Seeking advice on new computer

[bigjp]

Hello everyone. This is my first post here and it looks like a great site. I'm in need of a new computer. Right now I have an ABS PIII 500MHZ that is very old. There's some upgrades in it, but it's way past time to get a new pc. I thought I had a computer all picked out and then I started reading the 101 threads and I started all over again. I haven't kept up with what's new in the computer world (how many times have you heard that from a newbie?) and still confused about a lot of things….even after reading the great FAQ's here.

After finding this site, building a pc looks like it would be a great learning experience and lots of fun. However, my situation is a bit different than many posters. I work on a US Navy base in Japan (civilian) and have to rely on US postal shipping. It gets difficult (and expensive) to find vendors who will ship this way, so my choices get more limited. Right now I'm looking at buying a pre-built system so I don't have to deal with a lot of shipping costs from various vendors (newegg.com won't ship to me ). I found cyberpower.com and they will ship to military addies, but I'm open to other vendors if someone can suggest one. I found good and bad reviews of this site, which doesn't make me all that comfortable. The Navy Exchange has systems, but they are not too good. Mostly Compaq/HP and a few Sony's. The specs really suck for the price tag on them. Good enough processors, but not too much else.

Anyway, I need a computer for basic office type work (nothing really big) and I also want to do movie editing (nothing really extensive…just home video from digital camcorder to dvd…maybe some other stuff if I'm able). I'll be using software such as PINNACLE Studio Plus Version 9. I won't be doing any gaming on this pc. My budget is in the $1000 range not including shipping. If I can get by easily with less then that is great. I'd like a pc that will last me around 3 years or so.

Here's what I came up with at cyberpower:

ALUMINUM X-SuperAlien Server 420W W/ Window & LCD Temperature Display + Fan Control (Aspire)
(Sckt775)Intel® Pentium® 4 CPU 630 CPU w/HT Technology 3.0GHZ 800FSB 2MB Cache, 64 Bit
(DDR1 OR DDR2)MSI 915P COMBO F I915P CHIPSET SOCKET775 PCI EXPRESS MB W/ SATA, GIGABITE LAN & 7.1 SOUND
1024 MB (512MBx2) PC3200 400MHz Dual Channel DDR MEMORY (Corsair Value RAM)
INTEL LGA775 CERTIFIED CPU FAN & HEATSINK + 3 EXTRA CASE FANS
MAXTOR 250GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA 150 8MB CACHE HARD DRIVE
ATI RADEON X700 PRO 256MB 16X PCI EXPRESS VIDEO CARD
16X DVD ROM
PIONEER DVR-109 DUAL FORMAT 16X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER
HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
600WATT PMPO SUBWOOFER STEREO SPEAKERS
INTERNAL 6in1 Flash Media Reader/Writer
Logitech Deluxe 104 PS/2 Keyboard
Logitech Optical Wheel Mouse
Round Cable Upgrade for Hard Drive, Optical Drive & Floppy Drive
Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional X64 Edition
Professional Wiring for All WIRINGs Inside The System Chasis
Final price: $1056.00

What do you think? Is this more machine than I will need? Is there something I should change? I have a 80 gig HD that I'll pull from my current machine and stick in the new one.

The PSU states that it's 420w, but Aspire's website says that this case has a 500w psu. I emailed cyberpower to see if they can clarify. Would either psu be okay or do I need something more? For the video card, it is between the ATI X700 and NVIDIA Geforce 6600 256MB. Will either of these work well for video editing? Both are equal in price.

Another question….what's the difference between the case fans I listed and LED fans. For another 9 bucks more than the extra fans I listed they offer 2 LED fans with lights. So are the fans the same except for the lights?...not too important, but thought I'd ask.

I thought the round wires and professional wiring (ain't all their wiring professional?…geez) would be a good extra. My pc is in a room with no a/c, so I'm thinking air movement in the case is important. Are these unnecessary items (extra $19 each).

