Will this be a good start?

[GremlinHater]

Ok, I think I'm getting it hammered out, my budget is pretty limited being a high school student who does freelance work while trying to find a steady job, below is what I want to initially get and then addon when I get the money if something better doesn't come out. And yes I am a POWER USER, so taking shortcuts is not (always) a viable option as I do it all from VB programming to large rendering in Photoshop to word proccessing, spreadsheets, databases to games. If you guys got suggestions on what else I need to make it a whole system or where I can get better for same or same for cheaper at RELIABLE VENDORS, please let me know. (Also, I'm a beginner as this is my first built box attempt, so assume I'm VERY stupid and naive, )

Antec SX1040 (EMS Computing) (Changed from 840) 140 with S&H
MSI K7T TURBO with Raid Retail Version (NewEgg) 110
Matrox G450 32MB DDR 4X AGP Video Card (NewEgg) 90
MITSUMI Floppy Drive 1.44MB 3.5inch (NewEgg) 10
256MB Stick of Ram (Crucial) 60
AMD Athlon Thunderbird 1.33GHz 266MHz Bus Socket A PGA Processor-OEM (NewEgg) 150
IBM 60GB 7200RPM 60GXP (NewEgg) 180
Lite On LTR-1610B 16x10x40 CD-RW Driver Retail Box Version (NewEgg) 130
Thermaltake VOLCANO II Heatsink + Dual Ball bearing Fan. 60x60x69mm (NewEgg) 15
Aopen Internal EIDE 16X DVD ROM / 40X Max CD-ROM Drive (NewEgg) 70

The above will be about 900+ smackeroons. I have a secondary monitor, speakers, keyboard, mouse I can use until...(Will the above be enough for starters?)

What I will add later once I get the above paid off and more dough...

Logitech wireless keyboard and mouse (MWAVE)
Another IBM 60GB 7200RPM 60GXP (NewEgg)
Iomega 250MB Internal Zip w/250MB Disk - OEM (NewEgg)
Firewire card from somewhere
Guillemot Hercules Gamer Theater XP (something like that, from NewEgg, out of stock)
Cambridge Four Point Surround Sound FPS2000 (NewEgg, out of stock as well)
19" Monitor from a local store probably
UPS, Belkin Regulator Pro or APC most likely
Gotta get me a headset and web cam too...
Networking Kit (Probably from Computers4Sure)

Really REALLY would like feedback, I think I said everything.

 

[GremlinHater]

Do I need thermal grease?

Don't think I'll be OC'ing anytime soon.

 

[GremlinHater]

Bump Again

 

[IcemanJer]

I would replace the IBM hdd with a Maxtor, and the CD-RW to a Plextor 12x/10x/32x (the difference between 12x and 16x burning is really really minimal, but you save like $80).

Everything else sounds fine.. thermal grease would be a good idea, unless the HSF you're getting already have a thermal pad.

 

[GremlinHater]

How do I know if it has a Thermal Pad before getting it?

I heard the Deskstar was the best in it's class?

The Lit-On is 130 Retail which is pretty good, not much more then the plextor 12x i think.

other comments?

 

[splice]

<< (Also, I'm a beginner as this is my first built box attempt, so assume I'm VERY stupid and naive, >>



Just take your time and step though it. It's rather easy. I'm sure any questions you'll have will be answered here. Building your own system from the groud up has to be one of the most fun things to do, using it is the boring part .... Yes I'm a geek and an upgradaholic, could ya tell? heh.



<< (Will, extra IDE ports act like normal?) >>



The IDE ports on the VIA SB will still work, so yes.




<< Do I need thermal grease?

Don't think I'll be OC'ing anytime soon. >>



thermal grease is not necessary, but helps a bit. You'll probably get a little packet of it with the Volcano... but I could be wrong on that.

 

[IcemanJer]

Yeah but I've read a number of people's Deskstar 60GB had to be RMA'ed.. (or was that the 45GB, or maybe both..) But anyways, the DiamondMax has always been the HDD I use, and I think it's quieter than the Deskstar as well.

Er.. I think the VOLCANO II HSF has a thermal pad..

Eh, alright then. Does Lit-On have Burn-Proof like the Plextor?

Are you really gonna need RAID?

When you get a monitor, go for the Samsung SyncMaster 955DF.

 

[drewski]

a couple of things.

i would agree that things look pretty good except for your HSF. although the volcano II is rated for reasonably high clock speeds, i would opt for something a bit more powerful like the swiftech 370 or one of the alpha coolers.

also, i had a 12/10/32 lite-on and it had burn-proof. not sure about the 16x burners.

more importantly, if you are looking to find the best prices, i would include the prices you found on each of the items. you include a total price, but i don't think that everyone wants to go to all the websites you have listed and check out all the component prices. how do all the pieces add to 900? people may have component specific pricing knowledge so could help in that respect, but for the whole system, who knows?

just my lazy a*s thoughts.

 

[GremlinHater]

Yes, I'm sure the 16x has burn proof.

Gotta have RAID if I wish to avoid a controller card for all those IDE devices.

I'll update it to the general prices.

 

[IcemanJer]

<< Gotta have RAID if I wish to avoid a controller card for all those IDE devices. >>

Okay I see.. you'll eventually have 6 IDE devices... but why are you getting both a DVD and a CD-ROM is beyond me..

And yeah, the IDE-RAID channels can work just like regular channels, but I think people are having problem trying to figure out how to boot from the IDE-RAID (ie. have the HDDs on IDE-RAID primary).

 

[GremlinHater]

Not getting a CD-Rom, just CDRW and DVD.

Thanks for you guys giving me input, appreciate anymore anyone has to offer, whether it's vendor info or alternative suggestions...

 

[IcemanJer]

Ohh.. heh, that slash you have there made me think you're getting 2 drives.

 

[IcemanJer]

Not sure if these places will have some of your components for cheaper, but you can check out Egghead.com (what's with these &quot;egg&quot;-something..?!) or NetLink Computers.

 

[GremlinHater]

Bump