I am going to buy a new computer, and want to build one. Need advice...

Hi all,

I am going to upgrade my machine, which is going to become the principle ool for mixing ect in my music studio. I do not want to go Mac, as I will use the machine for a lot of other things also. I have never actually put together a pc from the ground up, though I have tinkered a lot. I am looking for cheap outlets, instructions, places to buy parts ect, advice in general, and I thought this might be a good place to come for help. For instance, I must have a very fast motherboard, though not too pricy... a good deal on something really good, but not eh best would be preferable. Processer should be around 2.8 ghz or above. Motherboard should have ethernet, built in video at least 64mb memeory, though prefer 128. I own a radeon 7000 64mb pci card, and can go that way if a good deal merits. I want the case itself to be ultra quiet, for use in my studio. Power supply and fan I need schooling on. I have a good cd burner, 3.5 inch drive, and 120 gb western digital hard drive, I will want a lot of good fast memory for this baby. I can go in around $700.00, all told on the machine, maybe a little more. any advice on where and how to shop appreciated. Also, if anyone knows of good books, sites, ect on assembly, that would be appreciated to. I know some about all this, but not too much. Thanks in advance.

 

www.newegg.com for shopping. it sounds like you are going intel from what I read between the lines. I can't help you with intel.

 

pricewatch.com (read the reviews before buying from a specific vendor)

 

Second on NewEgg . . http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Home.jsp is a good source also. ( Used to be GoogleGear)

wrs

 

www.newegg.com ^^ Yea, i dont do intel either

 

Let's do this thing..

First off, no onboard video. Onboard video was a mistake when it was first thought of.


Motherboard ASUS "A7N8X-E Deluxe" nForce2 Ultra 400 $84
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewprodu...-131-478&ATT=Motherboards+AMD&CMP=OTC-B1zrat3

CPU AMD Athlon XP 2500+ "Barton", 333 FSB, 512K Cache Processor $92 (This cpu will beat the 2.8ghz your after with a little tweaking, and is the best performance vs price)
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=19-103-379&depa=0

Case POWMAX Black Acrylic Mid Tower Case, Model "MATXARC-3" -RETAIL $54
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-145-033&depa=0

Memory PDP SYSTEMS Memory Dual Channel Kit 184-Pin 512MB (256MBx2) DDR PC-4000, Model PDC5123200LLK - Retail $89
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-220-004&depa=0

Power supply COOLMAX 400W CX-400B, BLACK, Taurus CX Series Silent Power Supply; 1 x 120mm fan, 3 Speed Fan Control Switch ( Auto, Low, Medium). $38

Heatsink ThermalTake Volcano 7 - Temperature Controlled Fan & Copper Interface $13.95
http://www.hardcorecooling.us/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=91


Arctic Silver 5 3.5g $5.99
http://www.hardcorecooling.us/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=122

floppy SONY Black 1.44MB 3.5inch Floppy Disk Drive, Model MPF920, OEM $10
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=21-103-116&depa=0

Run the Barton at a FSB higher than 333 to get 2.8ghz performance, or at 400FSB for 3.2ghz performance.

Total Cost before tax and shipping. $386.94

Use the rest to pick out a good vid card, or use the one you have till you get tired of it.

 

Thanks for the responses...

Gotrootdude,

What you are suggesting sounds very good and informative. My only concerns are is the pc going to be quiet enough. I was checking into this case:

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-112-070&depa=1

But if yours will work than I'm into that too.

I don't know how to tweak a processor, maybe you can help me out with a bit of an explaination? How to run it at 333 or 400?

Thanks again...

 

The PS and the heatsink are as close to quiet as you can get without useing watercooling.. As far as the case, I don't see why a acrylic case should be any louder than a metal one. Acrylic looks better, but you need some care with it as it will scratch easy.. You could substitute a metal case, I just like the acrylic one for the looks..

As far as making the 2500+ 333FSB cpu run faster:

When you set up the bios after putting the PC together, just change the fsb from 166 to 200. The board allows fsb changes in 1mhz increments.

The fsb setting in the bios is 1/2 the effective FSB of the processor. Barton cpu's run at 333 and 400mhz FSB, although there's really no difference in the cpu core between one that runs a 400mhz FSB and one that runs a 333FSB. Therefore, if you have good memory and cooling, you can easily increase the speed of the cpu by raising the fsb in the bios.

A 3200+ (400FSB) Athlon Barton runs at 2.2ghz for a performance rating of 3.2ghz.
A 2500+ (333FSB) Athlon Barton runs at 1.83ghz for a performance rating of 2.5ghz.

The 2500+ and the 3200+ have the same multiplier of 11. Therefore the bios settings of:
(multiplier)11 X (fsb) 200 = 2.2ghz or performance rating 3.2ghz no matter which cpu the bios settings are used with..

 

FYI: I personally run mine at these settings the majority of the time..

(fsb) 200 X (multiplier) 10 = 2ghz = performance rating ((3200/2200)X2000) = 2.9ghz

Funny, if you work it this way ((2500/1830)X2000) you get around 2.73ghz instead of 2.9.. I guess it's because a faster fsb affects all the components, not just the cpu..