need spec recommendations please

[lostinspace]

Hi all! First time poster, first time builder, same ol’ questions for you all I’m sure. I would like CPU M/B combo suggestions, but more importantly I need to know what kind of specs I need to be looking at for my particular uses.

I’m building it around the ATI AIW 9800 PRO. Tasks will be:
Priority-
Home theater/PVR from the pc room to the living room
Secondary-
Gaming- flight sims, strategy, RPG
Personal/home digital photo editing
Personal/home digital video editing

What should my m/b cpu priorities be? FSB speed? RAM speed? Any other assorted fancy widget technology I should concern myself with? I’m hoping to keep the price of the combo around $310US or under.

If you are up to also giving a recommendation, I’m interested in onboard firewire, lan, and 6 channel/5.1 audio.

Thanks!

 

[snotling]

You can go with either a P4 or A64 in this case, actual CPU speed is not critical, a 3.0 or 3000+ will do fine. Look for Boards with AGP slots because of your 9800pro.

As far as RAM is concerned, only overclockers, hardcore gamers and performance enthusiasts need to get premium quality RAM, most of us will be satisfied with the most common grade RAM but we'll get about 1G of it.

When editing pictures and video you need a large hard drive for storage (seagate's 120G SATA drives are good and affordable) , a good media to backup to (DVD burner) and a fast hard drive for your OS and programs, like a 10K rpm WD RAPTOR. also, in case of a system crash, you have much less to worry about since your data is on a seperate drive.

 

[miahallen]

Two options I'd recommend for you...you mentioned that your main use was for living room entertainment (HTPC/PVR). You didn't however, mention noise level. If it needs to be a very quiet setup (less distracting while watching movies), you'll want a processor that runs especially cool so you don't have to use as many noisy fans.

#1 ($164)
This first option is a tried and true motherboard with a very low power, cool running processor. This combo still has enough power for you applications, and the price is right too!
Motherboard: <A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-131-478&depa=0" target="_new">ASUS A7N8X-E Deluxe $86</A>
Processor: <A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=19-103-439&depa=0" target="_new">AMD Mobile Athlon XP 2400+ $78</A>

#2 ($280)
The newer technology is always more expensive, but the performance is noticably better. It also runs quite a bit hotter. If noise is a concern, you could underclock it for cooler operation.
Motherboard: <A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-127-181&depa=0" target="_new">ABIT AV8 $111</A>
Processor: <A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-131-478&depa=0" target="_new">AMD Athlon 64 3000+ $169</A>

 

[lostinspace]

Excellent replies, very helpful.

I like the looks of that AV8. I am going to run the A/V from the PC room to the living room where the(HTPC/PVR)action will be, so fan noise won't be a problem. However I am concerned with unforseen cabling problems though, hoping the electronic signals can run cables in excess of 30ft.

So how high is mhz going to reach for the socket 939 chips? I like the idea of getting a 'cheaper' 3000+ now, and being able to put in a 3800+ or more in a year or two.

Finally, what kind of RAM will be best for the AV8? I'm ok not getting the best of the best, but if I paid for dual channel capabilities, I figure I might as well use it. Any last thoughts?

Hey, thanks again everyone. This forum is great, and I can't imagine going through this build without it. I would of found myself at BestBuy being treated like a jerk and standing in that damn line again.

 

[miahallen]

I see what you're saying about the PVR, good idea...and with the RF remote from your AIE 9800, you'll still be able to controll from the front room...Cool! Running those cables 30+ ft should be a problem, just get some <A HREF="http://www.crutchfield.com/S-dTlYu01YvGw/cgi-bin/ProdMenu.asp?c=9" target="_new">good shielded ones</A>.

Yes, I like the idea of being able to upgrade the processor in the future too, AMD 939 & thier 90nm proccess looks like it's going to do very well, and should have a long life. I wouldn'd be surprised if they push it past 3GHz by the end of next year, and that MB should be compatible.

As far as RAM goes, some standard "value" series Kingston, <A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-145-440&depa=0" target="_new">Corsair</A>, or Crucial should work...<b>however</b>, if you want to do some OC'ing, you'll next to spend a little more and get the lower latency stuff, like Corsair XMS, or <A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-146-890&depa=0" target="_new">OCZ EL Pltm Rev 2</A>. Many use this RAM as their "refernce", it's one of the best out there right now, and will do DDR580+ at relaxed timings.

 

[lostinspace]

Welp, because of the confidence I have gained by questions being answered in forums and especially this place, I have quite a large amount of electronics coming to me in the mail as we speak. Thanks everyone.

Anyhow, onto silly question #43 out of 113. I have a retail version AMD chip on the way. The description states it includes the heatsink, but I’m assuming not the artic silver? Anything else I need to consider before the stuff gets here?

Thanks again!

 

[sparky853]

Usually you can just use the supplied thermal pad already on the HSF. Only if you plan on OCing or if you experience high temps should you look into some Arctic Silver.

XP2800+, Abit NF7, 1GB Dual-Channel DDR333, ATI R9800PRO 128MB, TT PurePower 420W, LG DVD+-R/RW
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