New Build: Any Ideas before i go ahead? HELP!!

[SexyLady]

Ok well im selling my current "Baby" and thought i would try something different so here goes:

THE NEW BUILD????

$471 ASUS Main board: ASUS P5DG2 Deluxe P5GD2 Deluxe (915 chipset) PCI-e Socket775
$374 ASUS Graphics Card: ASUS Graphics Card Extreme N5750 PCI-e
$229 ASUS DVD-RW: ASUS DVD-R+RW + CD-R+RW
$425 Intel CPU: Intel P4 LGA775 3.0MHz 800FSB 1MB L2 Cache Prescott
$218 Overclockers X-Blade Case: Overclockers X-Blade Case Silver or black
$172 Samsung HDD: Samsung HDD SAMSUNG - HDD | SP0812C 80GB 8MB cache 3 yr warranty
$197 Samsung Monitor: Monitor Samsung Monitor 17? FS CRT SyncMaster 753FX 3yr warranty YES its cruddy but i will get a LCD after as it does not come into the budget at the present time, will be replaced at a later date!
$345 Twinmos Memory: Twinmos PC3200 Dual Channel PC3200 1GB 400MHz Dual Channel 2x 512MB

$2,431

Could really do with some ideas, i am normaly a AMD supporter but i thought i should at least once give Intel a chance, so open to suggestions! Note: will get all the normal floppy drive and lights and better cooling but only listed the main items

 

[Tostada]

$229 for a 4X DVD burner that can't write +R?

$172 for a Samsung drive that sells for $74.50 at NewEgg?

The exchange rate from US -> Australia is only 1.38274, meaning that you're spending US$1,758. Those are very, very bad prices.

All that aside, that's also not a very good setup. You're spending that kind of cash for a PCI-E system, but then you're using a cheap Samsung 17" monitor? Ridiculous.

EDIT: Maybe you're not even from Australia ... I guess you just linked to Samsung's Australia site. Either way, the first thing you need to do is look for a better place to buy your hardware.

 

[Quasmo]

go with the Western Digital 10,000rpm 74gb Raptor. Got my at newegg for $165 after Mail in rebate.

 

[SexyLady]

I'm in new Zealand our exchange rate is even worse than Aussie + Shipping .... Hmmm its not looking good
DVD = DVD-R: 4X, 2X, 1X (CLV)
DVD-RW: 2X, 1X (CLV)
CD-R: 16X, 12X, 8X, 4X (CLV)
CD-RW: 8X, 4X (CLV)

 

[moonsite]

Instead of ASUS DVD-RW, I would get NEC instead. I prefer Western Digital or Seagate hd. Didn't have good experience with Samsung.

 

[Tostada]

Originally posted by: SexyLady
I'm in new Zealand our exchange rate is even worse than Aussie + Shipping .... Hmmm its not looking good

US$1.00 = NZD$1.52 ... I'd still be looking for a better retailer. Maybe there's someone else here from NZ who can give some advice.

 

[Tostada]

Originally posted by: moonsite
Instead of ASUS DVD-RW, I would get NEC instead. I prefer Western Digital or Seagate hd. Didn't have good experience with Samsung.

That's interesting. I've never heard of a single person who would say they've had a bad experience with Samsung. WD drives, OTOH, have been getting less and less reliable, and are currently the loudest/hottest 7200RPM drives, which aren't even faster than anything else. Only go with WD if you want a Raptor 74.

 

[SexyLady]

Im in New Zealand we get around 60cents per NZ dollar compaired to the states and then pay shipping, i cant source anything cheaper in this country, but if i buy overseas then not only do i pay shipping but if i have to return a item then my machine is down for 3+ weeks, that to me is not worth it.

As for LCD there is nothing under $600 for a 15' so i will stick with CRT

lol ummm as for advice on prices... i have checked out 90% of the computer retailers in New Zealand and keep a close eye on pricespy (NZ site) i know the going price and have sourced the cheapest in NZ so far ....

 

[Tostada]

I think most people would say you need to reconsider your priorities if you're thinking of building a P4 3.0 on a PCI-E board and using such a low-end monitor.

I'm certainly not trying to offend... But what exactly are you doing to justify such a system?

