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First Timer

P

pftate1

n00b
Joined
Feb 21, 2004
Messages
8
First timer would appreciate any input on system I’m trying to put together. Not really into games but would use it mainly for Photoshop.

Case Antec Sonata with TruePower 390W ps
MB Intel D875BZLK FMB 1.5 Retail
CPU Intel 2.8C 800MHz FSB with cooler
Memory Kingston PC-3200 512X2
Video Card Sapphire 9600XT 128 MB (Have this card already)
DVD player Sony 16 X
DVD/CD/RW Plextor 708A
HD WD SATA 120GB
Floppy Samsung
Sound Card Aopen Cobra AW850
Firewire Apollo
FFD Cable Antec Cobra F16 Round
ATA Cable Antec Cobra A26 Round 133 (Will this work with DVD’s) Feel dumb
XP Pro
Office SB 2003

Just looking for a solid, quiet system. Thank you for any advice that you can give me.
Paul T
 
Originally posted by MontyAC
Nice parts if you don't plan on overclocking.
Click to expand...
Yes, I agree. And if he's right - you don't plan on overclocking, I'd probably get Crucial RAM. Nothing against Kingston, but Crucial is hard to beat for stock speed - solid as a rock and lifetime warranty.
 
With that system, it sounds like you should get into gaming. hehe.
Looks like it'll be a great computer.
 
I would look into an Audigy 2 ZS or a Hercules Fortismo 3 7.1 for the sound card personally.

Also, with just a standard 8MB cache 120GB, go with the IDE, at least I would. I don't believe there will be any performance gain, since the 8mb caches drives don't max out IDEs performance limits as it is.

The cable will be fine for the DVD drive. And speaking of it, if you can swing $100-120, look into an LG GSA-4040B. It's a cheap, fast, reliable, VERY versitle DVD burner. It writes -R/RW, +R/RW and -RAM. The only drive to do all 3.
 
Since it definitly looks like your going for stability, I'd switch to crucial RAM (I love the stuff, and for the reason posted above), that 26 inch IDE cable is a risk, I think your not really supposed to go any further then 18 inches (although that may just be with HDDs)

I'm not sure what that Office SB thing is at the bottom, but a good FREE office suite would be at www.openoffice.org!

I've personally had bad experiences with a WD HDD, so when I built my system I went with a seagate solution (that by no means you should too, I'm just saying....)

Also, I don't know if there were any specific reasons you went with that drive (it looks pretty popular) but this drive looks to be pretty promising and is quite a bit cheaper then the plextor.

PS- as you can see I'm a budget minded person :p :)
 
If I were you, I'd go for something sub-$100 on the graphics if you aren't gaming. A Radeon 9100 would be plenty for you. Also, the Sonata gave me fits while putting it together, but this is my opinion only. Most other people seem to love the Sonata.
 
Speak about fast thank you all so much. This is the kind of input I need. Though that I had read that there could be a voltage problem with this MB and Crucial RAM.
Paul T
 
Nice looking grocery list. I'd shorten that 26 inch cable up to 18. and stay with the SATA. If you are going to use Kingston do the Hyper X not the Value Ram. I believe the part number is KHX3200AK2/1G. The 2-3-2-6-1T timings were tested by Kingston Engineers to work on that board. You'll have decent speed at stock speeds. You'll be able to manipulate Tif files all day in Photoshop. Why are you getting the 1.5 version of the board? That processor will run fine on the standard 875PBZLK.
 
Using a Samsung 192t monitor. My old eyes just love it. Was thinking that the 1.5 board might give me a little more room to upgrade down the road. Cost wasn’t that much more. Will upgrade RAM and shorten cable. Now you have me rethinking my HD also.
Thanks
Paul T
 
If you deal with large image files in photoshop a lot, I'd stick with the SATA drive. The 150 throughput to and from that drive is 50% faster than you'll get IDE on that board. Remember Intel doesn't do ATA 133, just ATA 100. Have fun.
 
The speed difference between IDE and SATA is minimal, although some of the new drives are a bit quicker. None of the drive are making 150, they peak at 80 or 90 for a burst but sustain near 50 for a good drive.

I'd say, while it depends on what you're doing, that you might want a second hard drive in there for extra storage, backup, and a scratch disk should you ever need it (although having enough ram is far better than relying on scratch disks).

You'll do well with that setup, I do a good deal of photoshopping on the 2.8ghz system in my sig. I use a number of the dual 2ghz G5s, and while they're obviously going to be faster than a single 2.8 anything, this system costs less than half and is equipped with the hardware to do more. (although I'd love to build a dual opteron system one day, harhar)

The sonata is pretty quiet, and doesn't run hot, but you might want to pick up a second 120mm fan for it while you're at it. It blows right on the HDD (in the front of the case) which is a good thing. I don't have the sonata, but i helped a friend set his up.
 
Reworked based on info received. Games to me are Photoshop and Qimage Pro. Grandkids play a few small games. Now those big box boys have moved their tech support offshore feel that its time to build my own system. Will be taking video card out of this system for new. Also has a 60GB HD that I will move. Grandkids get old system and maybe I can keep them off of mine.

Case Antec Sonata with TruePower 390W ps
MB Intel D875BZLK FMB 1.5 Retail
CPU Intel 2.8C 800MHz FSB with cooler
Memory Corsair XMS 512 3200x2
Video Card Sapphire 9600XT 128 MB (Have this card already)
DVD player Sony 16 X
DVD/CD/RW Plextor 708A
HD Seagate 160GB IDE ULTRA ATA100
Floppy Samsung
Sound Card Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS
FFD Cable Antec Cobra F16 Round
ATA Cable Vantec Round 18-inch ATX X2
XP Pro
Office SB 2003

Just looking for a stable, quiet and Farley fast system. Thank you for any advice that you can give me. This will save me allot of money and I guess you can see we got tax refund back.
Paul T
:)
 
I would have stuck with your previous HDD, there'll usually be some small differences in performance between ATA100 and SATA. And no probs with WD here.
 
I thin its a better move to go to SATA even though its a new technology... just purely for the reason that its much less prone to data curruption then IDE.
 
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