To build or to buy next PC?

[solrac]

Hi guys

I am going to have build a new computer for my wife. I have always enjoyed building my computers and getting the components but it seems now a days I don't spend enough time keeping up with all the great deals (which was the most fun), and whats the hot hardware components to buy so I am on the fence as to wether I should build a computer or just buy her a Dell or something similar.

Here needs are simple she wants resilant PC her last computer had a hard drive die because computer got to hot and she lost alot of her data that she uses for her work. She had external drive backup and CDRW but that still requires user intervention. So I have decided to build her a RAID1 system.

I have a few concerns with RAID1 first of all does it work on SATA? I am have used many of times RAID 5, 0, and 10 on SCSI and I am almost thinking I should go that way because of my limited experience with SATA raid and thus like to hear about from others on how well it works or maybe some recommendations on what hardware to use with it.

I am thinking 1G of RAM, 3Ghz processor, 80Gb of storage space, DVD-/+RW, DVD, 750Mhz Omega Zip drive, 128MB ATI 9600XT, cooler master case and hard drive slots, and AERO2 display unit, 19LCD 191+t? Here is my list please advise if I should switch over to smoething better. And she wants the chassis to be black. I am not sure the Coolermast would solve my issues I need like 5 5.25 drive bays for 2 hard drives, 2 Optical drives, and information center, then I need 3 3.5" sections for floppy, zip drive, and iO center flash card and etc.

152 Cooler Master Wave <- probably not big enough
115 Sony black DVD+/-RW DW-u14A
28 MSI black DVD player
12 Sony black Floppy
430 Western Digital Raptor 10K RPM SATA WD740GB <- Raid 1 for redundancy
117 Western Digital Raptor 10K RPM SATA WD360GB <- Swap and temp
299 Geil Ulta Platinum PC-4200 <- worth the cost? should I use something different?
659 Samsung 191T+ Black <- Maybe a Dell 2001FP instead?
187 Abit IC7-MAX3
244 P4-3Ghz Prescott 800Mhz 1Mb Cache <- maybe non prescott?
138 Windows XP Pro
178 Ati Radeon 9600XT <- Maybe an Ultra instead?
99 Cooler Max 550W Power Supply <- enerex a better supply?


I apologize for longer post and thanks in advance for all the feedback. And I am not going to actually overclock this system in anyway.

 

[Peter D]

First off, holy poop, you must really love your wife, thats a very nice rig!

That said, there are a few things you could change . The PC4200? No need if you're not going to overclock. Just get quality PC3200 like Corsair, Mushkin, HyperX, etc. Next, I'd probably change the Prescott out for a regular 3.0GHz Northwood. Even at 3.0GHz, the Prescott's are beat by Northwoods, also they run hotter and I don't think you or your wife want that again. You can probably change the motherboard too. If you're not overclocking, the MAX 3 really isn't needed, all it has thats different from the other of the IC7 series is the OTES cooling, LAN, and a few other features and do-dads.. Get an IC7 or IC7-G if you want onboard LAN and a few other goodies. You don't need that 550W PSU either. Just get a quality 350-400W PSU like Enermax, Antec, etc. As for the case, there is a black Wave Master, but it only has four 5.25" bays so you might have to keep lookin for something else. Other than that, I think the rig looks good Of course all that I said is just my opinion and ultimately it's your decision, just trying to give you a swift kick in the right direction so you don't break that bank on unessecary items. *Whew* Long post..

 

[InlineFive]

Wow, if her needs are simple I wonder how powerful your computer is?! But that is well designed and is way more powerful then my current "high-end" rig!

-Por

 

[nick1985]

build

 

[JBT]

Holy crap just simple stuff huh? that thing will be smoking... I have actually heard the Cool Max are pretty good PSU's, quieter than Forton's too. I would build a system if you are going to go with that amount of high end components. Other places will just rip you off big time.

 

[MithShrike]

Wow, definitely not a budget PC. Everything looks fin but is your wife going to be gaming? That's pretty damn cool is she is.

 

[solrac]

Hi Guys

Thanks for the all the feeback.

She will be gaming but nothing major mostly just Warcraft III and similar games. Her use of the computer is mostly for web and graphic design using programs like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and etc.

I guess when I was building components I went overboard the little bug where it comes out oh its only a bit more for the better memory the better cpu caught up with me.

So I am going to revise to
3Ghz Northwood
PC3200 Mushkin

On the motherboard? I still need Raid1 and I need 6 IDE devices so what are my options? I have 3 hard drives and 3 disks (DVD, DVD+/-RW, and zip drive).

So any options on the case I have figured I need atleast
5- 5.25 Drive bays and used in the following format
1-DVD
1-DVD+/-RW
1-Coolermaster Hard drive cooler
1-Coolermaster hard Drive cooler
1-Aero2 Display unit

And then I need like 3 3.5" externals
1- Floppy drive
1- Zip drive
1- card reader for flash, compact, and smart memory.

And she wants the case black.

Thanks for all the feedback guys. I will modify my purchase. Please comment on a new motherboard.

Carlos

 

[myocardia]

Who told you that you need 5x5.25" bays, man? Just get an Antec case. My 3700AMB has 5x3.25" hd bays, which are right in front of the 120mm intake fan, plus 4x5.25" bays. It does only have 2 external 3.5" bays, but they sell 5.25" to 3.5" adapters for nearly nothing.

edit: Okay, I found one alot like mine that's black, except it's only got 4x3.5" in the hd rack. Here's a link to it: link. Also, this one doesn't have the 120mm intake fan, but it looks like it's got room for a 120mmx25mm in front of the removable hd rack, if you've got a saw.

