Computer broken - new spec

[Lamp]

Well, my trusty 7 year old desktop has finally given up the ghost and died

Keeps rebooting, turning the display on & off. Could be the graphics cards, heat sink, or power supply. No idea. Decided to buy a new system - porbably from one of those places on the web that builds it for you.

What do you think of this spec? I need it to play the odd game, but have good sound & visuals for movies, photo, music. Nothing major hard core, just a decent all rounder that will last at least a few years.

Case ANTEC NINE HUNDRED TWO V3 - UK, The Ultimate Gaming Case, Evolved
Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i3-2120 Dual Core (3.30GHz, 3MB Cache) + HD Graphics
Motherboard ASUS® P8H61 (NEW REV 3.0): ATX, USB 2.0, SATA 3.0Gb/s, 3 x PCI
Memory (RAM) 4GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 2GB)
Graphics Card 1GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTS 450 - DVI,HDMI,VGA - DX® 11, 3D Vision Ready
Memory 1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive 4x BLU-RAY ROM DRIVE, 16x DVD ROM
Memory Card Reader INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply 450W Quiet 80 PLUS Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan
Processor Cooling SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE CPU COOLER
Sound Card Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ Xtreme Audio
Network Facilities ONBOARD GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps PCI CARD
USB Options 6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
TV Card PCTV SYSTEMS DVB-T DUAL TUNER DIGITAL FREEVIEW TV CARD
Operating System Genuine Windows XP™ Home + SP3, CD & Licence
Office Software Microsoft® Office Home & Student 2010 (Incl Disc & 1 License for 3 devices)
Anti-Virus BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY V10 - 1 Year, 1 User + 5GB Online Backup

 

[Huntingtons]

my god, genuine windows?

 

[Helme]

I'd get rid of the antivirus to save a few bucks, there's better ones available free online but apart from that I can't see any problems, though it is a bit of a waste to go with XP - 7 is both faster and more stable.

 

[Lamp]

I've used XP for so long, and got so used to it, when I used my friend's laptop with Win7, I hated it. Maybe I'll give 7 another go

 

[Urgluf]

def go win7

 

[ileks]

Yep It's seriously worth getting windows 7 imo.

 

[Helme]

And it only takes a few clicks to make it look and mostly act like XP if thats what you want.

 

[Dudley52]

Lamp if thats PCspecialist you got that quote from (looks like it is) I would recommend going on the forums there, they are very helpful and you'll end up getting a better value system. They will configure different builds for you to your budget/needs, and also recommend things you should change.

Also, do you need the antec 902? You could choose a cheaper case (Maelstrom T900, still a great case) and upgrade the video card to maybe the new GTX550 ti?

I've got my new PC from PCspecialist coming next week. Their customer service is brilliant

 

[Lamp]

Yeah. I've decided to upgrade my spec a tad:

Case
ANTEC NINE HUNDRED TWO V3 - UK, The Ultimate Gaming Case, Evolved
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5-2500 Quad Core (3.30GHz, 6MB Cache) + HD Graphics
Motherboard
ASUS® P8H61 (NEW REV 3.0): ATX, USB 2.0, SATA 3.0Gb/s, 3 x PCI
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX560 Ti - 2 DVI,HDMI,VGA - DX® 11, 3D Vision Ready
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W TX SERIES (TX650) 80+ ULTRA QUIET PSU (£78)
Processor Cooling
COOLIT ECO A.L.C (ADVANCED LIQUID COOLER)

I'm not sure how noisy it will be. Having a quiet PC is important. Heard watercooled is quieter than having 4 fans. Will check teh forums out

 

[Dudley52]

Brilliant spec, Same as mine except I have 4gb ram and don't have water cooling(You won't need water cooling unless your overclocking) Especially with the Antec902 as its a great airflow case.


Edit:
Sorry mate didn't read your post fully (noticed you want it very quiet).

But since being quiet is important, post it on their forums and they will help you get the most quiet PC

 

[Zenith.UK]

And it only takes a few clicks to make it look and mostly act like XP if thats what you want.

^^^ He speaks the truth.
XP hasn't got much support left from MS, so it's worth going up to Win7.
XP > Vista was terrible and a resource hog.
Win7 is far less demanding on hardware and will run nicely on machines that had trouble with Vista.

 

[Raven]

win 7 is what vista should have been. Once you have got used to it, its great.

 

[old.Osy]

Include a couple of PWM 12cm fans for your case, if you want quiet. The Antec default ones are good, but not sufficient.

