1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you?ll be performing.
The only demanding tasks will be CAD modeling and CAD rendering (Revit, VRay, Maxwell, Rhino, Autocad or Sketchup. Revit has pretty high recommended specs -- Core 2 Duo 2.4Ghz, 4GB RAM). From what I understand rendering is about cpu, and modeling (panning, rotating etc in realtime) is about the videocard. I?m planning on using onboard video for now (the Biostar mobo has ATI HD3300 with 2.8GT/s and 2.8GP/s, hopefully geometry acceleration is ok).
I might eventually game if a good HD4850/$65 type deal comes along again, so the PSU should be enough for this, but it?s not an immediate concern.
2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it?s not more than a 20% spread.
Ideally below $300, but I?m raising it for the Phenom II X4 940 + mobo combo deal. Was going to go with Phenom II X3 or X2, but the X4 deal is much more bang for the buck.
3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
US, have preferred Newegg. Buying from more than one place (maybe 2) is ok if cheaper, and the places are reputable.
4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc, etc, etc, you get the picture.
No brand preference, just want bang for the buck (I understand AMD and ATI are bang for the buck for low-end right now, but could be wrong). Slight preference for ATI over nV since I think ATI has better TV-out support.
5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
IDE Optical drives (need IDE connector on mobo), 19? CRT monitor, floppy, keyboard, mouse, speakers.
6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.
Yes, though I?m definitely still far from well versed.
7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
I wouldn?t mind, but probably only stock cooling.
8. WHEN do you plan to build it?
Either before the 15th (to get the Phenom II X4 940/mobo combo, which is the main thing), or wait after that for a possible Phenom II X3 deal, though that might not happen.
OS: Windows 2000, but system should be able to run Windows 7.
Full disclosure: I?m not certain I?m going to buy this yet, because things would have to come together as to me not changing fields ? this would only be if I don?t change. But, I want to make sure these choices would work, and the Phenom II X4 940 deal is making me want to jump ? doesn?t seem like there will be processing power like that for the $$ anytime soon. So, I appreciate the input anyone gives, just don't want people to think I'm unserious about this if the build doesn't happen.
1. <a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.209473">AMD Phenom II X4 940 Deneb 3.0GHz Socket AM2+ 125W Quad-Core Black Edition Processor Model HDZ940XCGIBOX - Retail
BIOSTAR TA790GXB A2+ AM2+/AM2 AMD 790GX ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
combo</a>: $185 AR
2. OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ500MXSP 500W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply compatible with core i7 - Retail: $40 AR
3. Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250310AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM: $45 free s/h
4. CORSAIR XMS2 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C5C - Retail
$35 AR free s/h
Total not incl. case: $305 + 12 s/h
The things I know the least about are memory speed/timings etc, and PSU (what separate rails should have, etc).
Would OCZ Fatal1ty Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2F10664GK - Retail free s/h for $5 more than the Corsair memory be worthwhile, or do things like the timings make that not necessarily the case?
For the case, I?m looking for something $30 shipped or lower, that is okay and nice enough (USB and audio on front, black color). The cheap Rosewills (ideally this Rosewill R220-P-BK Black 0.5mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail, but this is not free shipping), maybe. NZXT Beta Series CS-NT-BETA-B Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail ($40 shipped AR) might be better. Are these OK in terms of airflow, etc?
Would it be OK to re-use my old case with the cover off if I want to jump on the CPU combo, and am still looking for a case (it's a Micron Millenia from ~2001 currently housing a 1Ghz Athlon, with no side vents, I think ATX)?
As far as PSU wattage goes, I ran Antec?s power supply calculator for the above parts: Phenom II X4 940, ?regular-desktop? mobo, default CPU utilization, default system load, no overclocking, 30% capacitor aging, and my 2 optical drives, floppy, PCI soundblaster (needed for screen-capturing vids) and PCI NIC, with a future ATI HD4850 or the like, and got 414 watts.
Thanks again. Appreciate the comments anyone gives.
