Need inputs on the system I'm planning to get

[zuffy]

No set plan yet when I will purchase(probably another month to 2), but this is what I've put together so far from www.componentauthority.com. This computer will be use for surfing, watching movies, Photoshop, panorama image creation, and rare video editing. Most likely, I will not OC, but if I do it will be lite.

These are the parts from the current system that will go into the new system:
Seagate Cheetah 9GB 10k rpm SCSI hdd
WD 80GB 7200 rpm hdd
Maxtor 20GB 7200 rpm hdd
Plextor 32X SCSI CD-ROM (maybe)
Plextor 8/2/20 SCSI CD-RW
Acer 24/10/40 IDE CD-RW
Jazz 1GB SCSI (maybe)
Adaptec 2940U2W SCSI card
Sound Blaster Live 5.1
3Com 905B NIC
Sony F400 19" monitor


Please provide any input of what you might change. Thanks.

ABIT KR7A-RAID $150
AMD Athlon XP 1900+ $215
OCZ Technology Goliath w/ 80mm Fan $38
Thermaltake CPU guardCopper shim $5
Quick Silver 2 thermal compound by OCZ $3
Micron 2x512MB=1GB PC2100 266MHz DDR $294
2 Aluminum Memory cooling heat spreader $9
ATI RADEON 8500 64MB DDR 4X AGP DVI, Dual Video & TV Output $175.00
18'' Silver 2 Device IDE Round Cable $10 x 3 = $30
Silver 18" Round Floppy Cable with clear shield $7
<a target=new class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://store4.yimg.com/I/ocsystem_1673_18733082">Enermax 10bay Tower Case FS-710BB (Blue), Enermax 450W Power Supply EG465P-VE FC Whisper Switching,
clear window w/2 front + 2 rear + 1 side + 1 top cooling fans $314</a>


Total cost = $1237
Shipping is:
$22 for Fedex ground
$32 for 3 day Select
$36 for 2nd Day Air

Edited: Changed case configuration

 

[SpaceRanger]

The only thing you might want to change about that config is the case/PSU. I always liked Lian Li cases (Bought myself another Lian-Li PC-68+USB). And for the PSU I would suggest an Antec 400W. You have a lot of devices that you want to install, so I would go with a stronger PSU.

This is just my opinion though.. Mileage may vary...

Space

 

[gaidin123]

It looks like you're going to have a very nice system when you're done...

The only things that lept out at me were the Quicksilver thermal paste by OCZ and the power supply. I think most everyone would recommend Arctic Silver 3 or 2 and I've personally been very happy with it for a long time now. Is there any reason to save the $3-4 and get the Quicksilver stuff instead?

As for the power supply I'd just make sure that it can dish out enough power for all of your devices. I am using a 300W Sparkle/FSP/Powerman PSU on my XP1900+ system and it's working out well but I'd think that you may want to lean towards the Antec 400W like SpaceRanger said or go for the Sparkle 400W PSU. It might be worth adding up the spec'd wattages and comparing to the max wattage the Enermax can put out. You will probably be ok though...

I had to pull my 32x SCSI Plextor drive out when I transferred my system to a new case (not enough 5.25" bays for me) and I definitely miss it. That thing rips audio better and faster than any other CD/DVD-ROM drive I've ever used and it flies on installing games. Maybe I can figure out a place to wire my baybus into that's not a 5.25" drive bay/faceplate...

Gaidin

 

[zuffy]

<< The only things that lept out at me were the Quicksilver thermal paste by OCZ and the power supply. I think most everyone would recommend Arctic Silver 3 or 2 and I've personally been very happy with it for a long time now. Is there any reason to save the $3-4 and get the Quicksilver stuff instead? >>



I wasn't trying to be cheap. That's the only thermal compound they sell and I'm trying to get everything from one place instead of multiple orders from various websites.



<< As for the power supply I'd just make sure that it can dish out enough power for all of your devices. I am using a 300W Sparkle/FSP/Powerman PSU on my XP1900+ system and it's working out well but I'd think that you may want to lean towards the Antec 400W like SpaceRanger said or go for the Sparkle 400W PSU. It might be worth adding up the spec'd wattages and comparing to the max wattage the Enermax can put out. You will probably be ok though... >>



I am currently running my existing system on an Inwin 500 case with a Fortron Source 300W PS with no problems. The system is running on a P3-700mhz, Asus P2B-S, Asus 7100 and the above hardware mentioned above. I have 4 80mm fans running. I will probably upgrade the PS to the Enermax 450W, but how does this compare to the Antec 400W?



<< I had to pull my 32x SCSI Plextor drive out when I transferred my system to a new case (not enough 5.25" bays for me) and I definitely miss it. That thing rips audio better and faster than any other CD/DVD-ROM drive I've ever used and it flies on installing games. Maybe I can figure out a place to wire my baybus into that's not a 5.25" drive bay/faceplate... >>



Plextor drives are the best when it comes to DAE... clean and fast. This why I want a tower case instead of a mid-tower to acommpanied all my drives and more room for the heat to dispatch.

 

[zuffy]

<< The only thing you might want to change about that config is the case/PSU. I always liked Lian Li cases (Bought myself another Lian-Li PC-68+USB). And for the PSU I would suggest an Antec 400W. You have a lot of devices that you want to install, so I would go with a stronger PSU. >>



Is the Lian Li case a tower or mid-tower? Do you have a link where I can check it out? Also, is the Antec PS the best?

 

[zuffy]

how is the case I want to buy, Enermax different from the Antec? aIt's the exactly same case, minus the power supply. Only thing I noticed is that the Antec don't come in that cool blue color

 

[zuffy]

I just found the Lian-Li cases from newegg.com. Cost too much for a case without a power supply, although it's really nice.

 

[MentalAtrophy]

You can get the Antec1040sxb for ~$150 after shipping from newegg, it comes with the 400watt Antec PSU.

-mA

 

[littlezipp]

That looks really nice to me, but I was never a fan of the SCSI. How do you like it?

 

[zuffy]

<< You can get the Antec1040sxb for ~$150 after shipping from newegg, it comes with the 400watt Antec PSU.

-mA >>


I was looking at it, but 2 things come to my mind. It doesn't come in the blue color (not a big deal) and it doesn't come with the custom cut holes for the 2 side and top panel fans. I'm too lazy to buy the dremel to cut it myself and I'm sure they do a nicer job than me. Also, the Enermax 450W Whisper Quiet model looks like a better PSU than the Antec one. I guess the $80 is a big difference but I'm willing to pay considering I don't have to buy a dremel and my time to cut the holes.

 

[zuffy]

<< That looks really nice to me, but I was never a fan of the SCSI. How do you like it? >>



I'm a big SCSI fan. I'm not 100% sure how it compare to EIDE, but when I do a CD to CD copy, my CPU utilization will stay below 10% with a bunch of things running. Of course, you'll better lucks with NT, W2K, or XP. I can't stand Win9x where it doesn't mulit-task well. Sometimes when something is running, your mouse cursor slows down.

If you looks at most EIDE hard drive reviews, it looks like they caught up with SCSI hard drives (not the 10k and 15k rpm ones though). The biggest advantageof SCSI is multi-tasking... that's where it shines.

 

[zuffy]

This clear window with the blue neon light is so cool. I think I will get the optional clear window.

Enermax case

 

[zuffy]

OK, I did it. I ordered the upgrade components, and yes I can't resist, I got the clear window with the cool blue neon. Total cost is $1268.43