Hardware What Hardware Should I Buy? - October 2009

Hey have you guys ever thought about adding another option to your recommended hardware line up? I was thinking it would be nice to see what you guys would recommend for a media pc for home theater or a server based setup. Great recommendation for this month tho!

 

Good layout this time.

 

Im really considering it, but it's such a personal niche to how much power or storage people need.

 

Did you mean this one?

It's out of stock though .

And although the page states 1.5v, everywhere else i've looked says it's actually 1.8 or 1.9v meaning it wouldn't be appropriate for the i5 build which you listed on the next page.

As such, what would you recommend for the i5 build as good value for money since i'm looking into that option at the moment .

 

I was going to ask about the choice of HDD on the affordable rig.
The Samsung F3 500GB is £36.40 from Novatech. Much cheaper that the price you guys got. I would deffo go for the samsung!
-J

 

The main things I see missing from the buyers guide which is pretty much spot on otherwise is the lack of mention of suitable displays for each budget, the option for a "Whisper Quiet" system, or micro-atx or even mini-itx versions.

I know news is a bit quiet and that we are waiting for the new technology to finally come out and reach your hands so you can ply us with the juicy details and that enthusiasm might be a little low just now, so perhaps it's time for another round of deserts, perhaps a round up on Gypsy Tart, Lemon Meringue or even recommendations on a good dentist!

 

Im never sure how TMS managed to wrangle the constant stream of cakes, but maybe you would like something similar. I could post you some cheescake etc.

Im sure it would arrive just fine.

 

Fixed: Folding Rig DDR3 memory label
Fixed: DDR3 memory link for UK in Affordable and Enthusiast systems, changed to GSkill 1600 Cl9
Fixed: Used cheaper OCZ DDR3 1600MHz 6GB Core i7 kit for UK in Workhorse and Premium PCs
Fixed: £ to $ in Workhorse PC

 

love to read Bittech's guide, always keeps me up to date with the month's component pricing. and wow, 4890 price is really low!

currently, is i5 750 the only CPU being bought for LGA1156, in UK? i wonder when will there be an Intel price drop, especially on the i7 860.

 

Great guide as always

 

Uhm, you state that the MSI 770-C45 cannot unlock cores?
If i enable ES Firmwire and ACC in my bios my Phenom II x3 720 Turns into a X4 "20" with working cores. So i guess newest bios or "european" released mobo has the feature afterall.

 

Great feature, I wonder about the anemic PSUs you guys always suggest though. Going with a Kilowatt in a top end machine is always a safer bet than too little power.

Yours in 1250 Watts PSU Loving Plasma,
Star*Dagger

 

The problem is that if you have your PSU wattage too high then even though the PSU will only take what it needs, at the ~300-500W peak load you're still only pulling 20/30/50% of the PSU's total power. Whilst the 50% value is fine for efficiency, anything below that means you're just wasting both electricity and money. Not to mention if 50% is peak load, then when the computer is idle you'll still end up drawing way more than you need.

 

There's absolutely no need.

It takes FOUR GTX 295s to saturate a kilowatt.

 

Dabs now have the Crucial SSDs in stock at £219 and mine has shipped Hopefully other retailers will follow suit.

 

Enthusiast overclocker, Radeon 4890 link goes to a Asus GTX260 glaciator at £125 =\

Also same section, the Hard drive description new [eurl=http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/storage/2009/10/06/samsung-spinpoint-f3-1tb-review/1]1TB Samsung Spinpoint F3[/eurl,
Looks like you missed out a bracket thingy.

 

Hi I just have a quick question about the Asus P6T Deluxe V2 which you recommend.

It's apparantly being discontinued with the Asus P6TD Deluxe now replacing it.

Will they both have exactly the same performance or did the V2 improve in any way over the V1 and now the P6TD improves on the V2? Or was it just removing the SAS ports and nothing else that changed between V1 and V2?

Since they are both exactly the same price I don't know which one to buy.

I'd rather go for the newer one but have never heard bit-tech even mention it.

Please help!

 

How good is the "OCZ 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz/PC3-12800 Obsidian Triple Channel Memory Kit CL9(9-9-9-24) 1.65V" for overclocking?

Should I spend a bit more on the corsair xms3 modules?

Thanks.

 

I'm after a basic motherboard/cpu for a half-height HTPC system... Can anyone recommend a MicroATX motherboard with similar specs to the MSI 770-C45 ?
(I don't need fancy dolby 1111+1 specs or integrated graphics, just decent price/performance specs)