Another "What do you think about these components"

[dougrb]

Wow, just as I was about to start typing, UPS dropped off my Antec "Three Hundred" Mini Tower, and Antec (80) Earthwatts EA430D PSU. Damn Newegg is fast ! I ordered at 2 am two nights ago, technically making that yesterday standard shipping.

Anyway, so now I think I've got the rest of what I want in order, and was wondering what you guys thought of this rig which will be for :

Linux. Likely Ubuntu. This will be for basic stuff like surfing, burning CD's and DVD's and music playback, as well as things which are a bit more than basic like :

Photo editing (nothing too heavy though, as the Macbook Pro we just got is getting the hard tasks)
A bit of gaming, because I really like Urban Terror (pretty much like CS)
Some audio editing with programs like Audacity.

And whatever else you can think of that you'd do on a regular basis as far as office chores go etc.. Here's the rest of what I've got on the list:

Pioneer 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model DVR-215DBK - OEM
$30.99

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
$89.99

BIOSTAR TFORCE TA780G M2+ AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
$79.99


G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK - Retail
$89.99


Of course I'll be putting some compound on the list, and I might need another fan or two. But other than those things, would you guys change anything, and why ? I don't want to spend more than this though.

Doug

 

[BlueAcolyte]

Only thing I could complain about is that you could get a better hard drive like the new 640gb western digital drive, which is much faster but around the same price.

I think 1066 is a waste if you aren't overclocking, save a bit of money and get 1000 or 800.

I'd say masscool shin-etsu or IC Diamond 7 thermal compound.

Also, you forgot to say what your processor is.

 

[dougrb]

Ah, you're right. I did exclude the processor. How about this one:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Brisbane 2.2GHz Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Processor Model
$47.99

As for the memory, I just figured that for the price, it wasn't such a terrible waste since the system is capable of handling it. Do you really think otherwise ? Thanks for the suggestion on the HD, I'll look for that one and see if Newegg has it. The stuff I'm getting has to come from N.E. because I trust them for one, and they're really fast. I'm still waiting on a surge suppressor from tigerdirect, which is over a week already.

If you really think though, that I won't see much of a performance difference between 800 and 1066, perhaps I'll reconsider if I see mem for a considerably lower price. But for $10-$15 less, I doubt I'd bother with 800. Seem logical ?

doug


Edit: Though, if mem is that much cheaper, I can just get a better processor, if you think that would make a better difference.

Edit 2 Added the 640 gig WD HD, thanks ! Much better deal for sure. Have been looking at prices for the 800 mem, and prices are pretty much the same after the rebate for the one I chose, so I'm not so sure it would be worth downgrading, especially if I decide to take the memory out and use it for another rig at some point. I'm still curious to know what you think about this though.

 

[dougrb]

Rethinking the CPU. Considering what I've listed above, at $47 what do you think would be the next step up from it, in terms of performance vs. dollar ratio from this page:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...07&bop=And&Order=PRICE

I don't really want to spend too much more, but if there's a chance that any of the processors listed there which aren't too much more $ but do offer a better value performance wise, I'd love to know. Thanks again !

Doug

 

[dougrb]

Well, I just put the order in to Newegg for the rest of the stuff. Here's the route I went:



AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ 2.4GHz Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Processor Model ADO4600DOBOX - Retail


$56.99

Shipped from NJ
1

BIOSTAR TFORCE TA780G M2+ AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

$79.99

1

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK - Retail

$89.99

1

Pioneer 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model DVR-215DBK - OEM

$30.99

1

MASSCOOL Fanner-420 Thermal Grease - Retail
I
$1.99

2

Antec 761345-75120-9 120mm Case Fan - Retail

$19.98
($9.99 ea)

1

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

$94.99

Subtotal $374.92
Tax $32.96
UPS 3 DAYS $18.86
Order Total $426.74



I hate that there's internet shopping tax now for NY State ! And didn't realize the CPU would be shipping from CA. either.. Hope it isn't delayed, or doesn't delay the whole order.

Doug