Seeing If Everying Is Correct In My First Computer Build.

[SiDE]

I'm in the process of building my first computer for mainly the use of Photoshop, watching video and movies, streaming videos, and downloading. So far here's what I got:

Processor: http://www.newegg.com/product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819115030

Processor Cooling: http://www.newegg.com/product/Product.asp?item=N82E16835200025

Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813188017

Ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820146565

Video/Graphics card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814130084

Power Supply: http://www.newegg.com/product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817171018
or: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817331001

Casing: http://www.newegg.com/product/Product.asp?item=N82E16811119068

I'll be reusing my two hard drives and two disc drives from my old computer. I might upgrade the processor to an Intel Core 2 Quad later on.

I'm not really sure if this set up will work or not and if it's too much for what I'm going to use it for. The power supply and the processor's cooling unit are something I'm not sure of. If anyone can help me work this out, it will much appreciated. Give me the break down in meeting the full potential of this setup and if you don't mind offer some brands or products that are good at what they do. Thank you for guy's time.

 

[akhilles]

newegg is very sluggish right now.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134

is a better cooler and cheaper. You don't need a 3rd-party cooler unless you want quiet computing or overclocking.

http://www.tomswiki.com/page/Tiered+PSU+Listings?t=anon

is a list of psu brands & models. Pick a 400-500w tier 3 at least.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128059

is what I'd use for a non-raid setup. It lacks raid.

E6750 (best bang for the buck for a stock setup)
GA-P35-DS3L

I don't know how much photoshopping you do & how large the prints/photos are. If it's a home pc, 2 gigs of ram is plenty. If it's a professional desktop publishing workstation, 2 gigs would be better. Also, quad will help in applying filters & stuff.

If you overclock:

E4400, E2140, E2160 or E2180

Same everything else.

 

[SKyriDe]

I guarantee 2GB of RAM for any computer if you can afford. Its good for future-proofing. I would suggest 2GB or generic of 1GB of branded.

 

[SKyriDe]

You better be sure if you want RAID. If you do RAID on your mobo, Say your mobo dies in 5 months. You would HAVE to get EXACTLY THE SAME MOBO! otherwise the raid setup wouldnt work and you would lose your data. If you go raid its better to have another drive not in the raid config.

 

[SiDE]

The E6750 was my first choice but I though it would be a waste in how I will use this computer. But $24 to that upgrade is a good deal. Doesn't it cost more usually to move up by that much? As far as overclocking, I'm going to stay away from it for the mean time.

I choose the cooler because it came with a combo deal with the processor and work with the Intel 2 Quads. Also I don't really want to use the one that came with the processor because of uncertainty of what might later happen. So I decided to get that combo so that I'll be ready for anything that might happen and it has a simple design that I like. What do you think of Rosewill cooler? I don't really know what to look for...

I like the EVGA motherboard because it doesn't have any VGA, Parallel, and Serial ports that I'm not even using right now. What's your opinion of this motherboard? But RAID is something I'm not going to as of right now.

akhilles, if I sound like I'm discarding your suggestions, sorry about that. What price range does a 400-500W Tier 3 selection cost usually?

Exactly how do I calculate how much power do I need? Anyone has a recommendation of PSU that has the modular cable connectors like the AeroCool ZERODBA ZERODBA?

 

[akhilles]

[fixed]
Minimum of a 350 Watt power supply.
(Minimum recommended power supply with +12 Volt current rating of 18 Amps.)
Minimum 450 Watt for SLI mode system.
(Minimum recommended power supply with +12 Volt current rating of 24 Amps.)
An
available 6 pin PCI-E power connector (hard drive power dongle to PCI-E
6 pin adapter included with card)[/fixed]
From newegg's specs.

For a stock pc, the power requirement largely depends on the video card. A 350w will be fine for that pc, but if it's upgraded, the psu may have to go. So a 400-500w psu will last a while.

newegg's psu prices are a bit higher than before. You can expect a tier 3 to be in the $50-80 price range. Some other stores may sell them for less.

