CPU/Mobo New desktop! My very first...

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KingKrool

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Hey guys, so I am buying my first self-bought (as opposed to my parents buying me one) desktop.

Let me tell you what I want

1. Decent sound card plus 2.1 speakers - I am not an audiophile, but I'd be using this a lot for music.

2. A dual core? A quad core? No idea. I won't be using this system for gaming, except maybe for some older games. But I do want at least a dual core. (I am a Virtual Machine junkie...). I will do some coding on this (learning some new languages etc).

3. Need a machine with really low idling power consumption. I won't be able to hibernate this baby or put it in to deep sleep for reasons I won't get into here (of course HDDs will be switched off automatically and all).

4. Loads of RAM. I just love RAM

5. 500Gigs of fast HDD. By fast, I mean within reason. I don't need a 4 way RAID 0. I am just sick of laptop HDDs.

6. Depending on the number of cores, one of Shuttle's ultra small kits might be in order.

7. Might want to make this a media recorder/media center PC, so do I need a gfx card for that? Obviously won't need an 8800GT for that..

8. I want an LCD monitor, not necessarily a large one (17" or 19" is more than enough) with good colour reproduction. I'll probably ultimately attach this to a HDTV, but a small monitor is useful for non media applications).

I can order parts from the egg, or anywhere else. Let us not set a budget just now, because I don't know what range this stuff is in. I'll probably be buying about a month from now.
 
Decent sound card plus 2.1 speakers - I am not an audiophile, but I'd be using this a lot for music.
Click to expand...

screw the soundcard , and put all your money into speakers. Soundcard only if you plan to spend > 15k for sound

try to get a mobo with soundmax/sigmatel onboard if possible
 
KingKrool said:
Hey guys, so I am buying my first self-bought (as opposed to my parents buying me one) desktop.

Let me tell you what I want

1. Decent sound card plus 2.1 speakers - I am not an audiophile, but I'd be using this a lot for music.

2. A dual core? A quad core? No idea. I won't be using this system for gaming, except maybe for some older games. But I do want at least a dual core. (I am a Virtual Machine junkie...). I will do some coding on this (learning some new languages etc).

3. Need a machine with really low idling power consumption. I won't be able to hibernate this baby or put it in to deep sleep for reasons I won't get into here (of course HDDs will be switched off automatically and all).

4. Loads of RAM. I just love RAM

5. 500Gigs of fast HDD. By fast, I mean within reason. I don't need a 4 way RAID 0. I am just sick of laptop HDDs.

6. Depending on the number of cores, one of Shuttle's ultra small kits might be in order.

7. Might want to make this a media recorder/media center PC, so do I need a gfx card for that? Obviously won't need an 8800GT for that..

8. I want an LCD monitor, not necessarily a large one (17" or 19" is more than enough) with good colour reproduction. I'll probably ultimately attach this to a HDTV, but a small monitor is useful for non media applications).

I can order parts from the egg, or anywhere else. Let us not set a budget just now, because I don't know what range this stuff is in. I'll probably be buying about a month from now.
Click to expand...

Ok, here's my quote:

1. a. Asus Xonar DX [Buy it only if u're going with the MX5021 else the onboard HD audio suffices] - [~6k]

Newegg.com - ASUS Xonar DX 7.1 Channels PCI Express Interface Sound Card - Sound Cards

b. MX5021 [phasing out slowly but still one of the best 2.1 for 6.5k; performs best paired with the Xonar DX] or the VS4121 [The successor to the legendary ATP3; Useless investment if u're going with the sound card ~2.3k]

2. From the AMD stables, get an X2 4800+ [should suffice ur coding and minor gaming reqmts. ~3.5k] + a Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H [will easily suffice u for the media centre purposes; alternately hybrid X-fire with the gfx card below is an added advantage!!! ~4.8k]

GIGABYTE - Product - Motherboard - Specification - GA-MA78GM-S2H (rev.1.0)

3. This rig should be low on pwr consumptions; :)

4. 2x2GB Transcend/Corsair Value series 800MHz DDR RAM [~4k].

5. Seagate ST3500320AS 7200.11 500GB - [Currently the fastest 500gigger; beats the WD 500GB AAKS ~3.9k].

6. Did u mean a media centre cabinet?? Alternately u can get an Antec Fusion [6k IIRC].

7. Get an ATI 3450. [Best suited for HTPCs; A 3650 might be an overkill] Asus EAH3450 [Great onboard passive cooler; ~2.6k]

Newegg.com - ASUS EAH3450/HTP/256M Radeon HD 3450 256MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

8. Dell E198WFP [The best TN panel in the 19"er category; period; get it from dell directly; ~10k]

9. U missed out on the power supply. Having specified no budget, get a Corsair VX450. [~3.6k]

Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-450VX 450W ATX12V V2.2 Power Supply 90 - 264 V UL, CUL, CE, CB, FCC Class B, TUV, CCC, C-tick - Power Supplies

This should do a decent job. :)

PS: And what abt the optical drive??
 
The optical drive is a minor issue. No interest in Bluray just now, will stick with el cheapo DVD writer.

The fusion looks sweet, but I wonder if a dual core + ATI card will fit in that and not overheat. Definitely, a quad core would be out in that case.

Oh yes, the proccies must have hardware virtualization, but that is generally always present on desktop processors now.

