old system.....
Sunbeam 650W power supply
Dell Dimension 8200 MB ( this comp started out as a dell way back when)
P4 2.0 Ghz
1Gb RDRAM
Nvidia 6600GT Video card
1.23 Tb of storage
Turtle beach Santa Cruz 5.1 sound card
Windows XP Pro
I have the Fifth element in WMVHD and i cannot play it without having terrible lag in the beginning and end.
I want to build a semi-monster system that can play HD video all day long
I want to reuse my case ( i know i may have to mod it...but i can do that)
and my power supply.
I also want to be able to reuse my hard drives, 2 of which are brand spankin new 500Gb IDE drives.
I will most likely have to use an add on IDE card but that is ok if i have to.
I was looking at this combo....what do you guys think?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813131013
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819103773
Full Version: Needing A New Computer
the dell and my
P4 2.8 GHZ ASUS based HP
1.5 Gb ram
250MB striped raid
The mobo and cpu you are looning at look nice. i wish i could afored something like that.
yeah I really can't right now either....but if i want to watch my HD videos...I will have to
Adding a PCI-E Nvidia card with Pure video decoder would be good also.
The AGP Nvidia cards don't offer HW acceleration for WMV-HD or much of anything HD other than MPEG2
The AGP Nvidia cards don't offer HW acceleration for WMV-HD or much of anything HD other than MPEG2
QUOTE (Nitrogen_Widget @ Jun 13 2007, 02:51 PM) 
Adding a PCI-E Nvidia card with Pure video decoder would be good also.
The AGP Nvidia cards don't offer HW acceleration for WMV-HD or much of anything HD other than MPEG2
The AGP Nvidia cards don't offer HW acceleration for WMV-HD or much of anything HD other than MPEG2
that would be why i couldnt do it then, even with the 6600 overclocked to 550 Mhz my comp was stuttering.
i was looking at the 7800 i think PCIe 16X with SLI abilities i think
J
QUOTE (verboten1 @ Jun 13 2007, 11:44 AM)
that would be why i couldnt do it then, even with the 6600 overclocked to 550 Mhz my comp was stuttering.
i was looking at the 7800 i think PCIe 16X with SLI abilities i think
J
i was looking at the 7800 i think PCIe 16X with SLI abilities i think
J
with SLI I think you can still only use one card when watching video.
I just put together a 2.6ghz celeron D with a 9600 radeon.
Plays 1080i mpeg2 HD with %30 cpu usage.
It couldn't touch 1080i mpeg4 & stuttered with 780i mpeg4.
If you want a card, get a 7900GS, mine is just insane, nothing faster for $120. I lucked on ebay, but there are some good deals out there, don't pay more than $150.
Sli can be turned on/off on the fly, I have 2 cards on my rig and I can watch 3 720p streams full screen on 3 monitors (WMV HD) and this on a single core socket 939 4000+ @ 3ghz. SLI is useless, get an 8600GT with Pure-Video if you don't game, it is dropping in price, don't spend more than $150 for it, and get it HDCP certified (I think nVidia has promised all of them will be).
If you really want to game, ditch the processor you chose and get a single core, then spend the difference for the 8800GTS 320MB video card, it will go faster than quad SLI 7900 series, and SLi isn't perfectly support by everything as if it was a single card btw.
The current state-of-the-art is Core2 tech, see my thread for the release of a Core2 Single core for $40.
I just went to AMD dual-core, to my instant regret. I didn't choose a 3Ghz one, and my experience with my 3Ghz 939 leads me to believe you wouldn't be disappointed. The Dual cores don't clock, so my 2.4Ghz AM2 is slower than the 939 single-core was.
For a motherboard, I don't know if you have special needs, but I would get this one (and it is the PC I am using right now):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813136021
Don't spend money for the other board if you don't absolutely need a feature that it offers, the board I show has massive overclocking potential, is rock-solid, and SLI or dual card compatible.
The Celeron D is a sucky processor, you need to hit 3Ghz just to reach the level of a stock clock AMD.
