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!

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Thanks for the advice folks.

Originally Posted by Sol

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.

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.

Originally Posted by Cam

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

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

Originally Posted by gren

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.

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.

Quote:

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.

Notice the sarcasm?

Originally Posted by Render

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.

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

Quote:

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.

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.

Quote:

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.

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?

Quote:

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.

What about speed wise vs Seagate and WD?

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Originally Posted by Free.User

I think for you the E6300 would be the best choice.

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

Originally Posted by Render

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?

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.

How ya doing, buddy?

Cool, thanks!

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

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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.

I was speaking idiomatically.