitely Asus for me as has never let me down, not a fan of the striker extreme as not really suited to my needs, plenty of SLi boards out there, which one would you advise?

2. Processor - Was going to stick with the dual 2 core q6600 as prices have dropped and alot of processor for the money.

3. RAM - want 4gb RAM in total. OCZ too expensive for me. Sticking with Kingston or Corsair x 1gb sticks. Have to be 800mhz to optimise speed.

4. Hard Drive - probably stick with a seagate barracuda around 320gb - 400gb. have never let me down.

5. Graphics Card - Alot of advice needed here, don't play games but want something decent with decent output. Want to connect to my hdtv which is full hd i.e 1080p with twin hdmi slots. want to maximise output capabilities.

6. Sound - on board would be fine as not really a big user of sound.

7. Case- Antec 900 like the look and features of this one but again am open to advice as am a novice on all the above.

8. PSU - was thinking around 700 watt purely to carry on to future projects and incase I do upgrade to top line graphics card and start playing pc games.

9. Additional components - i.e DVD RW, card reader, floppy (dont ask why), additional coolers etc.

I may have missed something, as havent built a pc for aobut 5 years now but its time I did.

Have set my budget around £500 - £600 for all the above and based on prices I have been getting should be easily achievable.

REALLY NEED ADVICE ON MOBO, PROCESSOR AND RAM. Have had AMD systems in the past and their good value for money but arent up to date anymore with whats what.

Also if you know of any cheap retailers and online sites please do let me know.

THANKS EVERYONE.

Imran
 
Hello guys,

Please help if you can as really want to build this pc, but being the motherboard is probably the first and most important component I could really do with some advice.

I think a asus sli 680 nvidia type board is probably the best to go for, but am waiting for advice from the more experienced members.

Please help
 
that looks a very good spec indeed mate, am still hoping to build my one to ensure only the best components go in it. But not having any luck in the way of finalising my hardware choices, so am eager to see how you get on with yours as at that price its definitely worth a buy.
 
might want to look at another case as the antec 900 is a dust trap,i`ve just bought the akasa eclipse-62 it`s a nice case,can post you a pic if needed.
 
If a case is a dust trap all you need to do is buy a fish tank type filter and install it in front of the air-in fans.

I got the lian-li ally case and it has the dust filter built-in.
 
As for the components:-

If you have defentely decieded on certain parts then find the best price for them and knock them off your budget so you know how much you have remaining.

Asus boards are very good, as are most big names nowadays - just down to personnal preference. I had a bad time with a Asus board once apon a time so it put me off, I then went with Epox, then Abit and now I'm using a Biostar (no o/c multiplier in Biostar - so not for the oc'er!)

I'd conentrate on the chipset m8, then find a board that you want, make sure it has enough ATA's (for writers/readers/older HDD's)

If you need a communication port make sure the board has one, my Biostar only has a Comm header in which a comm back plate can be installed.

As for RAM, if you want highest performance go for 'gaming' RAM as it has the better latencies. Also, again if you plan on oc'ing the machine you will need RAM with heatspreaders and capable of higher frequencies.

If you can spare the extra £20 get a Audigy sound card, will take some demand off the CPU by using a sound card.

I don't see the point in buying a pentium CPU when AMD's r sooo much cheaper, both do the same job at end of day (people will disagree) never had a problem with AMD. With the money you save on AMD vs Pentium you could even get a slightly faster CPU.

GFx is the tricky bit, don't u play ANY games at all? Will you require to play games in future?
 
hello mate, i was recommended the antec 900 dont really know much about them.Preferably want a case with really good cooling and not too over the top as too many cases look way too much.

Will google the case you have recommended and see what i get. Thanks for your input it is really appreciated.
 
i was originally going for the 900,but after reading a lot of reviews,decided on the akasa eclipse-62.
imranrasool said:
hello mate, i was recommended the antec 900 dont really know much about them.Preferably want a case with really good cooling and not too over the top as too many cases look way too much.

Will google the case you have recommended and see what i get. Thanks for your input it is really appreciated.
Click to expand...
 
T4i said:
As for the components:-

If you have defentely decieded on certain parts then find the best price for them and knock them off your budget so you know how much you have remaining.

Asus boards are very good, as are most big names nowadays - just down to personnal preference. I had a bad time with a Asus board once apon a time so it put me off, I then went with Epox, then Abit and now I'm using a Biostar (no o/c multiplier in Biostar - so not for the oc'er!)

I'd conentrate on the chipset m8, then find a board that you want, make sure it has enough ATA's (for writers/readers/older HDD's)

If you need a communication port make sure the board has one, my Biostar only has a Comm header in which a comm back plate can be installed.

As for RAM, if you want highest performance go for 'gaming' RAM as it has the better latencies. Also, again if you plan on oc'ing the machine you will need RAM with heatspreaders and capable of higher frequencies.

If you can spare the extra £20 get a Audigy sound card, will take some demand off the CPU by using a sound card.

I don't see the point in buying a pentium CPU when AMD's r sooo much cheaper, both do the same job at end of day (people will disagree) never had a problem with AMD. With the money you save on AMD vs Pentium you could even get a slightly faster CPU.

GFx is the tricky bit, don't u play ANY games at all? Will you require to play games in future?
Click to expand...


I havent definitley committed to certain brands or products. Everything I have listed is based on past brand experience and quality.

I do prefer Asus as have had good experiences with them, but am always looking for alternatives especially if they do equally good job but are able to save me money.

In terms of processor I agree, I have had two AMD systems which have been very impressive so would consider AMD what is the fastest processor they do at the moment. Do they have a quad core equivalent as I know you get more value for money.