On the other hand, a Celeron 4xx series is a Core2 single core, I would recommend it and a 650i Nforce board heartily, they overclock just like a Core2 and are $40-65. If I was building a new PC I would get these if I was going Intel for Gaming/HTPC:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820161676 Ram $35 2x 512mb DDR2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820161172 (or $77 for a 2x 1GB kit, recommended)
Any one of these processors:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList....mp;name=Celeron
Or a Core2 Duo for $120, if you feel the need for that sort of thing.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList....amp;x=0&y=0 Motherboard, open box MSI for $65, or new EVGA for $100, it is up to you, or any of these are really really good.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList....GeForce+8800GTS Pick a video card, $290-315, the 8800GTS 320MB is blazing fast for the money (2x or more the speed of the 7900GS), well worth using a cheaper or single core to afford if you game. The 8600GTS is slower than the 7900GS for the same price, BUT if you want to have full Purevideo HD-DVD decoding it is the way to go. AND it is around $120-150 range.
The fact is that single cores are easier to overclock because of less heat, and most games aren't multi-core supporting, so the money spent on the geforce 8800 will make your system at least 50-70% faster than the one you layed out, if you are gaming at all, or doing single-threaded apps.
Steer clear of the 7800 sereis, the 7900GS is almost the same card, but faster, makes less heat, and uses less electricity. Also with proper cooling it can overclock to 650-700mhz on the core (water or Zalman heat-pipe recommended at that level). Mostly it is about the same price or cheaper, and has less noisy annoying fans on the whole.
Just some thoughts, I wouldn't go AMD on a new build right now (well, I did, and regret it), the Core2 is just faster for mainstream (apparently AMD spanks them in the server market still, but that isn't us), and at $50-65 for that technology I can't say AMD is a good choice anymore for even a budget build.
Besides, if you like the Celeron 420/430/440, but need more processing power down the road, you can get a Core2 Duo or Quad and just blaze.
EDIT, I forgot to add, if you are using Windows Media Player, it is Crap, I use Media Player Classic or Video Lan Client (VLC) for all my video (google K-lite mega codec pack for Media player classic).
I notice better CPU utilization, better interface, less bulky program, starts quicker, isn't integrated with the OS and doesn't leave you open to exploits, and like I say, 3 720p streams full-screen on a $400 PC isn't anything to sneer at, Media Player Classic is what allowed me to do it (well, aside from the 3Ghz AMD processor).
You need a storage sub-system able to move the data though, play each vid from a a seperate hard drive, I used an external USB 2.0 for one of the streams.
Sli can be turned on/off on the fly, I have 2 cards on my rig and I can watch 3 720p streams full screen on 3 monitors (WMV HD) and this on a single core socket 939 4000+ @ 3ghz. SLI is useless, get an 8600GT with Pure-Video if you don't game, it is dropping in price, don't spend more than $150 for it, and get it HDCP certified (I think nVidia has promised all of them will be).
If you really want to game, ditch the processor you chose and get a single core, then spend the difference for the 8800GTS 320MB video card, it will go faster than quad SLI 7900 series, and SLi isn't perfectly support by everything as if it was a single card btw.
The current state-of-the-art is Core2 tech, see my thread for the release of a Core2 Single core for $40.
I just went to AMD dual-core, to my instant regret. I didn't choose a 3Ghz one, and my experience with my 3Ghz 939 leads me to believe you wouldn't be disappointed. The Dual cores don't clock, so my 2.4Ghz AM2 is slower than the 939 single-core was.
For a motherboard, I don't know if you have special needs, but I would get this one (and it is the PC I am using right now):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813136021
Don't spend money for the other board if you don't absolutely need a feature that it offers, the board I show has massive overclocking potential, is rock-solid, and SLI or dual card compatible.
The Celeron D is a sucky processor, you need to hit 3Ghz just to reach the level of a stock clock AMD.
