Need recommendations for High-end PC

[NCDreamer]

I am building a high-end system and would like input and recommendations on:

Motherboard
Heat Sink / Fan
Memory brand and type (I will get either 512MB or 1GB)
Video Card
Cases

My thoughts are to go with the following items, unless someone gives me good info to go another direction:

AMD 1700+
Enermax "Whisper" 431W PS EG465P-VE
Sound Blaster Audigy MP3+ or Platinum
Either IBM Deskstar 75GB or WD 100GB hard drives (possibly in RAID 0 config)
Pioneer DVD-106s 16X DVD, 40X CD
Yamaha CDRW 16x10x40 Firewire 2100FXZ (already own this)
Adaptec FireConnect 4300
Windows2000 (will upgrade to WindowsXP at some point)

The machine will be used primarily for Office applications, Digital Photography (Adobe Photoshop, et al), and Digital Video editing (Firewire, Adobe Premier, etc). I will also do some gaming, but that is a distant second (unfortunately) to the three primary uses.

Cost is a factor, but not a huge issue for this machine, and I am considering expensive components like the Lian-Li cases. I want the machine to be as quiet as possible w/o sacrificing too much performance.

Thanks in advance!

--Carl

 

[arsend]

The AMD systems are very nice, but if you plan on doing Digital Video Editing, the Pentium 4 is a much better buy for you as one (maybe the only undebatable one) of its strengths is in Digital picture and video editing. I would recommend the following config for speed and stability:

Asus Asus P4T (for speed) or the
Abit TH7II-RAID for features.

Pentium 1.7-2.0 GHZ Processor

516 MB of PC800 RDRAM (if you can afford more, I would go with it)

ATI 7500 Radeon Video card (mainly for it's dual display and TV out functions as well as speed and memory)

Audigy Platiunum (Because it includes Firewire port and a lot of sound editing features.

Hardrives either the Western digital WD1000BB or The Maxtor Diamondmax Plus (7200RPM Only) Whichever you choice, make sure you buy 3-4 of them and then configure your RAID settings to 0. (if you buy the ASUS board, all you need is two more IDE Ultra 100 controllers , as Windows 2000 and XP (I think) have software Raid support without buying a RAID board. This can save you hundreds of $$$)

As far as cases go, you have chosen a good one, <A HREF="http://www.antec-inc.com/product/cases/perfhome.html" target="_new">Antec </A> also makes good cases as well. I would get a 400 Watt (or more) Powersupply for either systems (Intel or AMD) and to top it off, (if you want a quiet system, a water cooled system may be a good idea as well.

If it works for you then don't fix it.

 

[Boondock_Saint]

Yes, I would have to agree on the choice of the PIV. If you are going for extreme or heavy duty editing, I would recommend this:

PIV 2.0GHz CPU
Abit TH7-II RAID
1024 Mb (1 GB) of PC800 RDRAM
ATI 8500
SoundBlaster Audigy Platinum
4x Maxtor DiamondMax+ 7200RPM (80GB)
Antec SX1040
Enermax 430watt PSU



:tongue: Have you ever tried cooking an egg on your HSF? Tasty. :tongue:

 

[labdog]

new Asus mb with kt266a and raid0
DDR Infineon or Micron 512Mo/1Go PC2100
2 IBM 60GXP 60Go in Raid0
ATI 8500 DV
Aqua 690 with taïsol fan RPM4800 (very quiet & good cooling)
Windows XP/XP Pro (not Windows 2000 'cause compatibility pb)

i suggest you to get the 1800+ because for video/photo editing more cpu is fast, min waste time for processing

EasyInfo
I would like to Invest for my PC !!
ok, buy nothing.

 

[IntelConvert]

Carl~

You didn't say, but one additional piece of information that is important to the recommendation of a motherboard (etc.) is whether or not you are into overclocking!

Also, while you did say that gaming is a lesser requirement, how important are other 3D apps?

 

[pvsurfer]

The best motherboard recommendation I can give you is to buy it from a place with a no-hassle return/exchange policy. If you really want to go with a RAID setup, I would get the Abit KR7-RAID or the Asus A7V266-E (BTW, I would not recommend RAID 0; that's a deathwish!). Otherwise, you can save at least $50 by going with the Epox 8KHA+, Shuttle AK31A, or the 'supposedly hot' Soltek which THG's article recommended.

If you aren't into overclocking, just get a retail CPU. The boxed HSF is all you will need for default operating conditions, and that's the only way to get and retain AMD's 3-yr. factory warranty!

For Photoshop, etc., the more memory the better, so I would suggest starting with a 512MB DIMM, which gives you lots of potential expansion. Corsair, Crucial, Kingston, and Mushkin make quality memory modules. Just get the best deal that you can.

Stay far away from IBM 75GXPs - they have such a high death rate they have become known as 'Deathstars'. IMHO, WD (or Maxtor) is a safer HDD choice, but if you want IBM, go with their 60GXP series.

Unless you are going to run 3D apps, the Matrox G550, as well as other Matrox cards, deliver the best 2D image-quality (which is a blessing in Photoshop, etc.). If you really have a need for 3D, consider the Radeon 8500 (while GeForces are great for gaming, their 2D image-quality leaves a lot to be desired).

Lian-Li cases are very nice but somewhat noisier than a steel case and it's harder to color-match your front-mounted drives. Instead, you may want to consider Antec cases with their own (really good) included PSUs. Antec cases/PSUs are excellent (and you will save $ over the Lian-Li + Enermax combo)!

<b>God bless the <font color=red>U</font color=red><font color=white>S</font color=white><font color=blue>A</font color=blue></b>