Turning one computer into two... need some advice...

[tiraides]

I am in an upgrading mood so I plan on using parts of my current rig for two computers:

1) My upgraded rig -- I'm going dual-core this year....
2) My brother's graduation gift: a computer that's good for school and games

Here's my current rig:

ABIT AG8 (Intel 915P/LGA775)
Pentium 4 650
Thermalright XP-90 w/ Panaflo 92mm H1A
2x1024 Corsair XMS PC3200 DDR
Lite-On DL DVD burner and DVD-ROM drives
500GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.9
256MB XFX GeForce 7800 GTX
(onboard sound)
Antec P180
Enermax Noisetaker 600W PSU

Money is tight for both projects, but I want to turn Computer 1 (my rig) into a beast -- here's what I had in mind (items that I'm adding are in bold):

ASUS A8N-SLI (nForce 4 SLI/Socket 939) (has all the features that I want)
AMD X2 3800+ or 4400+ (still haven't decided)
Stock cooling fan (but I may get another XP-90)
2x1024 Corsair XMS PC3200 DDR
Lite-On DL DVD burner and DVD-ROM drives
(2x) 500GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 (Yes, I want a second one...)
256MB XFX GeForce 7800 GTX (I'm only going to use one videocard for my rig)
Audigy X-Fi XtremeMusic
Antec P180
Enermax Noisetaker 600W PSU

Here's what I'm planning for Computer 2 (my bro's):

ABIT AG8
Pentium 4 650
Thermalright XP-90 w/ Panaflo 92mm H1A
1GB (2x512MB) PC3200 value-based "brand-name" RAM
Cheap "brand-name" DVD burner and DVD-ROM drives
300GB Maxtor DiamondMax 10
X800GTO2 or 6800GS-based video card (PCI Express)
Audigy X-Fi XtremeMusic
Antec SLK3800B
Antec SmartPower 2.0 400W PSU (included in the SLK3800B)

I really don't want to spend more than $1500 upgrading both computers, and that's including the costs for additional software... but I will if I have to. (My real limit is $2000, but I'm shooting for under $1500.)

Are there any changes that you'd make from a price/performance standpoint?

 

[Shogo]

Nice gift for your brother! I am thinking doing the same for mine also when he will graduate ehe.

My question is:

Why are you going for a SLI mobo if you dont plan to go with SLI.

For your brother, well you could get him a 6800GS, its really cheap and its the best bang for the buck. Keep in mind that for people who are not really into huge performance and gaming... he wont even notice the performance change between a 6800GS and a 7800GT ...

for your computer, if you dont plan on overclockin i think you should go with the x2 4400. Opterons are worth it if you are overclocking it (thats what i think) for the video card, did you consider the nes x1900XT? the are not really more expensive then a 7800gtx 256, and outperforms it. Pair that with the ASUS A8R-MVP and BOOM! ehhe

 

[tiraides]

Why are you going for a SLI mobo if you dont plan to go with SLI.

The A8N-SLI has all of the features that I want in a motherboard: Gigabit Ethernet, USB and FireWire ports, and three available PCI ports (I planned on adding a TV tuner card in the near future...). And it only cost about $10 more than my second choice board.

For your brother, well you could get him a 6800GS, its really cheap and its the best bang for the buck. Keep in mind that for people who are not really into huge performance and gaming... he wont even notice the performance change between a 6800GS and a 7800GT ...

I haven't fully decided yet, but it's a toss-up between the X800GTO2 and the 6800GS. I'll save the 7800GT as a "I don't have enough money to finish this computer" last resort.

for your computer, if you dont plan on overclockin i think you should go with the x2 4400. Opterons are worth it if you are overclocking it (thats what i think) for the video card, did you consider the nes x1900XT? the are not really more expensive then a 7800gtx 256, and outperforms it. Pair that with the ASUS A8R-MVP and BOOM! ehhe

Thanks for the mobo suggestion, but I found a board to suit my needs. I'm leaning towards the X2 4400 myself, but I may get the 3800 if I can't determine any real increase in performance between the two. As for the video card, I just bought it recently, and it's more than enough for my needs. It stays.

 

[Tcalp]

I'd skip on the SLK3700BQE/Antec 550 TPII and simply get a SLK3800 that comes with a SPII-400W, with the hardware that your putting in the machine he won't need more then that. If your hardset on getting the 550W TPII then I'd get the SLK3000 case, it's the same chassis but without PSU included. Going with the 3800 would chop about $100 off your cost, going with the 3000 would knock about $50 off.

