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#1
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My build spec's OK?
The purpose of the PC that I'm going to build is primarily for home
movie video editing, miniDV, (nothing too snazzy) as well as a bit of digital photo work and some flight sim play ala Microsoft Flight Sim Combat Module. For an OS I was thinking XP w/SP2. MB - ASUS A8V Deluxe CPU - AMD Athlon 64 3000+ (Newcastle 939 pin) RAM - 4x512 meg Corsair Value Select DDR 400 Case - Cooler Master Wave Master Power Supply - Antec 480w NeoPower HDD - 2 x 200 GB Seagate (SATA), 1 x 74GB WD Raptor (SATA) DVD - Plextor PX-712SA Sound - SB Audigy Platinum w/internal panel Video - ATI AIW 9600 or 9800 Fans, heatsinks, cable sleeving and accessories have yet to be figured out. I've chosen to go the SATA route as it seems to be the wave of the near future, and I don't have to worry about master/slave relationships with the drives. (I get enough master/slave type stuff with my wife weak grin) As an alternative to the case/power supply combo I was thinking of one of the Plus line of Antec cases. Doing so would free up some cash to maybe go towards a faster CPU (3500+ or maybe FX?) I was thinking of putting the OS on a partition on the Raptor, and then using the rest of that drive for a game or two. The two Seagates could then be set up in a stripped array for data. Backups would be done regularly of course. Does this configuration make sense??? This should last for a few years running stuff like Pinnacle Studio 9 and Adobe Photoshop Elements, shouldn't it? I'm taking it for granted that it will run basic Internet and Word Processing apps just fine. My current system is sooooo old that I'm gonna have to get all new software with no chance for the upgrade path. sigh I'm quite sure that I've missed something, or don't quite understand some implications of the selected hardware. I'm not quite sure about the SATA DVD, and how it will connect properly having read another thread about the same thing. Feel free to comment and make useful suggestions to help me make this a successful first full build. -- - Rog http://www.wpcusrgrp.org/~rogerbuchanan/index.html NOTE: to Reply to this, remove the phrase "NOSPAM" from my "Reply To:" address, or it will be returned. |
#2
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On Thu, 04 Nov 2004 07:20:15 -0600, Roger Buchanan
wrote: The purpose of the PC that I'm going to build is primarily for home movie video editing, miniDV, (nothing too snazzy) as well as a bit of digital photo work and some flight sim play ala Microsoft Flight Sim Combat Module. For an OS I was thinking XP w/SP2. MB - ASUS A8V Deluxe CPU - AMD Athlon 64 3000+ (Newcastle 939 pin) I'd consider either Sempron for lower cost CPU with the plan to later upgrade the CPU, or a higher speed A64 than 3000. It's not that there's anything wrong with a 3000 but it's a bit lower-class than the rest of the system. RAM - 4x512 meg Corsair Value Select DDR 400 Case - Cooler Master Wave Master Power Supply - Antec 480w NeoPower HDD - 2 x 200 GB Seagate (SATA), 1 x 74GB WD Raptor (SATA) DVD - Plextor PX-712SA Sound - SB Audigy Platinum w/internal panel Video - ATI AIW 9600 or 9800 If it fits in the budget I'd suggest the "full" 256 bit memory interfaced 9800. Any decent seller should clearly identify which is which. Fans, heatsinks, cable sleeving and accessories have yet to be figured out. I've chosen to go the SATA route as it seems to be the wave of the near future, and I don't have to worry about master/slave relationships with the drives. (I get enough master/slave type stuff with my wife weak grin) Master/slave isn't really an issue, most every modern drive and board will work fine with cable select mode. But, using the SATA the board provides does leave more PATA opportunity for other optical drives. Overall your HDD choices look great. As an alternative to the case/power supply combo I was thinking of one of the Plus line of Antec cases. Doing so would free up some cash to maybe go towards a faster CPU (3500+ or maybe FX?) Personal decision, yours alone. Might depend on where you put the case and if (either one) it matches the room. I was thinking of putting the OS on a partition on the Raptor, and then using the rest of that drive for a game or two. The two Seagates could then be set up in a stripped array for data. Backups would be done regularly of course. Does this configuration make sense??? The two Seagates should