Hello people! I'm trying to help this girl out, since she's running a... i don't even know what it is but it's ancient. Anyways i want to build a compact desktop for her, which will be used for playing DVDs and surfing the web mainly. She doesn't do any gaming. Budget: as cheap as possible. First off, i have an LGA 775 mini-ATX motherboard laying around with an Intel GMA X4500 on board. Would that be able to handle HD video playback? AFAIK she has a 4:3 screen so i figure 1280 tops. If not, can someone recommend a passive PCI-e (or PCI) video card that's as cheap as possible but can get the job done? Second, i need a CPU. The only working 775 CPU i have at hand is a 1.8 ghz Celeron so that's out of the question. I'm looking for a C2D that can handle the tasks mentioned in the second paragraph, has a low heat output so i can cool it passively and is as cheap as possible. As for RAM, i have some OEM 1 gig DDR2 sticks so i won't need to buy any. The PSU will be a Corsair CX400 because even though this is an extremely wallet friendly build i do not want some dodgy power supply. I want a nice big HDD for OS and storage, are the 1TB WD Caviar Greens any good? For passive cooling, i'm looking at the Scythe Ninja 2 rev b. Is there a cheaper alternative to that? I'm thinking of installing all this into a standard random ATX case that i'll insulate and repaint, with a single Yate Loon fan exhausting in the back. Would my components fry without an intake fan? I won't be overclocking and don't care about running hot, it just shouldn't downright die. I think i'll also need a generic 3.5" card reader. Thanks in advance.
Given that it's for a non-techy I would assume that it would be best to get a processor that can handle HD playback rather than relying on hardware acceleration. I've heard the WD greens go pretty slow. Also, your mother doesn't count as a "lady freind"
So you're saying that if i get a good enough C2D i can get away with the integrated GPU? Yeah, i figured that's how they'd cut down on the power draw. Not an issue as long as it's fast enough to stream DVD quality video i guess. IIRC my old IDE hard drives could do that so i think it'll be fine. Are they durable though? I'm 18 and live with my mom so she gets to use the X58. It loads up her email client real damn quickly. So no i wouldn't build a separate PC for her.
Awesome, thanks mate! Have some +rep Can you recommend a specific C2D for my needs? EDIT: I took a tape measure to the board, it's 240x190 so... micro atx? Are there any affordable micro-atx cases that could maybe fit a passive ninja?
The Atoms aren't too hot with 720p, but yeah, a C2D would probably be fine. The E5x00 is practically a C2D even though it doesn't bear the name, but you may want to get a E7x00 as they're pretty cheap now as well.
I have a WD Green 1TB as a storage drive, it's a little slower than your average mechanical HDD (so don't use it for Windows) but it's excellent otherwise. Any ANY drive should be fast enough simply to run films from.
As i said i want the 1TB drive to be both the OS and storage drive, as the future user of this rig is not tech savvy at all and i don't want to overcomplicate things for her. I'm sure she wouldn't mind if Windows ran a bit slower than it could. Especially considering what i'm upgrading her from. Thanks for your input though, it looks like a Spinpoint F1 costs the exact same ammount as the Caviar Green so i'll be going for that instead.
Wouldn't recommend a spinpoint f1 in a media drive o, did I really just not recommend the F1?!) , F2 isn't that much slower, cooler and much quieter, the F1 is blister fast but its a bit loud... As for other components, you really ought to go athlon, these arn't the ravings of a fanboy, for low end media devices AMD are kinda better... a lot better ( back in recommending form ) EDIT: Media PC or Media Desktop as in computer used for media? :O
To be honest Moyo, i would also go with AMD for this build but i already have an Intel mobo at hand so it works out a lot cheaper this way. Thanks for the heads up on the F2, i'll look into that. Certainly don't want to ruin a potential silent PC with a loud HDD. Media desktop as in it's not a gaming PC but it's not an HTPC either.
If she's more interested in colour scheme than how many fan bays it has take a look at this - http://www.xcase.co.uk/X-Case-Amera-White-Pink-p/xc-amera-wp.htm , won't break the bank at all and if your feeling extra cheap, http://www.xcase.co.uk/X-Case-V12-Red-Black-p/xcase-v12br.htm http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/2GB-...MHz)-240-Pins-Non-ECC-Unbuffered-CAS-6-Retail - ultra cheap RAM, 2GB to keep the comp ticking over http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/450W-Powercool-80plus-Dual-12v-Rail-V22-High-Efficiency-Black-Psu - cheapest PSU which won't blow up in your face under load (decent wattage) http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Inte...S-775-22GHz-512KB-Cache-FSB-800MHz-65W-Retail - their not powerhouses but on this forum celerons are underrated, if you OC a little and stick to stock voltages, it'll last and it'll show real world improvements http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/1TB-Samsung-HD103SI-EcoGreen-F2-SATA-3Gb-s-HDD-32MB-Cache-89-ms-NCQ - cheap, quiet and cool
Wow, that first case looks pretty awesome for 20 quid. The way the PSU is mounted would probably block any passive CPU heatsink though. I already got the RAM sorted out but your input is appriciated anyways.
dude, seriously for friends and family buy off the shelf or you will become a 24/7 tech support for them, and no matter how special that lady friend is, she'll soon drive you nuts with questions. Let some poor under paided call centre punk deal with her painful questions!
Unless your getting something for your services EDIT: http://www.tekheads.co.uk/product/A...kive-Fin-LGA-775-Passive-CPU-Cooler_9570.html Get some Noctuas to work with it and you'll have a near silent PC
water cooling is pretty quiet and something she can show off with. G3/45 + E5200 should do it for her. as for HDD's 7200.12 1TB will be enough. Im pretty sure intel's GMA can play whatever she throws at it but it cant hurt putting a cheap Geforce or radeon on it
@Burnout: I am a poor underpaid punk, i just don't work in a call centre. What sort of questions are you thinking of, though? I don't see where she'd get confused unless some component dies in which case i'd just have to replace it. @Moyo: Oooo low profile. Nice! I'm liking that a lot. @Dec: Obviously watercooling would be nice but remember i'm doing this on the cheap.
tl;dr C2D's can drive 720p, but its the GPU that really drives it. Go for something thats not intergrated (unless its like a 9400M or HD3200). You can pick up a cheap PCI-e 9600GT for little to nothing if you look for it. That will be all it really needs. That, a C2D, 2GBs memory minimum and a decent HDD, and your set.