Scythe has some good quiet fans.

 

[kiliarien]

Seeming as you don't seem to want to upgrade regularly (which I'm the same, hate having to reopen the case often) I would suggest an SSD to boot the OS off (and yes, get 7!) as they are mighty fine; get an OCZ or Crucial one imo, avoid Kingston. I'm glad you updated as I've only just read this and was wondering why you were on an i3 dual core when quad might as well be a minimum so you don't become a cropper of Moore's law.

I'm sure you've done your homework on gfx but it's worth checking this out:

whatGFX - the fastest and easiest way to choose a new graphics card

I bought a 1gb 430 GT and then found it got soundly whooped by an older 512mb 9800GTX+ on every benchmarking and so swapped, so I'd say have a look about because I don't think 2gb of Palit gfx would be as useful as other lower models. And of course 2gb will not be challenged for years anyway. Also make sure on space, this will be one mother of a card size wise.

I had to laugh at this:

XFX Radeon HD 5970 Black Edition Limited - Graphics: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

On the case I personally think it's a bit overkill but hey, if it means you just change bits inside rather than the case in the future that makes sense. Top fan idea is rather nice and yet quite mahoosive VTOL-like at the same time!!

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

[Lamp]

Thanks for the advice. The case is still one thing I can't decide on. Someone suggested the Coolermaster Sileo 500

I need a very quiet case but one with dust filters as I seem to have a problem with loads of dust where my PC is. Also its got to look cool and be large enough for my current spec:

ANTEC NINE HUNDRED TWO V3 - UK, The Ultimate Gaming Case, Evolved
Intel® Core™i5-2500 Quad Core (3.30GHz, 6MB Cache) + HD Graphics
ASUS® P8H61 (NEW REV 3.0): ATX, USB 2.0, SATA 3.0Gb/s, 3 x PCI
4GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 2GB)
1.25GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 570 - 2 DVI,mHDMI - DX® 11, 3D Vision Ready
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
4x BLU-RAY ROM DRIVE, 16x DVD ROM (£35)
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
CORSAIR 650W TX SERIES (TX650) 80+ ULTRA QUIET PSU (£78)
COOLIT ECO A.L.C (ADVANCED LIQUID COOLER) (£49)
Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ Titanium PCI Express (£59)
ONBOARD GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps PCI CARD (£16)
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
PCTV SYSTEMS DVB-T DUAL TUNER DIGITAL FREEVIEW TV CARD
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Microsoft® Office Home & Student 2010 (Incl Disc & 1 License for 3 devices) (£87)

 

[Dudley52]

Thanks for the advice. The case is still one thing I can't decide on. Someone suggested the Coolermaster Sileo 500

I need a very quiet case but one with dust filters as I seem to have a problem with loads of dust where my PC is. Also its got to look cool and be large enough for my current spec:

Blimey lamp, Bit of a difference from the first spec you posted

GTS 450 up to the GTX570?!

 

[Lamp]

TBH anything has got to be better than the piece of crap I had in my last machine (GeForce 440 Ti) & I figured for a few extra bucks may as well make it last at least the next 2 years. May add a SSD - not sure yet. & still undecided on which case to get.

 

[Raven]

I have a Cooler master cosmos S which is great, both in quality and size!

 

[Lamp]

Is that the same as teh Coolermaster Cosmos 1000? Dont fancy paying £160 on a case lol. I really need dust filters. I don't like dust.

 

[Raven]

Mine is one up from that. Though when I got it a few years ago it was about £120... They seem to have ramped the price for some reason, it's a pretty old design.

edit: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0014K11DA/ref=asc_df_B0014K11DA2421051?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&tag=googlecouk06-21&linkCode=asn&creative=22206&creativeASIN=B0014K11DA

 

[old.SevenSins]

If you want your comp to last a bit longer/+ make it stupidly easy to upgrade in the coming years: Get an i5 2500K, not the i5 2500.

Simple difference: 2500 has a locked turbo multiplier, the K does not.

Main reason to get the 2500K (shouldn't be costing more then 10/20€ to whatever your paying now) is because as a sandybridge: It's one of the finest CPU's to OC atm with their almost non-excistant heat generation at stock speeds. (My brother runs an 2500K with a cheap Zalman cooler, 30€ or so, and has it running at 4.4ghz at low fan RPM so no insane noise @ 73 degrees load where the safe max is around 90 degrees)

Be wise, don't save 10 bucks on a locked CPU

P.s: Have I mentioned how EASY it is to OC the sandybridges?