On the other hand, a Celeron 4xx series is a Core2 single core, I would recommend it and a 650i Nforce board heartily, they overclock just like a Core2 and are $40-65. If I was building a new PC I would get these if I was going Intel for Gaming/HTPC:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820161676 Ram $35 2x 512mb DDR2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820161172 (or $77 for a 2x 1GB kit, recommended)
Any one of these processors:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList....mp;name=Celeron
Or a Core2 Duo for $120, if you feel the need for that sort of thing.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList....amp;x=0&y=0 Motherboard, open box MSI for $65, or new EVGA for $100, it is up to you, or any of these are really really good.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList....GeForce+8800GTS Pick a video card, $290-315, the 8800GTS 320MB is blazing fast for the money (2x or more the speed of the 7900GS), well worth using a cheaper or single core to afford if you game. The 8600GTS is slower than the 7900GS for the same price, BUT if you want to have full Purevideo HD-DVD decoding it is the way to go. AND it is around $120-150 range.
The fact is that single cores are easier to overclock because of less heat, and most games aren't multi-core supporting, so the money spent on the geforce 8800 will make your system at least 50-70% faster than the one you layed out, if you are gaming at all, or doing single-threaded apps.
Steer clear of the 7800 sereis, the 7900GS is almost the same card, but faster, makes less heat, and uses less electricity. Also with proper cooling it can overclock to 650-700mhz on the core (water or Zalman heat-pipe recommended at that level). Mostly it is about the same price or cheaper, and has less noisy annoying fans on the whole.
Just some thoughts, I wouldn't go AMD on a new build right now (well, I did, and regret it), the Core2 is just faster for mainstream (apparently AMD spanks them in the server market still, but that isn't us), and at $50-65 for that technology I can't say AMD is a good choice anymore for even a budget build.
Besides, if you like the Celeron 420/430/440, but need more processing power down the road, you can get a Core2 Duo or Quad and just blaze.
EDIT, I forgot to add, if you are using Windows Media Player, it is Crap, I use Media Player Classic or Video Lan Client (VLC) for all my video (google K-lite mega codec pack for Media player classic).
I notice better CPU utilization, better interface, less bulky program, starts quicker, isn't integrated with the OS and doesn't leave you open to exploits, and like I say, 3 720p streams full-screen on a $400 PC isn't anything to sneer at, Media Player Classic is what allowed me to do it (well, aside from the 3Ghz AMD processor).
You need a storage sub-system able to move the data though, play each vid from a a seperate hard drive, I used an external USB 2.0 for one of the streams.
wow...thanks for your thoughts on this.
the computer will have 3 main uses.
1. Store ALL of my video and music
2. Act as a media server for the other computers to access the media from one central location
3. Play the media at 720P on th eprojector and 1080i on the 34" CRT
I may use the PC to play DVDs and CDs also
the computer will have 3 main uses.
1. Store ALL of my video and music
2. Act as a media server for the other computers to access the media from one central location
3. Play the media at 720P on th eprojector and 1080i on the 34" CRT
I may use the PC to play DVDs and CDs also
Damn Nubie, nice post! I haven't kept up with hardware lately and after reading that I feel like I'm somewhat back up to speed on things 
Edit: verboten1, you might already know but pricewatch.com is a good site to see how much stuff is going for. It's a good way to get a budget together when building a PC. But, these days I think pricegrabber is better at finding the lowest price for a specific product. Good luck on the build.
Edit: verboten1, you might already know but pricewatch.com is a good site to see how much stuff is going for. It's a good way to get a budget together when building a PC. But, these days I think pricegrabber is better at finding the lowest price for a specific product. Good luck on the build.
Ok....I see all of these core2 duo and they are low speed rated...less than what i have now.
the celeron D core 2 single.... can be overclocked you say?
to 3GHz?
tell me more....i like the fact that you may have saved me around $300 already, maybe i can get the better video card and still save yet!
the celeron D core 2 single.... can be overclocked you say?
to 3GHz?
tell me more....i like the fact that you may have saved me around $300 already, maybe i can get the better video card and still save yet!
QUOTE (Aerosoul22 @ Jun 14 2007, 06:34 PM)
Edit: verboten1, you might already know but pricewatch.com is a good site to see how much stuff is going for. It's a good way to get a budget together when building a PC. But, these days I think pricegrabber is better at finding the lowest price for a specific product. Good luck on the build.
pricewatch is a great concept...but i hate the interface.
