new PC build

[custard]

well kinda
this PC is faulty and I'll be sending it off
but i want to build another pc to use and have as a spare
I have a few parts kicking about.
so i have a case,a PCIE GFX card.nowt specialbut fine for me.at most i run a few RTS games
but I do use this machine as the server for transcoding/streaming movies over the home network.

so this machine has 2 gb of ram,nvidia 8400m GT,core duo T8100 @ 2.10 Ghz(not over clocked)

so Im looking for suggestions on what mobo/CPU to go for?
not looking to spend mad money
the PC i use now does pretty much all we need.
it is reaching its limits with some of the bigger media files,but in general easily copes with 1080p streaming

would something like this cover it?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/AMD-X2-6000-G...1?pt=UK_Motherboards_CPUs&hash=item3f05f1a6a1

or am i better paying more for an intel dual core?
wouldnt want to go over £80-100 really

 

[colin79666]

I'd go for something like this: http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/...hipsetmotherboards/gigabyte/ga-g31m-es2l.html

with this:

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/.../intelpentiumdualcore/intel/bx80571e6700.html

 

[custard]

thats quite a CPU

 

[custard]

how about?

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/222853

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/238925

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/178943

 

[custard]

or AMD?

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/giga...)-ddr3-1333mhz-sata-3gbps-sata-raid-micro-atx

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/amd-...3-31ghz-7mb-total-cache-ht-4000mhz-85w-retail

plus 4Gb DDR3

 

[custard]

c'mon geeks
wheres my input?

 

[Hellcat]

Building PCs is boring unless you get to fondle the parts.

 

[custard]

okay,is it worth the extra of going I3?

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/inte...hz-4mb-cache-73w-integrated-gpu-733mhz-retail

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/4gb-...6-(1333)-non-ecc-unbuffered-cas-9-9-9-24-150v

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/giga...-pci-e-20-(x16)-ddr3-ddr3-1066-ddr3-1333-ddr3

PS,why is it PC budgets just get higher the more you look?

 

[colin79666]

If you want it to fly you might be best with a slower core 2 duo and cheaper main board over an i3 and use the savings to invest in a 60GB OCZ Vertex 2 or Corsair Force 60 SSD.

The bottle neck in most modern PCs is actually the hard drive, with the exception of really cpu intensive stuff like high end gaming and video transcoding.

I've got both of the above SSDs, one in my desktop and the other in my laptop. Even with full disk encryption on my laptop it still boots faster than my friends core 2 quad behemoth

 

[Eklipze3k]

I wish I could justify spending that much on a tiny hard drive but it just doesn't seem worth it to me

 

[MartZ0r]

If you want it to fly you might be best with a slower core 2 duo and cheaper main board over an i3 and use the savings to invest in a 60GB OCZ Vertex 2 or Corsair Force 60 SSD.

The bottle neck in most modern PCs is actually the hard drive, with the exception of really cpu intensive stuff like high end gaming and video transcoding.

I've got both of the above SSDs, one in my desktop and the other in my laptop. Even with full disk encryption on my laptop it still boots faster than my friends core 2 quad behemoth

i agree with this, the hard drive is such an important factor in a pc and tends to be overlooked. Crucial RealSSD drives are also good in real life usage. dont be mislead by cheaper SSD's than these listed because they are not efficicent and throw big figures but in real life usage are slow.

and as already said, A C2D working with the money spent elsewhere will see a great deal of difference.

i have a amd phenom x4 running at 4.8Ghz but the biggest thing i noticed was my SSD.

 

[falmc]

This might be useful for you but im looking at getting a barebones am3 socket PC from overclockers.co.uk and a £160ish phenom 6 core am3 from amazon.co.uk. I prefer AMD personally and as a student who uses CAD render/animation software I need the CPU power as well as ram.

The barebones prebuilt is the am3 only socket for £99.05 (i think) and with my current gfx card and decent ram I just need to get a hold of some quiet fans and a good CPU and im set. Personally I wouldnt go for a dual core myself as its already getting left behind (unless of course you arent a heavy pc user then its decent enough)

 

[Hellcat]

That would depend on the speed of the cores and if your OS + applications are multithreading and multicore aware.

 

[custard]

That would depend on the speed of the cores and if your OS + applications are multithreading and multicore aware.

well outwith office and net use
this PC streams over the network to PS3/360s via PS3 media server which is multicore aware(no idea about multithreading )
and i'll be running windows 7.probably in 64bit flavour
I dont really game on the PC,so its more about the transcoding
Im just trying to get the best bang for buck ratio
about £120-£140 for mobo,CPU and ram would be nice

AMD looks about the cheapest to quad?

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/amd-...e-s-am3-31ghz-2mb-cache-ht-4000mhz-95w-retail

 

[colin79666]

Or you could spend £200 on a nice quite ION based PC, stick XBMC on it and don't bother with streaming and transcoding

 

[MartZ0r]

if you do alot of encoding etc and looking for value, get a quadcore phenom 2 x4 AM3 or strech to a X6, along with some good DDR3 witch is quite cheap now.

 

[custard]

Or you could spend £200 on a nice quite ION based PC, stick XBMC on it and don't bother with streaming and transcoding

yeah but i still need a 'proper' PC
all i have just now is a laptop and an all in one type PC

 

[custard]

if you do alot of encoding etc and looking for value, get a quadcore phenom 2 x4 AM3 or strech to a X6, along with some good DDR3 witch is quite cheap now.

X6 is just too much money
think the X4 at around £80 is my top budget

 

[colin79666]

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prods/motherboardbundles/Novatech/MBB-672G43.html#sp2

or a bit cheaper:
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prods/motherboardbundles/Novatech/MBB-572G43.html

 

[falmc]

If i remember correctly a way you could get a quad core for dual core money is an AMD am3 cpu that some guys managed to hack and open the other 2 cores. It seemed AMD had changed the bios so it would only read 2 cores to save money on actually manufacturing seperate dualcore/quad cores ? Im sure its just a bios hack and you can get full quad core. Worth googling and researching if you want the power for a bargain anyway