please pick this apart

[drb46]

This is a proposed build for use everyday in a pharmacy. Please pick it apart!

Case and Power Supply:
Antec LifeStyle SONATA II Piano Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 450Watt SmartPower 2.0 ATX 12V V2.0 for AMD & Intel systems Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16811129155

Motherboard:
ASUS P5B Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16813131030

Video Card:
eVGA 256-P2-N541-TX GeForce 7600GS 256MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16814130020

CPU:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz 4M sharing L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16819115003

RAM:
CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16820145034

Hard Drives:
Western Digital Raptor X WD1500AHFD 150GB 10,000 RPM 16MB Cache Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16822136011

2 - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (Perpendicular Recording) ST3320620A 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache IDE Ultra ATA100 Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16822148139

Operating System:
Microsoft Windows XP Professional Multilingual SR2 w/SP2B 1 Pack - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16832116062

The CD drive and backup drive could be salvaged from the current computer. They have all of the other externals.

Total is $1508.93 plus shipping. Thanks a bunch.

[glc]

Everyday use in a pharmacy? You are building a gamer/high end workstation there, not a business box. What kind of stuff will you be running there?

Do NOT buy IDE hard drives, the 965 chipset only has one IDE controller. You are dropping some relatively big bucks here, why reuse an old CD drive to save 30 bucks? Get a DVD burner. Why a multilingual OS?

[drb46]

Originally Posted by glc Everyday use in a pharmacy? You are building a gamer/high end workstation there, not a business box. What kind of stuff will you be running there? Do NOT buy IDE hard drives, the 965 chipset only has one IDE controller. You are dropping some relatively big bucks here, why reuse an old CD drive to save 30 bucks? Get a DVD burner. Why a multilingual OS?

windows, pharmacy software

I didn't realize that I had picked IDE drives or that I had picked a multilingual OS so thanks for pointing that out. Can you suggest a still very fast, but more appropriate cpu and motherboard? I know that the computer that they have now is slow.........I hate slow computers, so overkill on my part.

[Cricket]

Since this is for a business why not just get a motherboard with on-board graphics?

And do they really need 2GB of RAM?

I wouldn't install a Raptor into a business computer either. I'd just go with the Seagates.

When I build for someone I try to build according to their needs, not what I wish they would like in it. The build you're suggesting looks like it's meant for a gamer, not a Pharmacy.

Cricket

[glc]

MUCH overkill. How much storage space do you really need? 800 gigs is pretty over the top.

Good case and PSU. The Foxconn TS-1 is a great choice when it comes back in stock for half the price, the Antec SLK1650B is a great choice too to save some money.
Motherboard: P5L-MX or P5B-VM. Onboard video.
CPU: E6300.
Ram: 1gb Corsair Value Select DDR2-667. 2 gigs if really necessary.
Hard drive (singular) - 1 Seagate 7200.10 SATA, desired capacity, 320gb is the point of cost escalation, no need to go bigger.
Optical: Lite-On DVD burner - SATA, retail.

[drb46]

Originally Posted by Cricket Since this is for a business why not just get a motherboard with on-board graphics? And do they really need 2GB of RAM? I wouldn't install a Raptor into a business computer either. I'd just go with the Seagates. When I build for someone I try to build according to their needs, not what I wish they would like in it. The build you're suggesting looks like it's meant for a gamer, not a Pharmacy. Cricket

The Dell that the software company wants them to buy has 2 GB of RAM. OK, on the rest of the points as long as it will perform, it's just a thing I have with mediocre performance.

[drb46]

Originally Posted by glc MUCH overkill. How much storage space do you really need? 800 gigs is pretty over the top. Good case and PSU. The Foxconn TS-1 is a great choice when it comes back in stock for half the price, the Antec SLK1650B is a great choice too to save some money. Motherboard: P5L-MX or P5B-VM. Onboard video. CPU: E6300. Ram: 1gb Corsair Value Select DDR2-667. 2 gigs if really necessary. Hard drive (singular) - 1 Seagate 7200.10 SATA, desired capacity, 320gb is the point of cost escalation, no need to go bigger. Optical: Lite-On DVD burner - SATA, retail.

I'll not back down on the amount of hard drive storage space or number of drives, but I will change the raptor to a seagate, and I suppose reconfigure to one of the mentioned motherboards. What processor? The Dell that the software company wants them to buy has a dual core intel, but not sure what one. Thanks.

