[danielhufton]

Hi Overclockers,

Ive been asked to build a PC for a friend of mine. He will be doing no gaming but will watch HD movies eventually and surf the net as well as using office applications. He also insists on a Quad. He also will be hooking the DVI to a 19" monitor and the HDMI to the 42 inch plasma to clone screens at the same time.

So Ive looked around at reviews, made it as cheap as possible, could you all give some feedback please on what you would change. This is my 3rd build ever

Gigabyte GA-73PVM-S2H GeForce 7100 Socket 775 onboard VGA 8 channel audio mATX Motherboard
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/139780

Compucase 6T10 Piano Black MATX E-SATA Case With Arctic Power 400W PSU 20+4pin 1x SATA
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/144483

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 G0 Retail
Corsair 4GB Kit (2x2GB) DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 XMS2
500GB Hard Drive Sata
Samsung DVD/RW Sata
Vista OEM 32 bit
80mm case fan
Molex to Sata converter - For the Optical drive

Also, this board supports the Q6600 on the Gigabyte website but only has the 4 pin atx CPU connector. He won't be overclocking so will this power it ok?

Thanks

Daniel

 

[linskingdom]

Looks good. 4pin should be fine if he doesn't oc.

 

[nitd_kim]

when u clone, u can only use the max resolution of the smaller screen.

so even if u have the 42inch plugged in, u can only see same resolution has the 19inch.

well, there should be ways around that... but i dont know any programs personally.

 

[danielhufton]

Thanks Linskingdom.

Thanks for the headsup nitd_kim, didn't know that, thought you could set each screen manually. His main one will be the 19". So if he wanted the HD on his monitor, tell him to get a bigger monitor 22"? or use 1 or the other rather than clone?

 

[Monkey92]

Ok, I'm a little worried about that PSU, no names often cause trouble down the road. I would say invest a little more into a trusted brand like Antec so you don't run into any explosive computing. Also, you're getting 4gb of ram, go ahead and get 64bit Vista, it will run much better because it can utilize all of that ram.

 

[trogalicious]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Monkey92 Ok, I'm a little worried about that PSU, no names often cause trouble down the road. I would say invest a little more into a trusted brand like Antec so you don't run into any explosive computing. Also, you're getting 4gb of ram, go ahead and get 64bit Vista, it will run much better because it can utilize all of that ram.

I'm going to agree with this, but add in Corsair as a good brand to look into as well as far as PSU's are concerned.

also, if he's hooking up to a screen that size, i'm assuming he's going to be sitting a bit away from the machine itself? wireless keyboard/mouse combo?

 

[gablain]

Hum 400w is not a lot and does not leave room for updates at all. Also, have you concidered a graphics card ?

 

[danielhufton]

Monkey92: I know that the 400w unbranded is not what I would like in my system but he is on a budget and decent PSU's cost quite a bit more without a case. Trying to save on getting Case/Psu combo. I could try and get him to spend a bit more, maybe this:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/135101
Coolermaster Elite 330 Black Case With CM eXtreme Power 460W?

The 4GB of Ram I know about but he is a noob with PC's so drivers maybe an issue? I don't know cos Ive never had a 64 bit OS. (Play it safe) I have 32 bit Vista with 4gb and I see 3.25 so thats more than enough for watching movies and Internet would you say?

Thanks for comment.

trogalicious: Should have mentioned about this sorry. He is buying the Logitec MX 5500 which is bluetooth. Thanks for the headsup anyway.

gablain: The only thing I can see him upgrading is possibly a new Hard Drive. I chose this Motherboard because it has all the graphic connections on, DVI, VGA and HDMI. If he does ever want to game, I'll tell him to stick a 4670 in, which should be more than enough as he doesnt game at all.

Thanks again with comments, please reflect my answers, I'll be ordering Monday

 

[danielhufton]

So I placed my order today and have gone with the original setup. I was speaking with someone in work about PSU's and he said that because the UK have a more stable 240V line than the 110V line that it should be ok to get the unbranded one. Not sure how true this is but I will post some pics when I build it.

1 last question, never installed a retail CPU cooler for Q6600. Do you just put cpu in socket and place the heatsink ontop. No need for paste?

Thanks

 

[HEiGHT iZ NaSTy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by danielhufton So I placed my order today and have gone with the original setup. I was speaking with someone in work about PSU's and he said that because the UK have a more stable 240V line than the 110V line that it should be ok to get the unbranded one. Not sure how true this is but I will post some pics when I build it. 1 last question, never installed a retail CPU cooler for Q6600. Do you just put cpu in socket and place the heatsink ontop. No need for paste? Thanks

Have you ever built a computer before.... Use the included paste. The no name brand PSU was a bad idea, you wont be able to support a decent video card with a 400W PSU either.

 

[danielhufton]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HEiGHT iZ NaSTy Have you ever built a computer before.... Use the included paste. The no name brand PSU was a bad idea, you wont be able to support a decent video card with a 400W PSU either.

Built 3 computers in the past HEiGHT but never installed a stock heatsink. Always bought a thrid party heatsink and AS5. Thought retail heatsinks have a sticker of some sort that needs removing then placed? I'll read the instructions when I get it.
He won't need a decent video card as it's only going to be used for DVD's and Internet. The motherboard has DVI, VGA and HDMI onboard. If he ever wants to game, I'll advise him to get a 4670 or similar where no need for extra power.

Can someone confirm my statement so Im not chatting rubbish

Thanks

 

[Christodagr8]

for that application i would insist on a E8 series C2D, Quad is not needed and you will pay more. you need ram and fast HDD transfer speeds IMO

using the money you save from a quad, go to a Ep35 or above. just incase......... you need the power of the cpu to be ezerted properly

 

[danielhufton]

Hi Christodagr8: My friend insisted that he wanted a quad, probably cos I have one

For an extra £40 or so over the E8XXX I got him a Q6600 quad that wont be getting overclocked. I got him 4GB ram with a 250 HD 7200rpm.

I'll build it anyways and tell you the outcome on friday.

 

[danielhufton]

Hi everyone,
I built the system today but Iv'e ran into some major problems. It keeps bluescreening on me. If anyone can help, I'll rep you forever

No seriously, here are some symtoms and what I have tried so far:

1) Can blue screen at any time
2) Disabled the cpu spectrum and the other feature off C1 Spread?
3) Installed vista 32 bit on the Hard drive/also on a spare drive
4) Installed XP Pro on a spare Hard drive
5) Plug in usbs which I thought what was causing the problem, as it sometimes BSOD when I plug a usb in
6) Northbridge heatsink is rather hot to touch, could this bluescreen the comp?
7) Bios auto configures everything that I cant change, ram speeds and voltages
8) Installed lastest drivers for both OS's
9) Temps seem fine (mid 30's stock)
10) Tested with 1 stick of ram, placed my crucial in to test
11) I have a few Screenies that I can post if needed of the dump messages. BSOD's
12) The error messages seem to be different everythime

Could it be as simple as the Motherboard being faulty itself?

Thanks for looking, any help on this would be very appreciated.

dan