Froogle (now google products) has been very nice to me I actually look stuff up on it at work to save the company money...they love me...
QUOTE (verboten1 @ Jun 14 2007, 01:07 PM)
Ok....I see all of these core2 duo and they are low speed rated...less than what i have now.
the celeron D core 2 single.... can be overclocked you say?
to 3GHz?
tell me more....i like the fact that you may have saved me around $300 already, maybe i can get the better video card and still save yet!
the celeron D core 2 single.... can be overclocked you say?
to 3GHz?
tell me more....i like the fact that you may have saved me around $300 already, maybe i can get the better video card and still save yet!
Um, yes those celeron I showed you are "low-speed" in there clock speed. But I am willing to bet that they are all faster than your current rig. The clock speed means jack (aka nothing, this is next gen/current gen technology, Pentium 4 tech is old old news).
A 2 ghz AMD athlon 64 was well known to be comparable to a 3ghz Pentium D. Since the Core2 processors are well-known to spank an AMD Athlon64, I figure that it translates and these Celeron are an awesome bargain, since it is only $50 to try them out, then upgrade to a real Core2 Duo later, It is worth a shot.
For $120 or so there is a "low-speed" Core2 Duo that is known to overclock to around 3 ghz for everyone with a motherboard that has the settings, many are pushing closer to 4Ghz with overclocked Core2 Duos and a proper heatsink and fan with copper heat-pipe technology.
Since this is the same tech, you can probably do the same, and as I said a single core is bound to overclock better than a dual core, for heat reasons alone.
QUOTE (nubie @ Jun 14 2007, 08:21 PM)
Um, yes those celeron I showed you are "low-speed" in there clock speed. But I am willing to bet that they are all faster than your current rig. The clock speed means jack (aka nothing, this is next gen/current gen technology, Pentium 4 tech is old old news).
A 2 ghz AMD athlon 64 was well known to be comparable to a 3ghz Pentium D. Since the Core2 processors are well-known to spank an AMD Athlon64, I figure that it translates and these Celeron are an awesome bargain, since it is only $50 to try them out, then upgrade to a real Core2 Duo later, It is worth a shot.
For $120 or so there is a "low-speed" Core2 Duo that is known to overclock to around 3 ghz for everyone with a motherboard that has the settings, many are pushing closer to 4Ghz with overclocked Core2 Duos and a proper heatsink and fan with copper heat-pipe technology.
Since this is the same tech, you can probably do the same, and as I said a single core is bound to overclock better than a dual core, for heat reasons alone.
A 2 ghz AMD athlon 64 was well known to be comparable to a 3ghz Pentium D. Since the Core2 processors are well-known to spank an AMD Athlon64, I figure that it translates and these Celeron are an awesome bargain, since it is only $50 to try them out, then upgrade to a real Core2 Duo later, It is worth a shot.
For $120 or so there is a "low-speed" Core2 Duo that is known to overclock to around 3 ghz for everyone with a motherboard that has the settings, many are pushing closer to 4Ghz with overclocked Core2 Duos and a proper heatsink and fan with copper heat-pipe technology.
Since this is the same tech, you can probably do the same, and as I said a single core is bound to overclock better than a dual core, for heat reasons alone.
thank you for the explanation, I havent built a computer other than rebuilding what i work with and at home in years. this new stuff sounds pretty cool from what you are saying.
i may just do the celeron, then when th ecore 2 duo price goes down.......voila...i have a core 2 duo
thanks again!!
-J
From what I gather, either of these two is a good choice, 4MB level 2 cache (the 6320 and 6420, the 6300 and 6400 aren't much cheaper and have only 2MB level 2 cache):
E6320 $165.50 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819115015
E6420 $186.00 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819115016
If you want to tighten the budget, the "Allendale" chips are supposed to be OK (and they have 2MB level 2 Cache):
E4300 $117.00 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819115013
E4400 $139.00 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819115014
I mentioned the Celeron 420/430/440 because they might do the trick, and let you build the PC to start with, then you can upgrade later if it just can't hack the 1080i playback.
