System Recommendations?

[shocksyde]

I've been out of the rig-building game for a few years now and am way behind on the current "good" components. I need a computer that can run as an HTPC and also do graphics work.

I'm in need a SFF computer that can run/has:

- A analog tuner
- An HD OTA tuner
- Adobe Photoshop / Lightroom, Quark
- Vista 64-bit
- Wireless internet
- Sound (integrated is okay if it isn't crap)
- A small case able to be placed on the desk (Desktop mATX preferred)
- 2 SATA2 HD
- 2 500GB external USB HDs (used for backup and extra space if needed)

I do not game at all, so a beefy graphics card is not necessary. I am not concerned with 5.1 surround sound, but I won't complain if it's included. The display used as both a TV and monitor is a Dell 2407. I do also have a 17" LCD that I may use as a secondary monitor when the TV function is being used. I don't really have a set budget, but obviously the cheaper, the better.

Updated again:

Here's my current component list:

LITE-ON DVD/CD Burner
Lian Li V350B
(1 or 2) Seagate 7200.10 500GB SATA2 HD
Vista 64 compatible Wireless Adapter
CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX 520W Modular Power Supply (PURCHASED)
(2) GeIL 4GB(2x2GB) DDR2 800 (Total of 8GB)
Asus P5E-VM Mobo
Intel Q6600 (PURCHASED)
AVerMedia ATSC/NTSC Dual Tuner

Thanks a bunch to anyone who chimes in!

 

[Fraggable]

These cases work well, I've used a couple myself for customers and use one now for my HTPC: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811144162

Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813141007 - has HDMI output, you can use a $4 HDMI>DVI adapter with your 2407. Boards with a VGA output won't do 1920 X 1200 res very well. If you want a second monitor you'll have to get a video card too.

My advice is don't mess with 2 hard drives, get a 750GB drive now, and leave room for a second internal drive if needed later. Partition it if you want to.

No matx board I know of has built-in wireless. You'll need a USB card or PCI card for that.

Processors could be any Core 2 Duo or Quad. You can get a E4500 for $125, 6550 for $165, E8400 for ~$200 or a Q6600 for somewhere around $265.

 

[olmer]

Asus P5K-VM or P5E-VM (HDMI or not) as you prefer depending on your budget. P5K-VM is just fine ? good ocer and stable.

Q6600 or a cheap 4mb+ cache C2D depends on current offers and your budget.

4GB (2x2GB) of ram or maybe 8 if you choose Vista 64.

2x500GB WDs or Samsungs for quietness and v4m.

Graphics solely depends on your budget - choose it last, i?d go for 8600GT or higher.
You have to choose Quark or Vista 64.

Desktop case of your choice ? i recommend Antec Fusion or NSK2480 (included PSU is fine).

If you choose the above cases they accept full height cards ? passively cooled cards are also fine due to good airflow. AC 7 Pro cooler is perfect v4m and just about fits the case with slightly bended heatpipes (pm if you want pictures). With P5K-VM the above can easily run q6600 at 3 with speed step on and Antec fans on low (AC fan @900 RPMs top) ? with passive/modded graphics not heard from 1m (unless HDDs seek).

 

[shocksyde]

Thanks a lot! You guys have been very informative.

I'll be sure to post updates when I start building!

 

[shocksyde]

Here's my preliminary component list:

LITE-ON combo drive
Lian Li V350B
(2) Seagate 7200.10 500GB SATA2 HDs
Wireless Adapter
Coolmax "EZ WIRE" 400W Modular Power Supply
GeIL 4GB(2x2GB) DDR2 800
Asus P5E-VM Mobo
Intel E6750 2.66GHZ
Hauppauge 500MCE Dual Analog Tuner (have)
Hauppauge USB HD Tuner (have)

 

[Fraggable]

Originally posted by: shocksyde
Here's my preliminary component list:

LITE-ON combo drive
Lian Li V350B
(2) Seagate 7200.10 500GB SATA2 HDs
Wireless Adapter
Coolmax "EZ WIRE" 400W Modular Power Supply
GeIL 4GB(2x2GB) DDR2 800
Asus P5E-VM Mobo
Intel E6750 2.66GHZ
Hauppauge 500MCE Dual Analog Tuner (have)
Hauppauge USB HD Tuner (have)

Make sure that's a DVD/RW drive, they cost the same as CD/RW drives anymore. There's no reason not to get a DVD burner anymore.

400W might be cutting it a little close. Personally I'd go for a 500W and feel comfortable knowing I'm not running it at 80% capacity and it will last longer.

Instead of paying $200 for a E6750, pay the same price for a cooler, more power efficient, faster E8400 3GHz.

 

[shocksyde]

Thanks for the input!

Updated again:

LITE-ON DVD/CD Burner
Lian Li V350B
Seagate 7200.10 500GB SATA2 HD
Wireless Adapter
CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX 520W Modular Power Supply
GeIL 4GB(2x2GB) DDR2 800
Asus P5E-VM Mobo
Intel E6750 2.66GHZ (E8400 if I can find it)
Hauppauge 500MCE Dual Analog Tuner (have)
Hauppauge USB HD Tuner (have)

I think I'm going to go with 32-bit Vista. Is there any reason I should go 64?

 

[Fraggable]

Originally posted by: shocksyde
Thanks for the input!

Updated again:

LITE-ON DVD/CD Burner
Lian Li V350B
Seagate 7200.10 500GB SATA2 HD
Wireless Adapter
CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX 520W Modular Power Supply
GeIL 4GB(2x2GB) DDR2 800
Asus P5E-VM Mobo
Intel E6750 2.66GHZ (E8400 if I can find it)
Hauppauge 500MCE Dual Analog Tuner (have)
Hauppauge USB HD Tuner (have)

I think I'm going to go with 32-bit Vista. Is there any reason I should go 64?