be a mirrored array or left as single drives, not a striped array. This should last for a few years running stuff like Pinnacle Studio 9 and Adobe Photoshop Elements, shouldn't it? I'm taking it for granted that it will run basic Internet and Word Processing apps just fine. The age-old hope... it will run everything fine till you get better at what you're doing, the jobs get fancier, your interests change, and eventually only you can decide when it's too slow again. Reading website reviews will accelerate that process. It's a solid system that is as good as reasonably possible for a PC. My current system is sooooo old that I'm gonna have to get all new software with no chance for the upgrade path. sigh I'm quite sure that I've missed something, or don't quite understand some implications of the selected hardware. I'm not quite sure about the SATA DVD, and how it will connect properly having read another thread about the same thing. Feel free to comment and make useful suggestions to help me make this a successful first full build. Choose a nice aftermarket heatsink with an 80x25 or 92x25 mm low-RPM fan. Your ears will thank you, it won't wear out and get even noisier nearly as fast, and will need cleaned out less frequently. |
#3
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"Roger Buchanan" wrote in message
... " For an OS I was thinking XP w/SP2. " No contest really. " MB - ASUS A8V Deluxe " Possibly the best 939 board available at the moment. Some might advise you to wait for Nforce4 PCI-Express, but there aren't any PCI-E AIW graphics cards available yet. If you did wait, it could be six months before you build your system. " CPU - AMD Athlon 64 3000+ (Newcastle 939 pin) " You can't go wrong. The gulf between the 3000+ and 4000+ isn't as big as the $500 difference suggests. " RAM - 4x512 meg Corsair Value Select DDR 400 " Good choice, but make sure you get the CL2.5 modules, and not the CL3 ones. " Case - Cooler Master Wave Master Power Supply - Antec 480w NeoPower " $130 is expensive for a case with no PSU. The Antec Performance Plus cases have a TruePower 430W PSU in them, and the package costs less than the Cooler Master case alone. The TruePower 430W should be enough for your system, but if you felt the need for more power then you really might need separate case. You can get some mid-range Lian-Li cases for less than the Cooler Master, such as the PC-60, PC-65 and PC-6077. " HDD - 2 x 200 GB Seagate (SATA), 1 x 74GB WD Raptor (SATA) " Raptors are brilliant, and I'm guessing that you're going with Seagate for the 5-year warranty. I'm also guessing that you aren't planning a RAID array, but using the Raptor for Windows, and the 400GB for file storage. Do you need all that storage? If you substituted the 74GB Raptor for two 36.7GB Raptors, you could have a RAID 0+1 array (36.7GB + 200GB) alongside (36.7GB +200GB). That would be so much faster, only cost a few dollars more, but you would of course halve your disk capacity. The new Maxtor 250GB (6B250S0) and 300GB (6B250S0) drives have a 16MB cache, support NCQ, and have a 3-year warranty. You might like to think about whether they are worth the extra instead. " DVD - Plextor PX-712SA " There aren't any dual-layer compatible SATA drives out yet, and, because of that, I think this drive is expensive. I would either wait for a dual-layer SATA drive, or get a dual-layer EIDE drive with a rounded cable instead. " Sound - SB Audigy Platinum w/internal panel " You can't go wrong with that, just as long as it goes to good use. If you only end up playing games on rare occasions, then you may wish you'd spent the money elsewhere. " Video - ATI AIW 9600 or 9800 " Look towards getting a 9800 Pro AIW. The 9600, 9600XT and 9800SE are a fair way behind it in gaming performance, so it's worth spending the extra money. The three lesser cards won't hold up as well to future games. |
#4
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Cuzman:
If you substituted the 74GB Raptor for two 36.7GB Raptors, you could have a RAID 0+1 array (36.7GB + 200GB) alongside (36.7GB +200GB). That would be so much faster, only cost a few dollars more What are these claims based on? I have not seen any benchmark that demonstrates a significant increase in speed to a desktop user using RAID 0 instead of a single fast drive. I don't think a 1-3% increase in speed is worth halving the reliability and halving the disk space. -- Mac Cool |
#5