 

[SexyLady]

i am trying to make a system that works for a certain budget, i can always replace the monitor at a later stage but im more concerned about the INSIDE of the case at the present time if i spend 600 on a LCD then either processor, ram, HDD or mainboard suffer because of it ..... since the monitor isnt the GUTS of the machine it can be upgraded at any time

External items i.e. monitor mouse keyboard are not my main concern. I would rather have a high performing machine and a cruddy monitor (FOR the time being) than have a great disply but cruddy performing machine. I do intend to get a LCD as soon as i can after i have built this but it doesnt come into the budget in this build at the present time

 

[moonsite]

I used to work at a computer store, and we never like samsung drive, even though it was cheaper. That was a few years ago. Maybe they have changed. I have a few WD, 80, 120, and 200Gb, for the past 2 years, and they haven't failed me. I don't hear any sound over the PSU fan.

 

[SexyLady]

I will look into WD SATA then, im not to fussed on samsung brand, im unsure on Seagate as i had a SATA drive right out of the box that took all of 3 hours to die on me lol so i prefer to stay away from those also most of the seagate sata only have 1 year warrantys (not all of them)

 

[PhoenixOrion]

Hi sexylady, if you have $2500 to spare, you might want to re-prioritize your list. Most of the components you listed are "bleeding-edge technology" which takes approximately 9 months from launch date to have better-refined hardware.

 

[SexyLady]

I thought about that, but i dont mind being a test subject for these new products, atleast most have great warranty's on them so if it packs up well heck they will replace lol .... will probably run into a few problems and bugs but that i dont mind, i enjoy fixing machines as well as building them.

 

[PhoenixOrion]

In that case, here's my 2 cents

1. change the gfx card with the ati native pci-e solution. nvidia pci-e bridge may not be ideal.
2. check out the aspire turbo x-alien super aluminum case: its amazing how the top fan helps out the back fan exhaust to maintain ambient case temps
3. focus on the western digital caviar series or maxtor's diamond max 9 series SATA's
4. 19" CRT's and bigger are more "eye-ergonomic"
5. a very good heatsink and fan coz prescotts are HOT! i saw a benchmark for a 3.2Ghz prescott hitting 78C after running full load of CPUburn test.

 

[SexyLady]

This is the cooling system that i had in mind:
Tt Pipe Series Looks like a good one along with this fan: Tt Silent cat i have a volcano 11 at the moment and this fan is half the dBA but pushes out twice the CFM so i thought it might be a good choice along with Artic Silver, will look into ATI PCI-e cards but i have not found much to choose from (thats why i stuck with ASUS in mainboard and graphics card ...

As for the monitor i dont plan on having it long before i change to LCD, so for the price a 17' it will do fine

 

[Tostada]

Originally posted by: moonsite
I used to work at a computer store, and we never like samsung drive, even though it was cheaper. That was a few years ago. Maybe they have changed. I have a few WD, 80, 120, and 200Gb, for the past 2 years, and they haven't failed me. I don't hear any sound over the PSU fan.

That post makes no sense. First you said you "Didn't have good experience with Samsung," but you offer absolutely nothing to back that up. You worked for a computer store? So what? Did all their Samsung drives die? The simple fact is that WD drives are usually slower, hotter, louder and less reliable than any drive by Seagate/Hitachi/Samsung. That's a fact. Go look at the benchmarks. Go look at the comments on any site and you'll see more people complaining about WD 7200 RPM drives dying within 4 weeks than any other drive. You also very often see complaints about whining noises that other drives don't have. Also, SexyLady is talking about an 80GB drive, and WD's 80GB drives are extremely slow -- many of them use 40GB platters instead of modern 80GB platters, and you never know what you'll get because WD doesn't define platter count in their model numbers (although WD's site actually lists their 80GB drives as being 2-platter).

 

[PhoenixOrion]

That'll work. Tt and Thermalright heatsink with heatpipe technologies have the best temp benchies out there.

Email me once you have your new "baby." I want to see some system benchies with these new technologies.

 

[Tostada]

It didn't take me long to find places where you can get all that stuff significantly cheaper in NZ.

PriceSpy New Zealand
C1Computer.co.nz
Paradigm PCs
PCMart.co.nz

$362.95 ASUS Intel 915P PCI-E, same board you linked to for $108 cheaper.
$219.00 LiteOn 812S 8X DVD-RW, a much better burner for $10 less.
$378.49 Intel P4 3.0 Prescott Retail, same CPU for $47 less.
$166.00 Samsung 120G 8MB 3-year SATA drive, larger drive for less.

