My first PC Build, and Scared Straight !!

[djtexas]

hey guys !!

I Need your help , I've been window-shopping for the past 3 weeks trying to get informed on the different kind of motherBoards, Ram, & CPU Processors to

buy for my first PC build, and after all that time I am still undecided so I need your help !!

This Build will be used, as a workstation, mainly music production and some video editing, so I definitely need a PC that's fast and can handle plugins that

eat up 500 mb for 1 damn guitar or bass string.... So as you can see the DAW programs are CPU Intensive and require alot of Ram that my old pc can't handle

MB : Looking for fast MB that handles ddr2 ram 1066 and higher, FSB 1333mhz to 1600mhz, lots of usb & sata ports, Fire wire, Overclock, did I mention fast? ,

future proof, 45nm compatible, audio card PCI slot... Im gonna install my own audio card, Don't really need SLI not into heavy gaming...(raid ?? is that

needed)

CPU : Im really feeling those Intel quad core , how's the q6600 as a starter or the q9300 though it's not really overclockable like the Q6600, but it has 45nm,

what's the better choice ?
or should I make the long term investment and go with the Core 2 Quad Q9550 2.83GHz

Ram: fast, reliable ram compatible with MB atleast 4gig for the moment


Video Card : HMM !! Be honest... nothing over the top, just a good card that can handle some gaming but will not break the bank !!

Case : Don't know, kinda lost in this department but what should I look for ? for example ATX, full tower or mid-tower,........

PSU : how much power ? any recomendations ?

CPU heatsink ? which one ,
thermal compound ? artic silver???.....

HD: 2x WD caviar 500gig 7200rpm 16mb cache

Ok guys I think that's it, but Im gonna be honest with you guys It's a nightmare shopping for PC parts, with all the reviews ppl leave you can help but wonder

if you're making the right choice..

One more thing I am buying all my part from Newegg.com, that's how I found this forum.... thanks !

 

[Winterpool]

Did you mean to write your post in all boldface type? You might want to edit and remove the bold tags.

Any economist will tell you that economics is really about scarcity, about making choices faced with scarcity. Which means, you're missing one of the most important factors: your budget. If you give us some hard figures, we can provide specific suggestions more readily.

Because your primary applications are music / audio, I can't really contribute much to your decision-making. I dunno what the popular apps are, what resources they require, if they'll utilise four cores, etc. Ideally, someone else on these forums will know something about this.

That said, the one specific item you mention that I wonder about: what attracted you to having dual 500 GB Western Digital drives? I think the sweet spot these days is closer to 750 GB, at least if we're talking purely about storage / $. And I'd be quite surprised if you turned out to need RAID.

Do you need any special interfaces in your board for audio connexions? Does everything use FireWire and USB these days?

Nothing's future-proof: we live in the 21st century. Rumours of 'Nehalem' benchmarks outperforming 'Penryns' (current 45nm chips) by almost 50 per cent at same clockspeed... These will arrive in a quarter. Whether they'll be affordable is another question.

 

[PeteRoy]

I would go with a case that has an air duct for the cpu fan Air duct cases in newegg

Intel made video demonstrating why air duct case is better

 

[BladeVenom]

Are you willing to wait a few more weeks? While the HD 3870 and 8800GT are good cards, the 4850 and 4870 are coming out June 18th.

 

[DSF]

Originally posted by: Winterpool
Nothing's future-proof: we live in the 21st century. Rumours of 'Nehalem' benchmarks outperforming 'Penryns' (current 45nm chips) by almost 50 per cent at same clockspeed... These will arrive in a quarter. Whether they'll be affordable is another question.

Nehalem processors aren't supposed to be readily available to the DIY market until at least the middle of 2009 from what I've heard. Anyhow, there's always going to be something newer and better available next year.

 

[seemingly random]

Yes, the bold does seem overly dramatic but at least it wasn't all caps.

Since you are intending this for "music production", you don't want to hear your pc. For a case, I'd go with one without side vents such as this antec solo or sonata.

If the case you eventually get doesn't come with a psu, check out corsair and seasonic, ones with 120mm fans. Don't get one a lot larger than you need. You won't know what you need until all the components are selected.

For hard drives, check out the wd 640gb for speed or 1tb for size. Remember, the more drives, the more heat and noise.

Others will have more current knowledge of intel cpu/mb and ram/hsf pricing. Remember, the more oc, the more heat, the more fan noise.

Don't know about sound cards, so good luck.