Old Fart New Rig (suggestions?)

russell

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Hi all,


I'm way over due for a new computer so I go to Staples and buy a HP m8100n Palvilion Media center yada yada yada. It cost about $829.00. I should have removed the cover from the case and peeked inside but no that would have been way too smart of me. Instead I ask the salesman "does this have a separate video card?" "Yes" says the salesman. NO IT DOESN'T! Everything except the sound card is integrated into the motherboard and I really don't care for this. Anyway, I can return it within 14 days so I'm doing now what I should have done from the start. I'm building a rig the way I want it (within limits).

So if some of you up to date knowledgeable people could have a look at my build list and make sure that there's no conflicting components I'd sure appreciate it.

I was trying for a cost of about $1000 so I really don't want to add too much more to the present cost but here is what I came up with.


1) Antec Sonata III Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply - Retail $139.95

2) ASUS M2N4-SLI Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 500 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail $99.99

3) [strike]EVGA 512-P2-N773-AR GeForce 8600GTS 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card[/strike] - Retail $209.90
Changed to XFX PVT84GUDE3 GeForce 8600GTS 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 $209.90 -$20 REBATE

4) AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+ Windsor 2.8GHz Socket AM2 Processor Model ADA5600CZBOX - Retail $149.50

5) 2EA Patriot eXtreme Performance 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory Model PEP21G6400LL - Retail price $52.99 X2 = $105.98

6) LITE-ON Combo Drive Black SATA Model SHC-52S7K-05 - OEM $24.99

7) Microsoft Windows Vista [strike]32-Bit[/strike] 64-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack DVD - OEM $111.99

8 2 EA. Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200AAKS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard $79.99 -$5.00 Instant $149.98

Subtotal: $992.37

I haven't the slightest idea of which TV Tuner card to get but this is important to me since I want to use the box for TV/Movies.
I'd consider spending a couple of hundred more but only if it would make a pretty good improvement in performance. The Motherboard is where I need advice. I know that I want:
dual LAN
DDR2 800 minimum
Onboard Audio(May add a sound card later)
And the more open slots the better.
I'll be using the box for TV/Movies, VOIP (Skype), Photo Shop, light code/HTML, Light gaming (Flight Simulator), and talking to my other box.

Thanks for any constructive comments.

Russell
 

Joe_The_Dragon

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russell

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Hi Joe,

Thanks for the reply.
Sorry but none of your links work for me.

I've been out of the tech loop for a couple of years so sounding dumb, what's teaming?

Russell
 

randomizer

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Damn this new forum, the links never work coz it puts spaces in them and that breaks the link into a URL form and some leftover text. Make sure you use the BBCode [uurl=www.blah.com]some_text[/url] as that will make sure it works (just make sure you only got one 'u' in the url tags unlike me)

The link will appear as some_text
 

chookman

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Teaming is a pretty word for joining (the 2 lan ports work in a team to theoretically give double the bandwidth)

Asus P5K-deluxe wifi $219
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131182

Intel E6550 $178
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115030

Patriot DDR2 800 $89
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220091

Antec Sonata III 500W $139
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129024&Tpk=sonata+III

XFX 8600GT $120
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150230

Avermedia Dual TV tuner $75
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815100019

Lite-on SATA 20x $35
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106057

Vista HP $111
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116202

WD 500Gb $110
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136073

Total $1076

Motherboard is latest intel chipset dual LAN (i dont know why you need it could go with the cheaper P5K-e $154 otherwise) Onboard with 800Mhz RAM. Could also go cheaper on Intel CPU with 4000 series.

Just IMO ;)
 

russell

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I really want to build an AMD box.
The video card you suggested would save money. I wonder how much difference the Core clock
540MHz VS 675MHz on the more expensive one would make. Probably not very much but I don't know.

I'm running a Intel Celeron D 2.5 G now. I've noticed that Intel has CPUs with a high FSB like AMD. That's caused me to sway between the two manufacturers. The HP (the one from Staples) I'm on now is running AMD 64 X2 5600+ and it's sweet.