 

[Cerb]

Don't get the hard drive coolers. They're a waste.

JBT: maybe it's just me, but Coolmax PSUs might just be quieter because they share the same chassis and specs of lower-rated (so also quieter) Fortron PSUs? IE, the 350w has the same specs as the Fortron 300w.
In any case, a 550w PSU is overkill.

 

[caz67]

Cool Rig.

 

[hd2000fxdl]

I say build, I feel you can just about get close to double the performance for just under half the price. Also one of the biggest things I like is that you don't get all this preloaded software that you will just remove to configure the system the way you want.

Hell , save money, get a better product, and not a bad way to kill a couple hours on a rainy day.

Harry

 

[nitromullet]

Go with a Chieftec Dragon case. Tiger Direct has a good variety to choose from at decent prices - I haven't seen one of the Ultra Glossy ones in person yet, but I am quite curious. I have actually purchased 2 Dragons, and I have had good experiences with them.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/partners/chieftec/index.asp

The hardest part will be the 3 3.5" exposed drive opennings, but you can solve this by consolidating your media card reader and floppy with one of these.

http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=M&Product_Code=170108&Category_Code=F

I got one of these at Monarch and I love it - no more digging out the USB cable to connect my digital camera

 

[Jeff7181]

Holy jesus! Three Raptors??? My god! LOL

I agree with going for a Northwood rather than a Prescott, I also agree with getting a cheaper motherboard, I also agree with PC3200 RAM... the rest of the stuff I have no comment on, well, except the video card... does she play games? If not, go with a sub $100 value card from either ATI or Matrox for the best 2D image quality.

If you want a VERY reliable power supply, check out this. It's $135, but you don't seem to be too concerned about money, and it's the best, if not very close to the best power supply you can buy... check out the specs... 1% voltage fluctuation on the +12, +5, and +3.3 rails... that's almost unheard of... well, actually it is, I don't know of another manufacturer that has a power supply with those specifications. It's also a 425 watt power supply, which will provide pleanty of juice for all the things you list, and more.

 

[mechBgon]

You might even consider 2GB of RAM if she is a heavy hitter with Photoshop etc. and works with mega-sized images.

Regarding having six IDE devices, no you don't. You have three IDE and three SATA. I'd get an Asus P4C800-E Deluxe if you're doing the 3GHz Northwood. That gets you four SATA ports with two separate SATA RAID controllers (Intel on-chip and the add-on PCI-based one). Regarding the Zip750, why not a portable USB 2.0 or Firewire external hard drive instead, or do you already have an installed Zip750 on another system there?

 

[AIWGuru]

Remember, raid 1 is not a form of backup. A virus (for example the recent one which wipes sectors) will still cause you to lose your data. You're still going to need a reliable backup system.

 

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by: Vegetto
First off, holy poop, you must really love your wife, thats a very nice rig!

That said, there are a few things you could change . The PC4200? No need if you're not going to overclock. Just get quality PC3200 like Corsair, Mushkin, HyperX, etc. Next, I'd probably change the Prescott out for a regular 3.0GHz Northwood. Even at 3.0GHz, the Prescott's are beat by Northwoods, also they run hotter and I don't think you or your wife want that again. You can probably change the motherboard too. If you're not overclocking, the MAX 3 really isn't needed, all it has thats different from the other of the IC7 series is the OTES cooling, LAN, and a few other features and do-dads.. Get an IC7 or IC7-G if you want onboard LAN and a few other goodies. You don't need that 550W PSU either. Just get a quality 350-400W PSU like Enermax, Antec, etc. As for the case, there is a black Wave Master, but it only has four 5.25" bays so you might have to keep lookin for something else. Other than that, I think the rig looks good Of course all that I said is just my opinion and ultimately it's your decision, just trying to give you a swift kick in the right direction so you don't break that bank on unessecary items. *Whew* Long post..

If you think that's long you must not read half of mine =)

 

[piasabird]

If you are going to get a DVD recordable drive a nice addition may be the All-In-Wonder version of the Radeon. Depends if you want to copy DVD's or use it as a DATA Backup device. My son sometimes uses his to copy TV Shows. It also comes with a nice remote control unit. The All-In-Wonder is great for importing video and stuff like that. You can also use it as a TV Tuner and watch TV, or play video games on your monitor.

 

[solrac]

Hey guys great find ideas on the Rig.

I just got back from Vacation I wasn't able to read my email while gone. But I thank all of you who responded.

On the floppy/card reader combo? Does that have a standard floppy cable + USB cable? If so thats just about perfect.

I also think I am might as well get the Raedon all in wonder I hadn't thought about multimedia applications. And boost upto 2G of Ram she will love that she thinks a computer is all about memory

On the backup system you guys are correct raid1 won't protect against a virus and etc but it will cover single hard drive failure. She has an external IOMEGA drive for backups and she will have her Zip drive and she will have her DVD burner. And none of will work if she doesn't use it like she didn't last time :-(

I will research the Asus Motherboard my concern is that I know how CPU prices drop and I would like to just upgrade her CPU down the road when they come down in price and not have to replace the motherboard, memory, and CPU at one time. So taking that into consideration which is the best motherboard choice?

Any feedback on the LCD choice?
Thanks again guys I am really geeky when it comes to building stuff like this.
Carlos