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kony wrote: to later upgrade the CPU, or a higher speed A64 than 3000. It's not that there's anything wrong with a 3000 but it's a bit lower-class than the rest of the system. Right now it seems to be the power/value leader, but with that said maybe the 3500+ or the FX would be a more solid choice, given that it's for video editing, sorta... Video - ATI AIW 9600 or 9800 If it fits in the budget I'd suggest the "full" 256 bit memory interfaced 9800. Any decent seller should clearly identify which is which. Uhm,... "full 256 bit memory interfaced 9800"??? I'm a bit lost on current cards. The two Seagates should be a mirrored array or left as single drives, not a striped array. If I'm backing up my data regularly wouldn't a striped array be a bit faster as being dedicated to video? (Maybe I need a 4th drive just for apps?) Choose a nice aftermarket heatsink with an 80x25 or 92x25 mm low-RPM fan. Your ears will thank you, it won't wear out and get even noisier nearly as fast, and will need cleaned out less frequently. Fans and filters and heatsinks are things that I'm looking at now. My one concession to vanity might be one of those laser cut fan grills. See if anyone notices. After all, those Wave Masters are nice cases. Though I'm not sure about the USB/Firewire/etc ports on the top of the case... Thanks for your feedback!! -- - Rog http://www.wpcusrgrp.org/~rogerbuchanan/index.html NOTE: to Reply to this, remove the phrase "NOSPAM" from my "Reply To:" address, or it will be returned. |
#6
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Cuzman wrote: " RAM - 4x512 meg Corsair Value Select DDR 400 " Good choice, but make sure you get the CL2.5 modules, and not the CL3 ones. Does "CL" refer to latency or voltage, or some such? " Case - Cooler Master Wave Master Power Supply - Antec 480w NeoPower " $130 is expensive for a case with no PSU. The Antec Performance Plus cases have a TruePower 430W PSU in them, and the package costs less than the Cooler Master case alone. The TruePower 430W should be enough for your system, but if you felt the need for more power then you really might need separate case. You can get some mid-range Lian-Li cases for less than the Cooler Master, such as the PC-60, PC-65 and PC-6077. I like the Wave Master for the aesthetics, and the fact that it has a removeable motherboard tray. Call it a combination of vanity and lazziness I guess. The fit and finish on the Cooler Master vase seems to be pretty good. Your point about the other cases is well put, and worth considering though! Do you need all that storage? If you substituted the 74GB Raptor for two 36.7GB Raptors, you could have a RAID 0+1 array (36.7GB + 200GB) alongside (36.7GB +200GB). That would be so much faster, only cost a few dollars more, but you would of course halve your disk capacity. The big array would be used for storage of working video projects. Since none of them are financially rewarding, or mission critical (I like that term), I'm willing to put them on a striped array (though I'll back things up frequently) " DVD - Plextor PX-712SA " There aren't any dual-layer compatible SATA drives out yet, and, because of that, I think this drive is expensive. I would either wait for a dual-layer SATA drive, or get a dual-layer EIDE drive with a rounded cable instead. I've had good experience with Plextor stuff, and the PX-712SA was only a couple of bucks more than the PX-712A. " Sound - SB Audigy Platinum w/internal panel " You can't go wrong with that, just as long as it goes to good use. If you only end up playing games on rare occasions, then you may wish you'd spent the money elsewhere. I'll be putting sound tracks on my video's in certain places, and using a microphone. Mostly this is a quality issue. The product is good, supports lots of different formats, and help is readily available. Look towards getting a 9800 Pro AIW. The 9600, 9600XT and 9800SE are a fair way behind it in gaming performance, so it's worth spending the extra money. I'm getting that feeling. Thanks very much!! Now all I have to do is figure out this "12-pixel pipeline" versus "16-pixel pipeline" terminology and I'm off to the races. -- - Rog http://www.wpcusrgrp.org/~rogerbuchanan/index.html NOTE: to Reply to this, remove the phrase "NOSPAM" from my "Reply To:" address, or it will be returned. |
#7
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On Thu, 04 Nov 2004 15:15:05 -0600, Roger Buchanan
