NEW BUILD UNDER 700

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b1gjon

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Apr 28, 2010
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1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
I will be running a surveillence software to view cameras on three monitors. No need for gaming. Will just need the computer on 24/7. Here is a link to the actual software that i will be running. http://vivotek.com/products/model.php?soft=vast I will be viewing max amount of channels 40+.


2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
My preferred budget is under $700

3) Where do you live?
Dallas, TX right next to Micro Center, and don't mind buying everything from there if the price difference for example from newegg is only $10 cheaper.

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
I need CPU, RAM, HARDDRIVE, MOTHERBOARD, VIDEO CARDS, CD BURNER, POWER SUPPLY, -- CHEAP CHEAP SOUND CARD. EVERYTHING EXCEPT CASE, AND MONITORS IF I MISSED ANYTHING.

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
I WILL BE USING A Athena Power RM-4U4038X50 Black 4U Rackmount Server Case 500W 3 External 5.25" Drive Bays

6) Will you be overclocking?
NO

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
I HAVE 3 ACER 19" MONITORS CURRENTLY BUT PLAN TO VIEW ON 3 42" SAMSUNG LED TV'S

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
ASAP

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
NOT SURE

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?
WOULD LIKE TO GO WITH WINDOWS 7

 
Do you have the VAST servers already?

I'm no good at doing anything cheaply, but i'll get you started
On the site it says you'll need a i7 and 4gb ram to veiw 40+ channels. LGA1366 is always pricy. So i'd go with 1156 instead. Check out the neweggs deals.

For a good start theres a 400w corsair PSU going for 29$ (after a mail in rebate) here
Which is cheap for a high quality PSU with all the cables you need. Unless the 500w part means it already has a PSU???

For OS, it always cheaper to go OEM. like this Windows 7 premium for 99$

For the drive, something like a cheap OEM LiteON.
LITE-ON Black 18X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model iHDS118-04 - OEM - 19$ Like the OS software its postage free.
 
Last edited:
DeathPrincess brought up a good point: For client playback, the software vendor recommends a Core i7 processor with at least 4GB of (DDR3) RAM. The problem is that a decent Core i7-based system would eat up a considerable amount of your money:

$403 - Intel Core i7 860 & Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD3 combo
$95 - G.Skill 2x2GB DDR3 1333 dual-channel kit

Add the cost of an OEM copy of Windows 7 (Home Premium) and you're looking at $600 of your $700 budget already used up.

You said that your "preferred" budget is under $700. With the Core i7 "recommendation" in mind, how much (at most) are you willing to spend on this build?
 
thanks for all the prelim info....although I don't want to spend more than 700, I really want to get a decent but not over the top system that reaches the minimum requirements of the i7. Therefore, whatever reccommendations to get the job done would be greatly considered. I also would like to factor out the price of the OS. Thanks again,...looking forward to more advice.
 
Here's something to fit your budget:

$205 - AMD Phenom II X4 940 & GeIL 2x2GB DDR3 1333 combo (free shipping on both)
$175 - Gigabyte GA-770TA-UD3 & Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit OEM combo (free shipping on OS)
$50 - XFX HD-545X-YNH2 Radeon HD 5450 (free shipping)
$20 - LG GH22LS50 SATA DVD burner (free shipping)
$70 - Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB HDD (free shipping)
$52 - Antec NEO ECO 520C 520W PSU (free shipping; 20% discount promo code "bigsave20" included, expires 6/20)
=====
$572 - Subtotal (not including shipping, taxes, or rebates)

The big question that I have -- which the vendor's website won't answer -- is whether the Core i7 was recommended because of its comparatively higher power or due to its Hyper Threading capabilities. To keep everything south of $700, I went with an AMD Phenom II quad-core instead; but I also took advantage of a few combo deals and promo code specials. (To take advantage of the promo code, you'll have to "sign up" for NewEgg e-mail newsletter, but it's worth the effort.) In the long run, it may be worth considering upgrading to a six-core processor and adding more RAM and/or storage space.

You also confused me a bit with the monitor requirement. Are the three Acer monitors are what you're currently using, or do you need new monitor for the purpose of this rig? (The HD 5450 that I chose earlier supports three monitors, but it has one VGA port, one DVI port, and one HDMI port.) What connections do the Acer monitors use? (You'll be able to find adapters to compensate for the ones that you're missing.) When are you planning to buy the 42" HDTVs (with HDMI ports)?
 
