Is this a good system?

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: jmiasi
With the specs you listed, would I have to worry about overheating? I always see "cooling" things everywhere...

If you buy a retail package for the CPU, that will come with a heatsink and fan designed by AMD to keep it running nice and cool.

For the case fans, the 3000b case will come with one 120mm fan. I would recommend selecting another 120mm fan in the fans section. That will be installed in front of the case and blow over the harddrives keeping them cool.

How big is your current harddrive? How much space would you like?

 

[jmiasi]

It's a 40GB and we still have room on it. I also use an external HD.

I want like a 200GB because we want to start loading videos onto the computer from our camcorder too (forgot to mention this earlier).

Jen

 

[Bobthelost]

Ok, 150gb is a lot of room for a work PC. Your photoshop files will start to eat it up quickly but you can transfer them to DVD if you need to. Another 250gb or 400gb drive would give you lots of room to play with. But it's optional, not something you NEED. An external drive can always be bought later on, or another drive added if you need it.

If you do want one though, for the 250gb drive range i'd recomend
Western Digital 250 GB WD2500JB 8MB Cache 7200 RPM

Or for 400gb
Western Digital Caviar SE16 400 GB SATA 16MB Cache 7200 RPM (WD4000KD)

Inbetween options exist, but i never seem to think about them

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

What's happening with your current system if you get a new one?

If you could take any parts out of it, you could reuse the
Videocard
Harddive
Soundcard
CD drive
if you wanted to.

 

[Bobthelost]

I dunno, normally it's a very good idea to reuse parts, but as of yet we're not dealing with an experienced tinkerer, so i'd go with the full on tech support and a fully functional computer as it's shipped.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Bobthelost
I dunno, normally it's a very good idea to reuse parts, but as of yet we're not dealing with an experienced tinkerer, so i'd go with the full on tech support and a fully functional computer as it's shipped.

Maybe they know someone who is into this sort of stuff.

We also know it's not rocket science either.

 

[Bobthelost]

True, but the biggest bits to save are the HD, RAM and graphics card.

The RAM's unusable, the HD's tiny and old and the graphics card's probably AGP which means that the OP would need a different motherboard (not all that much hastle i suppose)

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Bobthelost
True, but the biggest bits to save are the HD, RAM and graphics card.

The RAM's unusable, the HD's tiny and old and the graphics card's probably AGP which means that the OP would need a different motherboard (not all that much hastle i suppose)

I just wanted to mention it was an option.

 

[jmiasi]

What would be the preferences for cd/dvd rom RW drives?

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: jmiasi
What would be the preferences for cd/dvd rom RW drives?

You can just get a single drive. I have an NEC 3520 and it works quite well.

Monarch has the 3550 as an option, right?
I think I had a black one selected to match the 3000b.

 

[Bobthelost]

BenQ 1640. One of the best if not the best DVDRW there is.
NEC 3550 Is also good, i've got one of them but my first choice was the BenQ.

 

[jmiasi]

Will a single drive slow down the process of copying a CD?

 

[jmiasi]

network card? I feel so helpless.

 

[Bobthelost]

Yes and no, it's generally best to copy to your Hard drive anyway, but you can do something called "on the fly" burning where you read it from one CD and write directly to another. This needs 2 drives obviously enough.

I've done it and it's a bit faster, but if something goes wrong then you've wasted a CD, i prefer using the one DVDRW drive.

 

[jmiasi]

would I have to select a USB 2.0 card as well? Or are there usb ports elsewhere in my configuration? Also, firewire for my camcorder?

 

[Bobthelost]

No, the motherboard will have at least one ethernet port (network port, or what you'd plug your broadband into) as well as having a few USB2 ports, i'll just check if it's got firewire...

Don't think it does, not to worry

*goes to find one that does*

 

[jmiasi]

Do I need the x64 windows xp version or just the standard service pack. (xp professional)

 

[Bobthelost]

Ok, motherboard alternative option is:
DFI NF4 Infinity nForce4 Audio/GB-LAN/IEEE-1394/PCI-E/SATA/DDR/ATX 64 939
I don't know DFI myself, but it's a reputable brand and the specifications look good and importantly it has firewire.

