Building a new PC - comments please?

[Grimfarrow]

I've been out of the PC hardware loop for a while since I bought my laptop and stopped playing games, but I recently am back into it because I need to build an editing suite for my DV film (and maybe dabble in a game or two). So alot of it will be for Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects. I'd really appreciate it if someone could give me their opinion on the following specs.

But the catch is this: I live in Hong Kong now.

Which means that the prices are different and the components available are different. I also have a budget of HK$10,000 (around US$1250) only, so I know I won't be building a monster PC or anything.

Quick notes:

I found out quickly that Hong Kong's RAM prices are just outrageous! Plus, a lot of the really good brands such as Corsair, GEIL, and ONZ are very hard to find as well. A GEIL PC-4000 DUAL ULDCD 1GBMB(512X2) that I found cost US$360!!! So looks like I'm stuck with a cheaper alternative...

Strangely, the Radeon 9800 Pro with 256MB is pretty much non-existent in Hong Kong.

For power supply, no ANTEC in Hong Kong. ENERMAX is rare and expensive. Which means I'm stuck with a cheap local brand...

CPU: Intel Pentium 4 3.0GC (800MHz, HT) HK$1655
MB: ASUS P4P800 Deluxe HK$870
RAM: Kingston Value RAM KVR400X64C25/512 (CAS 2.5, PC3200) 512MB x2 (total: 1GB) HK$1660
VIDEO: HIS Radeon 9800 Pro 256-bit, 128MB HK $1780
HD: Drive 1: Western Digital Raptor 36GB SATA 10,000RPM - to store my OS and apps only HK$810
Drive 2: Seagate Barracuda 160GB SATA 7,200RPM - should it be bigger? HK$920
DVD Recorder: NEC ND-2510A D/L HK$800
Power Supply GTR 450W HK$300
Case: ?GTR iCute 0311? HK$400

Total Price: HK$9195, or US$1178

Comments please?

 

[Grimfarrow]

Anyone?

 

[mcveigh]

1178!!!!!!

actually I think everything looks fine... dont know about the power supply though, you want a quality power supply.
get a 200-250 gb hard drive...more bang for the buck

 

[Gurck]

HDD depends on your needs, I'll likely never fill my 120gb drive - 200+ would be a waste for me. Agree about the power supply though, not saying GTR is a bad name, but I've never heard of it (perhaps a HK-only brand?). Be aware also that cheap cases usually have a lot of sharp edges and are rather flimsy.

 

[sisooktom]

I'd either upgrade to the 74GB Raptor or just drop it entirely. The performance increase isn't that great.

 

[Grimfarrow]

Sorry - I've corrected the US$ value. GTR is indeed a HK brand, though they seem to be very popular here. I'll see if I can find an ENERMAX 420W power supply.

I guess I could go for a Hitachi Deskstar 2K750 for HK$1670, but it would then cause the system to go over my budget.

What do you guys think of the way I'm using my two drives, one as OS/apps, and the other as storage for my DV outputs? Is it wise? The Raptor 74GB is VERY expensive - I really can't justify getting it for the price right now, which is why I was planning to settle on the Raptor 36GB instead.

 

[Grimfarrow]

Thanks for those who told me to look up the GTR 450W PSU that I was considering. The reviews for this rather cheap unit has been surprisingly positive. Here's a few links:

http://www.overclockers.com.au/article.php?id=254901
http://www.dansdata.com/quickshot016.htm

So I'll stick to this spec for now, and I decided to skip the whole dual HD thing and just get one Deskstar 7K250 instead.

My new spec:

CPU: Intel Pentium 4 3.0GC (800MHz, HT) HK$1665
MB: ASUS P4P800 Deluxe HK$1080
RAM: Kingston Value RAM KVR400X64C25/512 (CAS 2.5, PC3200) 512MB x2 (total: 1GB) HK$1660
VIDEO: HIS Radeon 9800 Pro 256-bit, 128MB HK $1780
HD: Hitachi Deskstar 7K250 250MB SATA $1670
DVD Recorder: NEC ND-2510A D/L HK$890
Power Supply GTR 450W-LI HK$310
Case: GTR iCute 0311 HK$400

Total: HK$9455, or US$1212

 

[Tostada]

Since you've got RAID, and since you're talking about doing video editing (which is much faster when you transfer from one drive to another), you'd be better off getting two 160GB drives than one 250GB.

 

[Grimfarrow]

Thanks - I do plan to get another drive later on, but for now I think I'll slurge on the 250GB Deskstar, especially since the reviews have been glowing for it. Then I will RAID it with a newer model later within a year. I'm not in a big hurry to get 2 drives yet 🙂