No problem. It's your money. Spend it however you want.

 

[SiDE]

akhilles,

In your opinion how does the motherboard I posted compared to the one you suggested? Other than getting a better power supply and going with the E6750, would everything else work out?

 

[evongugg]

I second akhilles choice. P35 is the newest chipset right now.

 

[SiDE]

Is the video card too much for my application?

 

[mad-dog]

You better be sure if you want RAID. If you do RAID on your mobo, Say your mobo dies in 5 months. You would HAVE to get EXACTLY THE SAME MOBO! otherwise the raid setup wouldnt work and you would lose your data. If you go raid its better to have another drive not in the raid config.

your fingers are writing checks that the facts wont cash.....
how does a bad motherboard cause a HDD to lose data ?

RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks)
There are several levels of RAID the most common being RAID(0), RAID(1), RAID(0+1)
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
RAID(0) or "striping' offers increased data transfer speed
Requires 1 pair of identical HDD
If 1 drive fails all data is lost
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
RAID(1) or "mirroring" offers complete redundancy of data backup
Requires 1 pair of identical HDD
If 1 drive fails the system is easily rebuilt using other HDD
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
RAID(0+1) or "striping and mirroring" offers increased data transfer speed and complete redundancy of data backup
Requires 2 pair of identical HDD
The best of both worlds, speed and redundancy
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Regardless of whatever RAID configuration you choose when the motherboard fails you must reload the Win OS,
this is because the OS takes a Virtual snapshot of the system configuration and allows the replacement of any component except the motherboard, this is to prevent users from taking a known good HDD with a Win OS installed on it and placing it in another system, the virtual snapshots of the 2 systems are compared and the OS determines they longer meet minimum requirements and tells Windows not to boot.
OEM copies must obtain a new product key whereas the Retail version allows you to change the motherboard indefinately w/o obtaining a new product key.
This explains why the Retail OS rocks and the OEM version stays in the box.
I hope you have learned from our short conversation and enlightened yourself to the joys of RAID.

Folding@Home

 

[akhilles]

Whoa. You don't even game so you could go with onboard video. Are you going to do HDMI & HDTV? If the monitor is a LCD, onboard video is ok. Are you going to watch HD movies? If so, a video card would be better. Any low-end with a DVI output or two. There are DVI-to-HDMI adapters. Are you going dual monitors?

In terms of overclocking, 650i can do the cpu, ram independently or both linked & unliked. It's very flexible. On the other hand, P35 does cpu & ram at a ratio at the same time. In terms of features, evga 650i has RAID whereas DS3L doesn't. DS3L has solid capacitors which last longer. Not sure about the 650i. DS3L has northbridge & southbridge chipset coolers that keep the system cool. The 650i has only a northbridge one, though you can stick one on it if you overclock. Both support FSB 1333. Both have similar USB ports, 8-channel audio, gigabit network, etc. In terms of drivers, nVidia mobos & videos use unified drivers - one size fits all. Intel mobos use separate drivers - Intel INF chipset, Realtek audio, Microsoft Universal Audio Architecture Bus & Realtek network.

http://www.evga.com/products/moreinfo.asp?pn=122-CK-NF66-T1&family=20
http://www.giga-byte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_Overview.aspx?ProductID=2599&ModelName=GA-P35-DS3L

 

[SiDE]

Whoa. You don't even game so you could go with onboard video. Are you going to do HDMI & HDTV? If the monitor is a LCD, onboard video is ok. Are you going to watch HD movies? If so, a video card would be better. Any low-end with a DVI output or two. There are DVI-to-HDMI adapters. Are you going dual monitors?

I picked that video card because it's the newest one I can manage to afford. I'm getter a Samsung 22" LCD monitor. Most of the videos I'm downloading are starting to convert to HD quality. Every time I play it in my current computer it just load and black out the screen with sounds still playing. When I video stream all the videos are looking bad. I still would need to get a video card because neither has a video out put. I found these PSU but I'm not sure which one would work well. The first one is good but kinda expensive...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817104934
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153052
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817104037
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817104954

In terms of overclocking, 650i can do the cpu, ram independently or both linked & unliked. It's very flexible. On the other hand, P35 does cpu & ram at a ratio at the same time.

