Thread: dave's computer
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Old 24-08-2005, 22:14   #13
Dave Stones
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Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Selly Oak, Birmingham
Age: 42
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Posts: 3,214
Dave Stones has reached the bronze age
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Re: dave's computer
Quote:
Originally Posted by ScaredWebWarrior
It is easy to spend way too much on a case/PSU and what are you getting? Fancy set of lights on the fan? (chich you can't see as it's under the desk), but I guess buying case/PSU separately it's simpler to buy a replacement PSU, if required, to a 'standard' pattern.
hence my lower budget i don't think having a rolled steel case will cause any problems over an all-aluminium one, other than that the postman might hate me a bit more

Quote:
Motherboard and future-proof in the same paragraph? Pointless, in my opinion. After a year, two at the most, the technology will want you to get new gear. So, better to buy a good solution for now that allows you to upgrade in 2 years time, than a brilliant solution that you'll hate in 3 years because it's hopelessly out-of-date, but you can't afford to change cos it cost so much!
future-proofing to an extent anyway the next big step up i see for technology is BTXing things, I can't see me needing to do that to be honest. I meant futureproofing in the sense of having lots of expansion room... SATA may well go out of fashion in the future but that means components will be cheaper, and I have the potential for 8 drives on this system.

Quote:
Lots, and Lots and LOTS of memory. Fast and reliable (i.e. avoid whacky new technology only 3 months old.) And since the disk(s) will be almost certainly 100Gb minimum, you're going to have a job keeping it backed up, so I'd recommend buying 2 (or more) and getting a mobo that supports RAID - that way you don't need to panic when one drive expires. (BTW - don't buy all drives the same make - just in case you get 3 from one batch and they all fail the same day!)
I have lined up to have 2GB of memory in this system. For those of you that are familiar with CAD systems, they are very resource hungry i use delcam at the moment but will be trying out other things in the near future. This runs fine at uni on athlon mp2500 dual processor systems with 1gb ram. That motherboard I am looking at supports all the relevent RAID configurations, am I right in assuming that though more expensive, RAID1+0 is the safest? (for big capacity)

Quote:
Have fun - I think system design/build is great fun. Soon as I got one built I want a new one.
Well I used to have a summer job building machines, and I regularly take apart and tinker with the htpc so I think i am more than qualified to give a static shock to everything it is very fun, though last time i was in a case I got blood all over the motherboard... (sharp edges cut finers, dont you know )

Quote:
Originally Posted by DarthYoda
Dave try www.aria.co.uk for cheap components. Usually if you see it anywhere cheaper contact them they will check it out and sometimes drop their prices. built the full system and mine from parts bought there.
haven't thought of there actually. Just had a look, they seem to do monitors cheaply and have a good special section

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gareth
I do think the PSU is worth spending some decent money on. Admittedly, you don't have to spend >£100 to get a good one, but I'll always steer clear of the real cheap stuff now. I've had 2 go bang (a cheap one supplied with the case, and a cheap replacement I bought), and almost take out other stuff with them. Since then, I've always bought decent branded PSU. Currently using Antec - not the crÃÃâ€*’¨me de la crÃÃâ€*’¨me, but not bad for my usage.
The htpc here has an antec truepower 380W supply in it. It's silent as a grave... I don't want to spend too much on a power supply, obviously it is the most important part of the system, but I don't want to be spending silly money on these fancy modular systems with 6 fans and a built in jukebox, and whatnot...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Zinglebarb
Really save hard and buy an AMD X2
If i set up a donation fund here, how many would contribute?

I am looking at a A64 3200+ at the moment. Has the right balance of power and speed and price... That may change though, depending on how many earthquakes there are in the near future
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i think i need a lie down after such a long post.... *feels faint*
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