Advice needed for new computer build.

tastybasslines · #1 08-02-2011, 01:21 PM

I built a Athlon 1.6, 512ram, 64 meg video card, Msi mobo for about $450 in 2001 and it ran great for 10 years. Not even one problem, but it's time for a new computer after the power supply finally burnt out. So I am pretty set on getting a barebones kit for the quality components they offer, instead of a budget brand pre assembled with ultra high manufactured, cheaper components. I'm also going AMD, great experience already, and more value for the buck. Plus, when I buy and install an OS, it will be super clean, no bloatware or anything else.

I've been out of the components game for a while and have a few questions. First, I will describe my uses. Light to average gaming, video editing, some light web development programs and won't be doing a ton of multi tasking. So with these purposes in mind...

Major difference between triple core and quad? (I know I don't need a 6...)

Triple core at 4 gb of RAM ok? Or do I need 8gb for a slower processor? Would 4GB work better with a 4 core?

I have a pretty good graphics card I bought for my system, not realizing it didn't have PCI-E slot. It's 4 years old, but should be OK. It was $110 when I bought it, so I plan on using it in the system. It is a Newegg.com - EVGA 256-P2-N554-AX GeForce 7600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 SLI Support Video Card

What are good motherboards these days? My MSI lasted a long time so I'm leaning towards them...What about Gigabyte and Biostar...are these brands reliable? I will be using 2 monitors, but my video card can do SLI.

How important is power supply wattage?

Do I need more fans than just the processing cooling fan? Do I need a case fan?

I'm leaning towards pairing my video card with this with the idea of adding more ram later if I need it...or a better video card if nesscessary. You can take a look if you think other systems might be better suited for me.

Biostar N68S3B Quad Core Barebones Kit - Biostar N68S3B Mobo, AMD Phenom II X4 925 CPU, Corsair 4GB DDR3 RAM, Seagate 1TB HDD, 24x DVDRW, DiabloTek ATX Mid-Tower, 450W Power Supply at TigerDirect.com

Thanks in advance for your help.

tastybasslines · #2 08-02-2011, 01:47 PM

I forgot to mention, I also plan on streaming, and recording as well.

Auzzie-Phoenix · #3 08-02-2011, 02:04 PM

Ditch the barebones power supply and the stock cooling fan. The psu's they use to power stuff in barebones towers tend to be really cheap and burn out. Get something like an enermax or corsair supply.

As for the cooling fan/heatsink, bigger is better. Stock coolers work ok for general use but can't keep up in hot weather or under higher than normal processing loads.

Pricewise it seems fine, but keep in mind that this comes at a sacrifice. Looking at the mainboard, I will recommend buying a separate video card, rather than relying on the board's built-in chipset. The nvidia 7000 series runs hot and had/has issues with performance. The number of usb ports is fine if you don't have a lot of usb devices, but typically you see more built on-board with other manuf's.
By looking at the package, I'd see if you could bump up the processor to the Phenom II 965 chip for a few bucks extra.

Overall: swap cooler/heatsink, power supply, and get a dedicated graphics card (nvidia 8000 series or higher, or ati 5700 series or higher). With those changes, it should be able to do what you need it for without having to worry about heat/performance or in the case of the power supply, lasting less than a year.

Longhair · #4 08-02-2011, 02:10 PM

I built a dual cpu, 2GB memory system back in 2001 and it lasted for a good 8 years - pushing CAD programs without blinking.

I was out of the hardware game since then and it took me about a week to realize that it would be 75% cheaper if I bought a Dell Precision T7400 than if I built it with the same specs.

Dell being the hit & miss company that they are, about 1-1/2 years later I realized that something wasn't quite right since it wouldn't run Windows 7 properly. After replacing 5 motherboards, 2 CPUs, video card & power supply they finally replaced the whole system (T7500 with better specs) and reset the clock on the 3 year warranty.

The T7400 was the only lemon out of probably 20 new & used Dell computers that I have first hand experience with. Of course they are all from the business line - makes a difference.

MJ5150 · #5 08-02-2011, 02:13 PM

Spend the extra cash for a SSD, at least for the OS drive. My personal preference is at least double the RAM of the processor speed.

-Mike

tastybasslines · #6 08-02-2011, 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MJ5150

Spend the extra cash for a SSD, at least for the OS drive. My personal preference is at least double the RAM of the processor speed.

-Mike

Why an SSD Mike?

tastybasslines · #7 08-02-2011, 03:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Auzzie-Phoenix

Ditch the barebones power supply and the stock cooling fan. The psu's they use to power stuff in barebones towers tend to be really cheap and burn out. Get something like an enermax or corsair supply.

As for the cooling fan/heatsink, bigger is better. Stock coolers work ok for general use but can't keep up in hot weather or under higher than normal processing loads.

Pricewise it seems fine, but keep in mind that this comes at a sacrifice. Looking at the mainboard, I will recommend buying a separate video card, rather than relying on the board's built-in chipset. The nvidia 7000 series runs hot and had/has issues with performance. The number of usb ports is fine if you don't have a lot of usb devices, but typically you see more built on-board with other manuf's.
By looking at the package, I'd see if you could bump up the processor to the Phenom II 965 chip for a few bucks extra.

Overall: swap cooler/heatsink, power supply, and get a dedicated graphics card (nvidia 8000 series or higher, or ati 5700 series or higher). With those changes, it should be able to do what you need it for without having to worry about heat/performance or in the case of the power supply, lasting less than a year.

I've been told about the power supply before...I think I'll take your advice.

Maybe I'll take a little longer to build it so cash flow stay cool.

tastybasslines · #8 08-02-2011, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Longhair

I built a dual cpu, 2GB memory system back in 2001 and it lasted for a good 8 years - pushing CAD programs without blinking.

I was out of the hardware game since then and it took me about a week to realize that it would be 75% cheaper if I bought a Dell Precision T7400 than if I built it with the same specs.

Dell being the hit & miss company that they are, about 1-1/2 years later I realized that something wasn't quite right since it wouldn't run Windows 7 properly. After replacing 5 motherboards, 2 CPUs, video card & power supply they finally replaced the whole system (T7500 with better specs) and reset the clock on the 3 year warranty.

The T7400 was the only lemon out of probably 20 new & used Dell computers that I have first hand experience with. Of course they are all from the business line - makes a difference.

75% cheaper with Dell, same specs? Really that much over DIY?

MJ5150 · #9 08-02-2011, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tastybasslines

Why an SSD Mike?

In my experience, it performs faster. Of course, there are now SATA drives like the WD VelociRaptor that have great I/O performance. Plus, those little drives look cool.

-Mike

Selta · #10 08-02-2011, 04:09 PM

SSDs run cooler, consume less power and have higher throughput than any platter based HDD. A single SSD will even go head to head with VelociRaptor's in RAID0, especially since the seek time on the SSD is 0ms. My gaming rig, my laptop and my recording PC all now have SSDs in them for OS. Most bulk storage is on a 10TB NAS, though my gaming rig has a 1TB HDD local to it and the recording PC has an additional SSD for local storage as well.