Can you explain this more?

What is the EVGA' HDA audio chipset? The EVGA site said that the motherboard I picked supports 533/667/800MHz Ram. So I can use any of those Ram, but isn't it better to use the higher speed?

 

[akhilles]

Out of the tier-3 psus, the Fortron 500 has higher amperage on the +12v rails. The Thermaltake has a lower ripple effect, if I'm reading it right. The lower the ripple effect, the more stable. Then again, we need to see a detailed review to find the ripple effects at idle & load of both units. Usually, the ripple effect will vary under load. High end psus have very low ripple effects & very high efficiency ratings.

http://www.fsp-group.com/english/1_product/2_detail.asp?mainid=1&fid=52&proid=135
http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/product/Power/PurePower/w0100/w0100.asp

Ok. In my opinion, 6x0i is easier to overclock than P35. On 6x0i, I can o/c the cpu to the max while leaving the ram at stock. To do that on P35, I have to find a perfect FSB to match a ratio that leaves the ram at stock. i.e.

3200 / 8 = 400 * 2 = 800

This is my current overclock. My cpu is at 3.2ghz. My FSB is 400 or 1600 (quad-pumped). My cpu multi is x8. My RAM is 400 or 800Mhz (double-rated). This is a 1:1 ratio (400:400). It leaves my ram at stock cuz my ram is a limiting factor. The most I can push the ram is in the 900-950mhz range. If I put the same cpu & ram in a 6x0i setup, I can use pretty much any FSB except the strap/wall (you can't o/c stable in a range).

Hence, 6x0i overclocking is very flexible.

The audio chipset on evga 650i is Azalia High-Definition audio.
http://www.nvidia.com/page/nforce_600i_tech_specs.html
http://www.evga.com/products/pdf/650i%20manual.pdf

You can put 1066 ram in a 800mhz mobo, and kick the ram mhz up in bios. The bios supports 400-1400mhz ram.

 

[SiDE]

akhilles,

Thank you for all the help. Just a few thing to clear up:

If I don't do an overclock setup anytime soon, I can just use the DDR2 800 standard Ram? You said, the motherboard supports 400-1400MHz Rams, I understand that. Does this mean that the motherboard speed and the processor's speed are link...? If that's true how do you measure what Ram do you need unless it doesn't tell you? I think I'm just seeing when does overclocking or underclocking occurs?

Does having a PFC matter on a PSU? Does the PFC deal with the summer power fluctuation because of the heat?
I found this PSU, don't know if would be better than the Thermaltake or Fortron: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817103941

 

[akhilles]

Yep, you can throw any ram at it & it will power on.

By default, 6x0i goes into auto mode. There are 3 modes: auto, linked & unlinked. Auto means stock. Linked means at a ratio. Unlinked means manual.

There are Intel features that will throttle the cpu while idle to save energy. So even if you don't overclock & run the pc at stock, it will underclock when it's not doing much. These features can be disabled in bios.

If you get an E6750:

1333 FSB / 4 = ~333 * 2 = 666 or 667 or 675mhz

E6750 + 666 or 667 or 675mhz ram would be a good match for a stock pc.

Active PFC would be better. The Antec NeoPower is overall a better psu than the other two I mentioned. It has higher total wattage and combined +12v amperage. It will last longer than the other two. NeoPower is a quality psu from Antec. Their worst would be SmartPower.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_factor_correction#Active_PFC

You're welcome.

 

[SiDE]

akhilles,

"1333 FSB / 4 = ~333 * 2 = 666 or 667 or 675mhz" - How did you get this calculation?

So if I follow the motherboard's standard memory advice and throw in a DDR2 800, I will be overclocking the processor according to your calculation. Then if I use the computer for browsing the internet, downloading big files with BT, or video streaming only. The processor will underclock..? Is this good or bad?

