EVE Search - I'm going to build a cheap computer (warning, jargon within)

All Channels

Out of Pod Experience

I'm going to build a cheap computer (warning, jargon within)

» Click here to find additional results for this topic using Google

Monitor this thread via RSS [?]

Author	Thread Statistics \| Show CCP posts - 0 post(s)
ReaperOfSly Gallente Lyrus Associates Enuma Elish.	Posted - 2007.11.24 16:32:00 - [1] This is the first time I've attempted something like this. I'm almost completely sorted, but I just can't find any info on the power requirements of any of the components I'm considering. I'm looking at a case with 400W PSU. Will that be enough to power a motherboard (Intel 945P chipset), graphics card (Sapphire Technology ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro 512MB PCIE Dual DVI TVO), SATA hard-drive, SATA DVD-RW, single-core CPU, a wireless adaptor and a gig of RAM? The only other thing is I can't find any information on how many pins RAM the motherboard uses. Even the manufacturer's website says nothing about it except 667MHz and PC2-5300 and DDR2 and stuff. Unfortunately, that's available in both 200-pin and 240-pin. Is it reasonable to assume it uses 240-pin RAM? It seems to be more common. If so, I'll be able to happily click on the "buy stuff" button Thanks for any help. --------------------------------------------------------------------
ReaperOfSly Gallente Lyrus Associates Enuma Elish.	Posted - 2007.11.24 16:32:00 - [2] This is the first time I've attempted something like this. I'm almost completely sorted, but I just can't find any info on the power requirements of any of the components I'm considering. I'm looking at a case with 400W PSU. Will that be enough to power a motherboard (Intel 945P chipset), graphics card (Sapphire Technology ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro 512MB PCIE Dual DVI TVO), SATA hard-drive, SATA DVD-RW, single-core CPU, a wireless adaptor and a gig of RAM? The only other thing is I can't find any information on how many pins RAM the motherboard uses. Even the manufacturer's website says nothing about it except 667MHz and PC2-5300 and DDR2 and stuff. Unfortunately, that's available in both 200-pin and 240-pin. Is it reasonable to assume it uses 240-pin RAM? It seems to be more common. If so, I'll be able to happily click on the "buy stuff" button Thanks for any help. --------------------------------------------------------------------
ReaperOfSly Gallente Lyrus Associates Enuma Elish.	Posted - 2007.11.24 18:20:00 - [3] Edited by: ReaperOfSly on 24/11/2007 18:26:13 Originally by: Dave White Edited by: Dave White on 24/11/2007 17:25:23 It'd probably be better to get a cheap Core 2 Duo, then a single core. Check this chart for CPU Benchmarks. Ontop of that I wouldn't go for the 2600 either, and go with a ATI Radeon HD3850 or a NVIDIA Geforce 8600 instead. Check this and this for more details as to why. And to play it safe, I'd go with a 450w PSU. Trouble is dual core CPUs seem to cost alot more. The CPU I'm considering is an Intel Celeron D 3.2 GHz which I can pick up for just ú29. I wasn't joking when I said "cheap" computer . Those graphics cards are really expensive too, wheras the 2600 is (I think) the cheapest DX10 card available. To give you an idea of my money restraints, I have ú250 to spend, and I'm already looking at a bill of nearly ú300 including an OEM Windows XP disk. I really don't want to push the cost that much higher. I will definitely get a better PSU though if power restraints really are that tight. OK, going up from a 400W to 450W only adds ú5 to my order And the case is blue and shiney, as opposed to the 400W one which was just boring to look at Edit: except the front apparently lights up like a christmas tree. Is that going to cancel out the extra 50W? --------------------------------------------------------------------
