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  Tom's Hardware UK and Ireland Forums » Homebuilt Systems » New System Build » Advice for a new build (no Gaming or Overclocking)
 

Advice for a new build (no Gaming or Overclocking)

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 Thread : Advice for a new build (no Gaming or Overclocking)
 
Profile: stranger
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I am not into gaming and I am not into overclocking. I just want a FAST computer that I will not have to upgrade in a year (or two if possible). Budget around $1000. I do alot of DVD editing and web design. I am looking for suggestions and recommendations. Is there anything there I really dont need, or should stay away from? Will everything below work together?

Motherboard
Asus P5Q-E

CPU
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550

Memory
4MB - I like Crucial, but I dont know which one to get from them. There are so many.

Video Card
ASUS EAH3650 Radeon HD 3650 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 (I picked this because I dont know what else to go with)

Case
Antec Sonata III 500 (Do I need to worry about heat? Will this P/S suffice?)

OS
Vista SP1 64bit

Again, I just want it to be FAST. Thanks.

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Profile: enthusiast
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Are you running any apps that will take advantage of a quad? If your not, get an E8400 dual core and save your money. If your apps wont take advantage of a quad, you will have 2 cores sitting there doing nothing 90% of the time.

Rest looks OK.

Profile: stranger
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What apps would require a quad? I use mostly DVD editing and encoding software as well as Adobe software (Fireworks/Photoshop/Flash).

Should the 500w PSU be enough? And what Crucial RAM should I get? There are so many of them, ranging in price from $100 to $400.

There is ALWAYS a drone.
Profile: Ancient Poster
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Some video editing software may take advantage of the SSE4 instructions and use a quad core, now or in the near future. I think the OP has chosen the appropriate CPU for the job.
On the memory, get something that will operate at its advertised timings at the JEDEC standard 1.8V.
All the Crucial I saw at Newegg operates at CAS latency=6 at 1.8V. That bytes; get this Mushkin instead:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820146731 $69 after $20 MIR. It is 5-4-4-12 at 1.8V.
A 500W PSU is enough for your build. You shouldn't have a lot of heat in there with just a 3650, and no overclocking.


---------------
There is ALWAYS a drone. Exactly where, or how many drones you will encounter may vary, but that there will be at least one will not.
Profile: member
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You definitely need a quad, and definitely want a 45nm version. They are great for video encoding. Q9550 is a perfect fit. Mobo is good, but you probibly could save on a board with less features. 8gb of memory will benefit you in adobe apps. You'll only need ddr2 800, so make sure to get a kit with 4-4-4 timing. +1 for 64 bit vista. Photoshop CS4 is supposed to take advantage of it, and run much much faster.

As far as a video card, I'd go with at least a geforce 8800gt. You can find one for ~$100, and it supports CUDA with the latest drivers (which may or may not be relevant in the near future).

If the psu in that case is an antec earthwatts 500, you should be ok. If not, get a different case and purchase a name brand 500-600 watt unit.

If you really do alot of video editing, and large scale graphics, you need to think about storage. With that mobo you can run a raid 0 setup to speed things up, but it's more vulnerable to failure. I know it's above your stated price range, but for professional use, a 4 drive RAID 5 configuration would be ideal. But you have to drop the money on 4 hard drives, and ~$300 for a raid controller. RAID 5 is possible with your mobo, but it will eat cpu cycles, and I've only heard bad things about it.

Profile: Honorary Poster
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That is a good case/power supply for your needs, it leans more towards quiet, rather than cooling. Since you're not gaming or overclocking it's a good choice. I agree with jtt on the RAM choice, that Mushkin would work very well for you. Good choice on the Q9550 and the minimalist graphic card.
Good solid build for your uses..

1f u c4n r34d th1s u r34lly n33d t0 g37 l41d
Profile: enthusiast
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LOL i hope you meant to put 4GB and not 4MB

Profile: journeyman
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good build, you need at least two hard drives.

Profile: nimble knuckle
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This is the type of a machine you will get a better deal here: www.dell.com then building your own.

I am not a believer in prebuilt machines, nor would I purchase one however for a low-low/mid machine I do think the best bang for the buck is prebuilt.

Im certain for 1k you could get a great machine with a monitor and a warranty from Dell.

Non gamer, non OC, under 1k = Dell.


---------------
Gigabyte X48-DQ6 / Q9550 @ 3.4ghz (400*8.5) / VisionTek 4870x2 / 4GB Mushkin 1066MHZ (2*2) / Xigmatek HDT-S1283 / Antec TruePower Quattro 1000 Watt (Quad crossfire one day) / Samsung 22x DVDRW Lightscribe / Two 500GB Seagate 7200.11(raid 0)
There is ALWAYS a drone.
Profile: Ancient Poster
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I think he's likely to get better overall performance with his own build. Not that a pre-built is necessarily a bad choice, but I could see why he'd want to build his own.


---------------
There is ALWAYS a drone. Exactly where, or how many drones you will encounter may vary, but that there will be at least one will not.
Profile: stranger
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Thanks to all for your comments and recommendations...

Yes, I did mean 4GB (I think my first 486DX2/66 had 4meg).

I have three HDDs, two 500GB, and one 160GB (all SATA). So I think I am ok there.

I first considered going with Dell, and actually compared Dell computers to building one. But I dont need the monitor, keyboard, mouse or HDD. I build my last computer about 6 years ago, and it lasted me that long. I think I'd do better building my own.

Let me say that I know nothing on the RAM. I had Crucial last time. I have not heard of Mushkin. Is it good, and compatibal with my motherboard? And I have no idea what the CAS latency, voltage or timing means.

It looks like an 8800gt would cost me double what the ASUS EAH3650 I am looking at. Do I need that for what I am doing?

Thanks again.


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