Non-gaming pc

[jaz50y]

I am looking to upgrade by sticking hd's and optical drives into a barebones equivalent. I mainly use the computer for home-based business, but also do a lot of photo editing. My tolerances are pretty high, as evidenced by my current pc, a Dell Dimension 8100, with a 2x upgrade on the cpu. Since a gig of ram is over $500 for this dinosaur, I want to do the upgrade. I am assuming that dual core is enough for me, especially as I want to keep the budget under $500. I don't really like the barebones offerings, as corners are always cut somewhere. So I need a good case, mobo, cpu, and ram. Also, my monitor has 1920x1200 capability with DVI, and I currently use an ATI Radeon 9600 with 256mb in an AGP slot. Would I have to get a card to run the monitor and to watch hi def video on it, or is there an acceptable on-board graphics solution?

OK, I know most everyone prefers to opine on gaming gear, but consider this a challenge in the other direction!

Thx.

 

[WR2]

What you're looking for should be "do-able" on your budget.
Can you list everything you want to move over to the new system?
For example do you also need a new powersupply for that case?
How many HDs and Optical devices? List them as IDE or SATA.
You have any preferences as to an AMD or Intel solution?
Sticking with WinXP Media Edition? (or XP Home?) Want to switch to Vista?

Almost any of the new IGP (on-board graphics) options will give you have good HiDef video support (Intel G33 or AMD 790G for example).

 

[the_taker]

Oops, duplicate post, sorry.

 

[the_taker]

I just built a system with the GA-MA78GM-S2H motherboard, 4GB of A-DATA DDR2-800 RAM (link below), and an athlon 64 X2 3600+ 65W processor. I bought this board for the full feature set, including a possible use as HTPC if I ever have room in my entertainment center.

If you consider an AMD build, this has onboard video that is powerful enough to run HD movies with minimal CPU usage...just read the reviews on motherboards with the 780G chipset.

See what you think of this build (based on affordable parts from 1 retailer)

motherboard: $90 + free shipping
BIOSTAR TFORCE TA780G M2+
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138105

Processor (Dual-Core): $88 + free shipping
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Brisbane 2.6GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Black Edition Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103194

Or

Processor (Quad-Core): $200 + free shipping
AMD Phenom 9550 Agena 2.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 2MB L3 Cache Socket AM2+ 95W 65nm
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103251

WARNING: Do not get any 125W am2/am2+ processors for the 780G chipset motherboards. I've read online that the current (read: 1st generation) 780G motherboards do not have the highest-end capacitors to support these processors, though I forget if it's at stock or at overclocked speeds.

Also, for the Phenoms, don't get the 9500 or 9600. the 9550 has the B3 stepping that fixes the TLB error, which from what I've heard, you may not encounter, but the hotfix causes a huge performance loss for these processors.

For reference, my motherboard has been running stable for 2 weeks now, and I have even tried overclocking my processor without raising voltage, and have not had any problems.

Memory (for Dual-Core processor): $76 + free shipping
A-DATA 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211188

Memory (for Quad-Core processor): $130 - $25 rebate + $6 for shipping
OCZ Reaper HPC 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227289

These parts assume that you are re-using all the rest of your existing components...check your power supply size and quality, and make sure it's high-end to support any new build with Watts to spare. a great power supply makes the difference between stable system and electri-fried components.

 

[Onus]

I could not have gotten all those points into a message any better than the_taker, especially the warning about the latest AMD quads on the 780G boards. I'll just add that in the article I read, they didn't even get to OC them, they burned out so fast.
You could actually use DDR2-800 for either processor, but the -1066 might give slightly better performance. That sounds like a matter of budget.
With no separate GPU, you could use a quality 400W PSU (maybe even a little smaller, but leave headroom). Choose one from tier-3 or better from the list at http://www.tomswiki.com/page/Tiered+PSU+Listings?t=anon.

 

[lunyone]

Here is what I'd get. It doesn't include the OS/monitor/keyboard/mouse, so if you need some of those, I'd have to change things around.

CPU - $88 shipped!! Best AMD dual core CPU. 3-4 clicks in BIOS to OC to 3-3.2 gHz w/out any voltage changes! 65w PSU, so it'll run cool.
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Brisbane 2.6GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Black Edition Processor - Retail

CPU HSF - $25 shipped! Needed since the 5000+ BE doesn't come with a HSF, so this is fairly cheap and does a good job cooling.
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 64 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - Retail

Mobo - $107 shipped!! Has the best onboard graphics right now and also supports HDMI!!
GIGABYTE GA-MA78GM-S2H AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
ATI hybrid graphics technology & mainstream DX10 gaming

Memory - $75 shipped!! Plenty for what you will need.
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

Case/PSU - $90 shipped!! Plenty of PSU for what you need. It's power efficient and has a 3 yr. warranty too!
Antec New Solution NSK3480 Black/ Silver 0.8mm cold-rolled steel construction MicroATX Mid Tower Computer Case 380W Power Supply - Retail

HD - $75 shipped! Pretty fast HD and plenty of space too.
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3320613AS 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

DVD Burner - $33 shipped!! Retail version, so you will have all of the necessary software to read/burn DVD's.
LITE-ON Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner with LightScribe - Retail

Total ~$485 shipped! This is under budget and will get you the best bang for the buck.

