New computer advice from p00ter techs?

[GTS Jeff]

Ok, so since my old computer has now shit the bed, I'm putting together a new one. I do know my way around these things, but unfortunately I haven't really been keeping up with the recent changes in the last few years, so things like PCIe and all the new chipsets and CPUs are pretty foreign to me. Anyway, on all my older computers, I spent tons of time researching before buying a computer, but since I'm currently computerless and I NEED a computer ASAP (my life depends on it) I've really had to scramble to figure something out.

I'm hoping you guys can look at this setup and maybe give some good advice and criticism on what may or may not work better, what might not be necessary, what I'm missing, how I could save some money...you know. I'm still wondering if going with PCIe is really worth it vs. getting an AGP board. I'm not a gamer, but I use my computer as a media center and I am always on it, so speed is nice. Anyway, here goes:

Processor : AMD Athlon 64 3200+ w/ 512K Cache (Socket 939 - Retail Box ) 1 $189.95 $189.95
CPU Heatsink / Fan : AMD Retail Heatsink and Fan 1 $0.00 $0.00
Thermal Compound : Arctic Silver Ceramique Premium High-Density Thermal Compund, 2.5g 1 $8.49 $8.49
Motherboards : Asus A8N-E w/ DualDDR400, 7.1 Audio, Gigabit Lan, SATA2.0, PCI-E x16 1 $139.95 $139.95
Memory : OCZ 1GB PC3200 Gold Edition 2-2-2-5 Dual Channel DDR Kit (2 x 512MB) 1 $189.95 $189.95
Case : Antec Overture II Quiet Media Case w/ 450W SmartPower 2.0 1 $134.95 $134.95
Power Supplies : Antec 450W SmartPower 2.0 Power Supply Included with Case 1 $0.00 $0.00
Floppy Drives : Mitsumi 7-in-1 Internal Card Reader + Floppy Drive, Black 1 $34.95 $34.95
Hard Drives 1 : Maxtor 300GB DiamondMax 10 7200RPM Serial ATA w/ 16MB Cache (ROHS) 1 $169.95 $169.95
Optical Drive 1 : LG Super Multi DVD Writer 16x16 DVD +/-RW Dual-Layer, Black (OEM) 1 $59.95 $59.95
Video Cards : ATI All-In-Wonder Radeon X600 Pro 256MB PCI-E 1 $254.95 $254.95
Monitors : Samsung SyncMaster 740B 17in Digital LCD, 8ms, Black 1 $349.95 $349.95
Sound Cards : Onboard 8-Channel 7.1 Audio 1 $0.00 $0.00
Ethernet Cards : Onboard 100/1000 Gigabit Lan 1 $0.00 $0.00
Assembly : Please Assemble Hardware 1 $30.00 $30.00
Warranty : Memory Express 1 Year Parts and Labour Warranty

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Email Quote Sub-Total: $1563.04
GST: $109.41
Total Cost: $1672.45
Alberta Recyle Fee
(For residents of Alberta only): $12.00
Total(With Recyle Fee)
(For residents of Alberta only): $1685.29

[A790]

You'll want PCI-e with Media Centre.

Don't skimp on the audio either- get a x-fi from creative labs.

Otherwise, looks fine to me.

[GTS Jeff]

Originally posted by A790
You'll want PCI-e with Media Centre.

Don't skimp on the audio either- get a x-fi from creative labs.

Otherwise, looks fine to me. Oh, that's another question I have. I plan on outputting digital audio, so won't the built-in audio be good enough for that? As long as it can output PCM and 8 channel Dolby and DTS to my receiver it should be fine right? Would there even be a quality difference since all I'm using is a digital signal?

[dragonone]

i think someone once said that the 24k or 96 something is all jargon and you'd have to b an audiophille to b able to distinguish. the main reason i'd choose optical is because of the cables (instead of 3 thick ones goin into my receiver). if your receiver's any good it'll make the signals sound better.

how much is PCI-e over AGP anyways? i'd get it so you can decide on it later on

and the ram you chose is some sort of high quality, fast timing one? again, you could almost get 2gbs with that price

you might want to consider another harddrive
ie. seagate or WD raptors (cut down on other parts, since harddrives are one of the biggest bogs in performance)
i have no idea how much faster SATAII is or what NCQ does, but i've heard gd things about the 10k raptors

and go 19"!