XP64 is a different operating system to the XP you know and love (to hate), it's not as good for the most part although there are a few little tweaks that it incorporates over XP. I'd just go with XP pro service pack 2 myself.

 

[jmiasi]

Thank you SO much for the information. You guys have already saved me a lot of time and money! Is it ok if I use you guys as a "lifeline" for more questions later on?

 

[tafate]

so ahh what you gunna do with the old one???

 

[jmiasi]

This is the configuration I did at Monarch using what you suggested:

Monarch Furia Custom Workstation (PCI-E) 1 $89.00 $89.00
Case: 100587 - No PS - Antec SLK3000B ATX Mid Tower (Bla $51.71 $51.71
Power Supply: 100338 - PS 500W - Enermax Liberty ELT500AWT ATX 2 $93.99 $93.99
Case Fan: 100887 - 120mm - Antec 120mm SmartCool Case Fan $18.92 $18.92
Motherboard: 110460 - DFI NF4 Infinity nForce4 Audio/GB-LAN/IEE $85.64 $85.64
Processor: 120243 - AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ Dual-Core 1MB Per $640.00 $640.00
Thermal Grease: None
Heat Sink Fan: 130956 - Thermaltake A1770 AMD Opteron/64 Heatsink $12.65 $12.65
Memory: 140210 - DDR (400) 3200 - 2 GB (2 pcs 1GB) Corsair $198.87 $198.87
2nd Memory: 140210 - DDR (400) 3200 - 2 GB (2 pcs 1GB) Corsair $198.87 $198.87
Hard Drive: 150175 - Western Digital Caviar SE16 400 GB SATA 1 $230.74 $230.74
2nd Hard Drive: None
3rd Hard Drive: None
4th Hard Drive: None
RAID Setup: None
RAID Controller: None
CD-ROM/DVD-ROM/CD-RW: 160081 - DVD±RW - BENQ DW1640 16X DVD±RW DL (Black $51.85 $51.85
CD-RW/DVD-RW: None
CD-RW Software: 210613 - Ahead Nero 6.6 Suite DVD+-RW Software (OE $15.99 $15.99
DVD-ROM Software: 210600 - nVidia DVD Decoder 1.00.58 (OEM) $15.97 $15.97
Floppy: None
More Storage: None
Sound Card: 180212 - Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live! 7.1 24- $45.63 $45.63
Video Card: 190406 - ATI (Sapphire) Radeon X700 Pro 256MB DDR3 $176.69 $176.69
Modem: None
Network Card: None
Wireless Network Card: None
Add On Card: None
Case Function Add On: None
Round Cable: None
Operating System: 210227 - Fedora Core 3 A64 (Install Only) $90.00 $90.00
Additional Software: None
Antivirus: None
Warranty: 800010 - Standard Tech Support, 3 Year $125.00 $125.00
Hot Rush: None - Standard Order ( ships within 10-15 busines
Nero 7 Promotion: None
Molex Connector: None
Video Capture: None
TV Tuner: None
Lance Armstrong: 270447 - Lance Armstrong LIVE STRONG wristband
Free Giveaway: 270251 - Patriot Pen Blue and Grey - Free!
Sales Tax: $0.00
Total: $2,141.52

 

[jmiasi]

Originally posted by: tafate
so ahh what you gunna do with the old one???

Give it away I suppose, why?

Jen

 

[tafate]

cause my bro is hunting for a pc that doesnt stink
he has like a 400 mhz poc right now

 

[Bobthelost]

If you haven' ordered yet:

You don't need the thermaltake heatsink. The CPU comes with one already and it's good enough.

You can save quite a bit of money getting a 4600 instead, for photoshop they are the same speed i think.

You don't have XP there, you can get it cheaper than they will charge, but legally speaking you can' use the same liscense as your Dell has.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

I think you've got a better balance there than your original system :thumbsup:

In addition to what had been said already, are you sure you want to get a soundcard? The one you have selected is similar to the one you already have for the Dell.

What kind of speakers/headphones do you use?

EDIT: you could also knock close to $100 off by getting a 4400+ X2 vs the 4600+ X2 and even more vs the 4800+