|
|||||||
 |
|
|
LinkBack | Thread Tools | Search this Thread | Rate Thread | Display Modes |
01-14-2007, 08:08 PM
|
#1 |
|
Member (3 bit)
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 4
|
Theoretically... 3 PCs
First off, this site looks like the very thing I was looking for!
 clap clapI really do not know much about computers, and I need some serious help. I am supposed to build three PCs (theoretically, on paper) for a school project. One would be a very cheap one, one would be just regular, and one would be a dream-come-true expensive computer. I am guessing the cheap one would be under 800-900 USD, the regular one would be around 1100-1500, the expensive one 2000 +, without counting the software and the OS (which I decided would be Microsoft XP Home, just for convenience). I have done some research, and I decided that I would make * the cheap one a basic computer for word processing, web surfing, etc. * the regular one a gaming PC * the expensive one a gaming / photo & movie editing / music / graphic PC Could I have some help in assembling these 3 PCs? right now, I have put together: #1 Cheap (Basic word processing): Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813138269 CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103023 RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820161626 Hard drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822152501 Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119068 CD-Rom (I don't think I will include DVD): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827134012 #2 Regular (Gaming): Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131530 CPU: [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103544/url] Sound card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16829102011 Video card: ?? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130047 maybe? RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145575 Power supply: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16842117005 Hard Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822144701 Case: http://www.pcpartscollection.com/comace5cablc1.html CD/DVD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827136088 #3 Expensive (graphics): Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813121021 RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820144056 CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116001 Sound cards: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16829102190 Video card: do I need one? or is it included in the motherboard? Hard drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822152052 CD/DVD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827131039 Case: http://amamax.com/aocab3mibtx1.html That's.. it, I think. Wow.. LOTS of info. =) I know I need to get a monitor, keyboard, mouse, other I/O devices (I'm thinking of a drawing tablet for the expensive one), and the software.. But how does everything look so far? I have tried to look for things that seemed.. compatible, but I'm not sure if I got them all. =) So.. to wrap up: 1. How does this look? Any changes? Any additional things? 2. Do I need a sound / video card for the cheap PC? 3. What is the power supply and the cooling system? Do I need one for each of the PC? I don't understand how much "watts" each one needs. Can you give me recommendations please? 4. What cables do I need to purchase? 5. What is an EPROM? the teacher mentioned it in class, but I just didn't get it and did not include it. Do i need any other ROM? this is one wacky project.. gahh Please remember that I am "building" three PCs on paper (listing the prices and the parts), so i am not limited by a budget. thanks all in advance! 
Last edited by sophiehoo; 01-14-2007 at 08:51 PM. |
|
|
|
01-14-2007, 08:28 PM
|
#2 |
|
Not so new
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Maryland, United States
Posts: 2,576
 |
You seem to be taking the wrong approach to this, let me make some suggestions.
Comp. 1 Motherboard: I'm not fond of it - SiS chipsets are not great. I suggest the Asus A8N-VM. CPU: You need a retail boxed unit or else it won't include a cooling device. RAM: Corsair is a proven winner - get 2x256mb or 2x512mb. Hard Drive: You need a 3.5" hard drive, SATA. Case: Fine. CD-ROM: Okay I guess, but DVD drives are really the norm now, and I would pick Lite-On (retail versions only). Comp. 2 Motherboard: That's for experts, I suggest the Asus A8N-E since Asus makes high quality, user-friendly boards. CPU: Invalid link, but you'll want an Athlon 64 X2 processor (dual core). Sound Card: That is for notebooks, and it isn't even necessary. Video Card: Out of date, the eVGA 7600gt or 7900gs would be my pick. Memory: Good. Power Supply: That isn't a power supply, you want something that fits into the case with power connectors for your hardware, I suggest Antec or FSP. Hard Drive: Good. Case: Good CD-ROM: Once again, think DVD. Power Supply: You need one, at least 500w. Comp. 3 Motherboard: I suggest an Asus P5B RAM: Windows XP cannot even use more than 3gb, so drop down to 2x1gb of something from Corsair (at least DDR2-667). CPU: Not really that powerful - choose a Core 2 Duo E6600. Sound Card: Good. Video Card: Yes, you need one - go for something from ATI, the X1950XT selected in the gaming build would be awesome, or even something that is DX10 like the nVidia 8800GTS/GTX series cards. Hard Drive: Western Digital and Seagate make awesome drives, I suggest the Seagate 7200.10 series DVD Drive: Good, but Lite-On drives are also good. Case: Um... I guess it is okay, but I'd suggest one similar to the ones you selected above. Power Supply: You need one, at least 500w.
