New do it yourselfer P4-Pent D thoughts

[fishacura]

HI all...new to the forumz here and thought this would be the right place to start.

I am in the market for a new PC. I have always bought from the big boyz (Dell, Acer, Compaq) but have seen the light after talking to people about the benefits of doing it yourself. Since I am a little afraid to start completely from scratch, I am thinking barebones (Tower, MB, CPU) and then doing the rest myself.

Sticking with Intel. Like AMD as a CPU but worried about lots of things I have read about the NVidea chipset.

For my purposes (no gaming at all...but lots of video capture and editing) I don't necessarily need dual core. I'd actually love to get into a P4 northwood but they seem tough anymore as far as barebones and I am worried about Prescott and overheating. Cedar Mill is an option but not as familiar with it.

Either that or Pentium D 920 through 960. So I have obviously done enough reading to be dangerous. Here are my two questions if you would be so kind...

1. Anyone know anything about the P4 Cedar Mills? Any heat issues or are they fairly proven?
2. Any good barebones places other than newegg, monarch or tiger? They don't seem to have a lot on the Pentium D barebones front.

Thank you so very much for your expertise.

 

[djplanet]

Have you considered Core 2 Duo? All dual cores, but more imporantly, they are MUCH faster and cooler than anything of the Pentium (specifically NetBurst) era. They're excellent processors, and the cheapest (E6300) is under $200.

Unfortunately, not too many Core 2 Duo barebones systems are available. Building from scratch isn't so bad, you could buy a book on PC building, though they tend to be out of date. Try wikibooks. If you have any other questions, you can of course post in here.

Regardless, I would encourage anyone in the market for a new computer not a VERY tight budget to get a dual core CPU. Software will soon be multithreaded, thus two cores will no longer be only viable for multitasking.

 

[fishacura]

Have you considered Core 2 Duo? All dual cores, but more imporantly, they are MUCH faster and cooler than anything of the Pentium (specifically NetBurst) era. They're excellent processors, and the cheapest (E6300) is under $200.

Unfortunately, not too many Core 2 Duo barebones systems are available. Building from scratch isn't so bad, you could buy a book on PC building, though they tend to be out of date. Try wikibooks. If you have any other questions, you can of course post in here.

Regardless, I would encourage anyone in the market for a new computer not a VERY tight budget to get a dual core CPU. Software will soon be multithreaded, thus two cores will no longer be only viable for multitasking.

I am ruling it out for a couple of reasons. First, it's the newest technology and therefore the most expensive right now. Second, it's far beyond what I'd need. My p4 1.6ghtz is plenty fast for me now so I am thinking a pentium D 3.0 or faster will be like lightening. You don't need the next best thing depending on your use right?

 

[Giraffe]

i second the opinion for a C2D.
im not sure on prices in the US but an e6300 should be cheaper than a PD 3.4 or 3.5GHZ. if prices are the same as AUS then it should be similar price to a 3.2GHZ PD 900 series.

a C2D isnt only faster it runs cooler, uses less power, and better 4 OC'ing

If u will be doing video editing then wouldnt i duelcore be best? maybe not wat your doing though?

it is better to get ALOT better now for a little more price as if u dont u may regret it l8er.