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Build Advice Low power (but capable - X4 8GB) machine.

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by Mowcius, 31 Aug 2011.

  1. Mowcius

    Mowcius What's a Dremel?

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    I'm looking to build myself a new machine in a couple of months - I know some things will have changed by then but I doubt it will make too much difference.

    I have been doing some research and I think I'm doing reasonably well on speccing this machine out but I wanted other people's advice on what I've chosen and some advice on things not chosen yet.

    Budget:
    Around £1k including monitors (at a guess) but can stretch - if I can get what I want then yeah it can go over this.

    Main uses of intended build:
    General use - CAD work, video editing and other stuff maybe (not gaming) but wants to be future proof.

    Parts required:
    Everything
    Separate Graphics card (not mobo integrated)

    Previous build information (list details of parts):
    Nothing salvageable

    Monitor resolution:
    1920x1080 x2 (23" each or smaller)

    Storage requirements:
    Minimal, could easily manage with 250GB

    will you be overclocking:
    No

    Any motherboard requirements (no. of USB, Xfire/SLI, fan headers):
    USB 3.0m ideally PCI as well as PCIe - a selection of stuff to make it easily upgradeable/test cards/run most cards.
    mATX or mini-ITX (might be tempted by the right ATX board but smaller is better)
    Ideally can take 16GB, looking to have 8GB on this build from the up but I might want to add more - not essential though, lower power comes before most other perks.

    Extra information about desired system:
    Must be low power - going for the lowest power consumption but for a capable machine.

    So far I'm looking at:
    Monitors: NEC Multisync EX231W (very eco, full HD, decent price and good reviews)
    CPU: AMD Athlon II X2 615e (Quad core 2.5GHz, 45W TDP, low idle power consumption)
    Mobo: MSI something (they seem to be good low power boards but the ones I looked at seem hard to get/not sure what to get)
    Graphics card: XFX GeForce GT240 (GDDR5 1GB - 70W PCIe powered) - Is XFX a good choice? They seem good from what I know and they are one of the few who do this card in 1GB GDDR5
    RAM: No idea really on this (been ages since I bought RAM so I'm open to suggestions, looking for 8GB - is there some good low power RAM?
    Case: Looking for something simple, mATX (to suit mobo) in matte black ideally - I'm probably going to run a few mods on it so a sturdy metal box which I can cut a few more holes in and mess around with - don't want to spend too much on this.
    HDD(s): Thinking of a 40GB SSD for boot (Intel X25-V 40GB? - 5 year guarantee, reliable?) and I was thinking of a WD Greendrive but that's a bit excessive - low power 250GB 2.5" drive would be better - suggestions?
    Optical Drive: I'd like Bluray - any good plain fronted drive load laptop drives around? I might go with a Bluray burner and DVD burner in a 5.25" dual adaptor (advice on the DVD burner too)
    Fans: Not sure on the processor cooler - anything low profile but ultra quiet? Looking at the Scythe Slip Stream 140mm (120mm mounts - 800RPM) for other general cooling, maybe the Fractal Design 140mm?
    Power supply: Looking for a 250W 80plus Silver PSU - not bothered if it's not ATX form factor as I'll probably be running it outside of its own case to help with cooling and for modding reasons. It also doesn't matter if it has passthrough for IEC or not as I can add it.

    I have keyboard, mouse, speakers, cuddly toy etc but did I miss anything?


    So - in summary, low power is best and the quieter the better for CD/DVD/Bluray drives and Hard drive and CPU cooler (power supply doesn't matter so much as I'll no doubt be ripping out the fan anyway).

    I'm open to suggestions on anything!

    Thanks guys!

    Mowcius
     

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