Son of $600 Graphics build - please review

[cop33]

I didn't want to hijack nightsky's thread so I thought I would post a similar build list. This will be the 3rd computer my son and I will put together. This time it will be a high school graduation present for my daughter (hope to get her involved in the build as well).

Primary uses will be college papers, music storage and some lightduty photo editing using CS2. Photography (now) is a hobby.

Your thoughts on the following:



COOLER MASTER RC-330-KKN1-GP Black SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

COOLER MASTER eXtreme RP-500-PCAR ATX from factor 12V V2.01 500W Power Supply - Retail

ASUS P4V8X-MX Socket 478 VIA P4M800 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

Intel Pentium 4 3.0E Prescott 3.0GHz Socket 478 RoHS Version Processor Model NE80546PG0801M - OEM

ZALMAN CNPS 9500 AM2 2 Ball CPU Cooling Fan/Heatsink - Retail

Kingston ValueRAM 1GB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Desktop Memory Model KVR400X64C3A/1G - Retail

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

SAMSUNG 18X DVD�R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write Black E-IDE/ATAPI Model SH-S182D/BEBE - OEM

Rosewill RCR-FD200 All-in-one USB 2.0 Black 3.5" Card Reader with 1.44MB Floppy Drive - Retail

I'm going to see about getting a student discount on XP Pro.

I just plan on using the on board video, as well.

I have a question. The mobo is a micro atx - is there any problem with alignment holes on the case tray? Never had a micro before, thats why I ask.

Thanks for your input.

[Hazaro]

Originally Posted by cop33 I didn't want to hijack nightsky's thread so I thought I would post a similar build list. This will be the 3rd computer my son and I will put together. This time it will be a high school graduation present for my daughter (hope to get her involved in the build as well). Primary uses will be college papers, music storage and some lightduty photo editing using CS2. Photography (now) is a hobby. Your thoughts on the following:

COOLER MASTER RC-330-KKN1-GP Black SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail


COOLER MASTER eXtreme RP-500-PCAR ATX from factor 12V V2.01 500W Power Supply - Retail


I highly recommend the Cooler Master Centurion 5, for $50 and a very easy deign with a 80mm intake and 120mm exhaust that runs silent it's a great deal. I would advise against included PSU's as most tend to be horribly underrated, don't think of it as a 500W PSU. I think it supports micro ATX... It has alot of holes in it anyway. [MB: ATX, Micro ATX] Yup.


ASUS P4V8X-MX Socket 478 VIA P4M800 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

SATA 1.5, no PCI-E, if you want GFX card later it;s going to have to be AGP.

Intel Pentium 4 3.0E Prescott 3.0GHz Socket 478 RoHS Version Processor Model NE80546PG0801M - OEM

Decent.

ZALMAN CNPS 9500 AM2 2 Ball CPU Cooling Fan/Heatsink - Retail

Unless you are looking to OC, no need for an extra cooler, 9500 sucks compared to similar products in the price range, Ultra 90 should be good if you want one.

Kingston ValueRAM 1GB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Desktop Memory Model KVR400X64C3A/1G - Retail

If you can find a mobo that supports it go for a dual channel 512mb kit

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

Fine choice, make sure your mobo has SATA of course :P

SAMSUNG 18X DVD�R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write Black E-IDE/ATAPI Model SH-S182D/BEBE - OEM

It's a burner, nuff said

Rosewill RCR-FD200 All-in-one USB 2.0 Black 3.5" Card Reader with 1.44MB Floppy Drive - Retail

Card reader, nuff said

I'm going to see about getting a student discount on XP Pro.

I just plan on using the on board video, as well.

I have a question. The mobo is a micro atx - is there any problem with alignment holes on the case tray? Never had a micro before, thats why I ask.

Thanks for your input.

I would think that a graphics card would be needed since it is a "graphics build". Don't know about AGP cards.

For light CS2 editing, I guess it's ok.

[minsonngo]

Is there a reason your going with the older Socket 478 board?


I would suggest going with the newer Socket 775 boards and structure your system around it.

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by cop33 Primary uses will be college papers, music storage and some lightduty photo editing using CS2. Photography (now) is a hobby. Your thoughts on the following: COOLER MASTER RC-330-KKN1-GP Black SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

That case is fine.

Originally Posted by cop33 COOLER MASTER eXtreme RP-500-PCAR ATX from factor 12V V2.01 500W Power Supply - Retail

I wouldn't use a Cooler Master power supply...sketchy quality. And you don't need 500 watts for what you've listed, a good quality 400 watt PSU will work fine. This FSP PSU would power that system easily.

