Advice for a "sweet spot" build

A

aj327

New Member
I'm so glad I found this site.

I'm looking to build a great system. I don't really care about cost but I don't want to throw away money obviously. I'd like to hit the sweet spot with pretty much all the hardware but don't mind spending a little more on the graphics card and maybe the sound card if it can turn my system into a mixer.

I'm not really into gaming all that much but I can foresee myself getting into some video editing and scanning/manipulating some huge tiff files and doing some photoshop work. I'm also a musician and have been considering using this computer as a mixer of sorts. I'm kind of partial to Intel but if AMD is the way to go these days, I can accept that. I'd like it to be 64 bit capable as well. I'm not sure what the advantages/differences are between all the various sockets and what the compatibilities between mobo and proc are which is why I'm asking for help.

Like I said price isn't that big an issue because this computer is long overdue. But I'm thinking it shouldn't cost over $2000 without monitor - hopefully much less since I'm shooting for sweet spot (or just a little better) and not bleeding edge. (Though I'm kind of a sucker for bleeding edge and can easily get talked into it).

Thanks in advance.

Oh and by the way, I'm also looking for case suggestions. I'm not really into the glitz and bling stuff. I want something that opens easily, has a smart design for product installation, and good air flow. I also don't want a door on the front. I know I'd get annoyed having to open the door every time to power on my computer or load a disc. I want it to be like an Audi. Understated yet still the look of quality.

Oh and I'm also thinking that I want to go nvidia this time around. I've had issues with ATI's tech support people in the past. That and they're located in Canada which makes holding for long periods pretty expensive.

Keyboard and mouse suggestions would also be appreciated. I'm still using a logitech wired optical mouse from about 5 years ago, but wouldn't mind upgrading to wireless if wireless has finally become virtually flawless. But I have no patience for dropped signals and such. I'd rather just deal with the wires.

Hell, suggest a good scanner too for good measure. I want to use it to scan in old damaged photographs so that I can restore them in photshop.

Thanks again!
 
ASPIRE X-Dreamer II ATXB4KLW-BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 420W Power Supply-56
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ Toledo 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Dual Core Processor Model ADA4800CDBOX-884
PC Power & Cooling 850 SSI SLI, EPS12V, SSI 850W Power Supply-430
Arctic SIlver Premium Photosynthetic Silver Thermal Compound Arctic Silver 5-8
DFI LANPARTY nF4 SLI-DR Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard-198
2* OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Platinum System Memory Model OCZ4002048ELDCPE-K-540
2x Western Digital Raptor 74GB 3.5" Serial ATA150-366
Seagate Barracuda 250GB Sata Hard Drive-112
2x NEC Black IDE DVD Burner Model ND-3540A-82
Microsoft Windows XP Pro w/Service Pack 2-142 (Do you need?)
2* eVGA 256-P2-N538-AX With Battlefield 2 Bundle Geforce 7800GTX 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card-1058
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Platinum Pro Edition-120 (on sale at compusa)
THERMALRIGHT XP-120 Heatsink-69
ZALMAN CNPS7700-CU 120mm 2 Ball Cooling Fan-48
LOGISYS Computer CLK12BL 30cm Cold Cathode Kit-5
3* Thermaltake A2018 120mm 1 Ball 1 Sleeve Blue LED Light Case Cooling Fan-45
Logitech LX 700 Wireless Keyboard/Mouse-49
Logitech X-530 70 Watts 5.1 Speaker-47
SAMSUNG 930BF-BLACK Black 19" 4ms (Gray to Gray) LCD Monitor-450

This will set you back $4709.
 
JK! Okay in that list, cut down to AMD x2 3800+
A cheaper PSU, read PSU 101.
No need raptors
1 dvd-burner
1 7800GTX

should be in your budget $2500 everything. $450 monitor/keyboard/etc. Means tower is <2000 thats after the ^^^ suggested cuts.
 