Does anyone have experience with the new Windows Pro using 64bit? The CPU 101 thread said it's a good idea to go with the 64 bit chip if possible, so what about 64 bit Windows?

Okay, I think that's all I have for now. Sorry for the long post and any newbie mistakes I may have made. If you can lend some input or suggestions I'd really appreciate it. Thanks!!!

 

[Jonn0]

Please excuse me if im wrong but it doesnt seem you have a motherboard...??

Or have i missed something?

It looks good tho!

 

[bigjp]

Please excuse me if im wrong but it doesnt seem you have a motherboard...??

Or have i missed something?

It looks good tho!

Hi Jonn0, It's the MSI 915P....third item down on the list.

 

[Dropkickmurphys]

you may want to go with AMD athlon insted of intel, but its up to you

 

[bigjp]

you may want to go with AMD athlon insted of intel, but its up to you

The original pc I was putting together was AMD64, but after reading the CPU101 thread I thought I should go with P4. I thought Pentium is better for video editing? Will it make much difference in the editing I'm doing?

 

[lynx6200]

Thats an awful lot of stuff. Anyway, looks like a good build. In terms of your psu, you should probably get rid of the one that comes with your case anyway, they usualy arent too good. Buy a nice psu for around $50, theres some good recomendations on PSU 101. Dont worry about the wattage, I think even 300-350 would power your system. For the video cards, the extra 256mb on the 6600 might be useful.

Intel or AMD is really up to you, its personal prefrence, but most people say AMD is better on games. I dont know necesarily about graphics, I would leave that to your graphic card.

 

[4W4K3]

The original pc I was putting together was AMD64, but after reading the CPU101 thread I thought I should go with P4. I thought Pentium is better for video editing? Will it make much difference in the editing I'm doing?

Intel would be better for video editing in most cases, but i don't think the difference would be huge either. If you think Intel is what would suit your needs best, go for it. Alot of people here are AMD fans and will recommend it no matter what your needs are lol.

 

[bigjp]

Intel would be better for video editing in most cases, but i don't think the difference would be huge either. If you think Intel is what would suit your needs best, go for it. Alot of people here are AMD fans and will recommend it no matter what your needs are lol.

lol....gotcha.

With all else being the same, here's the pc with AMD and Geforce (same price).....

(Sckt939)MSI MSI-K8N NEO4/SLI nForce4 SLI Chipset Dual PCIE MB w/Gb-LAN,USB2.0,IEEE-1394,&7.1Audio
AMD ATHLON™64 3200+ CPU w/ Hyper Transport Technology ~ CAG807
NVIDIA Geforce 6600 256MB 16X PCI EXPRESS VIDEO CARD

I'll keep turning the processor issue over....

I'm getting the idea that I'll need to spend a few more bucks and get the power supply. It's not the same model as one listed in the 101 thread, but same company...ULTRA X-Connect 500W ATX PS w/2 80mm Fans $49 after rebate. They also have a Enermax EG565P 535 Watt Power Supply for $79. The Aspire website doesn't even list the specs for the stock 420w ps, so I'm guessing there's not much to write about.

Thanks for the replies so far!

 

[4W4K3]

lol....gotcha.

With all else being the same, here's the pc with AMD and Geforce (same price).....

(Sckt939)MSI MSI-K8N NEO4/SLI nForce4 SLI Chipset Dual PCIE MB w/Gb-LAN,USB2.0,IEEE-1394,&7.1Audio
AMD ATHLON™64 3200+ CPU w/ Hyper Transport Technology ~ CAG807
NVIDIA Geforce 6600 256MB 16X PCI EXPRESS VIDEO CARD

I'll keep turning the processor issue over....

I'm getting the idea that I'll need to spend a few more bucks and get the power supply. It's not the same model as one listed in the 101 thread, but same company...ULTRA X-Connect 500W ATX PS w/2 80mm Fans $49 after rebate. They also have a Enermax EG565P 535 Watt Power Supply for $79. The Aspire website doesn't even list the specs for the stock 420w ps, so I'm guessing there's not much to write about.