Originally Posted by cop33 ASUS P4V8X-MX Socket 478 VIA P4M800 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

Socket 478 is obsolete and you really don't want to use a VIA based motherboard with a Intel processor. There are some nice micro-ATX LGA775 motherboards with on-board video that will support current processors that are much better than that 3.0E Prescott P4.

Originally Posted by cop33 Intel Pentium 4 3.0E Prescott 3.0GHz Socket 478 RoHS Version Processor Model NE80546PG0801M - OEM

Old technology that ran hot and didn't offer much performance...and leaves you no upgrade path down the road. See if a C2D processor can be worked into the budget.

Originally Posted by cop33 ZALMAN CNPS 9500 AM2 2 Ball CPU Cooling Fan/Heatsink - Retail

If you get a retail Intel processor it'll come with an approved Intel heatsink...no need to buy an aftermarket one.

Originally Posted by cop33 Kingston ValueRAM 1GB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Desktop Memory Model KVR400X64C3A/1G - Retail.

Over the years I've seen a lot of Kingston RAM go bad and don't recommend this brand anymore. Look at Corsair ValueSelect instead.

Originally Posted by cop33 Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

Good choice.

Originally Posted by cop33 SAMSUNG 18X DVD�R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write Black E-IDE/ATAPI Model SH-S182D/BEBE - OEM

Don't get a Samsung optical drive, reliability issues. Get a retail Lite-On instead...better quality and comes with burning software.

Originally Posted by cop33 Rosewill RCR-FD200 All-in-one USB 2.0 Black 3.5" Card Reader with 1.44MB Floppy Drive - Retail

I'm not a fan of Rosewill parts but this should be okay. Just don't install it until after you've installed Windows or the drive lettering will be all messed up.

Originally Posted by cop33 I'm going to see about getting a student discount on XP Pro.

Does she need XP Pro?

Originally Posted by cop33 I have a question. The mobo is a micro atx - is there any problem with alignment holes on the case tray? Never had a micro before, thats why I ask.

A micro-ATX motherboard will fit in any ATX case.

Cricket

[Staren]

As has been said that set-up is pretty restricting and wasn't great when it was new. I'd go with either a new mATX board and a lower end Core 2, or barring that switch to an AMD socket 939 set-up. Still old and limited upgrade ability, but at least it's not a known flacky motherboard chipset and processor that can double as a space heater.

Ok ok, Prescott P4s aren't "quite" that bad, but pretty close.

[cop33]

Thanks for the responses, everyone. O.K., Back to the drawing board...I'll post the new build in a while (little busy with Mother's Day, lol).

[cop33]

OK, how about round two of the motherboard quest. This time AMD. What do you think of the following :

ASUS A8V-XE Socket 939 VIA K8T890 ATX AMD Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131125

with:

AMD Athlon 64 3400+ Venice 2.2GHz 512KB L2 Cache Socket 939 Processor - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103023

and for memory:

CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Desktop Memory


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145505

video card:

EVGA 128-P2-N411-LX GeForce 7100GS 256MB(128MB On-board) 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130069

Thanks for your input.

BTW, I'm going w/ the FSP 400w PS and the CM Centurion 5 case.

[cop33]

Hmm, no responses. I guess if there are no major objections, I'll go with these.

[Alaron]

I have some suggestions before you buy.

VIA chipsets are not the best match for AMD processors, or Intel for that matter. You want an Nforce based board like this one: http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Produc...uctCode=247026

That CPU is fine, but as an OEM, you will need a heatsink and fan. Swap it for a Retail CPU to get those.

Also, that video card is going to steal your system ram. That's why it says only 128onboard out of 256. Try this one instead: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127269

[cop33]

Great - thanks for the info.

BTW, I have a odd thing happening to the posts in this thread. There is a joker avatar displaying in my posts and also displaying under your avatar as well, Alaron. Hmm, my cp is set for no avatar to be displayed. It just started happening. Very strange... Ok, now it just went away. It was taking place of the online status light. NM, way off topic!

[Alaron]

Try clearing your browser's cache.

[cop33]

Ok, how about this cpu:


AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Orleans 2.0GHz Socket AM2 Processor Model ADA3200CNBOX - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16819103637

combined with the Asus A8N-VM CSM mobo you spec'ed.

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by cop33 Ok, how about this cpu: AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Orleans 2.0GHz Socket AM2 Processor Model ADA3200CNBOX - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16819103637 combined with the Asus A8N-VM CSM mobo you spec'ed.

