Building a new PC - help please
 

Hey guys, I need some advice on PC parts. I don’t need a top performance PC because I hardly play PC games. I’m also willing to spend a little extra if it means getting better value for money.

A key factor is I want the PC to be quiet.


CPU
Intel Core2 Duo 6300. Thought of getting the AMD Dualcore X2, but after reading about the Core2 Duo beating the Dualcore X2, I changed my mind. Is it worth spending extra on the 6400 or 6600? Is there that much of a performance jump from 6300 to 6600?

GPU
Geforce 7900GS or Radeon X1950 PRO. Since I hardly play PC games, I think either will do. If I decide to get the 7900GS, is it worth spending an extra AUD$35 on the 7900GT for an extra 4 pipelines?

RAM
2GB PC2-4200. Is it worth spending extra on the PC2-5300 or PC2-6400? Brand – Cosair?

Mobo
I’m really clueless here. There’s so many, I don’t know what to pick. I'll be most likely buying from this store - so here's what I can get downunder.

Is it possible to use my current 60GB Seagate IDE HDD as a backup drive? Most mobo don’t come with IDE connectors anymore. Are there are SATA-IDE connectors?

LCD monitor (19”)
Samsung 931C. I’m after a top quality, sharp display, good all round monitor. Is this a good choice?

HDD
Seagate 320GB SATA II 16MB. I’ve been happy with Seagate, but I know Western Digital HDDs are slightly quieter.

PSU
Antec NeoHE. It’s the quietest PSU? Will 380W be enough?

Optical drive
Pioneer 111D DVDRW/Dual. Unless someone recommends something better.

Soundcard
Creative Sound Blaster - 5.1 Channel. Is it worth buying one, or using the onboard one? I realise they take pressure off the CPU, but is it really much? I don’t want 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound. Just good quality audio.

Speakers
Good qaulity 2.0 speakers is all I need. Creative, Logitech or Altec?

Case
Friend is giving me an old case.

Floppy Disc Drive
Toughest discussion of all. This will make or break my system. I’m thinking 6 of ‘em.[/sarcasm]


I would appreciate any help!

Firstly, if you're not interested in using this computer for gaming, why are you considering getting a top-end video card? You could save a lot of money by stepping down to a less powerful card, say a 7600GS or X1600. Those cards will also be a bit quieter if that's really a main concern of yours.

As to the motherboard, this ASUS P5L-1394 should do the trick for what you want. It mentions that it has some special fan system that keeps sound at a minimum.

The rest of the components you want to get should do fine. The sound card built into the motherboard I recommended can support a 6.1 sound system, so you won't need to worry about getting a separate card. For speakers proper, I can only suggest Altec since that brand has treated me well.

You don't play games? Then why is your computer like 30 times faster than mine.

You can get by with a $600 pc and still get by in games on mid/low settings. What you're doing seems like a big waste of money.
edit: and onboard audio generally sucks. i suggest you get an m-audio (they're not the best, but they're better than creative/onboard crap unless you play games). You shouldn't get a creative card unless you plan to be gaming, even then their sound quality isn't very good and seem to be known for having crackles after some time.

How much do you plan on spending on speakers? You can pick up these for $250 I think. Depending on what you're getting it may be prudent to just use your onboard card.

I recommend you don't buy too much more than you need. If you buy high end parts and can afford to get a new system every 4 years... if you buy more mid-range parts you can probably replace for the same total price every two years... and, if things go the same... you will be better served. Some things, like sound cards, don't change _that_ much so get a decent one if you are going to have decent speakers. If you want to spend $250 on speakers for the one I suggested or similar then you might as well get a card with optical output. Then you can just transfer it as you upgrade your system--just like with a good case, HDD, or optical drive. Also, try not to buy into dying technology... I have a nice motherboard but I opted for socket 478 instead of LGA775... bad move considering now I'll have to replace my mobo too when I get a new chip... not to mention graphics card and RAM since PCIe is now the standard. If you are able to build your own machine then don't feel you need to get something and be stuck with it. Save money now so that when today's high end technology is already old you can afford better stuff.

Haven't USB drives / internet completely replace floppies, yet? I bought one in 2004 and never even plugged it in. It's just taking up space in my case.

That's not too bad of a system for a start. A little tweaking will make it damn good.

CPU
I'd stick with the E6300 chip. Even at stock it either meets or beats anything AMD has on the table. I recommend spending an extra $20-$30 on a quiet heatsink. The boxed heatsink/fan that comes with processors are loud and crap. I'd recommend an Arctic Cooling Freezer Pro 7, due to it's low noise, awesome cooling, and price point. It rivals $60 heatsinks.

GPU
What games do you plan on playing with this new system? The answer could determine what video card you should buy. I'd go with a variation of the 7900 if you don't care about new games and/or DirectX10.