The E8400 is in short supply, so you're right. Good luck finding one at $200. If you live near a Micro Center they have the q6600 for $199 and the E8400 at the same price if it's in stock.

Here's the deal with 64-bit Vista. (you will hear 10 million variations on this, but this one's the truth). Vista and XP 32-bit can see 4GB of MEMORY total. 'Memory' includes RAM memory, video card memory, any memory on sound cards (built-in or discrete), network cards, RAID controllers, any chip with memory in your system counts towards this 4GB limit. The total available memory Windows 32-bit sees will be 4GB minus all other memory - usually around 3.25GB.

The answer to your question is, check to make sure drivers are available for your TV tuners and all other hardware you intend to use with the new system, and if Vista 64-bit drivers are available, go for it. Vista 64-bit is IDENTICAL to 32-bit in look and feel.

 

[shocksyde]

I'll check into the driver thing. Thanks!

 

[shocksyde]

Will it cause a problem if I get 2 of the GeIL 4GB kits? Do I have to get a true 8GB kit?

 

[Fraggable]

Originally posted by: shocksyde
Will it cause a problem if I get 2 of the GeIL 4GB kits? Do I have to get a true 8GB kit?

Nope, they'll work fine together.

 

[shocksyde]

Alright, so this list is very close to being finalized. I researched each component to make sure it plays nice with 64-bit Vista, and upped the RAM to 8GB.

LITE-ON DVD/CD SATA Burner
Lian Li V350B
(1 or 2) Seagate 7200.10 500GB SATA2 HD
Vista 64 compatible Wireless Adapter
CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX 520W Modular Power Supply
(2) GeIL 4GB(2x2GB) DDR2 800 (Total of 8GB)
Asus P5E-VM Mobo
Intel Q6600
AVerMedia ATSC/NTSC Dual Tuner
Logitech Wireless KB/M Combo
D-Link PCI Wireless Adapter
Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit

Decided on a Q6600 because of the Microcenter $199 deal.

 

[Fraggable]

Originally posted by: shocksyde
Alright, so this list is very close to being finalized. I researched each component to make sure it plays nice with 64-bit Vista, and upped the RAM to 8GB.

LITE-ON DVD/CD SATA Burner
Lian Li V350B
(1 or 2) Seagate 7200.10 500GB SATA2 HD
Vista 64 compatible Wireless Adapter
CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX 520W Modular Power Supply
(2) GeIL 4GB(2x2GB) DDR2 800 (Total of 8GB)
Asus P5E-VM Mobo
Intel E8400 (Where is it available? AHHHHH!)
AVerMedia ATSC/NTSC Dual Tuner
Logitech Wireless KB/M Combo
D-Link PCI Wireless Adapter
Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit

If anyone knows where I can get an E8400, let me know! That seems to be the only thing holding me back. I went to Microcenter today and they were out. This other customer was trying to convince me that I should just get the Q6600 ($199). Should I? Would there be any difference in regards to my computing needs (HTPC, graphics, photo editing)?

The Q6600 is a 2.4ghz quad core, the 8400 is a 3ghz dual. Logic tells you the q6600 has more raw power, the question is will your applications use all 4 cores effecitvely? Right now the q6600 would be great for video editing, encoding, that kind of thing but for games the e8400 is faster. The q6600 would be my choice right now if I were in your shoes, mainly because it's available and it doesn't sound like you're gaming.

 

[shocksyde]

Originally posted by: Fraggable


The Q6600 is a 2.4ghz quad core, the 8400 is a 3ghz dual. Logic tells you the q6600 has more raw power, the question is will your applications use all 4 cores effecitvely? Right now the q6600 would be great for video editing, encoding, that kind of thing but for games the e8400 is faster. The q6600 would be my choice right now if I were in your shoes, mainly because it's available and it doesn't sound like you're gaming.

Will the Quad core run considerably hotter? I don't want to use a loud HSF for obvious reasons.

 

[Fraggable]

It will run warmer than a dual, but the stock heatsink/fan shouldn't be any louder than the sotck fan for a E8400. If sound is a concern you could get an aftermarket one with a 120mm fan on it.

 

[shocksyde]

Alright, I broke down and went to Microcenter. Got a Corsair 520W Modular Power Supply and Intel Q6600 for $300 after taxes. Cha-Ching! Corsair was on clearance for $83 and I got the last one .

My first visit to Microcenter and I can already tell that place is DANGEROUS.

 

[heymrdj]

Originally posted by: shocksyde
Alright, I broke down and went to Microcenter. Got a Corsair 520W Modular Power Supply and Intel Q6600 for $300 after taxes. Cha-Ching! Corsair was on clearance for $83 and I got the last one .

My first visit to Microcenter and I can already tell that place is DANGEROUS.

If you bend over, your can feel the money getting yanked out your ass.

 

[shocksyde]

Originally posted by: heymrdj

Originally posted by: shocksyde
Alright, I broke down and went to Microcenter. Got a Corsair 520W Modular Power Supply and Intel Q6600 for $300 after taxes. Cha-Ching! Corsair was on clearance for $83 and I got the last one .

My first visit to Microcenter and I can already tell that place is DANGEROUS.

If you bend over, your can feel the money getting yanked out your ass.

If they have any E8400s when I go there tomorrow morning, it's all over but the crying.

 

[heymrdj]

Will you get me one too on about a 150$ discount . Help a brotha who don't like bending over..

 

[shocksyde]

Microcenter says "No idea" on when they're getting more E8400s. Looks like I'm using the Q6600. Oh well, I guess it's not that much of a compromise. Just gonna have to pay more attention to cooling.

 

[heymrdj]

I think you'll be happier with a Q6600 since you're not gaming. Just my .02 cents.