And again, I guess there's no point even trying to reason with you, SexyLady. Why did you even post this thread? You said you could use some good ideas, but you're rejecting everybody except for the totally unfounded comments that WD is better than Samsung. You say you have a budget, but in that case there's no reason to completely waste your money on PCI-E when it currently offers no benefit -- especially the PCI-E video cards which offer no benefit yet are much more expensive. You're also going with an Intel system, which is another waste of money which you have not justified. Tell me, when you get the system all put together, what difference do you think you'll notice by having PCI-E? You're spending twice as much as an equivalent system that uses normal parts.

If you're going to burn DVD's, isn't 80GB a pretty small hard drive? How do you justify that? Are you saving money on the hard drive so that you can spend more on an overpriced motherboard?

By the time you need PCI-E, you'll be able to get better parts for a fraction of the cost. How do you justify spending so much on such a weak system if budget is a factor? You don't have room in your budget for anything but a 17" CRT, but you have the cash to blow the equivalent of US$1600 on a system and get totally overpriced components? Anybody will tell you that the system you have listed will devalue faster than anything else you could possibly build. Every component you list will drop in value by a massive amount in just a couple months, and you'll be stuck with a ridiculously mediocre system and a low-end monitor.

I'm sorry this sounds extremely rude, but I'm not sure how else to state the obvious problems with your build.

 

[ponyo]

Buy the best monitor you can afford, CRT or LCD. Then buy the rest of the system with the money left over. Your eyes are worth more than crappy 17" no name monitor. Don't ruin your eyes.

 

[SexyLady]

Ok well good prices, but you forgot to add GST as those prices are NOT GST inclusive, so in reality what you said = the price i state as some of the prices i listed are from that site only i added the GST on lol, i am looking into what other people have said but give me a few minutes to research them before i reply....

Yes i do find you to be very rude and Obnoxious Tostada. Thank you for your input though.

 

[SexyLady]

Naustica, as i have stated i dont plan on keeping this monitor for long so i didnt see the point in getting a great LCD and only having a unfinished case that doesnt go as it is lacking componients because i have spent alot on monitor, my aim is to get a machine up and running and then to upgrade the monitor soon after.

Tostada, i also have 3 server machines and one notebook, i dont lack in HDD space with the other machines HDD's included, so i didnt see any point in getting a HUGE HDD for this new machine when most of the data is stored on the servers.

 

[SexyLady]

Originally posted by: PhoenixOrion
In that case, here's my 2 cents

1. change the gfx card with the ati native pci-e solution. nvidia pci-e bridge may not be ideal.
2. check out the aspire turbo x-alien super aluminum case: its amazing how the top fan helps out the back fan exhaust to maintain ambient case temps
3. focus on the western digital caviar series or maxtor's diamond max 9 series SATA's
4. 19" CRT's and bigger are more "eye-ergonomic"
5. a very good heatsink and fan coz prescotts are HOT! i saw a benchmark for a 3.2Ghz prescott hitting 78C after running full load of CPUburn test.

Looking into that Aspire case, will see if i can source them in NZ as they seem to be a good choice from what i have looked at so far, Cheers, also still looking into ati pci-e solution ...

 

[jim1976]

Originally posted by: SexyLady
Naustica, as i have stated i dont plan on keeping this monitor for long so i didnt see the point in getting a great LCD and only having a unfinished case that doesnt go as it is lacking componients because i have spent alot on monitor, my aim is to get a machine up and running and then to upgrade the monitor soon after.

Tostada, i also have 3 server machines and one notebook, i dont lack in HDD space with the other machines HDD's included, so i didnt see any point in getting a HUGE HDD for this new machine when most of the data is stored on the servers.

And why loosing money for a mediocre monitor and change it later when you can get with that money a super one now?

I second Naustica's opinion. Well it's your decision after all....If money is not an issue

 

[SexyLady]

Well since i live in New Zealand for a cruddy 15' LCD i am paying 600+ dollars, some may not realise that after the exchange rate for NZ things are twice the price as US .... that is why .... Money IS an issue thats why i thought of spending under 200 for CRT that i can replace at a later date (not to much later) rather than spending 600-900 on a nice LCD and not having a running machine as i ran out of money lol