newbie question please

[salvatore3]

i was hoping i could get some advice on a new system i would like to build myself. this will be my first attempt. i have already replaced a motherboard once so it should be pretty simple im hoping. i use my system for extensive online use to connect to my servers in another state. i also do alot of web design and starting to get into making small video movies (avi), (flash). i have a copy of windows xp home edition i guess i could use from my dell laptop purchase last year. my main question is i am quite confused on what type of system will best suit my needs. i would like to keep the cost around $700.00 U.S. if possible. i have been reading so much and dont know what direction to turn, p4, xeon, dual xeon, amd 64, my head is spinning. do you think someone could put together some products i could get from newegg for a new system. thanks so much for trying to help a beginner with this, sal

SEEN!

 

[shadus]

Well, you can't afford xeon, dual xeon, or a64. That leaves you with AMD or Intel. Here are a couple choices...

Processor - AMD Ath XP 3000+ 400mhz FSB - $186.00
Motherboard - Asus A7N8X-X - $ 79.00
Ram 1 - Corsair CMX256A-3200C2 - $ 58.00
Ram 2 - Corsair CMX256A-3200C2 - $ 58.00
Video Card - RADEON 9000 AIW - $123.00
Case - Antec Lanboy w/350w PS - $ 80.00
CD-RW - Lite-on 52x32x52 - $ 34.00
DVD - Lite-on 16X Dvd Drive - $ 28.00
Hard Disk - Western Digital 8mb 7200rpm - $ 80.00
Floppy - Use Current - $ 12.00
Sound - Integrated - $ 00.00
Speakers - Use Current - $ 00.00
Keyboard - Use Current - $ 00.00
Mouse - Use Current - $ 00.00
Total - $738.00 (Inc S&H @ Pricewatch.com)

Processor - Intel P4 2.6C - $162.00
Motherboard - ABit IS7 - $101.00
Ram 1 - Corsair CMX256A-3200C2 - $ 58.00
Ram 2 - Corsair CMX256A-3200C2 - $ 58.00
Video Card - RADEON 9000 AIW - $123.00
Case - Antec Lanboy w/350w PS - $ 80.00
CD-RW - Lite-on 52x32x52 - $ 34.00
DVD - Lite-on 16X Dvd Drive - $ 28.00
Hard Disk - Western Digital 8mb 7200rpm - $ 80.00
Floppy - Use Current - $ 12.00
Sound - Integrated - $ 00.00
Speakers - Use Current - $ 00.00
Keyboard - Use Current - $ 00.00
Mouse - Use Current - $ 00.00
Total - $736.00 (Inc S&H @ Pricewatch.com)

Those should be about equiv performance wise in most things except things like video compression where the intel will pull ahead due to the process being mhz intensive. Also a nice upgrade to either of those systems would be going up to a gig of ram instead of 512. I had those numbers handy but the newegg prices wont be far off those.

9/10 times you can nix xeon, dual xeon, amd 64, opteron, p4 extreme edition, and pretty much anything but standard P4 or AXP from a list of processors if you are building a system for less than $1500. You should also nix anything that is dual unless you have a specific need for it.

Shadus<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by shadus on 12/10/03 09:50 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[salvatore3]

thank you very much for your help.

SEEN!

 

[salvatore3]

i was just wondering if my budget were 1000.00 what would be your recommendations then? or maybe the increase will not be that noticable and i should just stay with the previous coniguration, thanks again

SEEN!

 

[shadus]

Double the ram to a gig, change the hard drive out to a western digital 250g 7200 rpm 8mb cache drive, and upgrade video to 9600 all-in-wonder. You'd notice a moderate increase in speed but either system will perform pretty well.

Shadus

 

[HardWareBoss]

Change the ram to HyperX PC3500 2x512 IF you OC your Cpu buy OCZ PC4000 copper.

 

[HardWareBoss]

Ram for 2.6C P4.

 

[shadus]

Why would he want 433mhz ddr if he's not ocing?

Shadus

 

[salvatore3]

im sorry but im not 100% sure what overclocking is. common sense would tell me your pushing the max of the system to get better results, but thats just a guess. however i would be very interested in doing that if i knew how and if there are major benefits, thanks again, sal

SEEN!

 

[HardWareBoss]

A lot of Mobo's are having problems with Corsair .

 

[salvatore3]

i do not understand what the difference is in these two processors:

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?catalog=343&DEPA=1&submit=property&mfrcode=0&propertycode=&propertycodevalue=4186,3926

i guess i will base the system on this processor. now to research the other components you mentioned, thank you


SEEN!