Russell

edit: Killed the WYSIWYG editor. It's screwing up.
 
Motherboard: Biostar TF560 A2+ AM2 Nforce 560 $80
CPU: AMD Athlon X2 3800 2.0Ghz $65
(over clock the CPU to 3.0Ghz for X2 6000+ peformance)
Biostar TF560 overclocking review

WD Digital Caviar SE16 WD4000KD 400GB 7200 RPM $80
(you can always add a 2nd HD later)

8600GT vs 8600GTS peformance breaks down pretty much like this chart:
fear1280.gif

 

russell

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Hi PF,
I knew you'd be up here to help me out. Great to chat again.

Yea, I think I'll stick with the major name brands.

Russell
 

russell

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Hi WR2,

Thanks for going to the trouble of posting the chart. At my age visual is better. :eek:
That's quite a bit of differance. Think I'll go with the GTS.

THANKS
Russell
 

russell

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I looked up a couple of the cards on that graphic and for the same price AND a $20 rebate I can slide up that chart buying THIS.
What ya'll think?

Edited orig. list

Russell
 

Gundam1s

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$20 out of $1000? Why not.

About the ram, you shouldn't pay $150 for 2 GB's.
Just go with something like what Chookman has suggested.
 

Joe_The_Dragon

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You can get a better amd MB and cpu for about $200 less and the Asus P5K-deluxe wifi does not have Teaming and TCP/IP Acceleration plus on the the nic's is on the pci bus not the better pci-e bus. also the wifi on this board is poor usb based one.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&amp ;Description=nforce+590&x=0&y=0
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi st.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Description=nforce+570&x=0&y=0
 

Joe_The_Dragon

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You can get a better amd MB and cpu for about $200 less and the Asus P5K-deluxe wifi does not have Teaming and TCP/IP Acceleration plus on the the nic's is on the pci bus not the better pci-e bus. also the wifi on this board is poor usb based one.
590
570
 

riser

Illustrious
Go 2 upgrades behind bleeding edge, save yourself a good amount of cash and don't worry about having the latest of anything.

Unless you're into heavy gaming or intensive programs like AutoCAD or design programs, stay a little behind the curve to save the money.

Don't get caught up in the "Its only $20 more than this one." Because that next one up will be only $15 more.. then you're $35 higher.

Want to know about hardware? Pick up a magazine, read for 10 minutes and you'll have it all covered. I never understand why there is such a big debate in hardware. It changes so fast.

Can anyone seriously tell the difference between 70 and 72 degrees F? Hell no. Hardware is the same way.
 

russell

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I looked up the memory again and either I made a mistake when I listed it or the price fell by almost $25 overnight.
The high end 4-4-4-12 timings are now only $52.99 2EA = $105.98

Sub total on the build is now $992.37 BUT the Mobo and optical drive are both out of stock. I'll make a couple of substitutions and order.

I still need advice on which TV tuner card to buy. I don't even have a clue about TV cards.

Anyone??

Russell
 

russell

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I'm leaning toward the 590 SLI by EVGA.

After reading the reviews at NewEgg the biggest problem is space between the slots is cramped and SLI may cause some slots to become unusable. After reading the reviews on the other 570 boards the EVGA seem the best choice.
 

sharp910sh

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and don't get the 8600 gts get the x1950 pro much better card and is cheaper still. and i dont understand why you don't get intel they are much better than crappy amd
 

pesh

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the 8600 series has special HD decoding stuff from what ive heard, so

based on what you do and/or watch, the 8600 series is the way to go.
 

russell

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I changed the OS to Vista 64-Bit instead of 32-Bit.

Unless something is way out of whack I think I've got it about where I want it.
Still debating about weather or not to add another 2GB of memory. EDIT Did it. 4GB and 64-Bit OS to use it I think will be a good choice.

Here's the list at NewEgg
I'm going to use this system for my hosting service billing, backup and generally running the back end in addition to media entertainment.

Thanks a bunch for everyones help.
I'll post from time to time to let you know how the build goes.
Russell