Having second thoughts about component list

[jclaydon]

After having read some of the helpful opinions and suggestions in this forum, I am starting to have some second thoughts about what to put in the case that I got recently.

here's what I was thinking of originally:

Asus M2N32-SLI Wireless motherboard
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ EE w/ 2x512K Cache processor
Corsair XMS2 DHX 2048MB Dual Channel PC6400 DDR2 800MHz Memory (2 x 1024MB)
Corsair 520W power supply *i changed this after reading all the rave reviews in this forum*
Two Western Digital 400 GB Caviar SE drives for RAID 1 config
ATI Radeon HD 2900 for main graphics
ATI TV Wonder 650 for video editing
Sound Blaster Platinum with I/O drive upgrade
Zalman CNPS9500 AM2 for the cpu cooler with the silver compound mentioned here
I don't remember the model numbers at the moment but I am going to get one Plextor CDRW
and 1 DVD writable optical drive for guarunteed Karaoke/CDG compatibility.

If i happen to find a lightscribe drive that I know is going to be CDG compatible, then I'll get one of those instead.


But after having read about the Geoforce 880 cards, I'm wondering if this wouldn't be a better choice. But do ati and nvidia cards work together? Does anyone know a good qauility video editing card I could use instead?

Also, I was wondering if intel makes 64 bit processors now.

I don't have a lot of money, but I do need HIGH QAULITY parts that will take a lot of abuse and last as long as possible.

For those who were wondering, a cdg compatible drive is a drive that can read and write the subchannel data of a disc, and can also write CD-Text. :)

If anyone has any other comments, or suggestions about my list please don't hesitate to chime in..

thanks in advance,
-James

[Jamie Nixx]

All CPU's nowadays are 64bit.

Listen, if you don't have a lot of money its no biggy, but AMD is not the way to go, Intel are so superior its just not worth it.

If you can't afford an E6750, get an E4400 or an E2120, they will outperform most AMD CPU's.

Don't bother with the CPU cooler or the AS5 paste, just stick with the stock cooler.

What EXACTLY are you using the computer for?

[jclaydon]

Well I am using the computer for my karaoke business. As I have said in my other post where I asked you for case advice, running karaoke on a computer is a very graphics & cpu intensive process. Mostly it has to do with the programming required to decode the cdg/subcode data. This means that I need something that is ROCK SOLID RELIABLE.

The system I build will be moved around at least twice a week, probably more. It means that when the system is running, it will probably be running hot / at the high end of graphics/cpu usage about 80-90% of the time. If i build the system, then its something that has to last me at least five years, hopefully a little more.

When my job situation is more stable, I will be also be streaming all my shows live over the internet, and offering the option to take home a DVD of their preformance. That's why i want a video editing card that has both a s-video and a composite video input.

If its a choice between comprimising and getting lower quality parts, and saving up and getting the componets piecewise and spending a little bit more money then I will take option number two.

Since i got one of my jobs back, after i pay a few bills I can probably spread the cost of everything over 6 months.

Now if there is a choice that is decent quality AND a reasonable price, then I certainly won't pass up that opportunity.

The bottom line is I want a system that will last, is very unlikely to crash and has the highest quality possible parts that I can reasonably afford.

The closest Dell machine I could find that sounded like it would meet my requiremets, with a little customization and an extended waruntee was $2000 plus taxes and I would have HAPPILY paid it. It just would have taken me longer to save up for, that's all.

So if you say that pentium is better, then I am going to get a pentium.

Do you have any motherboard recommendations for an intel based system then?

What about the radeon graphics card i chose? I don't know anything about the specific specs mean, but here's the link http://ati.amd.com/products/radeonhd2900/specs.html


I hope this helps you understand my situation.. If you require any more information to make a recommendation, please don't hesistate to ask.. To paraphrase one of my favourite sayings "If its worth doing, then its worth doing right" :)

thanks

James

[Jamie Nixx]

Lol i didn't say Pentium, Core 2 Duo is the way to go now ;)

For $2000 i could price a computer that was so good you wouldn't believe it, but $2000 is too much money imo.

The radeon is ok, but its not very powerful, i am a gamer, so i need the best as well, if these programs you are running are CPU and GPU intensive they need to be powerful.

First for the CPU i would recommend the Q6600, its a Quad core processor, so its brilliant for multi-tasking and CPU intensive programs.

Second, for the GPU, i would recommend either an 8800GT, the ATI 3850 or the 3870, the 8800GT is the most expensive out of these but it is also the best, the others are excellent though and they are considerably cheaper.

These have s-video input and you can buy a DVI converter of the composite video input as seen here http://techpubs.sgi.com/library/dynaweb_docs/hdwr/SGI_EndUser/books/02DVO_IG/sgi_html/figures/breakout.cable.gif


If i am honest i would say i could price you a computer, that would handle all your needs and more for a little over a $1000. I don't have the full scope of the programs you are using, but gaming systems are easily as powerful as PC's get, so if you have a system based on what a gaming computer would be based on i am sure it could handle all your needs.

Could you link me to the Dell you were thinking of getting?

[jclaydon]

Lol i didn't say Pentium, Core 2 Duo is the way to go now ;)



Could you link me to the Dell you were thinking of getting?

Well actually that comment about the pentium was a bit toungue-in-cheek. Even us ignorant types have a sense of humor! ;)

The point is, when you ask an expert for their advice, you're trusting the fact that they are an expert, and are giving you the correct information.

The Dell i priced was AGES ago, but I priced out a new system at created a link here http://ecomm.dell.com/dellstore/basket_retrieve.aspx?c=ca&cs=cadhs1&l=en&s=dhs&itemtype=CFG&cart_id=1004086950574&toEmail=jclaydon@shaw.ca The link should be good for 30 days.

If you click on the detail view, you will get a list of all the upgrades i selected.

The only thing that was a 'luxury' was the extra hard drive.. If i absolutely had to, I could do without the backup drive for a while, but I'd rather not.

That being said.. I would have to say that my ideal budget would be $1000-1200 Canadian before taxes. I don't know if the canadian dollar is still doing beter than the american dollar at the moment, but I'm pretty sure its still at least close to par.