Building a Home PC

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drchohan

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I want to upgrade my PC for normal home use, It will be used for:
Surfing internet (watch You tube in HD), Word Processing, Very Occasional small photo/video editing (let’s say once a month or once in two months, when digital camera memory is full!, Watch HD Videos in .mkv format etc
Creating .pdf files
My component choices are
Motherboard
1. ASUS P8H61-I http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1155/P8H61I/
2. MSI H61I-E35 (B3) http://www.msi.com/product/mb/H61I-E35--B3-.html
RAM 1*4gb DDR III PC 1333
Processor
Intel Pentium G620, Intel Pentium G620T, Intel i3-2100T, I want be as green as possible.
I have an old shuttle XPC Box with 150W PSU. I will need to make holes to accommodate the mini-itx format motherboard, as shuttle uses their own shuttle factor motherboard. But, it will fun!
• I am undecided over motherboard as Asus one have USB 3.0 but is at least 20 Euro expensive that MSI one. ASUS website states that USB 3.) ports can only be used after installing USB 3.0 driver in windows, so they cannot be used for booting PC (e.g., installing windows from USB flash drive. So I think MSI with only USB 2.0 ports should be ok for me.
• I have two HDD one is 1TB @ 7200rpm, and another one 2Tb @ 5900rpm, and CD/DVD Combo.
• Is 150W PSU enough?
• Is stock Heat sink/cooler on Intel CPU ok, or aftermarket coolers are needed?
• I will connecting the PC to a monitor and a TV and would like to use both of them at the same time, as I work on PC monitor but my son can watch his movie/cartoons on TV.
I am looking to keep the cost down as much as possible, while building a workable home pc. Keeping all this in mind, suggestion for my new DIY project are welcome. And Thank you in Advance.
 
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farrengottu

farrengottu

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first off every system now a days supports dual channel memory or better so always get two sticks of ram. double the bandwidth makes for a quicker computer especially with video editing.

second thing is the video playing most any processor you can find will be able to play full 1080p videos from any source. the exceptions are the atoms from intel and the C series and the e-350 from amd. the e-350 supports full 1080 through its built in video but not all players support that so count them out too.
all of the new pentiums will do fine. but since your into being green. the G620t uses 35 watts rather than 65 watts from the rest of the 1155 chipset pentiums.

im not sure if 150watts is enough of a powersupply. its close. but since i know without a doubt that shuttle makes horrible power supplies i recommend getting a better one. its the most important part of a system. bad power makes for unreliable components.
but replaceing it while keeping that case will be crazy hard. its a mini ITX power supply in your shuttle case and the only quality mini itx power supply i found had just a 20 pin connector. yet your motherboard needs 24. as will all of them.

for video card i say get a radeon 6450. i find them as low as $35 after mail in rebate on newegg.com all the time.
 
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drchohan

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In other words are you saying that, if I use 2*2gb will be faster than 1*4gb RAM?
 
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diellur

diellur

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Did you even read the OP's post!? 16GB of RAM for 'normal home use'? He's also got 2 HDDs, so why suggest he gets another?
 
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diellur

diellur

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Unless you plan on video transcoding, I wouldn't bother with the i3-2100T (or i3-2100). The G620 / G620T are the same chips, more or less, without the extras onboard that improve transcoding performance. Also, with the Asus motherboard, you can take a G620 and set the multiplier such that it runs at the same frequency as the G620T (Intel reduced the multiplier in the G620 to get the G620T in the first place). You'll save a bit of cash that way.

As has already been said, 2x2GB of RAM is better as you need to have 2 RAM sticks to get DDR to work to its full potential.

Stock heat-sink will be fine...you only really need to consider aftermarket for overclocking.

I'm not sure what you mean with the USB 2.0 and booting up. USB 3.0 needs to have the drivers installed after the initial Windows install, and then you need to be in Windows to use the USB 3.0 capability. So it makes sense to USB 3.0, as it's an area where you system will be future-proof. I can't think of a scenario for casual PC usage where you'd not be in Windows and using USB to move data around, to be honest.

If you're confident at modding a case for mITX, go for it. However, you can get cases for not much money that support mITX. I would get a new PSU...150W is cutting it close, and if it's not a great PSU you'll cost yourself in electricity. An 80+ rated 500W PSU would be fine, and you could get away with less wattage if you can find one that's 80+.

The only place where your system may stumble is you working on the PC at the same time its used for media. It might not have the grunt for that. You'd also need a GPU with dual screen output.
 
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diellur

diellur

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Why would that be necessary for a general use PC? 4GB is sufficient. That, my friend, is common sense. If you're going to make a suggestion, back it up with a rational.
 
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Wish I Was Wealthy

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Hi drchohan :hello: . Do not go amd or even amd's bulldozer processor,unless your willing to run out of diesel early. :lol: Your gear that you have posted up is okay,but if I was me,I'd go a some what better in motherboard,cpu & power supply in case you do have more loading than you think you will. ;) Also what operating system have you & is it x32 or x64 bit. :pt1cable: First off if you have windows XP,then 1x4 GB of ram is okay due to it being better for video editing,etc. Do not forget that you will not see all your 4 gigs of ram due to XP's system restore. ;) Which you can reduce the amount in percentage wise that you want for your system restore to use. ;) When you first go into system restore it will have around 10% to 12%,but if I was you,I would reduce it to 5% or even 6% by adjusting the slider from your right to your left. ;) Also I prefer to use windows XP,but you may have only windows 7 which is still the same deal anyway. It will not show all 4 gigs. If you are intending to have a x64 bit operating system,than you can have twice the amount of ram instead. ;) Also do not forget that retail boxed operating systems are the way to go. ;) With retail box you can always upgrade to a new motherboard without having to buy a new OEM operating system to move to a new motherboard. ;) Anyway I have not got much more to say other then try to stick to windows XP,I still believe it is more stable than windows 7. :sol:
 
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