__________________
“To me there are three things everyone should do every day. Number one is laugh. Number two is think -- spend some time in thought. Number three, you should have your emotions move you to tears. If you laugh, think and cry, that's a heck of a day.” - Jim Valvano |
|
|
|
|
01-14-2007, 08:33 PM
|
#3 |
|
V12
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Houston, T.E.X.A.S
Posts: 3,488
|
Your cheap one is well too cheap. You should pick quality components or buy a dell. For the motherboard get an asus motherboard with Onboard Video, a OEM processor means you will need to buy a separate heatsink/fan unit, get corsair valueselect ram instead, your hard drive link is not working, and your sure you dont need a CDRW drive instead? You also forgot a powersupply unit.
I highly suggest you rethink your second to a Core 2 Duo build. Neither sound card, if your spending money on a sound card go all out or just stick with onboard sound. I suggest at a minimum a Audigy ZS or X-Fi xtrememusic. The 7800GTX is outdated. Look at the 7900GT or better, a X1950PRO, or a 7600GT if its for light gaming. That is not a powersupply, that is a UPS, you need a PC ATX powersupply unit. Do a search for a Silverstone ST50EF. And again, I highly suggest you go for a Lite-On DVDRW drive for maximum bang/buck. And swap that hard drive for a Sata seagate 7200.10 series. Last one. Once again, go with a core 2 duo processor and a compatible motherboard. Otherwise, go with 2gb dual kit of corsair ddr2 valueselect. Yes your motherboard has onboard video, but dont even think of gaming or doing anything graphically intensive on it. Go with a X1950Pro or better at a minimum. Go with a Seagate 7200.10 series hard drive instead. Go with a retail lite-on DVD Burner. That case is not compatible, go with a ATX case from a quality manufacturer, like lian li or coolermaster to name a few. 1. See above 2. Get a motherboard with onboard video and use onboard sound. 3. Go with a Silverstone 360w for the cheap one, a Silverstone ST50EF for the medium one if you go with a videocard, and a Silverstone ST50EF or a Corsair 520W HX depending on videocard choice. 4. All the cables you need will come with your motherboard box. 5. EPROM usually refers to the BIOS chip on your motherboard. Said BIOS chip contains the information needed to run your motherboard. EPROM is like flash memory.
__________________
“We must not let ourselves get driven off course, no matter what happens we must stick to our natural game” -Zenedine Zidane Last edited by Mr.Ferrari; 01-14-2007 at 08:59 PM. |
|
|
|
|
01-14-2007, 11:51 PM
|
#4 |
|
Member (7 bit)
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 67
|
Could you elaborate on the nature of your project and what you're trying to achieve?
