new computer - help choosing components

[bowlesbe]

So I'm in the market for a new desktop and I know one thing: I will be getting an Intel 2 duo and 3G of RAM. Unfortunately there seems to be other things to worry about (damnit!). The purpose of the computer is to do high performance tasks quickly, most notably image editing.

1) Would it be better to get 2 separate mirrored 500G hard drives, or alternatively, only one of the following:
http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?DriveID=238

2) Where can I find out what things I need to consider in choosing a motherboard? Do you have any personal recommendations?

3) Where can I find out what things I need to consider in choosing a case? I'm specifically intersted in getting one that will make my computer be as quiet as possible. Hopefully the poewr efficient intel 2 duo will help with this.

4) Video cards - I dont play video games and apparently it image editing doesnt require much video power. So I would want the minimum posssible (ie cheapest yet reliable) that will ensure good image editing and also the ability to support vista.

5) Does it matter what type of RAM to get, other than just to get DDR2?

If you can only help with one of these questions I would appreciate your input!

[Skip Souza]

Are you building it yourself or having it built?

[purelithium]

a much better place to ask these questions would be this forum:

http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/General-Homebuilt-forum-55.html

Post a budget and what you'll be doing with the computer, and probably within a day, if not the hour you'll have 2-3 or more different suggestions for components/ entire rigs.

I used to hang out there a lot last year, but I've shifted my interests away from a hobby as dynamic as computer building, so i'm not up on the most recent tech.

Those guys at the Tom's Hardware Guide forums will have WAY better/more suggestions for you than you could ever imagine ;)

Have fun building your machine!

[bowlesbe]

Are you building it yourself or having it built?

I dont know abotu that yet. If it looks feasible, I'll do it myself. I might ask the tech guy at my university to help me. If this is possible, I'll may the store to put it together.

[Citizensmith]

5) Does it matter what type of RAM to get, other than just to get DDR2?

Please don't take this as an insult, but if you need to ask this question you may be better off going with a Dell or HP or similar. If you really want to build your own it can be a good learning experience but make sure to take your time as there are lots of (sometimes expensive) ways to go wrong, and it can be really frustrating when all your new hardware won't post and you have no clue why.

The recommendation to use the Tom's forums rather than these is a very good one. We geek out on cameras first and computers second. Tom's is the place where they just overclocked a bacon sandwich so they really do like the computer thing. It's not that nobody here could help, just that more people there could help.

[bowlesbe]

Please don't take this as an insult, but if you need to ask this question you may be better off going with a Dell or HP or similar. If you really want to build your own it can be a good learning experience but make sure to take your time as there are lots of (sometimes expensive) ways to go wrong, and it can be really frustrating when all your new hardware won't post and you have no clue why.

The recommendation to use the Tom's forums rather than these is a very good one. We geek out on cameras first and computers second. Tom's is the place where they just overclocked a bacon sandwich so they really do like the computer thing. It's not that nobody here could help, just that more people there could help.

Certainly I plan to take my time. I'm budgeting 2000 for the computer. I dont spend that kind of money often, and given the choice, I learn as much as I can before hand about the components. That was the approach I just used for my dslr system that I now love, although that was considerably easier I think all in all.

I just set up an account at Toms Forum and I really appreciate that advice. Perhaps if I find out some useful info there I'll share the knowledge here!

[deadpass]

you don't need to spend 2k for a computer with the requirements you have. If you want I can suggest what would do you off very well for a grand or less. Feel free to shoot me an IM.

[Citizensmith]

yeah if you are home building $1000 is plenty, although you could drop another bundle on a nice screen. I'm in the process of building a reasonably good system and it'll probably cost me around $650.

[bowlesbe]

yeah if you are home building $1000 is plenty, although you could drop another bundle on a nice screen. I'm in the process of building a reasonably good system and it'll probably cost me around $650.

Cool, well what are you going with? I'm assuming you also have image editing in mind as well.

[Skip Souza]

While I have built several units myself I have discovered that it is not cost effective to do so. If you purchase from a reputable builder then you are more likely to get a computer that plays nice with itself and has a minimum one year warranty. The home built, while gratifying, has no warranty.
I have had four or five built by www.ibuypower.com, the most recent being a couple of months ago for my wife. Although all of mine are AMD (personal preference) they also make nice Intel based units.
About cases. Maureen's new computer has a case that I really like. It is the NZXT Trinity ATX Mid-Tower. Roomy and easy to work in, will accommodate a 120mm fan which tends to be quieter than the 80mm variety, it is silver (does not show dust ;-) ) and it has the door hinge on the right side. Most folks place the box to their right and most doors hinges are on the left which means you have to reach around the door to access the CD/DVD or internal card readers. just a thought.
Good luck.

[crc_408]

Like others have said, your hardware costs for your core system won't be high. A nice big screen would be nice.

In terms of storage, I've looked at the following options in the past:

Option #1: The benefit of having two 500GB mirrored is primarily for backup, in the event one drive fails, the other is a copy. You will have around 500GB for your both OS and data.

Option #2: Others have also tried to span a single drive over two physical hard drives. This gives a lot of drive space (close to 1 terabyte), but if one drive fails, you've lost everything.