The thing I like about the other PSU is that it had more peripheral connectors that most out there. Because right now on my computer I have four components that uses the peripheral connector, two for my disc drives and two for my hard drives. Then for the when I put these components in to the case, I'll have three fans to power up. Unless they are powered up differently..? The thing i like about the Antec PSU is that the modular connector setup. I read some comments on this PSU in Newegg and some were experiencing not powering up, lost of power, random restart, and. Any thought in that. But a lot of people from this forum were suggesting the Antec PSU which is the first time I've heard and check it out.

Right now I'm running these two hard drives. Don't know if they are SATA powered? Are SATA hard drives better?
Maxtor Fireball 40GB Hard Drive (setting up for OS, programs, desktop)
Western Digital Caviar WD1600BB Hard drive (My Documents and storage)

 

[akhilles]

http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sspec=sla9v

In the specs, the fsb is 1333 & multiplier is 8. Also, Intel FSB is quad pumped. You'll get used to it in a 6x0i setup cuz 6x0i will use the exact quad pumped #. i.e. FSB (QDR) 1333 in the 650i bios for that cpu. DDR2 is double-rated. Always mulitply it by 2 to get the common mhz. I think it's largely marketing hype to make people think they are faster.

AMD also throttles cpu down when idle. It can be disabled in bios as well.

Underclocking/throttling happens in every stock pc. It's good for the electricity bills & the environment. Don't worry about it. As soon as you move the mouse & click something, the cpu will be back at stock speed at once. On the other hand, some overclockers don't like it. A growing # of overclockers are liking it.

newegg comments/reviews should be taken with a grain of salt.

In everyday's work, SATA & PATA(IDE) are about the same. The only times you'll notice a difference is when you copy gigabytes of data from one drive to another on SATA. When upgrading harddrives, I clone my drives & the time is cut down by 1/3 to half on SATA. Also, when you wipe the drive with a few passes for security reason. For servers, SATA would be a better choice & SCSI would be best. For home pcs, PATA or SATA is ok.

 

[SiDE]

akhilles,

I don't understand how you got the multiplier and your post before that you used 4 as the multiplier..? DDR2 uses 2 and DDR3 would use 3, am I right?

"On the other hand, some overclockers don't like it. A growing # of overclockers are liking it." - What do you mean by this, are you talking about the Ram? If so, may I ask how you can figure that out.

About the Crucial Ballistix 2GB Ram I picked for my system, would that be too much? As in how I will be using my computer. Plus I what o shave off some expenses without compromising quality and performance. I picked it because Crucial have a high rep, especially because of being Mircon and all. Beyond that, I don't really know about the other...

I just found this page, do you think you explain to me what they mean on this page: Two DRAM Sides Are Better Than One

"newegg comments/reviews should be taken with a grain of salt." - Thought about that and most of the people that give bad Cons are the ones that was out of luck...

 

[akhilles]

No, 4 is the quad-pumping. Intel fsb is quad pumped. You divide the fsb by 4 to get the real #. On 6x0i, you don't do that cuz the chipsets use the exact quad pumped #'s & double-rated #'s.

1333 / 4 = FSB. which is 333.25 mhz or 333. Like I said, it's marketing hype that is confusing the consumers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumping_%28computer_systems%29

I was talking about the Intel throttling features. You wondered if they were bad. How I figure? Simple. I read. Go from forums to forums. This is only one of the forums I go to. Overclocking forums are my favorites.

If I were you, I'd get a 2x1gb ddr2-800mhz ram kit. If you can get the rebate for the ballistix, go for it.

For ddr2, double-side & single-side don't matter as much as the rated speed, timings & price.

 

[SiDE]

After reading the article link in the wikipedia link, I finally understand about the quad pump and the 2 in the equation came from DDR being double rated. Thanks for the help.

When you said "overclockers," I thought you meant the processor... But you meant the people that do that, am I right?