RAM
Considering that there is no price difference between DDR2 5300 and 6400, you should just get the 6400. You'll have a better chance of using that RAM in a future system if you upgrade your chip. I use Corsair and it runs perfectly. My buddy tried cheaping out a bit by going with the OCZ, and he had to RMA it.

Mobo
You have a lot of options here. There are two chipsets that you could go for: nVidia 680i or the Intel 975X. I'm a fan of the of the Intel because they have a reputation of being rock-solid stable. However, nVidia does pack a few more features into their boards. You'll be fine either way. (And yes, you'll probably find a board that has an IDE connector.)

Monitor
It's really up to you. I prefer widescreen. You could go with a good monitor by Samsung, LG, or Dell with decent specs and come out alright.

HDD
I'm a fan of Samsung hard drives. They run quietest and coolest, according to my own opinion and various other sites. I own 5 of these and they've been great.

PSU
You might want a slightly more powerful PSU. Antec has a NeoHE 430W, but also look at Enermax. Enermax is known to be the best.

Optical Drive
LG burners are some of the quietest drives, and have a good reputation. I've owned three of them and have had nothing but good experiences with them.

Sound Card
This is totally preferential. The load it takes off your CPU is very minimal, and that's only if you use the Hardware Mixing or EAX features in-game. I noticed a slight change going from onboard to my Audigy4, but I really don't know how much of a difference it made. An Audigy4 might be suitable for you. I spent only $50CAD on mine.

My 2¢.

Thanks for the advice folks.

Since when were the 7900GS or X1950 PRO top-end cards? I don't consider USD$200 to be one. Maybe I should drop down to the 7600GS/X1600/X1650.

The mobo looks good. I've been happy with Asus mobos.


Because I'm an impatient brat who doesn't like to wait for software to load.


Not a lot. All I want is good quality 2.0 audio. Nothing fancy. I do watch a lot of shows on the PC.

I plan to have the PC for a least 4 years. Thus why I want the Core2 Duo and 2GB ram. I understand I don't have to buy every part over again, but this current PC is the family's (5 years old) - thus I have to by everything from scratch on this will be my own PC.

Notice the sarcasm? :)


Cool, I'll look into getting the Freezer Pro 7.

I have Freedom Force 2 and KotOR waiting to be played. ::everyone laughs:: Yeah, they will run beautifully fine on a budget card. But that doesn't mean they are the only PC games I'll play. Just that there isn't anything else I'm interested in playing. I want a decent card in case there are games in the future I want to play.

There's a price difference between the 5300 and 6400. In Australia at least. Don't know if it's really worth it. Don't you have to tweak the bios to get the most out of the 6400?

What about speed wise vs Seagate and WD?

Do NOT overlook this. I have a Core2Duo E6600, and with stock voltages (no overclock), it was running about 15C too hot. That's because a lot of the stock LGA775 heatsinks are actually slightly concave. I learned the hard way, and a Freezer 7 Pro is on route to my house as I type.

I think for you the E6300 would be the best choice. Check out this article to find out why.

The X1950 beats out the 7900GS hands down. And they were considered top-end cards up until November when the 8800GTX was released. :D


xe.com says that our currency is nearly equal, yet your prices are pretty damn expensive. Maybe it's just the store your buying from? In Canada, there is only about a $40 difference between the 5400 and the 6400, which makes the decision a no-brainer. (Our RAM is also $100 cheaper, too. :() You might should be with the 5400 if you don't plan on upgrading your chip anytime soon. There isn't much in the way of future technology that would warrant an upgrade, anyhow.


I've noticed they're right on par with the other manufacturers. Google around for some benchmarks and comparisons.

Yep - I've decided there's no point spending extra on the E6400 or E6600.


It's not the store - I compared to a few others. Australians get raped when it comes to prices - I'm sure you know how expensives games are down here...:(

What about the 5300? There's little difference in price between that and the 4200. But then a big jump to the 5400.

5300 and 5400 are the same thing, just named differently due to a technicality. ;)

The price difference comes from the fact the stuff labeled as 5400 is Corsairs XMS2 model of DIMM, where the 5300 stuff is the Value RAM. By all means, get the 5300 for the cheaper price. You won't see any kind of noticable change between the two types. :)

Cool, thanks!

I've gotta make sure I get a mobo that supports dual-channel.

A few more questions:

- Regarding the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro, does it fit on all Core 2 Duo mobos? I ask because I know some other CPU coolers don't fit on all because they are bloody huge.

- I've decided to get a 22" widescreen LCD monitor. This sounds dumb, but I want to be sure; will the GeForce 7600GT be power enough? I want a nivida card because their drivers feature aspect scaling.

What a coinsidence, my AC Freezer 7 Pro just arrived today! I can confirm that it fits in an EVGA 680i board, but for other boards, try google. With some clever boolean using the terms "Freezer 7 Pro" and the motherboard's brand, you could probably find someone advertising the two products in their "rig sig" (a signature in a PC gaming forum that looks like a Newegg receipt).