buying a new pc - need feedback for my $2000-4000 system selections

[jkw]

its time to replace my pc. the last pc i purchased and kept* ** is about 4 yrs old (early p4 w/ pc133). i have been reading and researching for a couple months now and studying all of the latest hardware choices and combinations. i've come up with a "low end" system (low by my standards) and a "high end" system. i don't play games, and will be using this pc only for video editing, photoshop, web surfing, email.

for a low end system, i wanted best bang for the buck. on the high end system, i went pretty much all out (without wasting $ on a EE proc).

notes:
- i realize that i could save a couple hundred $ by pricing stuff through froogle and pricewatch, but i'd rather just order from trusted sources like newegg and frozencpu (or maybe monarch, zipzoom, etc).
- i also know that Intel procs are generally better for video edting.
- i'm thinking about buying the mobo locally because mobos seem to be the most common problem and i'd like to be able to return locally if i get a bad mobo.


all that said, please give me feedback, suggestions, alternatives for my next system.

TIA,


my low end system
==============
Case COOLER MASTER Praetorian Black ALUMINUM MID-TOWER CASE, Model "PAC-T01-EK" -RETAIL $98.00 http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-119-035&depa=1
Power Supply Antec 480 watt 120mm fan ATX 12V v2.0 power supply, Active PFC, Model "NeoPower" -RETAIL $115.00 http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-924&depa=1
Processor AMD Athlon 64 3400+, 1MB L2 Cache, 64-bit Processor - Retail $295.00 http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=19-103-426&depa=1
Motherboard ASUS "K8N-E Deluxe" NVIDIA nForce3 Chipset Motherboard For AMD Socket 754 CPU -RETAIL $130.00 http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-131-498&depa=1
Memory (2) Corsair Value Select (Dual Pack) 184 Pin 1G(512MBx2) DDR PC-3200 - OEM $314.00 http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-145-440&depa=1
Primary Hard Drive (2) Western Digital Raptor 36.7GB 10,000RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model WD360GD, OEM Drive Only $226.00 http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=22-144-200&depa=1
Secondary Hard Drive Maxtor MaXLine III 300GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model 7B300S0, OEM Drive Only $233.00 http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=22-144-363&depa=1
DVD burner NEC 16X Double Layer DVD±RW Drive, Black, Model ND-3500A BK W/SW, OEM with software $76.00 http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=27-152-029&depa=1
DVD-ROM SAMSUNG 16X DVD Drive Black, Model TS-H352A/WBGH, OEM $23.99 http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=27-151-208&depa=1
Floppy drive SONY Black 1.44MB 3.5inch Floppy Disk Drive, Model MPF920, OEM $10.00 http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=21-103-116&depa=1
Video Card EVGA nVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT Video Card With Free Doom 3Bundle, 256MB GDDR3, 256-Bit, TV-Out/DVI, 8X AGP, Model "256-A8-N349-AX" -RETAIL $408.00 http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-130-208&depa=1
Multi-card Reader Atech Flash USB2.0 MULTI-SLOT PRO-8MX CARD READER, Model RW-0101-02(Black) -OEM $19.99 http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-176-003&depa=1
Windows XP software Microsoft Windows XP Professional With Service Pack 2 -OEM $142.00 newegg.com
Microsoft Office 2003 Basic Microsoft Office Basic 2003 With Service Pack 1 - OEM $172.00 newegg.com

TOTAL: $2262.98 (plus s&h)