I guess the VMs will have to wait :( Of course since I'll be working on them all day in office, I might not really be missing out on much.
 
KingKrool said:
The optical drive is a minor issue. No interest in Bluray just now, will stick with el cheapo DVD writer.
The fusion looks sweet, but I wonder if a dual core + ATI card will fit in that and not overheat. Definitely, a quad core would be out in that case.
Oh yes, the proccies must have hardware virtualization, but that is generally always present on desktop processors now.

I guess the VMs will have to wait :( Of course since I'll be working on them all day in office, I might not really be missing out on much.
Click to expand...
If you are looking at mATX form factor, Gannu's config is good enough.
Just replace 450VX with CM460W Extreme Power if you wish to save a few bucks. Though 450VX is a quality PSU that will provide good stable power to PC.

Get MushkinRAM instead of value RAM from Corsair/Transcend. It will be worth its price.

Get 3650 instead of 3450. 3450 is just too slow for anything that IGP of 780G won't be able to do. Either just rely on 780G or get any of these two 3650s

Active cooling

Passive cooling+HDMI In fact, this is a great card for HTPC set-ups

and as Greenhorn said, rely on onboard audio coz it's good enough for a 2.1 speaker set
 
KingKrool said:
What is wrong with the standard PSU that comes with the Antec Fusion?
Click to expand...

Here it comes with the antec earwatts 380 which is a pretty good one as long as you are not going to do some extreme overclocking (even then i think it held up when saiyan used it) for single gpu and couple of hdds this should be more than fine

about your audio whats your budget ? in the audio dept since your rig is only going to be used more for music than gaming why not go the dac plus bookshelves route ? audioengine a5 would be a great buy and for the dac you can choose anyone here depending on your budget

All the DACs money can buy, pt. 2 - Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio

btw is this the first rig after that A64 you got long ago ?
 
gannu said:
6. Did u mean a media centre cabinet?? Alternately u can get an Antec Fusion [6k IIRC].
Click to expand...
Gannu sir- You must be speaking of the Antec NSK2400/2480 that comes witha 80+ certified dual rail std atx psu. :)
6.5K odd iirc.
Fusion was as high as 13K iirc when i had checked with the Mumbai dealer last year. :(
I liked the NSK so much(small footprint but awesome cooling), i just might get some matx mobo and some cpu and use it as my main rig. :p
 
BIKeINSTEIN said:
Gannu sir- You must be speaking of the Antec NSK2400/2480 that comes witha 80+ certified dual rail std atx psu. :)

6.5K odd iirc.
Fusion was as high as 13K iirc when i had checked with the Mumbai dealer last year. :(
I liked the NSK so much(small footprint but awesome cooling), i just might get some matx mobo and some cpu and use it as my main rig. :p
Click to expand...

Well.. Rishi sir..

Anyhow Newegg has a decent pricing of 160$ [approx. translates to 6400Rs.??] for the Fusion Black 430 with a 430W PSU;

Newegg.com - Antec Aluminum Veris Fusion Black 430 Micro ATX Media Center / HTPC Case with IR receiver - HTPC / Media Center Cases

PS: DP told me he resides in the US; So all the price quoted by me was a direct NE reference price. :)
 
bottle said:
btw is this the first rig after that A64 you got long ago ?
Click to expand...

Yes and no. I've had a couple of laptops in between. But no desktop. That old A64 rig didn't work out too well because of a bad mobo that the lousy dealer refused to fix... but I don't regret it since 64 bit computing really changed my career path... influenced me to be where I am today.

This new rig is not so ambitious. Music, surfing, movies is all I need from it. The career will develop on my office workstations.

DAC + bookshelves seems a tad pricey; my untrained ears will not be able to tell the difference. Maybe some other time, when I have a ton more money.
 
No separate budget per se. All I meant was that I was ok spending on both a sound card and decent speakers. (By decent I mean MX5021 type price, but not probably not Denon...)
 
KingKrool said:
No separate budget per se. All I meant was that I was ok spending on both a sound card and decent speakers. (By decent I mean MX5021 type price, but not probably not Denon...)
Click to expand...

get yourself a klipsch promedia 2.1 , its around $140 on amazon
 
@gannu: The specs on the second post look good. I am undecided on AMD vs Intel as yet, but I'll see. I really like the Antec Fusion at any rate. That is a definite yes.

Virtual Machines are an interest of mine.
 
KingKrool said:
@gannu: The specs on the second post look good. I am undecided on AMD vs Intel as yet, but I'll see. I really like the Antec Fusion at any rate. That is a definite yes.
Virtual Machines are an interest of mine.
Click to expand...

For an Intel rig, look no further:

1. E7200 [The most VFM Wolfie; easily overclocks to 3.2G w/o a hike in voltage and with the stock Intel HSF; 132$]

Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 Wolfdale 2.53GHz 3MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - CPUs / Processors

2. Intel DP35DPM motherboard [Doesnt permit overclocking but the one of the best and stable motherboards; 105$]

Else get an abit IP35-E [~100$];

The rest of the specs applies.. :p
 
IMHO spending an amount x extra on speakers is always better than x on a soundcard.

Which will be a better combo, the MX 5021 + Xonar DX

or a 10k speaker system, like a klipsch 2.1 or Audioengine AE2 + onboard ?
 
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