Thanks for the replies so far!

you wont need an SLI motherboard if you only buy one graphics card (SLI is for 2 gfx cards) so save some cash and get a single PCI-E mobo.

i think i'd go with the X-Connect PSU, Pros and Cons from a review of it when it first came out :

Pros:

* Fully modular
* Only use the cables you need--no more unwanted cable mess
* 500W of power
* Cables are UV reactive
* Beautiful blue mirror finish
* Steady power rails
* Two silent fans to aid in cooling
* Braided silver cables
* Serial ATA power
* Priced at a cheap $99.99 (at time of review)

Cons:

* Not enough Molex connectors for the extra system fans
* No adjustable potentiometers
* Paint finish can scratch easily
* Use of small heatsinks

 

[bigjp]

you wont need an SLI motherboard if you only buy one graphics card (SLI is for 2 gfx cards) so save some cash and get a single PCI-E mobo.

i think i'd go with the X-Connect PSU, Pros and Cons from a review of it when it first came out :

Pros:

* Fully modular
* Only use the cables you need--no more unwanted cable mess
* 500W of power
* Cables are UV reactive
* Beautiful blue mirror finish
* Steady power rails
* Two silent fans to aid in cooling
* Braided silver cables
* Serial ATA power
* Priced at a cheap $99.99 (at time of review)

Cons:

* Not enough Molex connectors for the extra system fans
* No adjustable potentiometers
* Paint finish can scratch easily
* Use of small heatsinks

Cool! So that makes the AMD system about $40 less w/o the SLI mobo. In the cons section for the PS it says there's not enough Molex connectors for extra fans. I was planning to put as many fans in there as I could because summers here are hell. Will this be a problem with this ps?

 

[4W4K3]

Cool! So that makes the AMD system about $40 less w/o the SLI mobo. In the cons section for the PS it says there's not enough Molex connectors for extra fans. I was planning to put as many fans in there as I could because summers here are hell. Will this be a problem with this ps?

hmm, well i'm not really sure how many fans he wanted to actually use.

But, you cna actually buy molex extensions (splitters) and get more. From 1 molex u cna make 2, then from those 2 you can make 4 tec. it jsut gets messy if u want like 15 fans lol. For tha averag case i think you might nly need 1 or 2 splitters max unless you cut more holes for fans.

 

[bigjp]

hmm, well i'm not really sure how many fans he wanted to actually use.

But, you cna actually buy molex extensions (splitters) and get more. From 1 molex u cna make 2, then from those 2 you can make 4 tec. it jsut gets messy if u want like 15 fans lol. For tha averag case i think you might nly need 1 or 2 splitters max unless you cut more holes for fans.

I'll draw the line at 14.lol I was thinking just 3 or 4, so it'll be fine. It's late here or I'd look up the specs. I'll be back in the morning to see if you guys can make up my mind for me.

My wife suggested that I should just wait until this one dies to get a new one....she's sleeping on the sofa tonight.

 

[ripken2004]

i would go witht he antec truepower 2.0 for the psu

 

[bigjp]

Right now the AMD 64 system is in the lead for me. The performance drop I may experience with video editing seems like it will most likely be minor if I drop the Pentium.

Now I'm trying to work out the video card. There are 3 contenders:

NVIDIA Geforce 6600 256MB 16X PCI EXPRESS
ATI RADEON X700 PRO 256MB 16X PCI EXPRESS
NVIDIA Geforce 6600 GT 128MB 16X PCI EXPRESS

The 6600 GT is more expensive, but I'm still considering it if it will make a good improvement in my system. I'm not going to be doing any gaming....I'm just in need of video editing with this card. Which should I be looking at for this purpose? My understanding is that the 6600 GT will be faster, but will I need that for what I'll be using it for? Or will the 256MB in the other cards be better suited for my purposes? Thanks for any help and/or recommendations offered!