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ASPIRE X-Dreamer II ATXB4KLW-BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 420W Power Supply-56
AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Manchester 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Dual Core Processor Model ADA3800BVBOX-376
Arctic SIlver Premium Photosynthetic Silver Thermal Compound Arctic Silver 5-8
MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard-105
OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Platinum System Memory Model OCZ4002048ELDCPE-K-243
OCZ OCZ520ADJ ATX 520W Power Supply-115
Seagate Barracuda 250GB Sata Hard Drive-112
NEC Black IDE DVD Burner Model ND-3540A-41
Microsoft Windows Pro Home w/Service Pack 2-142 (Do you need?)
eVGA 256-P2-N538-AX With Battlefield 2 Bundle Geforce 7800GTX 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card-549
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Platinum Pro Edition-130 (on sale at compusa)
THERMALRIGHT XP-120 Heatsink-69
ZALMAN CNPS7700-CU 120mm 2 Ball Cooling Fan-48
3* Thermaltake A2018 120mm 1 Ball 1 Sleeve Blue LED Light Case Cooling Fan-45
Logitech LX 700 Wireless Keyboard/Mouse-49
Logitech X-530 70 Watts 5.1 Speaker-47
SAMSUNG 930BF-BLACK Black 19" 4ms (Gray to Gray) LCD Monitor-450


Total $2585 all prices from newegg.com. the processor and ram could be changed.

How is $4709 overpaying for all of that? Is it b/c in Canada the stuff is cheaper?
 
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if your not playing games then your much better off with an intel, id recommedn either a P4 3.6Ghz w/ht or a Pentium D.
 
Exactly how are you better off? AMD beats the @)*$# out of intel at everything except multitasking and encoding. He said he might get into video editing, not as a profession, so the difference won't exactly be noticeable to him.

Roger
 
geoff5093 said:
if your not playing games then your much better off with an intel, id recommedn either a P4 3.6Ghz w/ht or a Pentium D.
Click to expand...


Minus monitor/keyboard/speakers/mouse. $2039, ok so a little overbudget.
 
Hey guys,

Thanks for the input so far. Like I said, I'd rather go Intel so that 3.6 you guys mentioned might do nicely. A more specific recommendation regarding mobo and proc would be awesome though. If I'm not going to be gaming that much, is it worth getting a high end video card by the way, in terms of video editing and/or handling of huge tiff files? Plus what about that new creative sound card the X-fi? Worth it you think?

Thanks again.
 
I don't mind going dual core if you think I'll really notice a difference. But what I really need, dual core or not are recommendations for a pairing of a good processor with good mobo and also RAM. Is 2gb RAM overkill by the way?

Thanks
 
I thought AMD was just the best for gaming/frame rates etc. I virtually never play games but may want to simultaneously burn a dvd, download music, have winamp going, and still have enough resources to flip through some photos without the system having to think about it too long. I was under the impression that Intel was better at that sort of thing.
 
Well, right now the AMD's completelly kill the intel's overall, and are 90% of the time cheaper.
i'd go with AMD. I believe amd's also stay cooler. am i wrong?
 
XHotxEx791 said:
Exactly how are you better off? AMD beats the @)*$# out of intel at everything except multitasking and encoding. He said he might get into video editing, not as a profession, so the difference won't exactly be noticeable to him.

Roger
Click to expand...


cause all amd is really good for is gaming, intel is better for other uses.
 
X24 said:
Well, right now the AMD's completelly kill the intel's overall, and are 90% of the time cheaper.
i'd go with AMD. I believe amd's also stay cooler. am i wrong?
Click to expand...

amds are better for gaming, and intels are better for multi-tasking, but if your just using it for e-mail, dvd watching, ect, then you could go either way. And yes, AMD's are cheaper, but only if you use it at gaming really. ANd they do stay cooler.
 
OK so I guess I'm leaning towards AMD now, even though no one seems to be directly answering any of my questions, simply because AMD seems to get better reviews than the pentiums I've been looking at.

So what do you guys think about this processor, and can anyone recommend a compatible motherboard? Don't need onboard sound or video obviously, but want firewire, usb2 and ethernet.

AMD Athlon 64 3800+ Venice 1GHz FSB 512KB L2 Cache Socket 939 Processor
found here:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103531

Thanks a lot...
 
if you're not going to do heavy gaming, you don't need the 3800+
3000+ will suit you fine IMO
i have no experience with video editing though, so get someone else

also, you don't need 7800GTX, 6600GT will be sufficient
 
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