A reasonable micro ATX unit

blomothy · 07-16-2008, 04:32 PM

Hi, after managing my first year of college with a dell laptop which (like they all seem to) looks ok on paper but is actually painfully slow im looking to build something small. I already have an LG 19" widescreen with High Definition inputs as the monitor and all other items other than what would be within the case.

My budget is £300-£400 (I live in the UK) ($600-$800)

My knowledge is pretty lacking as the last system I built was 4 years ago.

I would prefer to use an AMD processor and ATI graphics card

The system will hopefully be a microATX system

I have found a case I quite like the look of ( http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_1403.html ) although this could be changed I do like the fact that there are 2 windows

The PC will be for general use, not intense gaming although maybe a few less demanding games ( hopefully it would be able to run the rather more demanding Call of Duty 4 but obviously not on full graphics to give an idea)

I would preferably need over 200gb of storage as a minimum

I will use XP or Vista 32, i have copies of both but am unsure

I currently use ebuyer.com and overclockers.co.uk although I would use other suppliers to purchase so long as shipping wasnt too expensive

think thats about it, if anyone could help me I really would appreciate it, the main area in which im unsure is matching ram/processor/motherboard/graphics card so i get the most out of my money

Andrew

Deleted090308 · 07-16-2008, 05:20 PM

Hi

Maybe something like this:

Motherboard: GA-MA78GM-S2H (£49.99)
CPU: Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 6000+ (£62.99)
RAM: OCZ 2GB Kit (2x1GB) DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 CL 4-4-4-15 PLATINUM XTC (£32)
HDD: Seagate ST3250410AS 250GB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm 16MB Cache (£32.99)
PSU: Corsair 650W TX Series (£59.99)
Graphics: Sapphire HD 4850 512MB (£123.99)

= £362

(And, yes, it's almost the same as mine

)

blomothy · 07-16-2008, 05:41 PM

thanks for the post, really useful and all the components looked exactly what I was looking for. thanks. do you find cooling is a major issue with this system? do you use the standard cpu fan and is it even possible to fit a non-standard cpu fan in most mATX systems?
thanks
Andrew

Deleted090308 · 07-16-2008, 05:50 PM

The motherboard's layout makes it a bit difficult to fit a big cooler (like a Zalman 7500). The two yellow RAM slots will be blocked after the cooler is mounted.
But, the stock cooler will be sufficient.
If you want a CPU using less power and producing less heat - get an Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 5600+. Make sure it's a Brisbane, not a Windsor.

blomothy · 07-20-2008, 02:00 PM

eneles, I was just wondering if this is a problem at all ( I have just ordered pretty much the setup you suggested)

The PSU spec says...
'1 x power 24 pin ATX with detachable 4 pin section ? 1 x power 8 pin EPS12V with detachable 4 pin ATX12V section ? 2 x 8 pin PCI Express power ? 8 x 15 pin Serial ATA power ? 10 x 4 PIN internal power'

as i'm sure you are well aware of...

just that on the sapphire site it says the card requires

'450 Watt or greater power supply with 75 Watt 6-pin PCI Express® power connector recommended (550 Watt and two 6-pin connectors for ATI CrossFireX™ technology in dual mode)'

does this matter? i'm sure it is probably fine and its just myself getting over-excited which i tend to do

any help would be great to put my mind at rest
thanks
Andrew

Deleted090308 · 07-20-2008, 09:34 PM

Don't worry - the PSU has two 6-pin PCI-E plugs and more than enough watts to run the system.

The 24 and 4 pin plugs for the motherboard are, of course, also included.