 

[salvatore3]

went a little over budget but oh well. can you please tell me whqat you think of my choices before i purchase, thank you

Antec Aluminum Super Mini Tower Case with 350W Power Supply, Model:LanBoy, Retail.
Specification:
Case Type: Mini Tower
Color: Silver
Material: Aluminum
Drive Bays: 4x5.25" & 4x3.5"
Expansion Slot: 7
Front Ports: 2xUSB
Power Supply: 350W (SLK350 Blue)Smart Power
Cooling System: Up to 2x80mm Fans 1 Rear(Optional) 1 Front(Optional)
Mainboard Compatibility: Fits standard ATX
Dimensions: 16.5"x8.25"x16.5"
Special Features: Windowed side panel, Free case-carrying strap. more info-> N82E16811129126 $70.00 $70.00


ABIT 865PE Motherboard For Socket 478 Pentium 4 Model "IS7" RETAIL
Specifications:
Supported CPU: Socket 478 Intel Pentium 4 Processors(Hyper-Threading)
Chipset: Intel 865PE + ICH5R
FSB: 800/533MHz
RAM: 4x DIMM for Dual Channel DDR400 Max 4GB
IDE: 2x UltraDMA 100
Slots: 1x AGP 8X, 5x PCI
Ports: 2xPS2,1xLPT,1xCOM,SPDIF In/Out,1xLAN,8xUSB2.0(Rear 4),3xIEEE1394(Rear 1),Audio Ports
Onboard Audio: 6-Channel AC97 CODEC
Onboard LAN: 10/100M Fast Ethernet
Onboard SATA/RAID: 2x Serial ATA 150, Raid 0
Form Factor: ATX more info-> N82E16813127155 $101.99 $101.99


ATI All-In-Wonder RADEON 9600 PRO 128MB DDR 8X AGP RETAIL
Specifications:
Chipset/Core Speed: RADEON 9600PRO/400MHz
Memory/Effective Speed: 128MB DDR/650MHz
BUS: AGP 1X/2X/4X/8X
Ports: FM Radio+CATV In+A/V Out+A/V In
Support 3D API: DirectX®9 and OpenGL®2.0
Cable/Accessories: ATI Input Adapter,ATI Output Adapter,S-Video&RCA Cable,Remote Control,USB RF Receiver,Software&Driver CD,Manual
Max Resolution@32bit Color: 2048X1536@85Hz
Retail Box (See pics for details) more info-> N82E16814102316 $219.00 $219.00


Intel Pentium 4/ 2.6C GHz 800MHz FSB, 512K Cache, Hyper Threading Technology - Retail
Specification
Model: Intel Pentium 4 2.6C w/ Hyper Threading
Core: Northwood
Operating Frequency: 2.6GHz
FSB: 800MHz
Cache: L1/12K+8K; L2/512K
Voltage: 1.525V
Process: 0.13Micron
Socket: Socket 478
Multimedia Instruction: MMX, SSE, SSE2
Warranty: 3-year MFG
Packaging: Retail box (with Heatsink and Fan) more info-> N82E16819116159 $174.00 $174.00


(2) > Corsair XMS Extreme Memory Speed Series 184 Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200C2PT - OEM
Specification
Manufacturer: Corsair
Speed: DDR400(PC3200)
Type: 184 Pin DDR SDRAM
Registered/Unbuffered: Unbuffered
Error Checking: Non-ECC
Cas Latency: 2-3-3-6 1T
Support Voltage: 2.6V
Bandwidth: 3.2GB/s
Organization: 64M x 64 -Bit
Special Features: with Platinum Heat Spreader
Warranty: Lifetime more info-> N82E16820145420 $107.00 $214.00


Sony DVD-RW/+RW Drive, Model DRU510A, Retail
Specifications:
Write Speed: 24x CD-R, 16x CD-RW, 4x DVD+R, 4x DVD+RW, 4x DVD-R, 2x DVD-RW
Read Speed: 32x CD-ROM/CD-R, 12x DVD-ROM
Interface: Internal IDE/ATAPI
Buffer: 8 MB
OS Support: Windows XP/ ME/ 2000/ 98SE, and Mac OS
Features: Buffer Underrun Proof technology
Remark: Retail Pack (see pictures for details) more info->


SEEN!

 

[shadus]

Alot of the early (I865/I875) mobos seemed to have problems with corsair LL ram, but even that appears to have been resolved when corsair changed the default timings on the ram, I've built 7 pc's using corsair ram (5 intel 2 amd) since then and not had a single issue, is this something new and do you have any info on it if so?

Shadus

 

[shadus]

All look pretty good to me

Shadus