New system build - thoughts?

[DanJ]

My roommate was going to go with a Dell 8300 for about $1750, which I thought to be a bit ridiculous for the price...so I told him I could build him one for at least $300 less..he has some things he requires though, specifically a 17" LCD and a DVD burner. Here's what I've come up with:

ABIT IS7 Intel 865PE chipset for Socket 478 P4 ATX motherboard
Intel Pentium 4 / 2.4CGHz Hyper Threading 800 MHz FSB (Retail)
NEC MultiSync LCD1760V-BK 17" LCD
Crucial 512mb (2x256mb) DDR400 PC3200
Western Digital SE 80GB 7200RPM
NEC DVD +/- RW 4x DVD (Black)
Foxconn Super Case (Black) USB Mid Tower
Samsung 1.44MB Floppy (Black)
ArchTek SmartLink 56K V.90 PCI MODEM
Logitech's THX certified Z560 4.1 Speaker System (Retail)

So now I need some assistance on a video card, or anything you think needs changing above. I'm thinking I should probably add a sound card as well, I've used AC '97 in the past and its not the greatest, unless the IS7 is improved?

For the video card I think he wants something with VIVO, even though he's going to be getting a miniDV camera so he can use firewire..think he wants to do some video editing so he might as well have VIVO. Having a TV tuner would be nice as well, but quality cards with those integrated are a bit expensive.

He's not a huge gamer, but I'm thinking he'll probably want to play HL2 when it comes out. Figure something with 128MB of RAM. The Dell he was going to go with had an fx5200, so I know I can do better then that.

Thoughts?

 

[nick1985]

all i gotta say is i hope and pray you are not going to use the PSU that comes with that 30 dollar case....

 

[DanJ]

Originally posted by: nick1985
all i gotta say is i hope and pray you are not going to use the PSU that comes with that 30 dollar case....

Eh, all the reviews say its just fine. If it gives me issues I'll upgrade it.

 

[BaboonGuy]

sonnnnata for a great case/psu

for a vcard a 9500 Pro would be good or a 9700 NP depending on which you can find. are you sure that RAM will run CL 2.5? if its not guarenteed to i wouldn't get it, CL 2.5 can really slow down a comp compared to 2 imo.

also get some z-640s they aren't much more expensive and they have sweet 5.1 sound. also go for a canterwood mobo, unless there aren't very many benefits you'd get from it.

 

[Budmantom]

Perhaps your friend should look at the Dell 4600 for less then half he can have that system + 9800np.

Tom

 

[Electric Amish]

Originally posted by: DanJ

Originally posted by: nick1985
all i gotta say is i hope and pray you are not going to use the PSU that comes with that 30 dollar case....

Eh, all the reviews say its just fine. If it gives me issues I'll upgrade it.

Used that case/psu with Athlon XP's with no problems.

amish

 

[DanJ]

Originally posted by: Budmantom
Perhaps your friend should look at the Dell 4600 for less then half he can have that system + 9800np.

I'm going to have to disagree with you. The system I have priced out is $1460 plus shipping at about $50. A similarily configged 4600, though slower with the 533MHz bus (no HT) and slower graphics (FX, unless you add a 9800 in which the price of course goes up), is $1484 + $99 S/H. Remember he wants a 17" LCD and a DVD burner.

 

[DanJ]

Originally posted by: BaboonGuy
sonnnnata for a great case/psu

for a vcard a 9500 Pro would be good or a 9700 NP depending on which you can find. are you sure that RAM will run CL 2.5? if its not guarenteed to i wouldn't get it, CL 2.5 can really slow down a comp compared to 2 imo.

also get some z-640s they aren't much more expensive and they have sweet 5.1 sound. also go for a canterwood mobo, unless there aren't very many benefits you'd get from it.

Yea, that is a nice case, though I'm trying to keep this at a lower cost then Dell, so the case I choose looks somewhat like the Dell he'd get without spending $100 or so. I checked out the 9500 and the 9700, but the prices, to get VIVO, look to be high. Right now I'm thinking of the 128MB GAINWARD/CARDEXPERT GeForce 4, 8X AGP. Ti 4200 ("golden sample"). Sure its not a 9600/9800 but its faster then the FX's and it has VIVO, which is nice. Thoughts on that card? Remember, not an avid gamer, loved HL back in the day though so he'll probably want HL2, but doesn't want to spend an arm and a leg on the good DX9 cards. The Ti4200 should be respectable for it.

I'm not really sure if he even wants 4.1 or 5.1 so I don't really know what to do with that. I figured the 560's are a good compromise..not too expensive and from the reviews, they actually sound good...

