Old-New Hybrid PC

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greenman

Gawd
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Jul 17, 2007
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Need a new computer since my Sony VAIO's power supply went out and it's useless to spend $200 for Sony's repair service, and an ATX power supply is kinda tricky to pick out for this thing, I'm buying some ATX parts and moving the rest of the Sony VAIO parts into it.


Here is what I will be getting:
- Case
- Motherboard
- CPU Cooler
- Power Supply
- Graphic Card (maybe)

And then I'll put in all my older hardware from my Sony VAIO:
- 2 SATA HDDs
- 1.5 RAM (3 chips)
- Sound Card (5.1 surround supported)
- Pentium 4 with Hyper-Threading
- 2 DVD drives
- Cheap TV Tuner
- 5-in-1 Card reader
- Floppy Drive (doubtfully)

I am then planning on upgrading slowly, like:
- Graphics Card (If I don't get one now)
- Intel Quad-Core
- Good TV Tuner or something that would do the trick (haven't looked into it yet)
- Sound Card (maybe)


Here are those new ATX parts I am looking at right now:
- Case: COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel, SECC ATX Mid Tower - $60.99
- Motherboard: MSI P6N SLI Platinum LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - $156.60
- CPU Cooler: ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - $40.83
- Power Supply: OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI ATX12V 700W Power Supply 100 - 240 V - $104.99
- Graphic Card (maybe): EVGA 256-P2-N624-AR GeForce 7900GS 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 KO Video Card - $104.99

I don't want to spend too much and $400 is pushing it, but since I will later on be upgrading, I'd like to get solid parts that will last.
I will be using the PC for everything including video producing, music producing, gaming, and web development, not all at once however.


I could really use some feedback and maybe some recommendations. And if I forgot something else I might need, or if anything that I am looking at will not work with one or another part, please let me know. This is my first custom built computer so I maybe making mistakes. Thank you. :)
 
You doing any ocing?...should give you a nice boost in performance

is it ddr or ddr2?

other than that looks like you have a good plan ahead of you
 
I'm not too experienced in OCing, but I will be probably.

That's something that slipped my mind, sadly the 3 512mb RAM is just DDR, not DDR2.
How much will this effect the perfomance? Would it be best for me to look into getting new RAM now or later?
 
You aren't likely to find a quality board that'll support DDR and a quad core in the future. Just get 2GB of DDR2-800 for $80-100 when the time comes. I'd personally save up a bit more and buy a dual core now (after the 22nd for the price drops, obviously), as the P4 is aging fast, and limiting yourself to boards that will support it is... limiting.

As for right now...

Grab a nice case and a fairly good PSU from PC Power and Cooling, Silverstone, Seasonic, Corsair, Etasis, etc... It'll probably run you $150-200 all told for both case and PSU, but you'll be back up and running, and you'll be able to reuse everything you just bought when you replace the motherboard/CPU/etc.

The GameXstream line (built by FSP based on their Epsilon platform) has out of spec DC ripple on the 12v line. I would /definitely/ recommend something else, as there are far better, higher quality options out there for not that much more. Don't skimp on the PSU.

What kind of games do you play or intend to play? That'd help with figuring out other specifics.
 
Thanks, that helped a lot. That sound like a smart plan as long as my Sony VAIO motherboard will fit in the new case. All I know of the motherboard is that it says "PTGD-VX" on it, which google tells me is an ASUS. If that's true and it is either an ATX or a Micro-ATX, then I'm good with that case in my first post.

What PSU would you recommend for me? There are so many to choose from, it's hard for me to see which are those quality options.

Games I think would be at bottom of my concerns, but I'm a fan of the Command & Conquer type games (Company of Heroes, Black & White 2, Supreme Commander), FPSs (Half-Life 2, Deus Ex). I'm looking for the top gaming graphics card or the experience, but something that would work well all around in today's games.
 
Yeah, it's a standard size board, so you'll be fine with a new case, and it won't need any kind of crazy proprietary PSU.

I'd recommend something other than the Coolermaster Centurion 5, ideally something with all 120mm fans, for both airflow and quiet. Something like this might be an option, $80 - 20 MIR. There are plenty more options if you start looking at other brands, too. I love my P180B for example, but it's probably more than you're looking to spend on a case.

PSU-wise, this 560 watt Silverstone at $110 is a good option.

EDIT: This might be a better case for you, especially on a budget. $57, no rebates.
 
For $40, you can get a much better heatsink than the AC7 Pro. I recommend getting the Scythe Ninja because it's quieter and cools a lot better than the AC7 Pro. And it's only $36 at this very reputable site:
Scythe SCNJ-1100P Ninja HSF - $36

I also recommend getting the Corsair HX520 because it's a better quality PSU than that Gamestream you chose:
Corsair HX520 520W PSU - $100

As for the case, here's a cheaper version of that Centurion case you chose except this has two 120mm Fan mounts:
Cooler Master Centurion 534 ATX Case - $35
 
silent-circuit said:
Yeah, it's a standard size board, so you'll be fine with a new case, and it won't need any kind of crazy proprietary PSU.

I'd recommend something other than the Coolermaster Centurion 5, ideally something with all 120mm fans, for both airflow and quiet. Something like this might be an option, $80 - 20 MIR. There are plenty more options if you start looking at other brands, too. I love my P180B for example, but it's probably more than you're looking to spend on a case.

PSU-wise, this 560 watt Silverstone at $110 is a good option.

EDIT: This might be a better case for you, especially on a budget. $57, no rebates.
Click to expand...

Thanks! The case and the power supply sound great!

So what i will be getting now(today):
- Case: Sunbeam Freezing-Storm IC-FS-BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - $73.10
- Power Supply: SILVERSTONE SST-ST56F ATX12V / EPS12V 560W Power Supply - $113.21
- CPU Cooler: ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - Retail - $40.83

Total: $227.14

Looks good to me. Now just looking around to see if I can get any of the parts for less.


Thanks a lot! :)

Oh and, when do you think is a good time to upgrade to a new motherboard and a quad-core?
 
(sorry, didn't see the 3 posts, having some logout/login issues)

Hmm.. Some hard choices but..

What I decided on so far:
- Case: Sunbeam Freezing-Storm IC-FS-BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - $73.10
- Power Supply: Corsair 520W SLI Certified Modular ATX Power Supply - CMPSU-520HX - $99.99
- CPU Cooler: Scythe NINJA PLUS Rev.B " 6 Heat Pipes CPU Cooler - $43.71

Total: $216.80

The Corsair power supply's 5 year warranty is a no brainer for me since I've had 2 power supplies die on me in the past 2 months.

I really like the idea of the core-fans in the Sunbeam Freezing-Storm case, it looks pretty nice too. but.. I'll need to buy an LED fan for that. :p


Thanks to all! :)
I'll order in a few hours unless someone else has any recomendations.
 
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