RAM wise, standard DDR2 ram is fine for me as gaming is an absolute no go for me and will probably stay that way.

Yes I can spare the extra cash for a sound card, didnt know much about them but for £20 cant go wrong.

Finally, graphics card, I honestly dont play games at all.I keep the odd neo geo emulator on my pc but thats about it. Having it hooked up to my hdtv means I will be watching movies through it but thats about it really.

Let me know what you think.

Kind Regards

Imran
 
I'd look at a budget ATi card such as a Sapphire (very trusted).

What resolution do you need for HD?

--------------------------

- Two integrated DVI display outputs:-

Primary supports 18-, 24-, and 30-bit digital displays at all resolutions up to 1920x1200 (single-link DVI) or 2560x1600 (dual-link DVI)

Secondary supports 18-, 24-, and 30-bit digital displays at all resolutions up to 1920x1200 (single-link DVI only)

Each includes a dual-link HDCP encoder with on-chip key storage for high resolution playback of protected content

--------------------------

HDMI output support:-

Supports all display resolutions up to 1920x10801

Integrated HD audio controller with multi-channel (5.1) AC3 support, enabling a plug-and-play cable-less audio solution

--------------------------

Integrated AMD Xilleon™ HDTV encoder:-

Provides high quality analog TV output (component/S-video/composite)
Supports SDTV and HDTV resolutions

Underscan and overscan compensation

http://www.cclonline.com/product-in...ory_id=257&manufacturer_id=0&tid=11109-01-20r

Even has DX10, not bad for £27.
 
T4i said:
I'd look at a budget ATi card such as a Sapphire (very trusted).

What resolution do you need for HD?


Hello bud,

I have a sharp aquos 42" full hd tv 1080p. So not sure what I need but want it to be as crisp as possible withouthaving to splash out crazy money, as like I said I will never be playing games really.

I'm not sure what options I have for output, but have vga, twin hdmi slots on my tv if that is any help.

I've been looking at motherboards, what does chipset mean?

I was looking at a nvidia 680 sli chipset board, what difference does the chipset make. I simply wanted a quad core compatible board, but there are so many to choose from. Front side Bus is 1066mhz on all of them with many ready for 1333mhz for the future.

Thanks for your advice bud.
Click to expand...
 
imranrasool said:
T4i said:
I'd look at a budget ATi card such as a Sapphire (very trusted).

What resolution do you need for HD?


Hello bud,

I have a sharp aquos 42" full hd tv 1080p. So not sure what I need but want it to be as crisp as possible withouthaving to splash out crazy money, as like I said I will never be playing games really.

I'm not sure what options I have for output, but have vga, twin hdmi slots on my tv if that is any help.

I've been looking at motherboards, what does chipset mean?

I was looking at a nvidia 680 sli chipset board, what difference does the chipset make. I simply wanted a quad core compatible board, but there are so many to choose from. Front side Bus is 1066mhz on all of them with many ready for 1333mhz for the future.

Thanks for your advice bud.
Click to expand...

Well, that GFx that I showed you has twin hdmi outputs so you should be able to get the full res of 2560x1600. I think your TV supports 1920×1080.

Chipset on a motherboard is made up of Northbridge and Southbridge chip.

I use the nvidia chipset as its never let me down and gets a good review from testing.

As for FSB speeds, whatever you go for it will be out of date soon after its built ;)

But for the most future proof, go for the fastest available speeds.

What will you be using the PC for?
Click to expand...
 
T4i said:
imranrasool said:
Well, that GFx that I showed you has twin hdmi outputs so you should be able to get the full res of 2560x1600. I think your TV supports 1920×1080.

Chipset on a motherboard is made up of Northbridge and Southbridge chip.

I use the nvidia chipset as its never let me down and gets a good review from testing.

As for FSB speeds, whatever you go for it will be out of date soon after its built ;)

But for the most future proof, go for the fastest available speeds.

What will you be using the PC for?
Click to expand...

That graphic card sounds perfect mate so will def stick with that one.

I'm going to stick with the nvidia chipset too, was thinking the 650 or 680 chipset as they seem solid and very future proof with many of the boards capable of handling 1333mhz fsb for future proofing, with 1066mhz fsb as standard.

I think I've narrowed the motherboard down to either the p5n-e sli or p5n32 sli, one is an extreme gaming which I don't think I will need but there is a £50 difference between the two.

Interms of usage, it'll be for heavy downloading, alot of multi tasking but nothing interms of video editing etc.

You've got one of my major headaches out the way as didnt have a clue about graphic cards and that sounds like the one I will need, plus it saves me a lot of money over the current 7 and 8 series nvidia cards which I just wont use.

Kind Regards

Imran
Click to expand...
 
T4i said:
I'd look at a budget ATi card such as a Sapphire (very trusted).

What resolution do you need for HD?

Hello bud,

what model ATI card do you suggest, as just typed in the ati sapphire and it comes up with so many different ones and vary greatly in price.

Thanks
Click to expand...
 
This one m8,

http://www.cclonline.com/product-in...ory_id=257&manufacturer_id=0&tid=11109-01-20r

I also rwecommend CCL computers for buying, its a local company to me and I see how its run - very good company for once!

Delivery is speedy, prices are competative, technical support is excellent (and a forum on CCL page) and returns are completely hastle free.

If there is a £50 difference between the p5n-e sli & p5n32 sli I would go for the non-gaming one.

Theres really not gonna be much in it, but as its 'designed for gamers' it gets geeky heads turning.

Asus do a P5N32-E SLi Plus for £117 - just like the P5N32 but without the gaming tag.

You defo going for a Intel machine then?
 
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