[djayz]

Processor : AMD Athlon 64 3200+ w/ 512K Cache (Socket 939 - Retail Box ) 1 $189.95 $189.95
CPU Heatsink / Fan : AMD Retail Heatsink and Fan 1 $0.00 $0.00
Motherboards : Asus A8V-E SE w/ DualDDR400, 7.1 Audio, Gigabit Lan, SATA RAID, PCI-E x16 1 $114.95 $114.95
Memory : OCZ 1024MB PC3200 Premier Series Dual Channel DDR Kit (2 x 512MB) 1 $149.95 $149.95
Case : None 0 $0.00 $0.00
Power Supplies : None 0 $0.00 $0.00
Hard Drives 1 : Seagate 300GB Barracuda 7200.8 Serial ATA w/ NCQ, 8MB Cache 1 $169.95 $169.95
Hard Drives 2 : None 0 $0.00 $0.00
Optical Drive 1 : LG Super Multi DVD Writer 16x16 DVD +/-RW (Dual-Layer) 1 $59.95 $59.95
Optical Drive 2 : None 0 $0.00 $0.00
Video Cards : Sapphire Radeon X700 PRO Advantage 256MB PCI-E w/ TV-Out, DVI 1 $169.95 $169.95
Monitors : None 0 $0.00 $0.00
Sound Cards : Onboard 8-Channel 7.1 Audio 1 $0.00 $0.00
Ethernet Cards : Onboard 100/1000 Gigabit Lan 1 $0.00 $0.00
Operating System : None 0 $0.00 $0.00
Assembly : Please Assemble Hardware 1 $30.00 $30.00
Warranty : Memory Express 1 Year Parts and Labour Warranty 1 $0.00 $0.00

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Email Quote Sub-Total: $884.7
GST: $61.93
Total Cost: $946.63
Alberta Recyle Fee
(For residents of Alberta only): $0.00
Total(With Recyle Fee)
(For residents of Alberta only): $946.63


This is what i would recommend for the motherboard, ram and video card...i didnt add all the other stuff...but you can skip out on the thermal compound and just get an extra case fan and go with a seagate hardrive for the same price but with a 5 years warranty instead of 3 with maxtor...the motherboard i have shown here has a coaxial sound output(s/pdif) so if your hooking up to a home theatre reciever or whatever it works great.

for the video the sapphire radeons are good the one you chose is a very good card but for the price its not really worth it especially if your just watching movies or editing pics on the computer...for gaming it might be a bit better but there are settings you can fool around with for optimal performance.

The monitor i would say go 19" as well...im not quite up to date with which ones are good...still looking for one myself but go with samsung or nec for LCDs.

[eblend]

i would get an x2 processor, prices have dropped and if you can afford it get a 3800+ X2 (will use the same mobo as you got there) and overclock that thing to 2.5 gig/core i had that processor and its an awesome overclocker on plain old air cooling

[Xtrema]

Originally posted by GTS Jeff
Oh, that's another question I have. I plan on outputting digital audio, so won't the built-in audio be good enough for that? As long as it can output PCM and 8 channel Dolby and DTS to my receiver it should be fine right? Would there even be a quality difference since all I'm using is a digital signal?

I find on board sometimes pick up interference (although you need a very sharp ear) from the surrounding electronics. If you are an audiophile, you should look at some USB audio devices.

But on board should be fine for most applications.

[Mr. Burns]

