My potential build.

M

MrSweetie

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Jan 22, 2005
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I've posted here before, with parts I wanted to put in my computer. I've since changed all that around, and would like to get a re-critique of my parts. If someone has time on AIM, that'd be great too.

My purpose for the build is... I want something newer, faster processor, etc. I'm no gamer at all, but I will use the graphics part for TV/movie editing. I'm a sound person, so the sound is important. (Speakers will come later.) I want to have a bazillion GB of hard drive space, so that's a consideration. SATA is nice, etc.

I am not interested in OCing, so don't bother with that consideration. However, this computer is in my bedroom, so the quieter the better (that's why the aftermarket CPU heatsink/fan).

Some things I definately want:
Firewire connectors so I can make the Praetorian's front panel useable.


The parts I will buy (prices you can ignore if you want):

**edited to reflect suggestions from this thread**

These are the new parts, based on suggestions:

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intel Pentium 4 530J 800MHz FSB LGA 775 Processor - Retail ($172) ( )

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ABIT AS8-3rd Socket T (LGA 775) Intel 865PE ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail ($99.00) ( )

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CORSAIR 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM System Memory - Retail ($168.00) ( )

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ATI ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 100-714116 Video Card - Retail ($142.00) ($137.50)

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ZALMAN CNPS7700-CU 120mm 2 Ball Cooling Fan - Retail ($46.99) ( )

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ZALMAN ZM-NB47J Aluminium NorthBridge Chipset Cooler - Retail ($6.99) ( ) (required Northbridge cooler with Zalman and motherboard combo.)

Parts I have that will suffice:

Sound card (Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum)
Power supply (COOLER MASTER Real Power RS-450-ACLY)
Case (CoolerMaster Praetorian)
Dvd Burner/ cd burner (plextor 708A)
hard drives (120+40, +whatever else is on sale[SATA]
os

Opinions? Anything I have selected that's not compatable?

If you're willing to get on AIM with me, just post and I'll hit you up.

Thanks a bunch!!
 
I would get a new HSF...this is from newegg " 60 idle (70 b4!) 70 at full load." Those temps are horrable. If your on a budget for a HSF there has to be soemthing better out there that you can still afford.
 
MrMitch said:
Have you considered going LGA 775 instead of Socket 478?
You can save a few dollars and have a more up-to-date upgrade friendly system by going with this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819116200
Abit board with Firewire
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813127194
It takes AGP cards, standard DDR1 and everything, no need to change your other stuff.
Click to expand...
I didn't have a socket preference when I picked my board, I just went with one that had the features I wanted. Looks like that board has the features I want as well (+1), so I have no problem going with that one, and it's less expensive to boot.

As for memory, is what I have sufficient? What about DDR2 (or whatever it's called). If I have to go more costly on ram, I'll have to just get 1GB instead of 2, for cost reasons.

Thanks for your help! I imagine that I'll go with the board and processor you suggested.

As for the CPU cooler (mentioned earlier), I'll look into getting a better one of those as well.
 
I heard that if your running 3.2Ghz or below then you want Northwood over Presscot... although presscot is newer technology. That rig is sort of outdated, but for the price it still will have fantastic performance. Regarding cooling, noise, etc... drop that HSF. Get a XP-90,XP-120,or Zalman AL-CU i think it's called. The 120mm varieties will offer best noise winnings, especially if you undervolt them.
 
The RAM you chose is CAS3. The difference between CAS2.5 and CAS3 is very small, but when CAS2.5 RAM is basically the same cost as CAS3 it would be a better buy.
 
n64man120 said:
I heard that if your running 3.2Ghz or below then you want Northwood over Presscot... although presscot is newer technology. That rig is sort of outdated, but for the price it still will have fantastic performance. Regarding cooling, noise, etc... drop that HSF. Get a XP-90,XP-120,or Zalman AL-CU i think it's called. The 120mm varieties will offer best noise winnings, especially if you undervolt them.
Click to expand...
How about the processor suggested by MrMitch? Also newegg didn't seem to list any P4 Socket 775 Northwood processors. So I'd guess I should just go with the one recommended?

KoolDrew said:
The RAM you chose is CAS3. The difference between CAS2.5 and CAS3 is very small, but when CAS2.5 RAM is basically the same cost as CAS3 it would be a better buy.
Click to expand...
Thanks! I need to look into ram more, but that's as high as my budget will allow. Should I possibly drop to 1GB and go with higher quality RAM, even though I don't intend (at all) to OC?

Also, I don't know much about it all, but the board I originally listed seems to be better all around... mainly to me is that it has so many more ATA connections (2 x ATA 100 up to 4 Devices, 1 x ATA 133 up to 2 Devices, 2 x SATA 150, Additional SATA 2 x SATA 150) vs (2 x ATA 100 up to 4 Devices, 2 x SATA 150). I would like to be able to connect many hard drives, and two opticals. Of course I'd assume that space in the case would become an issue before I even ran out of the 6 connection on the Abit board, and then heat, so maybe it's a moot point?
 
Just FYI, there is a known issue with that ASUS board, it will work completely fine, then one day it will lock up, and when you reboot, the on-board USB won't work anymore. We used to use this board in some workstations at my job, and I made a couple computers for a co-worker, with this board. One fo the co-worker's comp did this, and about 5 of the buisness's did. So I searched around and found this was an issue.
 
Thanks! I need to look into ram more, but that's as high as my budget will allow. Should I possibly drop to 1GB and go with higher quality RAM, even though I don't intend (at all) to OC?
Click to expand...

