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Need help selecting parts for a new PC

1K views 17 replies 5 participants last post by  David D 
#1 ·
I've been given an opportunity to build a new PC using the following website:
http://www.umart.com.au/pro/build_computer1.phtml?bid=4

I need to keep the price at around $1200, I can probably afford up to $1400 but only if absolutely necessary. These are the guidelines I need to follow:

- I'd like an Intel Core 2 Duo CPU
- At least 1GB DDRII RAM
- Just one HD, preferably 250GB or bigger
- A good nVidia graphics card for gaming, preferably from the 7XXX series of cards
- Decent case which won't require any extra cooling, with a good power supply

I'm pretty hopeless when it comes to choosing parts that are compatible with each other, so any help on this would be greatly appreciated. Assume that any parts I haven't mentioned such as monitor, mouse etc. are not needed.
 
#3 ·
#4 ·
Microsoft Windows XP PRO (OEM) $219.00
Asus P5B 775, CORE2EE, P965, 1066FSB, PCIEI6, AUDIO, GbLAN, ATX$183.00
Intel ATX E6300 CORE 2 DUO /1.86GHz/2MB CACHE/1066FSB/LGA775 $259.00
XFX GeForce 7600GT 256M DDR3 Dual DVI TVO PCI-E(580Mhz)$215.00
Western Digital 160G SATAII 7200 rpm HDD$82.00
Gigabyte DVD+CDRW Combo 52X32X52X16 OEM Black $30.00
DDR2 1024MB PC4200 RAM Corsair twin pack (2X512MB )$195.00
Thermaltake Aguila VD1430BWS Black Mid Tower Case with 430W $195.00

Total $1399

The OS kills you on the price
You may be able to cut $100 total here and there.
Stay with that case and "Power Supply" the rest were with very cheap power supplies and you do not want to go cheap with the PS.
That's the min system I would recommend, able to play all the latest games and be vista ready.
 
#5 ·
Thanks for your help, I did read your post and had started putting parts together but this makes things easier for me, especially for the case since I have no idea about what to look for in a power supply. Is the 430W definitely enough for those specs? I already have a copy of XP so instead of that I'm thinking of purchasing the system you recommend with the 2.13GHz CPU instead of the 1.86. Would that be a worthwhile upgrade?

Thanks again.

EDIT: Also forgot to mention, I already have a DVD+CDRW combo drive, so I was thinking of upgrading the 160GB WD drive to the 250GB (16MB Cache) version. Would that have an effect on the overall power usage?
 
#6 ·
430W in that case would be fine (thermaltake) plenty of power to do what you need. I have one exactly like that and have a computer with more demanding specs and it works just fine.
Is the jump from 1.86 to 2.13 ? sure more CPU power is always a good thing.
Hard drive jump is not an issue in power consumption, it will be just fine as mentioned. the power supply is large enough.
 
#7 ·
Alright, looks like I'm in business then. Not a moment too soon either, the power supply on this PC is overheating and shutting down the computer, so I've got an ice brick on top of it and another strapped to the side to keep it going in the meantime!
 
#9 ·
schusterjo said:
Oh one more thing I should mention. not sure what OS you say you have but if its XP "home" it will only allow one core of the core 2 duo to work. you need XP "pro" to get full advantage of both cores.
Incorrect as per mskb. Home will support a single physical processor with any number of cores; ie single cpu with dual core, quad core, whatever.

BTW you will need sp2 for home for this to work correctly.
 
#10 ·
crjdriver said:
Incorrect as per mskb. Home will support a single physical processor with any number of cores; ie single cpu with dual core, quad core, whatever.

BTW you will need sp2 for home for this to work correctly.
Pls link me to the page you are referring to, cause everything I have read says otherwise

[WEBQUOTE="http://www.techbuilder.org/recipes/169500107"]Can Windows Handle Dual Core?

The primary element to focus on is Symmetric Multi-Processing (SMP). That is where multiple processors can perform concurrent tasks. SMP capabilities are software-driven, which means applications must be SMP-aware to benefit from multiple-processor systems such as dual-core.

Herein lies the biggest obstacle, as many operating systems, such as Windows XP Home, are not SMP-capable and will not make use of the second physical processor. Also, most modern programs are single-threaded, meaning there’s only a single current set of linked instructions. As a result, only one processor can effectively work with those single-threaded applications.[/WEBQUOTE]
 
#11 ·
every thing I'm reading says multi-cpu (ie 2 cpu sockets), NO, multi-core YES
 
#13 ·
Here is the mskb article specifically this quote "Because Windows XP was not originally designed to support performance states on multiprocessor configurations, changes are required to correctly realize this support on multiprocessor systems. Windows XP Service Pack 2 includes the required changes to the kernel power manager. These changes make sure that Windows XP correctly functions on multiprocessor systems with processor performance states."

Note at the bottom of the article it references both home and pro.
Home supports one physical cpu, however it can have as many cores are you want.
 
#14 ·
Okay let me read it and go over it, talk to a few people I know and get back with you. Not saying your wrong or anything here crjd, I have done a lot of research on this subject and that was my understanding of it. That's what these boards are all about is for people to learn about changing technogly. I do see it was revised Dec 16 of 06 exactly one month ago, perhaps this is something they hot fixed because I'm sure it was not in the original release of SP2.

The article you posted speaks about (TSC) and (ACPI)
The article I posted speaks about (SMP) I am somewhat familiar with this due to the fact I looked into it. I am not really sure what the 2 listed in the article are about if or how they effect SMP. So, I'm going to do some research and ask a few people.

Home supports one physical cpu, however it can have as many cores are you want.
This I agree with and did not say it would not, but my understanding is XP home can not take advantage of SMP capabilities that takes full advantage of Dual cores (both cores).
 
#15 ·
schusterjo said:
This I agree with and did not say it would not, but my understanding is XP home can not take advantage of SMP capabilities that takes full advantage of Dual cores (both cores).
well when you think about it what would be the point of "supporting" multi-core cpu without it being fully functional, but this is MS after all:rolleyes:
 
#16 ·
Read all you want. I have installed home on two systems I recently built with dual cores. It runs fine and shows both cores in device manager. It works.

Again you can have only one physical cpu with home [two with pro] you can have as many cores are you want.

Both of these were done with install disks that had sp2 already. I do not know what will happen if you install and then go to sp2. You may have to change the HAL for the system.
 
#18 ·
i am looking to buy my two children a computer for each. One of them enjoys playing tthe latest games and the other enjoys editing videos and capture. I personaly dont know what to buy for them, and also i have no price bounduries and another point is that i want to buy it whole, by this i mean i dont want to have someone such as 'Dell' make up one for me. Also however i also wish one of the computers to be able to connect my new flat screen T.V. in order to watch downdloaded videos.

Thank you ever so much

Dave
 
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