I had some questions in your previous thread...

enginurd said:
i7 for 40+ channels... he needs 40+ channels? ... just curious. He won't save much by going with a Ph2 X4 955, so I'd stick with Danny's build.

Oh, does he plan on recording? If so, at what bitrate, how many cams/feeds, and how long does he want to keep the recordings?
Click to expand...

Tzzird said:
... He will need about 40 channels as he's planning on having about 20 cameras at each of the two sites he needs to monitor.

This is for a computer that he will use to monitor his servers at his work sites that, I assume, will be doing the recording.

I know that he initially bought 2 megapixel cameras, but then realized that his bandwidth won't support that and so he will be returning those for lower quality ones. As for keeping the recordings, I would assume for as long as he can manage. Not sure if he will be keeping these on the server as revolving data or backing them up to his computer at home. I'll be sure to ask him for an update.
Click to expand...

enginurd said:
Hm... I wonder if he could keep the 2MP cams and simply stream at a lower bitrate?
Click to expand...

still recording to the same machine? or do you have a server for that?
 
Some clarifications:

I will be recording to the same computer, but will only be keeping about 1 week's worth of video. The manufactuer said 1TB would be efficient. Therefore, I would like to double that to expand if necessary, or to record at a higher bit rate. I'm currently running 9 2mp cameras, and the remaining 39 are standard IP. Recording is not a main priority for me, because this rig is really just to view. I have individual servers at each location recording all the feed as well.

(Are the three Acer monitors are what you're currently using, or do you need new monitor for the purpose of this rig?)
- These are the monitors that I purchased for the new rig. They only support VGA, but would like to have video cards to support DVI and HDMI for the purpose of the 42" led tvs in the future.

I will call the manufactuer tomorrow to find out why the i7 is recommended and will follow up.

thanks again.
 
Keep up updated!

Do those 42" LED TVs have display port by any chance?
 
Just posting some thoughts/maybe things to think about. I'm kinda lazy to explain everything, but ask and maybe i'll answer.

Processor - I7-875K - $200+tax at Microcenter (not listed on web, but call store, and they'll probably have it. I heard the sale ends this weekend) - faster processor, same cost as others, no real reason why not.

Mobo - [URL="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131634] ASUS P7P55D-E [/URL] - $130+shipping - Danny has a great combo also, but this is in the interest of cutting costs. I don't think it's missing any features you'll care about.

GPU - I have no idea what you need honestly. Just how do you plan to plug in 3 monitors? look up if 1 gpu is strong enough to display on 3 things, especially at whatever resolution you're using, or if you'll need 2 (whereby, i don't think my suggested mobo can handle that well). Also, look up Radeon's new Eyefinity-capable cards. Don't know much about them really, I just skimmed that section when reading reviews.

On a second look, tiraides build looks great except for the fact that you want an i7. However, if you're going to be doing video processing work, not just watching, I think the i7 performs better. Also, ddr3 1600 might actually be somewhat notieceably faster than the 1333

PS. I'm no computer expert, just been looking up parts for some time. might be worth double-checking some of my facts
 
quidproqu0 said:
Processor - I7-875K - $200+tax at Microcenter (not listed on web, but call store, and they'll probably have it. I heard the sale ends this weekend) - faster processor, same cost as others, no real reason why not.
Click to expand...

No HSF is a good reason not to get the i7 875K. That's another $30 on top of the $200 875K. Not to mention that the OP is not planning on overclocking so the unlocked aspect is a bit of a moot point.
quidproqu0 said:
Mobo - [URL="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131634] ASUS P7P55D-E [/URL] - $130+shipping - Danny has a great combo also, but this is in the interest of cutting costs. I don't think it's missing any features you'll care about.

GPU - I have no idea what you need honestly. Just how do you plan to plug in 3 monitors? look up if 1 gpu is strong enough to display on 3 things, especially at whatever resolution you're using, or if you'll need 2 (whereby, i don't think my suggested mobo can handle that well). Also, look up Radeon's new Eyefinity-capable cards. Don't know much about them really, I just skimmed that section when reading reviews.
Click to expand...

Umm, what combo are you talking about? Or did you confuse me with Tiraides?