my high end system
===============
Case Frozen Lian-Li PC-75B Black $275.00 http://www.frozencpu.com/cgi-bin/frozencpu/cas-24.html
Power Supply PC Power and Cooling Turbo-Cool® 510 PCI Express (510W) ATX-Deluxe Fully Sleeved Power Supply (Native 24-pin) $229.99 http://www.frozencpu.com/cgi-bin/frozencpu/psu-105.html
Processor Intel Pentium 4 560 3.60GHz LGA 775, 800MHz FSB, 1MB L2 Cache Processor w/ Hyper Threading Technology - Retail $545.00 http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=19-116-181&depa=1
Motherboard ASUS "P5AD2 Premium" 925X Chipset Motherboard For Intel LGA 775 CPU -RETAIL $299.00 buy locally at Microcenter
Memory CORSAIR XMS2 Pro Series Dual Channel Kit 240-Pin 1GB(512MB x 2) DDR2 PC2-5400 with activity LEDs - Retail $756.00 http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-145-535&depa=1
Primary Hard Drive (2) Western Digital Raptor 74GB 10,000RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model WD740GD, OEM Drive Only $358.00 http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=22-144-160&depa=1
Secondary Hard Drive Maxtor MaXLine III 300GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model 7B300S0, OEM Drive Only $233.00 http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=22-144-363&depa=1
DVD burner NEC 16X Double Layer DVD±RW Drive, Black, Model ND-3500A BK W/SW, OEM with software $76.00 http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=27-152-029&depa=1
CD burner Plextor Black 52x32x52 CD-RW Drive, Model PX-PREMIUM/SW BLK, Retail $82.00 http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=27-106-235&depa=1
Floppy drive SONY Black 1.44MB 3.5inch Floppy Disk Drive, Model MPF920, OEM $10.00 http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=21-103-116&depa=1
Video Card ASUS ATI RADEON X800 XT Video Card, 256MB DDR, 256-Bit, DVI/TV-Out, PCI-Express, Model "EAX800XT/TVD/256-8" -RETAIL $653.00 http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-121-517&depa=1
Sound Card Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS Platinum Pro PCI Sound Card, Model "SB0360" -RETAIL $206.00 http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=29-102-164&depa=1
Cables blue uv reactive $48.00 frozencpu.com
Multi-card Reader Atech Flash USB2.0 MULTI-SLOT PRO-8MX CARD READER, Model RW-0101-02(Black) -OEM $19.99 http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-176-003&depa=1
Fan Controller Enermax Black 5.25" Temp. Monitor w/ Fan Controller $29.00 http://www.frozencpu.com/cgi-bin/frozencpu/tmp-17.html
LCD Screen Matrix Orbital MX212 USB v2 w/ Baybus $99.00 http://www.frozencpu.com/cgi-bin/frozencpu/lcd-01.html
Analog Meter CoolerMaster LLC-U01 Black Musketeer I $34.00 http://www.frozencpu.com/cgi-bin/frozencpu/bus-22.html
Lighting Dual 12" Cold Cathode Kit - Ultra Bright UV $9.99 http://www.frozencpu.com/cgi-bin/frozencpu/lit-46.html
Windows XP software Microsoft Windows XP Professional With Service Pack 2 -OEM $142.00 newegg.com
Microsoft Office 2003 Basic Microsoft Office Basic 2003 With Service Pack 1 - OEM $172.00 newegg.com

TOTAL: $4276.97 (plus s&h)


jkw

*read about my ibuypower nightmare here: http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=818386
**i've also got a good Dell XPS nightmare story to tell one day too.

 

[M4tt]

Highend = SCSI

 

[jkw]

Highend = SCSI

heheh, cool. thanks for the feedback. to stay around $4k, i don't think i can do large capacity scsi though. or can i? those 10k rpm sata raptors are nothing to laugh at ...

i could spend more than $4k (i went a bit over on the system above), but thats about as high as i want to go. have to save a couple $$ for a Magnacharger or custom single turbo setup for my 03 Silverado 2500HD 8.1L.

btw, this whole pc shopping experience involves tough decisions. for example, i can spend $2000 and get performance that is 70% as fast as my $4000 system. of course, after OCing the highend system (which obviously lends itself more readily to OCing with that RAM and proc), i can get a system that is about 65% faster (after OCing) than the $2000 system..

 

[M4tt]

I agree. But, you said highend. I'd rather spend the money for a small capacity 15K scsi HD than $800 for only a gig of super highend RAM also . SCSI can obtain a faster transfer rates and quicker seek times.

I can't find the review or remember which vendor, but the next generation of SCSI drives provide larger space and speed. I know, lots of help. . . .

Also, I'd rather go for a dual opteron. But, that's only because 64bit is the future and I hate it when encoding a DVD hogs my entire computer.

In any event, I'm jealous of your budget

 

[smoothmove]

You must be in Canada for those prices.

www.zipzoomfly.com is the cheapest.

I have Raptors and am not very impressed with them A SATA Seagate 160 I have is more quiet and performs similar. SCSI is the way to go for the fastest HD's, but $$$$$$. I would go with a 7200 RPM SATA drive.

I am getting the P5AD2, 3.4 P4, 1 Gig 512x2 Corsair PC5400 with an ATI X600XT card. I cheaped out on the card, but figured that SLI boards will be out and would pick one up in 6 months.

If you put the system you wanted together, post the pics and benchmarks.

Thanks

If you are going to go Opteron, wait for the Dual Cores to come out.

 

[jkw]

You must be in Canada for those prices.

[...snip...]

thanks for the feedback and suggestions. i'm going to price out the same parts at zipzoomfly and see how they stack up.

actually, i'm in Kansas City, which is worse than Canada.

i am thinking a couple of things now ...

1) wait a week or so and see what AMD and Intel come out with next. either i will buy the new shit they release, or i will buy what i have listed above at hopefully a slightly cheaper price.

2) just build my damn high end system now and spend the rest of my life dropping $1000 every three months to upgrade with the latest and greatest parts.

 

[Dillusion]

i would jump on that LGA system in a heartbeat

 

[GJSNeptune]

my low end system
==============
TOTAL: $2262.98

I hate you.

 

[Dillusion]

I hate you.

hahahahahaha

 

[ePi]

The High End system looks bad ass bro, I m sure you will enjoy it, however have this psu and makes life easier when doing cable organization and its also sleeved free at Frozen CPU its the Antec Neo Power.

http://www.frozencpu.com/cgi-bin/frozencpu/psu-103.html

I have one and its good quality so take a look
As for the mustang I dont think they are worth it but up to u

 

[GJSNeptune]

Any consideration of a 6800 Ultra?


Or maybe buying me one?