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need help building new computer

S

smartermoney

Senior member
I have a dell 8300 but I am outgrowing it and am looking to build my first custom. I am needing some expert help with finding a case-motherboard.
Here is what i have
P4 3.2 HT
2G pc3200Ram (kingston)
4-250GB HD
DVD+-rw drive
dvd drive
1.4 floppy
ATI 9800pro on Dual 19" lcd's
I need usb 2.0 AND firewire
I want to be able to oc (even though i am new to this i want to have a little fun)
I hear azus (sp) boards are good but there is so many. Also need help on a PS size. 400? 450? 500? or less?
The case needs to be cool with clear sections and lights..neon, fan, ect. I DON'T WANT CHEAP Also woul like to have the temp lcd on the case.
Anyone have something or willing to help or build?
Thanks
 
Forget PSU size. 350w is more than fine, but get a good one.
Antec, Fortron, Enermax, Sparkle, Enhance would be my choices.

Not having too recent experience with overclocker P4 boards, I'll let somebody else tackle that one.
Alos, I can't help you with the case...I think the Antec SLK3700 cases are the best looking you can buy, and have a drawer downstairs that is coming together to hold my rig.
 
I'd go with AMD but that's just personal preference. If you want a quiet rig, you should consider the antec sonata for a case as well as a nexus 300, zalman 400w or a Seasonic PSU.

Dual 19" lcds? Which ones will you select? I have been tryng to find a Hercules prophetview 920 pro (17) but no luck.

You weren't specific on your motherboard, I'd recommend a gigabyte because I have about 7 of them and they are pretty durned solid.
 
You have a lot of high power drain components (9800, 6 drives, 4 sticks of mem, 3.2 P4 and you want to overclock) go for an Antec 430 as a baseline.

Depending on your budget and how high you want to OC you have several options. First thing to look for is support for 6 IDE drives unless you have a PCI card to run a couple of them. The Gigabyte 8Penxp and 8Knxp, and the Asus P4p800 Deluxe have 4 IDE channels. Of those they all support 8 ports of USB 2.0 and at least (1), 1394 port, but the Asus does not include headers to connect all of the ports (they can be picked if needed).

If you plan on a large OC then the P4P800 Deluxe is the crowd favorite.
 
Excellent answer, I completely agree.

On the P/S size, I can tell you I had about the same amount of equipment, and kileld an Antec 350 in about 6 months of use. Popped a 450 in and never had another trouble for about 1.5 years or so until I pulled it apart and made 2 PC's instead. I don't think 350 would be enough.

If you find a board that is perfect, except for the wrong # of firewire or USB ports that you need, then remember you can get an add-in PCI card for ~ about $30 or so with several more of each on it.
 
on the PSU don't skimp just get a nice 400+ one and forget about it. I went with a 430 trupower yes it hurt to buy it seeing the 20 dollar chepaies but I don't regret it and its solid as can be
 
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