I mention because any form of hardware acceleration of 1080i might be sketchy, you need the correct software and all that, so if you use a program that doesn't support it quite right it might not work properly, then you need a faster or more powerful chip.
If you really don't plan on gaming, the 8600GT seems more and more the card for you, it will stand up fine under casual gaming use, and a dual-core 2Ghz or more Intel seems to be more what you could use for help in software HD playback if you can't get the nVidia acceleration figured out.
The 8800 does not have full HD acceleration, but the 8600/8500 are supposed to decode HD video completely on-board (transport stream and Audio aren't done on the video card, but the card should reduce CPU usage by 50-70% if it is working).
Figure to purchase a recommended HD-DVD software player that supports it and plays general media as well. I haven't looked into them though. Here is what Nvidia says about the new "DXVA 2.0" (accelerated video interface apparently):
Here is a nice 8600GT for $125, beware of models with DDR2 ram, the DDR3 is what it should have. Also some may lack HDCP support (this one is good, it has both GDDR3 and HDCP):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814127286
This will do SLi, for whatever that is worth, if you want to get a second later on for gaming, but you probably won't need it from the reviews I have seen on this card, it is more than enough for the casual gamer.
Darn, edit again, if that is the regular Dell Clamshell, it is crap, you can't mod it to have enough airflow for a real PC, just budget $20-30 for a crap case, or $40-50 for a nice case. I think Cooler Master and Rosewill make some good medium-cheap cases for Around $50 with shipping on Newegg (maybe up to $70, but you already have a power supply, so you can look for one without, and maybe they have a free shipping sale on a good one, that is worth $10-20 off)
If it is a standard ATX case with the dell front, then it is probably a nice case, you can use it, especially with the Core2 tech, it is cooler running.
E6320 $165.50 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819115015
E6420 $186.00 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819115016
If you want to tighten the budget, the "Allendale" chips are supposed to be OK (and they have 2MB level 2 Cache):
E4300 $117.00 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819115013
E4400 $139.00 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819115014
I mentioned the Celeron 420/430/440 because they might do the trick, and let you build the PC to start with, then you can upgrade later if it just can't hack the 1080i playback.
I mention because any form of hardware acceleration of 1080i might be sketchy, you need the correct software and all that, so if you use a program that doesn't support it quite right it might not work properly, then you need a faster or more powerful chip.
If you really don't plan on gaming, the 8600GT seems more and more the card for you, it will stand up fine under casual gaming use, and a dual-core 2Ghz or more Intel seems to be more what you could use for help in software HD playback if you can't get the nVidia acceleration figured out.
The 8800 does not have full HD acceleration, but the 8600/8500 are supposed to decode HD video completely on-board (transport stream and Audio aren't done on the video card, but the card should reduce CPU usage by 50-70% if it is working).
Figure to purchase a recommended HD-DVD software player that supports it and plays general media as well. I haven't looked into them though. Here is what Nvidia says about the new "DXVA 2.0" (accelerated video interface apparently):
QUOTE
Q. Do I need the PureVideo Decoder to play movies on the GeForce 8600 and 8500?
No. NVIDIA’s video processing architecture no longer requires the PureVideo Decoder, just a compatible third-party software movie player.. The PureVideo HD technology is available through any player that uses the Micorsoft DXVA 2.0 interface, including the Vista Windows Media Player with built-in MPEG2 decoder. To play Blu-ray or HD DVD movies, an AACS compliant movie player from companies lie CyberLink and InterVideo is also required. Specific versions of those players made for the GeForce 8600 and 8500’s second generation video processor should be available in late May, 2007.
No. NVIDIA’s video processing architecture no longer requires the PureVideo Decoder, just a compatible third-party software movie player.. The PureVideo HD technology is available through any player that uses the Micorsoft DXVA 2.0 interface, including the Vista Windows Media Player with built-in MPEG2 decoder. To play Blu-ray or HD DVD movies, an AACS compliant movie player from companies lie CyberLink and InterVideo is also required. Specific versions of those players made for the GeForce 8600 and 8500’s second generation video processor should be available in late May, 2007.
