Opinions needed for a multi-tasking custom built desktop

[narlina]

* What are you going to use the PC for?

multi tasking. lots of programming, a little gaming, music and image editing. i use photoshop a lot, and virtual dj as well

* How much is your budget?

around 900usd

* Where are you located? (a.k.a. fill out your profile)

malaysia

* Are you willing to buy online?

i dont think so

* Are you going to re-use any parts from an earlier build?

nope

* Do you need other peripherals like a monitor, keyboard and mouse, among others?

yes. monitor and keyboard. maybe a speaker

* Have you already bought any parts?

not yet

* Do you have an Operating System (OS)?

nope

* Will you need any aftermarket cooling, such as a CPU\GPU cooler or a watercooling setup?

i dont think so, or i dont know if i'll ever need one. any advice?

*if there's anything you guys think should be included in the list that i forgot to mention, do let me know =)

 

[D3CRYPTM4ST3R]

Well if your focus is mainly programming with some interest in gaming . i guess an ASROCK G31M-GS Motherboard would do the Job. equiping it with an ATI HD 4650 Graphic card and a power saving Intel Core 2 duo 2 x 2,4 Ghz conroe processor. for the rams get your self a 2 GB slot (more is a waste unless u want to work on vista OS). Water-cooling is intended for computers which work days without shutting down . however if its within your budget limits i recommend u buy it since it is amazingly quiet. If not then just stick to the Original Intel Cooler which is normally included in the processor package. A hard drive of your choice would do the job( It must be SATA of course). As for operating systems get yourself either the Windows Vista Business OS or Window XP sp3 . stay away for the moment from Windows Vista Home premium and Windows 7. If u wish to install a linux distribution then forget about 3D games.

 

[Kcircyrd]

Await the release of Windows 7... just a month away, then get a motherboard built for it. Do not get the technology of the past such as the ASRock

 

[D3CRYPTM4ST3R]

Await the release of Windows 7... just a month away, then get a motherboard built for it.

Do not get the technology of the past such as the ASRock

can you tell me why is it technology of the past ??

 

[red1776]

Narlina,
you have this listed as a custom desktop, but are not willing to purchase online. if you buy your components retail, your really limiting yourself as to what you can get for your dollar, as you will pay somewhere between 50% -100% more for them. for what you want to do with this machine, perhaps buying a retail bundle would serve your needs better.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

can you tell me why is it technology of the past ??

Old chipset, and ASRock build quality is not upto the same standard as that of ASUS, Gigabyte or MSI.

@narlina, get a triple-core or quad-core CPU (AMD preferably, since they are cheaper), a decent P43 (Intel) or 770\760G (AMD) chipset motherboard from ASUS or Gigabyte, at least 4GB of DDR2 1066MHz RAM, an HD 4670 or 9600GT, a 7200RPM HDD from WD (Caviar Blue) or Seagate (7200.11 or 7200.12), a decent PSU from Corsair (400CX) or Antec (EA380, EA430), and a 64-bit version of Vista Home Premium. You can later upgrade to Windows 7 Home Premium for free.

All the above should easily be within your budget, and available locally IMO. The rest of the parts are upto you.

 

[D3CRYPTM4ST3R]

Old chipset

,

Well i wouldn´t call a mainboard that supports Quad Core processors old. However you re right about the ASROCKS having a lesser quality i can t argue with that but it runs... nicely and is very stable while overclocking, i don t know but i had bad experiences when i overclocked with an MSI. This is only my opinion however.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

Quad-core doesn't matter; it has an old northbridge that runs hotter than the newer ones.

 

[D3CRYPTM4ST3R]

Quad-core doesn't matter; it has an old northbridge that runs hotter than the newer ones.

Well not for my G31m dude..

 

[hellokitty[hk]]

@narlina, get a triple-core or quad-core CPU (AMD preferably, since they are cheaper), a decent P43 (Intel) or 770\760G (AMD) chipset motherboard from ASUS or Gigabyte, at least 4GB of DDR2 1066MHz RAM, an HD 4670 or 9600GT, a 7200RPM HDD from WD (Caviar Blue) or Seagate (7200.11 or 7200.12), a decent PSU from Corsair (400CX) or Antec (EA380, EA430), and a 64-bit version of Vista Home Premium. You can later upgrade to Windows 7 Home Premium for free.

There's your perfect answer.

 

[Kcircyrd]

Only of the past for purposes of installing Windows 7. W7 can be made to work in that system, but not at the projected top performance level.
For Windows XP, it is great. For VISTA less so. For Windows 7, according to my charts by a third party, it is questionable... depending on the devices and chipset for a full change-over.

 

[red1776]

Only of the past for purposes of installing Windows 7. W7 can be made to work in that system, but not at the projected top performance level.
For Windows XP, it is great. For VISTA less so. For Windows 7, according to my charts by a third party, it is questionable... depending on the devices and chipset for a full change-over.

erm

any of the above OS's will work splendidly on the machine Rage suggested. windows 7 has been optimized and will run on a very modest older machine.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

I have Windows 7 running nice and smooth on my current machine. I don't see how that machine couldn't handle it, since it would only have a slower video card compared to mine.

 

[narlina]

Narlina,
you have this listed as a custom desktop, but are not willing to purchase online. if you buy your components retail, your really limiting yourself as to what you can get for your dollar, as you will pay somewhere between 50% -100% more for them. for what you want to do with this machine, perhaps buying a retail bundle would serve your needs better.

i know, but there are not so many online shops here in malaysia..

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

There's a decent selections of retail shops in Malaysia and Singapore from what I know. You should find stuff only slightly expensive, so don't worry too much.