 

[Praetor]

I work on a US Navy base in Japan (civilian) and have to rely on US postal shipping. It gets difficult (and expensive) to find vendors who will ship this way,

Hmmmm .. not sure if you checked into this or not ... but places like Newegg do ship to military bases ... now whether the recipient has to be combatant or not i dont know

(newegg.com won't ship to me

Awwww bummer.

What do you think? Is this more machine than I will need? Is there something I should change? I have a 80 gig HD that I'll pull from my current machine and stick in the new one.

If you can, drop the videocard down lower as the X700 is somewhat a gaming oriented card, other than that ... not much i would really change

The PSU states that it's 420w, but Aspire's website says that this case has a 500w psu. I emailed cyberpower to see if they can clarify. Would either psu be okay or do I need something more? For the video card, it is between the ATI X700 and NVIDIA Geforce 6600 256MB. Will either of these work well for video editing? Both are equal in price.

Have a look at PSU101 for what to ask about ... if i guess correctly, the rating on yer PSU will be

Which, IMO is slightly underpowered (look for 22+A on the 12V rail)

I thought the round wires and professional wiring (ain't all their wiring professional?…geez) would be a good extra. My pc is in a room with no a/c, so I'm thinking air movement in the case is important. Are these unnecessary items (extra $19 each).

Once you get the comp you can rewire it yourself

The original pc I was putting together was AMD64, but after reading the CPU101 thread I thought I should go with P4. I thought Pentium is better for video editing? Will it make much difference in the editing I'm doing?

For the level of what you're doing, you're unlikely to notice a difference however if your budget supports something like the Athlon64 X2 series then that is a vastly superior choice due to it's dual core nature. As things stand you're ok. If you do want to switch to AMD, a Venice 3500 would be more than enough to satisfy your requirements

(Sckt939)MSI MSI-K8N NEO4/SLI nForce4 SLI Chipset Dual PCIE MB w/Gb-LAN,USB2.0,IEEE-1394,&7.1Audio
AMD ATHLON™64 3200+ CPU w/ Hyper Transport Technology ~ CAG807
NVIDIA Geforce 6600 256MB 16X PCI EXPRESS VIDEO CARD

Drop the SLI and go for the Nforce4 or Nforce4 Ultra. The SLI caters to the premium high end gamers... a category which you dont fall into

Cool! So that makes the AMD system about $40 less w/o the SLI mobo. In the cons section for the PS it says there's not enough Molex connectors for extra fans. I was planning to put as many fans in there as I could because summers here are hell. Will this be a problem with this ps?

Most decent fans have some form of connector such that they dont actually use up a connecotr (i.e, a passthrough type) so provided you dont have a crapload (i.e., 10) fans all strung out, you'll be ok

Right now the AMD 64 system is in the lead for me. The performance drop I may experience with video editing seems like it will most likely be minor if I drop the Pentium.

If you can, get me the code on the chip that appears on the second line:

If you can find out that it's a Winchester, Venice processor, go for it ... but realistically you're not gonna notice an earth shattering difference either way simpyl due to the nature of what you're doing ... go for the cheaper option (and while you're at it, you can also scale back on the 6600 videocard if you dont plan to do any gaming ... the 6200 is sufficient)

 

[bigjp]

Hmmmm .. not sure if you checked into this or not ... but places like Newegg do ship to military bases ... now whether the recipient has to be combatant or not i dont know

OMG! I looked around their website and didn't see any info about it and saw their shipping choices, so just figured they wouldn't ship. I just checked shipping options after placing an item in the cart and they DO ship to military addies!!! Okay, the game has now changed and I'm off to investigate what I can put together at Newegg. Thanks for the great post Praetor!!!

BTW, I'm now interested in dual core chips after doing some reading on them. The Pentium D is the only one in my price range though.