Originally posted by djayz
Processor : AMD Athlon 64 3200+ w/ 512K Cache (Socket 939 - Retail Box ) 1 $189.95 $189.95
CPU Heatsink / Fan : AMD Retail Heatsink and Fan 1 $0.00 $0.00
Motherboards : Asus A8V-E SE w/ DualDDR400, 7.1 Audio, Gigabit Lan, SATA RAID, PCI-E x16 1 $114.95 $114.95
Memory : OCZ 1024MB PC3200 Premier Series Dual Channel DDR Kit (2 x 512MB) 1 $149.95 $149.95
Case : None 0 $0.00 $0.00
Power Supplies : None 0 $0.00 $0.00
Hard Drives 1 : Seagate 300GB Barracuda 7200.8 Serial ATA w/ NCQ, 8MB Cache 1 $169.95 $169.95
Hard Drives 2 : None 0 $0.00 $0.00
Optical Drive 1 : LG Super Multi DVD Writer 16x16 DVD +/-RW (Dual-Layer) 1 $59.95 $59.95
Optical Drive 2 : None 0 $0.00 $0.00
Video Cards : Sapphire Radeon X700 PRO Advantage 256MB PCI-E w/ TV-Out, DVI 1 $169.95 $169.95
Monitors : None 0 $0.00 $0.00
Sound Cards : Onboard 8-Channel 7.1 Audio 1 $0.00 $0.00
Ethernet Cards : Onboard 100/1000 Gigabit Lan 1 $0.00 $0.00
Operating System : None 0 $0.00 $0.00
Assembly : Please Assemble Hardware 1 $30.00 $30.00
Warranty : Memory Express 1 Year Parts and Labour Warranty 1 $0.00 $0.00

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Email Quote Sub-Total: $884.7
GST: $61.93
Total Cost: $946.63
Alberta Recyle Fee
(For residents of Alberta only): $0.00
Total(With Recyle Fee)
(For residents of Alberta only): $946.63


That is pretty much identical to my system (minus the video ard)

[GTS Jeff]

Originally posted by djayz
This is what i would recommend for the motherboard, ram and video card...i didnt add all the other stuff...but you can skip out on the thermal compound and just get an extra case fan and go with a seagate hardrive for the same price but with a 5 years warranty instead of 3 with maxtor...the motherboard i have shown here has a coaxial sound output(s/pdif) so if your hooking up to a home theatre reciever or whatever it works great.

for the video the sapphire radeons are good the one you chose is a very good card but for the price its not really worth it especially if your just watching movies or editing pics on the computer...for gaming it might be a bit better but there are settings you can fool around with for optimal performance.

The monitor i would say go 19" as well...im not quite up to date with which ones are good...still looking for one myself but go with samsung or nec for LCDs.

Hmmm I will research into the vid card. Thanks.

Originally posted by eblend
i would get an x2 processor, prices have dropped and if you can afford it get a 3800+ X2 (will use the same mobo as you got there) and overclock that thing to 2.5 gig/core i had that processor and its an awesome overclocker on plain old air cooling I am definitely not going to be o/cing or anything like that, in fact I really was perfectly happy with my old 2400+ system haha, so I don't want to go overkill on this system. The only reason I'm even getting an Athlon 64 is because I don't want the computer to go out of date quickly...

[jdmakkord]

That setup is very similar to mine that I just put together Jeff. You should be really happy with it, I cheaped out on a couple of little things, but other than that, it still runs awesome.

[googe]

Originally posted by Xtrema


I find on board sometimes pick up interference (although you need a very sharp ear) from the surrounding electronics. If you are an audiophile, you should look at some USB audio devices.

But on board should be fine for most applications.

no, interference doesnt exist when youre working with digital optical. using the analog outs will sound like ass, however, i wouldnt even say you need a sharp ear to hear it if youre outputting to a real sound system (not computer speakers)

long as you stick with optical, any card will do.

[Genjuro]

the things i must abject to is the maxtor hardrive, and videocard or motherboard chipset.

-use either seagate or western digital.
-when looking at the motherboard, the chipset that you choose right now is Nvidia, then the video card is Ati..
try to make them match because it will save you less time with compatability issues and drivers.
so when choosing the videocard go for Nvidia chipset with nvidia graphics card like 6600gt pci-e instead of the x600.
if you want more performance then of course go with the 7800gt-gtx..

-if you want the Ati card, then try to go with something like the MSI RS482M4-ILD (ati chipset) or Asus A8V Deluxe (VIA Chipset) or DFI LanParty UT RDX200 (ati chipset).
-its not a big problem with using mixed chipsets but its recommended.

