Case/Power and Hard Drive advice for my build

[shraga84]

Hi! I need ome suggestions regarding the system i plan to build. Here are the parts i have chosen so far:


Motherboard: nForce 680i LT SLI 775 T1 (http://evga.com/products/moreinfo.as...-T1&family=400)

Processor: Core 2 Extreme

Video Card: GeForce 8800 GT


One thing is that i have no idea what type of Case/Power Supply/Cooler i ought to get.
my budget for that is roughly up to $400

The other thing is about hard drives:
I saw some Amazon.com list which suggested various parts for building a pc and from what i understood they listen one hard drive (about 32GB in size) for system stuff and another one (1TB in size) for storage.
Is this a common practice, or am i better off with just one hard drive?
My hard drive budget is also around $400-$500.

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!

[mwhaha]

Quick Message; What is this pc going to be used for?

1) Get a p5k mobo - you don't need sli as its awful.
2) What processor model are you getting?
3)Case - Antec 900 gaming case. It comes with 3 fans and its pretty big.
4)I don't know if its common practice, but I have 2 hdd's. I have a 150 gb raptor for system files, and a few games. I also have a 250 gb seagate for file storage.
I would not get a 1tb hardrive, as realistically are you ever going to use it up?
5) PSU - corsair are good. I don't know how much wattage you need, but I would think its 620w+, anyone know how much is needed?
6) Get a retail cpu - you get the thermal compound and heatsink with it. Also, do you really need a extreme processor?
7) Do you want a soundcard?
8) Optical drive - Liteon are a good brand, I have asus and have had no problems with it.
9) Ram - how much do you want? Stick with brands recommended on these forums - corsair, crucial etc

[DSCHIEF]

here's a very good case, have 4 In my Linux farm , very sturdy plenty of room

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119106


also have 4 of this PSU, nice combination W/ the CM case they're running 24/7
with no problems so far.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371001


just put one of these on a ASUS P5K-E MB snaps in REALLY easy.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835186134

[Devastator]

I think 1 hard drive is a lot easier to set up etc, and really you won't notice loads of difference plus it's cheaper. 320GB Seagate's are the sweet spot right now.

A Corsair 520W HX is plenty of power for what your planning on building.

Any P5K would be a good mobo choice, i'd go for a P5KC so when DDR3 comes fully and most people are using it you'll be laughing.

Use the stock HSF if you don't plan to overclock, also take note you could get a quad core for the same price as a Core 2 Extreme. Go for a Q6600. If you are going to overclock i'd get a Thermalright aftermarket heatsink.

As suggested previously the Antec 900 is a great gaming case in my opinion but really it's upto you what you like the look of. Just remember you pay for what you get, try and get a case with 120mm fans though.

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by shraga84 One thing is that i have no idea what type of Case/Power Supply/Cooler i ought to get. my budget for that is roughly up to $400

Your budget for only those parts is $400? What is your total budget for the entire computer?

Originally Posted by shraga84 The other thing is about hard drives: I saw some Amazon.com list which suggested various parts for building a pc and from what i understood they listen one hard drive (about 32GB in size) for system stuff and another one (1TB in size) for storage. Is this a common practice, or am i better off with just one hard drive?

Common practice? Depends...experienced computer users like to keep their data files on a separate hard drive or partition because it just makes things easier if they have to re-install the OS for whatever reason. But for inexperienced users I just use one hard drive with one big partition because they usually don't know how to save their files to a different location...everything just goes into My Documents.

Cricket

[shraga84]

Sorry about not supplying some of the info.

I plan to use this thing for VIDEO PRODUCTION.
I'll be working heavily with CS 3. Especially After Effects and Premier.
I also do a fair amount of 3D animation with MAYA and such.

is the MoBo i chose really not good? (I chose it because i figured it would work well with the GeForce 8800 gt)
From what i understand, that video card is considered to be a large one, and so would need a mobo that could fit it. So i thought since they're the same company, they'll work well together. Also it's an SLI thing and maybe it would pay for me to get TWO video cards?
Does that make a difference for me, or is that just good for gamers?

But then, it's only DDR2 compatible so i guess i should get one that's DDR3?

Generally, i've been doing my homework, a lot, trying to figure out what suits my needs best.

My budget for the entire build is $3000.

Thanks for al lyour help!

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by shraga84 Sorry about not supplying some of the info. I plan to use this thing for VIDEO PRODUCTION. I'll be working heavily with CS 3. Especially After Effects and Premier. I also do a fair amount of 3D animation with MAYA and such.

Sounds like you need a workstation instead of a regular computer.

Originally Posted by shraga84 is the MoBo i chose really not good? (I chose it because i figured it would work well with the GeForce 8800 gt)

EVGA hasn't been in the motherboard business for very long and their motherboards haven't really proven themselves yet. I wouldn't use one.

Originally Posted by shraga84 From what i understand, that video card is considered to be a large one, and so would need a mobo that could fit it. So i thought since they're the same company, they'll work well together. Also it's an SLI thing and maybe it would pay for me to get TWO video cards? Does that make a difference for me, or is that just good for gamers?

SLi is more for gamers than anyone else. I might be wrong but I think you need to look at a different type of video card, not the kind that gamers normally choose. Maybe look at the FireGL and Quadro video cards? Take a look at this article and see if this is what you need.

Originally Posted by shraga84 But then, it's only DDR2 compatible so i guess i should get one that's DDR3?

Huh? Are you talking about the video card?

Originally Posted by shraga84 Generally, i've been doing my homework, a lot, trying to figure out what suits my needs best. My budget for the entire build is $3000.

You could build a nice workstation for $3,000.

Cricket

[shraga84]

So have i gone down the wrong path completely?

I've done as much homework as i ould in the past few weeks. I guess it looks like i've been picking up on gamer-specific parts instead of what i need for my video production/3d aniamtion stuff?

Maybe someone will have a more appropriate list of suggestions? I know this may seem broad but i'm looking at least to be guided in the right direction.

My budget is $3000. I'm guessing i need as much RAM as i can afford (for rendering).
And, while i prefer an LCD monitor, i need one that can handle blacks well.

I really aprpeciate everyone's help!!