 

[piratepast40]

I agree with everyone above about the 780g board and dual core vs quad. I'm be a little leery about reusing the power supply since it's so old. You can pick up a nice matx case with a 400w ps like this for only $59: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2074672&Sku=ULT33116

 

[jaz50y]

Excellent suggestions, thx! Have to say I was headed another way, and this looks much better. I am going to reuse my hd's (none of which are from the original computer), which are ide. If I can stretch, I might go for a small SATA or even a raptor just for the operating system, installing everything else on a slave. I have a good lite-on DVD burner and a USB lightscribe CD burner, so am fine there. Othewise have good keyboard, mouse, and my beloved Gateway FPD2485W monitor. I am happy to chuck the case, and the antec indeed looks like a good bet. Finally, I am using XP pro and plan to say with it.

Also, I assume the X2 5000 would not encounter any problems with the mobo, so the only con is that I probably couldn't upgrade to a quad core later without switching the mobo?

 

[tekzor]

I would go for a intel E21xx series CPU and mobo.

 

[rabidbunny]

Excellent suggestions, thx! Have to say I was headed another way, and this looks much better. I am going to reuse my hd's (none of which are from the original computer), which are ide. If I can stretch, I might go for a small SATA or even a raptor just for the operating system, installing everything else on a slave. I have a good lite-on DVD burner and a USB lightscribe CD burner, so am fine there. Othewise have good keyboard, mouse, and my beloved Gateway FPD2485W monitor. I am happy to chuck the case, and the antec indeed looks like a good bet. Finally, I am using XP pro and plan to say with it.

Remember with the hard drives that current motherboards only support ONE ide cable with two ide ports. That would mean you could only use one ide hd and disc drive. So, you might have to get an SATA hd regardless. (you can get one for cheap and it doesn't have to be huge.)
Basically, raptors are pointless when you can buy a fast 7200 rpm drive that has the same throughput.
Other than that, everything looks good!

 

[rsetter1]

The Seagate 7200.11 320GB Hard drive has not been getting very good reviews.

 

[jaz50y]

I would go for a intel E21xx series CPU and mobo.

What mobo, preferably with HDMI?

 

[rsetter1]

ASUS P5E-VM HDMI LGA 775 Intel G35

 

[jaz50y]

Case/PSU - $90 shipped!! Plenty of PSU for what you need. It's power efficient and has a 3 yr. warranty too!
Antec New Solution NSK3480 Black/ Silver 0.8mm cold-rolled steel construction MicroATX Mid Tower Computer Case 380W Power Supply - Retail

Read reviews on this case at new egg and it sounds great except for being so tight. Any idea how well the GIGABYTE GA-MA78GM or Asus P5 mentioned for the intel solution fit it?

 

[WR2]

How many IDE hard drives? Your burner is IDE too, right?
As rabidbunny mentioned GIGABYTE GA-MA78GM will allow you 2 IDE devices (1 HD and 1 DVD burner)
Same for any other 790G or G33/G35 (ASUS P5E-VM) motherboard.

The Antec NSK3840 case will have no troubles with either MB and will seem roomy by comparison.
[:wr2:4] This case has only TWO HD mounting options - 1 in the 3.5" bay and 1 in the 2nd 5.25" bay.
Really, going for a small SATA HD isnt such a good idea if you're limited to 2 HDs in your case.
External USB HD Enclosure aren't very expensive and work great for backups and occasional uses.

Either the 790G or G33/G35 motherboard have clear and easy quad core upgrade possibities. But you should be good with dual core CPUs for the full lifespan of the new system.

 

[jaz50y]

Thanks - I do all my backup externally, and wanted to keep my internal redundancy as well. My Lightscribe is also external, perfectly acceptable since burning a label takes forever anyway. But guess I will go with a 500gig WD 7200rpm for $90 (supposed to be very quiet), and put all the IDE's in external cases as backups, while partitioning the WD into three or four parts for OS, programs, music, and photos/video. Make sense?

 

[rabidbunny]

Yes, it makes sense. Sounds like you're gonna have a pretty solid rig once you're done with it.
good luck building!

 

[jaz50y]

Just in case anyone is curious, here is where I ended up (still within budget!):

https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/Wishlist/PublicWishDetail.asp?WishListNumber=11268107&WishListTitle=dell+upgrade