APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Next 2 days (been looking longer, but current problems with current build-2003-have me pushing up my timeline)
BUDGET RANGE: 600-700 USD
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: General home/work usage, photoediting and eventually video editing, internet, minor gaming
PARTS NOT REQUIRED: speakers, OS (xp sp2), keyboard, mouse, monitor, dvd burner, floppy?
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com
PARTS PREFERENCES: Intel
OVERCLOCKING: Maybe later (said that before though)
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Not at this time
MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1024 x 768 until new card/monitor
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Preferrably a cooler, quiet pc, stable & around for awhile without hardware problems. Have built with Abit & Asus but this
gigabyte board seems to have exactly what I was looking for. Need the pci slot for older fax/modem (need the fax).
This is what I currently have in my newegg cart:
[145] Antec Sonata iii case w/ earthwatts 500 p/s
Western Digital Caviar SE WD3200AAJS 320GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive - OEM (combo deal)
[170] Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz
[140] Gigabyte GA-EP45T-UD3P LGA 775 Intel Motherboard
[58] Crucial 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
and so far 3 video cards:
[90]MSI N9600GT-2D512-OCv2 GeForce 9600 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
[90]SAPPHIRE 100265HDMI Radeon HD 4830 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
[80]MSI R4830-T2D512 Radeon HD 4830 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card - Retail
approximately $600
Other notes:
Don't want i7 yet, have had no time to research.
Having no experience with gigabyte, wondering if that's a smart move since I'm in a hurry. I'm basically looking for obvious conflicts that I missed in all my reading. I'm sure the memory could be better, but have had good
luck with the crucial, so it's a place to start. Will need to use the onboard sound vs. transferring a sb live (it's so old the realtek has to be an improvement).
Went ddr3 vs ddr2 & E8400 vs. E7400 to give it some future.
Have/currently used all Matrox video cards, since I can't seem to find a suitable one at this time (no longer made), are there any major drawbacks to any of the above? Would like to upgrade later, but need something stable to get this box started and my agp card won't work.
I'm currently running sp1 and can't install sp2 with my current hard drive space (80 + 40 gb WD ide's). Must be cleaned up now, so it's the time to do this. Would like to eventually try a better (if ever) version of Vista or will wait for a stable Windows 7.
The dvd burner is sata lite-on lightscribe 22x. Have zip & plextor cdr both scsi that I may or may not carry over (probably not-but the 2nd pci slot is there just in case).
Thanks for any comments, sorry I posted in wrong place 1st time,
have been reading so much on these and other tech forums, missed the forum header.
BUDGET RANGE: 600-700 USD
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: General home/work usage, photoediting and eventually video editing, internet, minor gaming
PARTS NOT REQUIRED: speakers, OS (xp sp2), keyboard, mouse, monitor, dvd burner, floppy?
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com
PARTS PREFERENCES: Intel
OVERCLOCKING: Maybe later (said that before though)
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Not at this time
MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1024 x 768 until new card/monitor
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Preferrably a cooler, quiet pc, stable & around for awhile without hardware problems. Have built with Abit & Asus but this
gigabyte board seems to have exactly what I was looking for. Need the pci slot for older fax/modem (need the fax).
This is what I currently have in my newegg cart:
[145] Antec Sonata iii case w/ earthwatts 500 p/s
Western Digital Caviar SE WD3200AAJS 320GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive - OEM (combo deal)
[170] Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz
[140] Gigabyte GA-EP45T-UD3P LGA 775 Intel Motherboard
[58] Crucial 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
and so far 3 video cards:
[90]MSI N9600GT-2D512-OCv2 GeForce 9600 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
[90]SAPPHIRE 100265HDMI Radeon HD 4830 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
[80]MSI R4830-T2D512 Radeon HD 4830 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card - Retail
approximately $600
Other notes:
Don't want i7 yet, have had no time to research.
Having no experience with gigabyte, wondering if that's a smart move since I'm in a hurry. I'm basically looking for obvious conflicts that I missed in all my reading. I'm sure the memory could be better, but have had good
luck with the crucial, so it's a place to start. Will need to use the onboard sound vs. transferring a sb live (it's so old the realtek has to be an improvement).
Went ddr3 vs ddr2 & E8400 vs. E7400 to give it some future.
Have/currently used all Matrox video cards, since I can't seem to find a suitable one at this time (no longer made), are there any major drawbacks to any of the above? Would like to upgrade later, but need something stable to get this box started and my agp card won't work.
I'm currently running sp1 and can't install sp2 with my current hard drive space (80 + 40 gb WD ide's). Must be cleaned up now, so it's the time to do this. Would like to eventually try a better (if ever) version of Vista or will wait for a stable Windows 7.
The dvd burner is sata lite-on lightscribe 22x. Have zip & plextor cdr both scsi that I may or may not carry over (probably not-but the 2nd pci slot is there just in case).
Thanks for any comments, sorry I posted in wrong place 1st time,
have been reading so much on these and other tech forums, missed the forum header.