In any case, that mobo is lacking one feature: a 2nd PCI-E x16 port for the second video card needed for three monitors. While many Eyefinity capable cards can handle three monitors, the problem is that the 3rd monitor is usually connected either by Display port, which hasn't shown up in that many monitors just yet, or via a Displayport to VGA/DVI adapter. Unfortunately every adapter reported so far has some issues here and there. As such for simplicity's sake and ease of use, two cheap video cards are recommended in this case. Thus two PCI-E x16 ports are needed on the motherboard.
 
Danny Bui said:
No HSF is a good reason not to get the i7 875K. That's another $30 on top of the $200 875K.
Click to expand...

Not only that, but the i7-860 now costs $230 at MicroCenter. This makes neither of the two lower-end 1156 i7 CPUs as good of a buy as a lot of people think. And the regular i7-870? Fuhgeddaboudit. It is clocked at the exact same speed as the 875K, is locked, and costs more than double that of either of the other two CPUs.

All this makes the Phenom II X6 1055T CPU the only sensible choice in the $200 price range right now.
 
ignore my advice then, I wasn't fully thinking straight

in terms of i7-860 pricing, I didn't know that either, but you could call your local Microcenter to check that easily enough
 
quidproqu0 said:
On a second look, tiraides build looks great except for the fact that you want an i7. However, if you're going to be doing video processing work, not just watching, I think the i7 performs better. Also, ddr3 1600 might actually be somewhat notieceably faster than the 1333

PS. I'm no computer expert, just been looking up parts for some time. might be worth double-checking some of my facts
Click to expand...

I am well aware (as is the OP) that an Intel Core i7 processor is recommended for the security cam recording and playback tasks that the OP wants to perform with this build. However, that "desire" has to be tempered within the limitations of the $700 budget the OP has.

I concede the point that a dual PCI-E x16 board and two (low-end) video cards (with DVI and/or HDMI) should have been chosen over what I posted earlier, and that the six-core AMD PII X6 1055T could be snuck into the build (within budget limitations). But "faster" RAM is really only beneficial when the user plans on overclocking, as it helps raise the overclocking threshold. And, as E4g1e alluded to earlier, the X6 1055T is a better bang-per-buck selection than any of the Intel Socket 1156 quad-cores.

Hell, try this on for size:

$280 - AMD Phenom II X6 1055T & MSI 870A-G54 combo (free shipping on both)
$92 - G.Skill 2x2GB DDR3 1333 (free shipping)
$130 - Two (2) XFX HD-465X-ZDF2 Radeon HD 4650 cards (@ $65 each; free shipping)
(choose the HDD, DVD burner, and PSU from earlier)
=====
$644 - Subtotal (not including shipping, taxes, or rebates)

The only problem with this build is that the cost of Windows 7 Home Premium would add another $100 to the total.
 
Thanks everyone for all the advice. Here is the list of items I have saved in my cart ready for purchase as soon as I add ram. The G.Skill is currently on backorder, and I don't want to wait, rather ask your opinions for an alternative. Please advise. Thanks so much!

$280 - AMD Phenom II X6 1055T & MSI 870A-G54 combo (free shipping on both)
$130 - Two (2) XFX HD-465X-ZDF2 Radeon HD 4650 cards (@ $65 each; free shipping)
$20 - LG GH22LS50 SATA DVD burner (free shipping)
$70 - Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB HDD (free shipping)
$52 - Antec NEO ECO 520C 520W PSU (free shipping; 20% discount promo code "bigsave20" included, expires 6/20)
 
single 5750 would be better deal than 2x 4670 as does support 3 displays. Just get a VGA-Displayport adapter.
 
b1gjon said:
Thanks everyone for all the advice. Here is the list of items I have saved in my cart ready for purchase as soon as I add ram. The G.Skill is currently on backorder, and I don't want to wait, rather ask your opinions for an alternative. Please advise. Thanks so much!
Click to expand...

Pick up the GeIL kit that I linked to earlier. It's only a bit more expensive than the G.Skill kit.

lt_shiro said:
single 5750 would be better deal than 2x 4670 as does support 3 displays. Just get a VGA-Displayport adapter.
Click to expand...

Danny Bui said:
[...] While many Eyefinity capable cards can handle three monitors, the problem is that the 3rd monitor is usually connected either by Display port, which hasn't shown up in that many monitors just yet, or via a Displayport to VGA/DVI adapter. Unfortunately every adapter reported so far has some issues here and there. As such for simplicity's sake and ease of use, two cheap video cards are recommended in this case. Thus two PCI-E x16 ports are needed on the motherboard.
Click to expand...
 
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