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by drb46 What processor? The Dell that the software company wants them to buy has a dual core intel, but not sure what one. Thanks.

The C2D E6600 is fine if they need that much power. I would have gone with a E6300 to save them some money.

Cricket

[glc]

NOW I'm going to recommend that they buy the Dell that the software company recommends. Been there, done that, they will get much better support if they follow their recommendation. Make your money setting things up for them, not by building a system that may cause you support headaches.

[drb46]

So here's the updated list:

Case and Power Supply:
Antec LifeStyle SONATA II Piano Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 450Watt SmartPower 2.0 ATX 12V V2.0 for AMD & Intel systems Power Supply - Retail

Motherboard:
ASUS P5B-VM Socket T (LGA 775) Intel G965 Express Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

CPU:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 Conroe 1.86GHz 2M sharing L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail

RAM:
CORSAIR ValueSelect 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Desktop Memory - Retail

Hard Drives:
3 - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

DVD Burner:
LITE-ON Black 16X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 16X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2M Cache SATA DVD Burner - Retail

Operating System:
Microsoft Windows XP Pro SP2b 1pk w/Upgrade Coupon for Vista - OEM


Total Now $1074.92 Only thing is I can't tell how fast a machine this is! Will a micro ATX motherboard fit into that case? Thanks.

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by drb46 Will a micro ATX motherboard fit into that case?

Yes. Micro-ATX motherboards will fit in any ATX case...they use the mounting holes as a ATX motherboard.

Cricket

[glc]

Before you pull the trigger - can you find a link to the software manufacturer's site which shows minimum and recommended system requirements? Can you also post the details on the recommended Dell?

Whenever you are dealing with proprietary software, you MUST review these things before going in there and building the customer a system.

[flanzig1]

Another thing to think about is if this computer is a fully stand alone or does it access a server for patient data base/product data/formulary info. If it accesses a server for the different data bases, probably don't need all the HDs

[drb46]

Originally Posted by glc Before you pull the trigger - can you find a link to the software manufacturer's site which shows minimum and recommended system requirements? Can you also post the details on the recommended Dell? Whenever you are dealing with proprietary software, you MUST review these things before going in there and building the customer a system.

Good point, the owner had a sheet from the software company that showed the Dell, but you couldn't tell from what it said what the specs really were. If I can get the specs I will post it. The owner just thinks that they are charging way too much for the Dell....I do too. And they are basically telling him that he has to buy the machine from them. The owner asked me to price a machine, but you are right we really need the Dell specs.

[drb46]

Originally Posted by flanzig1 Another thing to think about is if this computer is a fully stand alone or does it access a server for patient data base/product data/formulary info. If it accesses a server for the different data bases, probably don't need all the HDs

This is the server machine. And he does need the hard drives, trust me.

[Cricket]

It's a server? Geez, that changes everything. Should have mentioned that in your first post.

Cricket

[glc]

Now we MUST see the Dell specs. We are probably looking at having to spec out a server, quite likely with RAID. When you do that, you will find out that the Dell is actually a bargain.

[drb46]

Originally Posted by glc Now we MUST see the Dell specs. We are probably looking at having to spec out a server, quite likely with RAID. When you do that, you will find out that the Dell is actually a bargain.

Here are the only specs that the owner can get out of the software company:

Dell Pentium 4 Processor 3.4 Ghz
2 GB of Ram
160 GB Hard Drive

I'm not trying to build a computer for him, only trying to help him
see what he's getting for his money. I can't even find a Dell on their site to compare it to, and I have nothing against Dell. I would expect that he just about has no choice but to deal with the software company, but boy the prices that they are wanting him to pay for the hardware are something else. I'd like to price a build from Newegg just because my curiosity has gotten the best of me.

I found this processor on Newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116255

And this motherboard:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131586

RAM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145579

Do those items go together? Is that a good starting point?

Thanks.

[newbuilder14]

No, the 915G chipset does not support the Pentium D. I recall someone else making the same mistake here. Here is what you want to get:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116255

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131046

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145098

Or something similar to this setup.

[drb46]

Originally Posted by newbuilder14 No, the 915G chipset does not support the Pentium D. I recall someone else making the same mistake here. Here is what you want to get: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116255 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131046 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145098 Or something similar to this setup.

OK thanks very much for the quick reply. The first link doesn't seem to be valid though.