House of Cards Perhaps?

[Plasma]

The old adage `a chain is only as strong as its weakest link' is very applicable when referring to the make up of a PC, so I have chosen my components very carefully with only a few cross checking for compatibilty issues.

The make of my PC will be as follows:

Case: …………….. GigaByte 3D Aurora Silver ATX
PSU:………………..Atrix 720W Silent Dual Rail ATX
Motherboard: . MSI S775 Intel P35 ATX Audio Lan DDR3
Processor:………Intel Core 2 Duo E6850, S775, 3.0 GHz, 1333MHz FSB, Conroe Core,
Heatsink:………..Zalman CNPS9500-AT Socket 775
Memory...........2 X 2G OCZ DDR2 PC2-5400 Gold GX XTC Dual Chan.
Hard Drive:…. Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 500 GB SATA
Second HD………?
Sound card.......Not a Creative!!
DVD/CD Drives...X 2
Topped off with: Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate

You will note by the omittance of a graphics card that this is where you come in.

Now I am aware that most of you are gamers.. well I already have a gaming machine so this one will be my workhorse! I need it for Video and photographic work, and for programmes like MWord etc.

You will notice that all the components are around lower/middle range right at the end of my price limit so that will you an indication of the type and cost I can afford.

As I said previously about the weakest link (And I don't mean Anne Robinson)
I don't want to break the bank but I also don't want to b----r up the spec with a card thats not conducive to the system.

I am milking you guys and gals for some advice.

[Jamie Nixx]

Motherboard and CPU cooler are both crap, so you already have two very weak links there mate, another weak link is the Ram, why are you only using PC5400 instead of PC6400?

Are you going to be overclocking? if not then the stock Intel cooler is good, if you are thinking about overclocking get the arctic cooling freezer 7 pro, much cheaper and much better.

As for Video, do you edit?

[The Wise Monkey]

There is already a topic around here with some good suggestions for a video editing rig, so I recommend checking that out.

If you are going that way, it might be better for you to invest in a Q6600 processor instead of the e6850 as you will definitely see the benefits.

Graphics card wise, it really is up to you. Get something like a 7600GT for about £60 to take care of all your gfx needs.

Also, I have never heard of the Atrix brand of PSUs. You are much better getting a high quality brand such as Antec, Tagan, Hiper etc.

[Jamie Nixx]

I have heard of that brand of PSU, they are decent but i wouldn't trust them.

Video card, if your editing video, check out this thread

http://forums.mysuperpc.com/showthread.php?t=573

You should get all the info you need, but if your not editing video, a 7600GT should suffice.