Here is a nice 8600GT for $125, beware of models with DDR2 ram, the DDR3 is what it should have. Also some may lack HDCP support (this one is good, it has both GDDR3 and HDCP
):http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814127286
This will do SLi, for whatever that is worth, if you want to get a second later on for gaming, but you probably won't need it from the reviews I have seen on this card, it is more than enough for the casual gamer.
QUOTE
This is just a power supply recommendation, ignore it unless you are especially curious.
If you want the rig to be quiet and stable, I suggest a good PSU that is quiet, the PC Power and Cooling Silencer 470ATX is dead quiet (I double check the fan, it barely moves, and it has never stopped). It is rated for 26 AMPS on the 12 volt line, (enough for SLI 8600GTS), at 40° Celsius, that is impressive.
It is rated down to 90 volts, so if there is a brownout in your area, there is a good chance your PC won't reboot or suffer damage, I read about a guy who lived in a place with bad wiring, his two roomates had other brand PSU's and their PC's would re-boot during a brownout or sag, while his PC kept on truckin
.
For $100 you can't beat it, order directly, with shipping I think I paid $112, they have a real warranty too:
http://www.pcpower.com/products/viewproduct.php?show=S47ATX
You can go cheaper, or you can go safer, since you were planning to spend more anyway, this isn't going to break your heart, especially as nice as it is, you will love it, it will allow you to upgrade later on safely as well, if you ever want to.
Edit, whoops, I see you have a PSU already, it should be fine with that 650watt (I am betting that if bench tested against the Silencer 470 it wouldn't win, but since you aren't building a quad core with 6 drives and SLi, it probably won't make a lick of difference as long as it makes 400 watts real power output)
If you want the rig to be quiet and stable, I suggest a good PSU that is quiet, the PC Power and Cooling Silencer 470ATX is dead quiet (I double check the fan, it barely moves, and it has never stopped
). It is rated for 26 AMPS on the 12 volt line, (enough for SLI 8600GTS), at 40° Celsius, that is impressive.It is rated down to 90 volts, so if there is a brownout in your area, there is a good chance your PC won't reboot or suffer damage, I read about a guy who lived in a place with bad wiring, his two roomates had other brand PSU's and their PC's would re-boot during a brownout or sag, while his PC kept on truckin
.For $100 you can't beat it, order directly, with shipping I think I paid $112, they have a real warranty too:
http://www.pcpower.com/products/viewproduct.php?show=S47ATX
You can go cheaper, or you can go safer, since you were planning to spend more anyway, this isn't going to break your heart, especially as nice as it is, you will love it, it will allow you to upgrade later on safely as well, if you ever want to.
Edit, whoops, I see you have a PSU already, it should be fine with that 650watt (I am betting that if bench tested against the Silencer 470 it wouldn't win, but since you aren't building a quad core with 6 drives and SLi, it probably won't make a lick of difference as long as it makes 400 watts real power output)
Darn, edit again, if that is the regular Dell Clamshell, it is crap, you can't mod it to have enough airflow for a real PC, just budget $20-30 for a crap case, or $40-50 for a nice case. I think Cooler Master and Rosewill make some good medium-cheap cases for Around $50 with shipping on Newegg (maybe up to $70, but you already have a power supply, so you can look for one without, and maybe they have a free shipping sale on a good one, that is worth $10-20 off)
If it is a standard ATX case with the dell front, then it is probably a nice case, you can use it, especially with the Core2 tech, it is cooler running.
Take a look at this thread over in the HTPC section at AVSFORUM. It's the motherload for knowledge on building a up to date HTPC.
Core 2 Motherboard Complete List - With Hardware Recommendations for a HD HTPC
peace
Core 2 Motherboard Complete List - With Hardware Recommendations for a HD HTPC
peace
You do need to state a few things first.
Do you want to overclock?
What is your price range?
Do you have to stay with AMD?
