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Doomulation

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I'm actually putting up some plans for components for building computers.
What I want is some to look over the plans for the different categories and suggest changes, or if it's OK. It's not about the prices or where to get the parts from, but rather the technical properties of what type of parts to use where.

Here's my base line, the cheapest possible computer build possible:

PSU
Corsair CMPSU-450VXEU 450W (High Quality!) - ~$52.9

Dvd burner
Samsung SH-S182M - ~$17.55

DDR2 memory
Kingston ValueRAM DDR2 PC3200/400MHz CL3 1GB - ~$14.7

Motherboard (AM2)
MSI K9AGM3-F - ~$38.9

CPU
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ (2,0GHz) Socket AM2 (ADA3200CWBOX) Box - ~$19.9

Case
Deltaco LA-114 (Svart/Silver) ~ $12

Hard drive (IDE, 7200 rpm)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 ST3802110A 2MB 80GB - ~$14.6

As I mentioned, arguing what parts - types, brands really doesn't matter, unless you live in Sweden, since parts vary very much from country to country. So does prices, too.
But if someone does find something better, cheaper, with good reviews (especially motherboard and psu), then it's welcome.

I've also suggested the following add-ons, in the following categories:

Better performance - +~$12.2
Maxtor DiamondMax 21 STM380215AS 2MB 80GB (SATA, 7200 rpm) - ~$26.8

Multi-tasking - +~$19.6
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ (2,4GHz) Socket AM2 65W Box - ~$39.5
Some multi-tasking

Multi-tasking+ - +~$46.4 kr
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ (2,4GHz) Socket AM2 65W Box - ~$39.5
Maxtor DiamondMax 21 STM380215AS 2MB 80GB - ~$26.8
Good multi-tasking

Multi-tasking++ - +~$61.3
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ (2,4GHz) Socket AM2 65W Box - ~$39.5
Maxtor DiamondMax 21 STM380215AS 2MB 80GB - ~$26.8
Corsair Value Select DDR2 PC5300/667MHz CL5 2x1GB - ~$29.5
Excellent multi-tasking

Upgradable - +~$20.3
Abit AN78GS (Socket AM2+, memory 1 GHz DDR2+) - ~$59.2
Upgradeable to Quad Core, can handle 1 GHz memory

Good case - +~$29
Antec Three Hundred (Svart) - ~$41.0
Good airflow, many places for fans, quiet

Good graphics - +~$84.9
Asus GeForce Extreme N8800GS TOP/HTDP 384MB - ~$84.9

Lot of harddisk space - +~$39.1
Samsung SpinPoint T166 HD501LJ 16MB 500GB - ~$53.7

All prices were converted from SEK by a factor of 10x.
Should parts be reorganized in these categories?
Give me your thoughts, please!
 

smcd

Active member
I have that power supply unit. While very stable, mine is for lack of a better term "Squeaky" When it hits moderate to high CPU loads (30% or more) it causes the inductors in the PSU to "whine"...nothing wrong with the unit really, just the coils on the inductor are free enough to emit noise which can be irritating.

I RMA'd the first power supply unit because it was quite noisy. The new one they sent me still had the problem but it was not as loud. As opposed to shipping it in again (at a cost of around $18 USD for postage/insurance) I just kept it and am living with it
 

ThomasH

New member
Look like a very nice low end PC you are looking at there. If it was me and if I was go for AM2+ I would go for a AMD chipset. The Graphics card I would go for a ATI card of 3400 or better. Then spend as much as possible on the fastest (Hz that is) CPU you can get.
 
OP
Doomulation

Doomulation

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AM2+ motherboards are a little more expensive, so I put it as an alternative upgrade. Those little costs add up.
And it's a shame about the PSU, since it was the first high quality I could find for a low price. And the PSU is very important. It makes or breaks a computer.
 

smcd

Active member
It's a very solid power supply. The voltages don't fluctuate much and are very much within specifications. Your luck may vary (and maybe it has to do with my motherboard/cpu too? who knows) I've heard fairly good things about SeaSonic PSU (and Antec Earthwatts are rebadged SeasSonic's apparently)
 
OP
Doomulation

Doomulation

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But I'm also interested in knowing things such as - is it good to put a better processor in the lowest plan of multi-tasking or should it be a better hard drive?
 

ThomasH

New member
There is not a great deal of difference in low end HDD and for most people they will not make a huge difference. Unless your planning on rendering huge 3D animations or use you computer as a file server for a significant network I really would not worry to much about the HDD performance. Defiantly when you consider that for the price of the faster one you could just about afford to double you RAM. Or you could even upgrade your CPU. To me both of those would be far more beneficial. As for power supply I really don’t see why your worrying so much. Were talking a low end PC with low end power consumption. Any branded cheap PSU will do the trick.
 
OP
Doomulation

Doomulation

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The thing is that any PSU will not do the trick.
It's low end, but for that matter, the computer will still draw some wattage.
For efficient computers, it must be an efficient PSU.
The PSU must also deliver good, non-fluctuating voltage, otherwise it can damage the computer, and that's not something we want.
This PSU also has over-voltage protection. The last thing we want is a computer with burned out parts.
And it should be good enough to upgrade to newer stuff and add a graphics card, as well.

This cannot be a slouch. The PSU is very important to the whole computer.
There has even been instances where a PSU burned up under heavy load. I certainly don't want such a thing in a computer I build. Not for myself and not for others.

And as for the hard disk - the thing is that it's probably the biggest factor in the performance of a computer. A slow hard drive will make everything slow. I know, I've experienced it.

EDIT:
Oh, I'm turning here again to see if anyone knows...
A geforce 9600gt or radeon equalient is probably bottlenecked by the current cpu, isn't it?
In that case, what's a good graphics card to match the cpu or a good cpu to the match the graphics card?
Does anyone know?
 

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