ReaperOfSly Gallente Lyrus Associates Enuma Elish.	Posted - 2007.11.24 20:02:00 - [4] Edited by: ReaperOfSly on 24/11/2007 20:02:43 Originally by: Valerax Orion As i presume you already HAVE a computer (i may be wrong) but on the assumption you have, use the power supply you've alredy got as a "bolt on" extension, place it (careful maneouvering) under/next to the hard drive housing, avoiding the ram/gpu (i can do it in my pc no probs)then use a spare power cable to run that for your other power needs. May save you buying a meatier power supply. then again, normality and my families' computers arn't to be held near each other...my father currently has a case made out of wood...zaney ideas yay. Using the PSU from my current computer would be somewhat of a hassle, because I use a laptop. I can't remove it without breaking something. That's pretty much the reason I want to build my own PC. I'm fed up of not being able to upgrade or modify my laptops. (That, and my laptop has integrated graphics shudder) --------------------------------------------------------------------
ReaperOfSly Gallente Lyrus Associates Enuma Elish.	Posted - 2007.11.24 20:47:00 - [5] OK thanks for all the advice guys. It'll be a shame not having DX10, but I guess it can't be helped on a shoestring budget. I've downgraded the graphics card and changed the processor to a dual-core. This is what I have so far: * Motherboard: Gigabyte S775 Intel 945P ATX GLAN Audio * CPU: Intel Core Duo E2160 S775 1.8GHz * Graphics card: Sapphire Technology Radeon X1650Pro 512MB DDR2 PCIE Dual DVI * Case and PSU: Dabs Value BLACK GALAXY3 CASE 450W * HDD: Western Digital Caviar SE 160GB S300 8mb * DVD: Pioneer 18x DVD¦RW/RAM internal SATA Black * WiFi: Edimax 802.11g 54Mbps PCI card * Memory: Kingston ValueRAM KVR667D2N5/1G ddr2 667 240pin dimm CL5 * OS: Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition SP2b OEM That totals ú307.77 on dabs.com (which is about as much as I can comfortably go over my budget). Anything else that's glaringly wrong with it? More importantly, is there anything missing? --------------------------------------------------------------------
ReaperOfSly Gallente Lyrus Associates Enuma Elish.	Posted - 2007.11.24 20:59:00 - [6] Originally by: Dave White There is 'other' ways of acquiring an Operating System. If you wouldn't buy it, it would save you alot of money which gives you room to get a DX10 card This is the first time I'm doing this so I want to do it right tbh. I'd rather not do anything dodgy --------------------------------------------------------------------
ReaperOfSly Gallente Lyrus Associates Enuma Elish.	Posted - 2007.11.24 21:02:00 - [7] Originally by: Dark Shikari 1. Switch to a Core 2 Duo if you can; the Core 2 is a totally different architecture and is much, much faster per clock. 2. You can use your old Windows XP install disk to save money. I've used mine >10 times without issue. I don't have an old install disk. The OS came pre-installed. All I have are recovery disks which I'm almost certain wouldn't work. --------------------------------------------------------------------
ReaperOfSly Gallente Lyrus Associates Enuma Elish.	Posted - 2007.11.24 21:19:00 - [8] Originally by: Dave White Edited by: Dave White on 24/11/2007 21:12:53 Originally by: ReaperOfSly Originally by: Dark Shikari 1. Switch to a Core 2 Duo if you can; the Core 2 is a totally different architecture and is much, much faster per clock. 2. You can use your old Windows XP install disk to save money. I've used mine >10 times without issue. I don't have an old install disk. The OS came pre-installed. All I have are recovery disks which I'm almost certain wouldn't work. Do you know anyone that might have a disk? You can save a tiny bit more if you cut back on the mobo. You could for example get this motherboard. It's a tad cheaper, and it has more backwards compatibility, allowing for example AGP 8x and PCI-Ex16 as well as DDR and DDR2. That way you can upgrade bit by bit if you think you'll have more money available later. Also, regarding the PSU.. Make sure it has the right amount of pins. Most modern PSU's have a 24pin connector, and some mobos still have 20pin sockets (like the one I linked above). However, if it's a decent brand, it should have both types on the PSU. I don't think it has a PCI-E x16 slot. No mention of it even on the manufacturers website. Just 5 PCI slots. --------------------------------------------------------------------
