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building a pc
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building a pc
Friday, January 26, 2007 at 11:22 pm
Posted by aliasnp (8 messages posted)

hi i am thinking of building my own pc which i will run windows vista ultimate on. the specs are below the purpose of this machine is for some gaming and photo and video editing and the usual things normal people use their computer for. can you guys tell me if this configuration would work?? thanks guys aliasnp Case- undecided Motherboard- Foxconn P9657AA-8EKRS2H CPU- Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.40 GHz RAM- Corsair VS1GB667D2 1GB Value Select PC-5300 DDR2 RAM Hard Drive- WD 36 GB 10,000 RPM SATA HDD Hard Drive- 250GB Seagate 7200rpm HDD Graphics Card- GeForce 7900 GPUs 256MB Keyboard- Logitech g15 Mouse- Logitech MX900 CD burner/DVD reader- liteon SHM165h6s Wireless card- D-LINK DWL-G520 XtremeG 11/54/108Mbs sound card- CREATIVE SOUNDBLASTER 5.1 PCI SOUND CARD

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re: building a pc
Saturday, January 27, 2007 at 2:53 am
Posted by Patrick Moran (30 messages posted)

Not bad... but for video editing I am in the process of saving for my ultimate PC.. this is my choice. Intel dual Processor Workstation Motherboard (physical dual) with support for the new quad core processors 4gigs of ram 1 gig dual output video card 2 -SATA 500 Gig hard drives Blue Ray DVD Recorder Dual Layer DVD Recorder with light scribe Klipsche Pro Audio THX speakers 2 -21inch CRT monitors (flat panels are not fast enough for games or video editing) APC 1500 RS Battery Backup Logitech Desktop (keyboard and mouse) Last and certainly the most underestimated a big Antec File server case (SOHO) with as many cooling fans as you can stick in it.. stay away from lights and clear cases you want that puppy cool because Vista is an ungodly hog and you will have enough trouble keeping your stuff cool as it is... case fans and hard drive fans and airflow around your video card (because the geniuses that designed the video card architecture have the heat sinks either sideways or upside down depending on the position of the board in a case... in a tower case why would you want a heat sink upside down.. heat rises last I recall.. but anyway I degress... keep it all cool and nice and tight with cables and cable ties.


On Friday, January 26, 2007 at 11:22 pm, aliasnp wrote:
>hi i am thinking of building my own pc which i will run windows vista ultimate on.
>the specs are below the purpose of this machine is for some gaming and photo and
>video editing and the usual things normal people use their computer for.
>can you guys tell me if this configuration would work??
>thanks guys
>aliasnp
>
>Case- undecided
>Motherboard- Foxconn P9657AA-8EKRS2H
>CPU- Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.40 GHz
>RAM- Corsair VS1GB667D2 1GB Value Select PC-5300 DDR2 RAM
>Hard Drive- WD 36 GB 10,000 RPM SATA HDD
>Hard Drive- 250GB Seagate 7200rpm HDD
> Graphics Card- GeForce 7900 GPUs 256MB
>Keyboard- Logitech g15
>Mouse- Logitech MX900
>CD burner/DVD reader- liteon SHM165h6s
>Wireless card- D-LINK DWL-G520 XtremeG 11/54/108Mbs
>sound card- CREATIVE SOUNDBLASTER 5.1 PCI SOUND CARD

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re: building a pc
Saturday, January 27, 2007 at 4:28 am
Posted by aliasnp (8 messages posted)

hi how many milliseconds are CRTs down to?? sureley you wouldn't notice too much of a difference would you unless you are having a LAN party with other people using CRT's. i do know of a case that i can get from the local computer shop that has aliminium sheets with holes all drilled in it in black (something like a mac G5 case....sorry i think mac may be a swear word around here....sure is for me) looks like there is a lot of cooling i will probably rig in fans wherever i can possibly fit them. you may note that in comparison to gaming machines this one is fairly modest i have got and AUD$2000 budget although i will probably go over by $500 but who cares.....if i really get serious about gaming i can always upgrade parts.....so will this rig be compatible you all reckon? also the 10,000 rpm hdd is to install vista on (the ultimate version i can get it for under $300 aud) so it will run faster and the remaining space can be used for video and photo editing.

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re: building a pc
Saturday, January 27, 2007 at 5:34 am
Posted by Steve (21646 messages posted)

I couldn't get my Video Editing Software to work well, and some cases not at all with Vista. For now I would suggest using XP. Vista it seems is more protective of Digital Rights Management which may be the problem. Vista will be a more secure Web surfer though.

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re: building a pc
Saturday, January 27, 2007 at 6:31 am
Posted by Dan Sarandrea, MCSE (7096 messages posted)

Whenever I build a computer, I consider the motherboard the "foundation" and I choose 
it carefully.

