pritchard9 Posted November 18, 2008 Share Posted November 18, 2008 Hey there. :) Ive started looking into building my own PC - for mild gaming, sound recording and editting, and general usage. I think I'm going down the AMD route, and I've found some nice, middle-range motherboards. I was just wondering, if the motherboard is in the form of MicroATX, do I need a MicroATX case? And also, what wattage PSU do you recommend? Thanks, Pritchardo92 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparda Posted November 18, 2008 Share Posted November 18, 2008 The fun thing about AMD is that there most high end consumer grade processor is cheap as hell http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct....rodid=CP-226-AM. The result of course been that it's performance sucks compared to the latest core 2 stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pritchard9 Posted November 18, 2008 Author Share Posted November 18, 2008 The fun thing about AMD is that there most high end consumer grade processor is cheap as hell http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct....rodid=CP-226-AM. The result of course been that it's performance sucks compared to the latest core 2 stuff. Wouldnt that be offset though by OverClocking? The GigaByte motherboard I'm looking at getting seems to like OC'ing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparda Posted November 18, 2008 Share Posted November 18, 2008 You need to make sure the board supports the 9950, I think the 9950 is 145Watt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeelBug Posted November 18, 2008 Share Posted November 18, 2008 I recently (as in last week) spent a pretty penny on a few bits and pieces for my new box. Gigabyte GA-EP45-DQ6 Motherboard Intel Core2 Duo E8500 Logitech Z-5500D THX Digital Speaker System Corsair TWIN2X4096-6400C4DHX 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 CoolerMaster Real Power M1000 Modular Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum Fatal1ty Champion Thermaltake Spedo Advance Package And a couple of Terrabyte (930GB really...) HDDs. It'll be used for mild gaming, but mostly audio production related things (recording/producing), hence the particular X-Fi model with all the fancy ports on the front panel. Could be a bit overkill... The PSU gives me room to grow as I currently have 6 HDDs in my 'old' PC I can see using all the SATA ports on the new box very soon. I decided to stay away from AMDs latest falechip, and stuck with a dual core as its all I need, plus it was on special :). Most regular cases support MicroATX but just check to make sure. One thing I highly suggest is doing a lot of research (compatability, expandability, prices etc), and make sure to future-proof yourself incase you want to expand without going the whole hog next time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmoothCriminal Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 I would go Intel, but that's just my thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berkeley Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 Wouldnt that be offset though by OverClocking? The GigaByte motherboard I'm looking at getting seems to like OC'ing. I can't say from personal experiance as I have been with Intel since Core 2s came out,but I have a friend who overclocks obsessively, and according to him AMD processors (particularly the Phenom) run really hot even before OCing and if you do OC them, cooling them enough that they are stable is damn near impossible. But once again no personal experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PLuNK Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 Asus P5Q Pro Intel E8400 4GB 800Mhz DDR2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pritchard9 Posted November 19, 2008 Author Share Posted November 19, 2008 Thanks for all the comments! So you guys think Intel is the way to go? I was only really looking at AMD as I'm on a bit of a budget. Not quite sure how much of a budget, but I dont want things going above £400. I have had a look at the AMD spec, and most of the higher-end chip are running on 90nm fabrication, so I did expect a higher heat dissipation in comparison to Intel's, where most are 45nm or around that. Any recommendations for graphics cards? @ Keelbug: Cheers for listing you components. Has given me something to think about soundcard-wise. @ PLuNK: Same goes to you :) Cheers lads. *Another thing, a friend of mine is also building a PC, mainly for gaming. On his current PC, hes been using a External DVD writer. Hes wondering if this can be used to set up his new PC once built? Or is it a bit of a paradox, as drivers are needed for USB ports, but they need to be installed through USB..? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonlit Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 Most OSs will install just fine from a USB DVD drive, in fact it's the only way to install on some machines (small form factor machines and netbooks). Windows XP or Vista should be no problem and the same should apply to pretty much any Linux distro, I've yet to come across anything that doesn't like being on a USB DVD drive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaKo Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 Vista will install nicely from a USB stick, i preffer this method over optical media as its faster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pritchard9 Posted November 20, 2008 Author Share Posted November 20, 2008 Most OSs will install just fine from a USB DVD drive, in fact it's the only way to install on some machines (small form factor machines and netbooks). Windows XP or Vista should be no problem and the same should apply to pretty much any Linux distro, I've yet to come across anything that doesn't like being on a USB DVD drive. Wow, nice one. Thanks :). Ill keep that in mind while building, and will tell my friend asap. Vista will install nicely from a USB stick, i preffer this method over optical media as its faster. Cant beleive Ive never thought of that, nice one :). Thanks for all replies. :) Pritchardo92 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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