FINAL SYSTEM BUILDING LIST. Any other ideas?

[timers]

Well, I was asked to make a system for my friend, that will be used to video editing. He wants to stay under 1500. Heres what I put together for him. The total comes out at 1338.

990-17900 Lian Li PC-60 USB Silver Aluminum Mid Tower ATX $112.00 1 $112.00
990-16906 ENERMAX EG365P-VE FC 350W ATX12V PSU $52.95 1 $52.95
310-17052 ATi AIW RADEON 8500DV 64MB DDR AGP VIVO/DVI (Retail) $178.00 1 $178.00
220-03001 Samsung 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive Beige (Drive Only) $10.95 1 $10.95
235-66012B Iomega Zip 250MB Internal ATAPI Drive (Retail) $96.50 1 $96.50
960-63032 Thermaltake VOLCANO 9 for Socket A/370 1300~4800RPM $24.95 1 $24.95
800-51075 Asus A7N8X Deluxe nForce2 SocketA ATX Audio/LAN/1394/SATA/AGP8X $147.95 1 $147.95
610-19022 Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Full Version (OEM/1pk) $94.00 1 $94.00
120-24073 AMD Athlon XP 2400+ 2.0GHz Socket A CPU no fan (OEM) $169.00 1 $169.00
110-60066 Kingston 512MB DDR266 PC2100 CL2 Unbuffered DIMM $68.75 2 $137.50
210-40097 Maxtor DiamondMax Plux 9 40GB 7200RPM ATA/133 HDD (Drive Only) $79.00 1 $79.00
210-40095 Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 120GB 7200RPM ATA/133 HDD (Drive Only) $139.00 1 $139.00

QUESTIONS
----------------
Will that heatsink be good for the 2400?
Is the 2400 fast enough? At 169, its a deal.
Is PC2100 Cl2 enough to use with that Asus board.
Im pretty sure you need Cl2 at least, but I can run the dual channel DDR using only those sticks. At 66 a piece, once again, a real steal. DDR266, please let me know on that.
Also, I will run 2 harddrives.
The 40gig will be used for the OS/Other files, installations, etc.
The 120 gb will be used strictly for his video editing, meaning his data files. If he ever needs more in the future, it can be arranged.

Does anyone know how big 1 hour of RAW imported data from a digital camera onto your PC is. Uncompressed. I know it will be in gigabytes, I just do not know that number.

Looking over it, I forgot to add on a Cd-drive. I will probably go with some DVD writer. So its around 1,550 now I bet.

PLEASE HELP. Thanks
Any critiques or comments are appreciated.

-Jake

 

[jdogg707]

On that board I would try to at least run DDR333 in dual channel, it will give you the best performance for your dollar...just a thought

 

[jdogg707]

Also, is there a reason you need the Lian-Li case, I mean it's a great case, but you can get something like an Antec Performance series for around 100-120 w/400-450W PS included...might look that way too.

 

[timers]

Do I need to use Cl2? Or is Cl2.5 ok for that board?
I will now have to go with the Kingston HyperX at 112 a stick. So the memory price is now doubled. Instead of the 137, its now like 225. Oh well...Anything else?

 

[timers]

I do not think I can work on anything BESIDES a Lian-Li case. Every feature it offers, I am just so used to. I have built 3 pcs with them already, and do not know of any other case that has all their features. Motherboard tray is the best part, as well as the quick connect for the mobo/case selectors. All the thumb screws, and just the overall convenience of it is great. A lot of things are easier, and its a great looking sleek case, that will keep my temps down. I have the PC65 myself, dad has the 60. 112 + 49 = 161. For 161, I dont think anything can touch that. Im getting a great brandname PSU with a case. I dont know though for sure. Thanks for the opinion. Good idea to consider.

 

[JSSheridan]

A few comments. For video editing, it might be benificial for the system to use 1GB of memory. If you are getting a DVD or CD burner, do you really need the Zip disk? That seems redundant to me. On you memory, you should run the memory at the same speed as your front side bus. In this case the DDR266 will be enough, unless your friend ever plans to overclock the system. In that case you might want some DDR333 or 400. Futures processors will work best with DDR333 or 400 also. Concerning the heatsink for the CPU, I think my retail HS is adaquate. At 100% cpu usage, my temps are CPU 42C/MB 29C. Again, overclocking will require a different HS. I would recomment the Alpha 8045 or Thermalright SLK-900. That's all, good luck. Peace.

 

[timers]

Originally posted by: JSSheridan
A few comments. For video editing, it might be benificial for the system to use 1GB of memory. If you are getting a DVD or CD burner, do you really need the Zip disk?