07-16-2008, 04:32 PM	#1 (permalink)
blomothy Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 11 OS: Vista X64	A reasonable micro ATX unit Hi, after managing my first year of college with a dell laptop which (like they all seem to) looks ok on paper but is actually painfully slow im looking to build something small. I already have an LG 19" widescreen with High Definition inputs as the monitor and all other items other than what would be within the case. My budget is £300-£400 (I live in the UK) ($600-$800) My knowledge is pretty lacking as the last system I built was 4 years ago. I would prefer to use an AMD processor and ATI graphics card The system will hopefully be a microATX system I have found a case I quite like the look of ( http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_1403.html ) although this could be changed I do like the fact that there are 2 windows The PC will be for general use, not intense gaming although maybe a few less demanding games ( hopefully it would be able to run the rather more demanding Call of Duty 4 but obviously not on full graphics to give an idea) I would preferably need over 200gb of storage as a minimum I will use XP or Vista 32, i have copies of both but am unsure I currently use ebuyer.com and overclockers.co.uk although I would use other suppliers to purchase so long as shipping wasnt too expensive think thats about it, if anyone could help me I really would appreciate it, the main area in which im unsure is matching ram/processor/motherboard/graphics card so i get the most out of my money Andrew Last edited by blomothy : 07-16-2008 at 04:46 PM.

07-16-2008, 05:20 PM	#2 (permalink)
Deleted090308 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 22,292 OS: Xp	Re: A reasonable micro ATX unit Hi Maybe something like this: Motherboard: GA-MA78GM-S2H (£49.99) CPU: Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 6000+ (£62.99) RAM: OCZ 2GB Kit (2x1GB) DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 CL 4-4-4-15 PLATINUM XTC (£32) HDD: Seagate ST3250410AS 250GB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm 16MB Cache (£32.99) PSU: Corsair 650W TX Series (£59.99) Graphics: Sapphire HD 4850 512MB (£123.99) = £362 (And, yes, it's almost the same as mine ) Last edited by Deleted090308 : 07-18-2008 at 11:51 PM.

07-16-2008, 05:41 PM	#3 (permalink)
blomothy Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 11 OS: Vista X64	Re: A reasonable micro ATX unit thanks for the post, really useful and all the components looked exactly what I was looking for. thanks. do you find cooling is a major issue with this system? do you use the standard cpu fan and is it even possible to fit a non-standard cpu fan in most mATX systems? thanks Andrew

07-16-2008, 05:50 PM	#4 (permalink)
Deleted090308 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 22,292 OS: Xp	Re: A reasonable micro ATX unit The motherboard's layout makes it a bit difficult to fit a big cooler (like a Zalman 7500). The two yellow RAM slots will be blocked after the cooler is mounted. But, the stock cooler will be sufficient. If you want a CPU using less power and producing less heat - get an Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 5600+. Make sure it's a Brisbane, not a Windsor.

07-20-2008, 02:00 PM	#5 (permalink)
blomothy Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 11 OS: Vista X64	Re: A reasonable micro ATX unit eneles, I was just wondering if this is a problem at all ( I have just ordered pretty much the setup you suggested) The PSU spec says... '1 x power 24 pin ATX with detachable 4 pin section ? 1 x power 8 pin EPS12V with detachable 4 pin ATX12V section ? 2 x 8 pin PCI Express power ? 8 x 15 pin Serial ATA power ? 10 x 4 PIN internal power' as i'm sure you are well aware of... just that on the sapphire site it says the card requires '450 Watt or greater power supply with 75 Watt 6-pin PCI Express® power connector recommended (550 Watt and two 6-pin connectors for ATI CrossFireX™ technology in dual mode)' does this matter? i'm sure it is probably fine and its just myself getting over-excited which i tend to do any help would be great to put my mind at rest thanks Andrew

07-20-2008, 09:34 PM	#6 (permalink)
Deleted090308 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 22,292 OS: Xp	Re: A reasonable micro ATX unit Don't worry - the PSU has two 6-pin PCI-E plugs and more than enough watts to run the system. The 24 and 4 pin plugs for the motherboard are, of course, also included. Last edited by Deleted090308 : 07-21-2008 at 08:23 AM.