New PC specs

[julianhj]

As you may have gathered from my recent posts on this forum, I'm buying a new machine this week, and want to build it myself (with the aid of competent mates!). I've spent hours trawling through this forum and other sites to come up with the right kit, and I'd appreciate your collective expertise on my selection. Here goes:

Monitor 19" Iiyama TFT PLE481S-B £399.44
Mboard Abit AA8-3rd Eye "Alderwood" i925X, £120.97
CPU 540 Intel Pentium® 4 LGA 775 CPU (3.20 Ghz 800FSB) £156.51
RAM 1Gb Value Select DDR2, 533 MHz, 128Mx64, non-ECC, 240 DIMM £216.79
HDD 200Gb Western Digital Caviar SE £84.14
GFX Card Radeon X800XT Platinum 256MB PCI-E DVI VIVO £357.98
DVD Sony DWD 18 x8 Black Dual Layer DVD +- Writer OEM £50.58
PSU 480W Tagan TG480-U01 £70.38

Total £1456.79

I've still not found the perfect minimalist Alu case (suggestions gratefully accepted), and would appreciate hints on little extras that might be a good idea.

I've currently got a P2-400 that is desparate for retirement. The new machine will be used for video/audio recording and playback, games, general tasks. I would like it to be as future-proof as possible, hence the choice of a PCI-Express GFX card & MoBo.

Thanks in advance!

[TommoFocus]

Goto www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/Kustom_PCs_Shop_Aluminium_ATX_Cases_1.html for Alu cases aplenty.

You may also want to try www.overclockers.co.uk as well

[warmfuzzies]

If you are going to game, then avoid a TFT/LCD or whatever the current nomemclature is.
A CRT standard monitor cannot be touched for quality, refresh rate, contrast or anything else..........yet.

I know I've looked, at a Sony, Iiyama and many more, they do not come close to my Sony G420.

YMMV but I would suggest you re-evaluate your decision.

kevin

[marctwo]

Personally I would consider getting one of these:

www.hushtechnologies.net/start.html

Nice and quiet

Marc

[malman]

Monitor - unless its style /space issue go for a proper CRT handles multiple resolutions better/ better quality - I'm sitting in front of one of each now running a dual screen system.

Mboard/cpu - as long as its got all the connections you want go for it - have you checked the Amd 64s out

HDD - is that a SATA drive (better performance)

GFX card - do you have a supplier in mind with this in stock as they have been like rocky horse droppings so you could be in for a very long wait (weeks or more)

PSU - nice and should run that lot no problem

[plotloss]

Personally I'd wait.

The new raft of PC technology already has a massive question mark hanging over it.

Look at AMD they already have two socket specs for AMD64...

[Bonce]

Ah, but you can keep waiting for years, where do you draw the line? I've been waiting for 6 years since I last built a home PC (my home PC chugs along at 233Mhz, and I work in IT!).

I will probably do the new PC thing sometime next year so that I can play Half Life 2.

[plotloss]

Only a month or so, but like Athlon, Athlon64 will have numerous sockets before they decide which is best.

[pdV6]

julianhj said:

I would like it to be as future-proof as possible

In my experience, the idea that you can spec a "future proof" PC is cobblers simply because the pace of change is so fast.

Buy the best spec that meets your requirement & budget now and if there's a little headroom for improvement in the short-term all the better... just don't expect to slot in the latest & greatest processor / gfx card in 12-18 months time, as you'll probably need at least a new m/board in order to take advantage of them.

[ultimasimon]

The new dual layer DVD's are are not viable IMO. Have you wondered why the drives are so cheap?

Cos blank write-once media is £6 per disk

For the same price as the drive you could have a second hard disk and a removeable caddy if its for backup use.

As Plotless says there is a heap of new exciting hardware about to appear on the market, and £1500 is a shitload of money to throw at a PC. If there is new technology, you will be gutted if your PC is obsolete as soon as you have bought it.

There again, this is 'normal' considering the growth that PC development undergoes.

[julianhj]

To answer a few points, I'm well aware next month I'll be able to buy something cheaper and better. This has always been the case. My current machine has done me fine for six years, when I spent a similar amount of money. If this one depreciates to nothing at the same rate, I'll be very happy.

In terms of slotting in the latest bits in 1-2 years, that's exactly why I've gone PCI-express, DDR2, socket 775, SATA, etc. etc. I know stuff becomes dated, but not that quickly, surely?