Need advice for new shiny PC

June 30, 2011 10:48:51 AM

Hi folks!

The time has come to replace my 4.5 year old PC. Yeah I know, some of you may be horrified I have a PC that old! Oh well - but it has served me well over years. :sol:

The PC will be for non-gaming - it will be for general PC use, internet and be used as a media server to the PS3. I've looked at this thread - checked the budget PCs before posting but the setups are not what I'm after - I want a PC with more power than I need because I want it to last 4 years. So I'm happy to spend more than $700-800, looking at no more than $1000 which shouldn't be a problem.

Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, speakers, and monitor (max res: 1680x1050) - although I may get a new monitor in the future.
Approximate Purchase Date: early next week
Country of Origin: Australia (don't worry about US prices)
Preferred Website for Parts: www.msy.com.au (see 'Parts Pricelist' link)

Here's what I'm looking at:

CPU: Intel i5 2500K (This is not a typo! Remember, I want more grunt than I need - or will the 2400 or 2500 be more than enough? 2500K doesn't cost that much more.)

Motherboard: totally clueless - please help me out!

RAM: 4GB DDR3 1600MHz should be fine (Or will 2000MHz make much of a different seeing it doesn't cost that much more? Don't think so.)

HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb

GPU: nVidia GeForce GTX 460 1GB 256bit. Not sure - seems more powerful than what I need? (would rather a nVidia than RADEON because they have better drivers)

Optical drive: Pioneer-219L? Been happy with my existing Pioneer drive. Or maybe the Pioneer BDR-206MBK if I'm greedy. (Note: please no LG! Bad experience with LG products.)

PSU: ??? I want enough power to have 2/3 HDD in the future.

Case: A simple case will do, nothing fancy - maybe Antec 100/300? Since this won't be a gaming PC, a case that comes with a PSU will suffice? Also don't want it to be noisy (I know, I know - the Samsung F3 HDD isn't the quietest HDD around! But it's an awesome HDD.)

OS: Win7 64bit

Much appreciated - thanks!

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clarkjd

June 30, 2011 1:06:34 PM

If you are not going to game, have you considered using the integrated graphics on the 2500K? All you would need is a H67 motherboard, and without a graphics card, that would save some significant money.

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rvilkman

June 30, 2011 1:42:10 PM

CPU:
If you want to overclock 2500k, that's the way to go. Generally though for your use i5 2400 would work great.

Mobo:
You probably want something that lets you utilize the CPU for transcoding, so a Z68 series MB would let you do that and let you use the 1600Mhz memory and overclock if that is what you want to do. If OC:ing is not your thing and you decide to go with the i5 2400, a H67 chipset MB will do just fine for you and 1.5V 1333MHz memory is enough. Both H67 and Z68 let you use the integrated GPU and Virtu for transcoding videos.

Links are for newegg, but they are just examples of the boards:
ASUS P8H67-M EVO - USB3, Sata 6Gb/s, 4 Dimm slots, UEFI, HDMI
Gigabyte GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 - USB3, Sata 6Gb/s, 4 Dimm slots, HDMI, SLI/Crossfire, basically the low end of Z68 boards

Memory: Make sure the memory is 1.5V memory, 1600MHz ifor (P67/Z68), 1333 for (H61/H67) 4GB is generally enough these days,
just get a 2x2GB kit for dual channel.

Case:
Antec 300 with an additional 120mm adjustable intake fan(or two) for the front of the case is great for your needs.
Antec 300 Illusion actually comes with those 2 extra fans and they all have dim blue leds, all fans adjustable to 3 speeds.

HDD:
Excellent choice for the HDD

Video card:
Generally something like Radeon 6570 or GT 430 is sufficient to run your HTPC needs and are an improvement over the integrated graphics of the intel chip.
Obviously you can go higher if you want to do some gaming.

Higher end options for the video card: GeForce: 550Ti/6770, GTX460 1GB/ 6850, 560/6870
All of them play games nicely at 1680x1050, you can just turn on more candy going further up.

PSU:
Depending on your video card selection ( if any ) something in the 400W-500W range from Antec, Corsair, Seasonic or XFX.

Optical drive:
Pretty much anything you feel comfortable using, very little difference in price and features.

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Watch Me Dance

July 2, 2011 2:28:23 AM

Thanks a bunch for the replies. OC:ing isn't my thing - so the i5 2400 will do. And I had no idea the i5 had integrated graphics. I think I should get a video card if I want to stream full HD smoothly (particularly h264) for HTPC.