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#1 08/01/07 3:35pm

tallphil
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Registered: 29/04/06
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Building me a new PC

hey hey,

Just wondering if there's anyone out there with experience of building their own PC? Mine is starting to die a horrible death, and is quite outdated now so I think it's probably it's time to be sent to computer heaven. Anway, i've spent a few days faffing around, reading reviews on tom's hardware guide and places, and have come up with the following spec:

Case                   CoolerMaster Stacker 830
Motherboard         Asus P5WDH Deluxe
Processor             Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 2.13GHz
Power Source        Coolermaster eXtreme Power 650W PSU
RAM                    Geil Ultra DDR2 2.0GB PC6400 Dual Channel Kit 800MHz
Graphics Card       Sapphire ATI X1950XT 256MB

I shall pinch hard drives and optical drives from my current machine.

What do people think? Notice any problems with compatability there? Or perhaps stupidly chosen components? I'm not sure about my choice of power supplies yet - I've heard that I want at least 650W to be able to support dual graphics cards. Hmm.

I've tried to bear in mind future upgrading when choosing these too - hence a crossfire friendly graphics card and a big case which support BTX mobos. The mobo is also quite cool, has a remote control to turn the PC on/off, change fan speeds etc smile

Spending money makes me nervous sadshakehead


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#2 08/01/07 4:00pm

soulofdarkness
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From: Tallinn
Registered: 25/08/06
Posts: 401

Re: Building me a new PC

Wow, how expensive will that be? aprox?
I don't understand why you need to change the fan speed smile

You're a web designer. Why do you need such a powerfull PC?


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#3 08/01/07 4:41pm

tallphil
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Posts: 825
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Re: Building me a new PC

Currently looking at £838.07

Changing the fan speed is a good thing because the fans are usually the loudest thing on the computer - so I can have them on full when i'm playing some power hungry game causing my computer to pump out loads of heat, but turn them down so that they're nice and quiet when I have some chilled out music playing before I go to sleep.

And yeah, I'm a web designer. But I'm also a graphic designer, and I like playing games when I get a chance. Main thing is that I tend to be running loads of big programs at once (photoshop, fireworks, dreamweaver, flash, indesign and after effects, along with the normal host of programs like iTunes, bitcomet etc) which really makes my computer chug, esp whilst changing between them (only have 512 ram at the moment).

I also want it to last as long as possible - my current PC i bought about 4 years ago and it's done well, but i'd like to eek this one on as long as possible, and the best way of doing that is by buying fairly big. So the power unit will be able to handle most stuff that i might want to add on in three years time, such as a second graphics card, and the case can support new BTX style motherboards and has lots of room for expansion. etc.


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#4 08/01/07 4:55pm

tallphil
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Posts: 825
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Re: Building me a new PC

Hmm, think I might get a Coolermaster IGreen 600W PSU instead, has more connectors and sleeved wires. And it's more efficient, and creates less heat. Good review here.


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#5 08/01/07 6:10pm

woodpecker106
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From: Cardiff
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Posts: 109
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Re: Building me a new PC

I wanted that case but decided it was too expensive for just a case when you can get one a lot cheaper but i ended up getting an Antec P180.

Very nice choice of mobo too, got everything you could want, if you want it to be quiet you might want to consider an aftermarket cpu cooler like a Zalman but you will have to check compatibility with the mobo because the clearance looks a bit limited with the heat pipes.

If you are planning on keeping the graphics for a few years i would wait for a month or so because DirectX 10 is being launched at the end of the month to coincide with Vista and current graphics cards are only dx9 except for the Geforce 8800 GTX and GTS which cost a bomb but AMD are releasing their equivalent high end R600 core at the end of the month and both Nvidia and AMD have more mainstream products in the pipeline which should be more affordable. If you choose to go dx9 though i would go for something like Geforce 7800 or 7900 series because it is easier to get a matching card for SLi than it is to get a Ati crossfire card.

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#6 09/01/07 3:38pm

tallphil
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Registered: 29/04/06
Posts: 825
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Re: Building me a new PC

Hmm. Ok, after a bit of reading and stuff, think I'll go with the Radeon X1900 GT - recommended by Tom's Hardware Guide's latest Graphics Card Roundup and a good card for the money. Although it is only dx9, should last me for a year or two, by which time dx10 will be commonplace and the cards will be muchos cheaper. Then I can sell off the X1900GT on ebay or whatever.

Right, think I might go ahead and buy it now computer


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#7 11/01/07 9:49am

tallphil
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Re: Building me a new PC

Argh, I am now poor sad


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#8 11/01/07 10:35am

woodpecker106
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From: Cardiff
Registered: 29/04/06
Posts: 109
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Re: Building me a new PC

Look on the bright side, at least you will have a good computer, i think you should buy yourself a nice 24" TFT next to get rid of that crap 21" CRT you have

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#9 11/01/07 4:28pm

tallphil
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Registered: 29/04/06
Posts: 825
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Re: Building me a new PC

I've already got rid of the crap 21" CRT - sold it to a guy at work for £20. I'm currently running two 19" TFTs, got them off ebay from a guy in cambridge, pick up only so dead cheap smile (24" would be nice though tongue).

Can't wait till my new computer arrives now - current box crashed again last night and now my primary monitor is black once windows loads. All i can see is iTunes. Might have a play tonight and see if i can get the secondary monitor to act as the primary if i unplug the primary.


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#10 11/01/07 5:09pm

soulofdarkness
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From: Tallinn
Registered: 25/08/06
Posts: 401

Re: Building me a new PC

What kind of software do you use to work on 2 monitors? When i had two, i tried, but the best attempt resulted in having 2 monitors showing exactly the same thing smile.

So you've ordered your new PC. When will it arrive? I know how hard it is to whait...

And what about your speakers? are they good enough for you? or you're changing them as well?


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#11 11/01/07 5:20pm

woodpecker106
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From: Cardiff
Registered: 29/04/06
Posts: 109
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Re: Building me a new PC

In windows you can configure them to act as a clone (which is what it sounds like you had) or extended desktop so you can spread windows across both.

And phil if you unplug one when the computer is switched off it should automatically default to the one plugged in.

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#12 11/01/07 8:38pm

tallphil
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From: UK
Registered: 29/04/06
Posts: 825
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Re: Building me a new PC

soulofdarkness - the software is just a mix of the ATI drivers for my graphics card and the windows drivers. My graphics card has dual outputs. Like woodpecker said, the software gives you the option of having a clone display or seperate displays. It's worth the effort though - once you have dual displays it's very difficult to go back to having one screen, you have so much more room, it's awesome big_smile

All the bits and pieces should be arriving next thursday I think. Then I just have to get them all home from work on the bus and put it all together smile
I'll stick with my existing speakers, i've got a 5.1 setup that I got with my last computer - it's not bad (though not as good as i'd like).


Scott - I know, that's what I meant by my last post... And yes, that did work, hence I am able to write this post. goodtv


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