ReaperOfSly Gallente Lyrus Associates Enuma Elish.	Posted - 2007.11.24 21:47:00 - [9] Edited by: ReaperOfSly on 24/11/2007 21:49:03 Originally by: Dave White Edited by: Dave White on 24/11/2007 21:34:16 Originally by: ReaperOfSly Originally by: Dave White Edited by: Dave White on 24/11/2007 21:12:53 Originally by: ReaperOfSly Originally by: Dark Shikari 1. Switch to a Core 2 Duo if you can; the Core 2 is a totally different architecture and is much, much faster per clock. 2. You can use your old Windows XP install disk to save money. I've used mine >10 times without issue. I don't have an old install disk. The OS came pre-installed. All I have are recovery disks which I'm almost certain wouldn't work. Do you know anyone that might have a disk? You can save a tiny bit more if you cut back on the mobo. You could for example get this motherboard. It's a tad cheaper, and it has more backwards compatibility, allowing for example AGP 8x and PCI-Ex16 as well as DDR and DDR2. That way you can upgrade bit by bit if you think you'll have more money available later. Also, regarding the PSU.. Make sure it has the right amount of pins. Most modern PSU's have a 24pin connector, and some mobos still have 20pin sockets (like the one I linked above). However, if it's a decent brand, it should have both types on the PSU. I don't think it has a PCI-E x16 slot. No mention of it even on the manufacturers website. Just 5 PCI slots. It states on both dabs and Asrock's site that it has a PCI-Express graphics slot, so I presume that's a PCI-Ex16. It could be that you were perhaps looking at the wrong card. Here's the card on Asrock's website. PCI Express is not the same as PCI Express x16. PCI Express has bandwidth 500MB/sec, PCI Express x16 has bandwidth 8000MB/sec (according to Haynes). I'm not sure a x16 card would even work on a PCI Express slot. Edit: ah it seems it has PCI Express x4. Would an x16 card work on that (albeit more slowly)? --------------------------------------------------------------------
ReaperOfSly Gallente Lyrus Associates Enuma Elish.	Posted - 2007.11.24 21:56:00 - [10] Originally by: Dave White Originally by: ReaperOfSly Edited by: ReaperOfSly on 24/11/2007 21:49:03 Originally by: Dave White Edited by: Dave White on 24/11/2007 21:34:16 Originally by: ReaperOfSly Originally by: Dave White Edited by: Dave White on 24/11/2007 21:12:53 Originally by: ReaperOfSly Originally by: Dark Shikari 1. Switch to a Core 2 Duo if you can; the Core 2 is a totally different architecture and is much, much faster per clock. 2. You can use your old Windows XP install disk to save money. I've used mine >10 times without issue. I don't have an old install disk. The OS came pre-installed. All I have are recovery disks which I'm almost certain wouldn't work. Do you know anyone that might have a disk? You can save a tiny bit more if you cut back on the mobo. You could for example get this motherboard. It's a tad cheaper, and it has more backwards compatibility, allowing for example AGP 8x and PCI-Ex16 as well as DDR and DDR2. That way you can upgrade bit by bit if you think you'll have more money available later. Also, regarding the PSU.. Make sure it has the right amount of pins. Most modern PSU's have a 24pin connector, and some mobos still have 20pin sockets (like the one I linked above). However, if it's a decent brand, it should have both types on the PSU. I don't think it has a PCI-E x16 slot. No mention of it even on the manufacturers website. Just 5 PCI slots. It states on both dabs and Asrock's site that it has a PCI-Express graphics slot, so I presume that's a PCI-Ex16. It could be that you were perhaps looking at the wrong card. Here's the card on Asrock's website. PCI Express is not the same as PCI Express x16. PCI Express has bandwidth 500MB/sec, PCI Express x16 has bandwidth 8000MB/sec (according to Haynes). I'm not sure a x16 card would even work on a PCI Express slot. Edit: ah it seems it has PCI Express x4. Would an x16 card work on that (albeit more slowly)? I don't dare to say it with 100% certanty, but I do believe it works. However, like you pointed out, it runs slower because it's bottlenecked. OK, I'll stick with the Gigabyte one for now then (annoyingly, dabs just ran out of stock today so I have to shop around ). --------------------------------------------------------------------
ReaperOfSly Gallente Lyrus Associates Enuma Elish.	Posted - 2007.11.25 00:24:00 - [11] Well, I just sent off an order for the mobo and OS from ballicom since dabs didn't have them in stock (and ballicom was marginally cheaper anyway ). The rest will have to wait until I get my monies in a couple days. --------------------------------------------------------------------