By the way I had to order my case and power supply ahead of the the rest to get the rebates that ends today, September 14. Here's what I went for:
Antec NeoPower NeoHE 550
COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP

O.K. Here's the situation now. I need a good quality video card that will perform really well. I want something that will blow my mind off without blowing my budget. I need it for Photoshop, viewing downloaded videos with some being HD, video streaming, and for some DVD watching. Of all the video cards I list below, which one are your top three? Indicate which ones is your first and last choice. Sorry for the long list.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130085
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150230
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130088
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150229
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130091
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150228
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130084*
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130086
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130286

*This is the one I picked right now.
I like the fact that EVGA gives you all the accessories.

 

[akhilles]

Yep, I meant the people who overclock.

zzf has a rebate for the case as well.

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10006342

The case looks very subtle. Very Transformer-ish. Similiar to Antec900. This CM can hold more fans. There are 4 hidden fan mounts: 2 in top, 1 in bottom; 1 behind mobo tray. I would install at least 1 more 120/140mm fan in the top to cool the cpu. The holes in the mobo tray are brilliant. Gigabyte knows there are boards with cooling backplates: i.e. their DQ6 series. The 5 external & 5 internal drive bay cages spell the end of floppy drivers.

http://www.coolermaster.com/products/product.php?act=detail&id=2908

"at €76/$70 this case is the best there is at the price point, you%u2019ll be hard pressed to find a mid tower ATX enclosure which packs as many features as the CM 690."

http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=getarticle&number=1&artpage=2846&articID=620

I'm a gamer. Of course, I would pick the fastest I could afford. My family pc is similiar to yours: Photoshop, mp3, youtube, internet, board games (sudoku yuck) & video editing. They got the hand-me-downs from my previous pc. I stuck a 7300 video in that cost about the same as 6200. They prefer stand definition. Mine is 941BW. We have dedicated dvd players.

The only difference is that you need high def, which means wide screen, which means a video card with HD encoding & decoding. If the video doesn't have this feature, the cpu will take all the load and playback may be choppy, depending on the background software. nvidia site can help you choose the right video:

http://www.nvidia.com/object/geforce_family.html

This is my suggestion:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130287

The accessories don't mean much cuz you're hooking it up to a DVI/VGA monitor. The brand & customer service are more important. evga is one of the best. You don't game & you'll never make full use of 8600/7900 or better.

 

[SiDE]

The case I got is good..? I mostly picked it because of it's design inside and out. I should have gotten it at the site you provided. Is there a way to cancel one of your item in your order in Newegg?

Do you have a suggestion that's HD compatibility with two DVI ports? Like this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814130085

If I'm just going to use it like I said before, won't the E6550 be enough or the E6750 is too much of a bargain for the price..?

 

[akhilles]

Don't know if you can cancel an item at newegg, but some stores let you cancel it before payment. If it's already paid for & sent out, you may have to pay for a return shipping & even up to 15% restocking fee. Call newegg to find out.

It's all up to you. You don't have to listen to me. You can even go against my suggestions. It's your money, after all.

In reality, any video card with a DVI output can be hooked up to HDTV/WD-LCD with a DVI-TO-HDMI adapter. 8500 would be the minimum for your usage. Anything up will handle better.

 

[SiDE]

"Also, when you wipe the drive with a few passes for security reason." - I forgot to asked you about this statement you wrote a while back. What do you mean?

The E6550 would be more than enough for my application, am I right..?

 

[akhilles]

IMO, you should spend more money on the cpu & less on the gpu cuz you don't game & you'll be on your desktop the whole time. That's just me.

e6550 is more than enough for you. Even e2140 can handle it. Would you like to see results faster?

Wiping harddisks is a standard procedure for security-minded people before getting rid of the harddisks. 3 passes would be minimum. 7 would be good. 21 would be best. The more passes the more difficult it is to restore the data. A 7-pass wipe is pretty good against amateurs. To give you an idea of the time, it took me a day to wipe a less than 100GB IDE hdd with 7 passes. It takes me about 2 hours to wipe a 250GB SATA hdd with 3 passes. Your mileage may vary.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File_wiping