Ya, I am gonna go with 2 sticks of 512, for a total of 1gb of ram. Is that what you meant. Also, I will let him know about the zip. He really told me he needed it and wanted it, so I think its staying, but Ill let him know that everything cant stay. .

 

[HendrixFan]

Is there any particular reason for a ZIP drive? Those are a little bit outdated now.

Id agree with the other person who suggested DDR333 RAM. Memory bandwidth seems to be important for audio and video encoding.

If he has a digital camcorder, then he doesnt need the AIW ATI card. Just a firewire card. The digital camcorder should have a firewire port to just dump the data onto your computer. The AIW card just has an analog to digital converter, which is uneccessary.

Processor speed is a factor, but memory and hard drive speed are more important for that type of work. I built a system for my cousin for him to edit his digital recordings. Since you are getting the Asus board with SATA, you should try and get a SATA hard drive for the system.

 

[mechBgon]

The nForce2 boards are at their best with a 333MHz-bus CPU (or higher, if you want to overclock). Could you hold out for a Barton 2500+ (333MHz bus, 512kb L2 cache) for about the same price? Also, Crucial PC2700 is now $90 per 512Mb, and for video editing, I suspect more = better, so how about pair those up for 1Gb DDR333 RAM at $180 (high-quality stuff too). You don't particularly need CL2.0 memory, and in reality, you can undoubtedly run the Crucial CL2.5 stuff at CL2.0 just fine.

I would get a Thermalright SLK-800 and a Panaflo L1A, rather than the Volcano 9, but that is partly personal prejudice

On a practical note, you probably don't want the Zip drive sharing a cable with your DVD writer or hard drives. Maybe factor in an additional IDE controller such as a Promise Ultra133 controller.

Also, be prepared for a possible issue with the Radeon 8500DV, here is some potentially-useful info. Some BIOS settings had to be changed to clear it up. WinXP Pro might be better than Home, depending on your needs (check this FAQ for the differences, one of the notable ones is the ability to create restricted accounts in Pro, so your brother/friend/roommate/girlfriend/wife can't mess stuff up).

If the onboard SATA controller and dual LAN of the A7N8X-Deluxe are not of especial value to you, you might consider an EPoX 8RDA+ instead of the Asus (mwave.com has them for about $110 shipped). If you get one, removing the northbridge heatsink and using a generous dose of thermal compound in place of the thermal pad is recommended.

 

[timers]

Originally posted by: HendrixFan
Is there any particular reason for a ZIP drive? Those are a little bit outdated now.

Id agree with the other person who suggested DDR333 RAM. Memory bandwidth seems to be important for audio and video encoding.

If he has a digital camcorder, then he doesnt need the AIW ATI card. Just a firewire card. The digital camcorder should have a firewire port to just dump the data onto your computer. The AIW card just has an analog to digital converter, which is uneccessary.

Processor speed is a factor, but memory and hard drive speed are more important for that type of work. I built a system for my cousin for him to edit his digital recordings. Since you are getting the Asus board with SATA, you should try and get a SATA hard drive for the system.

I have taken the Zip drive into account. Will let him know.
The DDR333 Ram for sure now.
If I did not get the AIW Radeon 8500dv 64mb, then what card should I look at? That cards 178. This system is basically just a video editing system, with normal uses. Little or no gameplay will go on. I want PERFORMANCE though.
I do know that the Asus board has Firewire capibilities on it, so I might be covered there. Now I need a new video card then...
What exactly is SATA in reference to HD's. I know Ill need 2 harddrives at the least.

 

[timers]

Originally posted by: mechBgon
The nForce2 boards are at their best with a 333MHz-bus CPU (or higher, if you want to overclock). Could you hold out for a Barton 2500+ (333MHz bus, 512kb L2 cache) for about the same price? Also, Crucial PC2700 is now $90 per 512Mb, and for video editing, I suspect more = better, so how about pair those up for 1Gb DDR333 RAM at $180 (high-quality stuff too). You don't particularly need CL2.0 memory, and in reality, you can undoubtedly run the Crucial CL2.5 stuff at CL2.0 just fine.

I would get a Thermalright SLK-800 and a Panaflo L1A, rather than the Volcano 9, but that is partly personal prejudice

On a practical note, you probably don't want the Zip drive sharing a cable with your DVD writer or hard drives. Maybe factor in an additional IDE controller such as a Promise Ultra133 controller.

Also, be prepared for a possible issue with the Radeon 8500DV, here is some potentially-useful info. Some BIOS settings had to be changed to clear it up. WinXP Pro might be better than Home, depending on your needs (check this FAQ for the differences, one of the notable ones is the ability to create restricted accounts in Pro, so your brother/friend/roommate/girlfriend/wife can't mess stuff up).