Also, is the dream machine limited in any way (budget-wise, primarily)? Reason I ask, is that systems can get truly ridiculous if you let them. For the ultimate dream machine, you need to at least consider the QX6700 processor, the ASUS Striker (or other 680i) mobo, some high quality RAM, 8800GTXs in SLI, a Lian Li/Antec/CoolerMaster/Thermaltake case with additional cooling, consider liquid cooling, multiple HDDs in a RAID array, premium sound system, premium display, your choice of laser mouse, people like the G15 keyboard, possibly multiple optical drives (BluRay, HD DVD, DVD+/-RW). Way above the $2000 mark. And this doesn't even touch the possibility of reaching for a server level board with Opterons/Xeons (see the "God Box" at arstechnica link below). If you want some other ideas on ultimate systems, check out some of the other tech sites, also look into one of the recent Gaming for Windows issues, they have an "Ultimate Gaming Rig" article in there, including OC'd QX6700's, if memory servers. Check this out at extremetech.com http://www.extremetech.com/category2...,644478,00.asp and this at arstechnica http://arstechnica.com/guides/buyer/...ide-200612.ars and here's a slightly aged "$10,000 PC" at Tom's Hardware (note the graphics adapters used) http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/09/..._pc/page2.html Enjoy! (It's always nice to dream a bit )
|
|
|
|
|
01-15-2007, 12:37 AM
|
#6 |
|
V12
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Houston, T.E.X.A.S
Posts: 3,488
|
Much better. Dont forget a copy of Windows XP for each machine.
#1 Ati chipsets arent the greatest, but theres not much choice with 939 boards that have onboard video so its ok. I would however swap that Samsung out for a Seagate 7200.10 series in SATA. Samsung's aren't known for their reliability. Your case and cd-rom links arent working. You still need a powersupply though. Something like this should do the trick: Silverstone 360w Xclio 450w Truthfully you dont need more then 300w, but with the price differences being so minimal, with the powersupplies I just suggested, you will be able to upgrade to a video card in the future. #2 Motherboard link not working. Once again, for a price range such as this, I HIGHLY suggest a Core 2 Duo build, they will run laps around AMD's. Something like a P5L-MX or a P5B coupled with a E6300 would save you money and offer better performance. Dont bother with that sound card, your onboard sound from the motherboard will be just as good or better. Only buy a sound card if your prepared on shelling out $100+. Go with the Sapphire version of the X1950PRO-better warranty, but from those two I would pick the Powercolor. -Your ram link is not working. -Go with the Second hard drive. The NON-ES version. $94.99. -Your CD/DVD link is not working. #3 Go with the P5B DELUXE. That ram is great, but you could easily do with some 2X1GB Corsair Valueselect DDR2 667 and save some $$. I would also personally downgrade the CPU to an E6600 and spend the money towards a better graphics card. Something like a X1950XT perhaps. The armor case is decent, but I found it heavy and poorly designed, take a look at CoolerMaster's Stacker series for an alternative if you so desire. Your powersupply link is the same as the one for your dvd burner. I suggest the Silverstone ST50EF or the Corsair 520W HX. |
|
|
|
|
01-15-2007, 01:01 AM
|
#8 |
|
Not so new
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Maryland, United States
Posts: 2,576
|
Your links didn't work because when you copy and paste them, the forum automatically shortens them.
There are a number of things I don't like about that new list... 1. Motherboard. nForce4 is an unstable platform for Intel, simply put. Either go with an Intel chipset or nVidia 680i SLI. 2. Graphics Card. Unacceptable when you consider the value of it compared to other cards - the X1950XT is a nice card, but you could also step it up to a high end nVidia 8800GTX card. 3. CPU Cooler. What is that? I certainly wouldn't trust that to cool my processor. Be careful with Tom's Hardware - I don't think they are your number one source for help. Last edited by newbuilder14; 01-15-2007 at 01:06 AM. |
|
|
|
|
01-15-2007, 01:10 AM
|
#9 |
|
V12
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Houston, T.E.X.A.S
Posts: 3,488
|
Do you really want to shell out that much..? Toms Hardware list isnt the smartest thing to go by..
I highly suggest you stick to newegg. Your sources are all over the price. Heck, one of them is in CANADA. 
|
|
|
|
|
01-15-2007, 01:15 AM
|
#10 |
|
Member (3 bit)
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 4
|
thanks Newbuilder
 i took your suggestions yeah, Mr. Ferrari.. This whole project is completely direction-less and pointless, especially the dream-computer one. I'm just trying to put together as expensive parts as possible that would work together as a PC lmao
|
|
|
|
|
01-15-2007, 11:37 AM
|
#11 |
|
Forum Administrator
Staff
Premium Member
Join Date: May 2000
Location: Joplin MO
Posts: 37,765
|
Here's my standard recommendations in all 3 categories - no links will be provided, this is the short version. Case and internal components only, figure out peripherals by yourself. Assuming some flavor of WinXP on the first 2 and 64 bit Vista on the top end one.
