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Building new machine

S

saethar

n00b
Joined
Jan 18, 2007
Messages
8
I've been tasked with building a new machine for my better-half. For a little background the system I will be replacing has been in service (with only 3 upgrades) since 1997. It's a P2/400. So what I'm looking to build is a machine with stability and longevity.

Here is what I have already (both were on sale recently):
Monitor: Dell 30" ($1347 !)
Case: Antec 900 ATX ($80)

I will be going with an Intel quad core CPU, but everything else is up in the air based on prices and recommendations.

I have no idea on which mobo to get, maybe the information below will help with getting some recommendations.

I would like to start with 4 Gig of ram (2x2) and have the abillity to push it to 8 Gig later.

I do not need SLI, but obviously will need a good DX10 ready GPU that can push the 30" lcd without any problems. Exactly which card to get (even whether to go Nvidia or ATI) is still unknown.

Based on current prices I'll start with a single 500 gig sata drive and add more drive space as required and as prices drop for the larger drives. The more drives I can add the better.

For stability reasons I would like to keep the over-clocking to a minimum, so a mobo without OC ability is an option.

This machine will be used for everything from day-to-day work (surfing, email, etc...), to high-end graphics work (photoshop, painter, similar apps). As well as watching movies/tv and similar media stuff.

Other parts I need advice on:
Sound card, Tuner/PVR Card, PSU, DVD burner, Speakers... Anything else I may have forgotten?

The budget is around 4000 to 5000, but at least 1000 of that is already marked for the CPU.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Saethar
 
Are you building this for her or for yourself? :p

If she's not gaming, then you don't need an 8800 series card to push the 30" lcd, just make sure you get something HDCP for future movie watching. If you want DX10 support, the 8800 series would work well.

Quad core is completely unnecessary, sorry, and 4 gigs of RAM is as well unless you are installing 64-bit Vista.

For a sound card, the Audigy 2 is the minimum, maybe an x-fi depending on your speaker setup the z-5500 series has all but vanished, the 5300es are nice and there are other options, check the audio forum.

There's no such thing as longevity in computer hardware. Spend $2500 now, and $2500 in two years for another new one. Better performance through being smart with your money.
 
For her. I'll build my self a new machine around the end of the year (I've got an Athlon XP 2400+ based system that is still going strong).
 
-=Antimatter=- said:
Are you building this for her or for yourself? :p
Click to expand...

LMAO

Seriously, quad core will be hard to utilize on a desktop system. Might want to consider a good dual core instead and upgrade to quad when software starts supporting it a few years down the road.

As far as video, ATI has the better reputation for supporting high-end graphics work.
 
Pretty impressive system you have planned here!
I haven't got an awful lot of time so i will just mention some of the basics...
I would probably go for the Intel 'bad axe 2' motherboard. Although i have no personal experience with it, i hear nothing but good things about it and seems to be the most stable board around, with the option you overclock if you want to.
Initially, i would suggest that 4Gb of RAM would be an overkill. However, depending on the scale and 'high-end-ness' of graphics work it may well be worth it. In that case, i would recommend this set: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231122, pricey... i know!

Anyway, that's all i have time for, for now. I will try and add more later but i'm sure everyone else will have something too add.

By the way, nice choice of monitor and case; i would have chosen the same.
 
I have a QX6700 and im very happy with it but from having it for the past month the only thing that it really exels in is Maya and cinema 4D, when the 4 cores are on full load the rendering times are amazing. It is obvious that pshop and other apps will be multithreaded soon but I recommend you get a C2D if you are not using 3D apps (I dont even see much improvement in premier, it ends up using half my processor). It is future proof but you are better off spending 2k now and 2k later and have 2 good PCs. 4 gigs of ram is also overkill but it helps me out on what im doing, After Effects ram preview works amazing and I never really fall under 2.5 megs which is great.

Good luck with your choices, whatever it is it will be good because intel's processors of later are very good quality. I was astonished when I saw my quad perform, its incredible :)
 
From experience, upgrading more frequently with less expensive parts gets you better performance over the years. Half of your budget is more than double my regular budget, and I build pretty capable systems, lol. 2.5k will buy a nice system right now, and in 2.5years, it will buy an even nicer system. Thats 2 systems for the price of one, but you get better performance. Computers are so cheap, I build a new one every couple of years. This method promotes cash flow and getting the most performance for your money.

Quad core is expensive right now because its the newest thing out. Instead of paying the first-kid-on-the-block-tax, especially since you really won't utilize it to its fullest (you listed only 2D apps), just go for a Core2Duo instead. 4GB (2x2gb) isn't worth it right now either, but will allow you to push to 8GB later if you really want to. Go for it if you're using Vista x64, otherwise, stick with 2GB.

Since there's no gaming, all you need is a card that can drive that monitor nicely, so anything upwards of a 7600GT would work well. I'd wait for ATI's R600 release and NVIDIA's 8300/8600 series cards, though. For a tuner card, I'd recommend the DVICO FushionHDTV hdtv tuner and a Win-TV PVR-350 from Hauppauge. Though, I havent been keeping up on tuner cards, so you might want to check with the HTPC subforum or avforums.

The S12 650W PSU is nice, or the Corsair 620W (also made by seasonic). For DVD burners, if you buy a wide range of media, you'll want to check out the reviews at cdrinfo.com and cdfreaks.com. If you always buy good media (taiyo yuden), then any drive should do fine.

