Building a new system and am unclear on a few choices... I hope you can help. I'm in the UK so prices are in GBP, mostly from scan.co.uk.
Goals: fast system for software development and multitasking. I run a lot of software at once and some accesses huge local databases, others are CPU intensive. Therefore, I decided I need a Core i7 920 based system.
I do some gaming but it is not a priority so graphics wise I'd just like to get something with decent price/performance.
My system is on most of the time so noise is a big issue. My current setup (Athlon Mobile XP 2500+ based, slightly o/c) is terrible in that regard.
I don't plan to do a lot of overclocking, only as much as I can while keeping noise levels down.
I intend to run Windows XP Professional x64 Edition initially if drivers let me, then probably move to Windows 7 skipping Vista.
Things I'm decided on:
CPU: i7 920 OEM, 225 GBP
CPU cooler: Ultra-120-1366RT eXtreme, 52 GBP
PSU: Enermax MODU82+ EMD625AWT, 98 GBP (good noise ratings)
HDD: 300 GB WD3000HLFS, 197 GBP (decided that SSD is immature); will need a HDD slieve/smth for it as the stock one is loud
GPU cooler: Accelero S1 v2, 18 GBP (to keep noise down)
I'm carrying over 2 of my old SATA drives to run them in RAID1 setup for the important data. I'm carrying over my old case as it's a decent one with fairly big fans, I will upgrade that later if needed. And I'm carrying over my two 30'' and 20'' monitors and need to run them in dual-DVI mode.
MB: Very unclear on which one to get. I've decided on either Asus or Gigabyte but I cannot decide between:
P6T, 193 GBP
GA-EX58-UD4P, 207 GBP
GA-EX58-UD5, 218 GBP
P6T Deluxe (V2), 233 GBP
Are they all passively cooled and won't require a fan? Leaning towards GA-EX58-UD4P at the moment as I think its power consumption is lower than the P6T or GA-EX58-UD5 but it's not missing any important features.
GPU: Probably decided on getting the HD4850 or HD4870, but not sure which one, whether 512MB or 1GB RAM and which brand:
Gigabyte HD4850 512MB, 124 GBP
Gigabyte HD4850 1024MB, 143 GBP
Gigabyte HD4870 1024MB, 158 GBP
Leaning towards HD4850 1024MB at the moment but really not sure why.
RAM: I think I need 3x2GB but I'm not sure if I need 1600 or 1333 Mhz RAM and how much I need lower latency:
Corsair 1333 LC9, 64 GBP
Corsair 1600 LC9, 90 GBP
OCZ 1600 LC8, 99 GBP
Leaning towards Corsair 1600 LC9 at the moment as I didn't find the OCZ on most UK sites.
I haven't built a system since 2005 so kind of struggling with all this. Any comments will be appreciated.
Goals: fast system for software development and multitasking. I run a lot of software at once and some accesses huge local databases, others are CPU intensive. Therefore, I decided I need a Core i7 920 based system.
I do some gaming but it is not a priority so graphics wise I'd just like to get something with decent price/performance.
My system is on most of the time so noise is a big issue. My current setup (Athlon Mobile XP 2500+ based, slightly o/c) is terrible in that regard.
I don't plan to do a lot of overclocking, only as much as I can while keeping noise levels down.
I intend to run Windows XP Professional x64 Edition initially if drivers let me, then probably move to Windows 7 skipping Vista.
Things I'm decided on:
CPU: i7 920 OEM, 225 GBP
CPU cooler: Ultra-120-1366RT eXtreme, 52 GBP
PSU: Enermax MODU82+ EMD625AWT, 98 GBP (good noise ratings)
HDD: 300 GB WD3000HLFS, 197 GBP (decided that SSD is immature); will need a HDD slieve/smth for it as the stock one is loud
GPU cooler: Accelero S1 v2, 18 GBP (to keep noise down)
I'm carrying over 2 of my old SATA drives to run them in RAID1 setup for the important data. I'm carrying over my old case as it's a decent one with fairly big fans, I will upgrade that later if needed. And I'm carrying over my two 30'' and 20'' monitors and need to run them in dual-DVI mode.
MB: Very unclear on which one to get. I've decided on either Asus or Gigabyte but I cannot decide between:
P6T, 193 GBP
GA-EX58-UD4P, 207 GBP
GA-EX58-UD5, 218 GBP
P6T Deluxe (V2), 233 GBP
Are they all passively cooled and won't require a fan? Leaning towards GA-EX58-UD4P at the moment as I think its power consumption is lower than the P6T or GA-EX58-UD5 but it's not missing any important features.
GPU: Probably decided on getting the HD4850 or HD4870, but not sure which one, whether 512MB or 1GB RAM and which brand:
Gigabyte HD4850 512MB, 124 GBP
Gigabyte HD4850 1024MB, 143 GBP
Gigabyte HD4870 1024MB, 158 GBP
Leaning towards HD4850 1024MB at the moment but really not sure why.
RAM: I think I need 3x2GB but I'm not sure if I need 1600 or 1333 Mhz RAM and how much I need lower latency:
Corsair 1333 LC9, 64 GBP
Corsair 1600 LC9, 90 GBP
OCZ 1600 LC8, 99 GBP
Leaning towards Corsair 1600 LC9 at the moment as I didn't find the OCZ on most UK sites.
I haven't built a system since 2005 so kind of struggling with all this. Any comments will be appreciated.