Building a new computer

[TomX]

Hey,

I'm betting this forum get's many posts like this, but I just wanted to clear a few things out.

Here's my situation: By mid-July I will have ~£650 to spend on a computer. Although I do want to play computer games on the computer I'm planning, it will not be until early-December, because I want to spend the £650 building a strong base for a PC built for gaming.

What this means is that I want to spend the £650 on what would be considered a non-gaming machine, but with the capability to be upgraded.

I feel a good base system would be something along the lines of:
3GHz Processor
512MB RAM
Good Motherboard (nothing specific yet)
Great big case
160GB

With this I feel when I get more money I could easily get a top of the range GFX card and some more and RAM and would then be able to play the most graphically demanding games.

So, here is the questions I wanted the answers to:
1. In terms of a case, would a CoolerMaster Stacker be "over-the-top" (my friend says its for servers only)?
2. What type of processor do YOU recommend for a gaming system? Athlon XP? Athlon 64? An Intel?
3. In terms of PSU, what power would I need and would two 300W PSUs be better than a 600W PSU (do they exist)?
4. What would it take to make my machine as silent as possible whilst running?
5. How much difference does a standalone sound card make in relation to an onboard sound card?

Thanks in Advance
TomX

 

[floppybootstomp]

So, here is the questions I wanted the answers to:
1. In terms of a case, would a CoolerMaster Stacker be "over-the-top" (my friend says its for servers only)?

No, not if you like the look of it, but bigger is not neccessarily better.

2. What type of processor do YOU recommend for a gaming system? Athlon XP? Athlon 64? An Intel?

Athlon 64. Definitely.

3. In terms of PSU, what power would I need and would two 300W PSUs be better than a 600W PSU (do they exist)?

No to 2 PSU's, too much space and too much config. 600W PSU's do exist, but they're well over the top for what you want to run. Consider a 480W single PSU from Tagan; Antec; Enermax; Hiper or OCZ

4. What would it take to make my machine as silent as possible whilst running?

Water cooling; Thermalright air cooler with quiet fan; Vantec case fans.... and so on. This is a subject all to itself, have a search around. But basically, good case, quiet fans, planning of air flow, a good cooler/fan combo for CPU.

5. How much difference does a standalone sound card make in relation to an onboard sound card?

Unless you're going for the absolutist top of the range most expensive sound card on the planet, not a lot. Most current decent motherboards have perfectly aceptable onboard sound, from 5.1 to 8.1.

Thanks in Advance
TomX

Thassallwite Tom

The above are just my points of view, others may disagree

 

[Cache-man]

1. For the case, I think you should first consider what you want from the case.
Do looks matter? if so, huw much and to what extent.
Do you like/want a side window panel.
Do you want provisions for 80mm and/or 120mm fans?
How many internal and external drive bays do you need/want?
Do you want tool-less assembly?
Midi/full tower?
I spend a lot of time changing components in mine, and don't like windows so internal features are top of my list. From reviews I have seen so far, the new Akasa Eclipse 62 is worth a look.

2. Personally, I'm an Intel fan but, for a gaming system my research shows that AMD Athlon 64 are definately the chips to be using.....at the moment.
Although with Intel launching it's own 64-bit capable processors, it's anyones guess who'll be leading ther market by July.

3. Whilst it is possible to use multiple PSU's, it simply isnt worth the hassle. Go for 480w+ by either Tagan, Antec or Enermax. I've used Tagan's for a while now, and can wholeheartedly recommend them. Enermax have just released a 600w Noisetaker PSU, which i've been testing for the last few weeks, and it is feature packed if you think you're gonna need that many watts. Try not to (I mean 'Dont') use generic PSU's if you're looking to build a performance system.

4. There are many options to silence a PC, such as passive heatsinks instead of fans for northbridge and graphics card. Watercooling for CPU definately an option, and will give you plenty of overclocking room too. A good PSU such as those recommended above will also help reduce system noise.
As Flops pointed out, PC silencing is a large subject in itself so cant all be explained here.

5. Onboard sound works excellently and will suffice for any gaming system and onboard 5.1 surround is pretty much standard for motherboard manufacturers nowadays. I would only recommend upgrading to a dedicated sound card if you NEED all of the extra input/output sockets.


Also, prices for memory are pretty good at the moment, so you could look at getting a gig (1024Mb) when you get your system. That way you can spend more on graphics when you upgrade later on.

 

[TomX]

1. In terms of a case, would a CoolerMaster Stacker be "over-the-top" (my friend says its for servers only)?

Do looks matter? if so, huw much and to what extent.
Looks do matter and quite a lot because I intend to have this case for a long time and I wouldn't like knowing the fact I could have gotten a nice looking case for an extra £20 (for example).
Do you like/want a side window panel.
Yes.
Do you want provisions for 80mm and/or 120mm fans?
120mm
How many internal and external drive bays do you need/want?
~2 Internal Drive Bays & ~5 External Drive Bays
Do you want tool-less assembly?
Nothing too complex to assemble.
Midi/full tower?
I know the difference is size but I'm not sure how big either is, I'll say full tower.

2. What type of processor do YOU recommend for a gaming system? Athlon XP? Athlon 64? An Intel?

Seems like its Athlon 64 or Intel 64 (Intel 64 right?) then.

3. In terms of PSU, what power would I need and would two 300W PSUs be better than a 600W PSU (do they exist)?

So it's one 480W PSU I'll look into actual PSUs nearer the time of buying.

4. What would it take to make my machine as silent as possible whilst running?

I see, well I'll consider water-cooling but from a quick glance it seems really expensive. I guess silence comes at a price.

5. How much difference does a standalone sound card make in relation to an onboard sound card?

On-board soundcard good enough for me then. I'll only be using headphones anyway.

Thanks for all the replies