1. Basic word processor/web surfer/business box: Foxconn TS-1 case Asus P5L-MX motherboard Pentium-D 915 processor 2x512mb Corsair VS DDR2-667 kit 80gb Seagate SATA hard drive Lite-On retail DVD burner Price is in the mid $400's. 2. Midrange gaming machine: Antec Sonata II case Asus P5B motherboard E6600 processor 2x1gb Corsair XMS2 DDR2-800 kit 320gb Seagate 7200.10 SATA hard drive Same Lite-On Radeon X1950XT video Price is around $1200. Monster: I hate to do it, but I gotta recommend SLI here. A Lian-Li case of some sort. PC Power & Cooling 1kw PSU Asus Striker Extreme motherboard QX6700 processor 4x1gb Corsair XMS2 DDR2-800 - 2 2x1gb kits 150gb WD Raptor 750gb Seagate 7200.10 (1 or more) 2 Plextor SATA DVD burners 2 8800GTX video cards Creative X-Fi Elite sound card That's about 5 grand there. |
|
|
|
|
01-15-2007, 02:09 PM
|
#12 | |
|
Member (7 bit)
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 67
|
Quote:
I don't know, however, that (with an unlimited budget) I wouldn't go with the Qx6700. First off, money isn't an issue in that sort of exercise. Secondly, you will get some of the dividends, since the OP mentioned tasks such as video editing and photography, where current software can take advantage of the quad core setup. |
|
|
|
|
|
01-15-2007, 02:15 PM
|
#13 |
|
Member (10 bit)
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Western PA
Posts: 691
|
Man you must be really rich. Where are you getting all the money?
__________________
Case...Cooler Master Centurion 5 | PSU...Corsair TX750 Mobo............Gigabyte GA-MA69G-S3H CPU..............AMD Athlon 64 X2, OC @ 3.0ghz RAM.............2gb Gskill DDR2 800 CPU Cooler...Zalman 9700 GPU.............Sapphire 4870HD Monitor.........22" Acer LCD Storage........500gb Seagate DVD.............Lite On DVD Burner Windows Vista 64 bit |
|
|
|
|
01-15-2007, 02:21 PM
|
#14 |
|
Member (9 bit)
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Indiana
Posts: 500
|
Goodness people, he is just assembling part lists for a school project. He isn't actually going to build these.
Just for the Heck of it, here is my high end list: $998.00 - Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 Kentsfield 2.66GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115011 $419.99 - ASUS Striker Extreme LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX The Ultimate Gaming Motherboard - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131074 $1219.98 - TWO (for SLI) eVGA 768-P2-N835-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB 384-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 SUPERCLOCKED HDCP Video Card - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130079 $679.99 - SONY 8X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 4X DVD+R DL 8X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 5X DVD-RAM 2X BD-R 2X BD-RE 2X BD-ROM 8X DVD-ROM 24X CD-R 16X CD-RW 32X CD-ROM 8M Cache P-ATA/E-IDE Blu-ray DVD Burner - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827131034 $105.99 - PLEXTOR Black 16X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 10X DVD+R DL 16X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 24X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2M Cache SATA DVD Burner With White bezel,AUTOSTRATEGY,PoweRec - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827249006 $679.98 - (2 in Raid 1 for redundancy ) Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3750640AS 750GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148134 $599.99 - PC Power & Cooling Turbo-Cool 1KW-SR EPS12V 1000W Continuous @ 50°C Power Supply 90 - 264 V UL, cUL, CE, TUV, RoHS - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817703007 $125.99 - Creative 70SB046A00000 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Interface Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Professional Series - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16829102005 $169.99 - Thermaltake Armor Series VA8003BWS Black Full Tower Case w/ 25CM Fan - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811133021 $610.00 - CORSAIR Dominator 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1111 (PC2 8888) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145044 $19.99 - CORSAIR CMXAF1 Fans - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835704001 $3,899.99 - NEC Display Solutions LCD4610-BK-IT Black 46" 8ms DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor 450 cd/m2 800:1 - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824002132 $89.99 - Microsoft Windows XP Home Sp2b 1pk w/Upgrade Coupon for Vista - OEM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116169 $429.99 - Creative GigaWorks S750 700 Watts 7.1 Speaker - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16836116142 $139.99 - Hauppauge WinTV-PVR 500 MCE White box PCI Interface Personal Video Recorder -Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16815116628 $42.99 - Koutech KW-F7209-B 9-in-1 USB 2.0 Multifunction Front Panel Card Reader - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820162409 $54.99 - Tuniq Tower 120 P4 & K8 CPU Cooler - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835154001 $5.99 - Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835100007 $16.99 - Microsoft CA9-00001 Black 103 Normal Keys 3 Function Keys PS/2 Standard Basic Keyboard and Mouse Mouse Included - OEM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16823109132 $10,400.80 Total...YIKES!!!
__________________
| i7 950 @ 4.0 Ghz | Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme | 4870 1GB | 6GB DDR3 1600 Kingston | Gigabyte X58A-UD3R | 1TB, 500GB, 320GB, & 160GB Seagates | Corsair 520W | HDTV Tuner | Logsis Green Transparent Case | Windows 7 Home Premium | 25" Hanspree 1080p LCD | Cyber Acoustics 5.1 Surround Sound | Chaintech AV710 w/ Via Envy 24 | 17,478 3DMark06 (Old CPU) | Last edited by andper10; 01-15-2007 at 02:29 PM. |
|
|
|
|
01-16-2007, 05:39 PM
|
#15 |
|
Member (7 bit)
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Colorado
Posts: 72
|
Has anyone suggested a motherborad with more than one processor slot? Do they even have such a thing?
__________________
www.mormonpilot.com |
|
|
|
|
01-16-2007, 05:42 PM
|
#16 |
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Alberta, Canada
Posts: 1,383
|
AMDs Quad FX or '4x4' platform is all I know of. Asus makes one of the 2 in existence, though I'm not sure if they are for sale yet...they are supposed to have the FX 70,72 and 74 in them I think.
EDIT: I was wrong. It exists, just google it.
__________________
TFH, paraphrased: the bultin brner wouldnt evn boot it a usb burner woud but ten it gaeve an eror after i typed teh prduct key. i dont no waht it was it was a missng file, i fergt waht ti was but ti loked imporant can any1 help PLZ?! Check out PCP! (that's PCProfiles in case you thought I was on angel dust) http://www.pcprofiles.com/p/hitchface Last edited by hitchface; 01-16-2007 at 05:51 PM. |
|
|
|
|
01-16-2007, 06:27 PM
|
#17 |
|
Not so new
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Maryland, United States
Posts: 2,576
|
There are plenty of server motherboards - I did a build using 2 Opteron 265s in an Asus K8N-DL.
|
|
|
|
|
| Bookmarks |
| Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
| Display Modes | Rate This Thread |
|
|
Similar Threads
|
||||
| Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
| How do I give permission to access my folders on other PCs on my home network? | cheezymonkey | Networking & Online Security | 4 | 07-21-2004 07:23 AM |
| Small business solution - PC's networked or a server? | Familyman | Computer Hardware | 11 | 04-30-2004 06:26 PM |
| Need help purchasing 2 pc's | cocoa | Computer Hardware | 31 | 01-16-2004 08:43 PM |
| XP Pro: How do I connect two pc's to each other through a Router? | Steady Teddy | Networking & Online Security | 3 | 12-31-2002 01:35 PM |
| Wired Networking questions fo 3 new pc's | kindred1 | Networking & Online Security | 2 | 08-04-2002 08:55 AM |
Linear Mode