Now, i'd go for something with all Nvidia/Asus/OCZ/AMD such as:
Asus A8N-SLI Premium w/ DualDDR400, 7.1 Audio, Dual GB Lan, 2 x PCI-E x16 SLI, Cool-Pipe
2X Asus Extreme N7800 GT 256MB PCI-E w/ VIVO, Dual DVI
OCZ 2GB PC4000 EB Platinum Edition Dual Channel DDR Kit (2 x 1024MB)
OCZ 520W PowerStream Power Supply
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ w/ 2x1MB Cache
OR
AMD Athlon 64 FX-57 w/1MB Cache

Case, monitor , CD/DVD, whatever your choice..

[Ashkente]

Better question to ask is, which media center app/OS are you using? If you're just using MCE and not playing games, you can always cheap out on the video card and get a WinTV card for better PVR performance. I'd stick with PCIe though, cause AGP card availability is already starting to go down quite a bit.

[tictactoe2004]

if your going to be gaming at all, spend the extra little and get an EVGA 7800GT Its just over $400 at OEM Depot and will perform 95% as good as a 7800GTX for about $200 less. The OCZ ram you picked out has great timings which is a good thing to have on AMD platforms. All your other components are great... if you get a chance to read this today just go pick up the Zalman Fatal1ty fan from OEM depot, its their special of the day and is on for $50. I just paid $90 two weeks ago for that fan.. its well worth the money, im air cooled running at 4.0GHZ on my P4 for almost am month now with that fan.

[GTS Jeff]

Originally posted by googe


no, interference doesnt exist when youre working with digital optical. using the analog outs will sound like ass, however, i wouldnt even say you need a sharp ear to hear it if youre outputting to a real sound system (not computer speakers)

long as you stick with optical, any card will do.

How about digital coaxial?

Originally posted by Genjuro
the things i must abject to is the maxtor hardrive, and videocard or motherboard chipset.

-use either seagate or western digital.
-when looking at the motherboard, the chipset that you choose right now is Nvidia, then the video card is Ati..
try to make them match because it will save you less time with compatability issues and drivers.
so when choosing the videocard go for Nvidia chipset with nvidia graphics card like 6600gt pci-e instead of the x600.
if you want more performance then of course go with the 7800gt-gtx..

-if you want the Ati card, then try to go with something like the MSI RS482M4-ILD (ati chipset) or Asus A8V Deluxe (VIA Chipset) or DFI LanParty UT RDX200 (ati chipset).
-its not a big problem with using mixed chipsets but its recommended.

Now, i'd go for something with all Nvidia/Asus/OCZ/AMD such as:
Asus A8N-SLI Premium w/ DualDDR400, 7.1 Audio, Dual GB Lan, 2 x PCI-E x16 SLI, Cool-Pipe
2X Asus Extreme N7800 GT 256MB PCI-E w/ VIVO, Dual DVI
OCZ 2GB PC4000 EB Platinum Edition Dual Channel DDR Kit (2 x 1024MB)
OCZ 520W PowerStream Power Supply
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ w/ 2x1MB Cache
OR
AMD Athlon 64 FX-57 w/1MB Cache

Case, monitor , CD/DVD, whatever your choice..

Ok, I think I will go for another hard drive, but I'm wondering why you're recommending an SLI setup for me. I don't play any games at all. Would SLI benefit me in any way?

Originally posted by Ashkente
Better question to ask is, which media center app/OS are you using? If you're just using MCE and not playing games, you can always cheap out on the video card and get a WinTV card for better PVR performance. I'd stick with PCIe though, cause AGP card availability is already starting to go down quite a bit. Zero gaming, but I will not be using WinMCE. I plan on installing XP, then the new Windows whenever a pirated version of that comes out heh.

I'm actually sitting on the fence regarding the PVR, so I think I'll go for an Nvidia card as others have recommended.

[djayz]

Originally posted by mrburnsvw


That is pretty much identical to my system (minus the video ard)

yup great system...
i just got one from memex a week ago with a 3000 chip got the 99 dollar video card...same ram and everything...but they screwed up the ram so its in for fixing so i havent got to test it out fully yet. but the optical sound is great specially with my logitech z5500 and theres a tool that comes with the video card to overclock it at times of gaming and stuff

i payed 860 with tax for my system and its good enough for gaming