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
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