If using an Intel processor my first choice in mobos is Intel, but if I don't find 
what I like (sometimes the selection can be a little thin), I look at Asus next.

If using an AMD processor my first choice is always an Asus motherboard.

With you specs you won't see this problem, but if you had chosen a mobo with say 
a certain nVidia chipset, you would have found out like I did that there is a curious 
incompatibility with some nVidia chipsets and the Lite-On DVD burner you chose, in 
that when connected to certain nVidia chipsets the Lit-On will not allow booting 
the computer from the Vista DVD.  I RMA'd the on I had am waiting for the replacement 
from Lite-On, they will be sending me a different model that does not have that curious 
incompatibility.

I would think that your proposed system would give you at least a 4.5 on the Windows 
Vista Experience index.

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re: building a pc
Saturday, January 27, 2007 at 8:07 am
Posted by Ricer46 (22013 messages posted)

While I would encourage anyone to experience the "fun" of building their own computer, 
be aware that it can be a very frustrating experience. There is a relatively high 
probability (IMO) of having one bad component -- probably about 5 to 10%. Troubleshooting 
these problems can be very difficult if you don't have a lot of experience and some 
spare parts. I haven't bought a built computer since 1984, having built new, or modified 
old on an annual basis since then. 

Do your homework and research up front and be thorough. In general there is limited 
value in getting inputs from others  about your choices, typically their statistical 
database is too small to many anything. Dan might be an exception on that, and Steve 
is also very knowledgable about video systems. Even though I've built over 50 systems 
total, I wouldn't trust my own advice, because things change so rapidly, and I built 
my current system 10 months ago. While it's pretty good for the most part, it has 
some major TV recording problems compared to my last box. I've been really disappointed 
in the ATI Theatre 550 pro card. Be aware that the aluminum cases, while supposedly 
better for cooling are extremely fragile. 
Good sites for research are:
www.anandtech.com
www.tomshardware.com
I'd also do a google search on "cool pcs" and "quiet pcs" but those issues may not 
be a priority to you.






On Friday, January 26, 2007 at 11:22 pm, aliasnp wrote:
>hi i am thinking of building my own pc which i will run windows vista ultimate on.
>the specs are below the purpose of this machine is for some gaming and photo and
>video editing and the usual things normal people use their computer for.
>can you guys tell me if this configuration would work??
>thanks guys
>aliasnp
>
>Case- undecided
>Motherboard- Foxconn P9657AA-8EKRS2H
>CPU- Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.40 GHz
>RAM- Corsair VS1GB667D2 1GB Value Select PC-5300 DDR2 RAM
>Hard Drive- WD 36 GB 10,000 RPM SATA HDD
>Hard Drive- 250GB Seagate 7200rpm HDD
> Graphics Card- GeForce 7900 GPUs 256MB
>Keyboard- Logitech g15
>Mouse- Logitech MX900
>CD burner/DVD reader- liteon SHM165h6s
>Wireless card- D-LINK DWL-G520 XtremeG 11/54/108Mbs
>sound card- CREATIVE SOUNDBLASTER 5.1 PCI SOUND CARD

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re: building a pc
Saturday, January 27, 2007 at 9:09 am
Posted by Richard Harris (258 messages posted)

Creating a computer with the latest hardware and latest Microsoft operating system 
will be "exciting".  It may also be very frustrating.

Consider waiting until after Service Pack 1 for Vista is released to reduce the potnetial 
for glitches and gotchas.  Also, by that time more hardware may have Vista drives, 
and more applications will have Vista-compatible versions or patches.

Finally, with a new motherboard, wait 3-6 months for the maker to find errors and 
issue updates to the BIOS and the drivers for on-board components.

Or, if you are fearless, and consider this project a "hobby" rather than a quick 
path to a super PC, then by all means, drive in.





On Friday, January 26, 2007 at 11:22 pm, aliasnp wrote:
>hi i am thinking of building my own pc which i will run windows vista ultimate on.
>the specs are below the purpose of this machine is for some gaming and photo and
>video editing and the usual things normal people use their computer for.
>can you guys tell me if this configuration would work??
>thanks guys
>aliasnp
>
>Case- undecided
>Motherboard- Foxconn P9657AA-8EKRS2H
>CPU- Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.40 GHz
>RAM- Corsair VS1GB667D2 1GB Value Select PC-5300 DDR2 RAM
>Hard Drive- WD 36 GB 10,000 RPM SATA HDD
>Hard Drive- 250GB Seagate 7200rpm HDD
> Graphics Card- GeForce 7900 GPUs 256MB
>Keyboard- Logitech g15
>Mouse- Logitech MX900
>CD burner/DVD reader- liteon SHM165h6s
>Wireless card- D-LINK DWL-G520 XtremeG 11/54/108Mbs
>sound card- CREATIVE SOUNDBLASTER 5.1 PCI SOUND CARD

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re: building a pc
Saturday, January 27, 2007 at 9:23 am
Posted by C K (6525 messages posted)

As a builder for business clients for many years, I would agree with Richard.  Also 
I would make these observations.