Option #3: In the past, I've setup the OS on a single hard drive, say 100GB, and then mirror two 500GB for data. This seperates the OS, applications, and associated "junk" to the OS drive while leaving 500GB (or so) to your data (photos, docs, etc.). The OS drive is easier to recover than your data.

There are certainly lots of other storage configuration options. It's really up to what you want to do and how much you need. I'd also stick a DVD writable drive in the case to create backup copies of your data.

My current setup uses a Buffalo 2T TeraStation for storage over the network. This allows me to upgrade, swap our, change, the core hardware anytime without touching the data.

[Citizensmith]

Cool, well what are you going with? I'm assuming you also have image editing in mind as well.

I've not completely settled on what I'm getting yet but here you go.

Purchased
Vista Ultimate (lucky enough to have a friend that got me MS staff price)
Coolermaster Ammo 533 (coz it'll use 3 120 fans and I'm going for quiet)
450W power supply
Lite-on 18x lightscribe DVD-DR DL burner
300Gb HDD (prolly buy another down the road. Backups are to two external wireless hard drives)

Coming soon
AMD X2 5000 (more than good enough and the extra performance of a C2D 6600 or similar isn't worth the extra money to me. That and I like AMD)
Motherboard wise I've found a nice ASUS (M2N-E) but I may just go the Fry's deal route and get a freebie ECS and see if it is good enough)
2Gb DDR2 6400 RAM
Either a 7600GT (if I decide to go passively cooled) or an 8600GT if I decide to go for a bigger DX10 card.

[vondo]

So I'm in the market for a new desktop and I know one thing: I will be getting an Intel 2 duo and 3G of RAM. Unfortunately there seems to be other things to worry about (damnit!). The purpose of the computer is to do high performance tasks quickly, most notably image editing.

1) Would it be better to get 2 separate mirrored 500G hard drives, or alternatively, only one of the following:
http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?DriveID=238

2) Where can I find out what things I need to consider in choosing a motherboard? Do you have any personal recommendations?

3) Where can I find out what things I need to consider in choosing a case? I'm specifically intersted in getting one that will make my computer be as quiet as possible. Hopefully the poewr efficient intel 2 duo will help with this.

4) Video cards - I dont play video games and apparently it image editing doesnt require much video power. So I would want the minimum posssible (ie cheapest yet reliable) that will ensure good image editing and also the ability to support vista.

5) Does it matter what type of RAM to get, other than just to get DDR2?

If you can only help with one of these questions I would appreciate your input!

To help with 2, 4, and 5: Take a look at mwave.com and look at their motherboard bundles. Select your CPU, then select a motherboard (I like ASUS). In your case you can even get by with built in graphics from NVidia or ATI. Forget about SLI or any of that graphics jazz. Then select the fastest RAM you can from a reputable maker (Kingston, Crucial). You should look at motherboards in the sub-$100 range and from what I saw yesterday, your only decision is if you want Firewire or not. They will all have plenty of SATA & USB ports. They will even put the MB, CPU, and RAM together and test it for another $9. Money well spent, in my opinion.

[warlock]

450W power supply


Make/Model?

Never EVER skimp on power!

[Citizensmith]

Make/Model?

Never EVER skimp on power!

Coolermaster something or other.

I'd also disagree somewhat, quality is more important than raw power. My current gaming rig uses a 235W mATX power supply and runs fine. A bargain price 500w supply may still give you issues just because of poor stability.

[purelithium]

I'd also disagree somewhat, quality is more important than raw power.

I beleive that's what he meant. I never use anything but Antec Power supplies.

[warlock]

Coolermaster something or other.

I'd also disagree somewhat, quality is more important than raw power. My current gaming rig uses a 235W mATX power supply and runs fine. A bargain price 500w supply may still give you issues just because of poor stability.


Thats kind of what I was getting at.

What model coolermaster? IIRC, some are good, some are junk.

[bowlesbe]

this is what I was going to go with

Antec SmartPower 2.0 500 Watt ATX12V v2.0 PSU PCI-E Ready (http://www.canadacomputers.com//index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=009311&cid=PS.808)

[Citizensmith]

Thats kind of what I was getting at.

What model coolermaster? IIRC, some are good, some are junk.

My apologies, misunderstood you. Can't remember the model, got good comments on the egg though which was the reason for choosing it.

[purelithium]

this is what I was going to go with

Antec SmartPower 2.0 500 Watt ATX12V v2.0 PSU PCI-E Ready (http://www.canadacomputers.com//index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=009311&cid=PS.808)

Perfect. Great store, too. I almost exclusively deal with them to build my PC's (when I am forced to do so :P ;) )

[warlock]

My apologies, misunderstood you. Can't remember the model, got good comments on the egg though which was the reason for choosing it.

Egg comments are almost worthless :(

Personally, I would go with something like this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817163108


I dont know if its blingy enough for you or not :cool: but its more than enough power, and you can probably use it for a couple of builds before you need something bigger (or with different features)


I would stay away from antec right now (Outside of thier "Green" power supplies) as there have been reported problems with capacitors in the "True Power" series. I have not heard if this has been fixed yet or not.

[Citizensmith]

Egg comments are almost worthless :(

I think the same thing applies to comments made pretty much anywhere. You've no idea of the abilities and specific use of the person making the comment (or if they were paid to make the comment). However, I think that so long as you look at the comments as a general trend rather than latching on to individual statements you are generally OK.