The only demanding tasks will be CAD modeling and CAD rendering (Revit, VRay, Maxwell, Rhino, Autocad or Sketchup. Revit has pretty high recommended specs -- Core 2 Duo 2.4Ghz, 4GB RAM). From what I understand rendering is about cpu, and modeling (panning, rotating etc in realtime) is about the videocard. I?m planning on using onboard video for now (the Biostar mobo has ATI HD3300 with 2.8GT/s and 2.8GP/s, hopefully geometry acceleration is ok).
I might eventually game if a good HD4850/$65 type deal comes along again, so the PSU should be enough for this, but it?s not an immediate concern.
2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it?s not more than a 20% spread.
Ideally below $300, but I?m raising it for the Phenom II X4 940 + mobo combo deal. Was going to go with Phenom II X3 or X2, but the X4 deal is much more bang for the buck.
3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
US, have preferred Newegg. Buying from more than one place (maybe 2) is ok if cheaper, and the places are reputable.
4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc, etc, etc, you get the picture.
No brand preference, just want bang for the buck (I understand AMD and ATI are bang for the buck for low-end right now, but could be wrong). Slight preference for ATI over nV since I think ATI has better TV-out support.
5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
IDE Optical drives (need IDE connector on mobo), 19? CRT monitor, floppy, keyboard, mouse, speakers.
6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.
Yes, though I?m definitely still far from well versed.
7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
I wouldn?t mind, but probably only stock cooling.
8. WHEN do you plan to build it?
Either before the 15th (to get the Phenom II X4 940/mobo combo, which is the main thing), or wait after that for a possible Phenom II X3 deal, though that might not happen.
OS: Windows 2000, but system should be able to run Windows 7.
Full disclosure: I?m not certain I?m going to buy this yet, because things would have to come together as to me not changing fields ? this would only be if I don?t change. But, I want to make sure these choices would work, and the Phenom II X4 940 deal is making me want to jump ? doesn?t seem like there will be processing power like that for the $$ anytime soon. So, I appreciate the input anyone gives, just don't want people to think I'm unserious about this if the build doesn't happen.
1. <a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.209473">AMD Phenom II X4 940 Deneb 3.0GHz Socket AM2+ 125W Quad-Core Black Edition Processor Model HDZ940XCGIBOX - Retail
BIOSTAR TA790GXB A2+ AM2+/AM2 AMD 790GX ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
combo</a>: $185 AR
2. OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ500MXSP 500W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply compatible with core i7 - Retail: $40 AR
3. Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250310AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM: $45 free s/h
4. CORSAIR XMS2 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C5C - Retail
$35 AR free s/h
Total not incl. case: $305 + 12 s/h
The things I know the least about are memory speed/timings etc, and PSU (what separate rails should have, etc).
Would OCZ Fatal1ty Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2F10664GK - Retail free s/h for $5 more than the Corsair memory be worthwhile, or do things like the timings make that not necessarily the case?
For the case, I?m looking for something $30 shipped or lower, that is okay and nice enough (USB and audio on front, black color). The cheap Rosewills (ideally this Rosewill R220-P-BK Black 0.5mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail, but this is not free shipping), maybe. NZXT Beta Series CS-NT-BETA-B Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail ($40 shipped AR) might be better. Are these OK in terms of airflow, etc?
Would it be OK to re-use my old case with the cover off if I want to jump on the CPU combo, and am still looking for a case (it's a Micron Millenia from ~2001 currently housing a 1Ghz Athlon, with no side vents, I think ATX)?
As far as PSU wattage goes, I ran Antec?s power supply calculator for the above parts: Phenom II X4 940, ?regular-desktop? mobo, default CPU utilization, default system load, no overclocking, 30% capacitor aging, and my 2 optical drives, floppy, PCI soundblaster (needed for screen-capturing vids) and PCI NIC, with a future ATI HD4850 or the like, and got 414 watts.
Thanks again. Appreciate the comments anyone gives.
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