The Intel Core2 chips are the fastest if you over clock them, many people get around 3Ghz out of them.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductRevie...N82E16819115013
Most of the MB only have one IDE controler any more so if you re-use your 500 gig drives you will be out of ports. I would get a SATA DVD drive and use the onboard IDE controler for your hard drives. Using a PCI IDE controler is slower and more of a pain to install the OS.
The idea of using a single core is not really the best one if the single core is a AMD part. The Core 2 chip over clocks more and is faster than any of the AMD chips at the same clock speed.
There is no Core chips out that are single core except the laptop part.
The King of the hill right now is the Intell part by a long ways.
I have been using AMD for many years so this is not a AMD/Intell thing just right now the Intel part is the best.
For the Intel chip I would use the Intel chipset too.
DFI makes a nice board
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813136034
Hope that helps.
Do you want to overclock?
What is your price range?
Do you have to stay with AMD?
The Intel Core2 chips are the fastest if you over clock them, many people get around 3Ghz out of them.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductRevie...N82E16819115013
Most of the MB only have one IDE controler any more so if you re-use your 500 gig drives you will be out of ports. I would get a SATA DVD drive and use the onboard IDE controler for your hard drives. Using a PCI IDE controler is slower and more of a pain to install the OS.
The idea of using a single core is not really the best one if the single core is a AMD part. The Core 2 chip over clocks more and is faster than any of the AMD chips at the same clock speed.
There is no Core chips out that are single core except the laptop part.
The King of the hill right now is the Intell part by a long ways.
I have been using AMD for many years so this is not a AMD/Intell thing just right now the Intel part is the best.
For the Intel chip I would use the Intel chipset too.
DFI makes a nice board
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813136034
Hope that helps.
I have to disagree with you on the harddrive controller. I would go SATA. Leave the IDE for the dvd and cd. You will probably only have 1 or 2 optical drives hooked up at one time. In my case I just add another hard drive when mine gets full.
I am not running HD content DVD player though. That maybe different due to the amount of info traveling down the pipe. Maybe use one SATA for HD drive. That will still leave you with 3 on most MB's.
the benefit of SATA is smaller wire which allows much ore airflow. I have had cases so packed with ribbon cable cooling has been an issue. The one I have now with SATA except for my optical drives seems to run the best. Fans run quiet and plenty of room for air. Only has one 80mm fan plus the one on the vid. card and power supply.
I am not running HD content DVD player though. That maybe different due to the amount of info traveling down the pipe. Maybe use one SATA for HD drive. That will still leave you with 3 on most MB's.
the benefit of SATA is smaller wire which allows much ore airflow. I have had cases so packed with ribbon cable cooling has been an issue. The one I have now with SATA except for my optical drives seems to run the best. Fans run quiet and plenty of room for air. Only has one 80mm fan plus the one on the vid. card and power supply.
QUOTE (arizonavideo @ Jun 16 2007, 10:13 PM)
You do need to state a few things first.
Do you want to overclock?
What is your price range?
Do you have to stay with AMD?
The Intel Core2 chips are the fastest if you over clock them, many people get around 3Ghz out of them.
I believe I mentioned that. PS, he isn't an AMD user, he uses P4 for the last two machine upgrades Do you want to overclock?
What is your price range?
Do you have to stay with AMD?
The Intel Core2 chips are the fastest if you over clock them, many people get around 3Ghz out of them.
QUOTE
There is no Core chips out that are single core except the laptop part.
arizonavideo is wrong, the Celeron's that I linked are Conroe-L chips, that means that they are Conroe chips, AKA Core2 tech.
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=2532
Edit: I see now how he got confused, there are mobile Celeron M 420 chips too, they are socket 478 chips with Yonah tech that have 533mhz FSB, steer clear of those.
The real Conroe-L chips will use Socket/LGA 775 and have an 800mhz FSB (not to mention practically half the price):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList....p;name=Conroe-L
Edit 2, point of contention, I like the $100 nForce 650i motherboards, they are as overclockable as the 680i series and are chock full of features (of course not as many as the 680 series, but for your needs and price range they are fine). Nothing against Intel, I am sure that they make a fine product, in fact I know they do. But for an enthusiast their boards and chipsets are a bit lacking in flair and tweaking options. In fact they are $80 after rebate at Newegg.com:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList....orce+650i+Ultra
Or SLi 650i if you like for $10 more(Sli isn't just for teaming video cards, PCI-E is going to get bigger with other devices, and you can run 4 displays off of two video cards):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList....nForce+650i+SLI
I agree fully with him on all the other points, in fact that DFI Infinity I am using right now is great, as I said before.
