Jambo
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Registered: 8th Sep 01
Location: Maidenhead, Drives: VXR Arctic
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Upgraded my 2007 Dell tower with an SSD and fresh win7 install, got 4gb ram and that's as much as I can physically fit.
Was thinking of upgrading as its still too slow for me. Use it as my stereo with iTunes and always have it on in the background so it sucks the memory I guess, it's not "slow" but every now and again with a few things open it struggles.
Don't need a mouse keyboard operating system or even a hard drive really. Just a motherboard? With fast(er) processor and a stack of RAM. I'd be interested in a graphics card that could do HD out too as its linked to my TV.
I would just use the SSD out my old machine but might be tempted with a new 1tb drive to consolidate all the other HD's I have. If possible I'd love this in a small box so it can be hidden or at least not as obvious as my tower is now.
Best to build one
I'm a novice with IT stuff as you probably guessed already, but what would people recommend? I don't play games or do anything worse than watch iplayer/Netflix/YouTube and use Internet and iTunes with a spot of excel/word. So I just want a machine that is fast but doesn't need to be a super computer just needs to be quick for what I use it for.
What do you guys suggest?
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Jambo
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Registered: 8th Sep 01
Location: Maidenhead, Drives: VXR Arctic
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Ref thread on my install of SSD, has descriptions of usage and spec:
http://www.corsasport.co.uk/board/viewthread.php?tid=638190&highlight=1&pid=8467381#pid8467381
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Dom
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Registered: 13th Sep 03
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iTunes will be the one hogging resources 
From what i know, Dell still use proprietary parts so you're going to need to replace the Case, PSU, Motherboard, CPU and potentially Ram (i suspect you're using DDR2).
Best bet might be to buy a Barebones system (OCuk, eBuyer, Dabs) and sticking in a CPU, Ram and then your hard drive etc; or just go for a basic system (OCuk, eBuyer) - depends what your budget is and how much you want to get stuck in.
Edit - Also worth keeping an eye on HotUKDeals; been a few reasonable desktops deals over the last few weeks.
[Edited on 22-08-2013 by Dom]
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Jambo
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Registered: 8th Sep 01
Location: Maidenhead, Drives: VXR Arctic
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Thanks Dom. I believe it is DD2 ram yes.
That sounds like what I am after. And most deffo iTunes hogging all the red course. As one of the primary functions I use it for it is a demanding mistress!
Ebuyer ok them? Seen a few cheap laptops come through there, never sure if that site is legit as it always seems to cheap to be true.
What's the score with small cases? Limit my options?
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pow
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Registered: 11th Sep 06
Location: Hazlemere, Buckinghamshire
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Ebuyer and Dabs are the tits, I order shit loads for them for business
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SXIBrad
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Registered: 7th Mar 13
Location: South Yorkshire
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Ebuyer for components new...
How much do you have to spend? I would replace all the internals (Motherboard, power supply, graphics card, RAM, processor, hard drive) apart from disk drives.
Can get some decent kit for about £400 or less quid which will easily run daily applications and output HDMI for your TV.
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Dom
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Registered: 13th Sep 03
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quote:
Originally posted by Jambo
What's the score with small cases? Limit my options?
Obviously you're limited in space, so you might only have the option for one or two expansion cards and the same with drives (usually optical and a couple of hard drives) but that's about it. However if you're planning to purchase parts then, you'll need to go for a smaller motherboard (Mini/Micro-ATX/M-ITX vs standard ATX), you might need to use 'slim' (reduced hight basically) DDR modules to get clearance in places and similarly with a PSU (ie - go modular to reduce cabling).
Quick low end spec M-ITX system (you'll need to scavenge bits from your Dell - DVD drive, SSD/hard drives) -
YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i3-3220 3.30GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £95.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy 'Toxic' Mini-ITX Cube Case - Black/Green £69.95
1 x ASRock H61MV-ITX Intel H61 (Socket 1155) DDR3 M-ITX Motherboard £58.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 430w Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020058-UK) £43.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/4GX) £37.99
Total : £306.91 (includes shipping : FREE)
    
Obviously you might be able to get components cheaper elsewhere and you could change a few bits (Prodigy case comes in loads of colours - HERE or change it for a smaller case) and/or add a dedicated graphics card (currently uses the one on the processor) considering it's rather low end system but it gives you a rough idea on price for building a small system.
As mentioned, it really does depending on your budget. However, if you're trying to do it for as little as possible then personally i'd recommend grabbing something off the shelf as you can purchase whole system (minus monitor) for £250-300.