If the onboard SATA controller and dual LAN of the A7N8X-Deluxe are not of especial value to you, you might consider an EPoX 8RDA+ instead of the Asus (mwave.com has them for about $110 shipped). If you get one, removing the northbridge heatsink and using a generous dose of thermal compound in place of the thermal pad is recommended.

I will look into that crucial for sure. Those prices on newegg.com? My retailer doesnt sell Crucial, but I guess I could order direct from them or newegg.com.
What video card would you recommend to replace the 8500dv? Little to no gaming will go on, CPU is primarily for video editing.
I want a MOBO with on-board lan.
Win XP home is fine.
Thanks

 

[mechBgon]

All the nForce2 boards have onboard LAN (the Asus A7N8X-Deluxe has two). The 8500DV should work, you just may need to adjust the BIOS settings, and if the included DV software is what you need, that's a major plus, right?

 

[Wintermute76]

DV is usually 120MB per 20 minutes at preview quality, and 14GB per hour at full DV quality. At least that's how it is for Pinnacle Studio 7 on my system, tho I think they're all pretty much the same.

 

[imported_Mike]

fyi, the 8500 aiw is going to be $149 from compusa this sunday monday.

 

[timers]

All these prices were taken from one source.
Newegg.com was not used yet, but I know they have cheaper prices.

What you guys think?

120-24059 AMD Athlon XP 2100+ 1.73GHz Socket A CPU no fan (OEM) $96.00 $96.00
800-51072 Asus A7V8X KT400 SocketA ATX Audio/LAN/1394/SATA/AGP8X $127.25 $127.25
990-00024BK Aluminum ATX File Server w/ 420W ATX12V PSU & Plexiglass Window (Black) $125.00 $125.00
610-19022 Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Full Version (OEM/1pk) $94.00 $94.00
310-17052T ATi AIW RADEON 8500DV 64MB DDR AGP w/ Remote VIVO/DVI (Brown Box) $167.00 $167.00
230-57008 Pioneer DVR-A05 Internal DVD-RW & CD-RW Drive ATAPI (Retail) $289.00 $289.00
110-60063 Kingston 512MB DDR333 PC2700 CL2.5 Unbuffered DIMM $78.95 $236.85
210-40098 Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 8 20GB 7200RPM ATA/133 HDD (Drive Only) $69.00 $69.00
210-40095 Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 120GB 7200RPM ATA/133 HDD (Drive Only) $139.00 $139.00
110-00F01 IOPLUS 64MB PocketDisk USB Mini-Drive $44.95 $44.95
960-11415 CoolerMaster HHC-L61 Copper HSF for Socket A 3000 RPM $28.95 $28.95
Subtotal: $1,417.00

1.5 Gig of Memory
No Floppy

 

[mechBgon]

1) You inadvertantly picked an A7V8X motherboard, oops!

2) Generic-ish power supply, aack!

 

[timers]

Originally posted by: mechBgon
1) You inadvertantly picked an A7V8X motherboard, oops!

2) Generic-ish power supply, aack!

Ya, I am gonna get the Asus Deluxe board, or lately Ive been looking at the 8rda+ Epox. I know I will not be using RAID, or SATA at all on this system, and the epox is cheaper.

As far as the generic PSU goes, I myself prefer the Lian Li pc60 case to work with.

I NEED a case with a motherboard tray. Lian-Li cases are SOOOOO NICE.
I just listed that since it was cheaper.
The Lian-Li PC60 is 112 + a 50 dollar or so Enermax Whisper 350W Psu probly, an Antec 380W.

 

[MJ99]

i havenot done a lot of research on top video card but shouldn't he consider the ati 9700 in stead of the 8500?

 

[tbates757]

Originally posted by: timers

Originally posted by: mechBgon
1) You inadvertantly picked an A7V8X motherboard, oops!

2) Generic-ish power supply, aack!

Ya, I am gonna get the Asus Deluxe board, or lately Ive been looking at the 8rda+ Epox. I know I will not be using RAID, or SATA at all on this system, and the epox is cheaper.

As far as the generic PSU goes, I myself prefer the Lian Li pc60 case to work with.

I NEED a case with a motherboard tray. Lian-Li cases are SOOOOO NICE.
I just listed that since it was cheaper.
The Lian-Li PC60 is 112 + a 50 dollar or so Enermax Whisper 350W Psu probly, an Antec 380W.

What he is saying is that you picked the Asus KT400 motherboard, and not the Asus nForce2 motherboard.

 

[timers]

Im going with the Epox board for sure now. Thanks.