Buying a new Computer, suggestions?

[Grona]

OS: $140 Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition OEM Version
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...8&Sku=M17-7500

I hope thats the right one, and apperently the home and Pro versons of the OEM version come free with a internal non microsoft hardware purchase. I guess that means I could put a little more money for the psu case thing 0_o

The big thing is that the ATI All-in-Wonder 9800 Pro is a power hog, and I will have two optical drive on the go, and possibly have them running at the same time with DVD copying, and on top of that a 200gig drive >< The case comes with a 600w one, more than enough for everything. I need powa!

[Cichlisuite]

600 watts is TOTAL overkill, you only need that kind of wattage when your running a QUAD cpu server with 10 gigs of ram, a professional video card, and a bunch of 15,000 rpm scsi drives in raid 5.
Anyway iam running most the stuff your planning on getting (Athlon 64,9800 pro, big hd) fine on a 430 watt psu with plenty of power to spare.
Here is a cpu calculator that might be useful: http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/

[Grona]

On another possible money saving note. has anyone had any experence with the ATI All-In-Wonder 9600XT Vid Card? I was thinking of getting the 9800 pro, but this one is cheaper and seems to have better specs.

ATI All-In-Wonder 9600XT http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...&sku=A177-3036

ATI All-In-Wonder 9800 PRO http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...2489&CatId=880

[Cichlisuite]

9800 pro >> 9600 XT, and also, why do you need a all in wonder anyway? o_O

[Grona]

Originally Posted by Cichlisuite

9800 pro >> 9600 XT, and also, why do you need a all in wonder anyway? o_O

Limited space in my room and on my desk mostly, but my cousin has an older all in wonder and it looks great on LCD and its just so neat to have the abilty to record TV. I looked at the results in benchmarks and for the sake of a little better framerate I dont think paying over $100 is worth it (could go towards the PSU/Case issue). Also there are certan aspects of this card which is better, like the dual display and the PiP ability of it. Also that neat remote would go great with my logitech cordless desktop I'm using now

I'm hoping someone with either would throw in their two cents. Raw numbers off benchmark sites dont do much for me ^_^'

[Cichlisuite]

Originally Posted by Grona

I looked at the results in benchmarks and for the sake of a little better framerate I dont think paying over $100 is worth it

"Little" better framerate? o_O A 9800 pro completely blows a 9600 xt out of the water, trust me you can TELL the difference and is well worth the extra 100.

[kree]

Since you will be losing a slot with the 'One'der' card anyway, I would suggest save the hundred, buy a regular Ati card, then buy a seperate TV tuner card.

That way you also get an extra monitor port on the Ati card and if a card breaks you only lose one component instead of two.

I myself have a Aver Media TV card which I picked up for 40 dollars at http://www.thinkgeek.com last year

also I believe the Ati card limits recording to 640/480 compared to other brands which can record up to 1024/768

although on the upside, the Ati card does allow for better interaction between the two task, and who can resist the look of a card that big, its definitly a good showpiece to fill out any computer.

[EDIT] Apparently Think Geek no longer carries the Aver Media cards.

[Grona]

Originally Posted by kree

Since you will be losing a slot with the 'One'der' card anyway, I would suggest save the hundred, buy a regular Ati card, then buy a seperate TV tuner card.

That way you also get an extra monitor port on the Ati card and if a card breaks you only lose one component instead of two.

I myself have a Aver Media TV card which I picked up for 40 dollars at http://www.thinkgeek.com last year

also I believe the Ati card limits recording to 640/480 compared to other brands which can record up to 1024/768

although on the upside, the Ati card does allow for better interaction between the two task, and who can resist the look of a card that big, its definitly a good showpiece to fill out any computer.

[EDIT] Apparently Think Geek no longer carries the Aver Media cards.

Okay, if I was to do that what combinmation would you recomend?

[_Sin_]

Originally Posted by Grona

Okay, if I was to do that what combinmation would you recomend?

Digital or analog TV?

[Grona]

Originally Posted by _Sin_

Digital or analog TV?

analog
message is too short my ass, let me post!

[kree]

Originally Posted by Grona

Okay, if I was to do that what combinmation would you recomend?

I personally have only owned the Aver card, And would recommend it.

http://www.aver.com/store/index.shtml

They are currently selling three of their cards for under 50 dollars.

The studio card although 49.99 American comes with a remote. The stereo card is what I own and it hasn't been any problems, (except for one little disagreement with service pack1 that a driver update fixed)
It is the same product except for the lack of remote.

The basic card does not allow you to pause live tv, and does not allow you to pre-program the vcr options.

http://www.videohelp.com/comptvcards.htm

This site has a rough comparison of most cards on the market, I do not know how accurate it is, and the prices appear to be off in atleast one case, however since I do not know most of the products I believe it better for me to link you to outside help than telling you that my choice in products was the best.

The only thing I can really say for certain is that you cannot buy a top-end graphics card if it is also a TV-tuner. the all-in-wonder cards all appear to come out a step behind the pure breeds. And the TV-tuners will not need upgrading like a graphics card so if you want to upgrade the graphics card you do not need to buy another all-in-wonder card to stop yourself from lossing the ability to watch TV.

