Config check please

[happyd]

Hi,

I built my first PC about 8 years ago, then bought one off the shelf 4 years ago - but now its time to start building again I think. Could I ask for any opinions on the following config please? And many, many thanks in advance for the time and effort of anyone who replies!

I have to say, even if no-one replies to this, it has been a very good excercise going through it listing it all out and thinking about it in detail!

Regards

happyd

I have one creaky old PC running XP that I want to replace with a nice shiny new one that will be used for some games, some video editing and general email/surfing etc. I also want to store all my family photos and home videos, with a reliable backup and ideally make these available for viewing on our main TV and possibly on the web.

So - I'm thinking of a small network with the main PC, my old one, and a fileserver. A router to connect to the outside world, and the three PCs connected to a Gigibit network for decent transfer speeds between them.

The fileserver would also double as a webserver. I would anticipate that this PC would remain turned all permenantly. My photos/home video would live on the main PC and be backed up onto the fileserver and onto dual layer DVDs.

Prices are in British pounds (GBP) . (FYI currently 1USD = 0.58GBP or 100 GBP = 172 USD). I know I could probably get very slightly cheaper by shopping around, but the prices below will be pretty good UK prices.

It's not really necessary, but I do find noisy computers quite irritating, so hopefully these will be reletively quiet!

Specs

Network :
Router: Linksys WAG354G Wireless-G ADSL 2+ Modem Router Gateway, 4-Port (already have this)
Switch: NetGear 8 Port 10 / 100 / 1000mbps Gigabit Switch (GBP 46.51 = USD 80 )
http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=38DS

Main PC :
Case: Antec Sonata II UK Piano Black Quiet Midi Tower (GBP 79.98 = USD 138 )
http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=3SPW
Mobo: Asustek A8N-SLI PREMIUM S939 nForce4 SLI ATX (GBP 120.00 = USD 206)
http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=3RWF
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4400+ (GBP 347.32 = USD 597)
http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=3R2S
HDD: Western Digital Caviar 320GB S150 8mb 7200rpm X2 configured RAID 0 (GBP 97.47 each = USD 168 each)
http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=3WF8
RAM: Crucial 2x1GB 184Pin DIMM PC3200 Non-ECC Unbuffered (GBP 161.96 = USD 279 each )
http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=3PYD
Pri Optical: LG Electronics DVD+-R/RW 16x IDE (GBP 35.09 = USD 60)
http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=3R86
Sec Optical: None
Sound Card: On-board
Video Card: Sapphire Technology RADEON X800 GTO 256MB PCI-E (GBP 126.86 = USD 218)
http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=3TPV
FDD: Already have
Keyboard: Already have
Mouse: Already have
Modem: N/A
Lan: Gigabit ethernet on mobo
Monitor: Samsung 19"SM913N Standard Stand Analogue LCD TFT Sliver. (GBP 192.70 = USD 331)
http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=3L8R
Speakers: Already have
OS: Microsoft Windows XP Home SP2 Single OEM (GBP 70.12 = USD 121)
http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=3TSQ
Extras: None

FileServer:
Case: Antec TX1050B/Mid Tower SOHO File Server case 500W (GBP 89.39 = USD 154)
http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=3PK0
Mobo: Asustek A8N-SLI PREMIUM S939 nForce4 SLI ATX (GBP 120.00 = USD 206)
http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=3RWF
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3200+ (GBP 109.27 = USD 188)
http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=3P7B
HDD: Western Digital Caviar 80.0GB UDMA100 - this is for OS and applications etc (GBP 35.97 = USD 62)
http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=10M5
HDD: Western Digital Caviar 320GB S150 8mb 7200rpm X5 configured RAID 5 - this is data storage (GBP 97.47 each = USD 168 each)
http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=3WF8
RAM: Crucial 2x512MB 184Pin DIMM PC3200 Unbuffered Non-ECC (GBP 65.45 = USD 113)
http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=3PYJ
Pri Optical: LG Electronics DVD+-R/RW 16x IDE (GBP 35.09 = USD 60)
http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=3R86
Sec Optical: None
Sound Card: On-board
Video Card: Sapphire Technology Radeon 9250 128MB AGP DVI-I VIVO (GBP 29.50 = USD 51)
http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=3H2S
FDD: Already have
Keyboard: Already have
Mouse: Already have
Modem: N/A
Lan: Gigabit ethernet on mobo
Monitor: Already have
Speakers: Already have
OS: Fedora Linux - should be more stable than XP as this PC is on all the time
Extras: None

I would ideally like the fileserver to live in a nice looking wooden cabinet in our entrance hall along with the router and switch and maybe printer. I'm thinking that maybe putting all this into what is basically a wooden box could make overheating a problem? Should I at least monitor the temperature of the PC somehow?

As for getting these onto a TV - I have not explored this yet, but I'm assuming that one of the set top Media Gateways would work, something like the Acer Media Gateway http://www.acer.com

[blue60007]

OK...a number of things:

Main PC:
You need a SLI certified power supply to go with the SLI board.
http://www.slizone.com/object/slizon..._powersupplies

It doesn't make sense to have a $600 CPU and a $200 video card. I would come down to a single core, such as the 4000+. Then go up to a 7800GTX.

Also you have a SLI board and a ATi video card - SLI is for nVidia only... So go with the 7800GTX.

I think there are cheaper optical drives, such as LITE-ON DVD burners (don't know if they are availiable in the UK though).


File server:
It's a bit silly to get a SLI board if this is just going to hold files. I'd get the regular ASUS A8N.

Again, you could probably skimp out on the CPU (Will the file server be used that much?) and go for a slower dual or single core.

Video card: That's AGP, and this is a PCI-E board. Look at the ATi X300 Pro's (avoid hypermemory ones).

[jayb1234]

For video editing the CPU does the work, not the video card. The only reason you would need the 7800GTX video card is if you absolutely have to get every possible FPS in games.

SLI version motherboards: You can drop down to the non-sli version and save some cash unless you want to add a second video card in SLI mode, not really needed, same reason as above

.

Server video card: AGP---not compatable with the motherboard.--get a cheap PCI-E one.

Cases: Antecs are fairly quiet and the included power supplies are good quality.