 

[DanJ]

Final build:

ABIT IS7
Intel Pentium 4 / 2.4CGHz Hyper Threading 800 MHz FSB (Retail)
Crucial 512mb (2x256mb) DDR400 PC3200
Western Digital SE 80GB 7200RPM
MSI Ti4200-VTD8X GeForce 4 Titanium 4200
NEC MultiSync LCD1760V-BK 17" LCD
NEC 1300A DVD +/- RW 4x DVD (Black)
Foxconn Super Case (Black) USB Mid Tower with 300W PSU
Samsung 1.44MB Floppy (Black)
ArchTek SmartLink 56K V.90 PCI MODEM
Logitech Z-340 3 Piece Speaker System
Logitech Elite Keyboard (Black)
Microsoft Trackball Explorer

Comes to $1370, as opposed to the $1700-$1800 Dell he was looking at (and beats it handily imo I should say). Didn't add a sound card as he doesn't seem too concerned with sound in general; the simple 2.1 solution in the Z-340 seems pretty popular and cheap.

Also went with the G4 Ti4200, was going to go with the Gainward but read some horror stories about them; the MSI seems pretty highly rated and has the much needed VIVO capabilities at a good price.

Personally I'm looking forward to seeing this monitor...

 

[zainali]

A Few days ago deal had a deal where u could ge the 4300 for a lot cheaper price. anyways i would recommend getting something else than crucial cause crucials is CL3. also look at the slk3700 from antec. upgrade the 4200 to a 9500. also get a dell 1800FP for the LCD. unless ur friends does not want amd ask him about an AMD setup. that would save you about a 100 dollars. Also if ur trying to save ur friends some money look around for deals. you might be able to save your friend a lot of money.

 

[nick1985]

yeah, that ram bites the big one. and spend a little more on a good PSU.....

 

[Budmantom]

Here is what a guy from the "hot Deals" section got yesterday from Dell:

Just got finished ordering mine:

Pentium® 4 Processor at 2.40GHz w/800MHz front side bus/ HT Technology Qty: 1 Unit Price: 704.00 -10% -$150, =$521.62
Floppy Drive and Additional Storage Devices No Floppy Drive Included
Mouse Dell® 2-button scroll mouse
Sound Integrated 5.1 Audio with Dolby Digital 5.1 capability
Multi-Media Players RealOne? Player, with 14 day SuperPass trial
Security Software Dell SecurityCenter by McAfee, 90-day introductory offer
Limited Warranty, Services and Support Options 1 Year Limited Warranty plus 1 Year On-site Service
Bundled Software PROMOTIONAL UPGRADE! Microsoft® Office Small Business w/EducateU
Operating System Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition¹²
Memory 256MB Dual Channel DDR SDRAM at 400MHz (2x128M)
Monitor No Monitor
Keyboard Dell® Quietkey® Keyboard
Digital Music Dell Jukebox powered by MUSICMATCH
Speakers No Speaker Option
Hard Drive 80GB Ultra ATA/100 Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
Installation Services No Installation
Network Card Integrated Intel® PRO 10/100 Ethernet
CD or DVD Drive 48x CD-ROM Drive
Digital Photography Dell Picture Studio, Image Expert Standard
Modem No Modem Requested
Mail-In Rebate Offer $150 MAIL-IN REBATE! (double memory promo not valid!)
Video Card New 128MB DDR GeForce FX 5200 Graphics Card with TV-Out and DVI
Internet Access Services No ISP requested


Ok it's not the exact same system, but you still have $850 to play with.
If all things are equal(price) your system is better but I don't think it's $850 better, I'm not trying to crap on your system because it is nice just giving you a different perspective.

Let me know your opinion.

Tom

 

[DanJ]

Originally posted by: Budmantom
Ok it's not the exact same system, but you still have $850 to play with.
If all things are equal(price) your system is better but I don't think it's $850 better, I'm not trying to crap on your system because it is nice just giving you a different perspective.

Tom

Well, as I said, I required the 17" LCD and I required the DVD-RW. So add about $600, add a better video card (with VIVO) and the fact that mine has twice the RAM, speakers, better hard drive (8MB), modem, etc...I'm thinking its the better system.

As for the RAM, the Crucial stuff should be fine. If its stable I'm happy.

As for the PSU, I'll wait and see. As I said, all the reviews have been fine on it, as well as a couple reviews in this thread on those who actually have experience with the unit. Its not a big deal to replace a PSU after the fact if need be.

 

[nick1985]

Originally posted by: DanJ

Originally posted by: Budmantom
Ok it's not the exact same system, but you still have $850 to play with.
If all things are equal(price) your system is better but I don't think it's $850 better, I'm not trying to crap on your system because it is nice just giving you a different perspective.

