[pcbutter]

This is going to be my first time building a computer from scratch. So I just thought it would be the wise thing to run the components past you guys to make sure I havent missed anything or got some compatibility issues in my spec.

Case - X Blade Midi Tower with 400w PSU
Mobo - ASUS M2N-E SLi nF500 socket AM2
CPU - AMD Athlon 64 x2 Dual Core 6000+ 3GHz
Memory - 2GB PC2 5300 Kingston DDR2 (x2 chips = 4GB Total)
Hard Drive - 320 Hitachi SATA 2 16MB cache
DVD drive - LG GSA- H66NBAL 20x SATA
Graphics - nVidia GeForce8500GT 1G PCI-E

Can any also suggest what sort of cooler I should have for this rig? If there are any changes you think I should make or weak links in the spec, please tell me.
I have got most of the spec and prices from www.aria.co.uk is this a competitive website for so much computer gear (it looks ok to me!)?

Does anybody know if the athlon 64 x2 core above comes with a heat pad or do I need the paste?

Thanks for the advice in advance. Also a big thank you to ALEX the moderator and his thread "Building a PC computer part one" its been a great start for me.

Pete

[alex]

Originally Posted by pcbutter This is going to be my first time building a computer from scratch. So I just thought it would be the wise thing to run the components past you guys to make sure I havent missed anything or got some compatibility issues in my spec. Case - X Blade Midi Tower with 400w PSU Mobo - ASUS M2N-E SLi nF500 socket AM2 CPU - AMD Athlon 64 x2 Dual Core 6000+ 3GHz Memory - 2GB PC2 5300 Kingston DDR2 (x2 chips = 4GB Total) Hard Drive - 320 Hitachi SATA 2 16MB cache DVD drive - LG GSA- H66NBAL 20x SATA Graphics - nVidia GeForce8500GT 1G PCI-E Can any also suggest what sort of cooler I should have for this rig? If there are any changes you think I should make or weak links in the spec, please tell me. I have got most of the spec and prices from www.aria.co.uk is this a competitive website for so much computer gear (it looks ok to me!)? Does anybody know if the athlon 64 x2 core above comes with a heat pad or do I need the paste? Thanks for the advice in advance. Also a big thank you to ALEX the moderator and his thread "Building a PC computer part one" its been a great start for me. Pete

Hi Pete, thanks for the kudos.

Bin the AM2 6000, and go for an Intel E6750. Out's less waste heat, and requires less juice to run. And is the better cpu out of the two.

Bin the psu in the case, it's generic and they're inefficient, tend to be loud, and also like to go pop, sometimes taking your pc with them. The psu you'll need is dependent on whether or not you follow the below, what type of build you're after and your budget.

If you do bin the cpu, you'll need an intel socket motherboard. Asus P5K is a good cost-effective choice with a very good (P35) chipset. It's the newer version of the P965 chipset, which was superb.

DDR2 800mhz ram is really not that much more expensive than the 533mhz ram you quote, and will allow more bandwidth.

For a cooler the intel reference hsf will suffice but I highly recommend the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro, about the best hsf on the market and very cheap.

Other than that I'm stuck as you don't quote a budget, or whether or not this is a gaming build or a media build.

[pcbutter]

Hi Alex thanks for the quick response.

My budget is about £500 (with OS) and is mainly for games such as Medivel Total War2, Tom Clancy Rainbow six Vegas. So not major games but to be honest I am just drawn to the idea of learning how to build the computer. Been wanting to do something like this for ages but never had the bottle till I saw threads and forums like this! I will use the comp for some media files but nothing more than the average guy.
If you already know a spec for a gaming comp around this budget, I am very willing to take a 'shopping list' of you or anyone else and run with that list.

Pete

[alex]

The higher the resolution of your screen the better spec'd cpu and gpu you'll require. As you don't quote it i've worked on the basis of 1280x1024/1440x900.

The price is £504.99 inc VAT and delivery charges. It's a decent balance for the resolution quoted.

For an extra £32 you could get the E6550, which is slightly faster, supports a much faster fsb and has double the cache. The extra cache won't help with gaming but will come in handy for media applications and multitasking.

I didn't just want to add it to the build as you quoted £500ish, but thought it was best to offer the choice.


LiteON DH-20A1S-18C Black 20x DVD±R, 8x DVD±DL, DVD+RW x8 / -RW x 6, DVD-RAM x12, SATA Black £16.79

Intel Core 2 Duo E4500, S775, 2.2 GHz, 800MHz FSB, Allendale Core, 2MB Cache, Retail £77.20

Akasa ZEN V2 Tower Case Black w/o PSU (NEW Version) £32.77

2GB (2x1GB) Corsair TwinX XMS2 DHX, DDR2 PC2-6400 (800), 240 Pins, Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 5 £36.99

Asus P5K, iP35, S 775, PCI-E (x16), DDR2 667/800/1066*, SATA II, SATA RAID, ATX £74.01

500W FSP Blue Storm AX500-A, 12cm Fan ATX2.0 (20+4Pin) SATA/PCI-E £46.87

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 32Bit 1Pk OEM (DVD) £63.20

250 Gb Western Digital WD2500AAJS Caviar SE, SATA300, 7200 rpm, 8MB Cache, 9 ms £40.43

256MB PowerColor HD 3850 PCI-E 2.0 (x16), 1656 MHz, GDDR3, GPU 668 MHz, 320 Streams, 2 x DVI-I £105.15

All products spec'd at Scan

I realise I quoted an E6750 initially but at the budget you've quoted you'd have to seriously compromise on something else to afford it, I feel the spec above is a good balanced one for gaming at the budget quoted because the cpu and gpu are of prime importance.

[pcbutter]

Cheers Alex, You have been a great help. I will get the E6550. I am sure I will have lots of new questions for the forum once I start putting the machine together!

Pete