Ebuyer is pretty decent, likewise Dabs. I'd also throw Novatech, OCuk and Scan into the mix - all of them do decent daily/weekly deals which are worth keeping an eye on and OCuk do a decent B-stock selection if you're really sticking to a tight budget.
[Edited on 23-08-2013 by Dom]
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Simon_16v
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Registered: 14th Aug 06
Location: Yorkshire
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OT - Are you on OCuk Dom?
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Dom
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Registered: 13th Sep 03
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quote:
Originally posted by Simon_16v
OT - Are you on OCuk Dom?
I float around on the forums from time to time; can be a good resource for help/info. Far too many retards, especially in GD, though.
[Edited on 23-08-2013 by Dom]
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fiestakidda
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Registered: 23rd Oct 02
Location: Darlington (Come On Boro)
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Dom - can you stick a decentish graphics card on that and keep it under 400?
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Dom
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Registered: 13th Sep 03
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quote:
Originally posted by fiestakidda
Dom - can you stick a decentish graphics card on that and keep it under 400?
Assuming you want to do a little gaming?
You could certainly save a few quid shopping around (Scan do the i3 3220 a few quid cheaper) and changing a few of the components (cheaper motherboard, PSU, case etc) so you could easily go for a 7770/7790 or GTX 650/650Ti, perhaps a 7850 at a push and still keep it to around £400.
Would be an OK system but it'd still be on the lower end for gaming; ideally you'd go for an i5, especially if you plan to player multiplayer's, for the extra cores.
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Jambo
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Registered: 8th Sep 01
Location: Maidenhead, Drives: VXR Arctic
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I have not really comsidered budget on the sense that I don't really know if what I want is viable.
I wasn't sure if making one was more cost effective as I already have a case etc.
Thanks for the replies, I'll take a butchers at the links.
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Jambo
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Registered: 8th Sep 01
Location: Maidenhead, Drives: VXR Arctic
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This looks pretty decent for the price?
http://www.ebuyer.com/261440-shuttle-sh67h3-sh67h3
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Dom
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Registered: 13th Sep 03
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quote:
Originally posted by Jambo
I wasn't sure if making one was more cost effective as I already have a case etc.
Problem is, Dell use proprietary components and i don't believe the Dell cases are standard ATX so you might have trouble using it; similarly with the PSU (think it has a different connector).
quote:
Originally posted by Jambo
This looks pretty decent for the price?
http://www.ebuyer.com/261440-shuttle-sh67h3-sh67h3
Remember it's barebones, so you need to add a processor and ram (plus drives etc) - it'll end up being £350-400.
[Edited on 24-08-2013 by Dom]
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Rob R
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Registered: 31st May 03
Location: Kent
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As below but drop the SSD as you already have one and use it as a boot drive and then get a 1TB HDD for all your media.
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pow
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Registered: 11th Sep 06
Location: Hazlemere, Buckinghamshire
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Just buy a Mac mini jambo 
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Dom
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Registered: 13th Sep 03
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AMD 6800K is a good shout, 'onboard' graphics is superior to the i3 and offers slightly more performance. Although i'd personally opt for a slightly better board - something like the MSI A75IA-E53 which gives you WiFi, Bluetooth, eSata, USB 3 and more importantly Sata 3 ports.
Forgot to mentioned, if you're going for an APU like the A10 or i3 and not going to use a dedicated graphics card then grab the best (stay away from 'value' shite), quickest and as much RAM as you can afford as the graphics depend on it - ideally 2133MHz, otherwise 1866/1600 MHz.
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willay
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Organiser: South East, National Events
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Location: Roydon, Essex
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400 quid for a haswell i5 setup with 8gb of ram imo
[Edited on 25-08-2013 by willay]
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Jambo
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Registered: 8th Sep 01
Location: Maidenhead, Drives: VXR Arctic
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This is all good stuff thanks chaps.
Am in no great rush so I will have a read up of all suggestions.
Am keen to have the output in HD so it looks good on tv, is that the graphics card I need to spec to do that? And obviously an hdmi port?
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Simon_16v
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Registered: 14th Aug 06
Location: Yorkshire
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What sort of things would you be doing? With a decent motherboard and processor you will get HDMI output that will play movies fine 
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Rob R
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Registered: 31st May 03
Location: Kent
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ive got an acer net top which only runs a 1.6ghz atom with 3gb of ram and that outputs 1080p through xbmc fine
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IvIarkgraham
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Registered: 27th Mar 04
Location: Ellesmere Port, Cheshire
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ive got an acer revo thats alright
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