Scratch Built Computer - Advice

[Phil]

I am looking to build a desktop computer which will be used for programming and for gaming. With this in mind I am planning to make a computer that has a very good motherboard which can have additional or upgraded components at a later date. So essentially I want a future-proof machine that can last me years and years only needing to update the odd part if I ever need to bump the output.

I want to go for an Intel system because, well for no reason other than I like them more. I will have a budget of between £600-800 ($1100-$1500) depending of my finances after my new job starts. As I currently use a laptop nothing can be transferred across into the new system except a mouse and that's not exactly a vast money saver.

So this is the system I've got planned but it's still very much open to changes.

Motherboard
Intel D975XBX



(Intel&reg Desktop Board D975XBX Overview)
Costs £150 ($285) from OverClockers.co.uk

CPU
Intel Core 2 DUO E6400
(Overclockers UK Intel Pentium Core 2 Duo)
Costs £180 ($340) from OverClockers.co.uk

Memory
Corsair 1GB DDR2 TwinX (XMS2-6400C5)
(Overclockers UK Corsair XMS2) second bottom
Costs £76 ($144)

Hard Drive
Well I'm not sure on this as I've looked around and I'm looking for something in the 250-300GB range but only Samsung shows the actual size of the hard drive (300GB listed, 133GB actually!!!)
Any suggestions here would be most welcome.

Monitor
19” Hanns-G TFT
(19" Hanns-G HC194DP TFT - 8ms- DVI --- tft dvi, 19 hannsg hc194dp tft 8ms dvi , lcd 8ms video from aria .co. uk)


That adds up to about £500. Anything else I'll pick up as cheap as I can from places until I can afford better ones. This gives me money left to get things like DVD/RW, Network PCI, Keyboard, etc.

One final thing is the issue of the case, power unit and cooling system. Can anyone recommend good cases, power and fans? I have no idea about this part of the hardware...

Any other comments would be greatly appriciated as well.

Thanks,
Phil

 

[LORD]

Considering you have a relatively limited budget, why are you spending so much on the mobo/CPU? You mentioned that you prefer Intel but you could get an Asus SLI mobo and a dual core Athlon 64 for considerably less money. It will be at least as future proof as your suggestions.

You also haven't mentioned a graphics card, which will be essential if you intend to do any gaming at all.

Most if not all mobo's have networking onboard so I wouldn't worry about that.

Just a suggestion :-

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ socket 939 Dual Core 2.2ghz 512kb - £130

Asus A8N-SLI SE Socket 939 - £57

GeForce 7600 GT 256MB - £117

As far as PSU's go, you will need around 450W from a reputable manufacturer, I always go with Antec as they are top quality and not too expensive. Don't buy cheap PSU's under any circumstances. They WILL let you down.

 

[izzy007]

Considering you have a relatively limited budget, why are you spending so much on the mobo/CPU? You mentioned that you prefer Intel but you could get an Asus SLI mobo and a dual core Athlon 64 for considerably less money. It will be at least as future proof as your suggestions.

You also haven't mentioned a graphics card, which will be essential if you intend to do any gaming at all.

Most if not all mobo's have networking onboard so I wouldn't worry about that.

Just a suggestion :-

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ socket 939 Dual Core 2.2ghz 512kb - £130

Asus A8N-SLI SE Socket 939 - £57

GeForce 7600 GT 256MB - £117

As far as PSU's go, you will need around 450W from a reputable manufacturer, I always go with Antec as they are top quality and not too expensive. Don't buy cheap PSU's under any circumstances. They WILL let you down.

by the way conroe kicks amd's ass and is one of the best overclocking processors with 65nm technology, at this time i wud rather go for intel if u can afford it and want future proof, pluz the amd system u recommended is not furture proof at all, am2 is now out so u wont see any processor upgrades for socket 939 anymore.

for a psu, i wud go for this ebuyer.com - Components » Power Supplies » Antec » Product details
or this ebuyer.com - Components » Power Supplies » Enermax » Product details
or this ebuyer.com - Components » Power Supplies » Antec » Product details

for a money saving and best bang for buck, i wud go for the enermax one. but the other two are really good units too, ive got the antec neo he and it is so silent and rock solid with 456amps on the 12v rail. i wud really go for the antec neo he or the enermax one.

dont skimp on the psu as it is the most critical component of keeping ur computer alive and reliable.

for the case, its really wat u like and ur choice and how much u want to spend on it, browse through the pages to find wat u like ebuyer.com - the UK's largest independent online retailer of computers, components, electronics, MP3 Players,cameras, televisions, DVD Players, car audio, software and more...

 

[LORD]

by the way conroe kicks amd's ass and is one of the best overclocking processors with 65nm technology, at this time i wud rather go for intel if u can afford it and want future proof, pluz the amd system u recommended is not furture proof at all, am2 is now out so u wont see any processor upgrades for socket 939 anymore.

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It was more for the budget than anything, I still think a fast dual core Athlon 64 will be fine for a few years but I see your point :)

 

[Big B]

While Intel is definitely the way to go, your budget won't allow for it right now. It's just coming out, so prices are pretty high, but will come down in due time.

For now, I'd look at an AM2 setup, as it's replacing Socket 939.

Motherboard: Epox MF-570 SLI £85.00
CPU: Athlon64 3500+ AM2 £65.01
RAM: Corsair XMS PC6400 DDR2 1GB kit £105.00
Video Card: Club3D GeForce 7600GT 256MB PCIe £120.00
Hard Drive: Samsung 250GB SATA £49.95
Optical Drive: Samsung 18x DVD-RW £27.00
Power Supply: OCZ GameExtreme 600W £85.00
Case: CoolerMaster Centurion 5 £49.00

Total: £585.96

Modest, yes, but that will offer a little brighter upgrade path than 939 and still afford a solid gaming platform.