Also, for a video card I'd look into the MSI Twin FROZR II cards. Their GTX 560/570/580.

I see you already took a 570 so that's kewl, but add 10 bucks for the MSI one and you'll have -30 degrees on your GPU at stock speed. (Fans running at 2750 RPM so barely any noise, vs fans running at 5000 RPM when the normal Nvidia edition is under full load.)

P.s: Have I mentioned how EASY is it to OC the MSI Twin Frozr II cards?

I should also add that when running everything OC'd you should be prepared to upgrade your PSU to a minimum of 750W, 850/1kW if your intending to put 2 video cards in in the future.

Also on the SSD note: Still not worth it. Price per GB is still outrageous compared to SATA disks, and if all your interested in is the speed: There's always Raid 0. 3 7200 RPM raid0 disks will give you almost the same speed as your average decent SSD: Minus the price tag and with 50 times the capacity, just need some space in your case and an extra 120mm fan on the front of the HDDs to extend their lifespan.

 

[Lamp]

Thx for the advice m8

 

[Punishment]

Im gonna get getting a custom PC in the summer finally yay, as im too lazy to put one together, anyone suggest a decent place to start browsing ?

Also 1st person to link dell or alienware gets a slap !

 

[old.SevenSins]

Im gonna get getting a custom PC in the summer finally yay, as im too lazy to put one together, anyone suggest a decent place to start browsing ?

Also 1st person to link dell or alienware gets a slap !

ALTERNATE. Hardware - Software - Entertainment is where I usually order my parts, aswelll as Salland Webwinkel | www.salland.eu (dutch).

Depending on the systems purpose I mostly try to gather up-to-date data from Hardware.Info | Hardware.Info Nederland benchmarks section. (Just plow trough them on CPU/GPU benchmarks and see what's in the price category I'm building for.)

Motherboards are a different story, although I mostly google them into the specific brand forums, trying to see what stability/performance/functionality they offer vs their price. Mainly on the lookout for stability when OCing though, gives a good indication of how strong a chipset it has.

Specific info on other parts, mainly overclockers, guru3d and ofcourse google.

 

[old.SevenSins]

Im gonna get getting a custom PC in the summer finally yay, as im too lazy to put one together, anyone suggest a decent place to start browsing ?

Also 1st person to link dell or alienware gets a slap !

ALTERNATE. Hardware - Software - Entertainment if you know the components you want, they also build/stresstest your custom build and advise if stuff is incompatible with eachother. I also use www.tweakers.net/pricewatch for an up-to-date pricelist on components.

Depending on the purpose of the system I mainly check out Hardware.Info | Hardware.Info Nederland benchmarking section and plow trough there to see what is most cost effective to the system I'm building.

Motherboards however are a bit more complicated, once you set your eyes on a CPU/GPU combo, it's quite important to find the motherboard that's most stable (and not stupidly expensive) with said combo. What I do with those is when I know what socket I'm building for, I check the pricerange for those sockets on tweakers/alternate and usually start off with mid-class, google them into the brand specific forums and check how much complaints they get. If none, somethings wrong, if too many, somethings wrong. Need to find the sweet spot of complaints

CPUs/GPUs: Guru3d/overclockers and ofcourse google!

 

[Punishment]

ALTERNATE. Hardware - Software - Entertainment if you know the components you want, they also build/stresstest your custom build and advise if stuff is incompatible with eachother. I also use www.tweakers.net/pricewatch for an up-to-date pricelist on components.

Depending on the purpose of the system I mainly check out Hardware.Info | Hardware.Info Nederland benchmarking section and plow trough there to see what is most cost effective to the system I'm building.

Motherboards however are a bit more complicated, once you set your eyes on a CPU/GPU combo, it's quite important to find the motherboard that's most stable (and not stupidly expensive) with said combo. What I do with those is when I know what socket I'm building for, I check the pricerange for those sockets on tweakers/alternate and usually start off with mid-class, google them into the brand specific forums and check how much complaints they get. If none, somethings wrong, if too many, somethings wrong. Need to find the sweet spot of complaints

CPUs/GPUs: Guru3d/overclockers and ofcourse google!

A rep for that young man !

 

[Killswitch]

Just decided this morning to get myself a PC and I'm probably going to try to build the "March 2011 $500 Gaming PC" from Toms Hardware (or as close as possible). Reckon it'll be probably more like £450 for the parts, but that's not unexpected.

System Builder Marathon, March 2011: $500 Gaming PC : Breaking The Bank