[Grona]

Originally Posted by kree

I personally have only owned the Aver card, And would recommend it.

http://www.aver.com/store/index.shtml

They are currently selling three of their cards for under 50 dollars.

The studio card although 49.99 American comes with a remote. The stereo card is what I own and it hasn't been any problems, (except for one little disagreement with service pack1 that a driver update fixed)
It is the same product except for the lack of remote.

The basic card does not allow you to pause live tv, and does not allow you to pre-program the vcr options.

http://www.videohelp.com/comptvcards.htm

This site has a rough comparison of most cards on the market, I do not know how accurate it is, and the prices appear to be off in atleast one case, however since I do not know most of the products I believe it better for me to link you to outside help than telling you that my choice in products was the best.

The only thing I can really say for certain is that you cannot buy a top-end graphics card if it is also a TV-tuner. the all-in-wonder cards all appear to come out a step behind the pure breeds. And the TV-tuners will not need upgrading like a graphics card so if you want to upgrade the graphics card you do not need to buy another all-in-wonder card to stop yourself from lossing the ability to watch TV.

Well when it comes to quality, the AIW deliveres big time on the TV tuner front. I've seen this in action and the way the software and the remote and the tv work together, its really good.

I dont know when I will be ugrading next time, but most likely I'll want a digital TV card then, so it would need to be upgraded anyways (can you say AIW 2500 PRO :P ) The performance it gives is really good in the other fronts too, it may not be top notch but its pretty damed good.

[Grona]

Pardon how this looks, just my possible specs from a text doc I have.

Mother Board: $130 Asus K8V Deluxe VIA Socket 754 ATX Motherboard / AGP 8X / Audio / Gigabit LAN / USB 2.0 / Firewire / Serial ATA / RAID
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...739&CatId=1178

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Processor: $310 AMD Athlon 64 3000+ / 512KB Cache / 1600MHz FSB / Socket 754 / Processor

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...2-A64-3000%20C
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Processor Cooling: $30 Speeze / Socket 754 / AMD Athlon 64 / Ball Bearing / CPU Cooling Fan
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...205&CatId=1187
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Ram: $200 Ultra 512MB PC3200 DDR 400MHz Memory X2
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...9&Sku=U10-4901
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PSU+Case: $70 Powmax ATX Case with Clear Side, Front USB, LED Fans and 400Watt Power Supply
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...946&CatId=1520
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Vid Card: $500 ATI All-in-Wonder 9800 Pro
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...&sku=A177-3027
FX5900XT
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Hard Drive: $140 Western Digital Caviar SE 200GB / 7200 / 8MB / ATA-100 EIDE Hard Drive
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...p?EdpNo=423018
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sound card: $100 Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2 OEM Sound Card
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...0176&CatId=107

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DVD Burner: $100 Megastor MD-8XDVD9 / 2.4x DVD+R DL / 8x4x12x DVD±RW / 32x16x40x CD-RW
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...4345&CatId=482

[Cichlisuite]

Originally Posted by Grona

Pardon how this looks, just my possible specs from a text doc I have.

Mother Board: $130 Asus K8V Deluxe VIA Socket 754 ATX Motherboard / AGP 8X / Audio / Gigabit LAN / USB 2.0 / Firewire / Serial ATA / RAID
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...739&CatId=1178

I would recommend this instead:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...722&CatId=1190
or
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...721&CatId=1190
if you want to overclock any. If you dont, stick with the K8V, its a good mobo (iam using one now )

Originally Posted by Grona

Processor Cooling: $30 Speeze / Socket 754 / AMD Athlon 64 / Ball Bearing / CPU Cooling Fan
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...205&CatId=1187
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If your cpu is retail version then you wont need it, the heatsink that comes with the cpu is more than enough.

Originally Posted by Grona

Ram: $200 Ultra 512MB PC3200 DDR 400MHz Memory X2
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...9&Sku=U10-4901
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Go with this:http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...382&CatId=1304 or atleast http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...468&CatId=1304

Originally Posted by Grona

Hard Drive: $140 Western Digital Caviar SE 200GB / 7200 / 8MB / ATA-100 EIDE Hard Drive
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...p?EdpNo=423018
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ok drive, even though i would go with SATA instead of IDE, for better performance i recommend: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...6856&CatId=139 or go with http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...6586&CatId=139 for the 5 year warranty.

Originally Posted by Grona

sound card: $100 Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2 OEM Sound Card
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...0176&CatId=107

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Only get this if you dont like the onboard sound or if you have 5.1/ 7.1 surround sound and you game alot.

Originally Posted by Grona

DVD Burner: $100 Megastor MD-8XDVD9 / 2.4x DVD+R DL / 8x4x12x DVD±RW / 32x16x40x CD-RW
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...4345&CatId=482

I would definetly get this over that: http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...5101&CatId=482

[kree]

Looks nice. A good rounded machine with alot of potential for future upgrades.

just a couple of last comments,

The Audio card is nice, I have a slightly older model, and it has not failed me yet.

