New PC

[aliasjanedoe]

I'm looking at going with micro ATX because of the smaller chassis sizes, but would I be hurting myself by not going with standard ATX? I want to do mainly video and photo editing. Anybody have advice?

[The Wise Monkey]

To be honest, there isn't really much difference any more. They use basically the same components, but microATX board sacrifice HD ports and PCI slots to take up less space.

Wikipedia's article, whilst short, is quite useful:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MicroATX

If you are after a recommendation for a good board, then you can't go wrong with the ASUS P5K-VM:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131187 (normal)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131187R (open box)

[aliasjanedoe]

Thanks. Those boards look like the ones I was considering. Are there horror stories about going with the open box boards, or do they turn out to be fine most of the time?


The chassis I'm in love with is the IN WIN ALLURE MicroATX Mid Tower
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811108064


CPU, probably something like the Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 or Q9300, unless you guys would recommend something else for video editing.


My current hard drives, which I'm debating keeping one of if possible, are:
WDC WD2500JB-00REA0 (232 GB, IDE)
WDC WD3200JB-00KFA0 (298 GB, IDE)

Or the ones I might switch to would be two of these
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218


I was going to go with 4gb of DDR2 ram (with the option to upgrade to 8 later), but would it be better to go with DDR3? Pros/Cons??? And is one brand better than another, or should I shop by lowest price?


I am worried about cooling, and would switch the fan to probably something along these lines to be quieter, although perhaps something a bit better
ZALMAN ZM-F2RL 92mm
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118026
And I'm open to suggestions for ways of adding cooling that I could fit inside the case since there's no intake fan. I'll probably have one external 5.25 and both external 3.5 drive bays empty where I could put something.


For the power supply, I'm thinking along the lines of a 500-watt Cooler Master.


External drive bays, probably something like
Sony NEC Optiarc DVD Burner with LightScribe
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118004


Graphics card, still need to do a lot of research.

I was considering adding more front ports but I've decided the front is good and where I need to make sure I have at least one firewire and a couple USB is the back. And possibly eSATA. How would I go about doing this?

[The Wise Monkey]

I've moved this thread to the BYOC forum - you'll get more critique that way. :)

What is your budget?

[aliasjanedoe]

I've moved this thread to the BYOC forum - you'll get more critique that way. :)

What is your budget?

Thanks. My budget is about $1500 (lower would be good, but I don't want to sacrifice being able to upgrade).

[RickyTick]

Looks like the Q9300 is taking the place of the Q6600. It is said to use a little less power and still be slightly faster, and still be very overclockable.

The WD 640gb HD is the way to go. Wish I had one. :(

The DDR3 ram is only slightly faster than DDR2 yet is much more expensive. The prices have dropped lately, but its still a little high. I would guess to say that DDR3 is the way of the future though.

[The Wise Monkey]

Maybe in 6 months when DDR3 is a lot cheaper, but it is still not worth the current prices.

[aliasjanedoe]

Maybe in 6 months when DDR3 is a lot cheaper, but it is still not worth the current prices.

Yeah, I'm thinking I'll go with DDR2. I could always switch to DDR3 several years down the road.

And does anybody know if there's a review of graphics cards tested specifically for vidders rather than gamers? Programs like Adobe Premiere, After Effects, Final Cut, Photoshop CS3.

[RickyTick]

Maybe in 6 months when DDR3 is a lot cheaper, but it is still not worth the current prices.

Yeah, I agree. DDR2 just makes good sense right now.

[RickyTick]

Yeah, I'm thinking I'll go with DDR2. I could always switch to DDR3 several years down the road.

And does anybody know if there's a review of graphics cards tested specifically for vidders rather than gamers? Programs like Adobe Premiere, After Effects, Final Cut, Photoshop CS3.


Not many motherboards will accept both DDR2 and DDR3 memory, so upgrading later to DDR3 might not be an option.

This is a good place for information on video cards.
http://www.tomshardware.com/

[Barrister73]

Well, by the time DDR3 becomes cheap enough to warrant it, a new OS will be out and it will make sense to get a new MoBo anyway.

MRR - one of many guys who had problems with P5KC, the DDR2/3 board. ;)

[aliasjanedoe]

MRR - one of many guys who had problems with P5KC, the DDR2/3 board. ;)

What kind of problems? And what do you think is the best micro atx board?

[Barrister73]

Several people from this site had problems with Asus P5KC boards and E8400 processors. Nothing would work (or at least the monitor wouldn't work so we had no way to tell if anything else did). Not sure anyone ever really figured out what the problem was. Most replacement boards worked just fine. It's what I currently have, and I am happy with it.

I am not even close to an expert, so I cannot tell you what boards are good. But there are plenty of other people on here who I'm sure can answer for you.

MRR