Which Power Supply Should I choose?

[rapture79]

what psu, sound card and video card should i use? i,m running a pentium 4 prescot 3.4/1/800 cpu with 4 gigs of ram on an intel d915grv motherboard. i also run dual operating systems i use windows 7 and linux ubuntu gnome.i am only using this pc for dj/karaoke applications and some light weight live recording software, so for minimal video requirements it will need dual monitor (or an s video out even better) also needs open gl. and 128mb built in 3d a plus. 1280x1024 resolution is recommended but 1024x768 resolution is minimal required. For an audio card i require the need to have a master audio out and a headphone audio out and the ability to have headphones run completely different mp3 then my master. a must is a Multi-channel DirectX compatible sound card. looking to get sound medium to high end quality. i'm trying to keep costs some-what low hence using a pentium 4. basically from what i read i need to build a low end gaming computer for high end dj apps to run smoothly i.e. traktor, atomix virtua dj ect.. I was told that a high end pentium 4 with a good video and sound card with enough on board memory would be fine. I've tried to be as thorough as i could with info on what i'm working with and what i need please let me know if any other info is needed. i appreciate everyones time and well thought out suggestions with my questions.

 

[dhicks19]

as for the psu a decent 350-400w psu will be fine. Corsair etc

 

[4745454b]

First thing I think you should do is grab a P4D. A normal P4, even if it supports HT might choke if you ask a lot of it. The last thing you want to do is be mixing and have a hick up in your sound.

You might not need the high end audio gear either. If you use the onboard for the speakers, you can use a second soundcard for the headphones. Use two different audio players for each. This way you can have your sound pumping on the one, while you listen on the headphones for the next song to play.

3D? You probably want the GT430. One of the best/cheapest 3D cards out there.

Edit: Oops, forgot about the PSU. Corsair makes good units. You don't have anything that uses a lot of power so the 430W corsair or the 380W Antec. The 380W green Antec was $20 after $20 MIR. That was a great deal. Not sure if newegg.com still has it at that price.

 

[rapture79]

appreciate it kinda stuck with the pentium prescot kinda the reason i loaded up on ram and tryin to run pci and pcie cards with built in mem

 

[4745454b]

Give it a shot. I just wouldn't be surprised if you get some audio hick ups if your playing a song over the speakers, having a light show in 3D on a screen, and searching your harddrives for the next song. If you use light enough programs you might be able to do it, but I'm not sure. To be fair I've never used a P4 for this so I could very well be wrong.

 

[rapture79]

i've been using a p4 2.8 with xubuntu and worked decently just needed to max out my ram to run figured couldn't go wrong with a faster p4 so i was talking to another dj friend of mine and he says cpu isn't as important as on a gaming comp as long as you have a good video card and sound card that both has onboard memory and load the p.c. with memory i'm just unfamilliar with decently priced and quality cards and psus. i've built basic pcs before but never anything that was built for a specific purpose.

 

[MysticMiner]

Well, I'm not going to recommend a specific sound card, but I will recommend looking for one on auction sites like Ebay, craigslist or whatever. This is because a lot of people get out of the business, or replace one, or have their system damaged, and sell off the parts cheaper than buying new.

You could also check the forums of the software you're planning on using, see what works good for the users of it.

 

[4745454b]

You could also check the forums of the software you're planning on using, see what works good for the users of it.

Excellent advice, and they'd know best.

Another worry I have is drive access. If your streaming from one and searching for a song, does the drive you're using have the transfer speed you need?

 

[Zero_]

As for the PSU, Antec EA380D for just $29.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002UOR17Y/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=banforbucga08-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B002UOR17Y

 

[rapture79]

Best answer selected by rapture79.

 

[eric8705]

for how much this is going for i think these are definitely worth a buy
http://www.eio.com/p-29355-raidmax-rx-500s-500w-atx12v-power-supply.aspx

im sure 500W will do you plenty for your spec