1)  Make sure you use recommended memory usually listed in the owners manual.  Use 
it in dual channel mode which would require two matched modules and go for 2 gig 
of memory, which would mean two matched 1 gig memory modules.  You can get these 
in matched pair sets from Crucial.  This doubles your effective FSB speed and will 
make a big difference in gaming and video work/rendering.

2) The board has 7.1 sound on it and using an old 5.1 SB Live may be a step backward. 
 I wouldn't put that in unless the onboard sound proves to be worse (or problematic) 
than the old SB Live.

3)  You don't list if your big HDD is SATA or not, so if it is PATA, make sure the 
board supports the old PATA drive interface.  The chip specs indicate that it doesn't 
(without looking at the complete board specs).

It is always tempting to buy brand new hardware when it is released but most of the 
time there are issues so unless you are a seasoned builder, it an be very frustrating 
troubleshooting issues and bugs, so I would say to wait about 6 months during which 
the prices may drop a little, and issues/bugs identified and corrected.

Final note, look at a lot of cases so that you buy one that is easy to work in and 
uses as many 120 mm vent fans as possible.  They will move more air with less noise 
and make sure that there is a fan blowing air (from the outside) over the hard drives. 
 Don't skimp on the PSU either.  It can make, or break a good system and cause odd 
failures/errors..  







On Friday, January 26, 2007 at 11:22 pm, aliasnp wrote:
>hi i am thinking of building my own pc which i will run windows vista ultimate on.
>the specs are below the purpose of this machine is for some gaming and photo and
>video editing and the usual things normal people use their computer for.
>can you guys tell me if this configuration would work??
>thanks guys
>aliasnp
>
>Case- undecided
>Motherboard- Foxconn P9657AA-8EKRS2H
>CPU- Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.40 GHz
>RAM- Corsair VS1GB667D2 1GB Value Select PC-5300 DDR2 RAM
>Hard Drive- WD 36 GB 10,000 RPM SATA HDD
>Hard Drive- 250GB Seagate 7200rpm HDD
> Graphics Card- GeForce 7900 GPUs 256MB
>Keyboard- Logitech g15
>Mouse- Logitech MX900
>CD burner/DVD reader- liteon SHM165h6s
>Wireless card- D-LINK DWL-G520 XtremeG 11/54/108Mbs
>sound card- CREATIVE SOUNDBLASTER 5.1 PCI SOUND CARD

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re: building a pc
Sunday, January 28, 2007 at 4:22 am
Posted by aliasnp (8 messages posted)

hi thanks for the input the big drive is a SATA. what PSU would you recommend?? i intend to put in as many 120 ml (or whatever you recommended) as possible but hey if it gets too hot i can always pull the cover off but i intend to get a good case...have you guys got some reccomendations? thanks in advance

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re: building a pc
Sunday, January 28, 2007 at 4:29 am
Posted by MartinM (5115 messages posted)

But not as big a change as moving to Opera or FireFox - sorry, couldn't resist !

:-)

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re: building a pc
Tuesday, January 30, 2007 at 4:13 pm
Posted by C K (6525 messages posted)

This is one of my favorite cases:

http://www.pcabusers.com/reviews/antec/p160/p1.htm

So I would say that Lian Li and Antec cases are still my favorites.  PSU, I have 
had the best luck with Enermax.  At least 500 watts.  Personally I like redundant 
PSUs in case of a failure but that would be expensive and take a server case setup 
for dual PSUs.  This is the case I use for all of my systems:

http://www.dansdata.com/pc76.htm

Expensive but since I build my own systems and plan to keep the case as long as I 
can, I can justify the cost.  These use a bunch of 40 MM fans but they aren't that 
much louder.  You will notice the foam air filter in the front.  It's a good addition 
for keeping out dust if you close off un-needed openings.  There are a number of 
good cases out now so just shop around to see what you like...  








On Sunday, January 28, 2007 at 4:22 am, aliasnp wrote:
>hi thanks for the input
>the big drive is a SATA.
>what PSU would you recommend??
>i intend to put in as many 120 ml (or whatever you recommended) as possible but hey
>if it gets too hot i can always pull the cover off but i intend to get a good case...have
>you guys got some reccomendations?
>thanks in advance

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