I'd skip on the DVD-ROM drive, sure it's only $20 or so but does he really need a second drive? even if he is copying movies they have to decrypt to the HDD first.

As for the Office suite I'd definatly get the Student Teacher Ed. first off it's cheaper, and it includes a larger set of the complete office suite, the Student Teacher Edition (although rare) is available in OEM, getting the OEM suite over the retail box should cut another 40-50$

 

[tiraides]

I'd skip on the SLK3700BQE/Antec 550 TPII and simply get a SLK3800 that comes with a SPII-400W, with the hardware that your putting in the machine he won't need more then that. If your hardset on getting the 550W TPII then I'd get the SLK3000 case, it's the same chassis but without PSU included. Going with the 3800 would chop about $100 off your cost, going with the 3000 would knock about $50 off.

Are you sure that the SPII-400W would be enough? I'll check the Power Supplies forum to be sure. But for now, I'll list the SLK3800B as the case.

I'd skip on the DVD-ROM drive, sure it's only $20 or so but does he really need a second drive? even if he is copying movies they have to decrypt to the HDD first.

I'm keeping the DVD-ROM on the list just to be on the safe side.

As for the Office suite I'd definatly get the Student Teacher Ed. first off it's cheaper, and it includes a larger set of the complete office suite, the Student Teacher Edition (although rare) is available in OEM, getting the OEM suite over the retail box should cut another 40-50$

I was thinking Student Teacher Edition, but 1) I'm not a student, so I (theoretically) couldn't get it, and 2) I have a copy of Standard Edition that I may be able to use instead. I know that price is the main difference between the Standard and Student Teacher Editions, but it's the Basic (OEM) version that's stripped in comparison (the Basic version loses PowerPoint, which IMO is asinine -- most people can live without Outlook...).

 

[Tcalp]

sorry my post about going with the 3800/3000 stuff was still about the cases not the CPU, and yes I'm sure the SPII-400W will be fine, we build 7/8 machines a day and primarly use Antec stuff.

 

[tiraides]

I changed a few items on my list... I decided to go with the ASUS A8N-SLI board, since it has all of the features that I want. (But after looking at some prices, maybe I should get a refurbished Deluxe or Premium board instead....) I also dropped the 7800GT from the list -- like I mentioned before, that was overkill for my brother.

So... Good? Bad? What?

 

[vbrtrmn]

Power Supply Calculator
http://www.extreme.outervision.com/index.jsp

Per dual-core, what kinds of applications will you be using that support multi-CPU, aside from Windows? If you're not using stuff like Maya, 3D Studio Max, Oracle Database, etc; why are you buying a dual-core? 99% of the software on the market is not compiled for multi-CPU support, thus your second core will NEVER be used. I've had four multi-processor computers, only one still lives, it is a server running Linux, with most of the software custom compiled for multiple CPU support. Of the other three, I rarely, if ever used the second CPUs. Just some stuff to think about, before you shell out the extra bucks for a 4400+ ($470.99), when all you're really going to use is a 3700+ ($234.99). (prices listed are from Newegg, including shipping)

None of this software supports multiple CPUs:
Office 2003 Professional
Nero 7 Ultra
PowerDVD (basic version)
Symantec AntiVirus
ZoneAlarm Pro
Webroot SpySweeper

Windows Vista, Windows XP Pro, Windows 2000, Windows NT all have multiple-processor support, but mainly only to allow software to run on both processors.

Don't be a noob, don't waste your money on junk that you'll never use

Good luck with your system!

 

[tiraides]

The real reason for the switch is because I'm "giving" my computer to my younger brother so he has something decent for college. (I did this for my other brother, who is in college right now, and I decided to continue the trend.) As for the dual-core, I understand that nothing's optimized for it... but I plan on getting a TV tuner (or possibly a PVR) card in the near future, and if the dual-core helps reduce the problems associated with multi-tasking (which I've been doing a lot of lately), then I'm all for it. However, I do realize that the 4400 may be overkill, since I'm not a heavy gamer (the reason why I'm not getting a 512MB video card or utilizing SLI)... I'll do some research first before I decide on the processor.

Thanks for the link to the PSU Calculator... this was updated more recently than anything else I could find (it confirmed that I could get the Antec SLK3800B for my brother's rig).

(And about that n00b comment... it's not illegal to want more than you need.... )

 

[tiraides]

With the exception of the processor for my rig, I think that I have everything else mapped out for these two rigs. I took the software off the lists because I have nearly everything that I need for both computers.

So... are there any last-minute changes or additions to these lists? Going once... going twice...