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Building a new system for $1000

P

plaidfro

Member
Building a new machine for my buddy. Any and all input/advice is greatly appreciated. He is an english major with a passion for music. Absolutely no gaming! But he will use it for Music and Music Video viewing, also probably some music editing, and wordprocessing. The budget is $1000 for a completely new rig.

Here are the preliminary ideas:
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice 2000MHz HT Socket 939 Processor $149
EPoX EP-9NPA+Ultra Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD MoBo $95
WD Caviar SE16 WD3200KS 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s $120
CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered $80
Antec LifeStyle SONATA II ATX Mid Tower Computer Case w/450Watt SP 2.0 $100
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum Sound Card $149
eVGA Geforce 6200 LE TC Supporting 256MB(64MB On-Board) GDDR2 PCI-E x16 $36
Logitech Internet Pro Desktop 967457-0403 Black PS/2 Keyboard w/Opt Mouse $18
BenQ FP91G+ Black 19" 8ms LCD Monitor - $216
SONY Black IDE DVD-ROM Drive Model DDU1615/B2s - $22
NEC 16X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE/ATAPI Model ND-3550A $35
Creative Inspire P7800 7.1 Speaker - $86

Running Total with listed items: $1106.. not including shipping

EDIT: updating revisions with all your advice.

EDIT: Dual Core Alternative
ABIT NI8 SLI NVIDIA nForce4 Socket 775 ATX Motherboard
$77.99
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications...etails.asp?EdpNo=1490501&sku=A458-1122

Intel® Pentium® Processor 930 3.0GHz, 800MHz FSB, Socket 775, 2x2MB Cache, Dual Core Retail
$201.90
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80851


Thanks,
Plaid

 
as for sound card... i would go with an interface from RME... tell him to invest more and get something with NICE converters... RME is the closest thing to a deal that has decent converters. Else the mackie onyx 400f isn't bad.
 
Originally posted by: zkaudio
music editing... dual core... base it around one of those budget pentium d chips...
Click to expand...

It won't be hardcore professional editing, just a home based kinda job...
 
I would change the video card to like a X300 or 6200 you don't need a 6600 if your not going to be gaming.

That is a one gig stick right? i'd recommend that

get a better sound card x-fi if this is for music and music editing that is important

I recommend seagate over WD

Monitors is basically personally prefrence

keyboard and mouse personally preference if your not gaming maybe a nice wireless keyboard and mouse. Logitech makes some nice ones

dvd burner benQ or NEC both make affordable yet fast dvd burners

gl on your new build 🙂
 
This looks like a computer for a person who's main performance hungry application is office. As such I'd go for a single core, dual core is nice, but the $150 you save there can go on more important things, a nicer screen or better sound card. Single core CPUs can do any task, and while you may see some benifit in sound editing i really doubt the time saved in processing time is worth the money. Think 3000+ or 3200+

Definitly drop that 6600 down. Or consider going for a motherboard with onboard graphics, if nessisary he can upgrade later on with a PCIe card, in the mean time it saves some $.

Are you going for a low noise system here? If so go for a samsung spinpoint drive. Otherwise WD or seagate are both good.

I'm guessing that overclocking isn't an issue here?
 
Your PSU can be improved by upping to Fortron 450W or better. (Newegg)
Lian Li PC-7B would be a definite improvement with better cooling. $40 more than Antec.
ASUS A8N-SLI mobo could be considered @ $109
 
Great motherboard. I would have to agree with those that suggest a single core cpu. It will save money and as Bobthelost suggests either the 3000+ or 3200+ will do him fine; though I would suggest the 3200+ Venice or 3700+ SanDiego over the 3000+. NewEgg right now has the 3200+ for a $149 with free three day shipping.

I would not go with onboard graphics but that is my preference.

With the money saved you could get a Creative Xi-Fi (sp?) audio card.

What speakers will he be using?

 
I think I have the basic framework for this system. I personally use the Antec Sonata II with the 450W SP PSU. Should I look at separating the case and PSU? Just in case there is an issue with the PSU so I dont have to disassemble the whole thing for a return?

Also 19" LCDs seems like a good one, whats your opinion?

Thanks,
Plaid
 
To run the Creative sound card i need to have a 2.1 PCI slot available. I am not familiar with a 2.1 PCi slot. Does the EPoX EP-9NPA+Ultra Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 MoBo have a 2.1 PCI slot or am I going to have a compatibility issue?
 
Changes:

PentuimD 805 - It's digustingly cheap and has great performance. Dual > single in these cases. He'll have more than one program open at once I'm guessing.
X-Fi Plaitnum - He might want the front panel. Maybe.
Real speakers - Crap 7.1 speakers for music? Get him a decent pair of stereo speakers or headphones for music. No debate.
 
I made some changes. It looks like it's more expensive, but it's not because you did not include shipping charges in your OP.

Antec LifeStyle SONATA II ATX Mid Tower Computer Case w/450Watt SP
$110.99
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=140122

ABIT NI8 SLI NVIDIA nForce4 Socket 775 ATX Motherboard
$77.99
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications...etails.asp?EdpNo=1490501&sku=A458-1122

Intel® Pentium® Processor 930 3.0GHz, 800MHz FSB, Socket 775, 2x2MB Cache, Dual Core Retail
$201.90
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80851

Patriot Signature PSD21G533K 1GB Kit DDR2-533 PC2-4200 Memory Retail
$77.00
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=83751

WD Caviar SE16 WD3200KS 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s
$118.00
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=101253-12

LITE-ON 16X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE Model SHW160P6S05
$35.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827106014

SONY Black IDE DVD-ROM Drive Model DDU1615/B2s
$24.88
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827101131

MSI NX6200TC-TD64ESLF NVIDIA(r) GeForce(tm) 6200TC TurboCache(tm) supporting 256MB Retail
$38.99
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=321978

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic Sound Card
$113.99
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=290236

BenQ FP91G+ Black 19" 8ms LCD Monitor
$224.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824014090

Creative Inspire P7800 7.1 Speaker
$88.99
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=360244

Logitech Internet Pro Desktop 967457-0403 Black PS/2 Keyboard w/Opt Mouse
$19.99
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=211100

Total Price SHIPPED:
$1,133.69

By going Intel, for the same amount of money, you get a dual core cpu because the cpu itself is only $50 more expensive, but the motherboard and memory are cheaper than skt939 and DDR. I was also able to find some cheaper prices on items you listed above. Again, this looks like it's $56 more than what you have in the OP, but this 1133.69 includes shipping.
 
Thanks Bamacre... excellent info. I'll see if my buddy will pull the trigger on it.

Also thanks to everyone else who has contributed in tweaking my list.
 
Not enough money spent on sound. The speakers look decent for gaming, but for a system put together for MUSIC... Here's my recommendation for a headphone-based rig:

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ - $149
Scythe Ninja Plus - $34
ASUS A8N-VM - $67
Corsair VS 2x512MB DDR400 - $80
Chaintech AV-710 - $23
Samsung Spinpoint SP2004C 200GB SATA - $85
NEC ND-3550A - $35
Evercase E4252 - $37
Seasonic S12-380 - $64
Yate Loon 120mm D12SL-12 - $6
Rubber cord/clothing elastic/shoelace - $1

Monitor - $220
Keyboard/mouse - $20

That leaves us $179 for the headphones and amp, assuming that he's willing to let shipping (and applicable taxes) bump it over $1000.

So...

Electric-Avenues PA2V2 - $70?
AKG K501? - $130
 
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