ReaperOfSly Gallente Lyrus Associates Enuma Elish.	Posted - 2007.11.25 10:56:00 - [12] Originally by: Dave White Yeah it suprises me how expensive everything is over in the UK. For 300pounds (600Euros) I could get much better hardware over here Unless the Euro has crashed steeply, I think you've got your exchange rates a bit wrong there. Last time I checked, a pound sterling would only buy you about 1.4 euros, not 2. Anyway, by ordering the mobo (it's actually a slightly different model, but I can't tell the difference from the specs) and OS from a slightly cheaper place than dabs, I've managed to keep the total cost just below ú300. Can I just check: the EVE trinity engine will still run on a DX9.0c card, right? --------------------------------------------------------------------
ReaperOfSly Gallente Lyrus Associates Enuma Elish.	Posted - 2007.11.25 11:14:00 - [13] Originally by: ThaMa Gebir Yes, but the new shinies require shader model 3, chances are though, depending on which card you plump for it will have that capability... It's a Sapphire Technology Radeon X1650 Pro and it does seem to have SM3. Yay. --------------------------------------------------------------------
ReaperOfSly Gallente Lyrus Associates Enuma Elish.	Posted - 2007.11.25 21:07:00 - [14] Originally by: Clarissa McDougall You may have missed out on a keyboard and mouse, by the way - a laptop usually doesn't need either, though I'm guessing you may have a mouse (as you're playing EVE). I have a mouse and have just bought a PS/2 keyboard for just under ú3 P.S I think this is the first thread I've ever made that's made into a second page. I'm so proud! --------------------------------------------------------------------
ReaperOfSly Gallente Lyrus Associates Enuma Elish.	Posted - 2007.11.26 12:28:00 - [15] OK dabs are being really REALLY annoying. They kicked up a fuss because I didn't give them a landline phone number. I've now added one but now I have to wait eleventy billion years until someone on their end sorts it out. --------------------------------------------------------------------
ReaperOfSly Gallente Lyrus Associates Enuma Elish.	Posted - 2007.11.27 16:54:00 - [16] Thanks, that's really helpful. Puts my mind at ease anyway. Now all I have to pray for is that no components arrive damaged. --------------------------------------------------------------------
ReaperOfSly Gallente Lyrus Associates Enuma Elish.	Posted - 2007.11.27 21:17:00 - [17] Originally by: Darcel Black The X1650 is very power hungry, you might want to consider getting a higher power PSU. -Darcel Noted. I have an unexpected increase of ú50 to my budget, so if the PSU proves to be inadequate, I can replace it with a better one. Otherwise, i'll ditch the x1650 pro and get a better graphics card instead --------------------------------------------------------------------
ReaperOfSly Gallente Lyrus Associates Enuma Elish.	Posted - 2007.11.28 23:03:00 - [18] Well, the motherboard, case (with PSU), CPU, OS and PS/2 keyboard all arrived today. I've already put the CPU on the motherboard (with heatsink, of course) and screwed the motherboard in place in the case. So far so good. I've done a quick power-up test to make sure the PSU and connections at least are working. I get repeated beeps, which apparently means a memory problem. That's fine, because I haven't installed any yet. Tomorrow, I get a gig of RAM, a HDD, a DVD+/-RW, the graphics card, and a WiFi card. With a bit of luck, by this time tomorrow, I will own a fully functional home-brewed computer. The case is quite something too - the fan on the side and two bars at the front light up blue. Awesome. --------------------------------------------------------------------

COPYRIGHT NOTICE
EVE Online, the EVE logo, EVE and all associated logos and designs are the intellectual property of CCP hf. All artwork, screenshots, characters, vehicles, storylines, world facts or other recognizable features of the intellectual property relating to these trademarks are likewise the intellectual property of CCP hf. EVE Online and the EVE logo are the registered trademarks of CCP hf. All rights are reserved worldwide. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. CCP hf. has granted permission to EVE-Search.com to use EVE Online and all associated logos and designs for promotional and information purposes on its website but does not endorse, and is not in any way affiliated with, EVE-Search.com. CCP is in no way responsible for the content on or functioning of this website, nor can it be liable for any damage arising from the use of this website.