 

[Praetor]

OMG! I looked around their website and didn't see any info about it and saw their shipping choices, so just figured they wouldn't ship. I just checked shipping options after placing an item in the cart and they DO ship to military addies!!! Okay, the game has now changed and I'm off to investigate what I can put together at Newegg. Thanks for the great post Praetor!!!

Glad I could help buddy

BTW, I'm now interested in dual core chips after doing some reading on them. The Pentium D is the only one in my price range though.

Might I be able to change your mind
- Athlon64 X2 3800 [ADA3800DAA5BV. 425USD]
- Chaintech VNF4/Ultra [85USD]
- Corsair ValueSelect 2x512 [CL2.5 2.5v, 90USD]
- Maxtor DiamondMax10 200GB 16MB [90USD]
- NEC 3540A DVDRW [40USD]
- Xclio 450W [12V@32A, 50USD]
- Sapphire X300SE 128MB [50USD]
Subtotal = 830USD

The rest (case, OS, whatever) should be able to fit inside your budget

 

[bigjp]

Hey guys, I'm back and I have some more questions. I'm pretty sure I've decided to build my own rig. My budget seems to have increased some, but I'm still keeping it at not too high of a price in my book.

Here's what I'm looking at now for my video editing system....

ASPIRE X-Plorer ATXB8KLW-BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
ENERMAX Whisper II EG565P-VE FMA(24P) ATX12V 535W Power Supply
I decided to go with the Enermax PSU because of the options for input voltage. We use 100v in Japan, so that one looks like it will work well here.

DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 Ultra-D ATX AMD Motherboard
Maxtor DiamondMax 10 6B300S0 300GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache Serial ATA150 Hard Drive- 2 of 'em
SAPPHIRE 100119L Radeon X550 256MB 128-bit DDR PCI Express x16 Video Card
CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit System Memory
NEC Black IDE DVD Burner Model ND-3540A - OEM

SONY Black IDE DVD-ROM Drive Model DDU1615/B2s - OEM

AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Dual Core Processor - Retail

For cooling:
MASSCOOL 120mm System Cooler 12025S1M3/4 120mm Sleeve Case Cooling Fan - Retail

This case looks like it takes a 120mm fan in the back....am I right about that? It comes with 2 80mm fans, so I thought I'd pick up another and see if I could do something with it. One other item I came across was this Dynatron DB1206SP 120mm Sleeve System Exhaust Blower - Retail . Does this fit into one of the slots near the vid card? Any opinions on these things?

For my operating system I was looking at Windows XP Pro x64. The problem seems to be that there are not a lot of drivers available for it yet. Is anyone using it and have an opinion on it?

One last thing (I think)....I'm looking at getting a heatsink, but not sure what will fit on the AMD X2 processors. Can anyone recommend one that will work with what I'm looking at? Here's one I was looking at Thermaltake VENUS 12 80mm Ball Cooling Fan/Heatsink - Retail

Oops...there's something else. Should I get an 18" or 24" rounded cable with this case? Are all cables created equal, or are some better than others? I'm getting a rounded cable for my HDD's. Is there any other cable I should be looking at getting? I really want to increase airflow, so am looking for any way to make that happen.

I'm getting really close to ordering something because I'm sick of using the dinosaur I have now. I may shove a 19" LCD into the order too and newegg has some good prices on Rosewill monitors.

So does everything I listed look okay? Is it all compatible? Anything I should change? Are my posts just too damn long and boring?

 

[bigjp]

Another question about Windows. I don't have a disk or full version of Windows now. Will I need to buy the retail version of XP (whichever one I end up getting) or will the OEM still work for me? Is the retail version just for folks who want to put it on multiple systems?

 

[TheNomad]

looks good
i don't think you need any cooling, stock cooling will suffice unless you're overclocking

can't really answer your question about XP Pro x64, i'm inclined to say you'll be fine with regular XP Pro, but get a second opinion from someone else

if you don't have a windows disk, you need to buy one
retail comes with documentation, OEM doesn't