And a old friend of mine once told me it is better for your hard drive to stick bellow 80GB, because it will preform better, though I do not remember how. Hopefully someone else here can comfirm or deny my statement, however I do know that if the HD is larger than 137GB and data gets written to the end of the disk windows complains during reinstall.

but other than that, Western Digital is probably the best Bang for the Buck.

The case you choose has me a little concerned for you, It should run fine now, however there appears to be a lack of proper ventilation, there appears to be room for a fan in back however there does not appear to be any holes for a second fan, and if you start to add more parts to this box you might not recieve the proper ventilation neccessary to keep the parts cool.

however a blowtorch and ducttape will allow you to mount extra fans anywhere in the case

And I am glad you have decided on the graphics card/TV-tuner issue, I hope you can get the AIW 2500 PRO the next time you upgrade because you sound fairly excited about it.

keep us posted about the computer once you buy it and build it, I sure would like to hear how it runs Doom3

[Cichlisuite]

Originally Posted by kree

And a old friend of mine once told me it is better for your hard drive to stick bellow 80GB, because it will preform better, though I do not remember how. Hopefully someone else here can comfirm or deny my statement, however I do know that if the HD is larger than 137GB and data gets written to the end of the disk windows complains during reinstall.

but other than that, Western Digital is probably the best Bang for the Buck.

That only applies for older mobo with an outdated bios, IDE controller and without SP1 of XP. Most mobos today can go well beyond the 137 gig barrier, then again all the hds i recommended he get are SATA, which are pretty much "immune" to that sort of thing.
From what i see Seagate and Hitachi now are the best bangs for the buck even though WD is a good buy.

[Grona]

Originally Posted by Cichlisuite

I would recommend this instead:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...722&CatId=1190
or
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...721&CatId=1190
if you want to overclock any. If you dont, stick with the K8V, its a good mobo (iam using one now )


If your cpu is retail version then you wont need it, the heatsink that comes with the cpu is more than enough.


Go with this:http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...382&CatId=1304 or atleast http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...468&CatId=1304


Ok drive, even though i would go with SATA instead of IDE, for better performance i recommend: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...6856&CatId=139 or go with http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...6586&CatId=139 for the 5 year warranty.


Only get this if you dont like the onboard sound or if you have 5.1/ 7.1 surround sound and you game alot.

I would definetly get this over that: http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...5101&CatId=482

hehe, well its good to hear its a good mobo I dont think I'll be overclocking, I like he feteaure of the ASUS where they have that wifi slot. I had the experence of seeing my processcor sizzle and I say never again. ^^'

---
Processor Speed 64 3000+ / 2.00GHz
Processor Interface Socket 754
Bus Speed 1600MHz
Additional Technologies HyperTransport
Fan Not Included
---

Fans not included ^^'

What exactlt is the reason for the ram?

I might just do that, the onboard sound its 6.1 and thats good enough.

[Grona]

Originally Posted by kree

Looks nice. A good rounded machine with alot of potential for future upgrades.

just a couple of last comments,

The Audio card is nice, I have a slightly older model, and it has not failed me yet.

And a old friend of mine once told me it is better for your hard drive to stick bellow 80GB, because it will preform better, though I do not remember how. Hopefully someone else here can comfirm or deny my statement, however I do know that if the HD is larger than 137GB and data gets written to the end of the disk windows complains during reinstall.

but other than that, Western Digital is probably the best Bang for the Buck.

The case you choose has me a little concerned for you, It should run fine now, however there appears to be a lack of proper ventilation, there appears to be room for a fan in back however there does not appear to be any holes for a second fan, and if you start to add more parts to this box you might not recieve the proper ventilation neccessary to keep the parts cool.

however a blowtorch and ducttape will allow you to mount extra fans anywhere in the case

And I am glad you have decided on the graphics card/TV-tuner issue, I hope you can get the AIW 2500 PRO the next time you upgrade because you sound fairly excited about it.

keep us posted about the computer once you buy it and build it, I sure would like to hear how it runs Doom3

Yea, my sound card is importan to me, I listen to ALOT of music on my 5.1 setup.

I just noticed that too, and the same can be said about a load of the cases avalible 0_o Crap, well that screws up the price again >< Anyone have any case suggestions around the number I have?

[Cichlisuite]

Originally Posted by Grona

Yea, my sound card is importan to me, I listen to ALOT of music on my 5.1 setup.

I just noticed that too, and the same can be said about a load of the cases avalible 0_o Crap, well that screws up the price again >< Anyone have any case suggestions around the number I have?

Well if you go with the K8V the onboard sound is decent, and does support 5.1 surround sound, at the sacrifice of your mic and headphone ports
If that much of a audiophile, think about investing in this: http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Produc...uctCode=292003

[Grona]

Originally Posted by Cichlisuite

Well if you go with the K8V the onboard sound is decent, and does support 5.1 surround sound, at the sacrifice of your mic and headphone ports
If that much of a audiophile, think about investing in this: http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Produc...uctCode=292003

You mean I can hook up 5.1 speakers to it right? ^^' I just use a splitter on my current rig and will probly use that for my phones