Unless you're an audiophile, the onboard HD Audio should be fine. If you are an audiophile, then make sure you have some nice speakers to utilize either an X-Fi XtremeMusic or AuzenTech XPlosion/X-Meridian. As for speakers, the audio quality of Altec Lansing is better than Creative or Logitech. My friend, who's an audiophile, uses Klipsch.
 
You're building your wife a $4-5k Quad Core PC for internet browsing and computer graphics?

Buy her a Canon XL2 while you're at it and introduce her to Final Cut. Then the super computer won't be bored :p
 
GJSNeptune said:
You're building your wife a $4-5k Quad Core PC for internet browsing and computer graphics?

Buy her a Canon XL2 while you're at it and introduce her to Final Cut. Then the super computer won't be bored :p
Click to expand...


So what if he wants to buy her a 5k machine for browsing an graphics. Anna Nicole Smith spent over 6,000 on a machine just to check her email, heck, I'm building a similar rig for my wife so she can surf facebook and check email. Perhaps he enjoys spending the time building it and learning new things, also, it makes a great backup rig :D
 
GJSNeptune said:
You're building your wife a $4-5k Quad Core PC for internet browsing and computer graphics?

Buy her a Canon XL2 while you're at it and introduce her to Final Cut. Then the super computer won't be bored :p
Click to expand...
LOL!!!
 
I'm not opposed to dropping down to a high end dual core, but the goal here is to build a box that will last more than 5 years, preferably 8 to 10, with minimal upgrading and minimal overclocking. Her old machine cost just over 4K, and was (near) top of the line when it was purchased (I didn't build that one). The upgrades on it included a new video card (STB Velocity 4400), a second HDD (27 gig) and doubling the RAM (from 128 to 256). I think she got her money's worth out of it. The last few years it has shown it's age, but even if I had built her a new machine 2 years ago the old one would still have been worth the price.

All that being said, there is a large price point on the core 2 duo's right now. The E6700 is going for ~ $500 while the EX6800 is going for ~ $1000, there is also the E6600 with is around ~ $300. The benchmarks seem to be very close. How well can the 6700 and 6600 handle over-clocking with just factory cooling (also keeping in mind that Antec 900 comes with 4 fans and I can add 2 more if really needed)?

If I can push a 6600 or a 6700 up past the stock X6800 with factory cooling and keep it stable I would be very open to that.

So once again, any advice would be appreciated.

Saethar
 
Also, things like 3D graphics work and large movie work are not out of the question, they just were not possible on PII/400 (it choked on bryce 3d, let alone something like lightwave or maya).

Saethar
 
I agree with everyone, spending 4-5K on a Internet PC is like buying a 60,000 Sports car to drive to work.
I would spend 2k-2.5k on a decent system, then in a few years upgrade it again, heck you might not even have to do that in a few years.
 
A 2.5K machine will last 5 years, too. You don't need to spend 4/5K on a system just so it will last 5 years. It really depends on what you're doing with it. My P4 EE system cost 4K around 4 years ago, and its damn slow for running simulations these days (yet was fast when we first bought it). Now as far as basic usage goes (web/email/photo-editing/coding), it works perfectly fine. If you want the system to last 10 years, it will. The thing is, technology changes so fast and is so cheap these days, that it doesnt make sense to build a home desktop pc with the goal of making it last 10 years. Back when systems cost 3-6k, yah... but not now.

You can definately hit 3.0Ghz with the E6600 on stock cooling quite easily. If you want better cooling so you can OC to 3.6Ghz, go for the Scythe Ninja, Tuniq Tower, Zalman 9700, or Thermalright Ultra120. However, since you plan to keep this machine longer than 5 years, don't OC it past 3Ghz at first. Wait til about the 3rd year or so to really push it. Most, if not all, Core2Duo chips will hit 3.6Ghz with good cooling, and your case will help alot.
 
Based on this conversation (and other threads) it looks like I'll be going with:
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 ($316.00)
Mobo: ASUS P5B Deluxe ($179.99)
RAM: G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 ($549.99) (or should I go with 2 gig of DDR 1066? This mobo seems to be very picky about RAM...)

I still have some decisions to make for GPU, PSU, TV tuner, and sound (see below).

This mobo has ADI AD1988B on board sound, just how good is that? It has been a while since I've built anything and I have very bad memories of on-board sound just sucking very badly.

Over all if I can keep the GPU price down I think I can get this built for about 2 to 2.5 K (not counting the monitor... which arrived BTW and looks beautiful) which is great. It is always good to come in under budget :)

I want to thank everyone for the great advice I've already received, and for any more forth coming. It has been really helpful.

Saethar
 
As I said above, onboard sound should be fine unless you're an audiophile.
For a tuner card, I'd recommend the DVICO FushionHDTV hdtv tuner and a Win-TV PVR-350 from Hauppauge. Though, I havent been keeping up on tuner cards, so you might want to check with the HTPC subforum or avforums.

The S12 650W PSU is nice, or the Corsair 620W (also made by seasonic). For DVD burners, if you buy a wide range of media, you'll want to check out the reviews at cdrinfo.com and cdfreaks.com. If you always buy good media (taiyo yuden), then any drive should do fine.

Unless you're an audiophile, the onboard HD Audio should be fine. If you are an audiophile, then make sure you have some nice speakers to utilize either an X-Fi XtremeMusic or AuzenTech XPlosion/X-Meridian. As for speakers, the audio quality of Altec Lansing is better than Creative or Logitech. My friend, who's an audiophile, uses Klipsch.
Click to expand...
 
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