wrote: kony wrote: to later upgrade the CPU, or a higher speed A64 than 3000. It's not that there's anything wrong with a 3000 but it's a bit lower-class than the rest of the system. Right now it seems to be the power/value leader, but with that said maybe the 3500+ or the FX would be a more solid choice, given that it's for video editing, sorta... Well you have options, it could be that buying the least expensive CPU now, then waiting awhile for the faster ones to drop in price, could result in being able to buy both CPUs for same total price, but then having the 2nd CPU to resell or reuse. Video - ATI AIW 9600 or 9800 If it fits in the budget I'd suggest the "full" 256 bit memory interfaced 9800. Any decent seller should clearly identify which is which. Uhm,... "full 256 bit memory interfaced 9800"??? I'm a bit lost on current cards. Yes, 256bit memory bus, versus 128bit. The two Seagates should be a mirrored array or left as single drives, not a striped array. If I'm backing up my data regularly wouldn't a striped array be a bit faster as being dedicated to video? (Maybe I need a 4th drive just for apps?) Do you do a lot of work with uncompressed video that would be stored on the Raptor, where there is only minimal processing? If so then yes the striped array might help but it may not help as much as keeping the two drives separate and using one as source, the other as destination. If you read and write to same array that reduces performance. Choose a nice aftermarket heatsink with an 80x25 or 92x25 mm low-RPM fan. Your ears will thank you, it won't wear out and get even noisier nearly as fast, and will need cleaned out less frequently. Fans and filters and heatsinks are things that I'm looking at now. My one concession to vanity might be one of those laser cut fan grills. See if anyone notices. After all, those Wave Masters are nice cases. Though I'm not sure about the USB/Firewire/etc ports on the top of the case... Thanks for your feedback!! |
#8
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On Thu, 04 Nov 2004 15:25:42 -0600, Roger Buchanan
wrote: Cuzman wrote: " RAM - 4x512 meg Corsair Value Select DDR 400 " Good choice, but make sure you get the CL2.5 modules, and not the CL3 ones. Does "CL" refer to latency or voltage, or some such? Latency Though getting a module spec'd to run at "DDR400" (PC3200) CAS2.5 @ 2.5V would be better than a module that needs 2.6, 2.7V to do so... but, 2.6V is petty common, nothing to be worried about providing your board support that, which I don't know. " Case - Cooler Master Wave Master Power Supply - Antec 480w NeoPower " $130 is expensive for a case with no PSU. The Antec Performance Plus cases have a TruePower 430W PSU in them, and the package costs less than the Cooler Master case alone. The TruePower 430W should be enough for your system, but if you felt the need for more power then you really might need separate case. You can get some mid-range Lian-Li cases for less than the Cooler Master, such as the PC-60, PC-65 and PC-6077. I like the Wave Master for the aesthetics, and the fact that it has a removeable motherboard tray. Call it a combination of vanity and lazziness I guess. The fit and finish on the Cooler Master vase seems to be pretty good. Your point about the other cases is well put, and worth considering though! Don't weight the removable motherboard tray too heavily, after a few minutes of inconvenience it's mostly irrelevant except in really small, tighty laid out cases that need the tray just to allow for (normally) simple tasks like adding memory. Do you need all that storage? If you substituted the 74GB Raptor for two 36.7GB Raptors, you could have a RAID 0+1 array (36.7GB + 200GB) alongside (36.7GB +200GB). That would be so much faster, only cost a few dollars more, but you would of course halve your disk capacity. The big array would be used for storage of working video projects. Since none of them are financially rewarding, or mission critical (I like that term), I'm willing to put them on a striped array (though I'll back things up frequently) The striped array might be good for capturing uncompressed hi-def video, but not necessarily video work in general. Any form of compressed video will be lower bitrate than one of those drives alone can sustain. Although, if you work with video a lot you may even find 400GB not enough space, if you had another drive added it'd add to the likelihood that the current two 200GB planned would be beneficial in a RAID0 array. |
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