No, stay with 2GB. Just get something such as Corsair VS which is CAS2.5
 
Wow. I am an idiot. Those are 1GB sticks. Just stick with w/e is cheapest from a good brand. Also you do not need to buy a dual pack to run dual channel you could just buy 2 1GB sticks seperately. It may be cheaper too.
 
I would recommend some 2x1GB corsair XMS memory DDR3200. It's amazing ram!
I'm not sure what aspect of sound your interested in, but If you do heavy duty recording / editing, the 2gb is always good to have.


Honestly though, don't even nit pick over things such as CAS2.5 or 3..... don't even worry about it. From your stand point you won't even notice a diffrence.

As for the Heat Sink, I HIGHLY recommend the XP-90 for the Socket 478 Pentium 4 with some Artic Silver 5.

The Pentium 4 (even northwood) is a HUGE power comsumer, and you need some pretty good cooling. The XP90 with AS5 will do just that. As a result, you can go with a nice 92mm Vantec Stealth fan. Its very quite. If you have the room, an XP120 with a 120mm fan will do nicely also.

Also, i'm not sure how much you want to spend on a motherboard, but you might want to look into the two Tyan motherboards newegg has. I have never used them though, so I can't speak from experience.

~Hope this helps, and keep us posted
 
I just updated the first post to reflect suggestion from this post. I don't especially like the idea of spending that much on the Zalman, but I found nothing else that seemed to be too great.


By the way, THANKS!!! for all your help, everyone!
 
No problem. And I'm glad to see that you got a different HSF then that other one. Good luck with the new system:)
 
What would my options be if I went with a board that didn't have an AGP slot? Are there any good video cards that have catv-in and the other stuff that the AIW has, that don't use AGP?
 
Yeah, but ouch on the cost for that one. Ouch!

Maybe I should aim for a lower video PCIe video card and a tv tuner? Would that be a good idea?

Or how about replacing the MB on my previous list with this board:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813136148

DFI Lanparty 875P-T? Looks like it'd satisfy my other requirements, and be a good bit more than I was asking (which is the better way to err, I think). Opinions?


And actually here's one much cheaper that would also satisfy my requirements.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813137053
AOpen i865PEa-7IF
 
Go with the XP-90 and a Panaflo 92mm or Vantec Stealth.
see this search page:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...&Category=0&minPrice=&maxPrice=&Go.x=0&Go.y=0

I don't have much experience with intel cpus + aftermarket hsf, so you may need that last item on the list, i dunno. Don't get the "XP-90c," it is too heavy.

Since you were planning a 7700, you might want the XP-120. If so, get that and a Panaflo 120mm fan.
120mm: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835180087
92mm: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835180088

It all depends on how much you want to spend. The XP-120 will run you 55+18 (fan) = $73
The XP-90 will be 37+15 = $52

If you get a LGA775/socket 478 then apparently you need the $5.50 retention bracket too.

-------

You will be much happier with the XP-90 or XP-120 than a Zalman.

------

If you want a low end pci-e card, there is the 6600GT for ~$150 on newegg. A better value, but more expensive, is the X800XL for $250 on monarchcomputer.com. It costs a bit, but it will give you REALLY great performance.
 
MrMitch said:
Have you considered going LGA 775 instead of Socket 478?
Click to expand...

What are the advantages of staying with 775 vs 478? Looks like I could easily find something to suit my requirements if I went for 478. Does it make much difference?
 
Another question.

My main goal with getting a MB that has firewire is to have a useable front panel on the case I have.

Is getting a firewire card that will supply headers for my case a viable option? Will the speeds be as good if I go that route? My thought process here is that I might be able to get a MB that doesn't have firewire, but has other stuff I like (or lower price) and then just add the firewire card for access.

Thoughts?
 
I finally made the plunge with this computer.

intel Pentium 4 530J 800MHz FSB LGA 775 Processor
AOpen i865PEa-7IF Socket T (LGA 775) Intel 865PE ATX Intel Motherboard
ATI ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 100-714116 Video Card
ZALMAN CNPS7700-ALCU 120mm 2 Ball Cooling Fan
GeIL Value 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit System Memory
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS Platinum 70SB035000003 8 (7.1) Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Interface Sound Card
COOLER MASTER Real Power RS-450-ACLY ATX12V 450W Power Supply
CoolerMaster Praetorian Case
Plextor 708a dvd burner, CRT monitor, keyboard, mouse, etc
I haven't installed the sound card yet. I have a ethernet card connected already. Other various stuff that I didn't mention that I can't think of just now, maybe. So far so good on the build.

Thanks for all your help in picking parts!!
 
Ok, it's working! [Obviously] internet and everything. I'm really excited!

Now, on to business. Is there any trick to testing and making sure I have everything hooked up properly? I also want to make sure I have everything hooked up that needs to be hooked up so things that I should have, I really do have. I don't know how to explain that, really. I want to make sure I didn't leave something off in my connections, basically. Thanks for any help!
 
Russ said:
Russ said:
Go with the XP-90 and a Panaflo 92mm or Vantec Stealth.
see this search page:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...&Category=0&minPrice=&maxPrice=&Go.x=0&Go.y=0
Click to expand...

waaaaaiit!!!

O well, did you get a cpu cooler already? You can get it for $39 with a panaflo 92mm and arctic silver INCLUDED at www.jabtech.com
Click to expand...

Yeah, I already got it all and put it together. I'm very happy with it. I got the ZALMAN CNPS7700-ALCU. Looks badass, and seems to be doing the job just fine.

Thanks for the help, though.
 
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