New computer requirements

[jerryb]

I am about ready to replace my Dell. I would like recommendations on new equipment and have $900 to $1000 to spend. I do simple picture and video editing etc and use MS Flight Simulator a lot,which I know uses CPU heavily. Low noise case would be nice.

 

[Why_Me]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128380 <=== Better link for that mobo in this build as far as pics and reviews.

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=CA-SONATAE $80.58
Antec Sonata Elite Silent Tower Case (Black/Silver)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341022 $74.99
OCZ Fatal1ty OCZ550FTY 550W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Retail

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-43-UD3L $74.99
GIGABYTE GA-EP43-UD3L Core 2 Quad/ Intel P43/ DDR2/ A&GbE/ ATX Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115131 $219.99 Free Shipping*
Intel Core2 Quad Q9400 2.66GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186020 $6.99
ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127409 $189.99 ($159.99 after $30.00 Mail-In Rebate) Free Shipping*
MSI N260GTX-T2D896-OCv2 GeForce GTX 260 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231219 $40.99
G.SKILL HK 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319 $79.99 Free Shipping*
Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136152 $24.99 Free Shipping*
LG Black 22X (CAV) DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X (CAV) DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD±R DVD Burner - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488 $99.99 Free Shipping*
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders - OEM

Total: $893.49 *(not including shipping and rebates)

 

[goonting]

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS? you should try adding a few dollars for a Black Edition 640GB

 

[Why_Me]

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS? you should try adding a few dollars for a Black Edition 640GB

Thanks for the heads up. I spaced on that one...fixed now.

 

[xthekidx]

I think I would build a PII 940 system, newegg has some mobo/cpu combos that are pretty good right now. The PII is better than the Q9400 for gaming, and about equal to the Q9400 for photoshop/video editing.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.182239

And then to keep the xfire option alive, I'd get a 4870 1gb instead of the GTX 260, but if you aren't interested in that then the GTX 260 would be a better option.

 

[WR2]

Today and Monday only you can get a Antec Sonata III 500 case $100 and free shipping from BestBuy.
Included is the Antec Earthwatts 500W PSU. Read the case's Product Tour @ Newegg

Vista Home Premium x64 OEM is $20 off
Promo Code: EMCLRLN28

 

[WR2]

FSX has a slight, but noticeable, preference for Nvidia graphics cards so i'd recommend that GTX 260.

 

[aln688]

I am about ready to replace my Dell. I would like recommendations on new equipment and have $900 to $1000 to spend. I do simple picture and video editing etc and use MS Flight Simulator a lot,which I know uses CPU heavily. Low noise case would be nice.

A suggested system would look like this (click the links which are the make and model of the product):


Case: Antec Sonata Elite ($86)

PSU: Corsair 520 watt ($96)

Motherboard: Asus P5E ($139, $30 rebate brings it down to $109)

CPU: Intel Q9550 Core 2 Quad OEM ($256)

CPU Heatsink kit: Xigmatek S1283 ($32.99)

RAM: Corsair 2 x 2GB (4GB) TWIN2X40966400C4DHX ($59.99)

Video card: HIS ATI Radeon 4870 1GB ($179)

Sound card: Creative Labs X-Fi XtremeMusic ($49)

Hard-drive: Western Digital 640GB Caviar Black ($72)

DVD burner:Pioneer 216DBK ($24)

This system is $996, not including tax nor shipping. Try shopping around yourself to visit retailers that do not charge you tax, one good retailer is Amazon.com, they usually don't charge tax, at least for me anyway. Some items you may be able to get free shipping and there is at least one rebate available up top on this list.

Hope this helps.

 

[Why_Me]

A suggested system would look like this (click the links which are the make and model of the product):


Case: Antec Sonata Elite ($86)

PSU: Corsair 520 watt ($96)

Motherboard: Asus P5E ($139, $30 rebate brings it down to $109)

CPU: Intel Q9550 Core 2 Quad OEM ($256)

CPU Heatsink kit: Xigmatek S1283 ($32.99)

RAM: Corsair 2 x 2GB (4GB) TWIN2X40966400C4DHX ($59.99)

Video card: HIS ATI Radeon 4870 1GB ($179)

Sound card: Creative Labs X-Fi XtremeMusic ($49)

Hard-drive: Western Digital 640GB Caviar Black ($72)

DVD burner:Pioneer 216DBK ($24)

This system is $996, not including tax nor shipping. Try shopping around yourself to visit retailers that do not charge you tax, one good retailer is Amazon.com, they usually don't charge tax, at least for me anyway. Some items you may be able to get free shipping and there is at least one rebate available up top on this list.

Hope this helps.

Not a bad build, but that Xigmatek heat sink is not very effective without the retention bracket, not to mention the OP never mentioned he planned on over clocking his cpu. Also as another poster stated, ATI cards don't work as well with MS Flight Simulator as do Nvidea cards. Onboard sound these days is not like it was four or five years ago...it's come a long way. And you might want to leave room for an 64 bit OS in your build to meet the budget just in case the OP doesn't one.

 

[xthekidx]

A suggested system would look like this (click the links which are the make and model of the product):


Case: Antec Sonata Elite ($86)

PSU: Corsair 520 watt ($96)

Motherboard: Asus P5E ($139, $30 rebate brings it down to $109)

CPU: Intel Q9550 Core 2 Quad OEM ($256)

CPU Heatsink kit: Xigmatek S1283 ($32.99)

RAM: Corsair 2 x 2GB (4GB) TWIN2X40966400C4DHX ($59.99)

Video card: HIS ATI Radeon 4870 1GB ($179)

Sound card: Creative Labs X-Fi XtremeMusic ($49)

Hard-drive: Western Digital 640GB Caviar Black ($72)

DVD burner:Pioneer 216DBK ($24)

This system is $996, not including tax nor shipping. Try shopping around yourself to visit retailers that do not charge you tax, one good retailer is Amazon.com, they usually don't charge tax, at least for me anyway. Some items you may be able to get free shipping and there is at least one rebate available up top on this list.

Hope this helps.

I see a couple problems here:
Why buy a sonata without the PSU? the Corsair 520hx is barely better if indeed at all better than the Antec Earthwatts 500w. The Antec Sonata III comes with this PSU for $120.

X38 Motherboard? Why? GA-EP45-UD3P if you want an intel build, otherwise get a 790GX with a PII 940 if you want the best performance for your dollar.

You need to buy a backplate for that heatsink, the pushpins are a nightmare and put unnecessary strain on the mobo.

Corsair ram is overpriced

That sound card will be just as good as onboard sound. If you buy a sound card, you need to spend $100 at least to hear a difference from onboard.

 

[jerryb]

Thanks for all the inputs. I need a while to digest all the information. Thanks again!