Tom

Well, as I said, I required the 17" LCD and I required the DVD-RW. So add about $600, add a better video card (with VIVO) and the fact that mine has twice the RAM, speakers, better hard drive (8MB), modem, etc...I'm thinking its the better system.

As for the RAM, the Crucial stuff should be fine. If its stable I'm happy.

As for the PSU, I'll wait and see. As I said, all the reviews have been fine on it, as well as a couple reviews in this thread on those who actually have experience with the unit. Its not a big deal to replace a PSU after the fact if need be.

it could be a big deal to replace the PSU. when it takes out your mobo and everything hooked up to it, you will be singing a different tune.

 

[newbiepcuser]

That includes a XP Pro right in the cost right , cause only XP Pro supports HT.

I agree with nick1985 on the powersupply, its better to be safe than sorry.

 

[Corporate Thug]

if you are gonna overclock, you want something faster than pc3200

 

[Ardan]

That Crucial memory will be just fine. If you aren't aggressively overclocking, don't bother upping the cost for more expensive ram. Besides, in my NF7-S, I can bump it above 3200+ speeds and overclock the DDR333 I have from Crucial effortlessly. No need to worry about it. I also have a relative using IS7 with DDR400 Crucial RAM and he likes it as well.

I agree, I would say to get an Antec 350W PSU or an Enermax 350W PSU. Or do what I did, and get the Antec SLK3700AMB, which comes with a great PSU and costs $65 + $15 SH on Newegg. Great price, considering the PSU is probably near the price of the case.

 

[DanJ]

Originally posted by: newbiepcuser
That includes a XP Pro right in the cost right , cause only XP Pro supports HT.

Of course it does!

I'll think about the upgraded PSU; as I said all the reviews are positive on the case/PSU; while I do enjoy the upgraded PSU's I've only had one die on me, from my old Addtronics 6890a (ended up selling the case minus PSU for more then the Antec 1030B with PSU I replaced it with), didn't mess anything up just stopped working. Besides that I've built many with included PSU's for friends/family and haven't had a problem.

The system isn't chalk full of power hungry devices either, probably why it wasn't my top concern. One HD, one optical drive and only one slot in use in the Ti4200... well besides the modem that will probably rarely be used. Now on my own computer with 4 HD's, 2 running in RAID-0 on an Iwill Side-100 card, an AIW Radeon, a DVD-ROM and a CD-RW, an SBLive!, NIC, modem, 768MB or RAM and some upgraded case fans, yes I do have a nice PSU.

But i'll think about it.

 

[Lyfer]

Running 2x512mb of DDR400 Crucial at 2.5-3-3-7 Dual Channel mode with 5:4 ratio on IS7 with 2.6c @ 3250MHZ.



Get the crucial, btw mines are micron chips.

 

[DanJ]

Originally posted by: Lyfer
Running 2x512mb of DDR400 Crucial at 2.5-3-3-7 Dual Channel mode with 5:4 ratio on IS7 with 2.6c @ 3250MHZ.

Get the crucial, btw mines are micron chips.

Nice to hear

 

[nick1985]

Originally posted by: DanJ

Originally posted by: Lyfer
Running 2x512mb of DDR400 Crucial at 2.5-3-3-7 Dual Channel mode with 5:4 ratio on IS7 with 2.6c @ 3250MHZ.

Get the crucial, btw mines are micron chips.

Nice to hear

it still sucks. he lower his timings, and corsair timings are still lower without tweaking...

 

[DanJ]

Originally posted by: nick1985
it still sucks. he lower his timings, and corsair timings are still lower without tweaking...

And it costs more Mr. Negativity, whats your point? How much did you spend on cosmetics alone on your $2000 system?

 

[Corporate Thug]

Originally posted by: DanJ

Originally posted by: nick1985
it still sucks. he lower his timings, and corsair timings are still lower without tweaking...

And it costs more Mr. Negativity, whats your point? How much did you spend on cosmetics alone on your $2000 system?

his point is that you that crucial is running at 200 mhz with not so tight timings. of course XMS costs more BUT you get what you pay for. my xms pc3200 will do 220 mhz on 2.5-3-3-7 and 2.8V

 

[DanJ]

Originally posted by: shady06
his point is that you that crucial is running at 200 mhz with not so tight timings. of course XMS costs more BUT you get what you pay for. my xms pc3200 will do 220 mhz on 2.5-3-3-7 and 2.8V

As I said, he's not much of a power user. I'll probably drop the cas setting to 2.5, besides that it kills the Dell he priced, which was my goal.