1st build; mobo&video

[hadje]

i was advised to move this from the tech support forum...here are my 1st two posts...sorry for the double post...

hi,

this will be my first build. i am looking for system suggestions...

usage :

home recording - i will purchase a soundcard seperately from this budget probably m-audio 2496 or similar pci card. only tracking 1-4 tracks at a time but will mix up to 24 tracks

photoshop cs - the word is that this runs best on 2gb ram but i may start with 1gb unless 2gb is within budget

i am not a gamer but sometimes i need to do some video work; mostly writing/syncing soundtracks for friend's low-budget indie films...he uses vegas and i will have a copy of this software as well so i am guessing this affects video card chioce? i also use loop-based software on these projects ie- acid, fruity loops

my intent is to keep this system offline and use my laptop for internet except for updates/drivers,etc. also i will likely use external firewire drive for audio and video files so i need one or two firewire ports

i already have a monitor, keyboard, mouse

i will need os, dvd/rw, plus of course case,power supply, mobo,cpu,ram,video card, probably one small hd for os and software and another for data

i have never built my own, and will research how to put it all together, but i am clueless as to components except for having read through some posts on this and other forums. i have no preference as to intel vs amd although it seems that i see more amd suggestions...that's why i have tried to give an idea of what i'm using this for...mostly audio/video but of course i'm sure other interests may come down the pike...

thanks for any help. i would like to stay under $1000 including windows os, $800 would be even better

peace

christopher


okay here's what i have come up with so far...from newegg

antec life style sonata piano black 380w

amd athlon 64 3200+winchester integrated into chip fsb scket 939 processor

corsair value slect 1gb 184-pin ddr400 x2

seagate barracuda 80gb sata st380817as

winxp pro

total $676 so far

i still need a mobo and video card; these are confusing me the most...

any suggestions?

 

[mechBgon]

I would lean towards getting an ATX2.0 power supply at this point. Maybe get an Antec SLK3000B case with 120mm fan (no PSU), Amazon.com had them for $46 shipped last I checked. Add an Antec TruePower 2.0 480W PSU separately perhaps?

Motherboard-wise, Asus A8N-SLI Premium is passively cooled and has onboard Texas Instruments Firewire, that could be worth a look although I know it isn't cheap. Abit has a passively-cooled competing model as well, but it has one fewer PCI slots if that matters. Not sure if you need the system to be uber-quiet or not.

I got a passively-cooled XFX 6600 PCI-Express video card with dual DVI outputs for my work rig the other day. If quietness matters then that's another area where you can eliminate a small whiny fan. link to that one for your consideration, and if that's overkill you could consider a passively-cooled FX5200 or something.

Switch to the Venice-core A64. You might consider saving up a bit more and wait for the 3800+ dual-core to come out, considering the type of stuff you're planning to do. Or get the single-core and consider upgrading to dual-core later, like I did 🙂

For the DVD burner, you might like having LightScribe capability so you can do professional-looking disc labelling when the situation calls for something special: me wantie this one

Hope that was some help 🙂 Oh, and this may help with assembly: photo guide for first-time builders. The case in the photos is almost exactly the same as an SLK3000B except no side vents and a different 120mm fan, btw.

 

[shoRunner]

DVD burner $41
or if you were interested in the lightscribe then go with the one that mechBgon suggested.

$99 Case (same as the one you picked)
good case and it does come with an ATX 2.0 psu with plenty of power to run your system.

o/s drive 80gb $54

Storage drive 200gb $111
you could watch the hot deals forum or your local adds as they often have 160-250gb hard drives for around $50

GIGABYTE GA-K8NF-9 $93
has 3 firewire ports along with being a good board thats not very expensive

Radeon x300se $56
a cheap pci-e card with dvi, the video editing you spoke of would not benefit from an expensive video card. and since this isn't a hypermemory or turbocache card it won't steal from your system memory.

AMD 3200+ venice $190
clocked out 2.0ghz could easily be overclocked to 2.4-2.6ghz. if you wanted to save alittle money you could go with a 3000+ venice. even without overclocking the processors would be quite adequate. if you had some extra money i'd suggest the the 3700+ san deigo as it has 1mb L2 cache.

Rosewill 2gb (2x1gb) pc3200 CAS2.5 $188
its neweggs house brand but its the cheapest 2gb @ cas2.5 and it has a lifetime warrenty so you should have to worry about any problems. if you wanted to go with a well know brand you would be spending $30 and i don't think its worth it since this stuff has a lifetime warrenty. i've use rosewill's 512 pc3200 and never had any problems

**EDIT**
OS
windows xp home OEM $88
i really doubt you need the extra features of pro(file encryption, advanced networking, permissions)

total ~$910




and definately check out mechBgon guide for 1st builders.

 

[Crescent13]

don't get winchester, venice is much better. I recommend this mobo if you won't be overclocking, and this graphic card.