Won't work. The CPU is a AM2 processor and the motherboard uses Socket 939...the two are incompatible.

Cricket

[cop33]

Then, let's try this one:

AMD Athlon 64 3400+ Venice 2.2GHz 512KB L2 Cache Socket 939 Processor - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103023

What would you recommend for a heat sink/fan for this one?

[Cricket]

The CPU support page for the A8N-VM CSM motherboard does list a Opteron 144 as a supported processor but the BIOS version must be 0506 or higher. A brand new motherboard will probably have a high BIOS version already.

Cricket

[cop33]

Alright, I slowed down and went step by step this time. Remember, I'm trying to keep this rig at the $600 level. I'm already over it...

For the mobo:

Asus A8N-VM CSM

For the cpu:

AMD Opteron 144 1.8GHz Processor Retail - As per cricket, it will fit.

For the vid card:

MSI NX7300LE-TD256EH GeForce 7300LE 256MB GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Low Profile Video Card - Retail

Thanks, everyone.

[Alaron]

Those are looking good. How about the rest of the list?

[andper10]

I am going to propose a more modern Intel build. It seems like you are just trying to build with very outdated parts. If you stay on the LGA775 & DDR2 platform, you will get better preformance and more for your money. The price for each item includes what the shipping would cost individually, so shipping might actually end up being cheaper if some of the items can be boxed together:

$83.12 - ASUS P5L-MX LGA 775 Intel 945G Micro ATX Intel Motherboard – Retail - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131041 – This motherboard is micro atx, but it will allow you to upgrade to a core 2 duo down the line if necessary, and it supports DDR2 667, and SATA 3.0 (aka SATAII).

$87.99 - Intel Pentium D 915 Presler 2.8GHz 2 x 2MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor – Retail - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116253 – This CPU has 4MB of L2 Cache, which if definitely a plus. The other AMD’s you were looking at had 512KB or 1MB of L2 Cache.

$35.12 - LITE-ON Black 18X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 18X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM IDE DVD Burner – Retail - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106043 - As others have said, Lite-On drives come with burning software, which is an added bonus. Plus they are relilable.

$79.99 - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive – OEM - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148140 – Great choice. These HD’s have a reputation of being very fast. It will help it run faster if you have a SATA II motherboard (which I proposed) instead of the SATA I motherboards that you were looking at.

$44.10 - FSP Group (Fortron Source) ATX400-PA, version 2.0, SATA, 400W Power Supply – OEM - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817104952 – This PSU doesn’t have the 120mm fan that the other more expensive versions do, but reviewers say that it is quiet, and it has the specs (two 18A 12V Rails) to run most of the ATI Radeon X19xx family (very powerful video cards).

$70.98 - CORSAIR ValueSelect 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Desktop Memory – Retail - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145098 – As you can see, you can get 2GB’s of DDR2 for LESS THAN the same price of 1GB of DDR, and the DDR2 is faster!

$52.63 - MSI NX7300LE-TD256EH GeForce 7300LE 256MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Low Profile Video Card - Retail - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127269 - This is bottom end, but I think that it will do much better than integrated graphics, and it should do nicely for some photoshop.

$94.98 - Microsoft Windows XP Home With SP2B 1 Pack – OEM - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116056 – Unless you specifically need XP Pro, this should do fine. If you set it up with one user account it will auto-login and it work nicely.

$55.98 - COOLER MASTER RC-330-KKN1-GP Black SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case – Retail - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119115

That comes out to $604.89 shipped! That would be a great PC for your budget! Enjoy your build!

[cop33]

Thanks a lot everyone - especially andper10 for taking the time for that build list. I'll spend some time checking it out. Looks very promising!

[minsonngo]

If you go with that list... go with a SATA optical drive instead of the IDE one that was suggested.

[cop33]

Gotcha. This is coming together nicely!

[cop33]

So here are the final build specs:

Cooler Master Centurion 5 case

Fortron FSP400-60THN ATX2.0 attached PCi-Express Connector 400W Power Supply

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

ASUS P5L-MX LGA 775 Intel 945G Micro ATX Intel Motherboard – Retail

Intel Pentium D 915 Presler 2.8GHz 2 x 2MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor – Retail

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

MSI NX7300LE-TD256EH GeForce 7300LE 256MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Low Profile Video Card - Retail

LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write Black SATA Model LH-20A1S - Retail

Your thoughts?

[minsonngo]

Looks good to me.

[cop33]

Thanks. Alright, off to newegg!