AMD is just not fast enough right now, unless Phenom stuns us all I won't be recommending them in new builds, Intel is playing the price-cut game right back, and their tech is better/faster for mainstream usage (I won't say I like their FSB based layout, but for now AMD is fighting back with 4-year old tech, so it isn't much of a battle)
SATA is a good idea for your DVD drive, it will make the build easier and the case cleaner, they are only $40 or so at Newegg.com, Tomshardware.com has been recommending them in all their builds.
I forgot about the new Celeron 420. He said he liked to game so I went with the 1 meg L2 Cache part over the of the Celeron or E 2140.
That is a ggod part for $48.00
If you want a 512 Cache the E 2140 looks good too.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819116037
I read the test with the Celeron 420 and it did good but the E4300 was all over it.
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/displ...-preview_4.html
Right now is one of the best times in a long time for CPU's
A Core 2 chip that you might get 3Ghz out of for $84! I was paying $100 for the old 300Mhz Celeron A ten years ago and was so happy to get 450Mhz from them.
FreeFall, I don't understand what you mean about the hard drives, should he toss two 500gig drives? Most of the new MB only have support for two IDE drives and he has two 500 ghz drives. A IDE controler on the PCI buss will be slower than the onboard IDE controler and cost more and be more of a pain to install, A SATA DVD drive is $30.00.
That is a ggod part for $48.00
If you want a 512 Cache the E 2140 looks good too.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819116037
I read the test with the Celeron 420 and it did good but the E4300 was all over it.
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/displ...-preview_4.html
Right now is one of the best times in a long time for CPU's
A Core 2 chip that you might get 3Ghz out of for $84! I was paying $100 for the old 300Mhz Celeron A ten years ago and was so happy to get 450Mhz from them.
FreeFall, I don't understand what you mean about the hard drives, should he toss two 500gig drives? Most of the new MB only have support for two IDE drives and he has two 500 ghz drives. A IDE controler on the PCI buss will be slower than the onboard IDE controler and cost more and be more of a pain to install, A SATA DVD drive is $30.00.
AV (and everyone else)I am sorry I didn't see that he had the drives already. I'll just shutup now.(puts foot in mouth)
thanks all for the info!!
No problem, I didn't see the Allendale dual-core for $84!!?!?!?
I would get that, for the price you will be all set to go, it seems more than worth it. I think the Celerons would be great for like a web-surfing PC or low-end HTPC, but with HD-DVDs coming the dual-core is probably recommended.
I would get that, for the price you will be all set to go, it seems more than worth it. I think the Celerons would be great for like a web-surfing PC or low-end HTPC, but with HD-DVDs coming the dual-core is probably recommended.
QUOTE (nubie @ Jun 18 2007, 10:10 PM)
No problem, I didn't see the Allendale dual-core for $84!!?!?!?
I would get that, for the price you will be all set to go, it seems more than worth it. I think the Celerons would be great for like a web-surfing PC or low-end HTPC, but with HD-DVDs coming the dual-core is probably recommended.
I would get that, for the price you will be all set to go, it seems more than worth it. I think the Celerons would be great for like a web-surfing PC or low-end HTPC, but with HD-DVDs coming the dual-core is probably recommended.
so that would be a good clockable processor then?
Yes it should OC fine.
Many get 3Ghz out of them but the FSB will be a little high.
The E4300 has 2 meg cache for $117.00
It's your money!
Have fun.
Many get 3Ghz out of them but the FSB will be a little high.
The E4300 has 2 meg cache for $117.00
It's your money!
Have fun.
thanks again....it looks like i can build a pretty kickass computer for less than i was planning before....now it's time to get the pj going, get a screen and then build a computer!!!
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